And part 2 of the JNPR arc and longer than the last chapter! Hooray!

Honestly really proud of how this turned out, like some of the stuff I had here.

So I'll let you all see it for yourselves.

Also for those wondering why Jaune isn't stronger than canon even with Izuku as a friend, read the author's note at the end and I'll explain why.


Bump! Bump! Bump! Bump! Bump! Bump!

"Huff…huff…huff…huff…huff…" Jaune was not doing well right now. Not at all. Of all the people, of all the people he could have fought he was given the 2nd worst option of all his fellow first years. Granted he was happy that it wasn't Katsuki, that would be an absolute hell. But still! Cardin! Freaking Cardin Winchester!

What was even the odds of that happening? It was about a 1 out of 16 chance! A 1 and 16 chance he would have gotten picked to fight Cardin, the boy whose been making his life a living hell at school. Pretty taking every single chance to pick on him in anyway. Jaune was absolutely positive that the explosion that was caused in dust class was because of him, he wouldn't put freaking fire dust over a flame like that no one was that dumb.

Jaune was hoping when coming to Beacon that, that sort of stuff would stop. He and Izuku always got picked on back at school especially by Katsuki and his cronies, though over the years Katsuki seemed to stop caring about belittling them meaning only his cronies bothered them. But nope. Nothing changed for him when coming to Beacon, heck Cardin and his team hasn't even begun to pick on Izuku yet.

"Izuku…" Jaune sighed out as he put his hands to his lowered head. "Nothing really has changed…"

Jaune…just couldn't understand. He and Izuku had been best friends for their entire lives, they've had the same dream their whole life, and have been working at it their whole life. But despite that…Izuku was so much farther ahead of him. Jaune struggled to find ground in a fight where Izuku could map out multiple strategies in his head to defeat his foe. Where Jaune would struggle in class, Izuku would absolutely excel with seemingly no effort.

He just couldn't get it. Him and Izuku should be at the same level right? In combat and academics. Sure he didn't unlock his semblance like Izuku but still he should be able to hold his own. "So why is the gap between us so big?" Jaune sighed out, asking a question he's been asking for years. Whenever Jaune took even the littlest step forward, Izuku would leap ahead by ten more. It just…drove him crazy. That also left Jaune with a big sense of guilt. You couldn't be jealous of your best friend right? What kind of person would that make him? Friends were supposed to support and help each other, he knew that if their positions were reversed that Izuku would do nothing but support him in his endeavors.

Although if their positions were reversed…Izuku wouldn't be here at Beacon. "Because he wouldn't fake a bunch of transcripts…" Everyday Jaune woke up with a little fear in him. Fear that someone, somehow, would find the truth over how he snuck his way into beacon and would force him out where he would shamefully have to return home and explain to his parents, explain to his father, what a failure and a cheat he was.

"No…No that's not gonna happen…" Jaune took a few more deep breaths as he stood up, his shaky nerves making his legs feel weak. "I…I can do this!" The golden blond did his best to hype himself up for the fight. He couldn't let Cardin beat him, he could handle this on his own. It's why he didn't really tell anyone about what Cardin was doing to him. Cardin was just another bully and Jaune was gonna be a huntsman one day, a true huntsman can handle anything. He wasn't the damsel in distress locked away in the tower, he was the hero who vanquished all evil in his path to save that damsel. And right now, said evil's name was Cardin Winchester.

"Just confront him head on!" Jaune hold himself as he pulled out his sword and opened up his shield, attaching his scroll to the back of it so he could always read his aura level and know what condition he was in. "Show him you're not gonna take any more of his crap from now!"

Jaune tried to put on a brave face. Narrowing his eyes, tightening the grip on his weapon, and standing tall. But his heartbeat, the sweat going down his face, and the slight shake of his arms and legs told the true story.

He was afraid.


Back in the main combat classroom, everyone was currently waiting for Jaune. Cardin smirked as he held his mace over his shoulder as Glynda had a rather impatient look on her face as Jaune was taking his sweet time in getting ready. "I think you should just hand me the win here," Cardin told the combat teacher in an arrogant tone. "50 Lien says he ran away with his tail in between his legs."

"Wonder what's taking Jaune so long," Nora asked as she kicked her legs back and forth as the rest of team JNPR looked towards the entrance of the locker room, waiting for Jaune to come out. "Do you think he had to pee?"

"Maybe…" Pyrrha muttered out as she kept a worried look on her face. Despite Jaune not telling anyone Pyrrha knew about everything Cardin did to him. All the pranks, pushes and shoves, mean words, all of it. Pyrrha knew she should have done something, she should have done something. But…she knew Jaune wouldn't want her interfering with anything. But depending on how this goes, she might have to change that.

Katsuki was oddly silent for this. Ever since the match of Jaune vs Cardin was announced Katsuki didn't say anything and his only reaction was to have his eyes narrowed the whole time and simply stare at the arena. "Hey man," Katsuki's eyes finally shifted as he turned to glance at Eijiro who was giving him a raise brow. "Everything alright? You're oddly quiet right now, you're never quiet."

"Well what's it to ya?" Katsuki roughly asked as he turned back to the arena. "I can be quiet if I want,"

"Sorry, just curious." Eijiro shrugged and looked towards the arena as well. "You know I ran into Jaune a few times during my work out, the guy really seems to like to push himself. Whenever I see him he's out of breath and sweating like a pig."

That sounded about right to Katsuki. While he didn't care much for either Jaune or Izuku, seeing them both as little pebbles beneath him, he could at least say he respected Izuku for how hard he trains. The nerd always seems to try and push himself past his limits, sometimes caught working out in class under the desk or by hovering just slightly above his chair. Heck he had to stay home a few times after overdoing it to rest his muscles. The green head seemed to have no issue with breaking himself down over and over to get stronger.

But Jaune…Jaune didn't have the drive to do something like that. Sure he trained, but he didn't build himself. He didn't push himself the way Katsuki and Izuku did, when something seemed to hard he seemed to break down. It's what made Katsuki not even have any sliver of respect for the golden blond. He didn't have what it took to be even a b-list Huntsman.

"So you used to know Jaune right?" Eijiro asked as he glanced at Katsuki again. "I heard from Izuku that you guys knew each other as kids, so that means you all lived in the same town." Katsuki merely nodded his head, confirming all this. "How do you think Jaune's gonna hold up against this guy? I never really saw him in action, even during the big fight with those Grimm during orientation he didn't really do much to damage the Deathstalker,"

Katsuki took a moment to glance at Cardin, but only a moment. It's all Cardin was worth. With that single glance Katsuki could easily tell what the guy was all about. A big dumb brute who relied on nothing but pure raw strength without an inkling for strategy. Someone who always talked big but always whiffed. If it was against literally anyone else from any of the teams of the first years Katsuki would place his money on Cardin taking a big fall, but in this instance. "I know how this is gonna turn out." Katsuki didn't have a single doubt in his mind what would happen.

