A/N: Let's continue.

How can there be so many Grimm around one city? Jaune wondered, as he exploded yet another Beowolf.

He shook the black blood off his hands as the remnants of the Grimm's body evaporated. Disgusting.

He was currently hunting Grimm with Ruby and their new employer, Lazu Li. A minute couldn't pass without the three of them noticing a monster creeping around.

In this kind of situation, Ruby's sniper skills really shined. Even when the Grimm was hundreds of meters away, she could precisely hit a head-shot, consistently.

Soon enough, the Grimm noticed that they were being picked off one by one, at which point, they started attacking them.

Which was when Jaune, in turn, truly shined.

Honestly.

It was a massacre.

Ruby used her semblance and her scythe to drive the Grimm to Jaune as usual, performing their combo-attack 'Crescendo Blast' several times.

Jaune simply channeled his semblance at regular intervals, breaking Grimm bones and easily tearing through flesh as Ruby directed the flow of Grimm towards him.

And she did so while picking off the troublesome ones at the same time, like Boarbatusks. Their charge could destabilize Jaune's stance and could break the nice rhythm they had set up.

Blood…

So much blood…

Black blood evaporating into dark smoke…

…everywhere.

Weak… These monsters were so weak.

How much time had passed, exterminating Grimm like this? Jaune didn't know.

Because the truth was, he had a lot of fun exterminating those monsters. In the past, he had felt disgusted at the violence of it all at first. However, Jaune quickly came to see the Grimm for what they were, mindless monstrous beasts who deserved nothing more than to be eradicated from the surface of Remnant. And there happened to be something very satisfying about blowing up such deadly Grimm so easily.

Jaune kinda felt guilty, taking satisfaction in such violence.

Nevertheless, he was comforted by the fact that he was not alone feeling like this.

Ruby, too, enjoyed the genocide of Grimm, it seemed.

Every time she fought, she had that cold, absolutely merciless look on her face, which honestly made her even scarier than Blake had been in her match against Cardin. And every time they finished off a pack, Ruby smirked viciously, as if slaughtering the beasts were giving her life.

One moment, they shared a glance, and Jaune couldn't help but ask:

"Um, hey, Ruby. Should we really be having fun like this, killing the beasts so brutally?"

Ruby stared at him.

"What are you talking about, Jaune?" Her eyes narrowed at him, "They killed my mom, you know."

"…"

"We're just getting some sweet revenge." She finished, somewhat coldly.

"…"

She left it at that and went on to continue her killing spree. It was the first time Jaune had heard Ruby sound so cold.

…So this was how she was seeing the Grimm?

Something like this... Was it even healthy?

Unclear.

"…"

Another Grimm approached Jaune.

Maybe I should try to take a page out of her book.

Right… They are responsible for Summer's death. Jaune frowned, eyes narrowing, gritting his teeth, gathering Aura into his hand. Anger rose from within him, and unlike all the other times, he let it rise freely.

The Beowolf jumped on him.

Those… monsters!

"Haaah!" Jaune let out a short yell as he slammed his hand on the beast's forehead, having accurately predicted his move.

CRACK!

The Beowolf instantly disintegrated into black sand.

"…W-woah!" Jaune gaped, as he looked at the black pile of ashes on the ground, slowly evaporating.

"Goddamn! Take it easy, Jaune," Lazu Li advised, impressed by his power. "Jesus fucking Christ… Kids are scary these days..."

"…"

Looking up, Jaune caught Ruby's eyes; she smirked back at him, giving him a thumbs up and an approving nod.

…Guess we're both vengeful freaks then, Jaune smiled back, and they continued their mission of extermination.

Still, it was only the second time Jaune had managed to successfully disintegrate something so cleanly. The first time had been when he'd crashed into the Emerald Forest, at the start of Initiation: he had transformed the dirt into sand in order to cushion the impact of his fall.

Jaune remembered Cardin's words.

'Negativity makes people stronger.'

"Well, it makes them more dangerous, too…" Jaune mumbled under his breath.

It would be best not to get into the habit of using that ability, especially if he needed to feel negative emotions to use it. Plus, it was probably consuming more Aura than needed.

Either way, time passed as they continued to hunt.

Eventually, Jaune noticed something: as much as he and Ruby were easily dispatching Grimm in brutal fashion, the same could not be said for Lazu Li.

Though he was no expert, even Jaune could tell the abilities of the Huntsman were average, and he had no shame in letting them do most of the job. Of course, he was still miles better than Jaune in terms of strength, speed, endurance, and dexterity, but Jaune still judged that he was probably on the level of someone like Cardin, who Blake had easily beaten.

Maybe Jaune should not take his appearance at face value, though.

He noticed Mister Li grimacing as he finished off a Boarbatusk.

Huh. He doesn't seem to take satisfaction in killing Grimm, like Ruby and I do.

However, even though Jaune enjoyed the hunt, eventually his legs started to hurt and tremble. His stamina was depleting fast, not from the constant use of his semblance, but simply from moving so much: running, walking, waving his arms around… Even after taking time to rest for a lunch break, just standing straight was starting to be tough for his weak body.

"Guys…!" Jaune panted harshly, "I… I'm exhausted, I can't go on anymore…!"

"I need ammo, too…" Ruby nodded with him, only slightly panting.

"Right… You did very well, don't worry." The Huntsman nodded, wiping sweat off his forehead. "We've killed nearly seventy percent of our quota already. And we still have tomorrow ahead of us. Very very good!" He repeated, very pleased. "You're so efficient, I might give you some extra money! Now, let's go back to Meteor City."

