Chapter 13

Deep within the illustrious- sensuous aroma filled halls of Beacon's cafeteria, three teams joined tables and took their seats with each of their lunches set before them as they chatted.

"So...There we were in the middle of the night..." The ginger enthusiast began, retelling the events of her adventurous and truthful tale to two very invested blonde's.

"It was day." Ren corrected.

"We were surrounded by Urrrssaiii...." The Valkyrie continued her very believable tale with Yang and Aria never once daring to turn away for fear of missing even the most minute details of such a wondrous tale.

"They were beowolves." Ren corrected again, taking a sip of his green tea.

"Dozens of them!" Nora yelled, jolting to a stand and slamming her fist into the table as she grinned unnaturally wide.

"Two of 'em." Ren sighed.

"But they were no match...!" She continued, raising a finger with a smug grin, "And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boat of lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

Stepping off her stage like pedestal (table), Nora gingerly sat back next to her friend, taking in the jaw dropped, awe induced faces of her friends and colleagues. The look of utter shock on Yang's and Aria's, the surprise and love of Ren's and Toño's (that's a lie), the looks of both respect and admiration emanating from the gaze of Blake, Pyrrha and Saya's eyes (delusional) were intoxicating for the proud woman.

Eying the glowing teen, with stars quite literally dancing around her, Ren sighed, only placing down his utensils, "She's been having this recurring dream for over a month now."

"I... see." Toño articulated slowly, arching a brow as he eyed the still beaming ginger.

While Nora had finished telling the last of her tale, Yosuke's gaze was drawn to the figure of two of his teammates, the twins. Normally, the pink haired duo would be off elsewhere when it came time for lunch, it was certainly unusual for them to stick around for so long much less interact with the others; excluding Saya who was quietly eating her lunch.

It would be nice if his team got along with the others and were happy like this everyday.

"Jaune..."

Though, not everyone was happy.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha queried, jade orbs of worry finding the sulking blonde who instantly jerked up at the mention of his name before replying, "Huh? Oh yeah, Why?" Cloudy blue spheres moving about the lower rims of its sockets in an attempt to avoid the gaze of the Amazon.

"It's just that you seem a little..." Ruby started, fiddling with her fingers as she stared at the failed knight, "Not okay..."

"Precisely." Yosuke added, "You seem as though you have something on your mind." He probed, cerulean gems of curiosity peering into the depths of secretive sapphire gems.

By now, everyone had put a stop whatever they were doing and turned their attention to Jaune who seemed to shrink slightly under the numerous gazes; likely overwhelmed by the amount of attention he'd garnered.

"Guys, I'm fine, seriously. Look." Jaune said, giving a thumbs up, a poorly done smile and a chuckle. Everyone stared at him, unconvinced by his display, they were no fools; even a child could discern that he wasn't genuine.

The sound of laughter echoed from a table a ways away which Jaune's gaze found, soon followed by the others. There, they found Team CRDL surrounding a rabbit faunus as they giggled away.

"Was it Cardin again?" Pyrrha inquired, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder as he turned his head the other way, the action causing the redhead's gaze to soften as she spoke once more, "Jaune, you don't have to hide it, I know Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." She stated, earning a nervous scoff from the blonde as he shrugged off her hand, "Wh-Who Cardin Winchester? Nahh, he just likes to mess around with, ya know, practical jokes." He insisted, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead as he grinned awkwardly.

"He's a bully." Ruby retorted with a gaze of hardened mercury.

"A rather bad one at that..." Yosuke added, casting Jaune a knowing gaze causing the blonde to chuckle nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Guy's, c'mon he- he..." Jaune started, only to pause as he realized he had nothing to say in his defense. Nothing. As the blonde sat there, his expression seemed to darken by the tiniest bit as his gaze veered off to the side, not in an attempt to avoid their gazes, but as a way to try and mask his bottling shame. He had felt it for a while now, but this just further solidifies that feeling. That feeling of uselessness, of not being strong enough.

