Chapter 18 - Festering Denial

The sun's golden light gradually melted into the blank blue skies, casting a soft glow over the numerous students strutting about Beacon's courtyard. They all donned casual clothing and chatted with each other like they had all the time in the world.

Well, it was the weekend.

Some students argued amongst themselves, others engaged in idle chatter with their peers, a few grew closer intimately while the rest just relaxed and basked in the light of the morning sun.

A lot of them had left the campus to visit the residential district or any other place they felt like going, like the flower shops at the border of the residential and agricultural district or the industrial district to purchase weapons and mechanical gadgets.

No different than the events outside, the rooms of Beacon's dorm were filled with chatter and the contagious laughter of its inhabitants.

Within the dorms played a similar scene as was seen outside, many students conversing among themselves along the halls or simply outside their dorm, one of these teams being team-

"BLAKE! GIVE ME BACK MY SCRUNCHIE YOU THIEF!"

"YANG, YOU OWN NO BLACK SCRUNCHIES, IT'S THE ONLY COLOUR I OWN!" Bursting from their dorm, the duo halted all chatter and movement that came from the hallway, the attention of everyone now solely focused on them.

"Yeah but I bought a new set that had a specific kind of black scrunchie, one I've never seen you wear until mine magically disappeared and now you magically have a similar set!" Yang shouted, hurrying after the amber eyed teen. Blake stopped dead in her tracks, turning on her heels to face the taller girl.

"I don't even know how many I own, but I DO know that they're varied! Why would I want one of yours when I have Gods know how many for myself!"

Peeking from the still open dorm room, Ruby, Weiss and Nora observed the interaction, unsure of how to defuse the situation.

Even as their quarrel escalated, a select few remained completely unaware of the ruckus, a few of such people being members of team CRDL, 3 of the 4 delinquebts were engaged in small talk with one another.

"So, you know how I told you about this girl right?" Nodding at the question, Russel sat listlessly on the bed as he listened to Dove, honestly interested in bits and pieces of the blonde's non-existent love life.

"Well.....we were in the cafeteria just bumbling-and bro! I swear to the Gods, every joke I said had her weak! I'm being so for real when I say there wasn't a single joke she didn't laugh at." Shaking his head, Russel stared at Dove, clearly unconvinced.

"You seriously expect me to believe that you talked up a chick?"

"What would I genuinely have to gain by lying right now?"

"He's telling the truth." Sky spoke, momentarily glancing from his game to meet the stunned face of Russel.

"I was there. He had her in the palm of his hands, could have sworn she was putty." Sky articulated, briefly gesturing with his hands before quickly snapping them back to his screen and smashing the jump button.

"He had that much game?" Russel asked, dumbfounded.

"He had that much game." Sky answered earnestly, fully returning to his game.

Russel peered over at Dove, looking the squint eyed blonde up and down slowly, 'If he can get chicks looking like that then-' his hand slowly covering his mouth as he pondered to himself, 'The hell am I doing wrong?!'

Looking over at his blonde teammate with the rather unremarkable face, Russel seriously could not get his head around Dove talking up a girl and actually making progress while he was there like the chick-less bastard he was. (Same lmao) (Tuff) (Stfu)

After a few seconds, Russel suddenly fell to one knee and raised both hands as if he was a knight presenting a king with an imaginary sword, "Teach me your ways, oh great one." The light in the room now focused on the two and completely shut out the background, downing it in pitch black darkness-for some unknown reason.

Staring animatedly at the kneeling teen, Dove looked over to the still gaming Sky who met his gaze with a curled brow before gesturing to Russel and twirling his finger beside his head to indicate that the boy might possibly be coocoo.

"Grahhh, Shut up..." A prolonged groan emanated from the top bunk of a certain ginger.

Any semblance of joy the dorm had was washed away in that instant. The once light hearted atmosphere now felt like a ton of bricks, leaving some more uncomfortable than others.

