Chapter 14 - The Distress of an Arc II

-Professor Oobleck's History Class-

"Prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the faunus war, human kind was quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie. Due to this, various factions, before the creation of the WhiteFang, rose up in revolt, however, their efforts were promptly quashed." Professor Oobleck spoke, snapping back and forth from the board and the crowd of students. One of such students being Jaune Arc who sat at the front, his pen hung loosely in his hand as he pursed it against an open book; his usually bright pale blue orbs seemingly sullen as his mind wandered to what took place a few hours before.

He thought back on what took place in the cafeteria with team Cardin and the others. Everyone had shown their strength one way or the other even if they didn't directly take part in the disciplining of Cardin, and Jaune knew that Cardin only went after him because he was the weak link of the group, unlike why he went after Yosuke who had embarrassed him in front of the whole cafeteria.

Jaune knew he was weak, he's known it his whole life, and he wanted to change.

He had to change...

But what could he do?

He wasn't smart, he tried paying attention in class and did late night studying, but try as he might, he could only dream to be as intelligent as his peers. Could only dream of being as smart as Weiss and Saya, as equipped as Pyrrah or Toño-hell he wasn't as brash or as cool as Nora, Aria, Yosuke or Ren!

He was made painfully aware of his atrocious combat skills and his nearly nonexistent physical capabilities in the initiation and various combat classes in which he has yet to land a hit on Cardin despite the many times the two had faced off.

He wasn't fast, he wasn't strong and he wasn't smart.

Then what could he do?

Briefly glancing over at the Schnee heiress who's attentive gaze remained fixated on their ever speedy teacher, he huffed. His eyes soon shifted to Ruby who was fiddling with a paper and displaying impressive speed and creativity as she assembled a bullhead from papers. Lastly, his gaze flitted to his teammates, Nora, who sat beside Ren with a relaxed grin.

Jaune sighed, 'Why am I so...' Clenching his fist, he gripped his hair by the ends that dangled over his eyes as he lowered his gaze to his book.

'Useless...'

He was useless. He will always be useless. As far as Jaune knew his very existence screamed useless.

His once cheery eyes had long lost their sparkle and now...

They seemed dull, empty.

'Should I just tell Professor Ozpin about the transcripts and get it over with? Atleast then I wont be a burden...' Heaving a tired sigh, he stared blankly at his open book.

Cardin grimaced as he thought back on what had occurred earlier in the cafeteria. He was embarrassed, being beaten so easily by that damn raspberry then having to take shit from Jaune of all people... JAUNE! He could be lectured by anyone else but that damn idiot.

It irritated him, it was bad enough that Jaune was so bold as to tell him what to do but now he was the laughingstock of the entire student body because of that damn Utakata and that redhead... While Cardin raged in his head, he glanced down from his perch, his eyes falling upon the form of a certain knight.

A devious smirk graced his face as he was suddenly struck with an idea. He might have been embarrassed earlier but that didn't mean he couldn't vent. And who'd pass up a chance at making a fool of Jaune Arc?

Not him. That's for sure.

Flipping his book open, Cardin ripped a page from it as he folded it into an origami before setting it onto his table and sizing up the blonde idiot.

"-Who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?" As the professor uttered this sentence, Cardin took the opportunity and flicked the origami onto an unsuspecting Jaune who, once hit in the head, flinched violently as his hand shot up to the spot he had been hit.

"Hey-"

"Mr arc! Finally contributing to class I see! Excellent, excellent!" Professor Oobleck bellowed, zipping over to the blonde in an instant. Jaune froze, as he locked eyes with the green haired bespectacled man, almost breaking into a cold sweat as he realized what was happening.

He had to answer, but what was the answer? What if when he did say something it wasn't the right answer and the class laughed at him? Jaune's mind spiraled more and more out of control with each passing second as professor Oobleck eagerly awaited his response.

"So, what is the answer?"

Jaune gritted his teeth before finally attempting an answer, however poor it may be, "The answer... the Uh-advantage the faunus had over... that general guy's stuff was..." He slowly articulated as he tried to come up with a plausible answer to the question, but just as he was about to give up, he spotted Pyrrha over the professor's shoulder who was gesturing to her eyes as if she was hinting at something.

