Capítulo 673: 16
Their second day of classes was more academically focused. Since they were on a block schedule, their classes alternated between days. Today, RASP's classes consisted of Logistics and Geography in the morning, followed by Survival Skills in the afternoon. Because these classes were all academically focused, Ruby and Pyrrha were free to push Jaune harder in the morning and free periods. He was already beginning to show signs of improvement, much to Ruby's gratified surprise.
Granted, it would probably mean little when Jaune's first official match in Combat Class came up. There was no way to raise him into an elite fighter in just a couple days. However, their training might, at least, give him some staying power in the ring. It helped that he had so much Aura to work with. Ruby had him practicing his Temper every evening, and also advised him to try maintaining it during periods when he wasn't practicing. She was glad when she saw he was following through, trying to maintain his Temper while eating lunch, or even when he was trying to listen in class.
In fact, by Ruby's assessment, Tempering seemed to come pretty easily to Jaune. It almost seemed natural to him. Pyrrha, in contrast, managed to get it and maintain it during their evening practice, but wasn't yet having much luck managing keeping it up any other time.
It made her feel a little bad to leave Weiss out of their practice. Pyrrha was clearly put off by Jaune's apparent lack of skill, but politely refrained from asking questions. Ruby had the feeling that, despite supposedly turning over a new leaf, Weiss wouldn't be nearly as restrained. Ruby wanted more assurance that Weiss really was prepared to actually do her part as a teammate, and not simply look to manufacture another excuse to attempt to take over. Perhaps it wasn't the most leaderly-thing to do to be so wary of Weiss after she'd apologized, but Ruby wasn't ready to put her trust in the heiress just yet.
Weiss seemed aware of this, and somewhat hurt by the mistrust Ruby showed her…but appeared willing to accept it as a natural consequence of her previous behavior, which Ruby counted as a point in her favor for the time being. It helped that Weiss hadn't yet brought up the subject of Ruby's technique, which allowed her to create lightning without Dust, again, apparently restraining herself, once again in an effort to better integrate into the team.
As for the classes themselves, they proved to be something of a mixed bag, though Ruby certainly had an easier time than she had on the first day. Logistics was, naturally, the hardest, essentially being an advanced math course applied to the act of balancing the needs of living as a Huntress, calculating things like supply costs and other expenditures, and working out what bounty missions one would have to take in order to meet those costs. It was tedious, but it at least had a real application to her life, compared to the more abstract concept of regular number-problems one encountered in the average math class.
However, Geography and Survival Skills were where she excelled. Ruby knew a great deal of the terrain of Sanus, and a portion of Anima, having traversed much of it with her own feet. Granted, she hadn't been to the deserts in the southwest, where the Kingdom of Vacuo was situated; nor had she the opportunity to visit the chilly climes of Solitas, though she and Sasame had traveled through the northern mountains of Anima. But she had traveled across the Mibu Clan's home continent of Leng and, between all those different journeys, had encountered many of the biomes and climates that the class focused on, having an intimate knowledge of their natures, their advantages, and their hazards.
Indeed, Ruby was fascinated by Geography and the potential applications of the class. When a new settlement was being created, it was only natural to hire Huntsmen and Huntresses to assist in clearing the land of Grimm and making it safe for habitation. However, what the first-year students had not realized was that such Huntsmen and Huntresses were not merely there for pest extermination, but were also advisors, expected to assist in determining what areas were defensible, how a settlement could be laid out in order to hold off the Grimm, yet also remain economically productive. It was exciting and engaging.
Survival Skills was a walk in the park. This was to Ruby what Dust Science had been to Weiss, a class she probably could have taken, and passed, the final for on the first day. From the moment her journey with Kyo and Sasame had begun, they'd taught her about the potential resources of every area they passed through, how to determine what was safe to eat, what plants had potential as medicines, how to hunt and track. Their future excursions had only served to see Ruby's education expand exponentially. Her trip down from the northern tip of Sanus had served as a practical solo test of those skills, one she had passed with flying colors.
And, of course, it was gratifying to see Weiss having to struggle through lessons about surviving in the wilds, after having scoffed so much at Ruby for her "primitive" training earlier, only to now find that such training was an essential portion of their studies at Beacon. Quietly, Ruby resolved to keep any gloating she did internal, if the heiress managed to shed her pride and ask for help.
As such, the second day was much less tumultuous than the first. Weiss...after much hesitation, did ask for Ruby's help during the time they spent doing homework, asking for clarifications, and even additional information on the subject. Ruby helped her without taunting, and tried her best not to act condescending when Weiss asked about something that Ruby considered obvious knowledge. Instead, Ruby let her enthusiasm for the subject matter speak for itself, and that generally helped her keep from bruising Weiss' ego.
Things were a little different when their evening practice came around.
"Pyrrha...what is Weiss doing here?" asked Ruby when Pyrrha showed up on the roof with Weiss in tow.
"I didn't think we should leave her out," said Pyrrha firmly. "Weiss deserves to learn what you're showing us as well."
