On the roof of Beacon's dormitory, the sound of steel on steel reverberated through the air. Heavy grunts and war cries flowed freely, and the odor of sweat, grime, and forest pine scented shampoo arose from the scene. Yes, this combination of sensory overload was only indicative of one thing. Jaune Arc was getting his ass kicked – again.

The knight hit the ground hard, his breath leaving his lungs upon impact. He lay on the ground for a few seconds before painfully rising to his feet. He slammed his shield into the ground with a frustrated growl, his arm aching from the exertion.

"Jaune?" His partner called. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Pyr. It's just – never mind," he said.

Pyrrha could hear the defeated tone in his words, and quickly moved to place a hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, you know you can tell me what's wrong. I won't judge you."

The blond sighed. "Thanks. I'm just annoyed, I guess. Yesterday I could get at least a few good hits, but today I can't even scratch you. It's like you were on a whole different level today." He looked at her just in time to see her avert her eyes in guilt. "Pyrrha! Don't tell me you've been going easy on me!" he accused.

The redhead met his gaze, albeit with shame. "I'm sorry, I know you wanted me to go all out but it's not what's best. Fighting against someone at your level is the fastest way you can improve."

"But that doesn't mean you have to let me think that I'm better than I really am! It hurts to think I'm actually getting good, just to find out everyone else is still miles ahead of me!" He knew it was unfair, but the knight was tired of not getting results.

"But you are getting better!" she protested. "You're stronger every day Jaune, and it's showing! Just last week you won both matches against Cardin and Sky. You may not see it now, but you'll be a great huntsman. You just have to be patient."

"Wonderful. Maybe by the time I graduate I might even be able to scratch someone who knows more tactics than 'swing wildly and hope for the best'!"

"You know that's not true. Your strength lies in your ability to lead us on the battlefield. Just because you're not the best fighter doesn't mean you won't reach our level. Your team is here for you, just as we've always been."

"That's just it Pyrrha. I need you guys. But you don't need me. Even after all this training, I'm still a liability."

"Each of us has a role to play Jaune, even you."

"Easy for you to say, it's not hard to feel important when you're the 'Invincible Girl'!"

They both froze after that. He knew she hated being called that. Just as he knew that it was a title that she'd hoped he would never use for her. And if the look of betrayal in her eyes was any indication, Pyrrha was just as hurt as he thought she'd be.

"Pyr-" he began.

"Jaune, please. I'll… see you back at the room, alright. I need some time alone." With that, the champion walked off, leaving the knight to his thoughts.

How could he have been so careless? She'd been training him for months on end, never once complaining about how much time he took. And yet he, Jaune Arc, hurt her more than any other student at Beacon.

He sighed deeply. "Damnit Arc, you really know how to be a great teammate," he muttered.

If she needed time alone, he'd give it to her. It was the least he could do. Welp, guess I can go to the sparring area. Maybe get rid of some of this frustration before I blow up at somebody.

Jaune made his way down the stairs into the dorms, checking his aura levels before he resumed training. Ok, note to self. Training with Pyrrha is a surefire way to end up in the red.

As he passed through the hall, he heard rapid footsteps approaching behind. "Hey Jaune! Jaune! Guess what?" The eternally cheerful face of Ruby Rose suddenly appeared in front of him, rose petals circling around the two. "Team RWBY is having a truth-or-dare game, so you're all coming too!"

"Ruby," he said, "I'm really not in the mood. Can't we do this another night?"

"Hm… nope! You guys have to come!"

"I'm serious, Ruby. Now's not a good time. Tell your team we'll be over tomorrow." He was beginning to feel his head throbbing.

"C'mon Jaune, it'll be so much fun! Please?"

"No. I'm going to train and that's final. Go back to your room."

"But Jaune," she pleaded, doing her best puppy-dog eyes. "We're all gonna have a fun time. You can bring Pyrrha too!"

"Ruby I said NO!" he snapped. "I'm not going to your sleepover! Why is that so hard to understand? If I tell you no, just assume I mean no!" With that he stormed off, leaving a tearful reaper behind.

Yang heard the commotion outside the room, but couldn't make out who was yelling. She didn't suspect anything was wrong until her sister came in, eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Ruby?" she asked softly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

The silver eyed girl stared at the ground before nodding slowly. "I'm okay Yang," she said shakily. "Jaune just has to go train. I should've listened when he said he was busy…"

Without warning, Ruby ran forward and wrapped her arms around her sister, burying her face in Yang's chest. Though she was silent, the wet spots forming on her shirt and the subtle shakes told the older girl all she needed to know.

Oh Hell no. That asshole did not just make her sister cry. Jaune Arc was going to pay.

Yang guided her sister over to Weiss' bed, and motioned for the heiress to take over. "Weiss, I gotta go hit someone, think you can cheer her up for me?"

"What do you think I am, a nanny?" Despite her protest, the girl didn't hesitate to bring her cryng leader into her arms. "Just, don't do anything drastic. We don't need another issue to deal with."

"Don't worry about me. Worry about that Arc punk once I find him."

Striding through the halls of Beacon, the blonde brawler quickly made her path to the training room, where she spotted her target. Jaune was currently working on a punching bag, seemingly taking out his frustrations against the world.

"Hey Arc!" Yang yelled. "Get over here right now!"

"Yang, I'll apologize to your sister as soon as I'm done here. I was out of line, and I'll make it right." The boy sounded exhausted. Unfortunately, she was too pissed off to notice.

"Not good enough vomit boy. You're not leaving here without losing an eye first."

As she approached the boy, he seemed to pale in fear. "Wait, Yang, I don't have any-" whatever the end of his sentence was going to be was replaced by a scream of agony, when his shoulder was impacted first by a shotgun shell, and then an aura-enhanced fist.

"Oh grow up," she mocked. "You've taken much worse than that." She swung again, this time at his face. She felt his jaw shatter, and blood coated her hand. Weird, I could've sworn his jaw just broke. But that's impossible his aura would've stopped it. She paused for a moment before looking up at his aura gauge in horror. It read zero.

Glancing down at the boy, she finally saw the damage to its full extent. His shoulder was a mess, the entire right arm seemed to be hanging limply on the floor. His face was even worse. Nearly half of his teeth were missing, and the gashes where his jawbone was now protruding from his skin were seeping blood.

The entire world seemed to stop. She could vaguely hear cries for a medic, while others rushed to try and stop the bleeding. For Yang, all she could do was stare at the crippled form of her sister's first friend.

AN: Welcome, and thanks for reading the first chapter of anger management. Now, while the first few chapters are going to be rather… dark in nature, I promise this is going to be an overall lighter fanfic. This is my first fic, so please, please, please, leave a review. Any words of advice on how I can improve as a writer would be greatly appreciated.