'Eyes? No, it can't be those... Goggles? No, that's for water.... What gives you an advantage in a fight? Alright, so first you need to have a better position, which is usually the high ground; but they wouldn't see from the high ground due to the distance...unless...they had...!'

"B-binocculars!" Jaune hurriedly shouted, the class erupting into laughter as Pyrrha face palmed. Professor Oobleck, however, calmly sipped his coffee before zooming back to his desk in front of the class, "Very funny Mr. Arc." Jaune sank in his seat dejectedly as he sighed, 'Of Course I was wrong...'

Professor Oobleck took another sip of his coffee as he scanned the class, his eyes falling on the figure of a laughing ginger; recalling tales of the incident that took place in the cafeteria which he heard whilst passing by a few students.

"Cardin! Maybe you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?" He said, peering into the eyes of the now irate ginger as he scoffed and crossed his arms in front of him.

"One thing's for sure. I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin stated, his eyes flitting over to the rabbit faunus girl.

"They are not animals." Yosuke said firmly, looking down from his elevated seat at the back of the class, "They are people."

Cardin grunted as he looked back at the raspberry bastard with a hate filled glare, "Whatever, I stick to what I said."

"You're not the most open minded of individuals are you Cardin?" Pyrrha said, regarding him with a pointed glare.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin snapped back at the Amazon who clenched her fists as she restrained herself.

"No." She huffed, "I've got the answer. It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect vision in the dark." Pyrrha answered easily. Jaune widened his eyes at the realization before grimacing at his inability to procure such a simple answer despite the hint he'd received.

"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Pyrrha continued as her calm gaze slowly shifted to the form of the dethroned bully, "His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured. Maybe, had he payed more attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure."

At her words, Cardin sprang from his seat with his fist tightly clenched, his face reddening in anger as he growled; calling him a failure meant putting him in the same league as Jaune.

He couldn't- he wouldn't accept it!

"You little-"

"Mr. Winchester, take your seat. You and Mr Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Professor Oobleck commanded disappointedly, diffusing the situation easily as he observed the irate ginger.

Cardin scoffed as he plopped into his seat with his hands crossed in front of him, "Damn bitch..." He muttered to himself.

Professor Oobleck held his gaze on the boy for a moment longer before taking a quick sip of his coffee, "...Moving on...."

-.-

'Sigh,' Pyrrah stood outside the class awaiting her leader while idly observing the other students who momentarily littered the halls for their own reasons, noting the occasional glance or lingering stare that stuck to her figure while others sped ahead to their respective dorms.

"You two have been struggling in my class since day one, but now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature..." Oobleck speedily spoke, an accusatory gaze finding the ginger giant before taking another sip of his coffee, "But whatever it is, It stops now." He stated, resting his mug onto the table before meeting the duo with a serious gaze.

"You've worked hard to gain entrance to the school and we only accept the best of the best, so! I expect you to act like it." Oobleck said, his hasty words unknowingly pricking at the heart of a dejected blonde and the fragile temper of the ginger.

"History is important gentlemen, if you can't learn from it then... I'm sure you know the rest." Speaking rather grimly, Oobleck glanced through his glasses staring intently at the silent duo; with Cardin frowning and crossing his arms while Jaune heaved a tired sigh as he averted his gaze.

"Pages 51 to 91, I want an essay on my desk by next class, now... run along."

After a while, a green blur zoomed out of class and speeded down the hallway; the blur being none other than their overly caffeinated Professor.

Shortly after, Jaune strode out of class with Cardin marching closely behind before suddenly shoving the Arc harshly as he crashed onto the floor with a grunt.

In an instant Pyrrha had already closed in on Cardin, her fists balled into white hammers. However, she was stopped by Jaune's plea, "No! Stop!" He shouted, stumbling to his feet, "Just.... Let it go."

Pyrrha glanced back at Jaune before slowly lowering her fist with Cardin grinning in triumph as he stalked off, "Heh, you better watch your back, Nikos."

