In which Jaune Arc dies... and Remnant is never the same again. or in which a martial artist opens his eyes again, and Grimm isn't happy about it. or where Jaune tries to make Remnant a better place the only way he knows how, using his fists!
Jaune wondered about this for a long time when he was a child, when he dreamed of being a hero.
He was naive, a fool in many ways.
But even someone like him knew that strength was necessary to save others, that having power was the requirement he needed to fulfill his dreams.
But even if he knew that, he was still ignorant about what strength meant and how to obtain it. Of course, his father deciding to hinder his path even before it began had a lot to do with that, but in the end, that was also an excuse.
Jaune didn't deceive himself about his own flaws either.
Even if his father didn't want to train him, he should have looked for other ways, he should have tried harder, attempted more, tried other options, found his own path.
but instead, he wallowed in self-pity and false hope that if he made it to Beacon, things would change.
That there he would learn everything he should have learned since he was a child.
That the only way was to enter the best combat school in the world.
How stupid.
How arrogant.
How idiotic.
He didn't even set foot on the campus grounds.
Maybe if he had sought strength, if he had tried to learn about it before running away from home like an idiot, he might have done something more.
Something more than just dying.
His foolish dreams and hopes failed the moment the Grimm began to tear his body apart piece by piece.
Ripping off his limbs, opening his body, and pulling out his guts, he saw his organs being removed from where they should be, he felt it all slowly and painfully.
Honestly, he would have preferred to die instantly, but he supposed that would be too simple an exit; somehow his body and consciousness endured everything, every wound, every stab of burning pain, until a Grimm decided to tear his head off his body with a bite.
That memory still brings nightmares.
The phantom pain still haunts him.
But surely this should be impossible, right? How can a dead person still have nightmares?
Well, he didn't know what kind of dumb luck, divine intervention, or miraculous coincidence happened to him.
The fact was that he woke up again.
Jaune Arc died in Remnant with unfulfilled dreams and broken hopes.
And Charanko woke up in a new world with a new life.
.
.
.
The first years were tough.
There were no Grimm, but that didn't make his new home any safer.
Unknown creatures.
Strange life forms.
Monsters.
Jaune hadn't known much about Grimm in his previous life, but he certainly had basic knowledge about them.
The monsters were totally different in many aspects.
Their intelligence, strength, and cunning were unparalleled.
Whole armies faced them daily and lost.
Humanity in this world might seem more united than in his old world without kingdoms and only a unified government, but that didn't mean it was safer.
The constant threat was palpable, and if it weren't for the existence of certain extraordinary individuals, humanity would have fallen long ago; Jaune had no doubts about that.
There was no general name for them, they didn't belong to the same group, and it didn't seem like they knew each other.
They were loners in many ways, but they were the ones who protected humanity.
This world didn't have hunters, there were no places that trained warriors to protect humanity, nor was there magical dust to tip the balance.
Without the involvement of these extraordinary individuals, humanity would have fallen in this world.
And so, like a naive fool who, even if he had died, still held childish dreams within him, he decided to go after his dreams once more, to seek out one of these extraordinary people to achieve what he could never in his previous life.
It helped that the man's identity was known and his place of residence public.
But why... why did the path there have to have so many stairs?!
.
.
.
The elderly man clasped his hands behind his back, even if he seemed a bit hunched, his posture was still firm like an immovable pillar.
He had been watching the horizon, gazing at the setting sun in the distance when something caught his attention, his gray eyebrows raised slightly as he saw the small figure climbing the steps to his dojo almost crawling.
He noticed the dirt on his hands, how they were red from the effort, he noticed the fatigue in him, how his body seemed to want to collapse at any moment, visible tremors shaking him.
But above all else, he noticed that fiery blaze in his eyes shining with surprising determination.
The least one would expect from a child no more than 6 years old able to climb the thousands of steps.
The elder despite noticing all this didn't move to help, because that would be an insult to the effort he was witnessing before him.
Instead, he waited, watching as the child struggled to climb until he reached the last step.
For a moment he thought he would faint once he reached it, but with some amazement, he watched as the child stood up and walked towards him unsteadily.
"Y-you are Master Bang?"
Bang nodded slowly without speaking, both of them staring into each other's eyes without blinking.
Then suddenly the child fell to his knees and bowed deeply before him.
"Please train me!"
That day would be deeply remembered by Jaune, after all, it was the day when for the first time in his existence someone decided to believe in him.
"Of course"
.
.
.
Three years later.
"It's like a current, a constant flow of water moving in all directions, like that of raging tides, capable of crushing even the sturdiest rocks"
Bang's voice echoed in Jaune's ears. Today was finally the day, after three long years of training, where he had learned basic martial arts to condition his body and mind, the time had finally come.
Today he would learn his master's true martial arts.
Except, looking at the great and furious river at his feet, Jaune wasn't sure if he would enjoy this as much as he had imagined he would.
"Like this river then, that's why we came to look at it, right? So I can understand how it works, just by looking at it from here safely and trying to understand it through observation, right?" Jaune couldn't help the tremor in his voice.
"Hahaha, of course not! To truly understand it, you need to experience it firsthand" his master laughed good-naturedly, stroking his chin as if he had a beard.
"E-experience it?! Wait, Master, maybe it's too soon, I think I should practice for another two years!"
"Nonsense! If I say you're ready, you're ready. Now go, test the flow of a river!"
With a movement of his hand that Jaune couldn't perceive, he was pushed into the air, plummeting towards the raging river below.
His scream echoed throughout the area.
.
.
.
At the end, his master had been right as he always was, and that experience had served him well to understand the foundations of the coolest martial art that exists, and anyone who dared to say otherwise was a fool in Jaune's opinion.
Because, how could there be another martial art cooler than the one that allows you to defy any adversity, counter any attack, and return the blow with double the force?
To fight beyond your physical capabilities, surpassing your own limits, and using the strength of your opponent against them completely?
Of course, there are many martial arts that claim to have such characteristics, but none truly compare to Ryūsui Gansai-ken!: Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist
It's no wonder his master is acclaimed as the strongest martial artist in the world.
Although the master says that in reality, his older brother deserves that title.
Jaune hadn't yet met his master's brother, but from all the good things his master said about him, he must be an incredible man.
Breaking from his thoughts, Jaune focused on the task at hand.
Despite everything, Jaune hadn't forgotten the reason he sought out his master, the reason he had worked so hard.
To be a hero.
To save people.
And now, that moment seemed to have arrived unexpectedly; in front of him stood the evil that plagued this world, a monster.
Honestly, Jaune didn't expect to encounter one while out buying comics.
Maybe this is another life and another world, but some things don't change; Jaune could be forgetting many things from his past, but he still retained his good tastes.
His fondness for comics being one of them; his life now centered almost entirely on his training, and if it weren't for his master constantly instilling the need to rest properly, Jaune would have missed out on the goldmine that was the comics of this world, or mangas as they called them.
Nothing is more relaxing than a good comic read!
Returning to the matter at hand, it was in the middle of his purchase that a monster decided to appear out of nowhere.
"Ku ku ku ku! Run! No matter how much you do, in the end, everyone will be my dinner!" The monster was tall, almost four meters, its skin seemed to gleam with a metallic gray color, and its face seemed like a parody of a traditional wrestling mask.
Not to mention that its body was almost completely naked, only covered by a pair of shorts too small to be legal.
It was a ridiculous sight, but that didn't make Jaune relax or underestimate his opponent.
No matter how ridiculous he looked or how foolishly he acted, in front of him was a real monster, and his master had taught him never to underestimate any opponent.
While people fled, Jaune approached, leaving his shopping bag on the ground and preparing for the fight.
Was Jaune brave?
No.
Was Jaune reckless?
No.
Jaune was afraid; if he were his former self, he would be trembling uncontrollably.
Even now, his body wanted to tremble, but his master had taught him better.
He had instilled enough discipline in his body so that his posture would not falter.
Instead, his body remained firm as he advanced; having endured the onslaught of raging river currents, it was impossible for him to tremble at this point.
And although he was afraid, it wasn't for himself.
He had died a horrible death, so horrible that the event still haunted him in his nightmares.
Death no longer frightened him, not when he had already experienced it firsthand.
Instead, his fear and nervousness stemmed from the people running behind him; if he failed here and now, everyone would be in danger, their lives would be at stake.