"But there are so many Grimm…" Ruby breathed, quite a bit tired as well.

"Now you know why I needed help." Mr. Li commented.

"No, I mean… there are still so many left… and we're already at seventy percent?" She panted, shaking her head, "When we're finished, there's still going to be so many Grimm lurking around!"

"Yeah. Not our problem, though, is it?" Lazu Li shrugged, raising an eyebrow at her, "We only do our part of the job. Other Huntsmen will come to clean up."

"…" Ruby made a face.

"It's a team effort, girl. You'll never be able to kill all the Grimm on the surface of Remnant, or save all the people who need saving. You gotta leave some work for the other Huntsmen, otherwise, how will they earn their food?" He winked.

"Right… Of course! I didn't mean to sound... Um..."

"You're fine," The man waved off her concerns.

Ruby still wore a complicated expression on her face, but did not object.

However, Jaune could tell that she was cogitating. Reflecting and absorbing all the experience she could, like a sponge. He could already tell she would grow from this mission.

And so they headed to Meteor City…

Later.

As it so happens, Meteor City looked a lot better from the outside than the inside.

Especially today.

"We are not animals!"

"Freedom for Faunus!"

As it so happened, a Faunus civil rights protest was taking place in the main street.

"Uugh." Mister Li groaned. "So they are the one causing the negativity spike…? No wonder Grimm are gathering around. Dumb animals."

"They're not animals!" Ruby protested, glaring at the man.

"But they are dumb. Shouting something like 'freedom for Faunus'…"

"Faunus are free though, right?" Jaune asked, confused, thinking of Blake.

"Not according to these idiots. Hah!" The man scoffed, "What a joke."

"But they're still the target of discrimination," Ruby replied, frowning at him.

"Why? For being the main labor force of the SDC?"

"Er… For example!" Ruby nodded, though Jaune had a feeling she was vastly unprepared for such a debate, and simply wanted to stand up for her friend Blake.

"You know why that is, though?" Lazu Li asked her, "It's because most of them have night vision. Makes them able to work efficiently in the dark. It's actually good discrimination… If anything, it's the humans who are discriminated against. At least for the specific job of a miner, anyway."

"What about the other jobs?"

"We're not talking about the other jobs. Not in this town. Look at these people," Lazu Li waved at the crowd. "You can tell they are all miners working for the SDC."

"How do you know," Ruby frowned.

"Um, can we move?" Jaune asked, not very comfortable with the subject.

"Sure. Anyway." Mister Li paused to take a look at the map of the town on his scroll, "I need to drop by to the town's archives, so you can do whatever you want in the meantime."

"Oh."

"I'll call you when I'm finished."

Jaune and Ruby watched him walked away, surprised by his sudden departure. They looked at each other.

"Well, uh… What should we do?"

"Find someplace to rest, duh!"

Later

"Gaaah…" Jaune sighed tiredly as he let himself fall on the green grass.

"This is a nice spot," Ruby said, looking around.

She wasn't wrong. Right by Meteor Lake, they had chosen a small pasture near a park. Further away was a beach where plenty of tourists were resting, and they could see people on the water using paddle boats. The sky was blue, birds were singing, ducks were quacking, dogs were barking and children were playing, it was nice scenery.

A much-needed change from the bloody slaughter they had taken part in just an hour back, and far away from the civil rights protest.

"Oh… I don't know if I'll be able to stand up now." Jaune sighed and closed his eyes, completely exhausted.

Ruby giggled, "That bad, huh? At least you didn't faint this time!"

"No… I guess not." Jaune smiled.

If it had been the Jaune from before Beacon, he would have definitely fainted ten times over.

His daily physical training had been effective at building up his stamina.

Still not enough though.

"What about you, how are you doing?" Jaune asked her.

"Heh, I'm perfect." She grinned widely, giving the sky a thumbs up, "I could do this all day, all week!"

"…"

Amazing…

…I'm probably slowing her down, huh.

"…But you know what, Jaune?" Ruby said.

"Hm?"

"Even in a week's time, I couldn't kill more Grimm than we did today." She laughed.

"…"

"It's all because of you!"

"…No, it was because of your sniper skills and your speed, too," Jaune argued. "Otherwise... I'd have to run around to draw them to me, but with your technique, I don't have to. So I'm able to last much longer."

"Heheheee…" She giggled mischievously, "I see, I see! So it was all teamwork then!" She nodded at him knowingly, grinning widely, "Guess we need each other after all, huh!"

"…"

Jaune raised his arm to cover his eyes from the blinding sunlight, hiding his smile.

It still surprised him, how somehow, Ruby knew exactly what he was thinking at all times, and how easily she could find the right words to put him at ease.

"…Guess so," He muttered to himself.

"Haaaa~…"

Jaune suddenly felt something push against his belly.

"Er... What are you doing?" He flinched, raising his upper body to look at her.

Ruby was resting her head on his stomach.

"Ruby! Stop that…"

She turned her little head towards him and pouted. "But I need a pillow, or my neck will hurt." She simply said, staring straight into his eyes.

"…" Jaune's mouth opened for a moment, trying to find something to say. "…Er… Whatever…!" He eventually flushed and lied back down, to which Ruby giggled.

Damn her, mocking me like this… Jaune thought to himself, I'm not a pillow…!