Dove was the first to break the silence, "...Hey, you guys wanna take this outside?" jerking his head towards the door.

"Aiite." Russel shrugged, rising to his feet and striding towards the door. Walking to the door as well, Dove glanced back at Sky, "Sky, You comin'?"

Sky lowered his scroll as he stared at the blue tinted screen with a contemplative gaze. A few moments later he resumed playing his game with a sigh, "...Nah."

Letting a small pause come through, Dove shrugged, "Alright I guess. We're in the cafeteria if you wanna pop in." Seeing the nod from the gaming teen, Dove simply left the room, leaving the once leader and teen alone.

Groaning as he sat up in bed, Cardin squinted his eyes at the door from above, a small snarl laced tightly to his features that gradually shrunk as he climbed down.

"Is this goof really using King?" (a tekken character) Glancing to his wall bound teammate, Cardin snorted before striding into the bathroom without pause, the sounds of running water following not long after.

-.-

Cardin exited the shower, it was a little lengthier compared to his usuals.

"C'mon! How many more King players am I gonna run into?!" Glancing at his side, Cardin deadpanned as he saw Sky still on his scroll, raging at that one game he always played whenever he had downtime.

'I need something to eat.' Making his bed, Cardin spared one last glance back at Sky, his brows tightening into a frown after a few moments.

Slamming the door as he left, the sound barely drew a response from Sky who just rolled his eyes as he looked back at his screen-

[You Lose]

Staring at the screen, visibly irritated at the outcome, Sky pressed the rematch button one final time.

(Get ready for the next battle)

Surely he wouldn't be so unlucky to meet three of them in a ro-

(Lei Wulong vs King)

Sky rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, he was done, "Gods know, I hate this game..."

-.-

Pushing the cafeteria door open, Cardin stepped in and glanced around the room to only wrinkle his nose in disgust at what he saw.

'Is this a joke?' The ginger giant scowled, watching as Dove bowed deeply while saying what he assumed to be an apology.

Right now, the redhead know it all (Pyrrha), the pretty-boy (Yosuke) and the quiet one (Ren) were chatting it up with Dove and Russel.

He could not believe that his teammate, as traitorous as he was, would talk to those people after what they went through because of them much less apologize to those same people. Russel didn't say anything, but it still pissed him off.

Even if they weren't on good terms right now, he was still pissed that his teammate would talk to the same guys that humiliated them infront of the whole cafeteria just a week ago.

Grinding his teeth, Cardin took heavy steps towards the cafeteria counter, 'Damn loser. I don't know what the hell I expected from him anyway.'

Taking a tray from the many provided, the indigo eyed miscreant aggressively shared a sizable portion of food for himself, the constant rattling of the metal plate a testament to his slowly festering anger as his brows narrowed into a deep frown.

'The hell's that idiot apologizing for?! He should be angry with them not sorry dammit! They're the reason we're even in this mess.'

Turning around, he saw Russel rubbing his neck sheepishly. His eye twitched at the sight since Russel only did that when he was about to apologize about something.

Drawing a deep breath as his grip on his tray tightened the slightest bit, Cardin's stomach growled in tandem with his throat as he made his way to an empty seat located at the corner of the room where he began eating his meal and watching his teammates leave, unaware of the eyes that were watching him.

After finishing his meal, Cardin began wandering around the school.

Not like he had anything to do since Ozpin said he was exempt from classes so he just went wherever his feet took him.

Rounding a turn, his eyes caught sight of a tumbling Velvet a few feet away from his position, the contents in her hands spilling onto the floor.

A few students walked by her and chuckled at her predicament before continuing on their way. Cardin too, snorted and turned down the wall, walking opposite of the brown haired rabbit.

Striding down the hallway, he turned through a door that led him to a large open area at the rear end of the Academy.

To say it was huge, was an understatement. The feel of cool air spread across the wide area. Outside was naturally cold around this time of the year since it was mid November and Vale was known for its chilly winds.

