(Cover made by my dear friend MPTARTS. mptarts on Instagram)
(A/N)
: Technically? I mean if the glove fits. Isekai is like an umbrella term so I didn't think much of it
Spenge: Indeed my good sir. this is indubitably ballin
Harmgee: That's good :D
Guest: I'm happy you like the idea!
(Jaune)
"Guys, I'm sure Cardin isn't bullying me... he just... doesn't like to hold back" Jaune chuckled nervously as both his own team and team RWBY were staring at him intensely. Even Weiss who usually couldn't give more than a glance was looking at him like he had grown a second head.
"You always seem panicked when you get the message on your scroll."
"You've been limping."
"You had a black eye."
"You had multiple bruises."
"I'm going to break his legs."
The girls of both team listed off in perfect order. Jaune glanced at Ren. Hoping his brother from another mother would be able to help but Ren just sheepishly looked away from his gaze. Jaune winced as he prayed for Cardin's well-being. Cardin was strong... But against team RWBY and Pyrrha AND Nora? The chances of him surviving didn't seem high.
"Oh speak of the devil. It's him" Ruby grumbled out as they watched Cardin stroll into the mess hall. Heavy bags over his shoulder and Heavy bags under his eyes as well. It seem the late night session was affecting him too, Jaune hesitated before calling out to Cardin, "HEY CARDIN OVER HERE"
(Cardin)
"HEY CARDIN OVER HERE"
Your friend is calling for you
"I know, Shut up" Cardin muttered to the system as he stifled an yawn. His feet shifting towards Jaune like a zombie. His body felt like he was carrying bags of lead. His head was trying to become a drum at a mistral festival and he could barely form a coherent thought. It wasn't long before he reached Jaune, "What is it Arc?"
His eyes slowly shifted to each member of team RWBY and JNPR. The only one there that was giving him a grin was Jaune and Nora. And Nora's grin seemed a lot more of one promising vengeance and pain.
"Just wanted to introduce you to my team and friends. haha, you know..." Jaune trailed off. His nervous laughter not helping in the slightest as Cardin processed the words, Slowly going over the words one by one as he tried to use his burnt-out braincells to decipher what the blonde had just said.
Jaune Arc: Intimidated
Cardin blinked at the message before realizing that he had been staring at Jaune for quite a while with an less than pleasant expression. He sighed and sat down with Jaune shifting over to create space, much to the annoyance and disagreement of Pyrrha and Nora.
"Sorry, The sessions we are having are burning me out." Cardin muttered as he stared at the chicken parmesan on his plate, He grabbed a fork and stabbed a piece of the chicken before slowly maneuvering it to his mouth and chewing it, "I think you are good enough to hold your own."
Yeah that's a lie and a half. I am just absolutely fucking exhausted Cardin thought to himself as he mentally pulled up the tasks. His mind coming to a screeching halt when he saw there was an brand new task.
QUESTS:
{Vow of Winchester}(Incomplete)
QUEST UPDATE:
{Kael: Strength and Courage}(Incomplete)
"Cardin?" Jaune waved his hands in front of Cardin who turned to Jaune in confusion.
"Yeah?"
"You were blanking out. Are you ok?"
"Peachy Arc, I'm just peachy"
Jesus Christ , You are SO boring exhausted
/:OpenCommand:/
/Cardin.exhaustion()=false;
/:Implement:/
/:CloseCommand:/
As if like magic. The exhaustion of the previous nights washed away and Cardin felt great. it was almost like he fell into a coma for days and had just woken up, His body felt light and his mind was going at a thousand miles per hour.
"I think all I needed was some food in my system" Cardin said as Jaune glanced at him weirdly. The change in personality wasn't going to go amiss by the group it seem. Eager to change the subject, Cardin cleared his throat, "So what were we talking about?"
"Oh just your fight with the Kael brothers" Yang mentioned offhandedly, Cardin's brows rose as he took another bite of his food, The Kael brothers haven't done anything to him or his team yet but Cardin knew there was something going on.
"What about it?" Cardin asked coolly, Keeping his calm as he kept his anxiety and curiosity under the rug. There's a rumor that Yang Xiao-long could smell desperation from miles away and Cardin was sitting in front of her face. He rather not be pressured into blurting something out that could ruin his entire plan... Even if said plan didn't exist.