Jaune was going to lose, big time.

"W-Wait!" Suddenly the doors to the locker room opened up and Jaune quickly ran out, heading towards the arena and getting into position. "S-Sorry I took so long. I had to, um, s-sharpen my sword! Yeah! That's it! Wanted to make sure it was in tip top shape hehe…"

"Well you certainly took your time doing so," Glynda told Jaune with a rather harsh look as Jaune averted his gazed and gulped a bit. An act that caused Cardin to glare and let out a cruel sounding snicker. "Now then, if everyone is finally ready, are both combatants ready?"

"More than ready," Cardin nodded as he tapped the end of his mace against his other hand. "Not sure about my opponent though. Tell me Jauney boy? Think you're ready for this?"

Jaune glared at the bully, knowing what he was trying to do. But Jaune couldn't let Cardin get in his head, he had to stand his ground his face. "Yes." Jaune said a little shakily as he took a stance. "I'm ready to fight!"

"Very well then." Glynda then backed away and stepped off the arena as she hit a button on her scroll. "Begin!"

A horn blared in the arena signaling the start of the fight. "Raaaaahh!" Jaune was the first to charged forward with his sword raised high and shield lowered. He had to show Cardin that he wasn't gonna be pushed around! Once he had the first strike he would give blow after blow to Cardin and not give the bully a chance to breathe and hopefully either get his aura down in the into the red or knocking him out of the arena.

But Cardin simply stood in place as Jaune charged at him, his smirk never once fading from his face. "Heh, cute," Cardin then held mace like a baseball bat, reared it back as Jaune came closer and closer. "Batter up!"

SMASH!

"GAH!" Jaune yelled out in pain as Cardin's mace struck him right in the face, causing the golden blond to get launched across the arena, rolling a few times and just narrowing avoid falling out of the ring. "U-Ugh…" Jaune winced in pain as he stood up, glancing to his shield and seeing that he already lost a good chunk of his aura from just that blow alone.

"Heh, come on Jaune," Cardin let out as he started walking towards Jaune with a cruel smile on his face. "Don't make this too easy for me,"

"Not…in your dreams…" Jaune let out as he took a stance and started circling around Cardin trying to find a potential opening. Team CRDL's leader decided to humor Jaune a bit and stood still, holding his mace in both hands as he kept an eye on Jaune while snickering to himself. Forming an idea in his head, Jaune crouched down and charged at Cardin with his weapons spread apart and his shield now closed. Ok, so Cardin was stronger than him. But with that kinda frame and his armor as well, Jaune was certainly faster than him. He could use his superior speed to his advantage! "Get ready for this Cardin!"

"Alright," Cardin merely shrugged and as Jaune approached Cardin decided to play the most classic bullying trick in the book. Right as Jaune got up to him Cardin took a step to the side and held his leg out, causing Jaune to trip right over Cardin's leg and fall face-first on the floor. There was an audible thud as Jaune landed as a few of the first years watching, especially Cardin's team, snickered at the sight as Glynda facepalmed. "Hahaha! Seriously man you're just embarrassing yourself."

"Grrrr…" Jaune growled as he got onto his hands and knees and glared up at Cardin. "Just…shut up!"

Meanwhile from the stands, Izuku watched the whole thing with an uncomfortable look. "Oh no…" Izuku let out as he gripped the notebook in his hand tightly. As sad as it was to say…the sight was a rather common one for him. They both used to get picked on a lot and even beat up back in elementary school, but then combat school came and Izuku learned to fight and defend himself properly, but Jaune…he always seemed to struggle with this kind of stuff.

He always struggled to properly learn to fight, and even during combat school he would get beaten down pretty bad during sparring classes like this one. While Izuku would always step into help when this happened outside of sparring class, he could always see this strange sadness in Jaune's eyes whenever he did so. Almost like Izuku did something Jaune didn't want him to do.

The green head just had a hard time wrapping his head around the issue. He always invited Jaune to train with him, many times, and sometimes Jaune would join in but most of the time his friend would decline. Often saying that he had his own method that worked for him and Izuku never questioned it. Different ways of training worked for different people, but now that he thought about it, whenever Izuku asked about Jaune's training method he always seemed to dodge the question.

And despite how awful Izuku felt about admitting this…he was surprised Jaune passed the exam to get into Beacon.

With how much Jaune struggled it seemed strange that he would have passed the exam and beaten one of their old teachers, even with the handicap they had.

"Uh, Izuku…" Bringing Izuku out of his thoughts was Mina who was also watching the fight with an uncomfortable expression. "I don't think Jaune is doing to hot…"

Izuku looked back towards the fight and his eyes widened at the sight. Cardin was currently swinging his mace repeatedly at Jaune. Swinging from left to right, hitting his face and body in order and continuing to stagger the golden blond and not given him any time to recover. "JAUNE!" Izuku called out as he stood up and got many of the eyes in the room on him. "YOU NEED TO GO ON THE DEFENSIVE!"

"Hey!" Cardin yelled towards Izuku and glared at the mop haired teen. "Stay out of this runt!"

Slash!

"Gah!" Cardin let out as Jaune took the opportunity to strike while he was distracted. Jaune slashed his sword at Cardin with the tip grazing his face and leaving a small cut. Cardin brought his hand to the cut and wiped up the blood that fell. "…Hehe…hahaha," Jaune's smirk turned into a worried look as Cardin started laughing as his aura got to work and quickly healed the cut as Cardin wiped the blood away on his shirt. "You did not wanna do that Jauney boy,"

Cardin then brought his foot up and kicked Jaune right in the middle of the chest, causing many of the audience to wince as Jaune was punched back with the wind knocked out of him. "Jaune…" Pyrrha muttered as she could hardly bare to watch this anymore as Cardin continued to brutally beat up Jaune. This was hardly a spar, it was just a bully beating someone up for kicks.

Once Jaune regained a bit of breath he charged at Cardin again with his sword raised in an attempt to land another attack but Cardin easily dodged causing Jaune to trip once again and land on his hands and knees. Jaune barely reacted in time as Cardin attempted to slam his mace down at Jaune with the golden blond managed to bring up his sword and block it, but with Cardin's superior strength it wouldn't last long. "This is the part where you lose," The bully told Jaune with a cruel smirk.

