"FUCKING BITCH!" Cardin screamed while hitting a punching bag repeatedly. "BACKSTABBING BASTARDS!". He had been at it for at least ten minutes nonstop. "WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE!?". He delivered a final punch that managed to tear the sack and made sand fall on the ground. He was gasping, but his adrenaline and anger were still through the roof. The humiliation after his defeat earlier in the evening still fresh on his mind.
At the locker rooms, Professors Port and Oobleck had just dropped CRDL and gave them some small talk. Port began. "Now boys, I know you may feel awful by having your butts kicked by strangers, but think of this as a lesson. Why, when I was younger, way younger than you even, I remember I had to fight a pair of Nevermores with just a spoon and-".
Thankfully, Oobleck made their defeat less painful by cutting Port off. "Not now Peter. Our pupils need this time to evaluate this experience to their fullest capacity without outsiders bringing their spirits down. Anyway, please go to your dormitory after you are done here; we'll be sure to bring you dinner".
They all gave the teachers a questioning look before Sky asked Oobleck "Can't just go to the dining hall?".
Oobleck and Port then gave him a condescending look. "Trust me. That is the last thing you'd want right now" Port told them before leaving.
The members of team CRDL removed the main pieces of armor before Cardin spoke to his team. "Can't believe they defeated us. What were you all doing out there!?". He slammed his locker and turned to face his team who were all arm crossed and looking at him with anger on their eyes.
"We could have had a chance if you read their files!". Russel told him.
"Uuuh, no! If you were any good, we would have mopped the floor with them in less than five minutes!".
"If we were any good!? I'm sorry, who was the one that got disarmed by the guy with no weapons!?" Sky then yelled.
"Complain all you want. The point is they only won because the teachers allowed them to cheat".
"They allowed that Kuai Liang guy to lead! Something we now completely understand you suck a lot at, you overgrown brat!" Sky told him.
Cardin then stepped forward, willing to pummel Sky right there. But his scroll rang, and he decided his teammate could wait. He picked up his scroll and saw the caller was Glynda. "Yes, Miss Goodwitch?" he said after answering.
"Mr. Winchester, please report to my office immediately. Just you; not your team". She hung up and Cardin turned to look at his team. No one said anything and Cardin then left.
On his way to Goodwitch's office, more than a handful of students mocked him by making monkey sounds and some had even gone the extra mile by throwing ice cubes his way. Arriving at the vice principal's office was going to at least be an end to his walk of shame.
He knocked three times before Glynda opened the door and he was able to enter. "Take a seat", she told him.
Once they were both on their seats, Glynda took a deep breath and talked to him in her normal, commanding voice. "I will allow you to speak your mind first. So off with it".
"Why was my team picked!? We are not the worst, and you know it! It should have been Arc and his team, not us, who got their butts kicked!".
Glynda took another deep breath, took her glasses off and cleaned them with a piece of cloth. "Mr. Winchester, did you listen to the criteria used for the selection of the team?".
"How could it be more complicated than 'the best at fighting'?".
"I'll take that as a no, then…" She then placed her glasses on again and showed him her computer screen where his grades and data were displayed. "To choose their opponents we used more than just the number of victories and defeats on combat class. While fighting results were a definitive factor, we also looked into strategy development and team-building exercises. And to answer your question about why team JNPR was not chosen…" she then showed a graph that compared Cardin and Jaune's development since day one. Cardin was then able to see Jaune surpassing some random first years while Cardin's numbers went down. Even worse were the other assignments where Jaune's number went up while his results went down. "As I also mentioned, it was a group grade". The data of his team against that of the rest of JNPR appeared and it was more than obvious that they were far better.
"But I am still a better fighter!".
"If your team was fighting a Boarbatusk and a King Taijitu right now in a dessert. What would you do? Do you remember their weak points?".
"Wha- What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's called 'a plan', Mr. Winchester, a strategy. A huntsman must know how to act on every scenario, even those that happen at the moment. As you can see, Mr. Arc surpasses you on that field".
"I… well… we… I am sure Jaune would also struggle in that scenario anyway!"
"But while he is improving, you are not. You are going down, along with your team". Goodwitch then took another breath and her expression changed to one of regret. "Which also gives me the obligation of telling you this Cardin: Should your development and grades keep getting worse… I am sorry, but we would need to expel you".