Ruby's eyes slid to Weiss, who looked somewhat undecided. It was apparent that she was put off that the other three members of her team were engaged in an activity that she'd been left out of. But she wasn't sure she was welcome, and Ruby, in all honesty, wasn't sure if she was ready to welcome Weiss.
"I think it's a good idea," ventured Jaune, shooting a nervous glance at Ruby. "I mean, learning to Temper has been a big help to all of us. Weiss could really benefit from it too."
Pyrrha cracked a sunny smile at Jaune's encouragement, glad that at least someone supported her idea. What was more, his endorsement appeared to put Weiss a little bit more at ease.
Suddenly Ruby felt sick to her stomach, wondering if this was what it had been like to be in Weiss' shoes, to stand apart and nurse petty grudges, instead of embracing what actually helped the team as a whole. Pyrrha was right that it wasn't fair to leave Weiss out of learning things like this, and even Jaune had agreed, despite the risk of Weiss learning about his unconventional means of entering the Academy. It made her feel selfish, a feeling that Ruby did not relish.
"All right," she said, before looking at Weiss. "I'm sorry."
"No...I'm sorry," said Weiss, lowering her eyes. "Before yesterday, I probably would have rejected this flat out and...I know you're still upset with me. Thank you for being so willing to help."
Why is she making it so hard to stay angry at her? Ruby silently asked herself, fighting back tears.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "All right. Jaune, Pyrrha...go ahead and focus on your Temper. I'll walk Weiss through the basics."
Pyrrha and Jaune did as they were bid, congealing their Auras around themselves and keeping them contained, while Ruby walked Weiss through the basic explanation of the three exercises.
From there, Weiss joined Jaune and Pyrrha in practicing Temper. Ruby noted that Weiss was very good at containing her Aura. It probably had to do with the fact that Weiss had been intensively trained from a young age. Furthermore, while her base weapon was a rapier, her primary fighting style revolved around advanced Dustweaving techniques, which did require more refined control of one's Aura than simply picking and firing the appropriate Dust-round.
About half an hour before curfew, they wrapped up their training. However, Weiss stopped Ruby before she could enter the door and head down. "I...I have something to say," said Weiss after a long moment of hesitation.
"What?" asked Ruby.
"I..." Weiss shuddered, clearly having difficulty saying this. Ruby waited, her own heart pounding as she wondered what was about to come out. "I...I'm really sorry."
"You said that last night," said Ruby in as neutral a tone as she could manage, wondering how this night's apology was different from the last.
"I know..." said Weiss, forcing herself to look Ruby in the eyes. "And I also know that last night's apology wasn't nearly good enough, not to make up for the way I spoke to you, the way I treated you. I basically attempted a hostile takeover of the team. I insulted and belittled you repeatedly, for completely shallow reasons. After today, you'd have been perfectly within your rights to tell me to help myself, when I had questions about Geography or Survival Skills...I could even tell that you wanted to on some level. But you still helped me...and you didn't even rub it in my face, when you had every right to."
Ruby hugged herself tightly, not certain how she felt about this apology.
"I...I also overreached," continued Weiss. "I pried into matters and asked questions that I had no right to expect the answers to, because they were clearly private matters for you...but I acted as though I deserved those answers, just because I wanted to know. I still want to know. But I..." Weiss sighed.
Ruby lowered her arms. "Weiss...what you've said and done...those things really hurt me. I tried so hard to show that I could lead this team, that I could fulfill the role that Professor Ozpin expected of me. But you brushed aside everything, because you were absolutely convinced that you were the better choice, and that it had to be that way, because you thought so."
Weiss nodded.
Ruby stared at the roof beneath her feet. "But what really hurt was when you insulted my training. When you did that, you didn't just insult me. My teachers didn't just train me, they saved my life. They became my family, a family that believed and encouraged me, when the ones that I left behind would have just locked me in my room for the rest of my life."
Weiss gasped softly.
Ruby looked up at her. "I ran away from home when I was nine. It was the only way I could see to have a chance to follow my dreams. I nearly died, out on the streets. But I got lucky. I found my teachers, and they took me into their home. For the last six years, I've lived with a people who live apart from the world, a very different kind of existence from life in the Kingdoms. I learned things from them that I never would have anywhere else. What's more, they taught me seriously. They believed in my dream, and did everything in their power to help me, even though they couldn't care less about the Kingdoms or Academies. They helped me because they wanted me to follow my dreams.
"So it hurt when you disparaged everything they did for me, all the work they put in, all the time they spent. When you insulted me and my training, you insulted them as well. That's not something I can forget easily."
Weiss nodded again. "I understand that," she said.
Ruby took a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying her best to stay calm. "But...even if I can't forget it...I can still forgive." She fixed Weiss' gaze with her own, silver staring into icy-blue. "I forgive you, Weiss Schnee."
Weiss sniffed and tensed. Then, to Ruby's shock, she abruptly threw her arms around the younger girl, nearly knocking Ruby over.
"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" Weiss sobbed into Ruby's shoulder.
Unable to help it, Ruby hugged her back, shedding tears of her own. "I forgive you," she whispered.
They held each other for little while longer. Finally, the emotional storm raging through both of them calmed, and they managed to let go of each other, still sniffling and wiping tears off their cheeks. What was more, they now both sported warm, if shaky smiles.