"Over my dead-Gah!" Jaune's words we cut off as Cardin slugged Jaune across the face, causing him to drop his sword and leaving him defenseless as his shield was still closed. Cardin then rose his mace up and intended to deliver the final blow and-

"That's enough." Glynda called out as the horns blared throughout the room to signal the end of the match. Jaune's aura was very much in the red with only a tiny amount left and Cardin hardly lost any of his own. Cardin rolled his eyes and reluctantly backed away from Jaune as Glynda stepped onto the arena again and between the two boys. The combat instructor than looked to Jaune and spoke to him in a rather softer tone than usual, seeing as how he already been through enough already. "Mr. Arc, please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy. We wouldn't you to get gobbled up by a beowolf now would we?"

"Speak for yourself," Cardin said as he held his mace over his shoulder before walking away.

Glynda gave Cardin a brief glare before looking to the rest of her class. "Now kids remember, at the end of the school year we will be having the Vytal festival." Glynda brought up the biggest event of the year. That quickly got almost everyone to smile and pump themselves up at the thought of it. "Where students from the four kingdoms will come to compete, it's important that you hone your combat abilities as much as you can if you wish to participate. Students from the other kingdoms will be coming here during the next semester so there is no time to relax, always keep striving to improve. Now let us get on with the next match."

As Glynda got ready to start up the randomizer again, Izuku quickly ran up to Jaune who was simply sitting down on the arena with a distant look on his face. "Jaune, I'm…I'm sorry about what just happened…" Izuku lowered his head with a frown before holding his hand out to his best friend. "Are you ok?"

"…" Jaune was silent at first as he looked at his best friends hand. Offering him help. Because he was too weak to succeed. Looking away from the hand, Jaune stood himself up despite the pain and aching he was feeling and walked away, never putting his head up. "I'm fine…" The golden blond mumbled out as both Izuku and Pyrrha's green eyes looked at him worryingly.

All the while Katsuki's own eyes glared at the back of Jaune's head, the usually loud boy not saying a thing throughout the match.


"So, there we were, in the middle of the night…" Once lunchtime hit, the three teams of RWBY, JNPR, and IFMS had gathered up at their usual table in the lunchroom. But despite Nora recounting to them a great tale of heroism, the atmosphere was a bit awkward to say the least. Jaune's head was down the entire time as he picked at his food with a fork with Pyrrha, Izuku, and Mina giving him worried looks. And it seemed Yang and Weiss were engaged in a glaring contest as they sat on opposite sides of the table from each other, not breaking eye contact as they ate their food with Eri sitting right next to Weiss and giving her and Yang strange looks.

"It was day," Ren corrected his ginger-haired friend.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..." Nora continued her tale.

"They were beowolves." Ren pointed out after taking a sip of coffee.

"Dozens of them!" Nora yelled as she slammed her fist down on the table.

"Two of em," Ren held up two fingers.

"But they were no match," Nora explained as Ruby also turned to look at Jaune with a concerned expression. "And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

"Grimm disintegrate shortly after they're killed." Shoto pointed out after taking a bite of his food. "How could you sell Ursa skin rugs?"

"You can't." Ren sighed out as he shook his head. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"Jaune," Once the story was over, Pyrrha finally decided to speak up now that she wouldn't be interrupting anyone. "Are you ok?"

"Huh?" That finally seemed to snap Jaune out of his funk a bit and looked up to see the worried looks that were sent his way. "Oh, yeah! Why?"

"Its just that you seem a little…not okay," Ruby pointed out as she looked over Jaune. It was easy to see that after his spar with Cardin that Jaune definitely wasn't looking to bright or cheery to say the least. "Just kinda noticed ya know,"

"Jaune if something is bothering you, you can tell us," Izuku spoke up as he looked Jaune right in the eye. He would normally wanna help anyone who was in need, but considering this was his best friend Izuku especially wanted to try and help Jaune through anything he was going through. "You know you can tell us anything right,"

"Guy's I'm fine." Jaune gave them the best smile he could a thumbs up. "Seriously." But anyone could see that his smile was fake from a mile away. Try as he might, Jaune wasn't fooling anyone. But thankfully attention was turned away from them as they heard the sound of mocking laughter coming from nearby. Looking to the source, everyone gained a look is disdain as they saw team CRDL standing around the rabbit faunus girl that was in Ooblecks class with them, and it was easy to see they were making fun of her ears as shown by Sky Lark putting his hands to his head to interpret her faunus features.

Pyrrha sent a quick glare towards Cardin before looking to Jaune. "Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha pointed out causing Jaune to quickly shake his head towards her as Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Wait what?" Izuku directed towards Jaune making him flinch. "He has?"

"You didn't tell him?" Pyrrha gave Jaune a look of surprise. She knew he didn't tell her or the rest of the team, she just happened to notice it when it happened, but he didn't even tell his best friend.

"N-No! Y-You guys got it all wrong!" Jaune tried to make it sound not as bad it really was. He didn't want anyone meddling with the situation. "Cardin just likes to…mess around is all! You know, practical jokes! It's no big deal."

"Jaune, he's a bully!" Mina said with an angry look on her face. If there was anything she hated more than anything, it was bullies. She just couldn't stand it when some jackass punk picked on someone weaker than them just for kicks. It made her blood boil. "There's a difference between a harmless prank and just being a jerk!"

"Oh please," Jaune scoffed as he tried to look away from everyone. "Name one time he's bullied me."

"I can name three," Pyrrha pointed out as she rose up three fingers. "When he opens up your shield in doorways to get you stuck, and that's happened multiple times. Knocking stuff out of your hands the other time, like your books, weapons, food, and papers. And that time he stuffed you in your locker and made sent you flying away!"

"He what?!" Mina yelled in outrage as she stood up and slammed her hands on the table.

"So that's why you missed 5th period the other day," Blake said as she lowered the book she was reading.

"Is this true Uncle Jaune?" Eri finally spoke up after hearing all the ways that big bully was tormenting her big brothers friend. "Why has he been picking on you so much."

"Because that's what bullies do Eri," Weiss tried to tell the girl in a soft manner. "They pick on those they think are lesser than them just for their own dumb amusement."

"Hmph, you're one to talk," Yang mumbled under her breath. Though she didn't hear Yang's exact words, Weiss heard the brawler of their team say something the heiress knew was a jab at her making Weiss go back to glaring at Yang.

"Guys, guys, seriously it's fine." Jaune rose his hands to try and get everyone to lay off the situation. "It's not like I landed that far from the school,"

"Jaune…why didn't you tell any of us this?" Izuku asked with a saddened tone. He was a bit hurt that Jaune didn't tell him any of this, he could have helped. He and Jaune have always been there for each other when they were kids so…why not anymore? Why didn't Jaune want Izuku to step in or even tell him about the situation. "You know you can tell us, any of us, if you need help right?"

"Oooooh!" Nora got an idea as she stood up from her seat as an idea came to her. "We'll break his legs!"