That's why he couldn't fail.
That's why he was going to win!
"Ku! A brave kid standing in front of me! Do you want to fight me? The great iron-fisted Jack!? Then prepare yourself, insolent punk, because you will witness the true strength of a professional fighter!"
The monster wrestler lunged forward, cracking the ground with just one of its steps; its enormous body moved faster than it had any right to, creating a shockwave around it that would have killed any normal person instantly.
For Jaune, it was like watching it in slow motion; all these years practicing with his master and the other students of the dojo had sharpened his perception beyond human, elevating all his senses to the extreme.
The attack in front of him was like that of a snail.
He easily diverted the incoming blow and, clenching his fist, made his counterattack.
His punch easily struck the monster's side, its skin as hard as steel rippled, and its ribs collapsed, breaking on the spot with a resounding crunch.
"Puaj!?" Blood spurted from the monster's mouth, and its body was sent flying dozens of meters in the next instant.
Jaune looked at his fist with childish amazement; fighting against his master or the other students of the dojo, he had never been able to land such a clean and direct blow.
Of course, he knew he could hit hard, very hard; after all, the "Rock Smashing" in martial art name wasn't just for show.
You literally had to be able to crush rocks with your fists if you wanted to start practicing it.
It was the minimum requirement and the reason why Jaune took three years to be ready.
Now, at 13 years old and having been under his master Bang's teaching for 7 years, Jaune could do more than just crush rocks.
A big smile spread across his face.
He was no longer weak; he was no longer that scrawny kid who bullies picked on and his sisters had to save.
He was no longer a disappointment.
He could be a hero.
.
.
.
It goes without saying that his master was not pleased with his reckless act.
"Even if you managed a good hit, monsters are very deceptive, Jaune! You can't judge their strength by their appearance!"
Jaune nodded, sweating as he maintained a horse stance and lifted a rock the size of a car over his head.
"Still, it would be hypocritical of me to continue scolding you when you used your strength for the good of others" Bang sighed.
"D-Does that mean I can rest?" the boy asked hopefully.
"No! This punishment isn't because you fought; it's because you stood there staring at your fist like an idiot after landing a good hit! Seriously, if Yoshida hadn't gone shopping with you, that monster could have caught you off guard!"
Remembering what happened after his initial success, Jaune hung his head in shame. He had let himself get carried away thinking he had won and got distracted fantasizing about being a hero.
If Yoshida, one of his fellow disciples, hadn't gone with him, then he could have suffered serious injuries when the monster counterattacked.
"You'll carry that rock until the sun sets; reflect on your mistakes"
.
.
.
After that, Jaune continued to face more monsters in his free time.
The number of them kept increasing as time passed, and so did his strength.
Jaune tried to protect as many people as he could.
He would rather die again than allow someone to get hurt in front of him.
Jaune didn't come out unscathed every time; the strength of the monsters and their fighting styles always varied.
Even with the coolest martial art in the world, Jaune found himself in serious trouble several times.
Still, he gained a lot of experience, helping him improve his strength by leaps and bounds.
He wasn't Bang's strongest disciple, but he was surely among the top 10, and he was the youngest, so people called him the most talented.
That changed when Garuo arrived at the dojo.
.
.
.
What was talent?
In his first life, Jaune hadn't been good at anything; there was no area where he excelled.
Perhaps if he had searched more, if he had tried harder.
But those were just past regrets that slowly began to fade along with his old memories. In this life, Jaune believed he had found his talent.
He thought he understood the word; maybe he got carried away by the praise from his master and the other students, but Jaune gained a certain level of pride.
It wasn't petty pride or anything like that; Jaune knew that even if he truly had talent, that wasn't what made his strength grow.
Instead, it was hard work and effort that mattered most.
But even knowing that, Jaune still felt proud, proud to be called Bang's youngest and most talented disciple.
Proud of his classmates' praises.
Proud of his strength.
Garou destroyed all of that in just one month.
Garou showed him what true talent meant.
The real meaning of the word.
"Genius..."
Truly, Jaune was grateful to Garou; he made him come back down to earth and realize that no matter the praises, no matter what others said about him, at the end of the day, he was still that clumsy, scrawny kid who had bled sweat and tears for everything he had gained in this world.
That everything was due to his effort and not to that illusory word called talent.
That he wasn't a genius.
And that was okay.
.
.
.
It was a few months after Garou's arrival that the Hero Association was founded.
Some representatives had come to his master's dojo seeking their participation.
Jaune's eyes sparkled with stars at the explanation the men had given, and perhaps if he hadn't been so focused on himself, he might have seen the dark look in Garou's eyes, the darkness and hatred that seemed to flood his eyes upon hearing the word "heroes."
.
.
.
Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes there may be.
originally posted in the nsfw section of questionable questing
His Master became a hero, and Jaune didn't hesitate to follow in his footsteps.
The reality was that there was no other path to consider.
He had dreamed of being a hunter, a protector of humanity, a hero.
He had failed in his previous life, but now he had the opportunity to do it in this life.
It was simply impossible for him not to participate.
And so his heroic life began. Unlike his master, who went straight into the so-called S class, Jaune had to start from the B class.
Of course, being Bang's disciple earned him a place among the top ten in the B class from the start, but that didn't really matter.
Jaune didn't care about classes or rankings; he only cared about doing his job well.
And he did.
In addition to training, he went out patrolling every day.
His efficiency and strength made his ascent in the classes rapid.
Reaching Class A was easy, but he didn't really seek to climb.
On the other hand, he met many incredible heroes, and his teacher introduced him to other S Class heroes.
His life began to be interesting; he began to be what he never was.
He was a hero, he was admired, he was strong, he had friends, comrades!
It was as if Jaune Arc had never existed.
That realization sent a shock through his system that made him shudder for a moment.
It was all worse when he realized he couldn't remember the faces of his sisters.
He couldn't remember his parents' faces.
Jaune was now 17 years old, the age at which he died in his first life. Seventeen years was a long time.
So long that forgetting old memories when you had nothing to remind you of them was easy, too easy.
So long that focusing on the present and the future was more important than thinking about the past.
So long that he didn't know if he was still Jaune or Charanko.
But even if he wasn't who he once was, he still had much of that person.
He began to do more things he remembered doing in the past, reading more comics, playing more video games.
Trying to remember his father's advice and his mother's words, even if he had no face or voice to put to them when he remembered those words.
But he had to live his life now, right? Was thinking about the past the right thing to do? Was forgetting the past better?
He realized he didn't have time to answer such questions.
Now that he was a hero, he had many responsibilities on his shoulders besides fighting monsters.
After all, even with monsters, humanity is still too good at destroying itself.
Fighting against dark organizations was starting to lose its magic after the sixth time.
It was definitely more annoying and less fun than the comics portrayed it.
.
.
.
Wolf.
Tiger.
Demon.
Dragon.
God.
The assigned name, thanks to the Hero Association, for threat levels based on how much damage and disaster they can bring to the world.
Wolf refers to mundane threats, simple criminals with nothing special beyond being against the law. Even the weakest hero could deal with them; usually, it's the local police who handle them, leaving heroes free to deal with more serious matters.
Tiger is more complicated. If Wolf is the bottom, then Tiger is the middle, threats that can bring ruin to dozens of lives or destroy parts of a city. Usually, most heroes deal with these threats either alone or in a group. Normally, a single Class A hero is enough, but it's almost always Class B and C heroes who take care of them.
Then there's the really tough part.
Demon, an entity or organization that could destroy an entire city in an instant. Even ten Class A heroes might not be enough to deal with such threats. And only the top 10 of Class A could expect to face demon-level threats on their own.
Jaune had achieved this with great effort. Facing a demon-level threat monster on his own had been the hardest battle of his life, but he had prevailed. With many broken bones and inches from dying again, but he had done it, and thus he entered the ranks of the top 10 of Class A when he was 17 years old.
He thought he was strong now, that he could protect people without fear and face the world's dangers with confidence.
Then he looked a dragon-level threat in the face.
Dragon, an entity capable of threatening multiple cities at once. Only the top heroes of Class S can face such threats.
Maybe it was too presumptuous of him then when he decided to confront one.
He almost died again.
It wasn't a fight at all.
If his teacher hadn't arrived in time, it would have all ended for him.
In the end, he had to be saved again by someone else.
