Disclaimer:
The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Oum Damn It!
Date Published: 7th January 2019
Chapter Title: Lessons Aftermath
~~ Scene 1 ~~
The sounds of the elevator arriving to the hospital wing pinged in the corridor as the doors opened and Ozpin made his way to the intensive care block where one Cardin Winchester was supposed to be warded in. Huntsmen were not often patients due to their Aura blocking the attacks and at the most heal their wounds, but every so often someone would either get cocky or careless to depend on their Aura too much and end up getting injured once it runs out. The hospital wing was more half the entire block of the campus dedicated for those people and they would get split into four different areas for varying levels of severity. Using Jaune Arc's injuries as an example, he would be in the medium level because of him overexerting his Aura, broken bones and blood loss. It was honestly quite surprising that Jaune was able to recover in roughly four hours but that could be attributed to his large reserves of Aura.
As for Cardin Winchester...
"Glynda." He called out to his headmistress who was seated outside the door that led to the highest level of intensive care. "How is Mister Winchester?" The woman sighed heavily as she got off the chair and faced him.
"Mister Winchester was taken off the critical list roughly five minutes ago. The medics got to him on time thankfully." Glynda shook her head as she started to recount the report. "His most serious injury would be the amputation of both his arms right at the joints of his elbows. The doctors believed that they can stitch his arms back but they warned that his motor actions would be reduced and there is a chance his right arm may not be feasible. His next major injury is the deep slash across his chest. The only reason Mister Winchester was not bisected was due to his armor and the mace, but that was still too close as a few of his broken ribs had to be removed to make way for his lungs that got lightly pierced by them. His heart is also bruised heavily so they have to open the rib-cage to give it some space to pump the blood properly." Glynda let out another sigh before continuing. "There is also the serious issue of blood loss as his wounds are not healing fast enough, mostly due to his Aura levels drained completely. Until he can replenish them the doctors are keeping him sedated. This could take three weeks to a little more than a month depending on his rate of aura recovery."
"Sadly he was not blessed with an abundance of Aura. His recovery is going to be very stagnant to say the least." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "You said that it was mostly the lack of aura that was hindering the recovery. What else was there?"
"There is an added complication to his recovery. The doctors are still checking but it would seem that Mister Winchester also suffered some type of nerve damage." Glynda had an odd expression as she gave the report to Ozpin. "The best the doctors can describe it is his nerves were cut cleanly. From the inside out." Ozpin did a double-take at that and looked to her briefly before turning his attention to the report before him. The more he read the more he had a harder time understanding the damage described and the implications behind it.
"Nerves within his arms and legs have been cut to the point that rivals the pin-point precision of Atlas lasers." Ozpin looked up to Glyndia at this point, "Are they serious?"
"That's what I asked." Glynda nodded her head. "In any case, something about those cuts made it harder for the body to repair, it is as though something is impeding the Aura from healing them."
"Looks like Mister Winchester is going to be here a lot longer, and that means Team CRDL will be out of commission for some time." Ozpin sighed heavily.
"That may be a long time and I am actually a little thankful if reluctant about it. I understand his wounds are severe, but I can't help thinking that this is karma on Mister Winchester's behavior. He has been harassing multiple students, making racist remarks at all the faunus in the campus, repeated lateness and ignorance for his lessons. And that is not considering the latest stunt he pulled at my lesson." Glynda growled at this point. "Now I might understand that 'talking trash' is a method of distracting your opponent, but the type of things he said about Miss Nikos and what he planned to do to her was downright abysmal. If he was even considering any of it..."
"I am sure that he did not mean any of it other than a tactic to make Mister Arc angry, a tactic I would say that worked a little too well to his detriment." Ozpin remarked. "Mister Winchester might have attitude issues but he is not a bad person."
"Plenty of people we know to be good in the beginning have turned bad." Glynda frowned as memories of her old co-workers and students becoming criminals filled her mind. "But that is the least of his problems right now."
