A/N: Hello everyone. Back at it again with inconsistent updates. It is what is.
Sorry for the delay. And thanks for the feedback. I've read all your reviews.
Hope you enjoy.
Jaune slowly inhaled, eyes closed.
His mind was currently focused on expanding his Aura outside of his body to raise his awareness of surroundings.
He ignored the sounds coming to his ears, he stopped paying attention to the wind blowing against his hair, or the coldness of the air. Only his Aura mattered. Other senses, forgotten.
He exhaled slowly, feeling his Aura shift and gather around him.
Searching for his body.
Awareness precedes control. Fox had explained to him, The better you feel it, the better you will be able to use it. And that applies to everything.
Jaune's eyebrow twitched.
There he was. He could feel himself with his Aura. His soul delicately enveloping his body and expanding slowly.
With it, he reached down, away from his legs.
And just like that, he could feel the roof he was sitting on, too.
And…
Something moving…
Fidgeting? Right next to him?
"Jauuuuuune…" A whisper came right into his ear.
Jaune opened his eyes and sighed. "Ruby! I told you, this technique is tricky, so please don't interrupt my meditation."
"You spend way too much time meditating on your own!" Ruby protested, "And I wanted to train too for once. So we might as well do it together!"
"You can't," Jaune rolled his eyes.
"Why not!"
"Because." Jaune shook his head, "Because you…" He paused, "...You're just no good at meditation, Ruby," he explained, trying to gently turn her down.
"Uugh." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, exasperated, "I'm decent!"
"You're really not." Jaune shook his head, remembering the last time Ruby had meditated. She had ended up falling asleep. She was just too full of energy to stay still, kinda like Nora.
"Then it's my chance to improve! Just like you with your hand-to-hand combat training. Come on... please?" Ruby begged as she pulled out her weaponized puppy eyes.
"…"
Ruby kept staring at Jaune for a short moment, until…
"…Fiiiine." Jaune finally accepted and looked away, unable to withstand her stare.
"Yay!" She raised her fist in victory. "But first, I want to try using my Speed semblance on you again!" Ruby suggested with a wide grin. "To invent more interesting combo attacks!"
Jaune's biggest weakness was his lack of mobility. But if they managed to let Ruby use her Speed semblance on him, that would take care of that.
Jaune frowned. "It's not gonna work, though…"
One of the side effects of his 'Fracture' semblance made Jaune immune to other semblances. How? He did not know, but this meant that things like Weiss' Glyphs, Ruby's Petal Burst, or Ren's Tranquility had no effect on Jaune.
"That was before." Ruby pointed out, "But now you've gained control over your semblance!"
"Hmm…" Jaune hummed, unsure. "But I don't think I'm good enough yet to control that part of my semblance…"
"How do you know?"
"…"
"Have you tried?"
"…Well, um…" Jaune hesitated.
"Have you tried? Huh? Have you tried?" Ruby repeated, her grin widening, and she raised her finger at him. "Nnoooope, you haven't!"
Jaune sighed and broke a smile.
The truth was, he had assumed he could not control it yet, since he could not control his depleting of dust crystals, either. However, he never actually put this power to a test, by trying to actively control it. It might be possible that those two properties of his Aura, that is, 'negating Semblances' and 'depleting Dust', had actually nothing to do with each other.
It was a long shot though.
"You won't know until you try!" Ruby insisted, grinning widely as she already knew that she had won the argument.
Well, I guess it's worth a try. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
"Okay…" Jaune eventually nodded.
"All right! Give me your hand, then!"
"…"
Jaune let her grab his hand in hers.
Soft… He thought, looking at her little hands.
"Aaaall right, I'm gonna try to use my Petal Burst, so you do your best to hold back your... uh… your thingy that negates my thingy." Ruby giggled.
"Right…" Jaune nodded along, "I will try."
Ruby clenched her eyes close, and started gritting her teeth.
"Hnnnnngh…!"
She was, obviously, trying very hard to use her semblance.
Cute, Jaune thought to himself at the sight of Ruby clenching her eyes close and holding his hand.
Jaune shook his head, waving the thoughts away. He needed to focus on what was happening with their Aura, not on Ruby's face.
…I don't really feel anything happening with my Aura, though… He frowned as he concentrated on the flow of his Aura.
Jaune closed his eyes as he raised his other hand to hold Ruby's.
Focus… On the Aura flow.
Come on, this can't be harder than Fox's extrasensory perception technique.
Awareness precedes control. And that applies to everything…
Slowly, he started to sense Ruby's Aura. It was trying to spread into its hands.
There!
Such a faint sensation! If Jaune had not spent his life training meditation, he would have never been able to feel it.
However, Ruby's Aura was being stopped by something.
No, it wasn't just being stopped… It was growing more and more unstable as it desperately tried to influence Jaune's own Aura.
Her Aura was so small, so… weak, compared to his own gargantuan reserves. It felt like little mouses trying to pull on an Ursa.
Furthermore, as Ruby's Aura was trying to take a certain shape, Jaune's was instantly dispelling it… As if the Ursa was stomping on the little mouses.
That's probably the negation effect, Jaune assumed, feeling a little apprehensive, seeing how much his Aura did on its own. So, how do I stop that?
It certainly didn't feel like something he could control…
It felt more like a weird property of his Aura, rather than something he did unconsciously.
Like... His Aura was just too much. Too thick, too heavy.
For example: no matter how many mice there are, there's just no way they can carry an Ursa around.
So... This much is still way beyond my current level, huh?
Jaune frowned and shook his head. No, I need to look deeper.
Deeper…
Deeper! Focus!
Jaune's entire attention focused on both their hands.
...
...
...
At that moment, a weird feeling spread through Jaune's mind. Like he was diving into something. As if his mind itself was diving into their hands, rather than looking at it from an outside perspective.
What's going on…?! Jaune was almost panicking as he felt himself falling: the ground below him had disappeared. Like a psychedelic experience, it felt like he was sucked into a black hole. However, because of his mastery of meditation, he still managed to maintain his awareness of his Aura.
And so the world continued fading away.
He fell into a dark place, similar to the bottom of an ocean, where countless red petals were twirling around in an unstable tornado.