That announcement left Cardin frozen. It took him sometime before he jumped out of the chair and slammed his fists on Goodwitch's desk. "This is unfair! I worked my ass off to graduate from combat school and get here; now I am the one facing expulsion? After Arc basically-". He managed to control his mouth before he broke his promise. He might be angry at Jaune, but whatever honor he had left made him realize Jaune was not guilty and therefore didn't deserve to have his forgery revealed.
"What about Mr. Arc?".
"… Nothing… May I be excused".
"Yes, Mr. Winchester. You can leave".
He left her office in complete silence but livid. It didn't help that once outside the mockery started again. He wanted to make his way to his dorm but arrived at the moment Ozpin was giving the new boys access to their new room and new uniforms still new on their plastic bag. He then remembered how his team would probably just whine all night about him so he stormed off wanting to get to Vale knowing there was only one person who could comfort him right now.
"I think that sack of sand learned its lesson", remarked Elsa sarcastically. Cardin sat in a stool and she walked towards him, handing him a bottle of water before seating beside him. "A lien for your thoughts? I would like to know who the 'bitch' and 'Bastards' are if only for context".
Ever since their 'accidental encounter' they had grown closer. Nothing romantic had happened, but he felt like she understood him in a level beyond even his teammates. They chatted about their days, the idiots they had to put up with, annoying superiors and both were fans of being in shape.
Right now, he just needed a shoulder to lay on. Beacon was the last place he wanted to be in, and knowing that she was free on Monday nights, he asked if he could spend some time with her. She agreed, and since it was her gym night, he went with her to let go of his frustrations.
After a long gulp of water, Cardin let it all out. "Goodwitch told me I'm about to be kicked out of Beacon because apparently, you need to spend more time reading about grimm than killing them! I had to fight a group of nobody tree-huggers and lost because my team couldn't fight on their own and now, they think I'm the bad guy! All while Jaune and his little group of happy go lucky assholes enjoy wasting everybody's time!".
"Jaune… Jaune… The blond idiot from when we met, right?".
"That one!".
"You're kidding me? HE is scoring higher than you?".
"In Beacon's idiotic system, he apparently is".
"Psh. He wouldn't last a minute out there. From what you describe a small beowolf could kill him with just a look. How did he even get in?".
Cardin went stiff; he might have said more than he intended. "I-uh. Well… I don't know". He then took another sip of water and looked away expecting Elsa to change the subject.
"Really? You sound like you know something".
"Yes, really! … Look. It's not something I like to even talk about. We made a deal about it; that is that!".
She did look at him with an inquisitive look, but thankfully, did change the topic. "Well, you are right anyway. Some people always expect you to just do what they want and when you are doing it better than them, they just hold you back". She then went to another punching bag and started to kick it. "It's always the same. You are getting stronger, but they never see it. You are getting better, but they never see it. 'Too impulsive', 'Too impatient', Then they just drop and forget about you as if you never even existed at all" She gave a final kick strong enough to send the sack crashing against the roof.
She then took a deep breath and sat down again. Cardin did feel better. She understood him perfectly. She valued the strength of the moment, the now, not a 'what if' scenario; being stronger than the others was all that mattered, period. He might have known her for just a few days, but he did start to feel some sort of connection. "So, listen… I was wondering if maybe you would… like… like to…". He was interrupted when Elsa's scroll rang.
"Hold it. I have to take this!" She got up and went to the changing room. Cardin sat there awkwardly waiting for a few minutes while gathering all the courage he could.
Elsa then came out of the changing room. "Well. Glad I could help you. But we need to go back to the real world; I have an important meeting to prepare for with my asshole bosses and you need to go back to school". Before Cardin could start ranting again, she placed a finger on his lips and got closer to his face. "Entertain them for now, let them think they are on the right. I don't think you can quite afford to be out on your own yet, financially speaking. I do feel bad we have to cut this meeting short; how about we meet this weekend? Movie? Dinner? My treat!".
He blinked a few times. "Sure!".
"Good! See you later then". She then kissed his cheek before gathering her stuff and headed back to the changing room. Cardin smiled and decided to head back, feeling everything was right for the first time this day.
