Well, as soon as we deviate from the norm, it's right back to it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Welcome to... Jaundice.

Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own RWBY, WATCH THE SHOW!

(Chapter Begin)

(Recap)

"Maybe one day I can trust Weiss and Blake the same," responded Ruby, "Have a good day."

With that, Team CFVY left while Ruby headed inside. Gathering various tools, Ruby worked on her sweetheart, making sure it's in excellent condition for the foreseeable future. Glynda frowned upon poor weapon maintenance, but Ruby was never worried. She loved weapons too much to let them go too long without maintenance. She's even offered to help with Weiss and Blake's from time to time, which surprised them, but they were happy for the help.

All in all, the first few months at Beacon have been pretty neat. Ruby was glad she got to be here this year, though she did miss her friends from Signal off and on. She couldn't lose focus though. As a Huntress and as a Reaper of Grimm, she had a responsibility to Remnant. As she returned to her room after storing her Sweetheart back in her locker, she couldn't help but think something might happen soon. As a Reaper of Grimm, that was more likely than for most other people.

(Recap End)

Several Weeks had passed since the start of school, and although Ruby had worked hard for herself and her team, including with her team, she couldn't help but notice someone out of place and falling behind a bit. Her first friend here, Jaune, was that person, and for all her limitations on emotional expression, she couldn't help but want to help her friend out. So, one morning she decided to talk to him before their combat class.

"Hey Jaune, got a minute?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah, sure," said Jaune, "I'll catch up."

NPR nodded and headed on to class that morning.

"So, what's up?" asked Jaune.

"I was wondering if you wanted a bit of advice, since you know Cardin's going to challenge you to a one-on-one again."

"I can handle Cardin. I don't need any help."

"Like the last Four times you lost to him..."

"He got lucky!"

"Without him losing a single bit of Aura..."

"I'm trying out a different sword style!"

"And I'm calling out your BS, Jaune," replied Ruby, giving him a hard stare, reminding him of Professor Goodwitch, causing him to relent a bit.

"Okay, so I haven't exactly had a close bout with Cardin..."

"Jaune, are we friends?" asked Ruby, changing the subject on him.

"What? Of course we're friends, Ruby!" reassured Jaune, "What makes you think we're not?"

"Don't friends help each other?" asked Ruby.

"Well... yeah..., but..."

"And if we didn't need help, why are we at a school that's supposed to help us learn to be better?"

"..." Jaune had no answer for that.

"None of us are perfect, Jaune. Not even the Teachers. It's why they went to School in the first place. Why they're trying to pass on what they know," informed Ruby, "Now, do you want some advice to help you with Cardin?"

"It wouldn't hurt, because we're friends, and friends help each other, right?"

Ruby let that jab go, "Cardin is a heavy fighter, relying more on power hits rather than fast movements. You're more of a Medium fighter, able to move faster but with less powerful hits. You've seen how the other students fight, Yang's a Heavy Fighter, Pyrrha's a Medium fighter. I'm a light fighter. I need to get more hits in to have the same effect. Use your speed better, and don't fall into his way of fighting. You want to be better, be yourself. Fight your way, not his."

"...That actually makes sense, Ruby," smiled Jaune, "Thanks."

"We're friends, Jaune. If we can't do it alone, we can lean on each other for support," said Ruby, smiling back at him.

With that, both friends headed off to Combat Class.

(AN1)

To no one's surprise, Cardin ended up challenging Jaune again in a one-on-one battle near the end of class. However, it wasn't as one-sided as previous fights. Jaune was moving differently, evading a good number of power swings, despite Cardin's taunts.

"Come on Jaune, have you given up beating me? Or did you just realize I'm too strong for you!" goaded Cardin, bring up another swing with his mace.

"Says the guy who can barely hit me!" countered Jaune, after tuck and rolling to the other side, narrowly missing Cardin's mace and slashing his sword outing getting a glancing blow on Cardin, bringing his Aura into the Yellow, matching Jaune's own after taking two hits from bad dodging.

"Don't get cocky. You haven't won against me once!" said Cardin, bringing up his foot in a kick that got Jaune off guard.

'Remember what Ruby said,' thought Jaune, getting up, 'You're faster than him, not stronger. Fight your way... even if you haven't actually got one yet.'

Jaune got ready again, noticing his Aura was below 50% now. He had to be careful. Cardin had lost his patience and swung his mace again. Jaune used his shield to block the hit, but the continuous force made him lose his shield, but Jaune used the momentum to swivel on his foot 360 and tackled Cardin to the ground, before moving the blade up to Cardin's neck.

"Yield," said Jaune.

(Bang) Jaune was knocked off of Cardin by a shot from his mace's Gun and he rolled across the floor.

