Dark Rose

Chapter 21: A Semblance of Normal

-Three Months Later-

"AHHHHH!" Jett screamed as he was sent flying into the nearest tree. The back of the young man's head smacked the bark with a dull thud. Jett closed his eyes, and tried to focus on the dull throbbing coming from his lobe. "Heads up, kid!" an energetic, gravley voice called out. Jett's eyes snapped open in time to see a middle-aged Hunter with grey and black hair, bring down his scythe in an arc over his head. "Shit!" Jett swore, as he feinted to the side, barely dodging the weapon. The man's scythe cut where Jett had been, slicing the tree in half in the blink of an eye.

"C'mon, kid. Can't you do anything but dodge?" The man smirked, looking over his shoudler at Jett, a gleam in his red eye. "Might...be able to...if I had my weapons back, Qrow." Jett huffed, putting a hand to his throbbing heart. The dusty, old drunk cracked a smile, and whipped around, whirling his scythe around his body like a cyclone. Qrow wagged a finger at Jett. "Not this time, bud. This is an exercise where you can't use your weapons or your Semblance." Qrow stopped his blade at his side, and flexed his knees. "And it's 'Mr. Qrow' to you." Jett smirked. "You know I'm never going to call you that." Qrow shrugged. "As you wish."

The dusty, old crow exploded forward in movement, bringing his scythe around his side. Jett's eyes narrowed as he watched his teacher approach rapidly. At the last possible second, Jett hit the deck, hard. He allowed the man to soar over him. Qrow looked down, and surprise filled his face. He saw his student flip on his back, and kick upwards with both of his legs, sending both of Jett's feet into the old man's stomach. "Oof!" Qrow grunted. Using his Aura, Jett pumped his feet and launched Qrow into the air. The shock of the surprise, and the initial attack, had such an effect that Qrow dropped his weapon. Getting back to his feet quickly, Jett grabbed the Huntsman's dropped scythe.

"No!" Qrow bellowed, seeing Jett grab his beloved scythe. In a blink of an eye Qrow's form disappeared, and was replaced by a crow with silver streaks in it's feathers. "What?" Jett cried, seeing Qrow's transformation happen before his eyes. The young man shook his head quickly, and tried to pick up the fallen scythe. Damn, this is heavier than it looks. Jett thought, managing to sling the weapon over one shoulder. A crow's caw caught Jett's attention, and looked up in time to see Qrow coming out of the sky like a bullet, heading straight for Jett. Reacting fast, Jett flexed his knees and jumped into the air. The bird flapped it's wings in surprise, and tried to slow it's descent. Too little, too late.

"Haaaaaaaaaah!" Jett exclaimed, as he powered up his muscles with what little Aura he had left. Slashing the weapon in an arc in front of him, Jett attacked the backpeddaling bird. *Slice* A clean, deep cut appeared across the crow's abdomen briefly before a red Auric barrier winked into existence, and the old man transformed back to normal instantly. Jett's grip slipped, and the momentum from the blade sent the scythe carreening off to the side in a whirlwind. In that moment, the door to the cabin opened. "What's all the ruckus out he-" the man's question was cut short when he looked up and saw a scythe coming at him at lethal speeds. "Shit!" the man exclaimed, ducking down. The scythe buried itself in the doorframe above the man's head. The man looked back up, and saw the two Huntsmen hanging in the air for a minute, before falling to the ground with a *thud*.

"The hell are you guys doing?" Jett Sr bellowed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his human hand. "You nearly took off my head! The side without Aura! You could have killed me, you idiots!" Qrow, who was on top of Jett, raised a finger in the air. "Technically, I did nothing wrong." he hiccuped. Jett growled. "Get off me.." the young man mumbled from beneath the drunk, pushing his teacher off him abruptly. Jett Sr grunted, shaking his head. The hulking man turned to walk back inside the cabin. He stopped before entering, and yanked the scythe free of the wood of the doorframe with his Grimm hand. "And take your damn weapon!" Jett Sr. barked, throwing Qrow's weapon off to the side.

"What a bother." Qrow sighed, picking himself off the ground. The Hunstman dusted off his pants and cape, and headed for the cabin in kind. Jett took a look at his surroundings for a moment. It had been a hectic couple of months since that night at the overlook with Ruby. School work has been non-stop. Between Professor Port's boring speeches that put him to sleep, and Professor Oobleck and Prof. Peach's literal mound of work that they had been giving the students, Jett has barely been able to train outside of the beatings he had been getting in Professor Goodwitch's classes.

In a way, he was grateful to Qrow for taking the time to train him. He could feel that his blows were getting sharper, and he was learning to think with his head. Jett paused for a moment. When was the last time I spent some time with Ruby? He pondered. Jett really hasn't had the time to see Ruby very much, now that he thought about it. Briefly, they'd chat and have awkward couple talk in passing when they were trying to get to class. Jett smiled at the thought of his scarlet-haired girlfriend. I'll see if she's free this weekend, so that we could spend some time together.

"Hey, kid!" a voice rung out. Jett looked up and saw Qrow leaning against the side of the open doorway leading into the cabin. "You coming in? Or you just gonna keep day-dreaming?" the drunk asked, smirk on his face. Jett sighed. "Yeah, I'll be right behind you." he answered, looking over his shoulder at Beacon Tower in the distance. This arrangement with Qrow is turning out to be a pretty good thing. Jett thought, turning back around. I wonder if anyone notices that I'm usually nowhere to found when lunch comes around..? Jett shook his head, and began walking towards the cabin's open door.

...

"Make sure you come back out next week!" Jett Sr. yelled out to his departing son. "We'll have more information about Salem to discuss." Jett looked over his shoulder and smiled, giving a thumbs-up. The young man turned back forward, and begun to walk towards the outcropping of the clearing that the cabin was in. Pulling a branch back aside from a shrub, Jett found the path that he had taken earlier to get there. The Huntsman-to-Be's ear twitched as a twig snapped off to the side of him. Jett whipped his head in the direction, and caught a glimpse of a figure running away. Seconds passed as Jett watched the figure run away, before it eventually disappeared into the underbrush. Still casting a wary glance in the general direction of the figure, he continued down the barely noticable path before him. What was that?

...

Jett emerged from the treeline surrounding the school, yawning and stretching his muscles until he heard a satisfying *pop*. The young man still had an uneasy feeling that someone was following him, even this close to the school. Jett surveyed the area around him for any sign of the stalker that had been following him from earlier. Nothing. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with the trees, or the school itself. Relaxing his shoulders, Jett sighed and continued to head for the school.

-On a Nearby Tree-

The blonde boy shook his head as he watched the black and pink-haired boy leave the forest and enter the school grounds. "I knew you were hiding something, Jett.." The blonde boy sighed. "So," The young man looked over his shoulder, and gave a quick nod to his partner. "You satisfied with your answer?" asked the other boy. The blonde dropped his gaze, and reluctantly nodded in response. "Well, I held up my end of the offer. Now it's time for your's." The boy held out his hand to the blonde. "Yeah, okay. I'll join your little group, Xicor." The blonde said, looking up at the hulking boy. "Welcome to the White Fang, Eccon Browning." The two Faunus grasped each other's forearm tightly in a firm agreement.