In the end, he couldn't save anyone, and two cities with over 15 million inhabitants each ended up destroyed.
In the end, he failed.
.
.
.
"More strength, you say? Don't you think you're strong enough now?" At his Master's question, Jaune couldn't help but clench his fists.
"I... I failed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't save anyone, I couldn't fight"
"Hmm, I see" Bang looked into the eyes of his favorite disciple.
To say he was the favorite might be too much favoritism, but Bang wasn't one to lie to himself.
Charanko had grown on him ever since he first saw him so many years ago. He was the youngest disciple he had accepted since he founded his dojo and the one he had been closest to.
He wasn't the most talented, but that mattered little compared to his ability to work hard.
He had worked harder than anyone else to be able to help others, to be a hero.
Remembering his own past, he couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. There was so much difference between them, but that was okay; that was what made him appreciate Charanko even more.
Someone like his disciple deserved strength more than others who would only misuse it.
Making a decision, he looked at his disciple before speaking.
"Follow me"
.
.
.
Gousei Kohou: Awakening Breath
"Breathe, take your body beyond all possible limits and unleash all the hidden strength within you and beyond temporarily. This comes with a great cost in exchange for using power beyond your body. Do not use this technique unless absolutely necessary. Using it too many times can bring health problems in the future if you're not careful"
Bakushin Kaihō-ken: Exploding Heart Release Fist
"I absolutely dislike this martial art. To me, it represents everything wrong from my past, all my mistakes... But even if I don't like it, its strength is undeniable. If power is what you seek, then only this martial art has the capacity to unleash incomparable destructive power." Bang sighed, looking at the scroll where one of his greatest failures was depicted.
A martial art he used incorrectly.
One that led him down the wrong path.
But now, this technique could be used for something better, in the hands of someone more suitable.
"Your training in these two techniques begins now"
Jaune nodded solemnly, his eyes shining with an unmatched flame of will.
.
.
.
It was difficult, much more difficult than anything he had ever done before. The training he underwent in the past year surpassed any other in terms of effort and difficulty.
His bones broke, his muscles tore, and every nerve in his body seemed to scream in pain.
But he didn't stop. He didn't pause or relent even once. If he wanted strength, if he wanted power, if he wanted to be a hero again, then he needed this.
He needed to surpass any limit.
And so he did.
Looking at the corpse of the dragon-level threat monster in front of him, he couldn't help but feel blank.
He had done it. He had surpassed that barrier that even lower-ranked Class S heroes couldn't.
He had killed a dragon-level threat monster.
But even so, even having won...
He couldn't save anyone again.
The city burned, buildings had collapsed, and there was nothing left but misery.
He should have known. How foolish he was to assume that having the strength to face a dragon-level threat monster was enough to change anything.
And even if the monster was dead? What did it matter when it took an entire city with it?
What was he lacking? What was needed to achieve his goal?
Jaune couldn't find that answer even when he became a Class S hero.
.
.
.
"The Senpū Tetsuzan-ken is not an easy martial art to learn, young Charanko. Are you sure this is what you're looking for?" Bomb looked at the young student of his younger brother, his eyes studying every part of him attentively.
"I have studied all the martial arts my master has learned. I have mastered many others, I have combined some, but no matter what I do, I still can't find the strength I seek. I keep failing to save others. The Senpū Tetsuzan-ken is the most lethal martial art there is. If even with it I can't achieve my dream, then I don't know what else to do"
Bomb thought about it seriously. His brother's student was clearly lost in his search. It seemed he had fallen into a dark path. He supposed that as his master's brother, it was his duty to help the young man out of that darkness.
"Very well, I will teach you. But what you're looking for is something you won't find simply by gaining power"
.
.
.
Bomb was right; Jaune didn't find what he was looking for by learning the deadliest martial art that existed.
But Bomb managed to teach him a truth he had ignored.
You can't save everyone.
No matter how strong you are, how polished your technique is, or how much effort you put into it.
Someone will always get hurt.
You can't save everyone.
It was with this cold understanding that he began his return to his master's dojo.
He didn't like it. It wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't the truth he expected.
But it was the truth.
All his triumphs, all his successes, and his meteoric rise in the hero association had blinded him.
But now he could see again, and although he didn't like it, he managed to accept it.
...
Who was he kidding? Of course, he didn't accept it!
He refused to! What sense was there in being a hero if he didn't seek to help as many people as he could?
And so what if he couldn't save everyone? Then he would save as many as he could!
It was as simple as that.
He just had to keep trying. He just had to keep striving.
So, he put his faith in his comrades in the association. He couldn't save everyone, but if they worked together, then maybe they could save more people.
There's strength in numbers, right?
Perhaps he should start taking some lower-ranked heroes under his wing and help them become stronger. He had never been a leader or had a team, but he supposed he could give it a try.
Of course, that was when Garou decided to destroy Bang's dojo.
.
.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes there may be.
originally posted in the nsfw section of questionable questing (rewritten 04/25/2024)
The sight that greeted him as he entered the dojo was one of destruction and regret. His fellow disciples were in critical condition, and the place was almost entirely destroyed. When he entered to search for the culprit, the sight that greeted him was Garou reading his master's secret scrolls.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Oh!" Garou turned to look at him, a wild smile spreading across his face.
"Long time no see! I was really disappointed you weren't here when I started, but this solves it! I heard about your rise to the ranks of Class S, I wanted to start with some lower-ranked rookies, but I guess starting with you makes it even better. I'll test my strength by hunting down the new Class S Hero as my first prey!"
Garou stood up, still with that smile on his face. Jaune furrowed his brows, not understanding his younger counterpart's words.
Jaune hadn't come to know Garou as well during the time he had been learning under Bang, but he had never seemed like someone capable of attacking his comrades in this manner.
"Prey? Hunting? What the hell are you talking about, Garou?!" Jaune was not in a good mood. Seeing the place he had come to call home destroyed like this didn't sit well with him at all.
Even worse, one of his brothers, one of his master's students, had done it!
"You don't need to understand it. You just need to know that today, you'll fall, hero!" Then Garou attacked.
Garou was a genius; he had talent beyond anyone Jaune had ever known.
But even a genius needs time, even a genius needs experience.
Where Garou had stayed in the dojo training, Jaune had been killing monsters since he was a child.
Where Garou had focused on polishing his master's signature technique, Jaune had already mastered it and had learned many others.
Where Garou could show the strength to defeat demon-level threats, Jaune had already killed dragon-level threats.
They might be the same age, but Jaune had been training and fighting for twelve years.
No matter how much of a genius Garou was, three simple years training in a dojo weren't enough to close a gap like that.
With a well-directed blow, Garou's body crashed forcefully onto the ground.
Spitting blood, he quickly got up and launched himself backward to dodge a kick aimed at his head.
The ground sank, and the entire mountain peak shook from the impact.
'That would have killed me!' Garou looked in astonishment at the spot where he had been before.
"Surprised? You shouldn't be. You've spat on everything Master Bang taught us, you've destroyed my home, the dojo that took you in, and now you talk about hunting heroes. So, I've decided that someone like you shouldn't continue existing in this world"
Perhaps the biggest difference between Jaune and Charanko was the ease with which he could be willing to kill.
This world was much crueler than his past life's; humans were just as monstrous, if not more so, than the monsters.
He had stopped doubting a long time ago. He had no doubt that his master would have made the same decision upon learning of Garou's goals, but his master was too kind. Maybe he would have been willing to do it at first, but Jaune knew he probably wouldn't have had the will to carry it out in the end.
It was his duty as his disciple then to end this for him.
If Garou wanted to hunt heroes and deprive innocent people of the chance to be saved, then there was no mercy for him.
"Tch! Heroes, always ready to harm others without hesitation. I shouldn't have expected anything different" Garou's smile faded.
Jaune narrowed his eyes; he didn't like that look on Garou's face.
He took a stance, and the fight began again.
Certainly, Garou was a genius. As they fought more, Jaune could say without a doubt that if Garou had left the dojo earlier and had fought monsters or other opponents, his strength would undoubtedly be much greater now.
With each exchange, Garou became more skilled. He was learning from Jaune and stealing his own experience like a sponge.
Garou hadn't fully learned the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist; his master Bang hadn't taught it to him completely yet, but what he knew was enough for him to use the secret of energy currents to follow his own movements and thus increase his experience and skill.