Later.

Lazu Li smiled as he entered the town's archives.

Like an old library, the building stored the remnants of the previous settlement before Meteor City's boom occurred – be it the economic boom or the literal boom – prior to the meteor's impact.

Luckily, this was one of the only buildings that had survived.

"Sir, can I help you?" A woman accosted him.

"Hello madam," Lazu Li bowed politely, "Are there any records from around when the meteor impacted the area? I would like to consult them if possible."

The woman's eyes narrowed, "What for, if I may ask?"

"To study and preserve the town's heritage, I will recreate the explosion in full augmented reality using hologram technology and anti-scroll aliation."

What the hell did I just say? Lazu Li cringed. I'm pretty sure 'aliation' isn't even a word.

However, with a few complicated words, one can easily lie to a novice.

"Oh. How interesting~!" The woman nodded, apparently dumb enough to buy his cheap lie. "I'm afraid that won't be possible, however. Those records aren't accessible to the public."

Lazu Li frowned. Then why did you ask me my reasons, if they're not accessible anyway?
Damn. As expected, there's something weird with this meteor, they're hiding something.

"How about the aftermath?" He tried, "The formation of Meteor Lake, for example. Even that would be of great help."

"I suppose that would be all right." The woman accepted, "Follow me then."

She led him to a room filled with shelves full of books. Tables were scattered around, at which people were seated and studying some documents closely, some reading with a magnifying glass, others copying whatever they were reading, and others taking pictures of documents with their scroll, all under the light of a candle or two.

The room was filled with a respectful silence, with dust shimmering in what little light came through the only window. From time to time, one could hear the sound of page-turning or some whispers.

"Here," The woman whispered, and pulled a folder full of papers from the shelf. "Please be careful with the documents. Oh, and I will ask you to sign here, as well." She added, giving him another sheet.

"Thank you," Lazu Li nodded to the woman and proceeded to sign with his fake signature.

He took a seat as she left.

Opening the folder, he put a hand on the side of the various papers, closing his eyes.

Channeling his semblance, he instinctively knew where to search to find what he needed. This was why Lazu Li was so good at information gathering: his special power helped him search for information in the right places. However, it only worked with recorded information, meaning: anything written like newspaper articles, or any piece of media like videos or websites. He could not use it to find objects or people.

Hmmm… This one, here.

Following his instinct, the Huntsman eventually picked one single paper out of the pile of dozens and pulled it out.

It was a report from twelve years ago. Carefully leaning forward, Lazu Li started reading.

'[…]

When we woke up that day, the scenery had completely changed. Just last evening, we had such a nice view of the settlement, and the sunset was beautiful. But this morning, the sun rose over nothing else but a giant crater, that was slowly filling up with the river's water… […]

Everyone we knew, suddenly dead or badly injured. It was horrifying. My husband, Niam, did his best to…

[…]

That was when we realized, we are nothing but ants on this world. We can be squashed at any moment by spatial bodies much larger than our town. I never imagined fragments of our broken moon could still fall on Remnant.

[…]

But you know what the weird part is? It happened overnight, but we didn't wake up. For a meteor to cause this much damage, there had to be a big impact. With a big shock wave. But we didn't wake up.

It was Niam's birthday, we'd gotten pretty drunk… Perhaps it was a blessing to sleep so blissfully.'

Lazu Li frowned at the tiny witness report that ended abruptly. That's it? Really?

Not much to work on…

Lazu Li narrowed his eyes, re-reading it. Though it might seem like there was no relevant information at first glance, the fact was, his semblance had led him to this paper. So there had to be something... What was it?

We didn't wake up.

There was only this. But what did it mean, Lazu Li had no idea.

No matter. He'd find a fit for this piece of the puzzle later. One he had all the pieces, it would all become clearer.

Still, he needed to access the restricted archives somehow… But he couldn't do so illegally or he would lose all legitimacy and credibility when he decides to publicize the truth worldwide. Getting caught doing illegal stuff was absolutely unacceptable.

So… How?

He looked at the name of the author and witness: 'Firebrick Emily'.

Taking out his scroll, he made quick research of the witness's name on the web, hoping to find their address and perhaps pay them a visit.

What he found was a report of a missing couple, Emily and Niam Firebrick, from twelve years ago. They had apparently disappeared from the kingdom of Vale, and no one had ever heard of them since.

"…Shit…" Lazu Li groaned.

Later, with Jaune.

When Lazu Li came back and found Ruby using Jaune as a pillow, he teased them again:

"Are you sure you're not on a romantic weekend?"

"We are not!" Jaune and Ruby exclaimed together, perfectly in sync, and not even embarrassed at this point, just annoyed.

"That's right." He nodded, his eyes narrowing, "You are on a Huntsman mission. So get your asses up, we're going!"

"Grmmmbl…" Ruby groaned in annoyance as she stood up. "I don't like this man," Ruby suddenly whispered to Jaune.

"Huh? Why?" Jaune blinked, surprised.

"He's a racist jerk…!"

"Huh? What's that I hear?" Lazu Li growled at her in annoyance, "Wanna go back to your parents, little girl?"

"No, thanks…!"

"Then hurry it up, and keep your opinions to yourself!"

"Don't order me around!"

"Huh? I'm your boss. Care to repeat that, you little brat?!"

"You're one to talk, jerk-face!"

"Why, you-"

"HEY!" Jaune raised his voice, rendering the two of them silent, before they both glared at him.