"You know, I really will break his legs..." She mumbled, eyes narrowing at the retreating ginger before returning her gaze to Jaune who sighed heavily while dusting off his clothes. Hollow orbs of blue meeting emerald spheres of concern.

Pyrrha felt her chest ache as her leader strolled off with a somber expression. A moment passed before she got an idea, a lightbulb almost materializing from the thought, "I have an idea!"

Promptly dragging the blonde knight with her, the two made their way towards the roof of their dormitory, a setting the blonde knight would come to respect and fear.....all in due time.

"Anyone see that light beside Pyrrha?" That one rando commented, just to be ignored by the populace, getting a few strange looks from passersby as well, "No? Nevermind..."

Ascending to the rooftop of the towering skyscraper, the duo emerged into the open expanse of the ever-breezy night. Above them, the sky stretched out like a canvas adorned with twinkling stars, each one casting a radiant glow akin to chandeliers suspended in the heavens. Amidst the celestial display, a broken moon hung loosely, its eerie light contrasting against the backdrop of Vale's gold-tinted homes below.

Standing at the edge, Jaune peered down as a pleasant breeze brushed past his face, "Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now but I'm not that depressed...yet. I could always be a farmer or something." Jaune told, never once averting his gaze from the abyssal chasm before him, feeling a slight temptation compelling him to take a step-

"No!" She screamed, quickly pulling the boy away from the edge.

Poor girl almost had a heart attack.

"That's not why I brought you up here!" Pyrrha said, alternating her gaze between Jaune and the ground as she began fidgeting awkwardly.

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class... And that you're still not the strongest of fighters so..." She began, closing her eyes tightly as she choked out the words.

'Maybe if I try to help him in getting stronger, he wouldn't be as sad...'

"I wanna help you!" Pyrrha shouted, prying open an eye as she looked Jaune over. The boy's face was blank, devoid of any emotion as he muttered, "...What?"

That was not how she pictured his reaction-

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!" Pyrrha sputtered, gesticulating comically all the while. The blonde only raised an arm, rubbing his neck slowly as he donned a sheepish grin one could mistake for gratitude if not for the emptiness radiating from those blue orbs.

"Di-did I say something wrong?" Pyrrha was confused, why did he look like that? It seemed almost as if he was grateful yet somehow on the verge of giving up.

Jaune locked eyes with the Amazon, his sheepish grin taking a wry turn as he posed, "Do you think I need... help?"

Oh. Ohhh!

"No! No... that's not what I meant!" Pyrrha quickly defended.

"You just said it." Jaune countered easily, Pyrrha had contradicted herself.... Jaune's words momentarily silenced the girl who could only spare him with a pitying gaze.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us-"

"You don't get it, Pyrrha!" Jaune snapped

Pyrrha recoiled slightly from the boy's tone, her eyes slightly widening before squinting as she muttered, "What..."

"I'm not the same as you all... I'm weak... No matter how hard I try, I'll never be as strong as you guys..." Jaune said, turning his head away in shame.

"Don't say that Jaune! You made it to beacon through your own strength-"

"NO, I DIDN'T! I didn't! Okay!? I didn't!!!!!!" Jaune practically barked, his brows furrowing as he shouted as loud as he could, the sudden increase in volume not failing to sting the Amazon where it hurt.

"Jaune, I-"

"I faked my transcripts!" He confessed with a gutteral cry, folding his fist as he clenched his teeth in disgust. He was growing tired of it all, tired of being a waste of space, a liar. He couldn't take it anymore! Someone HAD to know... She had to...

And what better way to go about it than telling her himself?

"...What?" The girl asked in slight disbelief.

"I faked my transcripts... I never went to combat school, I never passed any tests, I didn't earn my spot at this academy! I STOLE it! I stole it from someone more worthy, someone more deserving!"

"....I never had anything going for me and I wasn't even qualified to be a huntsman in the first place... I mean, I didn't even know the first thing about aura until you told me..." Jaune palmed his face, a shaky grin crawling up his face as he heaved a tired sigh, "I don't belong here..."

