[6/3 (Tuesday) - Morning]
[Beacon Academy — Combat Class]
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin Winchester mocked as their weapons locked together with a heavy clang.
Gritting his teeth, Jaune pushed back with everything he had, struggling to overpower Cardin's sheer strength with Crocea Mors against the larger student's mace.
"Over my dead—"
The rest of the sentence died in his throat as a knee slammed hard into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs in an instant. Jaune choked in shock, his stance breaking apart.
Cardin, using the opening, grabbed him by the collar while he was still stunned and effortlessly hurled him onto the arena floor with a loud slam.
The impact rattled through his body. Disoriented, Jaune looked up, just in time to see Cardin looming over him with a smirk. His mace raised high above his head and ready to come crashing down—
Only for the arena barriers to deactivate as a sharp beep echoed throughout the hall.
"Gentlemen, that is enough."
Professor Goodwitch's voice cut cleanly through the arena as she made her way toward the two students. Cardin stepped back with a dissatisfied look while Jaune slowly pushed himself upright, still trying to steady his breathing.
Once she reached the center of the arena, Goodwitch adjusted her glasses before turning toward the students seated in the spectator stands.
"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has dropped to the red." Expanding the holographic screen above the arena, she continued. "In a tournament-style duel, this indicates that the combatant is no longer fit to continue fighting, at which point an official may call the match."
Pushing up her glasses, her gaze sharpened at the noticeably inattentive students scattered throughout the audience. "I will not repeat this again. In fact, the only reason I am explaining this once more is simply because the quadrennial Vytal Festival is drawing near."
Her eyes shifted back toward Jaune.
"Mr. Arc," she said sternly, "It has been weeks, and my advice remains unchanged. Please make an effort to monitor your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help determine whether you should continue pressing the offensive or shift toward a defensive strategy instead."
Doing as instructed, Jaune pulled his Scroll from his pocket and glanced at the blinking red Aura gauge displayed on the screen; a resigned expression slowly settled onto his face when Cardin huffed mockingly at him.
"The Vytal Festival is approaching in a few months," Professor Goodwitch continued, addressing the class once more. The holographic display then shifted into a calendar for October, a marker with the letter "V" pinned to the first day of the month.
"For those intending to compete and represent all of Vale, the selection examinations will begin approximately two months from now. While the exact date has yet to be finalized, I expect them to take place during the first week of August."
At her dismissal, the students slowly rose from their seats and began filing out of the combat hall in clusters of conversation and excitement.
Jaune, however, remained seated on the arena floor for a moment longer, his shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh. From afar, Pyrrha watched him with concern written across her face, something that Clerval happened to catch by chance.
Before either team could approach Jaune, however, Professor Goodwitch called out to them.
"Team Ruby, Team Juniper, please stay back for a moment. This concerns your teams' unique circumstances with regard to participation in the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament."
They soon gathered near the entrance of the combat hall, exchanging glances when Professor Goodwitch approached them.
"I am certain most of you already understand the format. The preliminary rounds will consist of four-versus-four matches, followed by two-versus-two semifinals, and finally one-versus-one matches to determine the victor."
She paused briefly, her gaze settling on Clerval.
"However, due to the matter of an additional teammate—one shared between both teams, no less—after extensive discussion between all four Kingdoms... It has been decided that Mr. Grayson will be excluded from participation in the tournament in order to preserve fairness for all parties involved."
A chorus of shocked protests immediately rang out.
But the sharp snap of her riding crop against its leather sheath instantly silenced the room.
"Children," the professor said firmly, "This decision has already been approved by all four Headmasters of the Kingdom Academies."
"But—!" Ruby blurted out. "Isn't that unfair? What if Team Ruby wins the whole thing—"
"—as if they'd win when we have Pyr of all people—" Nora coughed under her breath, only for Ren to jab her lightly in the side with his elbow.
"—and Clerval doesn't get to add his name to the Pillar of Names because technically it'd only be us?" Ruby finished in a hurried breath.
Silence followed before Professor Goodwitch let out a sigh, her expression softening only slightly.
"It is complicated," she said, her tone grim. "While Headmaster Ozpin attempted to argue otherwise, the final decision was reached once the vote leaned toward the majority."