Undoubtedly, Garou was a genius. Although Jaune knew this was possible and had used it himself to learn other martial arts to a lesser extent, he was still surprised that Garou could figure out such a thing when he hadn't fully learned the water stream yet.
What was most amazing was that he seemed to have taken it one step further and used it in a way that Jaune didn't think was possible.
This fight should have ended much earlier, but Garou managed to keep up like a sponge, absorbing knowledge and experience from Jaune with each exchange of blows.
His own level in the Water Stream technique increasing in great strides.
He couldn't go on like this. If he kept it up, Garou would soon fully learn the Water Stream because of him.
He couldn't allow Garou to keep getting stronger.
So, in an instant, Jaune stopped using the Water Stream. It was just a moment, a beat of the heart.
It was enough to catch Garou by surprise and break the flow he had been following.
Bakushin Kaihō-ken was a martial art that could display incomparable destructive power, a martial art that focused completely on offense.
Totally the opposite of the Water Stream.
And that was Garou's downfall.
Or it would have been if his master hadn't stopped his blow at the last moment.
There was a tense silence before Jaune lowered his fists and stepped back.
His master looked at Garou; Jaune couldn't see it, but a pained expression crossed his gaze.
.
.
.
Garou was expelled, and many of Jaune's fellow disciples left the Dojo, but some others remained.
Jaune didn't know what would become of Garou, but he wasn't willing to let him harm others following his delusions about being a monster.
If Garou truly attacked other heroes, Jaune would have to go after him.
He hoped that the talk his master had with him would make him reconsider, but he doubted it.
During the time that followed, there were no news of Garou for a while, and Jaune was forced to focus on other matters.
He had started teaching other lower-ranked heroes, and his master's Dojo had gained some more students.
The world seemed more turbulent, and more monsters began to appear.
There was another Class S hero, Genos, a cyborg.
Jaune hadn't spoken much with him, but there were good rumors about him.
Jaune kept fighting, kept saving more people, kept learning more.
The fight with Garou had given him a certain revelation, and he had begun to focus once again on the Water Stream.
The flow of energy behind the currents and the tumultuous tides.
His strength increased even more when he realized how to use the currents correctly, taking his martial art one step further by realizing that he had only scratched the surface of its true essence.
It bothered him to admit it, but without that fight with Garou, he probably wouldn't have understood the true strength behind the Water Stream despite mastering the martial art.
But now that he knew, every fight only meant that his strength grew greater, his ability and experience increasing in leaps and bounds once more.
.
.
.
City A was destroyed, a true alien attack! Jaune would have been even more surprised if it weren't for all the craziness he had been dealing with since he arrived in this new world.
If this were a comic, he probably would have stormed into the ship and fought against the invader.
Unfortunately, he hadn't developed the ability to fly yet, so he stayed on the ground and helped others against one of the invaders.
.
.
.
Garou returned, he began to hunt heroes, they hadn't explicitly said his name, but Jaune knew it must be him.
That hero hunter had to be Garou.
When Jaune had decided to go after him, his master stopped him.
"This is my fault, I let him go, and now innocent people are paying for it. As his master, it is my responsibility to stop him"
So Jaune could only leave things in Bang's hands.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes there may be.
originally posted in the nsfw section of questionable questing (rewritten 04/25/2024)
Things could worsen so quickly that Jaune could barely believe it.
Everything was a disaster—Garou, the Monster Association, the sudden large-scale attack.
Everything had gone downhill rapidly.
And now, standing in front of him with his master defeated, was Garou, transformed into a monster.
"It's you. I didn't expect us to meet again like this" Garou seemed relaxed, his posture displaying an unmatched confidence.
"But it's good that you're here. You were my first prey and my first failure. It's time to rectify that. Your defeat will mark the beginning of my absolute dominance"
Jaune didn't speak; the time for that had passed. He didn't believe he stood any chance of defeating Garou anymore.
If his master failed, what chance did he have? But even if he couldn't do it, he had to try.
The fight was one-sided at the beginning. Garou contented himself with toying with Jaune, demonstrating his superiority and boasting of his strength.
That began to change slowly but steadily.
"This feeling!?" Garou opened his eyes, recognizing a familiar sensation.
His blow was diverted and countered, which should have been impossible.
Every move that followed, every attack diverted and countered, only made that feeling of familiarity grow in Garou's chest.
He had felt this before when he and that idiot Metal Bat had faced that huge centipede together.
"Damn it!"
Jaune and Garou didn't know each other well, they hadn't spoken much, but they had practiced together a few times.
Both used the Water Stream as the central foundation on which they built their strength. This was truer for Jaune than for Garou. The Water Stream was the martial art he had grown up with, the one upon which he had relied to grow from a helpless child to a Class S hero.
He might have learned other martial arts before realizing the truth in the currents of the Water Stream, but that didn't change what the core of his martial arts was.
Garou had also taken the Water Stream as his core; it was the pillar of his strength and what led to his perfect fist.
What led him to the pinnacle of martial arts.
And for that reason, he couldn't defeat Jaune. It was like it was their first fight, the fight Garou had lost but with the roles completely reversed.
Jaune was using the Water Stream to enter Garou's energy flow and copy his technique.
Jaune wasn't a genius, but the martial art his master had created was so incredible that it allowed him to grow as quickly as a genius, even faster thanks to Garou.
Realizing this, Garou tried to do the same thing Jaune did to him, to break the flow and thus end the fight.
It was a pity for Garou that Jaune wasn't him. He knew the flow could be broken, so he didn't limit himself to the Water Stream; every time Garou changed his style, Jaune did so accordingly.
Every martial art Garou knew, Jaune had also learned.
Every style Garou had taken by force, Jaune had learned it the right way.
Even if Garou pulled out a style Jaune didn't know, he could still keep up and instantly copy that style.
Then there was resonance.
Even if there was an abysmal difference in their raw power, the extremely similar nature of that power and the flow of energy currents created resonance and exponential amplification.
Jaune began to quickly catch up to Garou.
"Impossible!?" Garou couldn't understand it or believe it.
Something of this nature was beyond even his comprehension.
For a brief moment, Garou considered stopping the fight, but at the same time, he realized that his strength was also growing.
This was an opportunity!
He didn't think it was possible, but he was actually getting stronger. He believed he had already reached the absolute peak of power, but now he knew that wasn't the case.
So the battle continued, and Garou decided to fight for real.
"Monster Calamity God Slayer Fist!"
"God Slayer Instant Attack!"
"What!?" Jaune barely managed to deflect the thousands of blows that were directed at him in an instant from what seemed like all directions. Garou's attack almost overwhelmed him completely.
"Amazed? This is the pinnacle of martial arts! The combination of all the styles I've learned brought to perfection: Monster Calamity God Slayer Fist!"
"Tch! I didn't expect you to have the naming ability of an 8-year-old... but since that's the name you've decided to give it, then I'll respect it! God Slayer Instant Attack!"
Of course, Jaune wouldn't fall behind at this moment, not when, by some miracle beyond his comprehension, he was keeping up with Garou and not losing completely. So he returned the attack. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was an almost exact copy, and that was enough to catch Garou off guard.
His fists connected, but Garou's monstrous body was harder and more resilient than anything Jaune had faced before.
"Hahahaha! Yes, that's it! Make yourself stronger! You'll only make my own strength increase! I thought my fist was perfect, but it seems there's still room for improvement. Let's perfect my martial art beyond any limit!" Garou laughed with excitement and quickly pressed forward.
"Whirlwind Calamity Cutting Fist!"
In the distance, a mountain was cut into pieces. The extremely thin and compressed air currents were more lethal than any other attack Jaune had faced, and he barely managed to dodge, but the damage was evident—deep cuts spread across his body.
"Do you like it? It's the improved version of the old man's brother's technique" Garou smiled, his sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
That smile vanished when equally sharp and cutting air currents almost blew his head off, the ocean splitting behind him to reveal the ocean floor.
"Don't be arrogant. You may have copied that technique and think you've improved it, but I learned it from the true master" Although he said that, Jaune had to admit to himself that Garou's version was extremely superior, and that's why he copied it.
"Tch! You say that and yet you use it, you bastard" The fight didn't stop because they exchanged words; the speed at which they moved left residual images, creating a trail that soon turned into something akin to a star formation of lights in the sky.
