The Prince and the Dragon

Questions To Ask Of Us Both

The whispers in the classroom were starting to annoy Jaune. Sitting in Grimm studies class, his eyes remained steadily focused on the board from the back of the lecture hall. But all around him, his classmates whispered and gossiped out loud as they chanced to look at him and his entourage.

It seemed that being with Yang "The Goddess of Signal" and Pyrrha Nikos, "The Amazonian Beauty", caused many an uproar in his time at Signal. The jealous stares from boys and girls alike irritated him to no end, and his brows furrowed in concentration as the students seemed to glare holes through his body.

A pencil snapped. A girl cursed him under her breath. Two boys asked why two stunning beauties were hanging with a "beta cuck" like him. Harsh words for a pair that got almost no attention from the fairer sex, but Jaune didn't say that out loud.

The teacher, Mr. Harth, to his credit, seemed unfazed. Well, he hardly changed expression, so that was probably why, but he was as dense as he was stoic. He droned on, and like in every class since the debacle that was his first year, Jaune stayed on track, studious and focused.

The same could not be said for Yang, the blonde instead opting to play silent games on her scroll from within her textbook. Of course, the teacher remained oblivious. Pyrrha, on the other hand, sat with impeccable posture, eyes attentive as they rolled over the textbook Jaune loaned her. The irony that the visitor was a more diligent worker than the one who had been here for years did not escape Jaune, who's wry smile was kept underneath his frown.

The muttering was actually starting to get on Jaune's nerves, as he was trying to internalize all the information in preparation for the upcoming exam. Grimm Studies, while still an A-, was his worst grade of the whole bunch. That, to him at least, was unacceptable if he wanted to get into Beacon. He had learned his lesson; complacency wasn't an option this deep into the year.

So Jaune sighed, exhaling sharply through his mouth. Looking up, his eyes hardened and his brows furrowed. Jaune let his frustrations be known with one look, going so far as to manifest some aura. The marks on his eyes appeared, threatening to grow onto his cheekbones; a telltale sign of the Divine Order. To his side, Yang and Pyrrha could feel the temperature drop, and everyone shrank in their seats. The newly minted "Arc Stare" was intense and steely, so intense that even the teacher chanced a look at the back of the room.

As his classmates begrudgingly looked back to their books, Jaune did the same, a small smirk present on his face.

"Jaune, what was that?" Pyrrha asked, quietly whispering into his ear, "Your mood kind of... flipped?"

"It's called the Arc Mode, and it's hot," Yang had put down her scroll, her trademark shit-eating smirk beating Jaune's face, "Usually, he's easy going, but when he does this, it's attractive as hell."

"It's not the Arc Mode, it's called the Divine Order," Jaune whispered back harshly, "And if you wouldn't mind, you can put your scroll away and actually pay attention?"

"What do I need this subject for, anyways?" Yang questioned, although she did put her scroll away in her pocket, "All I need to know about a Grimm is what it is and how to kill it."

"Is that all you care about? Simply killing it?" Jaune's lead broke as he pressed too hard, now slowly getting more frustrated with his partner's mindset, "It's important to learn how a Grimm adapts and affects the environment around them, how they affect different settlements, and most importantly, why they need to be cleared out."

Yang shrugged, eyes still glazed over. Jaune sighed in exasperation. Yang wasn't exactly the model student and she probably never would be, but she could at least try.

"Yang, I think Jaune's in the right here," Pyrrha's small smile was apologetic, always trying to mediate between the two sides, "It's important to see the full picture, not just how to kill the Grimm."