The cold air swept through the prison block dead silent prison block. Guards autonomously paced up and down the hallways, brushing past the empty cells that once held the most violent beings. If one listened carefully, the echoing screams of the inmates still rang from the empty cells. Of all the empty cells that lined the dimly lit hallway, one was occupied. In it, housed one of the most dangerous assassin in Remnant.

Jaune Arc sat on the cold hard floor, silently counting in his head the time he was captured and thrown into this lousy jail cell. His hands and feet chained together, the coldness pierced his butt cheeks and the damp floor only made it more miserable for his soft arse. His blonde hair unkempt, the only viable light source was the moonlight that seeped in through the window grill at the top of the cell. Casting a grim figure over Jaune, it gave an intimidating presence to the guards that walked by.

"Dinner's here" The warden spoke in a gruff voice as he slid the tray through the access hatch.

Staying silent, the warden walked off and his footsteps grew softer with each passing second. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Jaune perked up and shot a quick glance at the food. Throughout the entire course of his life, he had never witnessed such a poorly prepared meal. Even the stuff in garbage bins looked more appealing than the small shit mountain that was placed before him.

"Not long now". He murmured to himself as approximately 240 minutes had passed since he was thrown into this hell hole. As another guard strolled by, he partially licked his lips as it was time to begin his grand scheme, "Excuse me guard! There seems to be a problem in my cell!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

As two armed officers rushed to the cell, they peered through the bars as to identify what the ruckus was all about.

"The hell's your problem fool? You want us to go in there and beat you up?" The guard growled.

"No please! You have to understand, someone was in here with me. He's in the corner there. You may not know it but it's his semblance!" Jaune bluffed as he pointed in the direction where the suspect was standing.

The guard peered into the cell and wore a 'What is he on about?' look all over his face. Seeing nothing, he merely scoffed and laughed at the hapless prisoner, "See this bloke? Gone mad, bet his noggin was fucked over from whatever shit he was on".

"Hey! I'm not lying! There's someone in here with me!" Jaune hysterically screamed.

"That's it, I've had it with his insolent screeching. I'm going to teach you a lesson punk!" The guard said as he fumbled for his keys to unlock the cell door.

With a simple click, the door swung open and the guard rushed in while his partner followed slowly from behind. Baton drawn, the aggressive man was about deliver a blow before Jaune pleaded a loud "No!".

"Please, I don't want more violence. Please sir, do you not have a kind heart?" Jaune stared deep into the guard's eyes and wore a pained look in order to evoke a sense of pity from him, "What am I saying, you're all going to end up getting hurt anyway may as well say your prayers now". Jaune's sudden change in tone made the mood more eerie.

Without warning, an arrow flew through the window grills and implanted itself firmly into the paved ground with a sharp twang. Drawing the attention of both guards, blue sparks exploded from thin air and a dark figure emerged from the shadows. Dagger in hand, the figure quickly disarmed the nearest guard and smashed his helmet with the blunt end of the weapon. Throwing the weapon, the projectile knocked the second guard in his visor as well and knocked him clean out. The entire scuffle lasted no more than 3 seconds tops.

"You sure took your time Stella". Jaune scoffed as the figure removed it's hood and mask revealing a female colleague.

"You know I'm always on time. Besides, you told me to avoid killing anyone. So far there has been zero casualties. You should be proud". She said while unlocking his bindings.

As the shackles dropped to the floor, Jaune let out a groan as he stretched his body in preparation for the next phase of his well thought out plan, "I need my stuff please," His orders were answered as Stella handed him a backpack with the desired gear inside.

Fishing out the great coat inside, he quickly slipped into the clothing and pulled up his hood and mask. Holstering his pistol and keeping his dagger drawn, he gave a silent nod to Stella as the signal to move out.

Pulling her hood & mask up, she quickly drew both her signature dual swords and charged out the jail door. As the sounds of screams and wails could be heard down the hall, he only hoped Stella refrained from butchering the poor sods.