"I like it!" Dark Shadow commented as he came out of Fumikage. "Dibs on his right leg!"

"Don't even think about it," Fumikage spoke calmly as Dark Shadow let out a 'hmph' and crossed his arms. "If you start tormenting your tormenter it makes you no better than them. But I do agree that some action needs to be taken,"

"Come on you're all making a big deal out of nothing," Jaune noticed what was going on with team CRDL and the rabbit girl and pointed to it. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone. See?"

Everyone looked and for most, gained an appalled expression at what they saw. "Ow!" The rabbit girl let out as Cardin grabbed her ears and started pulling on them harshly as his team's laughter grew. "That hurts!"

"Told you it was real! Hahah!" Cardin said in between his laughter.

"What a freak!" Russel commented as he pointed to the girl.

"Mmmmm…" Eri let out as they the team of bullies tormenting the rabbit girl, making her reach up and cover her horn. Meanwhile Weiss had a completely blank look, being the only one not to show a proper reaction to what was going on. Even the usually stoic Shoto and Fumikage narrowed their eyes at team CRDL. However, the heiress did find her around going around Eri, instinctively pulling her closer in a protective manner.

"…" Meanwhile Izuku was completely silent as he found himself glaring harder at Cardin, his blood starting to boiling as he tightened his fist.

"Atcrcious." Pyrrha commented with nothing but disgust in her voice. "I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one…" Blake commented, glaring daggers at the team of bullies.

"It must be hard to be a faunus…" Yang commented sadly as she leaned her head against her hands.

SLAM!

Everyone looked towards Izuku has he slammed his open palms down on the table. His expression shadowed by his hair as he stood up from the table and started walking towards team CRDL. "That was the last straw…" Mina growled through her teeth as she two stood up and started walking towards CRDL as well. "Someones gotta teach those guys a little respect."

"Wait, no…" Jaune loudly whispered to them to try and come back and not confront Cardin. "Don't do it!"

"Hahahaha!" Cardin continued to laugh as he pulled on the faunus' ear, taking pleasure in his act of cruelty as-

SMASH!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Izuku walked right up to Cardin without an ounce of fear in his bones. Without any of the team of bullies noticing, Izuku reared back his fist and slammed it against Cardin's cheek with all of his strength. As he punched the bully Izuku's hair blew back a bit, revealing his absolutely livid expression. His teeth gritted and his eyes the size of pin pricks as they seemed to glow with rage. The force of Izuku's punch sent Cardin across the table, landing on the floor on the other side. "Leave her alone!" Izuku yelled out, the feeling of justice burning right in his heart.

The entire lunchroom went silent as many turned to face the sound of Izuku's fist connecting with Cardin's face.

With Cardin no longer pulling her ears, the rabbit girl fell to the floor and rubbed her sore head and ears. "Hey," Mina said to the rabbit girl as she knelt down and helped the girl stand back up to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I am," The girl stuttered, speaking with an Australian accent as she gave a grateful smile to both Izuku and Mina. "Thank you…"

"Hey it's no problem," Mina sent the girl a friendly smile and wink before looking to team CRDL and giving them a glare. "We'll handle these jerks." The faunus nodded before quickly turning away and sped walk out of the lunchroom. The rest of team CRDL didn't take to kindly to Izuku socking their leader in the face and began to approach both Izuku and Mina, but the latter reacted quickly and managed to roundhouse kick the three other members right in the face and sending them falling to the floor as well.

"Grrrr…" The sound of growling was heard as Cardin stood back up, holding his bruised cheek while glaring daggers at Izuku who instantly returned the look. "You just made a big mistake broccoli boy." Cardin immediately slide over the table to get on the same side as Izuku and Mina. Mina backed up, not because she was frightened but because she could tell Izuku wanted this to be a one-on-one.

Cardin gritted his teeth and tried to punch Izuku in the face with a right hook but Izuku ducked under it and returned by striking Cardin in the chest with a few quick jabs making the bully fall on his butt onto the seat of the table. "You're dead meat!" Cardin yelled out as he quickly got up and shoved Izuku back. Though the green head tumbled a bit but stood his ground and Cardin rushed towards him and tried to slam his fist down on Izuku's head, but team IFMS' leader dodged to the side and delivered another punch to Cardin's face, but Cardin managed to stand his ground and slugged Izuku with his other farm causing the green head to nearly fall to the floor. "You really just don't know when to quit do you?"

After saying this the rest of team CRDL decided to stop watching and stand back up, walking up next to their leader and all got ready to join him in taking down this little green runt. Despite the numbers advtange Izuku stood his ground and was ready to fight, and Mina was there to help as she walked back up to her leader and was more than ready to lend a hand. It seemed like the rest of IFMS as well as a few members of RWBY and JNPR were also ready to help when…

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" A new voice yelled out as everyone watched as Tenya quickly ran into between the two groups, a rather angry look on his face with his glasses shining in the lighting. "I will not allow the lot of you to continue your brawl in the cafeteria! It's an absolute disrespect to the building as well as our schools name!" He said while making his strange arm gestures.

"Stay outta this four eyes!" Cardin yelled towards Tenya, ticked off that this guy tried to get in between them. "This is between me and them."

"I will not allow this fight to continue!" Tenya wasn't intimidated at all yelled firmly, not just at Cardin but at everyone participating. "If you want to battle so badly I suggest taking it to Professor Goodwitches class tomorrow!"

"Actually…that's not a bad idea," Mina smirked, making everyone look towards her as Mina pointed towards Cardin. "Cardin Winchester, you, me, sparring class tomorrow. I'll kick your butt then,"

"You? Kick my butt?" Cardin cracked an amused smirk as his teammates started to laugh. "That's the funniest thing I've heard so far this school year! Hahaha!"

"…Oh alright then," Mina knew how to handle this sort of situation. With a grin on her face, Mina stood up on the lunch table where CRDL was bullying the rabbit girl and cupped her hands over her mouth to yell out to everyone in the room. "HEY EVERYONE! I JUST CHALLENGE CARDIN WINCHESTER TO A SPARRING MATCH TOMORROW AND HE'S TO SCARED TO FACE ME!"

"What?" That immediately got Cardin to stop treating it like a joke as all eyes in the cafeteria fell to him as he started glaring at Mina.

"What's wrong Cardin?" Mina asked with a teasing voice as she looked down at him. "Scared of losing to a girl?"

"Grrrr…" Cardin quickly started to growl.

"You know, you seem to look down on faunus but from here you're really starting to look like a chicken to me!" Mina further taunted in order to raise Cardin's ire as she flapped her arms like chicken wings. "Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!"