"Oh?"
"As I have stated, I might understand the trash talking, but the stunt he pulled after that was not acceptable! He dared to attack someone in the back after the fight, one who has his aura lowered from the fight. Now before you go on about this happening in real life, I understand that. But I do not appreciate his attitude and pride issues, he has dared to attack Mister Arc in the back despite him giving him one last chance, all in plain view of the other students who have been witnesses to the cafeteria argument and a few other fights." She continued her rant while unconsciously making some of the items around her tremble from her Semblance going loose. "There are already several videos going around the servers on the fight, and I have students coming forward to tell me about his harassment on them in places that we could not catch him, and the 'speech' he gave about Miss Nikos."
Ozpin winced about the video portion. Some of the videos were taken by students who had been recording the cafeteria argument and later the fight at Glynda's lesson. Within the hour, pretty much everyone in the campus and a few outside would have seen the footage. He was not going to look forward to the response he would get from the press or the father when he found out about it.
Even without it, many of the students had heard what Cardin had said and planned about Pyrrha Nikos, and had told their friends about it. One had to be suicidal to declare such actions towards a young woman who had a fan-base following that spanned almost the entire Remnant, let alone Beacon itself. It was with some admitted reluctance on his part that Ozpin let the three members of CRDL hide out in one of the empty classrooms near his tower so that he could keep an eye out for them without the possibility of getting lynched.
"How about Mister Arc, what is his status?" Ozpin decided to think of the other person involved with the situation.
"He is currently in a separate room with a warm drink and no weapons or sharp objects around him with a camera keeping an eye on him. He is in deep shock and I am hoping that you could try to talk to him later." Glynda sighed as she pushed her glasses up with her finger. "He is not properly responding to my words and has been staring at his hands or his reflection for some time now." Ozpin winced again at that bit of information. He was centuries old and had seen many things in his life, but the thoughts of an innocent soul like Jaune Arc have to spill the blood of another was something that could still affect him at times, doubly so as the young man clearly was not ready for it.
None of the new huntsmen were ready for such a thing, you normally get those from the fourth-years or seasoned huntsmen like Qrow or Ironwood.
"Very well, I shall visit him momentarily." Ozpin took a moment to consider what to say to the young man. "Though we would probably send him back to his room soon."
"Please do so. His team and Ruby Rose were clamoring earlier to see him." Glynda gave the first smile since this conversation. "Miss Nikos was rather insistent that I let her in or she would get physical with me."
"Oh dear." That was the only thing Ozpin could answer with.
"Indeed. I had to be very firm in my words to tell her that she would only see him after we processed him and get his testimony on the situation." Glynda chuckled at this point. "Miss Valkyrie was only curtailed from such an action with help from Mr Lie. Miss Rose on the other hand was perhaps the most persuasive of the lot by giving me that dreaded puppy dog eyes."
"That is a good idea. Shame it did not work on you that much." Ozpin looked at his watch and sighed. "Time to meet with Mister Arc for his side of the story. Honestly we had to do this even when the evidence is clear."
"The board has already been notified so we need the proof, and considering a certain politician is following it to check on Mister Winchester on occasions..." Glynda remarked much to Ozpin's consternation.
"Yeah… I am so not looking forward to that meeting." Ozpin placed two fingers to his nose and rubbed it hard.
"Ozpin, I am worried for Mister Arc." Glynda admitted as she removed her glasses. "Our short time together during those lessons have given me an insight to the type of person he is. He is able to understand some hardships, but he is kind and naive of the world to a fault much like Miss Rose. I have seen his reaction during that lesson, he is not yet ready for the harshness."
"On that, I agree. None of them except Miss Belladonna perhaps." Ozpin nodded solemnly. "Once we get out of this mess, can you supervise his training alongside Peter?"
"Peter?" Glynda looked to him like he grew an extra head.