Stepping out from his cage, he looked left and right and was amused to find that most of the prison guards were all knocked unconscious on the floor. Perhaps his expectations were too high for these sort of folks, usually the guards he had encountered would've put up more of fight and not get steam rolled so quickly.

Hearing the sound of Stella's semblance being unleashed, he jogged down the hall to find her teleporting around the last standing guard as if she were toying with him. As the fella drew his pistol, a sharp blow to the back of his head was all it took for him to fall to the ground.

"Awwww no fun, I was just getting warmed up". Stella groaned as she walked over the bodies.

"Easy now girl, wouldn't want to waste our efforts on small fry like these. We got bigger fish to catch". Jaune said as he came up next to her.

"Remind me why we're not allowed to kill them again?"

"Because, our employer said not too. He's paying us quite a lot for this job. So I don't want to fuck it up big time".

"How much are we talking exactly?" Stella asked with a curiously.

"Half a million Lien".

"No!"

"Yes, and if we do get scammed, we'll just have to gut it from our employer's dead hands".

"This is more than what those douches were offering to pay us back in that godforsaken village".

"More than we've ever been paid in our lifetime to be exact".

"What's the plan boss?"

"We're here to kill a guy called Nef Anyo. It seems our employer is keen on getting rid of what he claims to be his rival. Funny thing about the business world".

"Who knew people would go that far just to gain more riches".

"Power can change people, but that's none of our business. All that matters is we kill him and get our pay, if we don't get paid then there's going to be problems".

As the two rounded the corner, a squad of heavily armed guards came down the hall before raising their weapons at them. Locked in a standstill, one of them put a finger to his ear before nodding at his friends.

"Shoot to kill!" He yelled.

"Avoid killing them!" Jaune ran pass Stella before throwing his dagger at them.

In a blink of an eye, Jaune seemingly disappeared before the guards before reappearing in front of them. Going for the first guard, he smashed the handle of his dagger on the helmet before planting a hand on the other guard's chest. Using his gathered momentum, he brought the guard to the floor in rapid succession.

Glancing up, the other two guards were awe struck at the scene that they failed to notice Stella teleporting in front of them and knocking the living day lights clean out of them. The fight didn't even last a full ten seconds and the duo were on their way again.

The thing about privately owned buildings was that you needed to hire your own staff and maintain everything else. Clearly Nef Anyo was on his last legs as barely any guards were witnessed and those that were spotted was quickly dealt with.

In the warehouse sector of the building, Nef watched the monitor wearily for signs of the intruders. If he was being honest to himself, he was sweating bullets right now. He knew this was the end line, no more running. If he did run right now, it wouldn't have been long before he'd be sniffed out again, "Bunch of useless cunts, I was promised professionals but this is what I get? Useless!" He cursed loudly which made the remaining henchmen tremble.

With a loud bang, the warehouse door burst open and a guard flew right through wailing for his life before crashing into a crate. As the remaining guards in the room drew their weapons, Nef watched as the two figures waltzed through the door casually as if they owned the place.

Within the next second, the sounds of souls crying out in anguish echoed throughout the room as the remaining guards in the vicinity dropped to the floor like dead flies. A small chuckle could be heard from the smaller figure who was assumed to be the mastermind behind the collapse of his useless bodyguards.

Taken aback by the sudden display of power, Nef was surprised at how determined his rivals were in making sure he was put into the ground for good.

"So, is this how it ends? I die here? No final words, no goodbyes?" Nef held out his arms as if he was willingly letting the gods take him.

"It would help if you quietly knelt down and just close your eyes. The rest is hoping whatever god takes you into their domain". Jaune said underneath his mask.

The business man took a deep breath, his calm demeanour disrupted, "Kneel?" Nef responded with a triggered look, "Kneel? Did you ask me to kneel? In case your pea sized brain hasn't figured it out yet, I never kneel!" He roared before a large sci fi like hammer transformed in his hand.

"Look out!" Jaune yelled as the weapon smashed itself into the ground. Creating a wide area of effect, electricity cackled and buzzed widely with enough force enough to knock out a full blown huntsman off his feet. It would seem Thor himself must've dropped his hammer and Nef so casually decided to use it against them.