"I know it's a bit silly to ask this," said Weiss, still resting her hands on Ruby's shoulders, "but is there any chance we can start over?"
"We can try," said Ruby.
"Then let's start with introductions," said Weiss. "I'm Weiss Schnee."
"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said back, feeling lighter and happier than she had all day. "It's nice to meet you, Weiss."
"Likewise," said Weiss. She averted her gaze. "It's going to be hard. I have a lot of...baggage...to unload...from my upbringing. But I promise to do my utmost to be the best teammate I can be."
"And I'll try to be the best leader I can be," Ruby replied. "But I'm kinda new to this. So is it all right if I get your help, from time to time?"
"Of course," replied Weiss.
They found themselves hugging again.
"Looks like the two of you finally cleared the air," Jaune observed from the doorway, making Weiss and Ruby shriek and jump as they realized that their moment hadn't been exactly private. Both Jaune and Pyrrha were watching and listening to the entire conversation.
Ruby and Weiss' faces both turned a brilliant red.
"H-how dare you spy on us like that?" demanded Weiss, glaring at Jaune.
"You never even looked to see if we'd gone anywhere," said Jaune, raising his hands defensively.
Ruby sighed, her heart calming down. True, it had been a moment of vulnerability for both her and Weiss, which they would have preferred to keep to themselves. But it probably didn't matter in the short or long term. Both Jaune and Pyrrha were clearly glad that their respective partners had patched up the differences between them. While they probably had a hard road ahead of them, before they could truly say they were perfect, they did indeed feel like a whole team now.
"So...now that that's out of the way, I guess I should clear up a few things too," said Jaune with obvious trepidation.
"Jaune..." said Ruby in a warning tone.
"No," said Jaune with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "It's only fair that everyone else knows too."
"Jaune, that's not what I mean," said Ruby, before stepping in closer. "There's something that I've learned about this spot."
"Huh? What?" asked Jaune, both Weiss and Pyrrha looking curious as well.
"Team Cardinal's dorm room is directly below us," whispered Ruby. With her Extension, it was only natural that she'd become aware of the presence of the four boys directly beneath their feet. "If they have the window open, they'll be able to hear anything we say above a regular conversation-tone."
"Oh..." said Jaune, going pale at the thought of any member of the four-boy team learning his secret.
Ruby could understand his trepidation. Her experience with Russel in the ring hadn't been overly bad, but that was because she'd been far stronger than he'd been expecting. She'd seen it in the smirk on his face, before the fight had begun, sensed it in his intent. Had he the advantage, he would have been happy to toy with her, like a cat with a mouse. She'd sensed similar intent from Cardin Winchester and Sky Lark, two of the other members of the team. She'd felt their eyes linger on her repeatedly, felt the sadistic malice that colored their gazes. They were looking for weakness, for vulnerability, for anything they could exploit and hold over another person; typical bullies, in other words.
In that sense, only Dove Bronzewing, the dirty-blonde, squint-eyed member of their team, didn't seem to be cut from that cloth. He seemed indifferent to the attitudes of his teammates, though it could actually just be that he wasn't aware of them, the four of them not having been a team long enough to actually know each other all that well.
They had been interested in Ruby, because she was clearly younger than anyone else in their class, probably expecting her to be a pushover, someone they could torment without fear of reprisal. Except that her performance in the fight with Russel had caught them off-guard. They hadn't realized she was a capable fighter and, by their apparent assessment, a better fighter than any of them. While she had seemed vulnerable at first, she clearly wasn't as easy a mark as they'd first thought. Now, whenever their gaze went to Ruby, their gaze dipped to her sword, which they seemed to take as a constant reminder that she was dangerous.
Of course, bullies like them didn't move on easily. If Ruby wasn't an easy mark for them, they'd go to greener pastures, and find a better target. Unfortunately, Ruby realized that Jaune was probably perfectly suited to be their target of choice. He was still working hard, building up his physique and his technique, simply practicing the basics that they'd have mastered through years of intensive training by now. He also wasn't the most assertive person, nor the kind to really stand up for himself, his confidence somewhat undermined by his situation and, worst of all, came with an easily exploitable secret that was just begging to be found out by them, which they could hold over his head and use to force him to do their bidding.
So it was natural that the roof over their heads was the last place Ruby wanted to hold a potentially explosive discussion of Jaune's secret. Jaune certainly seemed to agree, and they headed back to their own room to hold the discussion behind closed doors. It also helped that it was nearly curfew, and Glynda was ruthless in her disciplining of students that broke the rules.
They closed and locked the door behind them and settled on their respective beds.
"All right," said Weiss, looking a little agitated. As far as she'd managed to push herself to open up and really apologize to Ruby, it was clear that she still wasn't comfortable with Jaune yet. "Out with it. What's this secret that's so important?"
Jaune looked to Ruby, who merely raised an eyebrow at him. This was your idea, so get on with it.
With a sigh, Jaune rested his hand on his face. "All right...I guess I'll just have to get it over with."