"Ok! That's it!" Cardin yelled in rage, his face red from it, as he stood up on the table too and glared down at Mina. "Ya wanna fight me bitch? Than you got a fight! But don't come crying to me when they have to clean you off the floor!"

"Looking forward to it~" Mina wasn't intimidated at all and simply smirked at Cardin. Cardin let out a growl of frustration as he jumped off the table and started stomping out of the cafeteria with his team following him.

"Oh boy…" Jaune gulped after watching the entire scene play out before him. What started from him trying to calm the situation down turned into Izuku's teammate challenging Cardin to a fight. But it wasn't over for him, looking to Cardin Jaune flinched as he saw Cardin point to him before sliding his finger through his throat.

Something told him things weren't going to get easier.


BAM! BAM!

BANG! BANG!

BAM! BANG! BAM! BANG!

"Hi-yah!" Mina yelled out as she knocked the training dummy she was using to the floor. Once classes were done Mina had immediately requested permission to enter the training hall in order to prepare for her fight with Cardin the next day. She was sure she could beat a brute like him, but a little training beforehand couldn't hurt, she was certain Cardin wouldn't do any training. He seemed confident that his victory was assured. "I can't wait to kick that smug grin right off his face."

Letting out a few deep breathes, Mina wiped some of the sweat off her forehead before she walked over to the left part of the room and sat down against the wall, opening up the bag she broke and taking out a bottle of water to rehydrate herself with. Sure when it come to school work Mina can be…lacking a bit sometimes but she always took training and physical exercise seriously. She was rather proud of her physic and athleticism, and she was gonna use both of those things to her advantage during her fight with Cardin. She already had a plan for how to handle him and if it worked taking him down will be as easy as pie.

"H-Hey Mina," A familiar voice spoke up as Mina looked to the doors of the room and saw Jaune entering the training room. He looked rather nervous as he approached her and slowly asked, "Are you, um, free right now?"

"Oh yeah sure, just taking a little training break." Mina patted the spot next to her, signaling to Jaune that he could sit down next to her. He did so, pulling his knees close to his body as he looked downward. "Just making sure I'm nice and prepared to take down Cardin tomorrow! Can't wait to give him a piece of my mind."

"Um, a-about that…" Jaune gulped a bit as he scratched the back of his head and looked towards Mina. "I was hoping you could, ya know, just call that whole thing off? You don't need to pick a fight with Cardin just for my sake."

"Uh, yeah, no way not gonna do that. I'm kicking his ass tomorrow." Mina said with a blunt tone and expression. There was no way she's backing out of that, not only would it give her the reputation that she was a coward but she just really wanted to beat the crap out of him. "And also I'm not just doing it for you, I'm doing it for you, that faunus girl, and everyone else he's picked on! I can't stand bullies Jaune, besides after what happened to you during combat class I figured you'd be happy that someone would knock that jerk down a peg."

"I-I mean…maybe…" Not even Jaune could lie about that. But he just had to try and convince Mina to back out of this whole thing. She didn't need to fight Cardin. "B-But look! J-Just please don't do this, no matter who wins you're only gonna make him angrier, l-look I can handle things on my own I don't need anyone else getting involved. Please Mina."

"…Why Jaune?" Mina gave Jaune an expression that was a mix between concerned and confused. This question has been on her head since lunch today. "Why didn't you tell us about anything of this? About Cardin picking on you? We're your friends, we would've tried to help you."

"Because I don't need help ok!" Admittedly Jaune didn't want to make it sound that harsh, but he couldn't help it during the moment. Mina flinched in surprise as Jaune yelled out in frustration and looked at her with a rather angry look. "I can handle my own problems myself! I…I don't need to be looked after like some baby!"

"Jaune none of us are calling you a baby!" Mina also rose her voice in response to Jaune, narrowing her eyes a bit. Jaune just realized what he did and flinched and looked down, a tired look coming to his face. "There's nothing wrong with relying on others sometimes!"

"…Just please Mina…" Jaune made one last attempt to try and get Mina to back away from the fight. "Just don't fight Cardin?"

"…I'm sorry Jaune." But Mina shook her head, showing she wasn't going to back down from this. "But I won't."

"…" Jaune was completely silent. He didn't spare any other words and simply got up and left the training room.


THE LIBRARY

Izuku…needed some time for himself right now.

The whole confrontation with Cardin today and learning about what he was doing to Jaune as well as seeing him pick on that faunus girl just had him in a bit of a bad moon throughout the rest of the day, though he was able to hide it from his friends.

Once the school day ended up asked his teammates to watch over Eri, though Mina went to go do some training, so he could head to the library to do some studying and hopefully clear his head. He just…couldn't stand people like Cardin. It wasn't just the bullying, but the racism towards faunus as well. Not even Katsuki was racist in anyway towards faunus.

He hated everyone equally.

But seeing people like Cardin treat faunus like that…nothing got his blood boiling more. Add that to finding out that he was also tormenting his best friend, and it just made Izuku feel extremely sour. He probably could have gone about the situation better than slugging Cardin, but he didn't regret it.

"I thought I'd find you here," A female voice spoke up to Izuku. Izuku glanced up and his eyes widened a bit in surprise when he saw Weiss standing near the table he was it with a book in her hand. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Oh, uh, yeah sure," Izuku gave her a nod and watched as Weiss took a seat right next to him. "S-So…how's it going."

"…You know you're the last person I'd expect to throw a punch like that." Weiss brought up making Izuku's eyes widen a bit. "Not that I'm calling you out for it, but I am rather curious. Usually you're really passive and don't like to cause a scene, but there you go and get everyone's attention on you and try to pick a fight."

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku stuttered a bit. Sure he doesn't regret punching Cardin but he still felt guilty about the whole thing. He shouldn't just try and pick fights like that, he was raised better and knew better. He could've handled the entire situation in a more peaceful way. "Not my proudest moment…"

"So why did you do it then?" Weiss kept her tone nice and polite. She didn't want him to feel like she was interrogating him. She just really wanted to know what urged him to do something like that. "Usually your so calculated and in control of yourself,"

"…People like Cardin…they just get me so mad…" Izuku admitted as he looked down at his hands, clenching them a bit as memories of dealing with people like Cardin came into his mind. "Growing up…me and Jaune had to deal with a lot of people like Cardin, plenty of people like to pick on us and even beat us up."

"…Really?" Weiss frowned after hearing that. She…didn't like the imagine of a younger Izuku getting beaten up.

"You know Katsuki right?" Izuku asked with Weiss making a frustrated face and nodded. Oh she knew him alright, and her eardrums were still sore from all the times she heard him yell throughout the day. "We…actually used to be friends with him."

"I'm sorry what?" That…certainly took Weiss by surprise. She was surprised anyone was capable of being friends with that guy. "You two used to be friends…with him?"