Landing on the higher ground, Jaune opened his arms as if he had won the fight already, "It's over Nef, I have the high ground!"

"Fool! It is my geography that I stand compares you superior!" Nef declared.

Without warning, Stella appeared behind Nef ready to plunge both her blades into the man's back. Anticipating her attacks however, He quickly jabbed the end of his hammer into Stella and gave a powerful kick into her stomach.

"Hurrghhh!" Stella groaned as she went flying, quickly throwing her sword, she teleported away and stabilized herself. Suffice to say, she was pissed.

Taking advantage of the opening, Jaune threw his dagger and teleported within close proximity of Nef and fired two shots into his back.

As the bullets staggered the man, his aura glowed as a sign of taking the powerful hits but was still up to protect him. Turning around to face him, he wore a look that spelt 'I'm going to kill you over and over again for that!'

Aiming his pistol again, Jaune quickly fanned the revolver and unloaded the last four bullets at Nef. He was taken aback however as his opponent dodged all the bullets effortlessly. Throwing his dagger back, he teleported away in order to distance himself even further and formulate a new strategy.

Just as he pulled back, Stella re-joined the fray with even more unbridled fury and hacked and slashed away at her target. While Nef did his level best to block and attack, Stella's proficiency with her blades proved too much for him as some of her attacks slipped through and hit him.

"Die, die, die!" Stella exclaimed as she powered through. With each passing second her movements became faster and faster to the point she began teleporting erratically that Nef couldn't even keep tabs on her.

As Jaune eyed the aura of the man, he estimated that he couldn't take many more hits. The man was no means a brawler but he was no pushover.

Then it happened again, somehow Nef began to avoid Stella's attacks flawlessly as if he was seeing through her moves ahead of time. As Stella pulled back from her attacks, Nef readied his hammer and winded up for his counter attack. Swinging erratically, his movement became sluggish and predictable that Stella didn't even have to think to avoid the attacks.

That's when Jaune noticed it, Nef's eyes. He remembered how they faintly glowed a bright green hue when he began shooting him. It was playing up again when he was fighting Stella. Assuming logically, that was probably his semblance in play which explained how he managed to avoid majority of their deadly attacks. But the downside to him using his semblance was obvious since it was draining his stamina. It reflected his attacks, every use of his semblance wore him down even further.

If anything, now was the perfect time to strike, "Stella! He's vulnerable! On me!" Jaune barked before sprinting towards their target.

As Stella got the order, she quickly jumped back and sheathed one of her swords. Throwing her other sword in the air, she teleported upwards and watched as Jaune teleported right in front of him. Taking advantage of his slow reaction, Jaune unloaded his revolver into Nef's chest and shattered his aura with a loud crack. The deafening blow made him come to a complete standstill which was a target begging to be hit.

Seeing as that was her cue, Stella drew both her swords and threw it towards her target. Teleporting right above him, she plunged the blades deep into his back. As the man let out an ear piercing scream, his final fight kicked in as he stumbled around trying to get the girl off him.

Removing the swords from his back, she quickly back flipped off while Jaune did a power slide and used his dagger to cut the back of his knees. Swiftly cutting the flesh, the move forced Nef to go down on his knees and caused him agonizing great pain.

Throwing his dagger, Jaune appeared in front of Nef one last time and plunged the weapon straight into his chest. As the man let out a pained groan, he gasped as he knew it was the end of the line. Looking at the blade in his chest, he watched his killer lean in close towards his ear.

"You should've kneeled". Jaune whispered before pulling away and removing the weapon from the man's chest. Leaving a deep wound in the man, Nef desperately applied pressure on the wound as to delay the inevitable. Fighting the urge to collapse, he watched as his assailants merely stood by while he suffered in front of them.

"I'll let my partner handle things from here on out. Have fun". The rough masculine voice said before walking away.

As a slender figure filled his view, Nef knew it was over, "Please, no! No! Mercy!" He cried as the figure drew it's blades and the sound of flesh being cut and blood spewing everywhere echoed throughout the large complex. As his dying screams faded out, the deed had been done, Nef Anyo was no more.