Jaune was taken aback at how their attitude had suddenly changed. He didn't know enough about Lazu Li to judge him, certainly, but…

He turned to frown at his partner. "Ruby? Why did you... say this?"

"A-ah…" She blinked and widened her eyes, "I don't… Uh… I don't know why I said that."

"What?" Jaune tilted his head to the side, getting a little worried about his partner's mental health.

"Like, the words escaped my mouth before I could think…" She seemed lost.

"…"

"Same for me, actually…" Lazu Li commented, "I suddenly felt very angry for some reason…" He frowned, caressing his chin.

"…Sorry…" Ruby apologized, looking down with a guilty expression on her face.

"…" Jaune frowned as he observed his partner. This wasn't like Ruby at all.

It was like… Like…

"No, wait…" Mister Li shook his head. "Something's weird… in the air…" He mumbled, looking around. "Something's wrong…"

Jaune imitated Lazu Li, casting his gaze around him.

"Shut it!"

"It's always like this with you!"

A couple arguing…

"Wanna fight?!"

"I'm thinking yeah, I kinda want to punch your detestable face!"

"Let's fucking go then!"

Jaune widened his eyes as he realized, around them, basically everyone was arguing, some way or another.

"What…" Jaune muttered, observing people fight. "This… This is not natural…!"

"You realized, too?" Lazu Li nodded in agreement. "Whatever it is, it may be what is causing the spike of negativity…"

"Huh, what?" Ruby blinked, confused. "You mean people arguing?"

"Yeah… Hmm. Maybe that's why the Faunus are protesting, even though they're basically the best-paid miners in all of Remnant." Lazu Li mused sarcastically.

"Shhhh!" Jaune shushed them and closed his eyes. "I can feel it… Let me concentrate. I… I can sense it…!"

He entered his meditation state, and immediately felt it. Something pushing onto his Aura from everywhere at once.

The result of his training learning Fox's AEP technique was already showing after so little time. Although he could not properly sense movements or still objects yet, when it came to Aura, he would always be a step ahead of everyone else.

And Jaune could easily tell. What was in the atmosphere was… Aura.

No… More specifically, judging by how subtle and faint it felt, it was probably a Semblance at work.

"…"

Jaune broke his meditation state and took five steps forward, before closing his eyes again.

Again. He felt it, pushing onto his Aura. Except it was pushing slightly harder.

In other words, this was a Semblance that was more powerful the closer people were to its source.

Which meant… It was traceable!

"…Could you two follow me?" Jaune asked the others, "I need to check something."

"You. You figured something out, didn't you?" Lazu Li narrowed his eyes at him. "Very well, we'll follow you."

Jaune nodded and walked forward for a bit, with Ruby and Mister Li behind him. He paused after making some distance, and closed his eyes, searching for the disturbance again.

Stronger here… Which means, it's closer. I'm on the right way.

He repeated the process several times, until the push grew weaker instead of stronger, indicating he was no longer heading in the right direction.

"…"

Jaune turned right, walked for a bit, and tested the signal again.

Weaker.

He turned back and went left instead of right, walked a bit, and tested the signal again.

Stronger. He was back on the right track.

Again, he repeated the process multiple times.

As he did this, Jaune was thinking hard about the meaning behind the use of this Semblance.

There were a few possibilities as to why someone would do this.

1- He was intentionally doing this to lure Grimm.

2- He was doing this for fun.

3- He was… 'cursed', like Jaune had been. In other words, he could not control his semblance.

In the first two cases, the three of them would beat them up and teach them a lesson, before alerting the authorities. Something like that.

In the third case, Jaune would find a way to help that person. And, should this be the case… maybe it was best that he did it alone? Unlike him, Mister Li and Ruby were not immune to the effects of this Semblance, whatever they may be.

"Mister Li, Ruby," Jaune called, halting their progress for a moment. "Maybe it's best if I go alone…"

"Because you're immune, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah."

"Is that so." Mister Li frowned at him, caressing his chin. "Hmmm..."

"Sir, obviously, this is a semblance at work. And the effects of this semblance will only grow worse and worse as we get closer to its source." Jaune explained, "It's probably safer if I go alone."

"You have a point, I suppose." Lazu Li mused, "And it's not like anything bad can happen to you, of all people…Very well!" He accepted, "Once you find him, identify the nature of the problem, and call me."

"Okay." Jaune nodded.

"Good luck, Jaune!" Ruby waved at him as he left. "Be careful out there!"

"Yeah… Don't fight each other, okay?"

"Don't worry!" Ruby smiled, "Now that I know the effects…"

"We'll easily control ourselves." Mister Li finished for her.

"That's good," Jaune nodded in relief, before resuming his search.

He continued to periodically walk and pause, in order to sense the source of the semblance, until eventually, the distance between his walks grew shorter and shorter, leading him into a dark alley.

"Hmm?" Jaune frowned, cautious, peeking into the alley. "It's coming from here…? But I don't see anything."

Was the enemy hidden?

Jaune narrowed his eyes, slowly approaching the source, step by step, as he listened cautiously.

"U-uuuu…"

Hmm?

"Uuu-uuuuu…"

What was this cute little sound? Ruby?

"Hello?" Jaune called.

Behind a large bin, the tiny head of a child popped up, before hiding again.

"…A kid…?" Jaune widened his eyes. "Hey…" Jaune raised his voice as he approached the kid's hiding place. "Um, hello?" He tried, not knowing how to handle children.