From there, he explained his own situation, how his family that stopped him from training, how he'd faked his transcripts and lied his way into Beacon. As his story went on, Ruby was surprised. Weiss looked to be on the verge of exploding, but was apparently, just barely, managing to hold herself back by the slimmest of margins.
"And that's how it is," said Jaune, wrapping up his story.
A tense silence settled over the room. Ruby was still waiting for Weiss' imminent explosion of temper. However, she didn't expect Pyrrha to speak first.
"Well...that answers my questions," said the redhead in a slightly amused tone.
"Questions?" asked Jaune, looking up at her.
Pyrrha giggled and looked back at him. "Jaune, when you said you needed pointers, and when I saw what you could actually do, it was obvious that you barely even knew how to hold your weapons. Now I understand why Ruby wanted us to talk about this here...and not where Cardinal could overhear us."
"And...you're okay with it?" asked Ruby dubiously.
"Well...it's worrying," admitted Pyrrha. "You were right to be worried about him, Ruby. He could have been killed in the first few seconds of the Initiation, if you hadn't realized the trouble he was in."
Jaune gulped and went pale.
"But now I understand what that was all about," added Pyrrha.
"What was what all about?" asked Jaune.
"The morning workouts, the technique-training during your free periods, Ruby wanting to get our homework out of the way, right away in the afternoon, the Aura-training in the evenings…" Pyrrha nodded to herself. "If you really want to get up to the level of the rest of our year, you're going to have to work around our schedules to do so. It means giving up nearly all of your free time, and pushing yourself to the limit, almost every single day. It's only been two days, but, if you really can commit to that kind of training, then I'm happy to support you."
"Thanks," said Jaune, the word practically forcing itself from his mouth in a relieved sigh.
That was one person out of the way. Now all eyes went to the member of their team that they knew would probably have the most difficulty wrestling with the fact. Weiss was sitting on her bed, her posture rigid, her eyes closed, eyebrow twitching. From the tense lines on her face, they could all tell that she was holding back an angry explosion. Jaune gulped and lowered his eyes, afraid of what would come out. He knew that Weiss only barely tolerated him at best. Now he wouldn't have been surprised if she marched out of the room, and straight to Professor Goodwitch, to get him expelled.
Then Weiss inhaled sharply. Jaune twitched and tensed in anticipation of the tirade to come. However, Weiss then exhaled loudly. Then she repeated the exercise, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly. Each time she did so, her shoulders lowered, her posture relaxed, and the tension flowed out of her body. Finally, she opened her eyes and fixed them on Jaune. Her gaze was icy-cold. But the furious anger they had all expected was nowhere to be seen.
"You...are a complete imbecile," she said finally.
Wow...I was expecting a lot worse, thought Ruby wryly.
"I was being petty, when I talked about Ruby's presence being an insult," Weiss admitted readily enough. "But you...you just faked your way in, and expect that some make-up training is going to compare to the years of training all of us have gone through to ready ourselves? That really does make me angry."
Jaune didn't dispute that fact. Not even Ruby, for all that she sympathized with Jaune's family situation, could dispute the fact that Weiss had a right to be angry about this. She found it near miraculous that Pyrrha had accepted it as easily as she had. Then again, perhaps Pyrrha was desperate to hold on to one of the few friendships she'd managed to form that wasn't based on her record as a champion.
Weiss continued to stare intently at Jaune. Then she forced herself to inhale and exhale again. "But...I suppose I can see that you're serious about this." Her gaze narrowed. "But you'd better stay serious. If I see that you're slacking, if I so much as think that you're getting lazy or taking everything that Ruby and Pyrrha are doing to help you for granted, then, so help me, I will boot you out of here myself."
Jaune swallowed and nodded nervously. "Yes, Ma'am," he said.
"I hope you appreciate what they're doing for you," said Weiss firmly, her hands going to her hips as she glared at Jaune. "It isn't just your free time that's being sacrificed here. Both Ruby and Pyrrha have things that they might rather do with their free periods, or things that they'd like to do. But they've chosen to give that time up, and use it to help you instead. So, if I think, even for a second, that you don't appreciate all the help they're giving you, I will put you through Hell. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," squeaked Jaune.
"Good," said Weiss, letting out one last explosive exhalation.
In all honesty, Weiss was surprised at her own tolerance. Just one day before, she probably would have fetched her rapier from her locker, then run Jaune straight out of school, before insisting that Ruby submit to her authority for daring to help someone like him get through the Initiation. However, after the past twenty-four hours of wrestling with her previous tendencies, and coming to understand just how much of an ass she'd been, Weiss felt that, at the very least, she owed it to Ruby and Pyrrha to not force their hard work over the past few days to come to naught. If that was the case, then she could at least wait and see how Jaune would ultimately handle himself...though he remained on thin ice, as far as she was concerned.
"Wow..." admitted Ruby. "I have to admit, I expected worse."
"I did too," added Pyrrha with a sheepish grin. "I was almost certain you'd run to Goodwitch and tell her."
"There's no point to that," groused Weiss sourly. "Goodwitch and Ozpin both already know."
"They do?" asked the other three members of the team in a perfect chorus.