"Jaune..."

"Even though... Even though I knew it was wrong, I still did it. You know why? Because it was my dream..."

"It's something I've always wanted to be... my father, my grandfather and his father before were all warriors, they were all heroes..."

"And I wanted to be one too... I was just never good enough. I'm a failure."

"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha pleaded, taking a step forward as she reached a hand for the blonde to which he responded by smacking the hand away.

"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I wanna be the hero!" Jaune snapped, causing the girl to shrink slightly as he yelled.

"Jau-"

"I'm tired of being the blonde idiot stuck in a tree while his friends fight for their lives–don't you understand!?"

"If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?" His voice cracked, dropping by an octave as he turned away. Pyrrha felt her chest tighten at the sight of the hurting blonde, stepping forward, she tried to embrace the boy only for a closed hand to meet her chest, the sight of her leader stepping away slowly staining her eyes with liquid crystals.

"Just... leave me alone...okay?" Jaune muttered, never once glancing her way. The Amazon could only purse her quivering lips and mask her pain as she turned to walk off. She knew Jaune was hurting a lot right now and if she showed that she too felt such a way then it might worsen his self loathing as he would berate himself for being worse than useless...

He would think himself to be a problem...a burden.

"...If that's what you think is best."

Jaune watched with a somber gaze as his partner slowly made her way down the stairs before closing the door behind her. Leaving him alone with his thoughts and the wind-

"My oh my." The devil whispered in a sing-song voice as a hand grasped onto the edge of the building, pulling up the last person on remnant that Jaune wanted to see, "What do we have here?"

Jaune flinched, stumbling back as he stuttered, "C-Cardin!" He said, his eyes going wide as he watched the ginger giant stride towards him with a devilish grin, "Y'know, you are kinda loud. I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room."

The blonde knight could only freeze as he met the cruel gaze of the ginger bully, "I—I don't know what you're talking about." Jaune sputtered, taking a step back from the taller boy who took a step forward in turn.

"Oh, but I know." Cardin grinned, "I know you snuck into beacon and tricked the Headmaster. I never expected you of all people to be such a rebel Jaune, it's surprising." He finished, arms crossing in front of him as he eyed the blonde with a calculating gaze.

'This is bad!' 'This is perfect!'

He was just trying to find a way to deal with the three teams when he overhead someone shouting on the roof. Who'd have thought Jaune Arc, of all people, to have such a secret...

Right now, he had two options: 1. Tell everyone about Jaune's transcripts, publicly embarrass him and possibly get him expelled, 2. Keep the secret and blackmail him into doing whatever he wanted.

The first option would be either a win-lose or lose-lose situation depending on if he used his connections or not.

'...No.' It would be dumb to throw a card like that away so easily and he wouldn't want anything to do with him... Not like he'd help him anyway.

Jaune stepped back, gripping his chest as he raised his free hand in a placating gesture, "Please Cardin, please don't tell anyone." The only thing Jaune could do tight now was bed. He knew that if his secret got out then no one would look at him the same way, every time they would look at him all they would see is an incompetent liar and a fraud.

He didn't want that!

Cardin smirked as he waved away Jaune's worries, slowly striding up to the blonde as he spoke, "Come on, I'd never rat on a friend like that~"

"A-A friend?" Jaune froze at the utterance, the very concept seemed alien when mentioned by someone like Cardin.

"Of~course, we're friends now, Jauney boy." Cardin assured, wrapping an arm around Jaune's neck, holding him in a 'friendly' headlock, "And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you we'll be friends for a looong time." Cardin informed, releasing the blonde from his hold and watching as he flopped to the ground.

"That being said. I really don't have time to do those extra readings Doctor Oobleck gave us today... think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" Cardin said, ruffling Jaune's hair as if he were petting a dog, a small sardonic grin etched onto his face.

Right now Jaune was in the palm of his hands, and he doesn't intend on letting him go.

Cardin watched Jaune who coughed while slowly rising off the ground and averting his gaze.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but grin, 'Yeah, that's it.'