"Peter seemed to have taken a liking to the young man, stating he is the first one to see past his storytelling to get the facts and the first one to understand that the way of huntsmen is not all fame and fortune. I get the feeling he can help knock him out of his funk."
"I can only hope for that." Glynda nodded her agreement to which Ozpin started to make his way back to the elevator with his thoughts now on a certain blond-haired boy.
Time to meet the young Arc and hopefully get him out of this mess.
~~ Scene 2 ~~
(5 minutes ago)
There was absolute silence in the room as Jaune lightly clasped the cup, its contents having gone cold an hour ago. He was not feeling any urge to drink, eat or do anything for that matter. He could not shake the sinking feeling in his stomach nor the vision of the blood on his hands out of his mind. The memory of a screaming Winchester holding up both of his arms missing their hands and later getting moved to the infirmary with the missing appendages following suit kept replaying before his eyes.
'It was all my fault, I did that...'
He had been replaying the fight in his mind for the duration he had been in the room, but no matter how he tried to envision it being done differently, it all seemed to come to the same scene where Cardin would have his arms sliced off cleanly. He was in so much shock that he did not realize that Professor Goodwitch had gently removed the weapon from his hands and guided him to this room until she placed the warm cup for him to drink and to focus on.
Not that it would help with the guilt.
There was one other issue he had to address himself, the odd visions and the resulting rage he felt at times. He was right about them interfering but this was beyond that. He was actually losing himself to those visions and he had a fear that he might lose himself completely to them.
Granted that fear came from movies, but the general idea stuck, for all he knew, he was one step away from getting a mask on his face and laughing like a mad man while his original self would be sealed away with some twisted reasoning that instincts was the deciding factor for a king and his horse.
Heck, if he looked at the mirror that was opposite of him, he would swear that he could see the soldier from his visions standing close by with his arms crossed and an expression that was half-resigned to the impending decision...
The sound of the door opening dragged his eyes to Ozpin who had just entered, with his cane in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. Come to think of it, Ozpin always had some mug with hot liquid in it, occasionally hot chocolate but more often caffeine.
"Well Mister Arc, this is quite a pickle." Ozpin pulled back the chair and sat on it slowly, lightly putting the mug next to him and interlocking his fingers as he kept his gaze on Jaune.
"How is Cardin?" Jaune asked immediately.
"Mister Winchester is safe though in need of rest for a few weeks at least. His aura reserves are not high to begin with, so it will take longer for his recovery but he will definitely be back on his feet in no time." The headmaster answered while maintaining his gaze.
"I see, that's good." Jaune sighed heavily before looking at Ozpin with a sad expression. "I guess I need to start packing my bags?"
"Oh, why do you think that?" Ozpin smiled at the expression on Jaune's face.
"But I hurt Cardin badly! He could have died!" Jaune unwittingly slammed his hands onto the desk hard enough to disturb both mugs, his spilling its contents while Ozpin's remained still. "Should I not be expelled for that?!"
"Yes, he could have died, but he still lived." Ozpin took a sip of his drink. "Partly because you held back at the last second, otherwise we would be having a very different conversation all together."
"As for the matter of expulsion on your attack, you forget that what you did was a form of self-defense. Mister Winchester did attack you in the back after the match was over, in full view of the other students with knowledge that your own Aura levels were down. Had he managed to connect his attack to your head, you would be the one in the hospital wing and he would be having your seat in this room."
"Oh..." Jaune could only say that lamely.
"That said, this does bring up a predicament for me." Ozpin brought his anxiety to new levels. "It is self-defense, but it does not change the fact that you had attacked him rather viciously even with him goading you with those disrespectful words towards Miss Nikos. There is also the matter of your argument with him at the cafeteria."
"I know." Jaune nodded heavily. "It is just… I suppose you know about the bullying he does."
"Indeed. Miss Scarlatina, the few Faunus students, some of the others in your group and yourself included."