"I'm sorry. While we will attempt to ensure Mr. Grayson's name is written alongside your team should you win the tournament... my hands—and Beacon's—are tied in this matter."
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[6/3 (Tuesday) - Lunchtime]
[Beacon Academy — Cafeteria]
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As Nora animatedly finished recounting one of her recurring dreams, with Ren cutting in to correct certain details, Pyrrha hesitated for a moment before gently steering the conversation toward Jaune, who sat quietly beside her.
"So... Jaune. Are you alright?"
Jaune looked up from his food, blinking in mild surprise. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm okay."
"Really?" Ruby asked from across the table. "It's just that—you seem a little... not okay."
That prompted the entire table to turn toward him, the focus making Jaune shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"I mean, yeah! Guys, I'm fine! Look," he insisted quickly, forcing a smile as he gave a thumbs-up.
At that moment, Clerval caught the sound of laughter behind him. Turning his head slightly, he spotted Cardin's group making their way across the hall to Velvet, who sat alone at another table.
"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the start of Beacon," Pyrrha said, getting straight to the point.
Jaune waved a hand dismissively. "What? Who—Cardin Winchester? Pshhh, nah. He just likes to mess around! Practical jokes and all that."
"He's a bully," Yang translated bluntly, casually tossing a fry into her mouth as Ruby furiously nodded in agreement.
"Oh please," Jaune chuckled, though it came out a little strained. "Name one time he's actually bullied me!"
Silence fell over the table as every member of the group seemed to pause, each recalling very specific incidents—especially the most recent one from just last week, when Cardin had shoved Jaune into their rocket-propelled locker, the same device they used to launch weapons toward Vale in case of emergencies.
"... I didn't land that far from Beacon?" Jaune poorly rationalized, already aware of exactly which memory everyone had settled on.
"Jaune, you know that if you ever need help, you could just ask—" Pyrrha began gently.
Clerval's attention, however, was pulled away by the disturbance happening behind him. Turning slightly, he saw Cardin and his team openly circling Velvet's table, gesturing and verbally attacking the Faunus traits on her head without restraint.
He frowned, his gaze flicking toward the cafeteria doors as if expecting a staff member to intervene at any moment. Surely someone would step in.
"Guys—really," his team leader said suddenly, standing with his tray in hand in an attempt to placate the tension. "It's fine! Besides, shouldn't we talk more about Clerval and his situation—"
His words trailed off as the situation behind Clerval escalated further.
Team Cardinal had stopped pretending altogether when Cardin reached out, grabbing at Velvet's rabbit ears roughly while she recoiled in visible discomfort.
"I told you guys they're real!" He jeered, laughter spilling out as he continued tugging at her ear.
"P-Please stop!" Velvet tried to protest, but his grip only tightened in response. Eventually, after a brief struggle, she managed to wrench herself free and quickly retreated, jogging away with tears gathering in her eyes.
Watching the scene unfold in silence, Pyrrha stared at the bullies with a rare, furious expression before huffing under her breath.
"Atrocious," she spat out. "I can't stand people like them."
"You're not the only one," Blake added, her attention away from her book, a sharper glint in her gaze than usual as Yang rested her cheek on her hand.
"It must be hard being a Faunus..." the blond murmured.
As Team Cardinal walked off, laughing among themselves, Clerval noticed a brown purse left behind where Velvet had been sitting moments before. Rising from his seat to return his tray alongside his group of friends, he stepped over and picked it up.
He should hand this back when he got the chance... but, feeling the guilt for not stepping in sooner when he had the opportunity, he hesitated.
Reluctantly, he offered a silent apology in his mind and decided to hold onto it for now, intending to return it once his Courage felt more Earnest.
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NEXT UPDATE: 3 June, Wednesday
A/N: The Jaundice arc (hah!) will conclude before Chapter 40, and Black & White will wrap up by Chapter 49, with Chapter 50 serving as the conclusion of Volume 1.
We're really reaching the final stretch of V1—that's honestly pretty amazing.
Thank you all for reading up to this point. Though, thinking about it... I suppose I should save the proper thanks for when Volume 1 is actually finished, haha!
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