'Always the damsel in distress.' Jaune clenched his fists on his lap as his head hung low, Everyone else had the strength, the power he desired to attain yet he could never reach despite his relentless efforts. The blonde sighed, Maybe... maybe he really wasn't cut out to be a huntsman... Should he just leave Beacon afterall?

Pyrrha eyed the blonde with soft emerald orbs and concern akin to that of a mother, she didn't like seeing him this way, it wasn't right, none of it was. She wanted him to be happy and to know that his friends would always have his back, she will have his back.

"Jaune, if you need any help were here for you. I'm here for you." Pyrrha soothed, hesitantly taking his clenched fists in her palms in hopes of alleviating the inner turmoil of her leader even if just a little. But unknown to her, those words only worsen it.

Jaune gritted his teeth as he turned to speak, "Like I said, I don't need any-" before being interrupted by a shout of pain off in the distance. Peering over Pyrrha's shoulder he saw Cardin pulling the rabbit faunus by the ear eliciting cries of pain from the girl much to the elation of his teammates.

Deplorable

"Owww! That hurts, please stop!" She begged, on the verge of tears. However, her plea went unanswered as her ear was yanked even harder causing her to scream as she bit back her tears.

"Where does an animal like you get off telling me what to do?" Cardin growled, pulling the brunette to eye level as he glared daggers into her very soul, her breath hitched in her throat as faint trickles of crystal ichor cascaded down her cheeks.

"You!" Blake seethed, rising to a stand as he prepared to march over to the group. But she was stopped in her tracks as a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Leave this to me." Yosuke said, brows contorted into a frown as he locked eyes with the dark haired ninja, cerulean orbs of determination met amber gems of hidden fury. Blake looked up at the taller teen as she clenched her fists while glancing back and forth between him and Cardin, she went to retort but...

"Blake, let him do it. He's probably good at this kinda stuff." Jaune advised, staring at the ninja with a pleading expression. After a few moments of thought, she grunted reluctantly and took a step back.

"Thank you." Yosuke nodded before stalking off towards the ginger bully.

'No need to thank me, I wouldn't be able to do anything anyway...' Jaune thought, watching as Yosuke marched towards Cardin. He clenched his fists tighter, his knuckles taking on an even lighter shade of alabaster as he stood in place with his head hung low. 'What was I even thinking... I can't even stop Cardin from bullying me, much less get him to stop bullying someone else.' An ever present feeling of uselessness washed over his body before settling in his chest. He didn't like the feeling, in fact, he despised it.

Tightening his grip on the girl, Cardin rose to a stand as he lifted the girl by the ears; all the while peering into her ebony orbs muddled with fear. Cardin reared his fist back, gearing up to punch the faunus ingrate that had the gall to tell him what to do.

"Tell me, you dirty little-"

"Let her go. You're hurting her." Yosuke instructed.

"Huh? Get lost before I beat you too." Cardin waved him off as he clenched his fist and looked towards the rabbit faunus.

"Now, where were we-" He halted, his eyes slowly trailing to the arm clutching at his wrist before snapping down to the owner of said hand.

"What's your problem? Let me go." He snarled, applying a bit of strength in an attempt to pry himself from the shorter boy's grip.

He failed, not because Yosuke was stronger than him, but because of the way he held the arm. His thumb was wedged firmly between his ulna and radius bones, this prevented Cardin from moving recklessly lest he injure himself.

"I will, but first, release her." Yosuke ordered, tightening his hold as his eyes gradually narrowed into a deep frown. Cardin glared at him with the force of a star as he growled, "Why are you helping this thing-"

"She's not a thing. She's a person. Just like the rest of us." Yosuke quickly countered, his grip tightening by the second as he stared into the eyes of the ginger giant who only scowled at his words. Stealing a glance back at the dangling rabbit, Cardin scowled deeply as he leaned in closer to her ear, "Quite the lucky bunny, huh? But you won't be as lucky when I see you again." He muttered, taking one final squeeze before releasing her as she fell in a heap.