"Obviously," said Weiss with an indignant huff. "Beacon is the most prestigious of the Academies. Their admission process wouldn't be fooled by fake transcripts for long. It's likely that Ozpin approved Jaune's admission, knowing full well that he was lying about his background. More importantly, even if he didn't, there's no way bringing that to light would get Jaune expelled now."
"Why not?" asked Pyrrha.
"I've studied the rulebook from back to front," said Weiss, her tone turning authoritative.
"Why am I not surprised?" muttered Ruby, unable to keep an amused smirk from her face.
"Shut it!" snapped Weiss, her cheeks going red, before she forced herself to calm down again. "A-anyway, what I'm getting at is that there are two terms regarding entrance into Beacon. Those are 'acceptance' and 'enrollment.'"
"What's the difference?" asked Jaune.
"If your application is approved, then you've been accepted," said Weiss. "Now, obviously, if that was meant to be definitive, and cement your attendance, then there would be no call for the Initiation in the first place. Obviously, not everyone who was accepted was enrolled."
The others nodded, recalling that the crowd that had assembled before Ozpin during their initial orientation was far larger than the comparative handful of teams he introduced to the school afterwards.
"In other words, acceptance basically means you've been invited to take the Initiation," continued Weiss. "The application system is only there for them to assemble the best candidates. From there, the Initiation is meant to weed out everyone except for those most fit to attend Beacon. If you complete the Initiation, then you're officially 'enrolled' at Beacon...and that's all that matters afterwards."
"So that means, even if someone told the teachers about Jaune's transcripts, he wouldn't be expelled," said Ruby, her eyes widening.
Weiss nodded. "The way the rules are worded; theoretically, a complete stranger could stumble into the Initiation and, so long as he came back with a partner and a relic, could be enrolled in Beacon, even if he never originally applied. That's what those rules mean."
"That's...kinda cool," said Jaune. "So I'm in the clear, then."
"I wouldn't say that," growled Weiss, her eyes narrowing in a glare, making Jaune gulp and tense. "That just means that you're covered, as far as the rules are concerned. You're still right to keep this a secret. If other people find out about this, they won't be happy."
Jaune gulped again.
"I'm okay with this...barely," said Weiss, "and only because I know that Ruby and Pyrrha are going through so much trouble on your behalf. After what they put up with from me, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt...for their sake. Others won't know about that...or they won't care. If it gets found out, you'll be in hot water, regardless of what the rules say."
Jaune swallowed yet again, hard.
Weiss abruptly leaned in close, jabbing Jaune's chest with her finger. "So you had better hope that I don't ever doubt you appreciate what Pyrrha and Ruby are doing for you, or the entire student body will learn the truth within an hour."
"R-right," said Jaune, shaking like a leaf.
Weiss settled back with a sigh. "Well then, that's all. Is there anything else?"
"Not tonight," said Ruby, glancing at the clock Weiss had set up on her desk. "Jaune, Pyrrha, and I still need to get up early tomorrow. We've burned the midnight oil enough as it is."
Weiss smiled. "That we have." Her demeanor changed and she was suddenly a very different person from the affronted girl who'd been confronting Jaune mere seconds earlier. "Could you wake me up too?"
"You want to join us?" asked Ruby, her eyes wide.
"Don't look that surprised," muttered Weiss, looking away in annoyed embarrassment. "If we're going to do this, then we'll do it as a team. It feels wrong to me, knowing that you three are working hard every morning, and I'm just sleeping through it all...so I'll join you."
"All right," said Ruby, relaxing. "Well...let's get ready for bed then."
The next morning, they all got up early and proceeded to the fitness center for a workout. Much to Jaune's surprise, Ruby and Pyrrha didn't ask as much of him as they had the previous morning, or the morning before that. At the end, while he'd worked up a healthy sweat, he noted that his limbs didn't feel like jelly.
"Why are you going easy on me?" he asked.
Ruby and Pyrrha shared a glance. "Well, we don't want to wear you out, today," said Ruby. "It's likely you're going to be called into the ring during Combat Class, today."
Pyrrha nodded her agreement. "Knowing that, it's best to keep your routine light, so that you can fight at your best."
"Which isn't much," Jaune pointed out, earning an agreeing nod from Weiss, who was standing behind him so that he couldn't see it.
"True enough," conceded Pyrrha with a giggle, the angle of her gaze indicating she was more amused by Weiss' willingness to acknowledge and agree with something Jaune said than what he'd actually said.
"We'll also take it easy on your technique training during our free period," added Ruby. "In fact, let's treat it like a warmup for the class."
"Sounds good to me," said Jaune, before sighing and lowering his head. "I don't think it's going to stop me from getting creamed."
"At this point, a definitive win is too much to hope for," said Weiss. "That doesn't mean you should let a defeat discourage you. You still owe it to Ruby and Pyrrha to give it nothing but your best effort."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Jaune stiffening.
Ruby and Pyrrha flashed grateful looks at Weiss, who gave them a small, almost shy smile in return. At this stage, Jaune had, understandably, little confidence in his skills and abilities, which would only be further damaged by what everyone suspected would be an inevitable loss in the ring. Neither of his trainers felt right or comfortable reminding Jaune just how much of their time they were investing in him, so it was helpful that Weiss was there to do it for them. For all that it was still rough, it seemed that they were beginning to find their dynamic as a whole team.