"That's enough," came Goodwitch's voice, "As you can see Class, Jaune's Aura is now below 10%. In Tournament format, he is unfit to continue the fight. That will be all for today."

Jaune slowly picked himself up as his opponent smirked at his victory, getting up himself and walking off smug towards his team.

"Mr. Arc," said Glynda, walking up to him, "I must say, that is quite the improvement. Not perfect, but certainly better than where you have been during the first half of the Semester. Fine tune your style, I expect to see more improvement in the weeks to come."

With that, she left for her office while Jaune smiled at the praise before picking up his shield and heading to the locker rooms.

(AN2)

Ruby sat with WBY and JNPR as Nora recounted another dream from the past month, Ren providing color commentary. Ruby noticed Jaune was in a better mood than before, but not quite 'happy' if that was appropriate to use.

"Hey Jaune, you okay?" asked Ruby, getting the group's attention on said Blonde.

"What?" asked Jaune, as if he was thinking about something, "Oh yeah. I'm fine. I just wish I could have beat Cardin today."

"Hey, you did a lot better than the last four times," remarked Yang, getting a nod from Blake.

"You managed to take his Aura down into the Yellow," said Weiss Neutrally, "A big improvement indeed."

"You did an excellent job, Jaune," encouraged Pyrrha.

"Yeah, you had him pinned down until he cheated," complained Nora.

"He did not cheat. Guns are within legal rules. Jaune doesn't have a gun function on his sword, but that's his choice," noted Ren.

Looking over at said student who faced Jaune less than an hour ago was currently bullying on Velvet, who was not fighting back. Ruby wish she could help, but given Velvet's experience, it wouldn't really help, and Velvet would say no to help anyways.

"Cardin's been bullying you ever since school started," reminded Pyrrha.

"Cardin's like that with a lot of people. It doesn't make it right, but we're Huntsmen in training. We need to fight our own battles," replied Jaune, making a good point.

"Still doesn't justify bullying," noted Blake, feeling equally empathetic towards Velvet for different reasons.

"I know!" perked up Nora, "We'll break his legs!"

"That would be assault, and detention Nora," informed Ruby.

"OW! THAT HURTS!" cried out Velvet, as Cardin was pulling on his ears, "Please stop!"

"Told you they were real," chuckled Cardin to his team, "AGH!"

A flurry of red petals appeared as Ruby smacked Cardin's arm, forcing him to release Velvet.

"Cardin, She asked you to stop. Respect her request, now!" said Ruby, glaring at him.

"Like I'm gonna listen to an Bunny Rabbit," mocked Cardin, "Or a Shrimp for that matter."

"Ruby..." started Velvet.

"Go Velvet, let me deal with CRDL," said Ruby, giving her a pleading look.

"Thank you," muttered Velvet before taking her tray and walking off.

"And just how are you going to 'deal' with us, Shrimp," challenged Cardin.

"Shouldn't you guys help her?" asked Pyrrha.

"Ruby can take care of herself," said Yang in a confident and serious tone, "She was made Leader for a reason."

The bell for class rang and Cardin and his group left Ruby since they didn't want to get in trouble for being late. RWBY and JNPR headed for history class, one they coincidentally shared with Velvet.

(AN3)

Later that night, Ruby was walking through the courtyard with Velvet, following up on the events of Lunch.

"You can't let Cardin get to you, Ruby," said Velvet, "I put up with his nonsense because he's not a threat. If I fight back that only makes things worse for me and Faunus alike."

"I understand that, Velvet, but pulling your ears like that, in front of everyone? There's not lowering yourself to his level, but there is being the good person doing nothing," countered Ruby, "As a Reaper of Grimm, I have a bigger responsibility to protect others. Yes, I like to fight, but it's not about that. It's about protecting others. I made that vow back when my mother was alive, so I have Four Eye-Witnesses to my vow. People like Cardin... it's why there are Humans and Faunus as Highlighted Targets in the office. These are the scum that give Grimm all the Negative Emotion they need to accelerate their growth. Why do you think there's so many Alphas in the wild outside the borders. The barriers do nothing to prevent negative emotions from, pardon the pun, being a beacon to the Grimm."

"I hear what you're saying, Ruby, but Cardin's a small fry," said Velvet, "He's just another grunt compared to the people your Office wants dead. Unless he seriously crosses a line, there's no reason for me do anything."

"And how is your team taking this..."

Velvet's silence was answer enough.

"I know we're in different combat classes, but if you face him in the Tournament, don't hesitate to shut him down. The Crowd can complain all they want, but within legal tournament rules, you would be doing nothing wrong."

"I'm certain any member of my team could do that solo Ruby," chuckled Velvet, "If today's anything, you might need to shut them yourself by challenging their team next semester if nothing else."

Meanwhile, on the roof...