His soul finally slowed down, coming to a stop in the middle of the storm. He was floating as if immersed deeply underwater.
…What is this?
In front of him, was a giant rose, full of thorns and scattering petals. Way above the rose, was a giant red sun, illuminating the dark ocean. A few crimson threads were connecting the rose and the sun together.
Actually, hundreds of wires shining red were connected to the sun; from the sun to the outside, to things Jaune couldn't see, things far away into the dark ocean.
Periodically, it looked like something was pulling on a few threads, which in turn pulled on the ones connected to the rose. The action slowly raised the rose's petals ever so slightly.
In terms of height, this rose felt like it was three times as big as Jaune.
...Height...
Why could he sense something like that? In the first place, this thing had no height…
Actually, this place was not real… It could not be real.
It was all inside his head.
Or was it?
"…" Jaune floated around the rose, more and more confused, being careful not to touch any of the red wires that were connecting it to the red star.
As he did, he noticed something. Further away, hidden deep behind the storm of rose petals, was a shining spark of silver flames. No thread was connected to it. It seemed so far away, and so tiny, that Jaune decided to ignore it and focus his attention on the giant rose, as the sun was so high it seemed unreachable.
"…"
Hesitantly, Jaune reached out towards it, between two large thorns.
How? He did not know. If he had to describe it, Jaune would say that he was 'raising his hand to touch the rose', but that couldn't be right… There was no hand, just Aura.
Or was it because he was holding hands with Ruby?
Crack!
Jaune widened his eyes as he felt his semblance suddenly lash out when he came into contact with the rose.
The rose visibly winced, snapping a couple of crimson threads in the process.
Of course! This was not his physical hand, this was his soul, his Aura, his... semblance. He couldn't expect it to react like his physical hand. It reacted like his soul, which was destructive... Hence his mistake, which caused the storm to stop abruptly!
Crap…! Jaune panicked, instantly backing away. Did I do something bad?
Everything suddenly spiraled and became small, like a whirlpool compressing everything into a tiny black hole as Jaune's mind violently 'zoomed' out of the dark place. At incredible speed, Jaune's mind was brutally ejected, which instantly made him come back to his senses in the real world.
Weirdly, his stomach protested at the whole thing.
"BWaAaAargh!" Jaune immediately knelt on the ground and vomited.
Somehow, that whole thing had triggered his motion sickness.
"Jaune! Gross!" Ruby cried out, "What happened? What's wrong?!"
Jaune panted harshly, his body sweating profusely. "What… What in the world was that!"
"What was what?" Ruby asked worriedly.
What an insane trip! Jaune held his head in his hands, What have I done?!
"Ruby!" Jaune gasped, looking up at his concerned partner, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah!" She nodded worriedly, "Are you okay, Jaune?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Are you… Are you sure everything's okay?" Jaune asked again, looking her up and down, trying to find something wrong.
"Yeah… I'm… Uh…"
She paused and went silent for a moment.
"Huh?" She blinked, and turned away, clenching her eyes close for a moment, before opening them again. "Huh? Wha… M-my semblance! I can't use it!"
"Wh-what?!" Jaune gasped, widening his eyes, a feeling of dread spreading within him. "Try again!"
Ruby closed her eyes.
"…I… I can't!" She shook her head, powerless.
"…"
A pit opened in Jaune's stomach.
Crap… Did I just… break her-...?!
"…" Jaune gaped at her, having never felt worse in his entire life. He had hurt his partner and best friend, Ruby. "T-try again!" He repeated, refusing to accept the reality of what was happening.
"I… I…" Ruby was at a loss of words. She gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes close again. "It… It just… doesn't want to… Hnnngh! GaaaAAAHH!"
ZZZIIING!
Suddenly, as if all her energy had been held back and was finally released, Ruby bolted away in a violent deflagration of rose petals, creating a powerful, explosive blast of air that blew Jaune's body away.
"…!" As Jaune flew in the air from the shock wave, he felt immense relief.
Then his body crashed into the wall.
"Aouch," He gritted his teeth and painfully slid on the wall until he dropped on the ground.
But the pain could not compare the wave of relief washing over his mind. "Thank god…" He sighed deeply as he sat up to watch Ruby, since his heart still needed to make sure she was truly all right.
Zzzzing! Zzzing! Zzing!
She was in perfect health it seemed. His partner was bolting around in the air, triple-checking that her semblance was working just fine. Looking at her, all Jaune was seeing was a red blur dart back and forth in the sky. She was too fast for his eyes to track her.
So fast...
She eventually stopped and landed next to him.
"Crap!" She whined," That was scary, I thought I couldn't use my semblance anymore!" She trembled, still shaken, "I guess your thingy... like, negated it for some time?" She looked at him. "Not just when we're holding hands..."
"I'm so sorry…" Jaune apologized, bowing his head, "Good thing it was only temporary…!"
Just touching the rose had negated Ruby's semblance for over a minute… In other words, that giant rose was connected to Ruby's semblance. Or maybe, it was Ruby's semblance.
What if Jaune had gone all out and channeled his power to its maximum into the rose? Would he have completely, indefinitely, destroyed her semblance?
Jaune felt a chill run down his spine. "S-scary…" He mumbled, trembling at the thought of such power. "You're okay, right, Ruby…?"
"Y-yeah…" Ruby agreed, panting.
"We're never doing that again," Jaune stated.
"But, uh… How are you gonna control it if you never practice it?"
"We're never doing that again!" Jaune repeated, raising his voice. "It's too dangerous."
"A-ah, um… Okay…" Ruby reluctantly accepted, looking a little disappointed.
Jaune sighed and instinctively drew her into a hug, trying to convince himself she was okay.
"Wha-!" She gasped awkwardly, before reassuring him, "I'm fine, I'm fine," Her voice was muffled as her face was pressing against his chest. "I'm okay…!"
"Yeah…" Jaune sighed again.
If he had really hurt her, he would have never forgiven himself.
How careless of him. He really couldn't underestimate his semblance for a single moment, or things might end in a disaster. When would he learn his lesson?
Still, though...
"…" Jaune closed his eyes, remembering the strange place.
If that giant rose was Ruby's semblance, then what was the red sun?
Her Aura pool, maybe?