Jaune pulled the large, heavy bin out of the way. Behind it, the child was sitting on the ground, covering his ears.

"Hello there… Er… what's wrong?" Jaune asked gently.

Hearing his voice, the kid looked up, his eyes widening in fear. It seemed like he was around ten years old. There were traces of tears on his cheeks, and he looked malnourished.

Jaune could tell, because he had himself been malnourished when one of his former foster family had refused to give him any food for a month, after he'd broken their precious traditional altar.

So naturally, seeing a child like this, Jaune immediately felt sympathy for the kid.

"I don't mean any trouble," He raised his hands carefully, as the kid flinched back.

"I… I-I didn't mean it…!" The kid shouted back, panicked, his eyes filled with tears.

Option three, huh…

"…I know," Jaune nodded gently, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.

"No, you don't understand! Lately, I… It's like I've been cursed or something! P-please, get away from me, you'll get all mad like the others!"

"…"

Observing him, Jaune noticed he had several bruises on his body.

He is scared of me because his semblance has probably made people mad enough to hurt him, Jaune assumed.

"Who did this to you…?" Jaune asked hesitantly, with a dreadful feeling.

Somehow… Deep down… He already knew the answer.

"M-my… m-mom and… and m-my dad…"

The kid started crying. Jaune's heart squeezed painfully in his chest as he looked at the kid's bruises.

This spreading purple with yellow blotches on his ghostly skin… It was only the surface wound. The real one was within, that feeling of betrayal, that breaking of trust.

Jaune closed his eyes to exhale slowly, taking time to calm his heart down, and fill it with kindness.

When he opened his eyes again, he was smiling and took another step towards the kid.

"L-leave me alone!" He shouted desperately. "Don't you get it? Everywhere I go, people get weird, and start acting all... all upset!"

"…"

"… Th-they start fighting. And now there are m-monsters everywhere around, sneaking… B-because people's emotions are out of control!"

"…"

"E-everyone. I… I…" The kid paused, and looked at Jaune again. He put two and two together by himself. "Except… y-you…"

"…Your power has no effect on me," Jaune simply smiled. "You see, my own power makes me immune."

"…" The child's eyes widened with hope.

"What's your name?" Jaune asked gently.

"…Gus."

"…Listen, Gus." Jaune began, "Your curse is not a curse. It is a semblance."

"A… semblance?"

"Yes. It's a special power. Some say that it defines personality. But, they are wrong! They are not connected, and it's definitely not a curse!"

"But… I cause trouble. I'm bad!"

"You're not bad. Just because you upset people, doesn't make you bad, Gus.
Some people are fast, or strong, or smart,
Some are clumsy, or weak, or bad with words…
Some even make people forget their memories, or… break everything they touch.
You, you might upset people.
You see?
It's just another one of these weird unique characteristics. You can learn to control it, as I did with mine. Everyone has their own uniqueness, their own peculiar quirk."

"…R-really? Th-there are others? You… You were…?"

"Everyone is unique. In that sense, you are not the only one..." Jaune answered, trying to make his voice sound as soothing as possible. He was doing his best to copy what Summer had told him.

Because… He realized that he could very well be this kid's 'Miss Huntress'.

And everyone needs a 'Miss Huntress' in their life.

Summer... I've found another one.

"I'm the same as you, I used to break everything I touched!" Jaune continued, grinning widely at Gus, who was drinking his words, "But... I learned to control it. Just like you will, with your power. You must embrace that part of yourself, fill it with resolve, and continue to live positively!
It may be hard, and tough, but going through this will make you a better person. You will turn these hardships into kindness and become someone great, someone better!
This is the truth behind one's charm: be human! That's it!"

As he spoke, Jaune wondered, had he ever spoken for such a long time without stuttering? He was amazed by his own feat. The words were coming to him naturally, directly from his heart.

"B-but… The Grimm…!" The child shook his head, "They keep attacking people because of me!"

He's the sole reason for the spike of negativity, including the Faunus civil rights protest, Jaune realized. And the negativity spike started two weeks ago according to Mister Li. Which means… It's been two weeks since he's unlocked his semblance.

Might be longer since it takes a while for the Grimm to gather... But still, it's very recent. So, of course, he has no control over it…

"Gus. How old are you?"

"Eleven…"

So even if Gus started meditating now, that was still three years later compared to when Jaune started.

And he obviously hasn't learned to hold back his emotions, like I did when I was young.

And it's not like he can learn meditation on the spot to stop his semblance…

So what should I do?

Is it too late for him? No way.

I just need to find a short term solution in the meantime…

Suddenly, an insane idea surged in Jaune's mind.

Can I…?

"Gus. I want to help you." He said, trying to sound confident, "Would you… let me?"

"H-how?"

"Just… let me try." Jaune requested, taking a step forward, "Your power. I might be able to make it go away… for a while at least."

"Um…" The boy flinched away, intimidated by his height.

Jaune knelt down to his level and offered his hand. "I just need you to give me your hand."

"N-no…"

"…Gus. I know how you feel…" Jaune's eyes were filled with kindness, his voice gentle, "…It's… It's been tough, hasn't it?"

"…"

"…"

"…Y-yeah…" The kid finally sobbed after a moment of silence. "I-it's been…so hard."

"I know. Please, trust me." Jaune begged softly. "I can help you."

Slowly, timidly, the child stepped forward, and hesitantly, raised his hand to hold Jaune's.