Like a constellation on the rise.
Jaune pushed aside any other thoughts; his mind focused solely on defeating the enemy in front of him—every movement, every breath, every moment.
All his focus was on defeating Garou.
If this were a duel between two humans, then such a fight wouldn't have a winner or loser. Unfortunately for Jaune, he was just a human, and his enemy was already a monster.
His wounds continued to accumulate, and Garou regenerated at an impressive speed, nullifying any hint of injuries Jaune managed to inflict.
In the end, the result was decided before it began, and although Jaune knew it, he didn't give up even when his body could take no more.
"Truly, you're surprisingly persistent. It's a pity. A human can never compare to a monster like me. This is the end" Garou relaxed, looking at his opponent who staggered before him, missing an arm and with a large hole in the side of his chest.
It was truly a pity. If he could fight a little longer, if they could exchange a few more blows, Garou felt he could overcome an invisible barrier.
But it didn't matter anymore; his strength was now incomparable. No one could match him.
He walked away ready to begin his final hunt.
.
Jaune could no longer see; his eyes filled with blood had clouded, and his other senses were numbing.
Had he failed? Even though he knew he couldn't win, it was still bitter, really bitter. He was going to die again; he could feel it.
Although it was only slightly longer than his previous life, he really came to appreciate this new life, didn't he? He really achieved many things, didn't he? Although he failed many times, he also triumphed many more. He couldn't achieve everything he set out to do, and he left many things unfinished, but at least, in this life, he truly wasn't a disappointment.
He really came a long way, but everything has to end at some point... truly disappointing.
There was the sound of something hitting the ground, a slight tremor.
"Who are you supposed to be?" A strange but familiar voice reached Jaune's ears. Although he couldn't hear as well as before, this voice sent an unprecedented sense of relief.
A smile spread across his gaunt face, and his body finally surrendered and began to fall.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" The sound began to reach him more faintly, but he no longer cared. Now that everything was fine, so what if he failed? In the end, all he had to do was buy time.
"What am I supposed to be, you ask?"
"I'm Garou, the monster"
Garou began to rant, but Jaune no longer cared. Now that everything was in place, he let his body relax, the cold embrace of death beginning to envelop him.
He really hoped his master wouldn't be too sad. In the end, it was his choice to end like this. He wondered what would come next, what comes after death when you die for the second time?
He hoped there would still be comics and video games; it would be really boring if not.
"Everything is in your hands now, Saitama"
.
.
.
.
.
.
"ja"
"jau"
"jaune!"
It was with a startle that he woke up, his eyes snapping open, and his body leaping upright in the air, landing agilely in a combat stance even before knowing what was happening. This sent a jolt of mild pain; muscles that had never been used in this way before were suddenly strained, causing Jaune to feel an improper stretch. This had never happened to him; his body had long ago become accustomed to moving in sudden bursts of speed.
Now it seemed his body wasn't ready for his movement.
"Everything okay in there, Jaune? Heard a weird noise, never mind, come down! Breakfast is almost ready." A vaguely familiar but unknown voice called out to him. Jaune blinked confusedly before noticing his surroundings.
It was a somewhat small room, posters of video games and comics adorned the place. A television was in the corner alongside what looked like a gaming console. Some books were scattered on the floor, and there were action figures on the shelves adorning the walls. A window let in the soft morning sunlight. Jaune rubbed his eyes and began to stretch properly, feeling that his body was strange, different.
Looking at himself, he seemed to have shrunk; his muscles disappeared, and he felt weak, very weak, extremely weak, like weak to the level of an insect.
Maybe that last part was an exaggeration; insect-type monsters were probably stronger than he was now.
With no small amount of confusion, Jaune searched for a reflective surface, opting for the television in the corner of the room. Upon seeing himself, he couldn't help but blink several times—blue eyes, blond hair, and a bewildered look.
"What the hell?"
"Jaune, come down already!" Another shout, and Jaune straightened up.
Jaune? That was his old name, right? How did someone else know it? He had never mentioned it to anyone.
Still, he responded; he was weak, very weak. The simple action of taking a stance quickly and having his body ache from it demonstrated this. Getting into a fight now wasn't smart.
"I'm coming!"
So he opted to be peaceful until he figured out what was going on, although judging by what he had gathered so far, he had a vague idea in his mind.
"I really can't stay dead, huh...?"
.
.
.
End of prologue
Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes there may be.
originally posted in the nsfw section of questionable questing (rewritten 04/25/2024)
Jaune looked at the mess in front of him, wondering if it was too late to return to the room he had left.
"Hurry up, Jaune! If you keep standing there, there won't be anything left for you."
Apparently, it was indeed too late. With hesitant steps, he cautiously approached and sat in one of the chairs at the table.
It was a large table, big enough to accommodate the entire blonde family in front of him.
He looked at the strange scene; it was like one of those family comedies that aired on television when there was nothing else to watch, but with many more family members.
It was strange. Just like Charanko, his family had died in a monster attack, which was why he had decided to seek his master and pursue his heroic dreams once again. A scene like this... the closest thing was when all the dojo's disciples gathered.
"What's the matter, Jaune? Are you going to eat or not?" A high-pitched yet sweet voice sounded beside him. Jaune looked and saw a little girl no older than 5, with big blue eyes, blonde hair in pigtails, and a few freckles on her face, staring at him.
"Uh, yeah," Jaune sighed and began to eat. Going from a life-and-death battle with what was possibly the world's strongest monster to sitting down to breakfast was certainly an experience.
But that wasn't what had him distracted. Certain vague memories, certain fragments of memory he believed to be forgotten, were attempting to resurface.
They all tried to return to his mind with little success.
In truth, he had long accepted his first death and decided to forget the past, which was why he had let go of those memories.
Who would have expected that his second life would end with him returning to the first?
Because all the evidence pointed to that.
Although he couldn't remember everything, Jaune still knew enough to recall that he had once had seven sisters, that they were all blond, and that it had always been a challenge dealing with all of them.
Unfortunately, he didn't remember any of their names.
It wasn't because his memory was poor; quite the opposite. As a martial artist, his master had taught him techniques and methods to maintain an "almost" perfect memory for certain knowledge.
The problem was that he had become so focused on his new life that he had chosen to forget the first one, and now it was coming back to haunt him. If he had known, he would have tried to keep his memories as intact as possible.
"Dad will be back from his mission soon, so you need to get ready for your training, Jade." For some reason, those words snapped him out of his trance.
He looked and saw his "mother" talking to a blonde girl of no more than 16 years.
The girl had a somewhat expressionless face and simply nodded.
For some reason, Jaune felt that he didn't like her much. He guessed it was one of those long-forgotten feelings resurfacing.
Taking his gaze away from the girl, Jaune returned to his thoughts. What was he supposed to do now?
Certainly, he had never made a plan in which dying and waking up, again, was a factor.
Clenching his fist, he decided on a basic course of action for now. He needed to get this body in shape.
He still didn't know what he wanted to do with this new opportunity presented to him, but whatever path he chose, he preferred to do it with at least enough strength to defend himself.
This body appeared to be around 14 years old. If he trained moderately, it would take at least 3 or 4 years to regain the strength he had when he ascended to Class S.
If he wanted to reach the level he felt when facing Garou, it would probably take more than 5 years.
He would have to test the strength of this body to be more certain, but his assumption shouldn't vary too much.
That seemed like a short time compared to his second life, but that was because as Charanko, he had to learn everything from scratch. In this life, he already knew it all; he just needed a body capable of executing that knowledge.
It wasn't so much about relearning; it was more like getting back into shape after a period of inactivity.
If he really pushed himself to the extreme and exaggerated, he could probably reach the peak of his strength when he faced Garou in less time.
Jaune didn't feel a sense of urgency, so he didn't consider that path for now.
He didn't remember any impending danger in the coming years, but to be honest, that didn't assure him much, as he didn't remember a lot about the upcoming years. He died when he was 17 in this world, and now he had returned at around 14.
If he were smarter or had some kind of innate super-perfect memory, he would probably start a series of very serious plans using the knowledge of the next 3 years.
It was a shame he couldn't even remember the names of his family members correctly.
He would have to try to meditate later and see if he could dig into those vague and illusory memories, but he didn't hold high hopes.
"Come on! School will start soon, so hurry up!" His "mother's" voice pulled him out of his thoughts once again, and Jaune decided to go with the flow for now.