"Scram!" Cardin growled. The brunette scurried to her feet before scampering past Yosuke and whispering a small "thank you" as she did so, with Dove eyeing her retreating figure with a remorseful gaze from the background.

"Now it's your turn to let go." Cardin said, wrenching his hand away yet still he found himself in the firm grip of Yosuke who peered up at him with an irate yet inquisitive glare.

"Why do you bully others?" Yosuke asked, although he was getting irritated, he was genuinely curious how one could commit such hurtful acts to another and manage to find it even the slightest bit entertaining.

"Do I need a reason to bully the weak?" Cardin scoffed, finally pulling his hand away as he grinned smugly, "Listen, pretty-boy, It's their fault for being so weak in the first place, it's common sense; the law, the will of the world. Everyone knows that the weak should get trampled by the strong." Cardin gestured to the cafeteria as he looked down on the cerulean samurai-gunslinger with a smug expression.

"Does that rule also apply to your teammates?" Yosuke probed, glancing over at the three who stood right across the table with Dove at the fore, eyes narrowed in scrutiny as Sky and Russell snarled.

"Psh, those idiots?" Cardin scoffed, casting a wayward gaze at the trio who promptly flinched beneath his stare causing his lips to curl into a cocky grin, 'Those dipshits are weak, that's what makes it so easy to control them.'

"Of course." He said confidently as he peered down on the blue eyed youth.

"Then wouldn't such a rule apply to yourself as well?" Yosuke asked rhetorically.

Cardin narrowed his gaze as he towered over the blue-nette, "Are you saying I'm weak? Huh, pretty boy?"

"Yes."

"Who do you think you are to call me-"

"You are."

"If you were as strong as you claimed to be then there would be no need for you to advertise it by such violent means. No matter how weak someone may be, that is no reason for you to inflict harm upon them." Yosuke spoke, his brows furrowing slightly as he stared into the eyes of the increasingly irate Cardin.

"Going by your logic I could do the same to you and no-one would be against it, no?" Yosuke added calmly as the ginger giant growled with anger before lashing out.

"Can it, raspberry! Like hell you can beat me!" Cardin yelled as he swung his fist at Yosuke's face, Yosuke's hand promptly snapped upwards, impacting and diverting Cardin's punch upwards before swiftly grabbing Cardin by the wrist; turning and heaving him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

The crowd murmured at the scene, some people began giggling at the sight as they muttered between themselves. Cardin grunted as he sat up, his skin reddening with rage as he roared, "What are you doing you idiots! Get him!" He ordered, springing into action as he cocked his fist back, but before he could take a step closer to Yosuke he felt his feet being swept from beneath him followed by a blow to the ribs; keeping him in the air and then two feet ramming him square in the jaw with the impact of the blow causing him to ragdoll across the cafeteria and crash into the wall before slouching to the ground.

'What the- what was that?' Groaning as he slowly sat up, Cardin winced at the pain as his head throbbed, his hand going to soothe the spot as he looked up, only to be met with the sight of 12 individuals standing before him staring daggers into his soul.

"Do you see now?" Yosuke's voice echoed as he stepped out of the crowd and into the forefront and knelt to his level, he sounded calm yet threatening, "If the strong were meant to topple the weak we could beat you to a pulp right at this moment and no-one would come to your aide, not even them." He gestured to the rest of team DRL who stood frozen at the table, too afraid to make a move. It was the right choice, since there was no way for them to even touch Pyrrha, much less the rest of them. This act of cowardice, however, did not please Cardin in the slightest.

"Your logic, your very outlook on life is flawed. If the strong were truly meant to trample upon the lives of the weak, then you'd be no more than that, weak." Blake chimed with a deep scowl etched onto her face as her voice trembled with barely contained fury, amber orbs of squinted judgment locking onto the one to be tried.