Light sounds of chatter also caught Cardin's attention, causing him to direct his gaze toward a corner of the room where he spotted three of the four members of that stupid STAY team, all engaged in some foolishness he couldn't discern.

Seeing the two he knew were twins, Cardin's lip twisted into a scowl. The humiliation he took a few weeks ago was still fresh in his mind. And although they didn't play a part directly, it still pissed him off since they were on the same team as the guy that did it.

Seated on the sponged floor a distance away sat the sister, an amused yet reserved look to her eyes as she watched the actions that played out before her.

The morning sun coated the white and blue pillars in a soft glow, highlighting the almost paleness of the girl's features, her brother too was no different with his more toned physique glistening in the cool light. Catching himself staring at the duo like some creep, Cardin groaned softly as he moved to make his exit.

'The hell am I even doin here-' as he went to leave, sounds of laughter filled the room, slightly confusing the youth since he was pretty sure the twins weren't the type to joke around.

....

What?

You get humiliated like that and you'll start to notice a few things about the people that did it.

Glancing back into the room, he realized that he had somehow overlooked the presence of a certain dark skinned blonde, probably because she was bla-

"C'mon Toño~ you can go faster than that can't you?" Giggling into the boy's ears, Aria laid comfortably atop Toño's back, head resting on her arms as he continued his reps, the exercises he did now along with the added physical weight of the Pendragon were already enough as is.

"If you're not gonna get off my back, at least get off my case." Biting back with a voice that honestly lacked any seriousness, Toño continued his reps. Aria hummed, her smile broadening as her eyes fell closed.

"What? Can't handle a lil extra weight?"

"Oh, because you'd just love to be in my shoes Pendragon. Pipe down and let me finish." Toño rolled his eyes, shifting his weight to one hand and continuing his reps as if the girl wasn't even there.

Aria chuckled, draping her arms lazily around the neck of the non expressive teen, "Nah, that's no fun. Plus, you love when I pester you."

The pink haired teen held a one handed plank as he drawled a sarcastic yay, "You know me so well." causing the blonde to tighten her hold around his neck with a lighthearted chuckle.

"I know right!?"

Cardin cringed, now truly taking his leave as he trod through the near empty halls.

It felt weird walking with no specific destination in mind. It was getting annoying since everyone was staring at him and giving sideways glances, normally he would be off somewhere messing with someone to pass the time.

"Why do you hurt others?"

Hissing his teeth, Cardin grumbled to himself, steps heavy as his feet brought him across the courtyard.

-.-

-The next day-

The morning sun was as bright as ever, the sound of nature's play singing just outside the windows of the empty dorm room.

Throwing his sheets off himself, Cardin climbed down from his bed and scanned the room, a part of him curious if the place truly was as abandoned as he thought.

"...."

Glancing around, he realized that no one was there, not even Sky who was usually playing games on his bed. His lips slowly lifted into a smirk, at least now he didn't have to actively try to avoid them since they were all out.

Narrowing his eyes, Cardin recalled Dove bowing before the know it all's from yesterday, a burning sensation boiling in his chest.

Especially those two-

"Hahahaha!"

Quirking a brow, Cardin strode up to the door before swiftly pulling the wooden ingress open.

As he did so, the attention of those occupying the hallway immediately snapped to his direction, their once jubilant features now tightening into not so hidden discontent.

Cardin clenched his fist as he glared at the teens, '...Quit giving me those looks.' Taking the hint, the group gradually began evacuating the area with the sound of hushed whispers and murmurs.

Russel leisurely stroll past the small wave of teens, eyeing them curiously, his focus especially locked to a particular bodacious figure strutting down the hallway. Whistling with an amused expression, Russel's eyes could NOT be separated from the gyat.

Due to this little distraction though, he ended up bumping into Cardin at their dormroom entrance.

Looking up, the mohawk bully chuckled, "Ey, boss man! Didn't see you there, sorry." rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Cardin merely looked him up and down, his blank face slowly twisting into a scowl as memories of the day before came to the fore.