What about that silver spark hidden even deeper within this strange ocean?
And what about those shining threads?
Those crimson wires seemed the most important somehow. They connected everything to the sun.
…What even happened back then? I don't get it at all… This semblance is so mysterious, it feels like I'm discovering something new every week.
Though in this case, I guess it's more about Aura in general than just my semblance?
He would have to ask Miss Goodwitch about it.
"Come on, Crash Boy." Ruby laughed awkwardly, her head popping out of his chest to look up at him. She was bright red. "I said I'm fine… you can release me now! I feel like I'm a hostage!"
"Ah, yes…" Jaune flushed and broke away from her, making her giggle lightly.
I really need to study Aura seriously, if I want to understand this power, Jaune mused to himself.
"Still... I didn't think you could go so fast that you'd blow me away..." He remarked, "What was that?"
"Ah...!" Ruby scratched the back of her head and gave an awkward smile. "You see, when something goes faster than the speed of sound, it makes a shock wave. It's called a 'sonic boom'!"
"A sonic boom...?" Jaune tilted his head to the side. "Just by going fast? How does that work?"
"I don't know! Ask Weiss." Ruby shrugged, "See, I've been working on going past the speed of sound for a while now, but... you know, I've never managed to reach it..."
"Wait," Jaune widened his eyes, understanding. "Then, just now, you..."
"Went past it, yep." Ruby grinned, and threw her arms in the air, "Aaaaah, I'm insaaaane!"
"Huh..."
It was like her Aura had accumulated energy and released it all at once... which amplified its effects. It kinda made sense, in a weird way.
Driiii... Driiii... Driiii...
Jaune's scroll started ringing.
"An alarm?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Jaune nodded, and checked the hour. It was about time. "Sorry, Ruby, but let's stop this here. I need to go to Vale today."
"Vale?" Ruby tilted her head to the side, curious, "But... you just threw up! Gross, by the way."
"I know..." He would have to clean that up. "I'll drink some water and I'll be fine," Jaune shrugged, very used to his motion sickness. "I can't miss my job interview, after all!" Jaune grinned proudly, puffing up his chest.
"Eeeeh~ A job?" Ruby gaped, eyes wide, "What kind of job? Part-time? Tell me!"
"Er, I don't really know, actually…" Jaune paused as he looked at Ruby. "You wouldn't happen to know where 'Junior's Club' is, would you?"
"…I do! Cause I remember Yang causing trouble at that place a couple of times." Ruby nodded, before frowning at him. "But… it's a super shady place! Where a bunch bad guys meet to scheme and plan world domination and such!"
Jaune blinked, and raised an eyebrow at her, "Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"…Just a bit." Ruby admitted, before adding, "But it doesn't matter! If you're taking a job from there, it can't be good!"
"Coco disagrees, though. She's the one who gave a good word for me." Jaune pointed out. "And besides, I need money."
"Ask Miss Goodwitch then!"
"I don't want to depend on the school so much," Jaune replied, scratching his hair. "All my life I've been tossed around depending on people like some kind of parasite. I don't want to do the same with Beacon."
"Jaune..."
He grinned at her, "Besides, if they really plan for world domination, I'll just stop them!"
"Well, uh… Fine, then! I'm going with you." Ruby decided.
"Huh?"
"To, uh… to show you where it is!" Ruby added hurriedly, looking away, "Hah, yeah! To show you the way…! Or you'll get lost!" She laughed awkwardly.
Again, Jaune stared at her.
She couldn't meet his eyes, and was embarrassingly playing with a strand of her hair, fidgeting.
"And don't think you can go on a world-saving mission without me!" She pointed an angry finger at him, grinning.
That girl. She was probably going with him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble, considering the reputation of Junior's club.
Jaune sighed fondly. "Okay," He smiled, "I guess you can show me the way."
"…R-really?" She widened her eyes, "I mean! Hah, that's right, I'll show you! And we'll kick any bad guys' butt!"
Jaune chuckled and shook his head as he stood still, staring at her.
"What!" Ruby flushed under his gaze. "What are you laughing at?"
"…Nothing," Jaune maintained his smile and turned to walk away.
"Nothing? With that smile, it doesn't seem like it's nothing! H-hey! Jaune! What's so funny! Jaune! I'm just showing you the way, okay? Jaune? W-wait, wait for me!"
Later. With someone else.
Junior's club.
Acting as a center of Junior's organization, protected by the Malachite twins, plus a bunch of thugs and lead by Junior himself, of course.
Located in an industrial district of Vale, it was an old brick building with arched windows. The entrance was via a pair of large sliding doors that open automatically.
A Huntsman entered this club, pausing to scan the interior.
Inside, the dance floor was directly ahead, down a flight of stairs. Six large crystalline pillars surround the floor, with the DJ's booth located on the opposite side of the entry stairs.
The man's eyes darted around, sizing up everyone. It did not seem like his candidate was there yet.
Looking to the left side of the dance floors, a long bar was there.
The man walked to the bar and took a seat, pulling out his scroll once again.
'Can't do it this time, but I've picked a replacement for you. Call me if you need him.'
A message from Coco Adel.
'Name?' The man had messaged back.
'Jaune Arc.'
"Arc…" The man muttered to himself, before looking up to the barman. "Junior!" He called.
"…What." The giant man grunted back, making his way to him. "Mr. Li. Good evening." He recognized him. "You got some juicy piece of information for me?"
Junior wore a black vest over a white dress, along with a red tie, black gloves, and black dress pants. He had gray eyes that looked annoyed, short black hair, with a matching beard and mustache. He was also exceptionally tall.
"Actually, I'm the one buying this time." The huntsman replied, "Tell me all you know about one 'Jaune Arc', a student at Beacon."
"Who's that?"
A first-year with an untamed, destructive semblance. Gets a special treatment, and was personally recruited by the school.
Naturally, The Huntsman had done his homework before coming here. However…
"You tell me. Haven't found much." He lied.
"Haven't found much…? For you to need my services, this guy must hide his identity very well."
The Huntsman supposed he did. Until recently.
"I've found no links to his family except for a sister in Mistral. His Beacon papers are a joke, too… He's weaker than a civilian." The man explained. "Something's fishy."