"Grrr!" Me? Weak? WHAT A JOKE! They're the weak ones not me! Cardin snarled, attempting to stand only to fall to a knee as Jaune's voice reached his ears.

"Face it Cardin. You can't win." His words made Cardin's blood boil with anger. There's no way he's getting lectured by Jaune of all people. Him??? A useless piece of shit like him???

"Shut the hell up, Arc!" He snapped back, reaching for the blonde who flinched violently as his hands shot up defensively, however, he didn't need a shield since Pyrrha had clutched Cardin's fist like a vice, "Cardin. If you don't stop this now I can't guarantee that I won't hurt you." Pyrrha warned, her grip on his fist tightening as her orbs of jade narrowed upon his figure.

Cardin's face contorted into a wicked scowl as his hand trembled in pain at Pyrrha's ever increasing grip. The rising tension between the two was palpable, a face off between Cardin the Arrogant School bully versus Pyrrha Nikos the Invincible girl and her posse of friends. Without prior context one might assume the bully was the one being bullied.

Cardin growled as he assessed his current situation, 'I hate to say it, but these bastards are stronger than me. I'd just be making a fool of myself if I fight them... Damn it!'

With a resigned scowl Cardin wrenched his hand free from Pyrrha's grip and rose to his feet as he glared at the shorter girl who returned the look a hundred fold. After a few moments he huffed as he pushed past Jaune and strolled up to Yosuke, his voice dripping with venom as he spoke, "You better watch your back, Utakata." He said before shoulder bumping him and promptly leaving the cafeteria with his team trailing closely behind, Dove sparing an apologetic glance at the group before he too took his leave.

Eying the boy leave with his 'pride' still intact, the entire cafeteria fell silent at the sight they'd been afforded to witness, not even a murmur passing through the unusually packed room of students.

"Prick..." Aria gladly commented, huffing as she rested her arms on her hip, still unaware of the many eyes scrutinizing the group.

"Did they really do that?"

"They did, didn't they? They gave Cardin a taste of his own medicine!"

"I never thought I'd see the day to be honest..." If the eyes of the entire room weren't on the three teams, then they were on the door where Cardin and his team had retreated from, and when they weren't there, they were back to the teams ....and vice versa!!!

Suddenly, a low, languid and continuous clap echoed from the depths of the already enamored crowd, the chokes of whispers and cheers slowly dying out in the sounds of the ever increasing pitch of the rhythm with more and more students joining in on the chant that spread like a fire in the populous' souls.

"Three cheers for the three Teams that whooped Team CARDINAL's asses!!" That one rando shouted with a pumped fist, soon voices of laughter and shouts mixed in with the joyous claps of the crowd filled the room, to some it was puzzling, humbling, embarrassing and.....arousing? The three teams, all varying in expressions to the attention they'd received

"Who knew that simply doing the right thing would get this much praise." Placing a hand on her hip, Blake eye'd the crowd with a small feeling of relief wash over her chest, happy that that put a stop to one more injustice and saved an innocent faunus from the hands of Team CRDL.

"Waiting for someone else to help you instead of doing it yourselves isn't something to be happy about." Toño spoke, blank features still facing the smiles and cheers of the cafeteria, his words somewhat surprising those present and sparking remnants of a memory he had long forgotten.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked.

"You cant survive if you don't have the courage to stand up for yourself. People won't always be there to help you, life isn't so kind."

"I agree with Toño, though, his way of saying it could be different." Ren interjected.

His words had affected everyone differently, even managing to unknowingly worsen the state of mind of a certain knight whose heart couldn't help but swell with guilt at his own ineptitude and glaring inability, as he drowned his voice in an unknown octave never yet heard.

"...Yea... I guess you're right...." Jaune muttered, his eyes falling to his feet as his lips crinkled into a wry grin.