"Mister… P-please cure me!" The child begged, clenching his eyes close, which made a tear roll down his cheek.

Jaune softly clenched the child's hand. "…Thank you." He nodded and closed his eyes.

"…"

After a long minute of concentration, Jaune moved his Aura like a muscle, reaching towards the kid's chest.

I can do this. My semblance is completely under control now…

I'm not the same as I was before. I'm not like Gus anymore. I'm the master.

Reaching with his soul, Jaune distinctly felt something constantly leaking off Gus's body.

This had to be the effect of his semblance. Getting a proper feel for it, Jaune instinctively knew what it was doing.

Amplification of emotions… That is the very nature of his semblance. It's not that bad… Certainly not as terrifying as my or Yatsuhashi's semblance.

But the Grimm's nature of being attracted by negative emotions makes it… pretty tough to deal with. Especially the fact that it affects everyone close to him, not just a specific target.

Jaune's mind directed its awareness towards the boy's very soul, reaching forward.

I just need to find the source…

He felt his mind dive deep, and his consciousness fall through an invisible black hole, into the depth of an ocean.

This time, Jaune quickly adapted to his surroundings. In the dark ocean, he instantly found a glowing sphere of yellow power, radiating pulses. Dozens of wires shining yellow were connected from this miniature sun, to somewhere far away within the ocean.

And then, right below, there was a glowing blue flower, much like Ruby's rose. Except, it was another kind of flower, with a lot more petals, blue, and a lot smaller. Jaune was not an expert in flowers, so he did not know its name. Four threads were connecting the yellow sun and the blue flower together.

Those four threads are what connects his semblance to his Aura, Jaune instinctively realized. The sun is his Aura, while the flower is the semblance.

As for the other threads… They must be what connects the Aura to his body, or skin.

In other words: the countless shining threads represented the 'Aura Output'. The more there were, the quicker one could send Aura to protect their body, or use dust or their semblance.

As he realized this, Jaune realized something about his own Aura.

This. This is it. This could why my Aura is not as powerful and explosive as it was before my time isolated at Beacon. Back when I broke my Aura, and snapped some of those threads in the process?

It would explain why my Aura control is better, too. Since I would have less Aura Output to manage… It'd be the natural outcome that some of my power was traded for more control…

Then… Maybe I need to do the same for Gus?

Jaune shook his head, frowning. No…

In Gus' case, he had zero control over his Aura. Merely reducing the Aura output would not suffice. It would reduce the effects, but the problem would still be there. Plus, if Gus wanted to train in meditation to learn some control, he would absolutely need access to his Aura.

No, Jaune needed to disable the semblance itself.

He focused back on the shining blue flower and cautiously approached it.

He reached out to the flower, willing his Aura to gather at his fingertips. This time, he was not going to simply brush it. He was going to seize it… and channel his semblance into it.

But not too much… Just a bit… To let it regenerate afterward.

Crack!

…Like this.

Wincing, the flower's glow intensified for a moment, and started flicking on and off like a defective lamp, before eventually staying off.

All right. There's no need to worry, I don't 'destroy' things… I just 'break' them. In time, it will repair itself.

Satisfied, Jaune pulled back. His entire world was pulled away, spiraling around him, and it felt like his body suddenly grew into a giant.

Blinking, before he knew it, he was back into the real world. And immediately, he held his stomach and swallowed his vomit. Miss Huntress had never thrown up in front of him, so he would not vomit in front of this kid. Nope. No way. He would be like a cool, kind big brother with an awesome white cloak.

Still, Jaune took a moment to catch his breath, still shaken by the experience.

Did I really just do that?

He had been so calm. So detached from it all… He had instinctively known what to do.

Was he that much of a natural that he had no problem understanding the inner workings of Aura?

What was it called again…? Something something conscious Aura introduction or something…?

"…Sir?"

"…S-sir?!" Jaune repeated, wincing. "I-I'm only seventeen! Er… Call me Jaune."

"U-um…"

Looking back at the child, Jaune noticed how scared he was.

"Don't worry.' Jaune's voice softened, and he quickly closed his eyes to check if his semblance was still leaking off his body. It was not. "I just disabled your Semblance."

"Wh-what?"

"Your power won't work anymore. At least for some time. Can't you feel it?"

"It's… I… I can…" Gus stuttered, in shock, looking at his hands.

Though it should regenerate soon enough… Jaune mused to himself, remembering how Ruby's semblance had recovered within seconds. This time though, Jaune had done much more damage than he did with Ruby. This time, he had actively damaged the flower.

"W-waaah…" Gus was trembling, eyes looking up tearfully at him. "Z-zone.…

"Er… It's Jaune." He corrected him again, awkwardly. "Jaune. With a J."

"Z-zone…" The kid sobbed again, "Vvvang you..."

Still kneeling down, Jaune let the kid hug him.

"Th-there, there," Jaune said awkwardly, and decided patting him on the back seemed like a good idea, "You're fine now…"

"W-waaaaaah…!" The kid cried in his shoulder. Tears and snot were getting on Jaune's precious white coat, but it didn't matter. Jaune would accept all his tears just like Summer accepted his.

"…" After Gus finished crying, Jaune broke the hug, and put his hands on his shoulders, still kneeling at his level. "Listen, Gus. You need to learn meditation."

"H-huh?"

"I haven't destroyed your power, you know. In time, it will heal and come back." Jaune explained, "It isn't over. This is not something you can escape… So you need to be brave, and learn to control it before that time!" Jaune grinned, "Got it?"