"Imma get something real quick, so could you maybe, like, move over, yeah?" Russel spoke, opting to step forward, pausing when he realized Cardin didn't budge.

"Uh, Cardin?"

"...You must still think we're buddies, huh?" Cardin muttered, causing Russel to raise a brow in confusion.

"Didja hear me?" Russel asked, scratching his head.

Cardin narrowed his gaze at the shorter boy, slowly balling his hands into fists.

He could just punch this sucker right now.

"I will see you again in a week's time, during that time, please, reflect on your actions thus far and be sure to stay out of trouble."

"Stay out of trouble."

Gritting his teeth, the ginger bully pushed past Russel before marching off with an unspoken chip to his shoulder, exiting the dorm and stomping across the courtyard; hastily making his way to the locker rooms.

Reaching the empty locker halls, he strode towards where he left his mace- catching something in his peripheral, Cardin turned.

Dammit.

"Wow...if it isn't the big bad wolf." The person wore a red qipao with gold accents that went well with her ginger hair. She was tall and slender with mocking eyes as green as her jade earrings.

"It hasn't even been a full semester yet and you're already facing expulsion. Pathetic." Ignoring the girl, Cardin grumbled at his bad luck.

"Go away." Tilting her head down to meet the boy's eyes, her emerald spheres locked thinly with Cardin's, "Believe me, I'd love to see you disappear." Grinning as she stepped aside, giving him access to his locker.

Entering his combination, Cardin's locker opened with a squeak, an item of his accidentally falling out and bouncing across the floor from his locker's edge.

Picking up the rolling watch, "But." the taller teen eyed the ticking hands carefully, "That won't be happening anytime soon will it?" A mock expression of intrigue gracing her features as she lightly tossed the item back to Cardin who caught it without so much as a glance in her direction.

Equipping his mace, Cardin slammed the locker shut, moving to leave only for the girl's voice to violate his ears one more time.

"You can ignore me all you want Cardin, but...as soon as you're off suspension you'll be seeing me aLOT more." Her lips twisting into a shit eating grin, "It'll be fun, like the good ol' days with Aunty."

Banging his fist into the locker, Cardin forced himself to finally acknowledge the presence of the individual tormenting him.

"Stay out of trouble."

"...Just go, I'm really not in the mood to deal with your bullshit right now."

The green eyed teen narrowed her gaze, a pair of cold emerald piercing into Cardin like a verdant dagger, "If I don't, what'll you do?"

"I'm not gonna say it again Alice-"

"Or what?" The girl now identified as Alice uttered, a dark smirk growing across her features as she stepped in closer, staring down into the lilac eyes of Cardin before leaning into his ear with a whisper, "You'll kill me?"

Cardin pupils shrunk to the size of atoms as he glared death into the girl's emerald eyes.

"C'mon, do it." His mouth ground shut as he tightened his hold on his mace to the point his skin was akin to Weiss's own. He was tempted to just smash her head in right then and there.

"Stay out of trouble."

Biting his lip, Cardin trembled lightly as his heated gaze met the ever condescending orbs of Alice.

"You did it once, so what's stopping-" Cardin gripped the taller teen by the collar of her crimson qipao as he stared into her green eyes with avid ferocity, "Shut up! I already told you I didn't do it!"

Alice's eyes widening slightly before suddenly narrowing as she clutched and ramming the teen's head into the locker with an audible bang. Rocking the lockers in the vicinity like a leaf as her gaze slowly sharpened into an intense glare.

She stared at the grunting teen, "Oi..." gradually pressing his skull into the locker as her grin twisted into a disgusted scowl, "You little shit, don't get ahead of yourself."

"I can still fold you like a pretzel." Alice spat, "So don't test me." her eyes narrowing even further as Cardin's head struggled in vain against her grip, his face contorting in anger and pain as blood rushed to his vein riddled forehead.