Indeed. His so-called 'sister', named Saphroon Arc, had been all but invisible to the world… Until she got married and changed her surname to Cotta-Arc.
The marriage's papers revealed her identity as an Arc. The man mused. If she wanted to stay hidden, that's very sloppy.
"Hmph." Junior groaned, "If he has a sister in Mistral, I might have to call Little Miss Malachite."
"Doubt it. She's from Argus."
"Huh. Let me look into it… I'll make a couple of calls."
With that, Junior walked away, his scroll on his ear.
"Tch…" The Huntsman groaned, frowning at the messages on his scroll.
His sister aside, Jaune Arc himself was an enigma.
The guy was no one. Nothing could be found on him.
It was like he'd been hiding his tracks.
Both he and his sister had been untrackable until one entered Beacon, and the other got married.
It reminded him of another man.
Ozpin...
It's just like how Ozpin was, back then.
The headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin, had also surged to the front of the Huntsman scene out of nowhere. Similarly, when people tried to check his background, they found nothing.
A ghost… Just like Jaune Arc had been.
This was the same. The exact same.
So perhaps, whoever hid Jaune Arc from the world, also hid Ozpin back in the day.
Or maybe Ozpin hid him himself... Both of them were in Beacon at the moment.
Coincidence? Maybe.
"All right… That's spicy." Junior chuckled.
"Hmm? Tell me. What is it?"
"Hah! You're gonna need some money to buy that piece of information."
So what Coco told me is true then. The Huntsman mused, satisfied. The kid really does have a crazy powerful semblance.
He smirked. "No, I think I'm good. Your reaction already tells me everything I need to know."
"Bah. Worth a try…" Junior shrugged. "Drink?"
"No, thanks. I'm on a job interview today." The man said, and smiled as he noticed a blonde teen who looked lost in front of the gates, apparently not knowing where to go.
However, his smile dropped quickly when he noticed a younger red-caped girl accompanying him.
That brat didn't come alone?
Shit. This could spell trouble.
"Well, that's my cue." The man sighed, "See you around, Junior."
With Jaune.
"Are you sure this is the place, Ruby?" Jaune asked, looking around cautiously.
"Yep, I've come here one time before, to get Yang out of trouble."
"And here I thought she was the mature big sister," Jaune commented.
"That's what she likes to think!" Ruby winked, and they shared a laugh.
"Arc? Jaune Arc?" Someone called right behind him.
Turning over, Jaune nodded. "That's me."
"Pleasure. I'm Lazu Li. Coco's boss."
"Oh. Nice to meet you…" Jaune nodded.
"And I'm Jaune's partner… Ruby Rose!" Ruby waved shyly.
As they shook the man's hand, Jaune took in his appearance.
Although his name suggested a Mistralian heritage, his appearance was Atlesian. His blonde hair was kept neatly parted on the left side in what could be called a 'Schnee haircut', very neat and smart looking. He was wearing a calm and collected expression on his face, with a tranquil smile and deep, ocean eyes being one of his most striking eyebrows were also quite noticeable, being very thick and bushy.
He was dressed in what seemed to be some kind of modified military uniform, and wore a brown cloak on top of it.
Blonde with blue eyes, yet another man that could very well be my father, Jaune could not help but notice.
"Um... How old…?" he asked, just in case.
"Hmm? Twenty-six." The man answered, raising an eyebrow at him. "You?"
"Uh, seventeen…"
So he can't be my father. Jaune mused to himself.
He really needed to stop looking for these features, this habit was getting kinda disturbing.
"F-fifteen…" Ruby answered too, a little embarrassed by her younger age.
"Aren't you too young to be in this sort of place, little lady?" The man questioned, to which Ruby blushed in embarrassment, not answering. He shrugged and turned to him. "Is she your friend?"
"Like she said, Ruby is my partner," Jaune answered.
"Hmm… Really. Two years early, huh." He mused, glancing at Ruby once more, who was really getting uncomfortable. "Weird, but whatever. Come with me." He told them, "Don't let the Malachites spot you and you should be okay."
"The Malachites?"
"The cute, elegant, sexy, and scary red and white twins over there," Lazu Li said, discreetly pointing to the other side of the dance floor.
"My sister beat them up once," Ruby whispered. "Along with Junior..."
"So maybe that's why they let you in?" The man chuckled, "More reason to stay discreet then. We'll talk up there."
"Okay." Jaune nodded and followed after him.
There were several balconies along the walls overlooking the dance floor, connected by stairs, which Jaune, Ruby and Lazu Li climbed.
"All right. Let's make this short and to the point." Mister Li decided, as they took a seat to the first table they found. "Jaune Arc. You came for a job, right?"
Jaune straightened up. "Yes!"
"Well, there it is: you are to partner up with me on a Huntsman mission.
The objective is 'Search and Destroy',
the target area is around Meteor City.
We depart tomorrow and come back Sunday night.
You'll be paid 40% of the reward. Sounds good?"
"Eeee!" Ruby squealed like a fan-girl as soon as she heard the words 'Huntsman mission'.
"Er… So it's not illegal?" Jaune asked suspiciously, which caused Ruby to quiet down.
After all, Coco did mention 'this was not the most legal job there was', so he had to be careful and ask some questions.
The man narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, yeah, it is illegal, I suppose… Technically." He waved his hand. "Semantics, you see. As a Huntsman, I'm not supposed to hire students in training without the school's agreement, outside of the usual internships."
"Oh… Then why are you not simply taking someone for an internship?" Jaune asked, confused.
"I've screwed up once, and lost the school's trust." The man declared, "They won't hand me any students anymore. So I directly contacted some students, right below their nose. Don't worry though," Lazu Li raised a finger when he saw Ruby widen her eyes and about to say something, "I've been doing this for years, and no one has died, nor has been injured. No one complained, and the students were all satisfied." He assured. "And the school is still clueless, too. We're always very careful."
"But… Why don't they trust you anymore?" Jaune questioned, still suspicious. "What did you do?"
"…" Mister Li paused for a moment, before sighing. "They don't like that I'm digging information, I suppose."
Ruby blinked in confusion. "Digging… information?"