Years of training and experience had Hanzo, Sub Zero and Smoke spent on developing patience. Stakeouts on targets that could last from hours to days was a common occurrence for them. But none of them were as boring as grimm studies. It wasn't the subject, but rather the teacher who spent only a fraction of the class talking about grimm and how to defeat them and the rest on tales from his youth. None the less, they remained seated and looking at the board. The other students were surprised that all four boys managed to stay awake, not noticing that Hanzo, Sub Zero and Smoke were asleep with their eyes open for a long time now while Ermac's body was being controlled by the young souls of boys and girls that found all the stories entertaining.
Yang, on her end, was watching their every move (or lack of, in this case). A plan for Thursday was being reviewed, so Jaune's team went on patrol. And, for the first time, grimm studies became somewhat entertaining, especially for being the after-lunch class.
"… Sadly, I ended up losing that bet. Turns out you can't keep the heads of a King Taijitu after all, but the important thing to remember is that there are some species which are vulnerable to themselves" Port said almost ending his explanation. "A full list of these species can be found on your books. Read it, there will be a one-question quiz next class". He then looked at the clock, noticing there were still fifteen minutes of class left. "Well. Since we still have some time, how about a fight!".
Everyone woke up at that and Ermac elbowed Smoke who fell onto Sub-Zero and he fell onto Hanzo, effectively waking them up.
"Mister Hasashi". At the mention of his name, Hanzo stood up straight.
"Why don't you show us some of your moves against say… a drone lancer!".
Hanzo bowed "as you wish, professor".
"Very well, you'll be facing two drones. But! Since we are talking about defeating grimm with their abilities, you'll have to kill them using their stingers, not your weapons!".
Hanzo bowed once again and went on to change. A few minutes later, he emerged with his yellow robes, face mask, and katanas. Port stood in front of him next to two cages holding the wasp-like creatures. "Aaaaaaand… Begin!". Port released the locks and both creatures flew up.
Once high enough, the lancers fired their stingers towards Hanzo who managed to deflect them with his swords. The lancers then fired their stingers at the same time and that forced Hanzo to do a backflip to get out of their way. Surprisingly enough, the two lancers charged towards him; he jumped the first, but then noticed the second stopping and firing the stinger, Hanzo was able to use some of his fire ability to get away from the projectile's trajectory, but it still managed to cut his shirt, leaving his golden necklace exposed but still on his neck.
Everyone was watching the fight but Yang and Ren. She was ready to tell him to record the fight, but he was way ahead of her.
Hanzo landed with a hand on the ground to keep his balance and saw that they were getting ready to repeat the same strategy. He ran towards the lancer heading his way, and just before the other one stopped in midair, he jumped and teleported behind the second one, grabbed its abdomen and managed to tilt the angle before it launched its stinger; this made the second lancer shoot the harpoon-like object towards the other grimm, effectively killing it. As the remaining lancer retracted its stinger, Hanzo jumped and grabbed it, gravity allowing him to extend some of the natural black cord attached to it. Once he landed, he stepped on the cord, grabbed the stinger and began to spin it around, managing to slash the grimm a few times and stunning it before retrieving the stinger and throwing the spear-like object at the lancer. The attack killed the grimm and it dissipated in the air as he instinctively pulled the cord.
Hanzo took a long breath and turned towards his classmates who were just staring at him, almost as if waiting for him to do something. "What!?" He demanded.
"Come on! Say it!" a girl told him.
'Say what?' He was left wondering. 'Wait… does she mean…?' "Get over here…?".
The room was filled with cheers and some "He said it! He said it!" could be heard from the crowd. Port then stepped next to Hanzo, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Good job, my boy! Nice quick thinking!".
Yang and Ren insisted on speaking first that night's meeting. They had been acting weird since grimm studies, but no one objected and gave them the board as soon as everyone was present.
"So, what is it, Yang?" Jaune asked.
Both she and Ren were looking at their recordings and sent everyone screen-captured zoom-ins of Hanzo's medallion. "See that?" asked Yang while Ren was drawing something on the board.
"The medallion?" Asked Weiss. "What about it?".
Yang didn't answer and Ren kept pressing forwards "Just to be clear, you are all seeing this figure, right?". He was now pointing at his drawing. The head of a serpent dragon with a forked tongue inside a circle. Everyone nodded.
"Well hold on to your pants boys and girls; because that is the same piece of jewelry Ryu wears on his ponytail everywhere he goes".
Jaune was ready to ask a skeptic question, but Ren interrupted him. "No. It's not a brand logo, a known religious symbol or something like that. We checked".
"There IS a connection between the new kids and Seido! And I know it's not a good one" Concluded Yang.