"This might sound stupid, but we have so much issues with Remnant these days, what with the tensions between kingdoms, the crime rates going up, the White Fang and of course the Grimm." Jaune ruffled his hair in frustration, "seeing Cardin pulling that girl's ears just made me think that his behavior is one of those reasons that we have these issues."
"And?" Ozpin gently prompted seeing the look in his eyes.
"… Someone I witnessed in the past got violently attacked by a group of guys," Jaune tried to explain his motivations without giving away the bit on his visions. "The rabbit Faunus reminds me a lot of that woman in appearance and distress."
"Hmm..." Ozpin hummed as he leaned back in his chair.
"Then during that lesson, Cardin's words just reminded me again of that woman and at the same time, I could not help thinking that this guy could go after my sisters." Jaune shook his head. "I know it sounds like an excuse, but that guy just made me feel so mad with his words towards Pyrrha and his manhandling of the girl that I snapped."
"I understand." Ozpin took another sip. "And now let me tell you what I think." Jaune unconsciously straightened his back at the tone of Ozpin's voice.
"Remember what I told you in the hospital? Out of all the students who enrolled this year, I see you as one with the most potential being wasted on the outside. You have improved greatly based on Glynda's input, that much is evident. But your inexperience is certainly showing now." Ozpin spoke as he kept a calm voice. "You are only just starting to come out of your shell, and your potential is beginning to peek out. With that you need to practice more on your control and your emotions. Aura is mysterious in many ways, one of which is that it is heavily influenced by and can influence your emotions. There are some studies that suggest that any emotions felt during the first release of Aura would influence the control." He paused to look at Jaune in the eye. "Tell me, when you had your Aura unlocked by Miss Nikos, what were the emotions you felt?"
"… Joy… Warmth... Mystery… Contentment" Jaune started to list the emotions he felt only to pause at one that made his stomach hurt a little. "Frustration..."
"Why do you feel the last one?"
"Frustration at my parents." Jaune clasped his hands tightly. "Frustration at all those huntsmen in the town. All of them knew about Aura, knew about my desire to become a huntsman, yet they did not do zit!" He slammed his fists on the table as he thought back to the town where it seemed only his sisters were his supporters.
"What of your trainers? They did not teach you about or unlock your Aura."
"True, but the thing is they did give some reasons for it." Jaune answered "My grandfather and uncle are very old-school, while they did not say Aura specifically they did say that there are some things I can only know once I got to Beacon. Sis also taught me about the supposed power I would get here and that I should not rely on it too much. And of course, the three of them were the only ones who actually gave me some form of training."
"Hmm..." Ozpin had to hand it to Jaune's family / trainers, they knew what to teach Jaune and what not to do. One of the biggest issues he faced in these few centuries was huntsmen being too reliant on Aura, once it went out they go down quickly. This was also something he decided to bring Jaune in since the young man did not have any Aura to begin with, he had to know how to avoid attacks better than the others.
"So you think that my emotions are messing with my Aura?" Jaune's question knocked him out of his retrospection.
"Partially, that might explain why when you are normally using Crocea Mors, your Aura color is white but when you are using Crimson Blitz it turns a shade of red." Ozpin observed Jaune's expression and Aura as he spoke. From the manner he was thinking, it was clear the young man had yet to discover the cause of it yet.
Might want to keep it that way.
"Mister Arc, time is running short so allow me to speed things up." Ozpin spoke out. "You are certainly not getting expelled from the academy. The way I see it, you are in dire need of training and focus. You have taken the first few steps to unlocking your potential but you are woefully unprepared for it. So as part of your punishment, you will be doubling on your lessons with Glynda. She will be emphasizing on your aura controls so that you don't lose control."
"Your other part of the punishment would be to serve detention and counseling with Professor Peter Port."
"Professor Port?" Jaune blinked in confusion.