"Well you sure put those pricks into their place. I'm so glad you aren't a racist and a bully" Yang said happily and slurped on her noodles, None of them noticing the way Cardin tensed up before he forced his muscles to relax. None of them knew his true background. Not yet at least and he will-.
"I was one a long time " His voice said but his mouth never moved. His eyes widening as he felt the same pull that he felt from the system. It had forced him to confess his sins. God damn it
Guilty as Charged your honor~
"W-what? but you... defended Velvet?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head in confusion and Cardin sighed. he had a choice here, A choice to lie and make up stories that would save him from the judgement or tell the truth and own up to his mistakes. And Cardin Winchester was no bitch.
"I did. I am trying to change, I've..." Cardin took a deep breath, His heart pounding away at his chest. It was no easy thing to admit that you've brought harm upon dozen perhaps hundreds of people. But he had to confess, "I've hurt others. Faunus mainly, There no justification for what I've done but I'm trying to make up for it"
Cardin said as he waited. His gaze matching the stared of the table. His eyes never wavering or backing down as he met each and every single pair of eyes sitting at that table. Ice Blue, Silver, Lilac, Amber, Turquoise, Magenta, Emerald, and Sapphire
"Why?" Was the only question that was asked, And it was by the most unlikely... or likely source in this case: Blake Belladonna. This hidden Faunus amongst RWBY.
"Well. What do you know of the two royal families of Vale?" Cardin started off. The history of the Winchester, once an source of comfort and pride for him. turned out to be an utter lie and degusting filth just waiting to be discovered.
"Not much, I'll be honest. But what does that have to do with this?" Blake asked stoically. Her voice never betraying her emotions as her amber-colored eyes stared intensely at his face, Scanning for any hint of dishonesty.
"The Winchester family was once part of Fourteen noble families, Titled the Noble Fourteen. We were the Knights of Vale. Protector of Humanity and the ones that everyone looked upon to save them before dust and Aura was discovered" Cardin explained. relaying the words exactly as he recounted. The information up to this part was, in the very least, true.
"Those fourteen quickly dwindled to two. Winchester," -He pointed at himself before turning to Jaune-" And Arc. The Arc have a more glamourous history than ours, being the first and the oldest family to have served the kings of Vale. But that wasn't the only reason Arcs were preferred over Winchesters"
His explanation seemed to have hooked the tables attention as even Nora was listening in without fidgeting or being bored. Her eyes were focused on one thing and one thing only. Him. So he continued.
"We Winchester may shout all about pride and equality and all that shit. But at the end of the day. We came from a lineage of bloody racists" Cardin growled out. His face taking on the Winchester sneer once again and his anger towards his own surname began to grow
"My Great Grandfather, Joshua Winchester. Enslaved over a thousand Faunus and worked them to their bones. My Grandfather Adolfen Winchester. Slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Faunus soldiers, man, woman, and, child under the guise of war, My father..." Cardin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, He was about to reveal a piece of information that could collapse the Winchester family, Cardin sighed before continuing. it isn't like I'm proud to be an Winchester
"...Have Faunus sex workers and treats them like sex toys, Bound to contracts they can't break away from. Hence the insult Kael given me during that day" Cardin explained and he could hear and see the wave of disgust that hit the table but Blake wasn't unfazed. Of course, what else is new?
ME BITCH, DON'T FORGET ME!
"What does that have to do with you though?" Blake asked curiously as Weiss nodded in agreement, Cardin was barely able to hide a snort of amusement before Weiss spoke up, "You are your own person. your family doesn't define you."
"Yeah but their prejudice will" Cardin sighed as he leaned back, His mind sifting through all the memories of his father telling him about the greatness and glory of the Winchester, how they were "Better than those filthy animals and should put them in their place" and how his foolish self had believed it.
"I was young. My father told me the exploits of my ancestors yet none of their flaws. I grew up believing that if I just did what he said.. I would be a hero too" Cardin said softly as the group's eyes lit up in recognition before it quickly turned to horror.
"No..."