"Control it? How…?"

"Learning meditation and self-control will help you with that."

"Meditation… B-but… My parents…Th-they…"

"…Yeah," Jaune nodded understandingly. Gus might still be scared around his parents.

"Do your parents know meditation?" He still asked him, "And… I'm not talking about amateur meditation. For it to work, you need to be properly taught."

"Ah, my grandpa Edward is a Huntsman, I can ask him!"

"Good." Jaune nodded in approval. "Ask your grandpa then. I'll lead you back to your family. Do you know where your parents live?"

"A-ah…" Gus was still hesitant to move.

"Don't worry," Jaune said kindly, "I won't let anything happen to you."

"O-okay…"

"Now, let's get you back to your family. And get you something to eat on the way. What's your surname?"

"It's Caspian… I'm August Caspian."

Later.

After having explained the situation to Mister Li and Ruby over a scroll call, Jaune had bought Gus a sandwich and led him back to his family's place, on his directions.

Now the two of them were currently standing in front of a rather large house.

"Let's go," Jaune gently touched Gus' shoulder.

The kid gulped, still apprehensive, and stepped forward.

Before he could even reach it, the door opened.

"Gus!"

A woman ran out of the house, and before they knew it she was already hugging her son.

"I'm sorry…! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me…!"

"M-mom…"

"I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

"…I-It's not your fault, mom…"

"Son!"

The father joined them. "I've never regretted something as much as I do now… I am so sorry, my son… It'll never happen again…"

"It's my power… My semblance… It's because of me, I'm sorry… The Grimm, too… It's all me..."

"No, son…"

"Waaaah~"

Gus cries. The family hugs him.

How touching.

Jaune could only stare at the three of them, somewhat envious.

It must be nice, to have parents accepting your curse as readily as that.

"How can we thank you?" The father asked Jaune while still hugging his son.

"I-I don't need thanks…" Jaune blushed, waving his hands, looking away.

He stepped back. He was not used to compliments from strangers, they made him feel like he was getting tricked, they made him uncomfortable. For now, he should leave and let them have their moment.

And so, Jaune turned and walked away.

"Z-zone!"

He paused and looked back at Gus. "It's Jaune!"

"Um…" The kid hesitated, staring at him. "J-jaune..."

He glanced at his parents, who nodded in approval, before he looked back at him.

"M-may I see you again… in the future?"

"…"

A memory flashed in Jaune's mind.

'U-um… Could I maybe see you again sometime?'

"…"

Jaune grinned at Gus.

Later

Jaune came back to Mister Li and Ruby, and explained everything to them over dinner.

"So what you did to him… was what you did to me the other day, huh…" Ruby hummed, munching on her food.

"Yeah."

"I thought that kinda stuff was too dangerous though?"

"I said that because I was scared for you," Jaune flushed, which caused Ruby to blush as well. "But you healed in seconds, right? And the kid was cursed, I... I had to help him! And I knew I could do it... Looking back, it doesn't actually feel that dangerous, it's like, uh... a surgery, you know?"

Yeah, a surgery definitely felt like a good analogy for what he'd done to Gus. The work he'd done was so precise, just like a surgeon.

"Nope," Ruby replied, sounding amused. Yet she had those eyes, Jaune knew she was trusting his judgment. "What was the name of that boy?"

"August Caspian." Jaune answered, and he couldn't help but grin happily at what he had just done. Today sure had been a productive day. "We even exchanged scroll numbers!" he added happily.

"Eeeey, nice!" Ruby praised, grinning widely. "You must have inspired him!"

"…Dude." Lazu Li finally spoke up. "What… the hell?!"

"Huh?" Jaune blinked, surprised at his outburst. His emotions weren't amplified anymore, right?

"How can you disable someone's Semblance like it's nothing?! How can you be sure of what you're doing? Are you insane, Jaune?!"

"Ah… Um." Jaune hesitated, suddenly feeling like a stupid fool.

"Hey!" Ruby pointed an angry fork at Mister Li, "When it comes to handling Aura matters, Jaune is very talented." She explained, puffing up her chest proudly, "So no need to worry! He's the best!"

"…Even for someone talented. This is not normal! Your're more talented with Aura than Ozpin himself, and that's saying something!" He turned to Jaune, pointing his own fork at him, "There's something… wrong with you, kid!"

"I know that already," Jaune grimaced.

"No! There is nothing wrong with him!" Ruby protested, clashing her own fork against Mister Li's, and sending him a glare. She turned to Jaune, "Don't listen to him, Jaune! You did a great thing!"

"I know," Jaune nodded, "It doesn't make what I didt any less freaky though. I get it." He looked at the Huntsman. "I'm tired. Can we go to sleep now?"

"…" The man stared at him for a moment. "…Yeah…" He breathed lowly, suddenly looking twice his age. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"See you tomorrow, old man!" Ruby stuck out his tongue to the poor man, before she grabbed Jaune.

"Er... Good night, Mister Li!" Jaune waved at the Huntsman who was still frozen staring at him, and followed after his partner.

Later.

Jaune sighed as he lied down on the bed of their room.

He felt like he'd forgotten something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He searched his memory of the day, specifically remembering his encounter with Gus.

Looking back…

"…I think I've done something either really good or ... morally questionable." Jaune mused, "Not sure which."