.
.
.
School, Jaune decided, was boring.
It was also tedious, perhaps because he had spent too much time surrounded by adults, or maybe because he wasn't accustomed to kids or teenagers who weren't hundreds of times smarter than him. Spending time with Child Emperor hadn't helped his perception of children.
The point was, something was bothering him.
Thankfully, recess arrived, and Jaune quickly bolted out of the classroom. Being there had felt suffocating.
Surveying the area, Jaune realized that the school's campus was quite large.
He wandered around until he found a secluded spot; he didn't want to interact with others right now.
Instead, he decided to test his current strength.
He began to stretch properly. As a martial artist, the ability to control every part of your body was essential. This way, you could harness every gram of strength in the most optimal and efficient manner.
This ability was more mental than physical, despite what it might seem like. It's about feeling every part of your body, and the proper stretching helped with that.
Looking at the tree in front of him, Jaune assumed a stance, took a deep breath, and sharpened his focus. In a blur of motion, he unleashed a punch, utilizing every muscle, bone, and joint in synchrony, extracting every ounce of strength from the body he now possessed.
His fist struck, the tree's bark broke, exploding into flying splinters, and the trunk shivered for a few seconds.
It was pathetic.
Jaune stared at his slightly bleeding fist with narrowed eyes. All the strength of this body, and he couldn't even break a tree trunk.
As Charanko, at the age of 9, he could already crush rocks with his fists.
It seemed like he had a lot of work to do.
He cleaned the blood properly and turned to leave. He didn't need to prove anything else for now.
As Jaune walked, a sound caught his attention.
"Stop!"
"Or what, freak? Are you going to sic your ticks on us?"
His feet moved on their own, and he quickly arrived at the scene where he saw a group of kids surrounding a young boy around his age, slightly overweight with canine features.
"That's new, but I've seen weirder things," Jaune thought but didn't pay much attention to the oddity.
"Leave him alone," he instead hurried to stop the clear bullying in front of him.
Even if he had died, he was still a hero. Allowing something like this to happen in front of him would be simply impossible.
"Huh? Oh! Hahaha, look who it is! Pathetic Jaune! I thought you'd hide behind your sister's skirt forever," the one who seemed like the leader spoke, his voice dripping with contempt and clear arrogance.
Did he know them? Jaune thought, and it was likely that he did. He had suffered from school bullying in his first life, right? He probably had found the culprits.
Oh well, it seemed his luck wasn't so bad after all. He had some pent-up feelings to release, and it looked like he now had a perfect target in front of him.
"I won't repeat myself, leave him alone," of course, as a hero, he couldn't just attack them first. If they listened to his words, he would let them go.
Of course, villains never heed warnings.
"Tch! Look at him; it seems he forgot his place. What do you think, guys? We have to remind him of what happens when he messes with the wrong people."
"Of course, hahaha."
"Come on, I've wanted to punch his stupid face for a long time!"
Of course, lackeys always follow the leader.
Jaune watched as the half-animal boy began to slowly distance himself now that the attention wasn't on him. Perfect, having a potential hostage would only be an obstacle.
Some might think it's petty and immature to pick a fight with 14-year-old kids, but Jaune never underestimated any opponent.
After all, one of the greatest heroes he knew and one of his few close friends was Child Emperor, a Class S hero at the age of only ten.
Underestimating an opponent solely based on their age was ridiculous.
The leader rushed in with a completely incorrect posture and a poorly telegraphed punch.
Jaune didn't even bother to deflect the attack; he simply evaded it and extended his fist, connecting with a simple yet effective punch to the guy's chin.
For Jaune, it felt like moving in slow motion, but for the bullies, it was as if Jaune's hand had turned into a whip, striking the leader's face and causing him to instantly collapse to the ground.
"What!?" Their surprise was their downfall as Jaune swiftly lunged at them, striking each one until their bodies lay on the ground.
He didn't use much force, and his blows wouldn't cause lasting damage; dealing with them simply required swift and accurate movements.
"It hurts!"
"Curse you!"
Seeing them groaning on the ground wasn't a pleasant sight, and Jaune felt no satisfaction.
These foes... were no real threat.
"Jaune!?" A somewhat familiar voice cried out behind him, and Jaune turned to see one of his "sisters" looking at him in disbelief. She resembled him a lot, much more than any of his other sisters.
It was strange.
He quickly approached and began to inspect him as if she were a mother looking at her offspring.
"They hurt you!" She looked at his slightly bloody fist, confused about why he was in this state.
"It's just a scratch... What are you doing here?"
He didn't know her name, which made this conversation a bit uncomfortable.
"What am I doing here?! What are you doing here?! I told you not to wander too far from us. Don't you remember what happened last time?" No, he didn't remember.
"Jeanne, did you find him?!" Another voice arrived, and his sisters who were closer to his age soon joined them. There were four of them in total.
All of them shared some physical resemblance, but none quite like Jeanne did.
Was she his twin or something?
"Damn it, Jaune! We told you not to wander off!" Jaune was feeling suffocated.
There was this feeling he couldn't decipher during dinner and now it was returning.
He couldn't put it into words, but there was something about it that made him uncomfortable.
How they touched him, how they inspected him – it was as if he were a toy that had been damaged.
He didn't like it at all.
"I'm fine," with a bit more brusqueness than he intended, he released himself and distanced himself from them, his sisters looking at him with strange expressions due to his peculiar behavior.
"Is there something wrong, Jaune? You've been acting strange since you woke up," Jeanne, who had been closer to her brother since they were born as twins, approached him with clear concern on her face.
"I just had a bad dream," Jaune could only come up with an excuse, sighing in relief, as acting wasn't his strong suit.
Not to mention that he was still tense; he hadn't fully managed to relax yet. He simply couldn't accept that things had come to this point.
Was a god or a deity playing with his life? How could he have been resurrected again, in the same body he had already died in, and with apparent time travel involved?
If he had woken up in the middle of the Grimm ambush that had killed him in the first place, maybe he would have accepted it more easily.
Who was he kidding? He would probably be just as confused.
"Come on, classes are about to start again," not wanting to dwell on this further, he went along with his four concerned sisters.
None of them paid any attention to the bullies on the ground.
.
.
.
Jaune was acting strange, and Jeanne, as the twin sister of this boy, was the first to notice it more quickly than anyone else.
Normally, her brother was the first to wake up and help their mother prepare dinner, making sure the younger sisters were well and assisting with other household chores.
Although Jaune was clumsy, he tried his best, and that was something the entire family had come to appreciate.
But on this day, her brother hadn't even said good morning to anyone. There were no smiles, and he hadn't tried to comb the hair of the youngest, like Juniper, who was only 5 years old.
It was as if he wasn't there.
Had something happened to him? Those were the thoughts of most of the sisters present.
Things got even stranger when it was time for recess at school.
Jaune, who normally always stayed with them for his safety, was nowhere to be found.
Jaune, her twin brother, wasn't very strong. He was clumsy, and their father had never allowed him to try to learn how to defend himself.
In a village where most kids tried to learn how to fight to become huntsmen, that was like asking for a beating.
Jaune had received several of those before his sisters decided to intervene.
They couldn't watch over him all the time, but they did the best they could.
It would be easier if Jaune knew how to fight. Jeanne thought this to herself but never said it aloud. For some reason, everyone in the family who was older than her and Jaune thought it was wrong.
That Jaune should never learn how to fight.
The younger sisters didn't understand this, but they didn't dare say anything, not since the day Jade found Jeanne trying to teach Jaune a few moves and reported it to their parents.
Things hadn't ended well.
So, of course, it was a big surprise to find Jaune standing over his former bullies, clearly having beaten them up.
Not that they didn't deserve it, of course.
They hadn't seen how it happened, but the fact that Jaune had done it meant that their brother had learned to fight. Someone had taught him to fight.
The four sisters hadn't said anything, but a silent message passed between them.
They couldn't tell anyone else in the family about this.
For Jeanne, Jaune knowing how to defend himself was something he should have known all along. She didn't understand the attitude of the older members of her family, but deep down, she disagreed with them. That's why she had to warn Jaune.
Once they left the place where the bullies lay on the ground, Jean spoke first, beating Jeanne to it.