"I'm trading information with Junior once in a while." The man shrugged, "And I'm also investigating some secrets that the leaders of the kingdoms and academies have been keeping from the world. And obviously… They don't like that at all!"
"Hmm…" Jaune mused, still not sure if he could trust this guy. "Secrets…" He mumbled to himself. "Like, conspiracy theories?"
"Pretty much."
Anyone talking about conspiracy theories should be doubted. Was this man one of these crazy paranoid people?
"Here, this is my Huntsman license." Lazu Li gave him a card.
"…!" Jaune widened his eyes. He had never seen one before. "So this is what it looks like!"
"This is legit," Ruby nodded appraisingly, "It's the same as my father's and uncle's."
Of course, it was. This was someone Coco worked for, and she would not let anyone fool her so easily.
"All right." Jaune nodded in approval.
"So you're okay with that job?" Mister Li asked.
"Yeah. I mean, if it's just about killing Grimm…" Jaune shrugged, "To me, that's not a crime at all. Right?" He turned to Ruby.
"It's definitely not a crime," Ruby confirmed, almost offended by the notion. "Everyone with enough power should try to protect people who can't protect themselves. Huntsman or not!"
"Well, believe it or not, it IS illegal. Sort of." The Huntsman chuckled and leaned back in his chair, "It's considered a crime because Beacon, and more specifically, Ozpin, is so overprotective of his students. It's not the same at Shade and Haven, though, they are much more open-minded. It's more about breaking Beacon's rules than doing actual, illegal stuff. Even if we get caught, there's not much they can do to stop us, as they would not be able to prove anything."
"That's a relief," Jaune smiled.
"All right. So tonight, you're gonna help me move a body. Messy stuff. Lots of blood to clean."
"Huh?!" Jaune blinked.
"What?!" Ruby gasped in horror.
"…"
The man grinned at them and burst out laughing. "Bwahahaha, I'm messing with ya!"
Jaune and Ruby shared a confused glance as the man in front of him laughed at his own terrible joke.
"Haaa… That was good." Mister Li sighed, satisfied. "There's no body to move, don't worry." He waved his hand at them, grinning mockingly. "You're so young, I couldn't resist. Now, seriously, you want the job or not?"
"Um… Yes, sir…!" Jaune nodded.
"I want in!" Ruby suddenly said.
"What?" Jaune blinked, turning to her. "Ruby…"
"One minor is already enough trouble for me," The man frowned. "Even though we're talking about illegal activities, I'm the only one who would be at risk, really, you two would merely receive a slap on the wrist."
"But you can also split the rewards." Ruby pointed out, "Have a pair of extra hands, for the same cost!"
"Hmm… The same cost, you say?" The man repeated, suddenly finding the idea more appealing. "You don't want to be paid, or you'd take half of his pay?"
"Ah… Um, can I, Jaune?" Ruby asked, looking at him with begging puppy eyes.
"I don't mind." Jaune smiled, glad that he wouldn't be left alone with that admittedly suspicious Huntsman.
"Yess!"
"Well, I suppose it would compensate for the fact that you're just first years." Mister Li mused, frowning, "Coco didn't recommend you, though…"
"You can call her!" Ruby replied, crossing her arms in defiance. "I'm sure she'd recommend me. She's helped me in the past!"
"…Very well." The man narrowed his eyes at her and grabbed his scroll. "I am calling her."
Curiously, however, Lazu Li made multiple calls instead of just calling Coco. After some lengthy discussions, the man finally hanged up.
"All right… Well, it's not like I haven't done this before," He shrugged, flashing them a grin. "Though you're a bit younger than usual. You don't go shouting what we're doing on the roofs, and we'll be good! Oh, and don't go chasing after criminals, either."
"Right!"
The man stared at Ruby. "I mean it, girl. For example… No chasing after the likes of Torchwick if he happens to rob a store over there."
"O-oh…" Ruby blushed.
"Torchwick?" Jaune asked, confused.
"A famous thief who's taken a liking to stealing Dust lately. And who was nearly apprehended by your partner a couple of months ago." Mister Li explained.
"Really?" Jaune widened his eyes, gaping at Ruby. "You did that?"
"Eeeh… It's not that big of a deal," Ruby blushed, waving the praise away.
"So, you got it, girl?" Lazu Li insisted, talking to Ruby. "No chasing criminals on your own?"
"G-got it…!"
"Good." The man nodded. "Now, as far as we're concerned, you two are simply going on a romantic weekend, and I just happen to be tagging along. Nothing illegal going on here."
"R-romantic?!" Jaune gasped.
"No no no, we're not like that…!" Ruby blushed and waved her hands.
"Y-yeah, stop it, we're just friends." Jaune nodded along, looking away to hide his red cheeks.
"…Whatever. It's just your cover." Mister Li rolled his eyes, "This is going to be a serious mission," He continued, thankfully not teasing them about their antics, "And I'm hiring people because I'm too weak to do it by myself, you know. I'm gonna rely heavily on you two to do your part of the job properly, so I need to know your abilities. What can you do?"
And so, Jaune and Ruby answered a bunch of questions regarding their respective abilities.
It went on for ten minutes, by the end of which the man didn't look really surprised.
"All right, that's fine." The Huntsman nodded, "Honestly, you're probably both stronger than me already, so… You're hired."
"…Do we get a contract or something?" Jaune asked.
"No contract. This is illegal, remember?" The man reminded him, "A contract is evidence. It's because there's no contract that we can get away with doing this! You'll have to take my word for it."
"Right…"
"Don't worry, I won't betray my word, it's bad for business." He assured. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow morning, 6:00 am. You'll have to take a bullhead to the residential district of Vale, and then we'll finish the journey in my SUV."
"Ah… Yes, sir!" Jaune and Ruby nodded enthusiastically.
"Do NOT be late. This is NOT one of your boring lessons at Beacon." The Huntsman warned, giving them a glare. "Real lives are at stake here! People WILL DIE if you fail to come! So be responsible, and be punctual! Got it?"
"Y-yes…!" Jaune and Ruby mumbled together.
"GOT IT?!" The Huntsman raised his voice, not impressed.
"YES!"
"…See ya tomorrow, kids. Sleep well!"
…Like that, Jaune and Ruby signed up for a Huntsman mission.