He felt like he was on top of the world. He wasn't weak, they were. That's how it should be, the weak should always fear the strong, that's just how the world works.

"That's what I thought." Cardin said slowly backing away as he made his way to the building's edge, gradually scaling down as he spoke, "Don't worry Jaune... your secret's safe with me."

-.-

The night sky stretched over the four kingdoms of Remnant, it's dark canvas dotted with faint lights from countless stars. A permanent crescent floated above Vale, it's iridescent glow shining softly onto the land and into the room of a certain group of teens who were currently waiting for the arrival of their team leader.

"Why isn't Jaune back yet?" Nora asked, bouncing on the bed.

"He's become rather scarce ever since that altercation with Cardin." Ren replied calmly, wiping his weapon clean before taking aim at a nearby wall.

"That's weird. Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rrrest!" Nora exclaimed, flipping and plopping onto her back on the soft bedsheets.

Pyrrha sat in a chair a few feet away, emerald gems narrowing into a frown as she spoke, not even bothering to look at her teammates, "I'm sure our leader knows EXACTLY what he's doing and he doesn't need our input."

Ren and Nora both glanced at each other with worried look, "Nnn. I guess so." Nora groaned, unaware that Jaune had been eavesdropping on their conversation from their slightly ajar room door.

The boy only sighed as he took a step back, glaucous blue orbs of shame lowering to his feet as the door quietly drew to a close.

'Hahhh...What should I do now?' Jaune silently posed to himself as he stood in place, his fingers hanging loosely around the door knob.

"Hey Jaune!" A voice chirped from behind the blonde almost startling him out of his boots as his head snapped to the source. It was ruby, standing in in her pyjamas, "What's up? Did you lock yourself out again?" She asked, smiling as always.

"Me? Nope. I've got it right here." Jaune replied with a tired smile, holding up his scroll for the crimson reaper to see.

Ruby glanced over the blonde, curious silver orbs narrowed at the blonde knight, "Did something happen? You look worn out..."

Jaune averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck as he nibbled at his bottom lip.

"Jaune?"

The boy groaned before heaving a resigned sigh, "I... I messed up." He confessed, his hands falling limp at his sides as tired blue eyes locked onto visibly confused sterling.

"I did something I shouldn't have and now... Cardin's got me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me and... I'm starting to think coming here was a mistake..." Jaune explained, resting his back on the wall as he gradually slid to the floor, "I'm a failure."

That much he knew for a fact.

"Nope." Ruby said bluntly. Now it was Jaune's turn to be confused, "No?"

"Nope." Ruby repeated, "You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure."

"But what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Jaune retorted, if he wasn't a failure then what was he?

Ruby placed a finger on her chin, eyes glued to the heavens as she hummed in thought, "Hmmm. Nope." She said again, striding over and taking a seat next to the knight.

'Sometimes I forget she's 2 years younger that me.' He sighed, leaning back and resting his head against the wall, "You know...You're not easiest person to talk to about this sorta thing."

"Nope." Ruby smiled.

"Look," Ruby started, "Maybe you were a failure when you were a kid, maybe you were one when we first met, but you can't be a failure now, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because it isn't just about you anymore, we have a team now, both of us; so if we fail now we'll be bringing them down with us. So let's put our teammates first..." Ruby finished, her lips curving into a small smile as she rose to a stand with her hands placed on her hips, "...And ourselves second."

Jaune sat there in thought. Ruby may be younger than him and her advice might sound silly, but there's no denying the truth in her words.

Yeah, he's a failure, so what? Will him sitting here moping around change that? Heck no! Should he just stay a failure for the rest of his time at beacon and just be dead weight for his team?

No. He's a failure, there's no changing that. But right now he can't be a failure because he isn't living for himself anymore, he has a team, he has friends to take care of.

Maybe he could be a bit less of a failure... For their sakes.

"Your team deserves a great leader Jaune." Ruby smiled softly as she strode to her dorm room door, swiftly unlocking it and entering; but not without leaving a few encouraging words, "And I think that could be you."

Maybe...