"It was a long time ago but yes," Izuku nodded and didn't blame Weiss at all for being surprised. Most people he told were. "But like I said me and Jaune used to be friends him, but then he unlocked his semblance at such a young age and after that…he started viewing us as beneath him. At first he just starting teasing us, but then he started making fun of us…and then eventually he liked to beat us up. And considering how strong he was, everyone we want to class with followed him and did the same to us."

"I'm…really sorry about that," Weiss wasn't good with emotional stuff, but she tried to sound as genuine as she could. "I couldn't imagine what it was like going through that growing up." Granted, Weiss couldn't say she had the happiest childhood either, but still getting betrayed like that by someone you called a friend must have been awful.

"Yeah but…we still had each other," Izuku than smiled as some pleasant childhood memories came to mind. "Despite everything we were always there to help pick each other up, no matter what happened or who tried to put us down we were always there for each other." Izuku than frowned again as the conversation in the lunchroom replayed in his mind. "But then I found out he kept it a secret that Cardin was bullying him and…I just wanna know why he didn't tell me."

"I do find that odd…" Weiss commented as she put a finger to her chin. Granted, she couldn't say she cared for Jaune all that much. He often annoyed her with his cheesy pick-up lines and flirty looks, but she was willing to put that aside for now. "Why would he hide all that, not even telling his team, you, or even a teacher…"

"U-Um, excuse me…"

"Hm?" Both Izuku and Weiss looked forward and saw none other than the rabbit Faunus that Cardin and his team were picking on earlier with Izuku quickly recognized her. "Oh it's you."

"Y-Yeah it's me," She spoke in a rather shy tone as she looked to Izuku and gave him a smile. "My names Velvet, I just…wanted to say thank you for helping me out back in the lunchroom earlier, that was really nice of you and your friend."

"O-Oh, it's no problem at all, we were happy to help." Izuku sent her a smile as Weiss stayed silent and simply looked between Izuku and Velvet a few times. "And I'm Izuku."

"Would it…be ok if I sat here," Velvet asked, gesturing to another one of the seats at the table. "I was hoping to look at some notes I took for Ooblecks class, I'm a second year but I got held back in his class hehe…"

"Um, we're actually-" Weiss tried to deny Velvet her request but Izuku spoke up.

"Oh sure, it's no problem." Izuku told Velvet making her smile and sit down. "I know how hard Uncle Bartholomew's class can be, I can help you if you want,"

"I'd really appreciate that, thank you so much," Velvet smiled a little brighter as she brought out her notes with Izuku moving to sit next to her.

Weiss let out a sigh as she leaned her head against her hand. "Nevermind…" The heiress quietly let out as she got up and decided to move somewhere else.


THE NEXT DAY

This was it, time for the big fight.

Both Mina and Cardin were more than ready. Mina had made sure to put her request for the match yesterday after classes to make sure this would happen and Glynda approved of it. So once fourth period hit, everyone was more than prepared to witness the first real big showdown of the year.

This was more than a sparring match, it was personal.

Since this was a requested match, Mina and Cardin were called on Glynda to come up to the arena before she started the random matches with Cardin on the right and Mina on the left. Both opponents glared at each as they stepped into the arena, Cardin gripping his mace tightly as Mina stretched out her arms and legs a bit with Glynda standing in between the two first years. "Are you two ready?" The professor asked as she looked between the two.

"Oh I'm more than ready." Cardin growled out as he cracked his neck. "Ready to pound her into the dirt."

"I'd like to see you try." Mina said with confidence as she smirked. "I'm ready to rumble."

Meanwhile from the stands, everyone watched with bated breath for the match to start. "This will certainly be an interesting clash." Fumikage commented, having been there to witness everything that happened yesterday. "What do you think Izuku? Who do you believe has the upper hand?"

"I'm pretty confident Mina does." Izuku stated as he looked in his journal and saw the page he did on Mina. "Mina's acrobatic and gymnastic abilities and in a league of their own, she has a clear mobility and speed advantage against Cardin especially with the heavy armor he's wearing. Cardin does seem to have more strength than her but it'll be difficult for him to land a blow on her as long as she keeps moving. And if she's able to use her semblance on his weapon or armor that'll put Cardin at a bigger disadvantage."

"And knowing Mina, she will," Shoto stated, having seen Mina in combat a number of times and knowing what her style was about. Heck he had a hard time hitting her when they sparred together, unless he used one of his big spread moves. "I don't think Cardin has a reliable way of countering her style of fighting."

"But still, anything can happen," Fumikage commented with crossed arms. He was more than confident that his teammate could handle the bully, but there was always that chance Cardin pulled something out of his sleeve. "In combat any small move can turn the tide of a battle."

"WOOOOOO! YEAH! GOOOO MINA!" Meanwhile Nora was cheering loudly while holding up a sign she made yesterday that had a chibi version of Mina's face. "BREAK HIS LEGS!"

"Nora, calm down," Ren tried to reign Nora in, but he knew it would be a fruitless effort.

"I can't wait to watch this," Yang stated as she smirked and leaned back to just enjoy the show. "Mina's gonna wipe the floor with him."

"I hope she does," Blake said bitterly as she glared at Cardin, yesterday's memories of him tormenting Velvet still fresh in her head.

"Man everyone seems to be getting really riled up for this," Denki commented as he looked around the stands and how everyone seemed to be engaged in this fight. "Did I miss something?"

"This is why you don't use lunchtime to get naps in dude," Eijiro told Denki with an amused grin, making the latter sweat drop. "But let's just say some shit went down yesterday."

"…" Meanwhile Jaune was completely silent as he looked forward at the arena, his expression unreadable.

"Jaune? Is everything ok?" Pyrrha asked as she put a hand to Jaune's shoulder. "You don't seem like yourself…" But Pyrrha never got an answer.

"Very well then," Glynda nodded as the combatants said they were ready, backing up and exiting the arena. "Let the match begin!"

BEEEEEEEEP!

As soon as the horn blared to signal the start of the match, Cardin was the first to charge forward. "HERE I COME BRAT!" Cardin yelled out, finally getting to release his anger that had built up over the last day. He'd been all too eager to pound this bitch into the dirt. Wielding his mace up high as soon as Cardin approached Mina he was quick to raise it above her head to try and bash her skull in. "SHOULDN'T HAVE PICKED A FIGHT WITH ME!"

"…..Heh~"

SMASH!

Cardin then brought his mace down…smashing the ground of the arena but missing Mina altogether. "What?!" Cardin let out in surprise. Looking behind him he saw Mina had managed to jump up in time to avoid Cardin's face and had leapt over the bully all the way giving him a sly grin. Mina then landed right behind Cardin on her hands as she kicked Cardin right in the back and sent him staggering forward before jumping back up and delivering a spin kick to the back of his head, sending him falling to the ground.