That evening.
"You're doing WHAT tomorrow?!" Weiss exclaimed.
"We're going to a Meteor City to assist a Huntsman for a 'Search and Destroy' mission." Ruby proudly repeated what she had just said.
"Wha… Wha… What…?" Weiss stuttered, astonished.
Weiss Schnee was the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, and as such, she had not experienced much of the outside world. So this simple trip was already insane to her and was basically blowing her mind.
Whereas, Blake…
"Okay, stay safe," The cat Faunus simply shrugged.
As expected of Blake.
"Okay?!" Weiss repeated, looking at Blake like she had grown a second head, "Okay? How is that okay! I heard there's an especially large concentration of Grimm near that region lately!" She pointed a finger at Jaune, "If it was only you, it'd be fine, since you're older, and so powerful – but Ruby is not! And she's only fifteen!"
"Hey! I've exterminated my fair share of Grimm hordes in the past, even back before I turned thirteen." Ruby replied to her defensively, frowning. "It would not be the first time I make such a trip! For instance, when I visit my mom's grave, I often run into a few packs of Grimm, and I can handle them easy peasy!"
"… Your mom's… grave?" Weiss blinked, taken aback, surprised at learning about Ruby's mother out of nowhere. "That's, um…" She was at a loss of words.
"…" Blake stared at their leader Ruby for a moment, before nodding. "Well, if you're with Jaune, I'm sure Grimm won't be a problem. Together you can exterminate them faster than anyone else, including experienced Huntsmen." She turned to Ruby, "Just make sure he doesn't get lost."
"Hmm…" Weiss leaned back, glancing at Jaune. "Well… I suppose so." She reluctantly admitted.
"Eh? Really!" Jaune widened his eyes, a wide grin blossoming on his face.
A sense of great pride was surging in his heart. This demonstrated how much Weiss and Blake trusted him and how much they relied on him.
"Look at you, all pumped up." Weiss groaned, annoyed at him. "This not a field trip! You better protect her!"
"Of course!" Jaune brandished his mighty fist, "I'll protect her with my life! I'll die before anything happens to her!"
"…"
"…"
"…Heh." Weiss smirked, glancing at Ruby.
Blake too snickered at Ruby, who was looking suddenly mildly embarrassed, her cheeks red.
"…What?" Jaune blinked, confused, "Did I say something weird?"
The next day.
"Hmm... It sounds like you just had a conscious experience of Aura introspection."
"...A what?" Jaune blinked at Miss Goodwitch.
He had just finished explaining what happened with Ruby on the roof yesterday; how he had negated her semblance for a short minute and his whole experience with the giant rose and the red sun.
"A conscious experience of Aura introspection." Miss Goodwitch repeated.
"Ooooh," Jaune nodded in understanding. "...That...! Of course. That... explains it..."
"But it can't be..." Miss Goodwitch sighed. "It's something only those who are masters at handling Aura should be able to experience. And even then! It's very rare."
"Oh. Yeah, I'm not that good with Aura..."
"I wonder." Miss Goodwitch mused, staring at him with inquisitive eyes. "It's just as we said. You learned meditation at a young age, and throughout the entirety of your life, you focused your Aura control on keeping your semblance in check. Now that your semblance doesn't make you break everything you touch, you can finally focus all that control you built up... elsewhere."
"..."'
"Aaah, it's really a shame you can't use dust, Jaune." Miss Goodwitch sighed again, looking at him with soft eyes.
"Ah, Weiss agrees with you on that." Jaune grinned, scratching his hair. "So um... What exactly is it? That experience thing."
"Your... conscious experience of Aura introspection?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"...Now you're just doing it on purpose..."
"Sorry." She chuckled. "You see, a conscious experience of Aura introspection..." Her grin widened as she watched him narrow his eyes at her. "... is something that can happen to Aura masters, during which they can inspect the state of their own soul and the inner workings of their minds."
So, I could do this to inspect my own soul, too? Wait a second...
Jaune frowned. "But... for me, it was not my own soul-"
"It was Miss Rose's soul, yes."
"Then...?"
"..." Miss Goodwitch looked away. "I have no explanation. I am as baffled as you are."
"..."
"However, you were extremely lucky, Jaune. Even Aura masters struggle to experience this."
"What about you?"
"I have never experienced it." She declared.
Jaune gaped at her. "...Really?"
"Really. And that is not by lack of trying."
"..."
"Do you understand? It's not just your semblance that makes you special, Jaune."
"...Then, do you know of anyone who experienced it?" Jaune asked.
"Ozpin did. Multiple times. I suggest you ask him about it."
Jaune barely held back a grimace, turning away from her. Ozpin? No thanks! He'd rather not come to face that man again. Ever since his talk with him to free himself from isolation, Jaune was not comfortable around him.
Looking to change the subject, Jaune figured he might as well inform her of what he was going to do this weekend.
...
...
...
"You're going on a romantic weekend with your partner Miss Rose?" Miss Goodwitch repeated, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"N-not romantic! I-I never said romantic!" Jaune blushed, while Miss Goodwitch chuckled, a hand raised to hide her mouth.
An innocent weekend to 'sightsee'. That was what he was going with. Technically, it wasn't a lie... Yet Jaune couldn't help but feel a little guilty for deceiving her.
"Where are you going?"
"Meteor City."
She perked up. "Are you sure? These days it seems quite agitated over there."
"I'm sure we'll be fine, Miss Goodwitch." Jaune smiled confidently.
"I suppose so. Do you have money?" She asked him.
"Um…" Jaune hesitated.
"…" Miss Goodwitch frowned at him, before putting a hand in her pocket. "Here," She handed him a few bills from her wallet.
"What… But...! This is from your personal funds..." Jaune shook his head, raising his hands to push the money away. "I can't accept this…!"
"You don't have a choice." Miss Goodwitch glared at him and used telekinesis to force the bills into his pocket.
"But..." Jaune hesitated before he was silenced again by her glare. He could only bow his head, "Thanks, Miss Goodwitch… I'll definitely pay you back!"
"Don't worry about it." Miss Goodwitch waved it away, before smiling teasingly, "A man shouldn't let his girlfriend pay for everything."