"Jaune, I want to help you get better," said Pyrrha, "I don't know what Ruby said to you, but you managed to push Cardin into a corner today."

"I don't know Pyrrha. I mean, I want to get better, but..."

"Would it feel so hollow working with your team?" asked Pyrrha, getting Jaune's attention, "You've seen Ruby. She's more introverted than me, but she's working with her team and that's helped her improve more than she's probably done on her own. I couldn't have gotten to where I am now without others to help me. I had help too, Jaune."

"Really? You had help? Four-Time Winner of the Mistral Tournament got help?" asked Jaune.

"Yes, and I want to help you too, because you're my friend. I don't have many friends, you were the first person to see me as just a person, rather than a champion. I'll forever be grateful for that."

"Pyrrha, I... I need to tell you, Nora, and Ren something. Let's go to our Dorm Room."

Five minutes later, Team JNPR were in their room, waiting for Jaune to speak.

"I... I want to apologize, for deceiving you. I am not worthy of being here," said Jaune, taking a breath before continuing, "I... I forged my transcripts to get into Beacon. My ForeFathers have all been great fighters, Huntsmen and Heroes alike. But I wasn't like them. It was like the fighting Gene skipped me or something. Growing up with Eight sisters didn't help, as money was tight more often than not. I couldn't get into a prep school, and as such, I don't deserve to be here. I understand if you don't want me on the team anymore. I'll go to Ozpin and tell him."

"Wait," said Nora, getting between him and the door, "You can't just drop a bomb like that and NOT let us respond."

"But... I betrayed your trust."

"Jaune... Pyrrha... Nora and I are orphans, from the continent of Anima. We only had each other for nearly ten years before applying to Beacon. We had no transcripts to fake. We were invited because we defended a nearby village helping out another Huntsman and he recommended us to Beacon personally. You're not alone in not having a Prep School background."

"Ren... Nora... I had no idea."

"That's kinda the point. There are parts of out past we're not proud of, but we want to make a difference, and the fact that we got a chance to come here meant more to us than anything," added Nora, "You can't abandon your dream just because you think you don't deserve us as a team. We're as stubborn as you when it comes to that."

The three of them turned to Pyrrha, who had stoically remained quiet during this exchange.

"Pyrrha, I..."

They heard a chuckle from the redhead. This confused them. Pyrrha then let loose a laugh, a full blown laugh that was just muffled enough by the walls that other teams didn't overhear.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry," said Pyrrha in mirth, wiping a tear, "It's just... I'm honored by your trust and your honesty. I know I can't relate to any of you three, but I do know this, we are meant to be a team. If we weren't, why were we able to take down that Death Stalker during initiation. You do deserve to be here, Jaune. It was your plan that allowed us to defeat it, together. You and I became partners, got a relic, and returned to the school. So what if the papers don't back up your history, your actions and success have earned your place here. I suggest we take a leaf out of Ruby's book and train together as a Team."

The other three nodded.

"Besides, I need all the help I can get. I may be Mistral Champion, but I haven't had anyone I can trust like you three in battle. I need to learn how to fight as part of a team."

The other three smile, Pyrrha smiling in return. JNPR was made stronger this day, their trust forged in honesty and friendship.

(AN4)

Ruby returned to her room after talking with Velvet. Getting ready for bed, she couldn't help but feel like she got Cardin's attention today, and when challenges come again next week, she was going to be ready to face Cardin, or indeed CRDL as well.

(Chapter End)

Okay, who has watched Android 16 verbally rip into Gohan more so than any other character has been ripped into at all in Dragonball history, including Goku? But seriously, all the references for sure, even the Linkin' Park jab for all the AMVs Gohan got in the 90s and early 00s. What I was writing about? Oh yeah, RWBY.

Jaundice was an interesting one. I had to balance two primary Main Characters here, and I don't even ship them! On that note, no one is 'hooking up'. At least until... well not for a while, I'll tell you that much.

Author Notes!

AN1: Jaune isn't the only stubborn idiot in RWBY... also, reminder of logic the show works with actually makes sense. Also friendship logic makes sense too.

AN2: Was this any better than just adding dialogue to the fight against Elder Nevermore and Elder Death Stalker? Let me know in the comments.

AN3: This scene... I'm sorry, I couldn't change this too much, but I did address it in a way to setup something I want to do later in the story. Please accept this middle ground.

AN4: Also taking out the BS Blackmail. I read a fanfic that did this differently, with Fox of all people talking sense into Jaune. It's a good fanfic read. The story is "The Knights Errant" by sarista_wow and it's chapter 10. I do recommend the story as a whole as well, because it's a really interesting read.

But yeah, Android 16 had less than no chill, he had -50% chill when telling Gohan to stop whining and fight. Also kill his father with his head. I would have loved to see that animated. Anyone want to try that?

Until then...

Later,

RDF1