"Whoo!" Mina let out as she landing on her hands again and starting to spin dance a bit before flipping back to her feet as she got starting dancing in place. "Get with the rhythm!"

"Grrr!" Cardin growled like a beast as he got up and glared at Mina and ran back at her. "Lucky shot!" Cardin then approached Mina again as she was dancing around and tried swing his mace at her repeatedly to try and beat her down, but it was all fore not. Mina was easily able to dodge Cardin's strong yet slow swings of his weapon keeping up the dancing rhythm she had doing to evade Cardin while humming a beat to herself. "Stand still you little-"

Cardin was quickly cut off as Mina high kicked Cardin right in the chin making his aura flicker a bit from the heavy damage before bringing her foot right back down on his forehead for an axe. As Cardin was stunned from the blows Mina backflipped back on her hands and repeatedly kicked in the direction of Cardin and sending a barrage of bullets towards him back him cross his arms in front of him defensively to block them.

With Cardin now on the defensive Mina quickly seized the opportunity as she threw two rounds of dust ammo in the air. She then unloaded the empty shells of the guns attached to her boots by kicking her heels into the ground before performing a standing butterfly kick, catching the new rounds into her guns as she landed back down on her feet and kept dancing to the rhythm she made for herself. "Come on Cardin, what are you waiting for?" Mina egged him on with a taunting tone as she made a 'come on' gesture with her finger. "Thought you were gonna pound me into the ground,"

"You're dead do you hear me!" Enraged Cardin opened up his face and morphing his weapon into gun mode, revealing it to be a mini bazooka as the hilt of the weapon widened and became bulkier with the blades of the mace opening up and attaching to the hilt of the weapon and the red part opened up to become more like a barrel. Cardin snarled as he aimed his weapon at Mina, his thumb eagerly going over the trigger. "Fucking dead!"

"Yeah pretty sure Katsuki already has that catchphrase copyrighted." Mina snarked before flipping out of the way of the projectile Cardin sent her, dodging the explosion. Cardin was far from done as he constantly aimed towards Mina and pressed the trigger and sending bazooka shell after shell after her. But Mina showed just how agile she truly was as she kept up her dance and kept jumping, dodge, and flipping out of the way of the projectiles even managed to duck right under one. "You know you should really work on your aim there!"

"Why you…" Cardin growled as he pressed the trigger again only to hear nothing but clicking. In his anger against Mina he had ended up firing all of his shots out at her and was now out of ammo. "Dammit! Piece of-AH!" Cardin ending up crying out in pain as Mina fired another shot at him with fire dust bullets.

"My turn~" Mina grinned as she kicked the air in front of her and fired shots at Cardin forcing him to go on the defensive again. Seeing her chance, Mina kicked the ground under her, using the propulsion the fire dust bullet granted her, Mina jumped high into the air towards Cardin. While she was in the air she fired a barrage of fire bullets are Cardin causing him to fall down to the ground as he was unable to take the onslaught. "Firestorm!" Mina called out the name of her move as she fell towards the ground. Right before landing Mina kicked her foot as high as it would go and struck it right down at Cardin's chest and knocking the air right out of him.

Mina then flipped back and landing front of Cardin as he took heavy breaths, struggling to stand up as he switched his weapon back to mace mode and using it to help him up. "Now what happened to all that bravado yesterday?!" Mina yelled as she started up her little dance again which really started to tick Cardin off. "Come at me bro! Dance off, you and me! Let's go!"

"What…the hell…are you doing?!" Cardin yelled as his eyes seemed to go bloodshot with rage. "You're acting like an idiot!"

"Says the guy losing to a girl~" Mina teased as she blew her tongue out.

That seemed to make Cardin snap. "RAAAAAAHHHH!" He let out in pure rage as he charged at Mina with his mace held high. He tried to swing it down on Mina like earlier, but instead of dodge it Mina managed to catch it in her hands. Despite Cardin's higher physical strength, Mina was certainly no slouch and when combined with the damage Cardin had taken she was able to hold back his weapon as she made her hands glow green while she gripped it tight. "Let! GO!" Cardin yanked his weapon out of Mina's hands allowing him another chance to swing down at her. This time Mina did dodge making Cardin's mace hit the ground again, and when it did-

SNAP!

"Huh?!" Cardin let out as he watched his weapon snap in half, the upper half of his weapon flying away and out of the arena. "What did you do?!"

"Aw don't be such a baby, not my fault you broke your little toy," Mina told him with a shit-eating grin as she held up her hands with her semblance still active to show she was in fact responsible for his weapon breaking. "You can also get a new one, but it looks like you're unarmed now, pity."

"If you seriously think I need a weapon to kick your ass your wrong!" Cardin yelled as he tightened his fist and went to simply go slug Mina. "Get ready to cry bitch!" And as Cardin yet in for a punch…

CRACK!

"Ooooooooooo!" Everyone in the crowd let out in response to what they just witness, all the men quickly covering their private parts.

"…" Cardin was completely silent, his eyes widened in shock. Right before he could attack, Mina brought her leg up for a kick and used her last first dust bullet…right on his crotch. Cardin fell to the ground with a thud, quickly covering his private parts and let out an extremely high pitched, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"I win~" Mina held up a peace sign in victory.

BEEEEEP!

The horn blared to signal the end of the fight. Mina's bar was still completely full, her having not taken any damage at all. Meanwhile Cardin's was completely empty, that last attack using up the rest of his aura. "Exceptional work Miss Ashido." Glynda complimented Mina for her combat skills and athleticism before giving the girl a deadpan look. "But please, from on would you refrain from attacking…below the belt?"

"Oh alright," Mina gave the teacher a playful shrug. "Just had to teach him a lesson."

And as Mina left the arena, nearly everyone started clapping for her as Cardin's team went to go check on him. Other than them, the only one not cheering was Jaune who merely stood up after the match was over. "Wait, Jaune," Pyrrha called out to him as Jaune started to walk away. "Aren't you happy? Mina just beat Cardin."

"Yeah, I saw…" Jaune let out in a low unhappy tone. "That's great…"

And so Jaune walked off, not sparring another word. Pyrrha merely looked on with concern, but suddenly an idea popped into her head, giving her a smile of hope.

She just hoped Jaune would cooperate.


THAT NIGHT

Thankfully Pyrrha did get Jaune to cooperate.

After classes were done of the day and the sun had set, the red head had brought the team leader to the roof of the dorm buildings telling him she had an idea to help make everything better. Jaune…took it the wrong way as he walked up to the edge and looked down. "Pyrrha I know I'm going through a tough time but I'm not that depressed," He said with a rather blank tone. "I could always be a farmer or something,"

Eyes widening in horror Pyrrha was quick to pull him away. "N-No! That's not why I brought you up here!" She quickly told him to try and get that idea out of his head. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so…I wanna help you!"