"Sh-she's not my girlfriend!" Jaune exclaimed, blushing bright red, "I-I told you we're just friends! Jeez!"
Unable to handle much more of this, Jaune fled the room.
"Wait, Jaune!" She stopped him.
"... What?"
"..."
Miss Goodwitch looked like she was about to say something, but was hesitating, a conflicted look on her face.
Jaune had seen this same face thousands of times.
This one was a classic.
It was the "I want to tell you 'don't break anything', but I can't because I want to show you that I trust you" face.
"Don't worry." Jaune smiled, "I won't break anything I'm not supposed to."
Having said that, Miss Goodwitch smiled guiltily and nodded in relief. Jaune left the room.
Later that day.
"…What's that?" Lazu Li groaned at Jaune, looking him up and down.
"What's what?" Jaune blinked, confused.
"Your clothes. You can't go there dressed as a civilian. Are you kidding me? This is what you wear?"
"Um…" Jaune hesitated, a little embarrassed, "I always wear this."
What's wrong with the good old hoodie and jeans combo?
"Oh yeah? What if it rains? You need something for the rain, at least." The Huntsman stated. "All right, I know a place on the way, it should take ten minutes tops."
"O-okay…"
"But, sir!" Ruby spoke up, "What happened to responsibility and punctuality?"
"I just said that to make you come on time. Though there is a substantial amount of Grimm over there, it's not like Meteor City is under attack. When it comes to a Search and Destroy mission, the time window is pretty large."
"…"
"…"
"…This will be deducted on your pay, by the way." He added, pointing a finger at Jaune.
"Actually, I have money," Jaune said.
"You have?" Ruby blinked at him, surprised.
"Yeah, Miss Goodwitch lend me some," Jaune replied, mildly embarrassed.
"Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of doing this job?" Ruby asked.
"…It does…" Jaune admitted.
Goddammit.
Later.
"Come on, now, choose quickly."
Jaune looked around hesitantly in the store.
So many coats and jackets. Which one should he take? Ugh, he needed more than ten minutes to pick one up!
After searching for a while, his gaze landed on a familiar piece of clothing.
Jaune paused, and widened his eyes.
This. This is just the right thing.
"…"
Jaune stepped forward, touching the soft material.
It was a cloak.
A simple cloak, white on the outside, red underneath.
This is the same. Just like her.
"This."
"This?" Lazu Li raised an eyebrow. "Very good choice, but… It's not exactly the cheapest."
"I want this," Jaune repeated firmly.
"Jaune…" Ruby smiled as she watched him.
He bought the cloak, and as they left the store, Jaune had already put it on his shoulders.
"Look, Jaune!" Ruby grinned as she showed her own cloak. "It's the same brand!"
Jaune smiled. "Yeah… We're matching!"
"Although I'm red and you're white!"
In his mind, Jaune imagined Summer's wide grin as she found out he'd taken the very same coat as the one she used to wear. Or at least a very similar one.
That grin, was the exact same as the one on Ruby's face right now.
"You look so cool now!" She gushed, walking around him to take a good look at him. "The white really suits you!"
"Yeah." Jaune nodded. "I've taken a page from… her."
"Who, Weiss?"
"What? No! You know who I'm talking about!"
"I know," Ruby giggled, and smiled nostalgically as she looked at his new cloak. "I know..."
"Yeah..."
They exchanged a long look as they smiled at each other, both sharing this mutual nostalgic feeling.
With Ruby, Jaune could communicate with just a look.
He didn't know why, but he never had trouble looking at her in the eyes, whereas with other people he would always feel a little uncomfortable.
"All right, come on, you lovebirds!" Lazu Li interrupted the moment to urge them, "The Grimm aren't gonna kill themselves!"
Jaune blinked, and shook his head, breaking eye contact with Ruby. "L-lovebirds?!" He gasped.
"Uuugh! P-please stop it!" Ruby blushed, waving her hands embarrassingly.
"We're not like that at all!" Jaune protested as his cheeks turned red.
"We're simply partners!" Ruby insisted.
"Yeah yeah, sure." The Huntsman rolled his eyes as he waited for them.
Ruby and Jaune shared another glance, before looking away, blushing, and hurried into Mr. Li's SUV.
"Ah, youth…" The man chuckled as they drove away to their destination, with Jaune and Ruby staying quiet, not knowing what to say, but being very careful not to look at each other again for some reason.
Later.
On the way, the Huntsman stopped to make the two of them fight some Grimm, to demonstrate the abilities they had talked about the day before.
Ruby had grabbed her unfinished scythe with her.
Currently, Crescent Rose Mk-II only incorporated the Sniper, Scythe, and Spear mode, along with a prototype of the Flamethrower mode she had talked him about; though Ruby had no reason to try using it yet, as Dust was expensive.
So when they met the first pack of Beowolves, Ruby and Jaune simply executed their combo-move, 'Crescendo Blast': Ruby used her semblance to draw all surrounding Grimm like a whirlpool towards Jaune, and then he killed them all at the same time with a swift burst of his semblance. They slaughtered the pack of Beowolves in barely five seconds; they were really proud of how efficient that technique was.
After that, Mr. Li no longer doubted their abilities, and they continued driving.
However, it still took a while before they arrived at their destination.
"Uuuuuuuugh… Are we there yet?" Ruby whined.
"No."
"Why couldn't we just take a bullhead?" She asked, "Meteor City is so far, all the way to the frontier."
"Because they record all bullhead transports with our names." The Huntsman answered, "As a precaution, we don't take one, so we're not seen together, and there's no trace that we've traveled together. Also, the higher-ups like to keep an eye on me… and I don't. So I prefer to hide my tracks, you see."
This man was sounding more and more suspicious.
"…Why do they keep an eye on you so much?" Jaune frowned.
"I already told you. I'm trying to uncover the hidden truth of this world, and go public with it! I'm actually more of a reporter than a Huntsman, really: that's why I'm not that strong and need your help. But doing this makes me as dangerous as the worst of criminals in their eyes, even though technically I never did anything illegal."
"Except hiring minors, right." Jaune pointed out.
"Even that is not illegal, since technically I haven't hired you." Mister Li replied, sending him a smirk. "There is no contract to prove it, is there?"