Influencing, manipulating, and breaking the Aura and semblance of another human being. It was the kind of thing that could be considered politically controversial. Some people might even say such a thing was just plain wrong.

"What, disabling a child's semblance that could prove to be harmful is bad now?" Ruby asked. She was lying down her own bed on the other side of the room. "Naaah, it's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I don't know." Jaune frowned, "I feel like… Breaking people's aura and semblances… It's pretty brutal when you think about it." he declared, to which Ruby hummed.
"You know, I did it with my Aura too, to pass Miss Goodwitch's test." He continued, "To escape isolation. I think that's what allowed me to gain some control over my semblance, more than anything, but…" Jaune hesitated.

"But…? But what, Jaune?"

"I… I never had that visualization of my semblance and my Aura. Like Miss Goodwitch said… that conscious, uh… conscious experiment of Aura… introduction or something." Jaune pointed out, though he was pretty sure he was saying it wrong, "When I broke and negated my semblance, I did so blindly…"

"You did that to your Aura?" Ruby questioned, listening to him. "You never mentioned it before..."

"Yeah..."

"...What do you mean, 'blindly'?"

"Like, I didn't see any flowers or suns or shiny threads, I didn't have any kind of visualization, nothing like that, I just targeted the very Aura that was protecting my skin." Jaune explained, "Out of spite… And somehow, I feel like that's… really, really bad…" He mused, raising his arm to look at his hand.

A white halo of Aura started shining softly on his skin, as if cautiously agreeing with him.

Jaune remembered clearly how he had broken his own Aura. How could he not? How own life energy had retaliated as if it had a mind of its own, attacking his legs' muscle with scary cramps, which had made him fall several times.

Ever since then, his semblance had lost some of its power. But he had also gained in control.

His new theory, since earlier today, was that he had simply snapped some of the threads that connected his 'sun' to his body, which would have decreased his 'Aura Output'. Which would have effectively decreased his power ceiling while at the same time increasing his control.

But still, Jaune wasn't certain he was right. It was nothing but a theory. This was all too vague, he was no Aura expert.

And after all this time, it still felt like something crucial was missing, compared to before…

"But that August kid was happy you did it, right?"

"Yeah… But… Nevermind Gus." Jaune shook his head, "I'm more worried about myself. What I did to Gus... and you, was kinda… surgical, you know…? Gus did not get hurt. It was safe." He insisted on the word, and somehow he knew he was right. "Whereas, what I did to myself… It's… It's pretty bad…! I had no idea what I was doing. I was so ignorant of how Aura worked compared to now."

"Hmm…" Ruby hummed, her voice a lot closer than before.

"Ruby…?"

Suddenly, her head appeared right above his, upside down. She grabbed his cheeks into her hands, her face so close that her hair touched his forehead.

"Jauuuuune. You don't destroy, right?"She questioned, her silver eyes looking into his soul.

"N-no…" Jaune stuttered, his cheeks turning hot.

"You break. That's your thing."

"Y-yea..."

"Soooooo… Even if you physically abused your Aura or whatever…" Ruby gave her a beautiful grin, which made his heart skip a beat. "Won't it regenerate in time, just like mine did?"

"That's… Er…" Jaune paused.

…

…Huh.

So I'm going to regain the power I lost, slowly but surely?

Jaune blinked dumbly, and smiled. "That's… actually a good point, huh."

There was silent laughter in his voice.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before…

"Pffft."

Jaune chuckled at his own silliness.

Ruby chuckled with him.

They giggled together.

Her sweet, joyful laughter was infectious, and eventually, Ruby let go of him and rolled on the floor, bursting in laughter along with him, their bodies shaking.

"Hahahaha!"

"Yeah aahhahaa, I completely forgot about that!"

Jaune didn't know how they found themselves laughing so hard, but all of a sudden, they couldn't stop.

It was a laughter that Jaune could feel in his lungs, so hard it took his breath away. Ruby was the same, her breath coming in quick gasps between her unstoppable giggles.

The lack of oxygen didn't matter. It was weird. After all, there was absolutely nothing funny about the situation. Yet perhaps, because of the nervousness they had accumulated throughout the day, they couldn't stop themselves. All the hardships of the day melted like snowballs in a microwave.

It took two minutes for them to calm down and regain control of themselves.

"Ahahaaa… Haaaaa…!" Ruby sighed in relief, and Jaune echoed her.

"Ah… Phew…"

"Man… My ribs hurt…"

"Yeah…" Jaune sighed, a large grin still on his face, "My sides… Any more and I might just faint."

"…"

"…"

Ruby glanced at him.

Their eyes met.

She snorted.

"Pfft…"

"Haahaha…"

"Ahahahahaha! 'I might faint', he says!"

"HahahaHAHAHA!"

"Me too, though! AaahahaHAHAHA!"

Meanwhile, with Lazu Li.

"…"

Lazu Li sighed as he heard the two kids laugh their asses off upstairs.

"Heh… Kids." He sighed to himself, pulling out his notebook, and proceeding to write this new piece of information regarding Jaune Arc.

'Has the ability to disable semblances'

"Hmm. I'm sure people will pay a good price to find someone who can do that." Lazu Li nodded to himself, satisfied.

Which meant that, in turn, Junior would pay even more.

Upstairs, the huntsman could still hear the two kids giggling.

He smirked and let out a dark chuckle, raising his drink to their antics.

A/N: Couldn't resist making August say Jaune's name wrong. 'Zone'. That sure brings back memories.