"He told me we were better. So I believed we were better. He told me that we were only to protect humanity, But only humans, So I ignored my Faunus friends... Then he told me we needed to eradicate every single Faunus from the earth because they were freaks... I, as a innocent child, asked why" Cardin recalled, The beating that he endured. The anger that he felt and the satisfaction at lashing at others weaker than him. He really was an coward... A worse one than Jaune who had the bravery to face his fears.
"He beat me until I couldn't see, couldn't breath or stand up. Then he made sure to engrain one lesson into my head, Faunus are freaks. Humans are the superior race" Cardin drawled out before barking out a harsh laugh that surprised the group, "what a load of bull that was"
"I lashed out. I was angry, I was miserable, I was powerless. Then I saw someone worse off and wouldn't you know it. A Faunus" Cardin said, His childhood flashing before eyes as he retraced every step he took down the dark path. Every mistake that he had made and every life that he had hurt
"Of course, I still wanted to be the heroes in the fairytales so I didn't kill them like my father told me... But lashing out and feeling powerful it just... I..." Cardin choked up as he tried to continue. It was time that Cardin finally realized just how messed up his life truly was. But what could he do about it
"Ahem, Sorry. But I was power-hungry to the point I listened to my father's advice and put the Faunus 'in their place'" Cardin air quoted as he rolled his eyes, His explanation done. He could only hope that the table would understand and let him make up for his mistakes.
"What got you out of it?" Pyrrha asked softly. Cardin's eyes landed on her curious expression and he sucked in a breath. Technically he hadn't until Jaune had beat his ass and Pyrrha died for them to live. He would be forced to lie here. Or would he?
"An exceptional Faunus huntress with rabbit ears. She saved my life and taught me what I should have learned as a child" Cardin said. his lips twisting unconsciously into a smile as he remembered how team CVFY had saved his hind at the battle of beacon and how Velvet protected him then before eventually forgiving and befriending him after everything he had put her through and how she educated him on what was essentially simple empathy and logic.
Telling the (Partial) Truth(COMPLETE)
Rewards: Trust of team RWBY, Trust of team JNPR. Increased trust with Blake Belladonna, Increased closeness with Weiss Schnee
Consequences: Blackmail by Kael
Cardin's eyes narrowed at the consequences and he spun around to see the two Kael brothers sitting there with their Scrolls out. Even if Cardin destroyed one. The other can just flee with everything Cardin had just confessed. He wasn't too worried but it would mean an end to his Beacon career and an easy way to save everybody from the grimm invasion and White Fang
"Magni, Modi" Yang growled out as her eyes turned red at the sight of the two brothers. Magni shooting her a wink and mimicking a slapping motion causing Yang's hair to combust into flames before Modi stepped in.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A sob story from big ol' Winchester?" Modi mocked as Cardin clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath and relaxing his posture.
"What do you want?" Cardin growled out as Modi began to speak.
QUEST UPDATED(ENFORCED):
{Kael: Strength and Courage} Updated into {Duel of Kael: Test of Strength and Courage}
Mandatory Quest.
Failure will result in the death of one of the following Characters:
Blake Belladonna
Cardin Winchester
Jaune Arc
Lie Ren
Nora Valkyrie
Ruby Rose
Weiss Schnee
Yang Xiao-long
"Just a little 2v1 duel. With a little Wager shall we?" Modi posed as a question but there was no way of backing down. Not with the consequence of this mandatory quest and the Winchester's tiny bit of honor in Modi's hands.
"Fine. I accept the duel." Cardin growled out. His voice mixing perfectly with the words that the system forced out of him and he watched as the ugly expression on Magni and Modi's face twist in delight.
"Good, it shall be unofficial with one of these... fine ladies as referee-", the girls all visibly recoiled at the slimy way the word fine slithered out of Magni's mouth, "Winner takes all. Losers forfeit everything. Their will, Their humility, and their name."
"If we win. We get to tell you whatever the fuck we want. If you win... Well... We just won't post this on the internet" Modi continued. Both of them showing the recording of Cardin exposing his own family. Their disgusting and rotten core finally being bared to the world. Cardin sighed and agreed to the conditions.
"Then I shall see you in a week before the Vytal festival Winchester"
...Uh-oh
Uh-oh indeed!
2,556 words
I haven't slept in two days lol
Not sure when next chapter will be but rest assured. This is all going according to plan, This is just the start of it all
Comments and criticism welcome!