"No… I guess not." Ruby hummed.
All semantics and paperwork, huh… Jaune mused to himself.
"When you become Huntsmen, you will understand the usefulness of hiding your tracks." The man continued, "Especially you two, of all people."
"Us two?" Ruby frowned. "Jaune I can understand, but I'm not that special."
"Then you don't know your own worth, Miss Rose. Take some pride in your heritage." Lazu Li advised.
"Heritage?"
"Uhuh." The man nodded and left it at that, clearly unwilling to expand on the subject.
"…But what could the higher-ups be hiding, that they don't want people to find out?" Jaune asked, frowning. "What are you trying so hard to discover?"
"Aaaaah, hahaha!" The man laughed, grinning widely. "That's the big question, now, isn't it!"
"Maybe they have a good reason to keep it hidden," Ruby suggested, apparently uncomfortable with the topic.
"…Well, I sure fucking hope so." The man groaned, "When I was still a child, my father, Lapis Li, managed to find out the truth of this world, you know. And he, too, wanted to reveal it to the public. However… Barely two days later, he mysteriously disappeared… someone had assassinated him."
Ruby gasped, putting a hand on her mouth.
"Assassinated him?" Jaune repeated, eyes wide. "Is that a joke again?"
"Hah, I wish. But it's not. Though there is no proof, I suppose." He chuckled dryly, "Huntsman disappearances are often overlooked as victims of the Grimm. That's why it's easy for the higher-ups to hide an assassination."
Disappearances overlooked…
Come to think of it, Summer had disappeared like that, too…
Ugh, stupid Jaune. Don't think about that. Summer couldn't have been assassinated. Why would anyone want to kill her?
Suddenly, a distant memory flashed in Jaune's mind.
"My name... It's a secret."
"A secret?"
"Some bad people are searching for me, so it's better if you don't know my name."
No… Jaune shook his head, pushing the thought away. Impossible. There was no way...
"Since then, I swore to myself that I would find out the truth, and publicize it as widely as possible. My own personal justice, so to say." Lazu Li continued. "In order to do that, I needed strength, and a license to travel the world… Which is why I became a Huntsman."
That was why he became a Huntsman? Not to save people?
So, he had a reason of his own, and he didn't actually want to do it just to save people.
But it was the same for Jaune, wasn't it? He enrolled because he wanted to learn how to control his semblance.
Another, more recent memory flashed in Jaune's mind, of his therapy session.
"What do you want to do later in life, Jaune?"
"Um, being a Huntsman?"
"Really? you sound unsure."
"…"
True, it wasn't like he had a definite goal in mind, like Mister Li.
However, perhaps, on this Huntsman mission, Jaune could reach some kind of answer about his motivations.
Later.
"All right." The man spoke up as his SUV was coming to the tip of a hill. "Behold, Meteor City, kids."
Jaune and Ruby gaped when they discovered the sight of the town.
"What a huge lake…"
Huge was an understatement. Meteor City was indeed built around a giant lake. It seemed about five times larger than the town itself.
"Nice place, isn't it," Lazu Li nodded, "In the past, it was a simple settlement. However, thirteen years ago, a meteor fell nearby, causing widespread destruction and killing many people. The resulting crater was incredibly large, and cut through a river, which is why it became a lake."
"…A meteor…" Jaune repeated, frowning at the lake.
"They say it was a piece of the moon." Lazu Li mused.
"…"
"After that, people started coming here just to see the famous giant lake that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The settlement grew, and organized itself around the lake, creating a town relying on tourism, with the lake as its main point of interest. And they renamed the town Meteor City and the lake Meteor Lake to make it more appealing to the tourists."
"Wooow…" Ruby gaped. "I never heard that story…!"
Looking at the town itself, it was obvious that most buildings were recent.
Further away from the town, to the east in the side of a hill, Jaune noticed a strange white structure.
"A Dust mine…" He recognized, from the weird Atlesian structure, which felt so out of place among the Valean architecture.
"Yeah." Lazu Li nodded. "Officially, the SDC built it for the Dust, but… they're actually searching for special ores or dust left by the meteor." He explained, "This is all very recent stuff, so they are still searching. Who knows what secrets they have found."
"Huh…"
So, the economical part of the town relied on both tourism and Dust mining and researching. These two fields probably made for the majority of the jobs in town and defined its identity.
"Two weeks ago, however, Grimm activity started spiking around the town." The Huntsman continued, "A Goliath has even been reported lurking around, which means a major Grimm attack might be on the horizon. We will take care of most of the Grimm, and try to find out why the spike of negativity is happening."
"What about the Goliath?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"We'll leave it to the military, or other veteran Huntsmen, naturally." Mr. Li replied, "Unless you want to die, that is."
"What's a Goliath?" Jaune asked curiously.
"A giant mammoth-like Grimm, generally with a threat level of nine." Lazu Li answered.
"Threat level? Is that a lot?" Jaune questioned.
"That's a lot, Jaune," Ruby nodded. This little genius somehow already knew everything about such semantics. "The only Grimm with higher threat levels are dragon-type Grimm and hydra-type Grimm."
"Furthermore, it's very rare to see a Goliath alone, as they usually move in groups." The Huntsman added, "So… There may be others." The Huntsman declared gravely. "Waiting. Out there."
"…" Jaune and Ruby exchanged a worried glance, suddenly feeling a heavyweight fall on their shoulders.
"Now, we are not going directly into the city. First, we'll patrol around for a bit and kill as many Grimm as we can. We'll have to be extremely careful. Come on, now, let's get going. We have a lot of work."
"…Yes, sir."
Jaune and Ruby nodded silently, exchanging a glance, once more reminded of the seriousness of the situation: this was a real Huntsman mission, and lives depended on them.
A/N: So this arc is going to be a little different from what happens in canon RWBY. This will be an original arc. Hope you don't mind. This isn't something I've come up with while I was away, I always planned to do this since the beginning.
There's quite a bit of exposure in this one, which I don't usually do, as this is, you know, a fanfic based on a show that I never have to explain, because all of you have seen said show. That's why writing fanfics is so easy compared to writing original stories. But I wanted to do something different for a change.
Anyway, tell me what you think.
Next chapter: in a week.