"You shouldn't have fought," her words came out with a touch of sternness, the memory of what happened when she tried to teach Jaune a few moves still fresh in her mind.
"What do you mean?" Jaune furrowed his brow, clearly not understanding.
"If a teacher or someone else called our parents over this, you'd be in a lot of trouble! Remember, you're not supposed to fight, you're not supposed to know how to fight!" Crystal was the next to speak; she was the youngest of the four sisters present, only ten years old.
"If you're learning to fight in secret, you shouldn't have shown it in a place like school," Jeanne added.
The words of his sisters made Jaune's face darken briefly.
He clenched his fists and seemed to have remembered something.
Julie, who had been silent until now, decided to speak.
"Where did you learn to fight? Who taught you?"
And that wasn't what they wanted to hear at all. In the entire village, who would dare to go against their father's words to teach Jaune how to fight?
Their father was the village's chief hunter, the head of the guard, responsible for the entire village's security.
His word was even more influential than the village chief's, and there was no one who dared to go against his commands.
How could anyone have the courage to disobey him and ignore the order not to teach Jaune anything related to being a hunter?
"I learned on my own," Jaune, of course, couldn't tell the truth.
He didn't even consider saying it.
Even though these girls were his blood sisters, to him, they were just strangers. Perhaps in his first life, they would have been some of the dearest people to him, but he was no longer that Jaune, and his memories of them were so sparse that he might as well be meeting them for the first time.
There was no trust at all, and even if there were, Jaune didn't consider mentioning his life as Charanko to anyone, at least not directly.
His sisters, of course, doubted his words but could do nothing more than believe him.
Jaune was starting to miss his life as Charanko, and not even a day had passed yet.
.
.
.
In the dark lands, far from any settlement or kingdom deep in grimm territory.
Something strange happened.
A dark blob of twisted flesh fell from the sky, spasms could be seen from the piece of flesh and sounds like bones crunching came from it.
'D-damn... Damn!" a voice that could not be heard roared inside the broken mind stored deep inside the mass of black flesh.
Negative emotions flowed out of her like a raging sea.
How could she have lost! How could their perfect union be defeated by a half-monster? He was supposed to be the pinnacle! Stronger than even that arrogant monster king Orochi!!
Even so, that bastard who called himself a monster managed to defeat him, destroy his perfect body formed by more than 53 trillion 999 billion 999 million 999 thousand 900 cells!
A definitive fusion, once he was destroyed, there was no hope, even if he had left a guarantee of 100 cells; he was no longer himself. His life or death was completely unrelated to him. As a new individual being, his existence was unique, and that's why his destruction was the end.
Or so it should have been... but somehow, he was still alive.
Broken, torn apart, and not even a shadow of his perfect form, but alive.
He only had to consume sustenance, he needed to regenerate his cells, start over, but he could do it. He would come back stronger and show that fake monster his place!
While he pondered his plans, a low growl caught his attention. He had no eyes, ears, a nose, or anything resembling them, but he could still sense the vibrations of the sound.
Something was approaching, no, many things were approaching.
Drawn by the intense negative emotions, dozens of Beowolves closed in on the mass of black flesh.
Their mouths oozing black, tar-like saliva, and their red eyes gleaming with hunger.
"Hmm, strange creatures, I haven't seen anything like this before, a new type of monster? It doesn't matter, now they will be my food!" The flesh twisted and a deformed arm shot out, grabbing one of the grimm with its twisted fingers.
That was the signal for all the others to lunge forward and start attacking.
Their jaws devouring pieces of the black flesh while the one once known as Platinum Sperm did the same with them.
Devouring each other.
Soon more and more grimm arrived, and the mass of black flesh continued to grow.
The chaos soon caught the attention of some unwelcome individuals...
.
.
.
.
.
Note:
What do you think? Our hero begins his new life in the most boring way, going to school! Getting to know his family again and finding out that it's not as pleasant as it may seem.
Jaune is no longer the Jaune they knew, and this will bring serious problems for the Arc family.
On the other hand, from another world, a threat that could destroy Remnant arrives.
Who are the people who have noticed this, and what could it mean for the monster from another world?
I suppose we can discover it together!
I know this may seem slower than the prologue, but it's because the real story begins now! These are just the first steps, but soon we will reach the action.
"It's really interesting," in a spacious, hidden laboratory deep underground, a scientist examined a freshly acquired sample of black meat.
"Did you make sure to obtain all the biological material properly?" His question was directed at a slim man with a scorpion tail waiting in a corner.
"Everything the goddess's Grimm didn't eat first," the smile he displayed might have terrified anyone else, but the scientist remained unfazed.
"Acceptable," he simply replied.
"My goddess wants to know more about this strange thing that invaded her lands. The Grimm that consumed this 'black meat' have been uncooperative... she is not pleased with that," upon the faun's words, the scientist nodded.
"I'll do everything I can."
"It's better that you do more than just 'everything you can,' Merlot," the faun left with those words hanging in the air. The scientist clicked his tongue once he was gone.
Meanwhile, enclosed in a metal cage, the mass of meat discreetly listened, expectant.
Allowing itself to be "captured" had certainly been more interesting than it had anticipated.
The reason for its capture actually had to do with the creatures that had attempted to devour it.
When those things consumed its flesh, it was as if its cells entered a new body.
There was no consciousness there, though it seemed they had instincts and behaviors. He could recognize an empty vessel, which made it easy for him to start controlling it and generate more cells from within.
He had planned to merge with all those soulless beasts and start generating a new army of cells from their insides until the man with the scorpion tail arrived.
Somehow, the soulless creatures obeyed his commands, which intrigued him.
Hence the reason for his capture.
In truth, his cells were already free in dozens of bodies, generating more cells. The mass that was "captured" was only a part of him.
So far, he had gained a lot of information from this trick. For now, he would be content to wait for his moment.
If he continued to consume more of these soulless creatures, he estimated that in about three years, he would have enough cells to create a new Golden.
In four, he could return to his perfect body, and if he waited longer, perhaps even go beyond that.
Let no one say that Black Sperm wasn't patient.
.
.
.
The end of classes and the return home marked the beginning of the greatest challenge Jaune had faced since he woke up in this world again.
Dealing with his family.
He had already had a small taste in the morning and during the break with his sisters, but things really took a turn for the worse when he got home.
From a little 5-year-old girl wanting him to carry her on his shoulders to pretending he was at a tea party and letting them style his hair. They had even put makeup on his face.
His limit was reached when they brought out the dress; he had to make an escape.
So that's exactly what he did, running without looking back.
Perhaps it was a vague attempt to reconnect, or maybe a forgotten desire to spend time with his sisters. The reason he allowed himself to be dragged into all these activities wasn't entirely clear to Jaune, but one thing was certain: he wouldn't let it happen again.
Looking at the sky, there were still a few hours before the sun would set, so Jaune decided to train.
He didn't aim for anything too strenuous; this body hadn't undergone any training before, so he needed to start with some basic conditioning before moving on to more challenging tasks.
He began with stretching exercises to prepare his body efficiently for the upcoming training. He knew he wouldn't gain a ton of muscle in a day, but he definitely hoped that by the end of the month, his body's strength would double or even triple.
It might sound like a lot, but considering that this body struggled to lift a 5-year-old girl on its shoulders, increasing his strength by two or three times was the minimum he expected.
He spent all the time he could training in an isolated place until the sun began to set, and he decided it was time to head back.
His body felt tired, but it was a mild fatigue compared to more advanced training he had done before. At least he didn't have any broken bones or torn muscles.
He hoped to reach that level soon. It wasn't that he enjoyed pain, but nothing tested the extent of your efforts quite like the feeling of your bones cracking.
It might seem inhuman, but it was an effective method, and if you followed the steps correctly, injuries would heal rapidly. After all, beyond a certain point, the body of a true martial artist ceases to be "simply human" and becomes "superhuman." They might not achieve regeneration on the level of monsters, but certainly, the speed at which wounds heal and the effectiveness of that healing is far above that of ordinary humans.
This allows injuries that would be lethal for ordinary humans to be only a nuisance for martial artists. Many techniques, training methods, and other things are behind this, requiring incredible effort, but in the end, the result is worth it.
Not to mention that reaching the "Beyond human" stage means that the things one can do can no longer be sustained by simple logic. Jaune had to cross that threshold to kill a Dragon-level monster and ascend to the S-class.