"The experience you just had is not something to be trifled with." Ozpin looked at Jaune in the eye. "I will not lie to you, as you get higher on the totem pole, you will be forced to make decisions regarding your opponents that could be considered evil by other's standards. Taking lives is certainly something you are not prepared for. Despite his storytelling, Professor Port is good at battle counseling." Ozpin smiled at this point. "And from what I heard from him, you are the only one who understood the meaning of his stories."
"Oh..." Jaune scratched his head as he tried to process all of that.
"Aside from those, the most we can punish you with would be to make you write an essay on proper weapon handling and put you off the fighting rooster until the time is up. You won't be fighting much in the lessons. IF, and that is a big if, Glynda wants you to fight, it would be twice per week at best until the end of the punishment."
That Jaune could live with, he was still trying to get his footwork and sword skills up to speed. And with what had happened, he rather make sure that they were properly done.
"Well, I believe we are done with this." Ozpin got out of his chair with Jaune following suit. "I believe it is time for you to return to your dorm where your team and Team RWBY are awaiting news."
"I just hope that I won't be looked at like a freak or a murderer." Jaune bowed his head down.
"From your friends and teammates, I don't believe so. Majority of the students should be in the same boat." Ozpin paused as he looked at his reflection. "The remainder might think that way but I doubt they will say it to your face." Jaune nodded in reply and started to towards the door when Ozpin raised a finger.
"One more thing, and this is my condition for your punishment." Ozpin looked to Jaune in the eye, making the teen gulped unconsciously at the serious light in his eyes.
"For your lessons, I would prefer that you use only Crocea Mors as your weapons. From what I understand, you have skills with either the shield or the sword, not together. You need to work more on using your family's weapon as your primary." Ozpin raised a finger to stop his questions. "Crimson Blitz is a good weapon, that much I agree but the few times it has been used it is considerably more dangerous than most of the other students in your cohort, and I have been getting reports of people getting cut just by touching it alone. Coupled with your Aura issues that seems to sharpen its edge, it might be best to hold off on its usage."
Jaune could only agree to that bit. He had been meaning to train more with his family weapon, after all he did not want to keep losing the blade every time he sparred with it. And considering what just happened, it might take a while for him to consider picking up Crimson Blitz again. "I understand sir."
"Any other questions you wish to ask before returning?" Jaune was about to answer a negative when he paused to think about his situation, taking a glance at the mirror where he could still see that soldier. This was the headmaster of Beacon who had let him into his academy without much fuss, surely he had seen a lot of things in his life to get ideas about his issue.
"There is something, although it is not quite related." Ozpin merely stood patiently with his cane.
"Ever since I had my Aura unlocked, I have been getting these odd dreams. Visions or something" Jaune struggled to explain his situation without sounding like a madman, "it seems to be of the past."
"Oh?"
"I am not sure how to explain properly but they felt so real, like I was there experiencing it." Jaune frowned as he thought back about his visions. "Sometimes I see a quiet town, sometimes I get a battlefield. I am not sure why that is the case, but it has been going on and off for a while now." The teen turned to look at Ozpin with a slightly desperate expression. "Is this normal? Is there something wrong with me?"
"… It is uncommon, but not rare that a person could get visions or images of things when Aura is unlocked." Ozpin answered while giving Jaune a curious expression. "For some, they are related to their semblance like precognition or faster processing of the time. There are some who believe that the images might be information in the blood that is related to the past of long ago."
"So it could be nothing?" Jaune asked slightly hopeful.
"I think for your part it is a case of your heritage getting unlocked perhaps. There is not much study on this I am afraid." Ozpin answered. "But you should not need to worry of this, but if you would like, you could come over to my office to talk it over to ease your mind. Otherwise I could get your professors to help out."
"I might consider that." Jaune sighed as some of the tension got removed. "It is a little hard to tell anyone. I am not sure if I am going crazy."