"Grrrr! F-Fuck-AGHHH!!!" He yelled through the pain, trying to pry the girl's arm away but it just would not budge, "Let me go!"

Alice held the boy in place, watching as he fought against her grip, her eyes piercing his skull like needles of disgust before finally, she relented with a snarl, "...Don't touch me again, got that?"

Releasing the boy, who immediately clutched his head after, Alice turned and walked to the locker room door, her eyes finding the boy once more with a look that was not unlike how one would look at shit.

She saw Cardin leaning against the locker, his face red like a tomato as his veins pulsed like a heartbeat. He glared at her through his lanky fingers, his gaze burning with malice as he drew shaky breaths of building anger.

The girl could only regard the boy with a scornful eye as she stepped out the door while fixing the collar of her qipao, "You're so weak it's sickening."

-.-

With agitated steps, Cardin's lips lifted into a permanent snarl; his head aching lightly as he recalled the unneeded lecture he was forced to endure.

'Damnit...Damnit. DAMMIT!'

Just what is it with him recently?! It was already bad enough that he got humiliated infront of the whole school by those bozos in the cafeteria, and got betrayed by his team, but now? He was on Alice's radar again as soon as she got back to beacon!

This isn't like back then when he could tank her hits and get away with a few bruises, her hits hurt like hell now that she was basically one step away from a full fledged huntress.

"DAMMIT!" Cardin yelled, punching the wall as he turned the corner with the growing crowd of students passing by while eying him warily.

He swears, everyone's out to get him!

Why? Just why the heck is he on the receiving end of everything?!

Does he look that weak? Is he that easy to pick on?! Huh?!!

Cardin marched towards the training grounds with a ferocious gait, his teeth grinding as he growled, his grip tightening around his weapon like a vice. Many of the students watched him cautiously while hurrying past.

From what they could tell, he seemed extremely pissed off for some reason and none of them wanted to find out why.

After reaching the training grounds, Cardin finally relaxed his hold on his mace, his aggression now calming to a manageable level-moments before flaring up again as he recalled her words.

Clicking his tongue, 'Who does she think she is?' He waltzed into the spacious tiled arena, figuring that since he had so much time he could at least do something with it.

Looking around, his scowl deepened.

'This day just keeps getting better and better...'

Seated in a meditative pose, Yosuke's weapon nestled comfortably in his lap beneath his chin as his eyes remained closed in concentration.

Exhaling sharply, Yosuke opened his eyes, standing up a moment later as sweat rolled off him like a river, clear signs of exhaustion evident in his heavy movements.

Cardin leveled the unsuspecting blue haired boy an irate gaze, watching as he approached 8 dummies lining the walls, 6 of which were riddled with a myriad of slashes, 'Just how long has he been at this?'

Each dummy was made from a special alloy that absorbed damage, be it bludgeoning, cutting or piercing. Guess they lied if even that guy managed to cut them up that much.

"You're so weak it's sickening." Cardin winced.

Releasing a long breath, Yosuke now stood a little over a meter away from one of the dummies, its black fabric swallowing all light that came its way. Retaking his stance once more, Yosuke's hand floated above Sanction's hilt.

Before he began slowly wrapping his fingers around the sword, thin trails of sweat dripping off his chin. His hot breaths meeting the ever cool air as they gradually calmed into shallow huffs.

Cardin blinked before pausing in exasperation as his jaw dropped.

'What the hell just happened?! I only blinked so why is the dummy cut all over???'

Relaxing his body, Yosuke eyed the surface of the training dummy. The dark leather was ripped and torn in multiple areas, giving way for the white stuffing beneath to make its appearance.

Yosuke felt his legs begin to wobble as his vision blurred, raising a hand, the blue eyed teen gently palmed his face with a sheepish smile, 'It seems I overused it.'

He'd been repeating the same exercise for approximately 2 hours now, so it made sense his body was approaching its limits especially with his semblance being active the whole time.