"How did you figure out his semblance?" Stella asked calmly as she jogged up next to Jaune.

"I didn't, I just guessed. Clearly this wasn't something we could've predicted. But we pulled through. I wasn't expecting a fight but I see you enjoyed it thoroughly". Jaune smirked.

"Definitely, if it's one thing I enjoy in life, it's going up against an opponent and watching him drown in his own pool of blood the next minute.

"Sheesh, you certainly enjoy staining your hands". He sighed.

"If there's a reason to do so, yes I will enjoy it. Or do I need a reason to enjoy it?" She questioned herself.

"What time is it now?"

"Umm," Stella quickly checked her watch, "Quarter past 2 in the morning. Why, in a rush to get back to school?"

"Fuck….." Jaune groaned, "I can kiss sleep goodbye. Here's hoping Glynda or Oobleck don't murder my ass tomorrow".

Stella offered a perplexed look at her partner in crime, "I don't get why you're bothering with school anyway. Isn't it pointless when we're here making enough to tide ourselves over for the next few years?"

Jaune merely scratched the back of his head. He knew Stella had a valid point, but the point of him going to school wasn't in it for getting a recognized job in the future, it was about experiencing what a normal life was like, something he couldn't achieve years ago. He sighed softly, "Stella, have you ever experienced what it was like to have a childhood? Go to school, be a normal person for once? Have friends, have a family. Rather than getting your hands dirty and spilling blood in exchange for coin?"

Stella tilted her head and scratched her cheek about the idea, "I could say sort-ish I guess. I mean, I used to go to a training Academy awhile back so everything was sort of normal for me. I had some good friends, a happy life in the village and best of all my dear uncle who watched over me". Stella paused for a brief moment, a pained look on her face before she continued in a low voice, "That is, before he was murdered".

"Sorry about your uncle, it must've been hard for you". Jaune said in a low voice.

"It's fine. We both got the shitty end of the stick that life decided to hit us with. I guess fate was just kind enough to put us together. I don't know where I'd be now if I hadn't met you". Stella offered a big smile, one that radiated sincerity and gratitude, "So far, you're the only one I consider as a friend. One that I can reliable trust and rely on".

He merely smiled back, "I guess you're right. I guess my life would've been very different". He wondered to himself if he would have ever been kind to others again after the horrors and mistreatment that others forced onto him. If it wasn't for Stella, he would've probably screwed himself over big time in terms of holding a decent conversation with any normal person.

"Perhaps I should try joining Beacon. Think I'll fit in?" Stella rubbed her chin, the idea seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Well, I see no harm in stopping you from trying. The only thing I am concerned about is the type of team you'll get put into. Here's hoping the admins don't go ham on you". Jaune held out a fist to which Stella replied by giving him a fist bump.

"Don't worry Jaune, I won't do anything too hectic. Besides, I guess it's time to give a 'normal' life a shot as well". Stelle stretched her arms out, letting loose a tired yawn, "Damn, Beacon's a huntsman academy right? It's been awhile since I last fought Grimm. I think I may need to brush up on some stuff".

"That you are correct. And I'd better practice swinging that sword & shield I keep lugging around. It's not easy trying to balance out your arsenal especially when you prefer mobile warfare over the current meta".

As Jaune finished his sentence, he felt something wrap firmly around his right arm. Glancing at the source, Stella had taken the leisure of resting her head on his arm and merely indulged in the peace that glossed over them. For Jaune, he simply found it as a recurring action that would take place after a long day.

"I'm beat, make me hot chocolate when we get back later?" Stella asked in a soft voice.

"Jeez, even more favours?" Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Pleaseeee" Stella begged while doing the utmost cutest puppy dog eyes Jaune had ever witnessed in his entire life.

"Fine…." He groaned, "You really are spoilt".

"I know, and I like it". She giggled.

So umm...this story just came out of the blue and I am curious as to how i can weave this somewhat questionable story. Do drop a review, highly appreciate it. Cheers

Yours faithfully

ZafkielRagnarov~