"I have heard of this from the doctor about your visit yesterday, I thank you for trusting me enough to question in this matter." Ozpin remarked to Jaune. "I am willing to keep a secret on it, and from what I see, it could be stress on your part with all that had happened. But as I said, my door is open to you." Jaune nodded and proceeded to leave the room. If he had bothered to look back, he would wonder why Ozpin had a light frown on his face.
Time to get back to his team.
~~ Scene 3 ~~
Pyrrha was pacing back and forth in the room, looking at the door every odd turn in hopes of seeing Jaune entering the room through it. It has been 4 hours since the fight in Goodwitch's class and there was no word about Jaune. The rest of the evening was cancelled so they were now allowed to whatever was needed with a few asked for witness statements. She had tried to get to her partner but Professor Goodwitch had blocked her attempts and admittedly, the young spartan may have accidentally threatened the professor to let her see him. The professor however was firm in her words and told her in no uncertain terms that Jaune would return to the room shortly after they sorted out the mess.
Pyrrha did not not put much thought about Cardin Winchester since he was particularly detailed in his idea of 'correcting her behavior'. She was not normally a vindictive person, but the way she saw it, the brute had brought it upon himself by saying that, harassing and bullying the students, and attacking her partner in the back after a sanctioned fight. Besides, if her usual fan-base got word of it, Cardin was going to be lynched sooner or later, and this might be the first time she would welcome it.
"Pyrrha, you need to sit down for a while." Ren called out to her while he was seated on the bed cleaning out his weapons.
"It is now 4 hours, what could be taking them so long?" Pyrrha let out a growl of frustration as she paused in the middle of the room.
"They are probably trying to make sure all the facts are collected properly before giving out the verdict." Ren answered in a calm manner.
"What is there to collect?" Nora called out from her bed where she was listening to some music. She took off her headphones and looked to them "Cardin tried to attack Jaune-Jaune in the back and got wrecked for his troubles. Simple as that, and I hope it keeps him down for a long time."
"Nora!" Pyrrha admonished her for that line of thinking.
"Pyrrha, that jerk was saying mean things about you, kept bullying Jaune, and when Jaune beat him fair and square, that guy decided to give him a mace in the back of the head!" Nora answered back with a set jaw. "The way I see it, that guy deserves it."
"You get my vote on it." The three turned to find Team RWBY at the door with Yang having opened it and replying as they entered. "That guy needs to be taken down a few pegs to get the idea."
"While I would disagree with the method and the outcome of the issue, I do agree on the part that Winchester has gone too far with his actions." Weiss crossed her arms as she looked to the group. "His actions before today have shown that he has a great disregard for authority and revels in his perceived power as the leader of his team. With that stunt he pulled in Professor Goodwitch's class, he has just shown that he was vindictive and willing to attack someone under a perceived slight. Being seen as a 'backstabber' will not help him with his cohorts if not his own team."
"Especially with word passing from the others in the class and the videos being circulated in the servers." Yang added that bit of information.
"What videos?" Ruby looked to everyone having not heard about that.
"A few of the students from our year and above were recording the incident in the cafeteria." Blake answered her query. "Then they did the same for the lesson where Cardin was taunting Jaune and later attacked him in the back. They uploaded the videos to the servers and the last I checked, it has garnered quite a few views."
"Make that four thousand views and counting in Beacon alone." Nora held up her scroll with the video playing, "and it has reached the outside. This won't stay quiet for long."
"Indeed, and I do not fancy his team's chances with Team CFVY." Ren spoke. "I bumped into the man called Yatsuhashi, and I for one do not want to face off with him especially when he is angry at what happened to the rabbit Faunus."
"That is good and all but how long is Jaune going to be held?" Pyrrha asked with some frustration evident in her words. "I mean he did it in self-defense, and if Beacon is the same as Haven Academy, the most they can hold him to do witness statement and perhaps scheduling for a follow-up would be an hour. That should be clear right?"