We might just make it through this after all, thought Ruby, her optimism rising.
Their morning classes went well enough. To her relief, Ruby was not called to the front of Port's class again. She couldn't tell whether that was fortunate or unfortunate though, as it appeared that Port's normal mode of conducting class was through looooooong-winded anecdotes on his experiences...or the experiences of his father...or his grandfather...or his great-grandfather, to the point that his voice became an unending drone, and most of the students either dropped off and zoned out, or fell asleep entirely. Even Weiss' determination to be a model student was undermined by the professor's endless droning, and there were moments were she seemed to fall asleep with her eyes open, before abruptly realizing where she was, and beginning to write furiously in her book.
Ruby, not nearly as motivated as Weiss was, ultimately gave up trying to follow the course of the lecture, instead choosing to meditate quietly. As she did, she became aware of the fact that Jaune and Pyrrha had both given up as well, and were, instead, choosing to practice their Temper, while they waited for Port's lecture to wind down. After a few more minutes, she heard Weiss let out a quiet huff of frustration, before she set her pencil down and joined them, making Ruby smile slightly.
Ruby just wished Yang's eyes would stop drifting in her direction so often. It made for a frustrating distraction.
After their other classes and lunch, the free period before Combat Class began. Ruby and Weiss watched as Pyrrha made Jaune continuously repeat the basic sword and shield techniques, focusing more on form than power. As they'd promised, she didn't work Jaune very hard and, by the time they were about to head for class, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead was the only sign of his training.
As they were about to head to class, Ruby stopped Jaune, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Listen," she said, "I know it probably hurts for you to hear this, but don't worry about winning today."
"It sounds like you want me to worry about something else," said Jaune.
Surprised by his insight, rather than him getting preoccupied with his inadequacies, Ruby found herself beaming. "That's right," she said. "For today, I want you to see if you can last the whole five minutes in the ring, without being knocked out or having your Aura brought down. That's your goal."
According to the basic rules of the class, if the timer ran down without any of the main victory conditions being satisfied, then the win automatically went to whoever had the most Aura remaining. Granted, if he was just taking attacks, then that would rule Jaune out pretty much automatically. But it would still be a step above losing in the regular fashion.
"Okay..." said Jaune nervously.
"There are two things I want you to focus on," said Ruby. "I want you to focus on maintaining your Temper through the fight, and practicing the deflection techniques Pyrrha's been teaching you. That's it. You're going to be facing an opponent who's attacking for real, so they aren't going to slow down or hold back the way Pyrrha does. But this is where you're actually going to apply what we've been teaching you. Got it?"
Jaune nodded.
They filed into the classroom and took their seats amongst the other students. When the bell rang, they quieted down as Glynda stepped out into the center of the sparring ring below.
"I hope that I do not have to go over the rules I laid down last time," she said. "It has only been two days after all." Her eyes gazed critically over the assembled students, lingering on a few. This time, Ruby noticed the likes of Cardin and his teammates included in her gaze. "If you require any reminders or clarifications, now is the time to ask. If you act out of line during your match, the excuse of having forgotten will not protect you."
When only silence greeted her inquiry, Glynda closed her eyes and nodded soberly, continuing on. "Very well then. Let's move on to those of you who did not participate in the previous period's matches."
"Jaune Arc...and Cardin Winchester, please report to the ring."
Uh oh, thought Ruby, barely managing to give Jaune a reassuring smile and a pat on the back as he headed down. She saw the look on Cardin's face as he entered. True to form, his expression was smug and self-assured, the look of someone fully aware that he already had this fight in the bag. More than anything, Ruby hoped that attitude wouldn't goad Jaune into taking reckless chances. Don't let him bait you, Jaune.
Jaune swallowed, staring nervously at his opponent. If there was one thing that could be said about Cardin, he was certainly an imposing sight. With close-cropped red hair and heavy plate armor over a powerful physique, he was clearly well-muscled, and had plenty of power to spare, which suited the heavy mace he slung casually over his shoulder. The weapon itself seemed mostly unremarkable, a thick, metal shaft extending up to a four-flanged head. The only interesting feature of note was the red crystal that rested in between those flanges, which Ruby assumed to be fire-Dust. She assumed that meant Cardin would be able to infuse his already heavy blows with explosive power, if he wanted or needed to.
It'll be bad for Jaune if he uses that, she thought nervously. However, there was nothing for it. The best she could do was cheer Jaune on, and hope that he stuck to the plan.
The two of them took their positions. Jaune extended his left foot, keeping his shield up, sword at the ready behind.
"His stance looks good," observed Pyrrha.
Ruby nodded. In contrast, Cardin remained completely lax, his mace resting casually over his shoulder, his smirk only growing in the face of Jaune's wary gaze. Clearly he didn't think this was going to be any kind of contest at all. Still, if he was too busy being smug and superior...
"Begin!" declared Glynda, stepping back and activating the arena's safety barrier.