'I can now amplify my skills by 10x. Though it grants me great strength and speed, it damages my body and aura reserves just as much...' Releasing a soft breath, Yosuke lowered his hand while turning towards the entrance, his eyes locking onto the still stunned ginger a couple metres away.

'Cardin?' He thought, glancing at his mace, 'Did he come here to train as well? That's unexpected.'

Fixing sanction to his waist, Yosuke strolled by Cardin, exhaling lightly. To say he was displeased was an understatement. He harbored no hatred or ill will towards Cardin, but he felt disappointed. The fact that he saw others weaker than him...even his own teammates as nothing but entertainment.

...It was honestly saddening.

Cardin stood in place for a few more moments, his eyes slowly shifting to the mace in his grip as a slew of memories flooded his mind.

His eyes squeezed shut before creaking open and regarding the diced up dummy as he walked up to it, inspecting it carefully.

There were about 15 slashes along its body with each cutting deeper than the previous, 'I didn't even see him cut it...' The ginger giant felt his chest tightening ever so slightly as he observed the other dummies more closely, 'Am I supposed to believe he's been this strong all this time?'

Cardin felt his chest tighten a bit as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, "No, the dummies must've just been faulty."

Yeah...

YEAH, that had to be it.

"Are you saying I'm weak? Huh, pretty boy?"

"Yes, you are."

Gritting his teeth, Cardin walked up to the eighth dummy with his mace hefted overhead.

He had to know.

Tightening his hold on his weapon, the ginger bully swung-

"Oi, get up!" Alice kicked the ginger from his comforting sheets and onto the rock hard floor.

"Ack!" He grunted, covering his face as a sudden dose of light assaulted his still waking eyes; with Alice forcibly moving his arm out of the way, "Fuck- let me go dammit!" eliciting a groan of annoyance from the boy as he ripped his hand away.

Snorting, the fluffy ginger turned off her scroll's flashlight and squatted to his level, "That's why you should get up when I tell you." A condescending smirk donning her features as she regarded the scowling face of the angry 15 year old.

"Dammit, the hell's wrong with you Alice?!" Cardin rasped, swinging his fist with irritation. Catching his hand, Alice's smirk dissipated as she squeezed and twisted the appendage behind his back, "I told you..." eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the boy, slightly pushing his arm as her eyes narrowed, "Stop getting ahead of yourself, you little shit."

Cardin bit his lip while glaring up at the taller girl with a pained scowl, "Guh...Screw you!" Alice added a bit more pressure to the joint, making the ginger scream as his eyes squeezed shut.

Alice snorted, "You're pathetic." Releasing him and nonchalantly tossing her scroll to the teen, the device smacking Cardin in the face and plopping to the floor moments before a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch popped up and an audio began playing.

"....On behalf of the Beacon Administration, we accept your letter of.... Welcome to the Shining Beacon of Vale, Alice Winchester."

Growling, he reared his mace back and bashed it against the dummy again and again.

Cardin's eyes widened as he stared at the hologram, his palms balling to fists before his eyes narrowed as he turned to the still smirking Alice.

"Quit looking at me like that." Snatching her scroll back from the grounded teen with a thin smile, "I might just punch you." Cardin watched as the 17 year old sauntered off.

Clutching his knees in exhaustion, his body was soaked in sweat as he slowly lifted his eyes, frowning at the small scratches adorning the dummy's body.

Pausing by the oak door, the green eyed model turned to see the grounded teen whose eyes told a story his words never could.

Shifting his gaze to where Yosuke's dummies were, his frown could only deepen.

"I doubt Uncle Dracone would let you, but if, by some miracle, some..." Gesturing with scorn, "thing like you makes it to Beacon. Just make sure I don't run into you, 'kay? Cuz the first thing I'm gonna do, is remind you of just how..."

"I'm not..." Sweaty palms tightening around his knees ever so slightly...

"Pathetic you are."

The ginger's eyes narrowed into a wince as he bit his lips, his voice trembled slightly, "I'm not weak dammit..."