"Depends on how the council wants to play this since Winchester would not be quiet about this." Weiss answered for them with Blake nodding.
"What can Cardin do about this? Why would his word mean anything to the council?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow. Weiss looked to her like she was asking a dumb question.
"Seriously, do you not know who his father is?" Seeing everyone shake their head except Blake who mentioned that she knew him a little made Weiss grumble lightly. "I might understand Nora, Ren and Pyrrha since they are from Mistral, but shouldn't you and Ruby have heard of him since you are from Vale? Even Blake knows a little about him."
"Dad and Uncle Qrow always tell us never to get involved with politics." Yang shrugged. "That and considering the number of choice words our uncle has for the council, it does not paint a good picture for us."
"… Okay, I might give you two some slack." Weiss sighed before raising a finger like a teacher giving a lesson. "Cardin's father is Beaufort Winchester the Third, a politician that recently entered the Vale Council about five years ago. He has not had a lot of appearances, but the few he does have is not pretty."
"He is a hardliner known for some of his more controversial work and law proposals." Blake added in at this point. "I have heard on the grapevine on my way to Beacon that he and Ozpin butted heads on many of the affairs conducted here such as the budget and the selection of students. He is one of the few who keep demanding to reduce the budget for huntsmen training on grounds that we won't need that many, and that also leads to 'better' selection of trainees." Blake seemed to growl as she emphasized on the word.
"What does he mean by that?" Ruby asked timidly.
"In his view, those to be inducted into huntsmen academies should be the type with money, connections, power, and above all, to be 'the best of humanity'." Blake answered flatly.
"In short not Faunus?" Blake nodded to Yang's query. "At least that explains where the jerk got his anti-Faunus attributes."
"Among others. I have heard that Beaufort has people on the academy board to try and get his own views into Beacon but it has been rejected. That might explain why Cardin has been getting away with a lot of the bullying and harassment." Blake added on.
"That is that, but the sad bit is he is getting some support from who dislike Ozpin for various reasons." Weiss continued on with her lecture. "If I remember correctly, the major issue that comes about is Ozpin's authority. Out of the four kingdoms, Beacon Academy is perhaps the most autonomous of the academies. Meaning Beacon is almost its own nation in its rights."
"They do not like Ozpin having that much power." Ren commented.
"Exactly, which is stupid in my opinion since the other headmasters have that level of power. General Ironwood is both the headmaster of the academy and the general of the Atlas Military, granting him two seats in the Atlas Council." Weiss remarked. "He has his own views but the council does not go behind his back all the time."
"Politicians." Pyrrha answered with a suffering tone. "They don't like those who have the power and the popularity to kick them out of their seats, especially if that someone cannot be bought over."
"In any case, because of this incident Beaufort will end up being notified by the professors about Cardin. There is a chance that Beaufort will try to drag Jaune's name into the mud if he could get a shot at Ozpin."
"If he does that, I will break his legs!" Nora declared while pulling out her hammer with a rather disturbing smile.
"Leave me his arms." Yang banged both her fists together with an equally disturbing expression. Ruby looked torn between wanting to help out and not getting involved.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Ren raised his arms to intervene. "We do not know what will happen at this point in time."
"Yeah." Ruby raised her arm and a finger in the air. "We should make sure that Jaune is protected from Cardin for now, we can worry about the big things later." That declaration brought out a few responses from the others in the form of Weiss grumbling at her simplicity, Blake shaking her head, Nora and Yang cheering, Ren looking resigned and Pyrrha feeling a little better that the others were looking out for Jaune.
The door opening drew their attention to Jaune who looked like he got thrown through the figurative blender, he looked so burnt out and his eyes were blood-shot.
"Jaune!" Much to Pyrrha's relief and private annoyance, Ruby rushed forward with her Semblance and ran circles around Jaune to check him at all angles as though she wanted to find injuries. "Are you okay? Do you need medicine or a cookie? Did they try to send you prison? Did they try to make you be a prison wolf?"
