Chapter 10: Jaunedice
One month later, the Amphitheatre, 18th April 18 BBY, 11:55 am…
Nathan knew Jaune was going to lose this fight, but Nathan could tell Jaune was going to give it his all.
His team leader was currently sparring with Cardin Winchester, the leader of Team CRDL, the other team in their year.
Cardin was a tall man at roughly two metres tall or just under, with burnt-orange hair that was combed backward with a slight peak at the front and indigo eyes. Silver-grey armour with gold trim covered his body. His breastplate sported a bird with its wings outstretched. Underneath the armour, he was a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red sash tied around his waist. Matching the rest of his armour was a pair of silver-gray armoured under the knee boots.
He was wielding a large black mace, with which he was currently beating Jaune with ease.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said to Jaune.
Nathan scowled and resisted the urge to jump out of his seat and join the fight. It was clear to him that Cardin was using his greater size and skill to toy with Jaune, who showed absolutely no skill whatsoever.
It wasn't long after that when Cardin beat Jaune back for the final time, ending the spar for good.
However, it seemed Cardin wasn't done there, raising his mace to deliver a final blow to Jaune.
Nathan rapidly rose from his seat and made to draw his lightsaber when a buzzer sounded and the lights came on.
"That's enough." Professor Goodwitch declared as she stepped between them before adding: "Students, as you can see, Mr Arc's aura has now dipped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match."
Nathan's eyes met those of Jaune, and his heart sank at the sheer defeat in Jaune's eyes.
He looked at Pyrrha, and they both shared a sympathetic look before eyeing Jaune.
"Mr Arc, it's been weeks now." Goodwitch said. "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 want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?"
"Speak for yourself." Cardin said cockily as he hefted his mace up.
Nathan then said: "Hey, maybe if you tried your hand against more skilled opponents, maybe you'll find there's more you need to work on, jackass."
"Please. I could beat your ass any day of the week." Cardin bragged arrogantly.
"You'd have better luck seducing Professor Goodwitch." Nathan replied, not caring that said professor was still in the room. "Seems older women are all assholes like you are going to get. Unless you count the sluts you jerk off to in porn magazines."
The class laughed, and Nathan even noticed Glynda crack a small smile at the joke, whilst Cardin looked ready to explode.
"Alright, that's enough." Goodwitch said firmly before addressing the class: "Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away."
Yeah, if you can call September a few months away, Nathan thought to himself.
Goodwitch continued, saying: "It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So keep practicing."
Nathan chuckled as he saw Ruby and Yang all smiling happily at the prospect of competing, and his eyes met Pyrrha's. "Sounds like something to look forward to." He muttered to her.
"Indeed." Pyrrha replied. "Will this be your first time attending the Vytal Festival in person?"
Nathan nodded. "Definitely looking forward to it."
Pyrrha smiled at that before Goodwitch added:
"Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." The professor said.
Nathan leaned in to Pyrrha and joked: "Guess we know who's winning that, huh?" Jabbing the four time Mistral champion in the side, making her giggle.
"We shall see." Pyrrha said, eyeing Nathan with a smile. The past month had seen them become good friends, even though Nathan had neglected to reveal that which he was keeping under wraps. But Pyrrha was confident Nathan would do so eventually. He hadn't struck her as one to go back on a promise.
The bell suddenly rung, indicating the end of the lesson.
Nathan headed over to Jaune and helped him up, saying: "Don't take this loss too hard, Jaune." Nathan said. "There's always the next fight to look towards."
Jaune sighed defeatedly and walked off, making Nathan frown.
His eyes met Pyrrha's, and he quickly joined her. "If only there was something we could do to help Jaune." Nathan said. "Plus knock that Cardin fucker down a peg or two."
"An opportunity will arise, Nathan." Pyrrha replied. "We just have to be patient and wait for that opportunity to present itself."
Nathan nodded and looked towards Jaune as he walked out. He hoped by the Force that he could help Jaune. He knew that he could.
Sometime later, Beacon dining hall, 12:30 pm…
"There we were… in the middle of the night."
"It was day." Ren corrected Nora.
"We were surrounded by Ursai…" Nora continued, as Yang looked on, enamoured, whilst Blake read a book.
Nathan couldn't help but suppress a smile as Ren once again corrected Nora, saying that they were actually Beowolves, only for Nora to shout that there were dozens of them.
He leaned in to Blake; whom he'd become good friends with in the past month and said: "How much of Nora's story do you think is just her imagination?"
"Quite a bit, actually." Blake replied. "But it makes for intriguing listening."
Nathan continued to listen in to Nora's narration, until his eyes fell on Jaune, who was aimlessly messing with his food, a defeated expression on his face.
Nathan sighed as he eyed his team leader. It was clear that Jaune had taken his latest loss pretty hard. And Nathan couldn't blame him. Anyone on a losing streak would be feeling the way Jaune did. Nathan had felt very similarly after he and his troops had suffered a string of defeats. Nathan could only hope that Jaune would soon break that streak.