"…What?" She was offering to help him. Another person that thought he needed help.

"We can train up here!" Pyrrha explained to him with a small smile. "No one will be able to bother us."

"You think I need help?" Jaune asked in a rather low and saddened tone.

"N-No!" Pyrrha could see how Jaune was taking this and tried to phrase it differently. "That's not what I meant."

"But you just said it," Jaune pointed out.

"Jaune…everybody needs a little push from time to time," Pyrrha told him gently, trying to tell him there was nothing wrong with her or anyone else helping him. "It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon, that speaks volumes of what you're capable of."

Jaune took a deep breath as he turned his back towards Pyrrha. "You're wrong…" Jaune knew he didn't have the right to say something like that, and in his sadness he ended up revealing the truth to Pyrrha. "I-I don't belong here…"

"That's a terrible thing to say," Pyrrha frowned a bit as Jaune belittled himself. "Of course you do."

"No I don't!" He snapped as he turned towards her, making her take a step back. "…I…I wasn't really accepted into Beacon. I failed my final exam in combat school…"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked slowly, wanting to make sure she got the full story with this.

"I said I failed ok! I didn't graduate! I didn't pass my test!" Jaune explained, letting out everything he kept a secret to her. "I lied! After I failed I passed by the office, the door was open, and no one was inside. I saw the transcripts on the desk, found mine, and I marked myself as passing."

"But…why…" Pyrrha couldn't understand why Jaune would do something like that. That was a serious offense and could get him in big trouble if anyone found out.

"Because this is what I've always wanted to me! Since me and Izuku were kids!" Jaune told her his reasons even though he knew they weren't justifiable. "My father, my grandfather, and his grandfather, they were all heroes! And I wanted to be one too, a hero like them, a hero like All Might…but I just wasn't good enough…"

"Does…Izuku know about this…" Pyrrha asked with a concerned look.

"Of course he doesn't! I didn't tell him! I can't tell him!" Jaune didn't even want to think about that possibility. "If he found out I lied to him about passing…he'd hate me…..wouldn't surprise me if he figured it out though…he's so smart, I'm nowhere near his level…or anyone's level…"

"Then let me help you," Pyrrha tried to put a supportive hand on his shoulder but Jaune quickly jerked away from it.

"I don't want help!" Jaune snapped again, refusing to accept help from just about anyone. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I wanna be the hero!"

"Jaune…I-" But Pyrrha wasn't able to get her words across.

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand!" Jaune took a couple of deep breaths after his rant and looked down. "If I can't do that on my own…then what good am I?" After a few moments of silence, Pyrrha tried once more to reach out of for Jaune but he simply pulled himself away. "Just…leave me alone. Ok?"

Pyrrha lowered her head and held one of her arms, feeling quite hurt. "If…that's what you think is best…" And so she walked away, if Jaune didn't want her help than there was nothing she could do to change that.

And so Jaune was left there all alone…or so he thought.

"Hehehe, oh Jaune," A familiar voice spoke up that made Jaune's blood run cold. Cardin. What the two didn't know was that his teams room was right below where they were, and with the window wide open Cardin had heard everything.

"C-Cardin…" Jaune stuttered as the bully climbed up onto the roof with him.

"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room." Jaune's eyes widen in horror. Cardin, of all people, had to learn his secret. "So, you snuck into beacon huh? I gotta say Jaune I never expected you to be such a rebel."

"Please Cardin, please!" Jaune pleaded with everything he had to have Cardin not squeal about this to the faculty or anyone else. "Don't tell anyone."

"Jaune, come on," Cardin spoke way to casual as he walked towards Jaune. "I'd never rat out a friend like that."

"A…A friend?" Jaune stuttered, nervous sweat going down his head.

"Of course!" Cardin then wrapped Jaune in a one-armed choke hold, holding the blond boy rather close as the bully looked down at him. "We're friends now Jauney boy, and the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you we're going to be friends for a long time." Cardin then finally let go of Jaune, the golden blond boy falling on his hands and knees as he took in some much-needed air. "That being said, I don't really have the time to do the extra readings Doctor Oobleck gave us yesterday, think you could take care of that for me buddy?"

"…" Jaune was silent, but merely nodded his head knowing there was no way out of this.

"That's what I thought," Cardin gave a cruel grin as he began to climb back into his room. "Don't worry Jaune, your secret is safe with me."

And Jaune was once again left alone. No one to help him, and his tormentor now having him in the palm of his hand.


And there we go!

Now first off all, while in the original RWBY Academia story I was planning on Izuku having a relationship with Velvet along with Weiss, but here not so much. Just gonna be Izuku x Weiss. However, that's not to say Izuku's not gonna get plenty of interactions with her. In fact I got a plan for team CVFY thought up that's gonna happen this volume so expect them to show up eventually. Especially Coco and Velvet, really like those two.

Now then, as for Jaune. Why isn't he stronger than in canon? He's friends with Izuku so he should be better right? He went to combat school so he should be better right?

Well when you REALLY think about it, not so much.

You see there is a distinct difference between Izuku and Jaune. The effort they put into their goals.

Izuku is someone who puts everything into what he wants to do. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra. He's willing to break himself down to get stronger, like when he cleaned up that beach in canon. I highly doubt any normal person would do something like that, but Izuku was willing to. He was willing to do all that manual labor to try and get stronger, breaking his body over and over again throughout the beginning of MHA to try and get a handle of One for All the amount of effort he's willing to put in is just insane.

Jaune...does not come close to putting in that much effort into something.

Unless you put in EVERYTHING and more into something you won't get better or improve, and Jaune wasn't willing to do that at first.

Look at things this way that my friend Petrus said while we were talking about this. Soap has been around for a long time, why aren't more people cleaner? Because they don't put in the effort to clean themselves that much so there are still dirty people.

And also Izuku is another reason for this. Izuku has always been better than Jaune, and because of that Jaune felt intimidated by him, and grew envious. Whenever Izuku wanted to help, Jaune brushed it off.

Jaune became a victim of pride. He wanted to prove he could do things on his own without anyones help, but at the same time that provides the problem of you getting frustrated of not making the same progress and losing motivation.

That's why Jaune isn't stronger, because he simply isn't willing to put in the effort, willing to break himself and go beyond like Izuku is.

I hope that cleared some things up for people.

Now then, I hope you liked the chapter and remember to fav, follow, leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter...

"Distrust"

P.S. sorry Monkey D. Conan but I am a big Arkos shipper and that ship is happening here.