Cardin and Jaune remained still, Cardin clearly expecting Jaune to make some kind of effort to attack. When Jaune didn't move, Cardin's smirk faded somewhat.
"Come on, Arc. What's the matter?" he taunted. "You afraid of me?"
Jaune said nothing, merely remaining entrenched behind his shield, waiting for the attack to come. Ruby was relieved that the shallow taunt didn't seem to be affecting him.
"Come on, Jauney," teased Cardin. "Are you gonna spend the whole match behind your little shield? How pathetic!"
If he has any sense, he'll stay behind his shield, Ruby silently retorted. Technically, what Cardin was doing was a valid approach. It was a valid strategy to coax your opponent out from behind a strong defense, and into a position where they were more vulnerable. Of course, Cardin wasn't doing this for strategic reasons. He wanted to draw Jaune out and toy with him.
"What's the matter?" Cardin taunted again. "Feeling chicken, Jauney-boy? That worried about getting your butt kicked in front of your team?"
Jaune said nothing, remaining where he was.
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Cardin in frustration. "What kind of match is this? You gonna do something, Teach?" He looked over at Glynda.
Glynda merely adjusted her spectacles and fixed Cardin with a cold look. "Each student is free to choose their own strategy, Mr. Winchester. If Mr. Arc wishes to wait, then that is his right."
Ruby then saw Glynda look over at Jaune, and got the distinct impression that the teacher's opinion of him had gone up by a small margin.
"Fine then," said Cardin, striding forward. "Just know I'm gonna bring you a world of pain."
Even from up in the stands, Ruby could see Jaune's throat bob as he swallowed nervously.
"All right then, here I come!" shouted Cardin, rushing forward, mace raised.
Jaune watched it come, tension filling his body. That looks really heavy. If he puts his all into that swing, he might just break my arm.
Of course, there wasn't really anything he could do to rectify the difference between their respective strengths. All he could do was rely on the techniques he'd been practicing the past couple days. So he watched as the mace descended. It hadn't made contact, but Jaune could already feel the sheer weight behind the swing. Keeping his shield up, he focused on the sensation of his arm as the mace made contact.
When it struck, when the first vibrations of impact reached his arm, Jaune automatically shifted the shield, having seen the path of Cardin's swing. Ironically, the fact that Cardin had been so willing to telegraph his first strike actually made this closer to the scenario Jaune had been going through in his technique-training. Pyrrha's swings may not have had real power behind them, unlike Cardin's, but she telegraphed her own attacks to help Jaune work out the process of reading and reacting to them.
Jaune shifted his arm to the side, not so far that he left his body uncovered, but moved it just enough so that the mace practically skipped off the angled surface of the shield, and plummeted the rest of the way to the floor, where it slammed with enough force to crack the surface of the ring.
Ow... Jaune suppressed a pained grimace. He might have deflected the blow, but his timing had been a little off, so some of the force behind the mace reached his arm, leaving it a little sore. Still, the technique had worked, and Jaune knew, once he got the timing down, he'd be able to deflect attacks like that while hardly feeling a thing.
Cardin grunted in frustration, then raised his mace once again. "Nice trick, Arc...for a coward!" Shouting the last word, Cardin followed through with a wide, looping side-swing across his body, once again telegraphing his attack so that Jaune was able to easily read the path of his swing. This time, when Cardin's mace struck, Jaune shifted his arm, bouncing it up and over, just above the level of his head, feeling the breeze of its passage across his face. Yet again, his arm was left aching with the pain of impact. But Jaune was also left with a feeling of accomplishment, realizing a strike of that force would have probably blown him off his feet, had he taken it head-on. As it was, the force sent him skidding back a few inches.
"Think you're tough, huh?" growled Cardin.
He whipped his weapon back around, launching a series of sequential strikes. Jaune concentrated as hard as he could on reading the path of Cardin's swings. His defense wasn't perfect and, after deflecting several more attacks, Jaune's arm was sore and feeling heavy. His bangs were matted with sweat, maintaining his concentration actually proving to be more draining than the physical exertion.
Luckily, Cardin, convinced of his superiority, continued to swing wildly at Jaune, making widely telegraphed swings that Jaune could read well in advance. Granted, just the effort of deflecting those swings was pushing him to the limit, and Jaune silently dreaded the point where Cardin decided he needed to stop playing around. Jaune didn't dare take his eyes off his opponent, whether to check the timer or their Aura levels, instead completely concentrating on the task at hand.
Still, he held firm. While Jaune felt sore and tired, he remained where he was, still standing, not having taken an actual hit from his opponent yet. On top of that, it was clear that Cardin's wild style of attacking was taking its toll on him as well. The bully had expected to be batting Jaune about the ring with ease, only to find that his every blow was being competently warded off.
"Come on, Jauney-boy!" shouted Cardin, taking a step back and panting. "Are you gonna take this seriously, or just keep turtling like a coward."
"Yeah!"
"Come on!"
"Do something!"
"Wuss!"
Angry shouts were beginning to echo out from the stands, several of the spectators apparently agreeing with Cardin's sentiments. Glynda remained silent, not interjecting in the slightest. Jaune took that as a sign of silent acceptance. As frustrated as he felt by the growing taunts from both Cardin and his fellow students, Jaune felt Ruby's eyes on him even more keenly. He couldn't say how he knew. All he did know was that Ruby was watching him.