"Jaune… are you okay?" Pyrrha suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Jaune said, before eyeing Pyrrha. "Oh, yeah. Why?"
"It's just that you seem a little… not okay." Ruby said.
"Yeah. What's the deal, Jaune?" Nathan asked.
"But guys, I'm fine." Jaune said, smiling. "Seriously, look!" At that, he gave the gang a big smile and a thumbs up.
Nathan wasn't buying it, saying: "You sure, Jaune? Because you're looking awfully-"
They all fell silent when they heard laughter behind them.
Nathan turned in the direction the laughter was coming from, as did everyone else, and scowled.
Team CRDL had surrounded a fellow student, a faunus with bunny ears, and were in the process of harassing her.
"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha pointed out.
"Who, Cardin Winchester?" Jaune asked.
"No, the other big guy who uses a big weapon to compensate for his lack of a big dick." Nathan said sarcastically. "Yes, Cardin."
"Ah, he just likes to mess around, you know?" Jaune said, waving his hand dismissively. "Practical jokes."
Ruby stared at Jaune hard, saying: "He's a bully."
"I'd say other things, but I'll save my breath." Nathan remarked. "For when it really matters."
"Oh please. Name one time he's bullied me." Jaune replied.
Nathan face palmed. "The time he knocked that important book out of your hands two weeks ago?" Nathan pointed out. "Or the time he switched your shield on, getting you stuck in a fucking doorway? Hell, how about the time he shoved your ass into a goddamn fucking locker and sent you sky high?"
By this point, the entire gang was staring at Jaune, not buying his denial one bit.
Jaune then said: "I didn't land far from the school." As if that was going to help his case.
"Jaune." Pyrrha said firmly. "You know if you ever need help, you can just ask."
Nora gasped, as if she had just had a brilliant idea, and stood up, clenching her fists. "We'll break his legs!" She suggested.
"Or we could tie the fucker up and drop him in a field with tonnes of Grimm, stomp his balls until they're non-existent, or expose him to chlorine gas and leave him coughing up blood and chunks of his own lungs." Nathan added, before nonchalantly sipping his coffee. When he finished, he noticed the whole gang now staring at him. Even Nora looked surprised at Nathan's suggestions. "What?" He asked.
"Those sound awesome!" Nora then shouted, pumping her fists into the air.
"Guys, really. It's fine." Jaune said, standing up. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."
"I've noticed." Nathan said, eyeing Team CRDL still bullying that faunus student, now pulling on her ears.
"Ow, that hurts!" She was protesting while Cardin pulled on her ears. "Please stop."
Cardin cackled callously as he persisted, saying to his teammates: "I told you it was real."
"What a freak." Said one of his teammates, the one with the Mohawk. Russel Thrush was his name, if Nathan recalled correctly.
Eventually, the girl was freed, and she walked away, clearly upset.
Pyrrha watched her leave, a disgusted look on her face. "Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." She snarled.
"He's not the only one." Blake said venomously.
"It must be hard to be a faunus." Yang added.
Nathan's eyes met those of Blake, and they frowned at one another. She has no idea, Nathan thought.
Blake nodded, as they watched Jaune walk away sadly.
Nathan wasn't blind as he clocked Cardin also watching Jaune leave, a predatory smile on his face.
Nathan scowled and then smirked, seeing Cardin getting up and walking off himself. Eyeing the gang, he winked, and then reached out with the Force and pulled Cardin's trousers down.
"What the-!" Cardin shouted as he looked down and laughter started breaking out amongst the people in the dining hall.
Nathan rapidly turned back towards his meal, seeing an amused Blake watching him with a smile on her face.
He watched as Cardin then ran out of the dining hall, having to hold his trousers up with the rest of his team following suit.
"Nicely done, Nathan." Pyrrha said happily. "Your semblance certainly does cover a lot of ground, doesn't it?"
Nathan smiled. "Helps to be subtle sometimes." He replied, before he turned his attention back to Blake.
"Keep that up, and he might target you." Blake warned.
Nathan chuckled. "I'd pay good lien to see him try." He replied, a confident smirk on his face.
Professor Oobleck's classroom, 15:50 pm…
Nathan was admittedly glad the day ended with a lesson from Doctor Oobleck.
Dr Bartholomew Oobleck was a man of average height with messy green hair and brown eyes behind a large round and opaque pair of glasses. His attire betrayed a total lack of regard for tidiness, with his shirt half-tucked and with the collar raised instead of lowered. His tie was slack and he wore mismatched brown and black shoes.
In his hand was a large thermos flask from which he would drink periodically, and he was pacing the room at nearly impossible speeds.