"RUBY?!" Everyone looked to her with wide eyes and jaws wide open. She only titled her head in confusion. "What?"
"Dare I ask where you heard that term?" In response to Weiss's query the youngest pointed to Yang who looked sheepish under the glares of the other teens.
"Why, what does it mean?" Ruby asked while looking to the others.
"Something you honestly should never have heard from anyone." Weiss answered while maintaining her glare at Yang. "Especially from an older sister who should know better."
"Ruby, just know that it is something very bad and you should really not say it." Blake took over while placing both hands on her shoulders and looking at her in the eye. "Preferably you will never have to use it ever."
"Is it worse than swearing words?" Ruby asked while looking concerned.
"Much worse, especially for Jaune's current situation." Blake decided to end it there and not drag Jaune's situation further. Even if she was getting odd vibes from Jaune at times, this was clearly not the time to get wary.
"Okay. Sorry Jaune." The little girl turned to her fellow team leader and apologized.
"It's fine Ruby." Jaune waved his hand. "It has just been a long day."
"So what happened?" Nora asked to which Jaune answered by telling them what happened with Cardin and what happened with his talk with Ozpin. They nodded at some portions and collectively winced at the bit where Peter Port was going to be his councilor.
"That is definitely the worse punishment ever." Yang commented at that point.
"Your sacrifice would not be forgotten, Jaune-Jaune." Nora gave a mock salute solemnly.
"Guys, he is really not that bad." Jaune tried to defend the old professor.
"Based on what I understand from your notes, you may be the only one who can understand his storytelling." Weiss commented with disbelief on her face.
"Still, at least you are not getting expelled or worse sent to jail." Ruby piped up.
"Yeah, the only thing I got to deal with now is being looked at like I will be ready to snap anytime for hurting Cardin." Jaune groaned at the thought.
"Even if he deserves it!" Nora added fiercely.
"Let's hope Cardin has learned his lesson." Yang paused before snorting. "Then again, it is doubtful."
"We should all keep an eye out for him, that way he won't try to take us out in surprise." Blake said aloud their thoughts.
"Well at least the day is over. We will talk more tomorrow." Ruby rushed forward to give Jaune a hug before running off. "Bye Jaune!" Yang snickered at her actions before leaving the room, waving her goodbyes. The other two of the team bid them farewell and closed the door behind them.
"Well that is done." Jaune went to clean himself off while the others started to clean up the room. It did not take long for Jaune to come out of the shower and headed to bed, crashing into it without much fanfare and immediately snoring softly.
"Poor Jaune, he must be exhausted." Pyrrha looked to her partner with concerned eyes.
"After the day he has, not surprising." Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we head off for an early breakfast tomorrow? If we get up before him we could get him some breakfast to eat in peace before the others start asking him question."
"Good idea Renny, we shall do so for Fearless Leader!" Nora said as she bounced on her bed. "Good night all!" With that she landed squarely on her pillow and instantly clocked out.
"I envy her ability to knock out so quickly." Pyrrha shook her head at that. Ren chuckled as he went to his bed to sleep. Pyrrha took a while to clean up before heading to bed, looking at Jaune one last time as the events of the day had finally caught up to her and she started drifting. It could be her exhaustion messing with her eyes, but she could swear that the figure from before was standing over Jaune looking at him with a sad expression, before looking to her and giving a nod as he faded away...
0-0-0-0
Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. First chapter of the new year as well!
Well that situation is tied up for now, but I doubt it would be that simple, we are talking Cardin after all. I wanted some form of damage to him, so I threw in his injuries. What do you guys think though, have Cardin expelled or worse in the next odd chapter?
To the reviewer who told me about Glynda's name, much thanks. My word processor keep correcting it for some reason...
As always, please R-&-R and let me know how this goes, and hopefully you stick around for me to bring out another chapter.
And I put my pen down for now.