That knowledge, along with the knowledge of what she wanted him to keep doing, was what kept him from abandoning his defense. Jaune remained where he was, his focus completely on Cardin. Cardin was clearly working to catch his wind. It was to his advantage, in that regard, if Jaune didn't go on the attack, but Jaune didn't mind. While his arm felt heavy, he was able to recover some of his stamina as well.
"All right, playtime's over," growled Cardin, gripping his mace firmly in both hands and raising it over his head. "Block this, if you can!"
As it began its descent, Jaune saw the crystal set within the flanges gleam. Jaune swallowed hard, already having an inkling of what was coming. He hadn't seen Cardin fight before, but, like Ruby, he figured he knew what the fire-Dust crystal set at the mace's center was for. If I try to deflect that...
Not sure of what to do, Jaune raised his shield up and bent his knees, sinking down, bracing his shield with all his strength. This was one situation where he probably wouldn't be able to simply redirect the attack to the side. In that case, it was best to hunker down and protect as much of his body as he could.
Cardin's mace struck head-on and Jaune's ears filled with a roar. The force behind the blow drove him down to on one knee, sending him sliding back. His arm practically screamed with the effort. Jaune thought he might be screaming too, but he couldn't hear it over the sound of the explosion. The air around him grew almost unbearably hot, and Jaune worried that he might wind up bursting into flames himself.
Then the sound faded. Jaune opened his eyes, not remembering when he'd closed them. His left arm ached something fierce, but it was still responding. His legs, particularly his right, where the knee had been driven hard against the floor, were sore as well. In fact, his entire body felt a bit achy after that impact.
Then something hit the floor in front of him.
Grunting, Jaune forced himself up into a standing position, blinking to clear his vision. "Ow..." he groaned, shaking his arm out.
Smoke was still streaming off his shield, stinging his nose. Looking past it, Jaune was shocked by what he saw in front of him.
Cardin lay flat on his back, completely dazed. By deciding not to try and deflect the explosion, but tank it head-on, Jaune had inadvertently created a situation where the force of Cardin's attack rebounded in his own face. Cardin's plate armor was smudged and blackened in places, as were his hands and face. He groaned in pain and tried to sit up.
Jaune looked at him, his eye narrowing. I can finish this, he thought. However, he felt Ruby's gaze boring into the back of his head. He could practically hear her warning him off from doing anything reckless.
"Finish him!" a voice shouted from above.
Jaune ignored it, and settled into his defensive stance again.
Cardin growled and slowly began to sit up. It took him quite a bit of time to get to his feet. Jaune didn't like the idea of doing it, but he still let Cardin get up, focusing on making sure he was set for the next round of attacks.
"You son of a..." Cardin's voice trailed off as he shook his head vigorously to clear it, still swaying slightly from his disorientation. When he'd mostly recovered, he glared pointedly at Jaune. "Now you're just messing with me. I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born, Jauney-boy!"
With a roar, Cardin charged forward, whirling his mace through a much tighter arc than before. Having less time to read the incoming attack, Jaune was a little too slow to catch which way he should shift the shield to deflect the blow. As a result, the impact knocked him off-balance and sent him stumbling. Then Cardin whipped his mace back around in a swift return-stroke that Jaune hadn't thought possible. Luckily, it came from the opposite direction Jaune had just been sent stumbling in. Because of that, when Jaune caught it on his shield again, it actually helped him find his balance again. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of Cardin's onslaught.
Whipping his mace around, demonstrating incredible speed and wrist-strength, Cardin unleashed a barrage of blows that seemed to batter Jaune from all directions. Jaune couldn't quite keep up with the pace of attacks, grunting and struggling just to remain upright and keep his shield from being knocked out of position entirely. Whatever else, he remembered what Ruby had told him, and resolved to keep his defense as solid as possible. He was jolted from side to side and backwards. Desperately, he tried to keep from giving ground to avoid being driven out of the ring altogether. It was hard for him to keep track of his actual position in the midst of this attack.
Then Cardin gripped his mace in both hands as he followed through a sideways stroke by dipping it down and whipping it back up. Unfortunately, Jaune found himself in a bad position to block. Grimacing, he bore the impact on his shield as best he possibly could. But that resulted in his feet leaving the ground. Jaune yelped as he felt himself overbalance and began to fall backwards. His eyes widened even more as he saw Cardin's mace come flying back around, barely managing to intercept it with his shield. Unfortunately, the consequence of being in midair when he took that blow meant that his back was slammed back down into the floor of the ring, driving the breath from his lungs in a pained gasp.
For a moment, his vision swam, and Jaune heard a loud buzzing in his ears that made him think that he'd hit his head a little harder than he should have.
Looking up, Jaune saw Cardin standing over him, his gaze radiating pure fury. "Time for payback, Jauney-boy!" growled Cardin, raising his mace high.
Jaune grimaced and did the only thing he could, raise his shield in anticipation of the coming blow.
Status de energia semanal
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