"This is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War." Oobleck was saying as he came over to his desk. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing faunus population in Menagerie." He sipped from his flask at that.
Nathan smirked as he watched this. He liked Oobleck, who despite his hyperactivity, and his love of coffee, was a very good teacher, and one Nathan was grateful taught one of Nathan's favourite subjects: History.
More than that, the good doctor was talking about a topic Nathan was quite curious about: The faunus rights revolution.
Nathan stole a glance over to Pyrrha, who eyed him and smiled warmly.
Looking to his immediate right, Nathan frowned as he saw Jaune struggling to stay awake.
Oobleck was still talking, however, as he said: "Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to realise that these are relatively recent events."
Nathan again eyed Blake and Pyrrha, seeing their heads moving in conjunction with whatever direction Doctor Oobleck was travelling, and found himself having to hide his laughter. Secretly fishing out his scroll, Nathan jokingly typed: "Is the doctor really that good looking, Pyrrha? Cause the only other time I've seen you this enamoured with something was your lunch."
He pressed send, and watched Pyrrha check her scroll, then eye Nathan with a look that was half-glare, half-fighting not to laugh.
Nathan responded by cheekily flipping Pyrrha off as Oobleck continued his lecture:
"Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day."Oobleck stated, before addressing the Faunus members of the class: "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?"
A couple of hands went up, including the hand of the bunny faunus CRDL was bullying earlier that day.
Her eyes met Nathan's, and he offered her a supportive smile, which earned him an appreciative one in return.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful." Oobleck remarked. "Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean… let me just look at what happened to the White Fang."
At that, Nathan looked up at Blake, who had a sad look on her face, which made Nathan frown. Something was bothering Blake, and he wasn't sure what it could be.
Once again though, Oobleck drew attention back to him by asking: "Now, which one of you young scholars could tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"
Nathan knew the answer to the question, and so made to raise his hand, when he heard Weiss say;
"The Battle of Fort Castle."
"Precisely." Oobleck said, smirking. "And who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?"
Besides not having an egomaniac for a general, I'm stumped, Nathan thought to himself.
"Hey!"
Nathan turned to see Jaune had woken up, and judging by the smirk Nathan spotted on Cardin's face, Nathan figured the bully had something to do with it. Note to self, sneak into Team CRDL's room, spike their coffee with cow laxatives, and break the door to the bathroom.
Unfortunately, Jaune's wake up call caught the attention of Oobleck, who shot across the room like a bullet to address Jaune directly:
"Mr Arc, finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"
Nathan then sighed as he guessed that Jaune didn't know, something Jaune confirmed, despite Pyrrha's attempts to give Jaune a hint.
Disappointed, Oobleck asked: "Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?"
Racist tirade in three, two, one… Nathan thought to himself.
Cardin promptly replied: "Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."
"That doesn't surprise me." Nathan retorted. "Someone managed to train you, Cardin."
The class then laughed as Cardin glared at Nathan, at which Pyrrha joined in:
"You're not the most open minded of individuals, are you Cardin?"
"How can he be open minded when he has such a small brain?" Nathan added, adding to the laughter. "Then again, I doubt your brain is the only thing that's small." At which, Nathan gestured towards Cardin's crotch.
At that, the entire class burst out laughing as Cardin seethed.
Nathan noticed the bunny eared faunus laughing her head off, much like Blake and everyone else was.
"You have a problem?" Cardin shouted angrily, silencing the room.
"No, I have the answer." Pyrrha stated. "It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."
Cardin scowled and looked away, angry at being embarrassed in front of everyone.
Nathan smirked. Yeah, take that, you asshole, he thought to himself.
"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep." Blake added. "His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured." Eyeing Cardin, Blake added: "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure."
"Oof!" Nathan exclaimed. "Someone fetch some water! Blake might need it for the fire in her mouth. Not for Cardin, though. He asked for that."
Cardin then stood up, glaring at Blake, Nathan and Pyrrha.
"Mr Winchester, please. Take your seat." Oobleck ordered, failing to hide a satisfied smirk at seeing Cardin be put in his place.
Jaune was laughing too, but then was approached by Oobleck, who said:
"You and Mr Arc can both see me after class for additional readings. Now, moving on!"
Nathan then patted Jaune on the shoulder, saying: "It'll be okay, Jaune. Trust me."
Jaune eyed Nathan and smiled. "Thanks, Nathan." He said.
Shortly after this, class ended, and everyone left, save for Jaune and Cardin.
"You three go on ahead." Pyrrha said to Nathan, Nora and Ren. "I'll wait for Jaune."
Nathan nodded, and prepared to leave, when he suddenly heard a voice say:
"Hey."
Nathan stopped, and turned to see the rabbit faunus from earlier stood there.
"Oh, hey. What's up?"
"I just wanted to thank you for standing up to Cardin back in class." The girl said. "He's been on me since day one."
"It's nothing." Nathan replied. "Just doing the right thing."
The rabbit faunus smiled. "I'm still grateful though." She replied. "And… it's Velvet, by the way. Velvet Scarlatina."
"Nathan Phoenix." Nathan replied, shaking Velvet's hand before realising something. "Wait… aren't you a second year student?"
"Yes, I'm part of Team CFVY." Velvet replied.
"Then why are you letting first-years like CRDL fuck about with you?" Nathan asked. "You could kick their asses, easily."
"I guess I just prefer not to." Velvet replied. "Violence leads to more violence."
"I hear you." Nathan said. "Violence isn't the answer to everything. Unless you're the White Fang, in which case you need anger management classes."
Velvet laughed. "True." Velvet remarked.
"Well; if it happens again, hopefully I'll be there to see them off." Nathan said. "Been meaning to get some shit off my chest when it comes to those small-dicked fucksplats. Maybe next time they fuck with you, I'll take the chance to fuck with them. And their egos."
Velvet laughed again. "Small-dicked fucksplats. I'll have to tell my teammates that one. Anyway; see you around, Nathan!"
"See you around, Velvet!" Nathan replied, turning on his heel and taking his leave, pleased that he'd made another friend.
Some-time later, Team JNNPR's dorm, 19:25 pm…
Nathan sighed happily as he settled into his seat, the book a familiar weight in his hand as he read it.
The story was quickly beginning to pick up now, with the protagonist about to embark on a perilous journey in order to help a group of dwarves reclaim their home from a dangerous dragon.
He was torn from his reading when he saw the door swing open and Pyrrha storm in.
It was clear that Pyrrha was not in a particularly good mood, and Nathan couldn't say he blamed her. Setting his book aside, marking his page by folding the corner of the page in, Nathan asked: "Jaune being a dense idiot, again?"
Pyrrha nodded. "I offered him my help to deal with Cardin, but he just has to be all macho and solve this by himself!"
Nathan sighed. "Something tells me there's more to this than you're letting on." He said, folding his arms.
Pyrrha nodded. "But... I feel like telling you would be a betrayal of Jaune's trust." She replied.
Nathan smiled understandingly. "No problem, Pyrrha. I'm sure Jaune will tell us when he's ready. Just like I'll tell you all my secrets when I'm ready."
Pyrrha smiled at that, before frowning. "My main concern is Jaune neglecting his duties as team leader as a result of Cardin bullying him." She replied.
Nathan sighed. Do I? He asked himself. Shaking his head, Nathan then said: "Don't be concerned, Pyrrha. While you start helping Jaune with his bullies, I'll take leadership of the team."
Pyrrha looked at Nathan with a surprised look on her face. "Really?" She asked.
Nathan nodded. "Despite his reluctance to accept it, help Jaune how you can. I'll take some of the load off of his back and make sure JNNPR as a whole is still one of the top teams here at Beacon."
Pyrrha then smiled. "That sounds grand, Nathan. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet, Pyrrha." Nathan replied. "Thank me when all this is behind us."
Pyrrha nodded, before then closing the distance between her and Nathan and pulling him into a warm hug.
Nathan returned the hug, smiling warmly.
"Team JNNPR is lucky to have someone like you on the team, Nathan." Pyrrha says. "But I feel even more fortunate to have you as a friend."
"That's what friends are for, Pyrrha." Nathan replied, before tousling Pyrrha's hair a bit. He swore to himself then that he'd lead JNNPR as best he could until Jaune could resume being leader himself. He owed his friends that much.
New friends and new enemies for Nathan. What else is new?
Also; I didn't have Nathan and Weiss interact at all to sell the idea that they're not talking. Because Nathan wants to make sure Weiss is sincere with her apology in the previous chapter.
Anyway, review time!
54godamora: Nathan does not mince his words in that regard, I assure you.
Gamelover41592: And that's just a taste of what will become a signature part of Nathan's personality: His acid tongue.
Guest: You aren't wrong. By the time of A New Hope, Nathan and most of the gang will be around 37, whilst Ruby will be 35. Who knows what might happen though.
Misfit Fox: Glad you're enjoying the story, my friend. 2 chapters a week is a trend I'm hoping to continue.
Sharnorasian Empire: Thank you for the concern, my friend. Right now; I am planning on giving it one more try in order to see if it's possible. If it is; fantastic. If not, I'll be sure to keep you all informed.
ZoyeZest: I will admit; you're not the first person to offer me your services as a digital artist, and I will consider your offer. I've just checked out your work on Insta, and I'm liking what I'm seeing. Money's a little tight for me at the moment, but once I'm on an even keel financially, I might just take you up on your offer.
With all that said; thank you all very much for taking the time to read this chapter. If y'all liked it; you know what to do.
I will see you tomorrow with the next chapter, which sees Nathan being made an intriguing offer.
T-Rock14