Not to mention what comes after that, a power that he only achieved in his battle with Garou, a stage beyond what was thought possible.
Transcendence.
In reality, martial artists didn't have levels or realms as portrayed in comics or novels. Their strength could only be judged based on their feats.
However, that didn't stop Jaune from creating his own metric to measure the level of martial artists, as mentioned earlier, and it was divided into four levels:
Human-level
Superhuman.
Beyond human
Transcendence.
In truth, these were just elegant names that Jaune, an avid fan of comics, decided to give to the different stages a martial artist goes through, representing a qualitative change in their strength.
They didn't represent an absolute by any means. After all, a martial artist can't be judged solely by their raw strength; technique, experience, and intelligence can make even a human-level martial artist defeat a superhuman one.
Still, they served as a goal for Jaune.
Right now, he didn't even have the strength of a human-level martial artist, even though he possessed the knowledge of one at the transcendence level. If he pushed himself, he could certainly display the appropriate strength of a superhuman, but it wouldn't be easy, and his body would suffer the consequences of using more force than it can currently withstand.
That's why he set a goal to reach the level of a human-level martial artist in two months.
To reach superhuman in six months and go beyond human in three years.
Transcendence... his best bet would be to achieve it in five, of course, all of this was if he took it slowly.
If he were to be pushed, he could unleash the most brutal and efficient training methods to accelerate the entire process and reach transcendence in three years.
He calculated this estimated time based on his strength test and the exercise he had just completed.
On the other hand, another method would be through combat. This was the method Garou had used after being expelled from the dojo, and to a lesser extent, what Jaune had used.
For a martial artist, there was no faster and riskier way to improve than through a life-or-death battle.
Now the question was, were there Grimm in Remnant strong enough to accelerate his growth in this way?
There would undoubtedly be Grimm strong enough to take him from human to superhuman.
However, if there were Grimm that could make him go from superhuman to beyond human, then the realms in Remnant wouldn't exist.
This was not an exaggeration; after all, the beyond human level is where the threats of Dragon-level exist. If there were something that powerful in Remnant, even if they had Huntsmen of equal strength, the collateral damage from the battle alone could easily destroy a realm.
Although Jaune couldn't remember everything, he still knew that the population in Remnant wasn't as large as on Earth.
Taking Vale, for example, it had just a little over 55 million registered inhabitants, a fact he had learned by asking his mother when he returned from school.
And that number was for the entire extent of the kingdom.
Jaune had seen cities crushed by Dragon-level monsters with more inhabitants than that.
So, it was reasonable for Jaune to have doubts about the existence of Grimm of such caliber.
He would need to investigate further just to be sure.
.
.
.
Sitting back in his room, Jaune began to meditate. He couldn't retrieve all of his memories from his first life, but he hoped to obtain something useful. At the very least, something important enough to focus on.
He would have preferred to do this by a waterfall in the middle of a forest, not sitting on a messy bed in a cluttered room. Unfortunately, he had to work with what he had.
Slowly, he delved into the depths of his being, into the core that composed his mind. His five senses closed, and all his focus was directed inwards.
"You know, Jaune, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."
"You're not cut out for fighting. You have no talent. Forget those silly dreams of yours, Jaune!"
"Dad will never let you train, Jaune. You're a failure."
"Arc never goes back on his word, son! Remember that."
"The greatest tragedy since the end of the Great War, Mountain Glenn has been completely decimated by the Grimm."
"Over four million dead."
"Vale will never recover from this."
"The tunnels collapsed due to strange explosions, and the survivors couldn't escape."
Slowly, Jaune opened his eyes.
He had regained enough.
Mountain Glenn... that must have happened when he was 15 or 16 years old?
Now he was 14.
"At least one year, at most two."
It seemed that he now had a goal.
Jaune clenched his fist. He was a hero; saving people was his primary duty. Even if there was no hero association in this world, that didn't mean he would cease to be one.
But if he wanted to be ready to save Mountain Glenn, he couldn't stick to his moderate training plan.
"Dinner's ready!" his mother's call sounded, and Jaune couldn't help but smile slightly.
His mother... the warmest memories of his first life belonged to her.
He couldn't remember everything, but what he had gathered was enough to remind him that yes, she was his mother.
What had she said?
"An Arc never goes back on his word."
He had sworn to be a great hero, he had promised his master that he would use his martial arts to help others.
Now there were at least four million people waiting for his help.
Doubt was never his style when others were in danger.
Well, the domestic life of a teenager was never his thing.
.
.
.
.
Note:
Don't take the 'martial artist levels' part too seriously, as mentioned, it's just Jaune's personal way of measuring a certain level of strength.
It's not something 'real' that exists in the One Punch Man or RWBY world. This isn't a Chinese novel, darn it!
I thought someone who reads comics or plays games should do things like that. I've certainly found myself creating my own 'levels for certain things' with friends.
Is that too Chūnibyō?!!!!!???
By the way, I don't think it was mentioned before, but like almost all RWBY fics, this is a bit AU due to lack of information, so don't lynch me, hardcore fans who know even the size of their favorite character's nails
With a fixed goal in mind, it was time to think about the training he should undertake. His initial plans were discarded; it would take too long to gain the necessary strength through "normal" training.
Now, Jaune was planning a training regimen that no ordinary martial artist would take on, unless they had immense willpower and were willing to risk their live.
The biggest problem Jaune faced was his physical condition. He needed his body to be stronger. The knowledge was there, and so was the way to use it. But the power to execute it was lacking. This was something he had already known but hadn't been a major concern until he remembered Mountain Glenn.
So his plan to force his body to gain the necessary strength to unleash a portion of his skills and techniques was to do so through extreme stress.
As a martial artist, there was no better exercise and training method than executing the martial arts he practiced.
Every move, every stance, every technique.
It all contributed to the development of a martial artist's body more than the simple exercises that regular people did in gyms.
If he were to just practice his martial arts again, it would hardly be enough. He needed to go a step further.
He had to perform his martial arts while in combat, and even better if that fight put his life at risk or pushed his body to extreme exhaustion.
Only in that way could he bring out the true potential of his body and make his strength grow by leaps and bounds.
None of that could be achieved by going to school, none of it was possible by living in a safe village.
Not by being a regular teenager, not by being a loving brother, not by wasting time playing tea party with one of his sisters or carrying another on his back.
Not by helping set the table, doing homework, or just being an obedient son.
It was truly a shame, for a brief moment, Jaune imagined it – himself with his family, just living a calm and carefree life.
It was strange, completely different from his life as Charanko.
It was something that he wasn't, not anymore, and that's why the decision was quite easy to make, he didn't even hesitate.
He had to leave.
This family, this village – he didn't belong here anymore.
Jaune was a man of action, and even though having a home wasn't unfamiliar to him, his master's dojo had been his home.
Even if relaxing and taking time off was one of the lessons his master had emphasized in teaching him.
In the end, he always returned to action. It didn't matter if he had a place to return to or if he took a day off.
He never rested longer than necessary, and he never left a matter unresolved.
Because he was a hero.
Maybe, after he had resolved the problem in Mountain Glenn and any other that came his way, he could come back, learn a bit more about his family, or just say hello.
But that moment wasn't now. Now he had to plan his journey, get some supplies, and a map.
Indeed, even though Jaune had decided to leave, he didn't rush it. Going out without information, resources, and direction was just plain foolish...
He had done that in his first life, right?
.
.
.
"Do you want me to lend you some money?" Jeanne looked at her brother with some doubt. The month had just begun, and everyone had received their monthly allowance just a few days ago. Had Jaune already spent it all?
"I want to buy a new game that just came out, and what I have isn't enough! Please, I'll pay you back later." Jaune's performance was convincing; he had been practicing for an hour before approaching any of his sisters, after all.
Jeanne thought deeply. "Double. You have to pay me back double!" Of course, as a teenager, giving up every cent of her allowance wasn't easy, so she'd have to earn more later.
"Of course!"
And so Jaune borrowed money from each of his present sisters. He'd pay them back... in the future...
.
.
.
Once he had the funds, the next part was easier. Getting a map was quite straightforward, but the maps weren't as detailed as those of Earth.
Areas infested with Grimm were somewhat unknown even to Huntsmen, so there were no clear indications. Fortunately, the longer-standing settlements and cities were more detailed.
Once the map was in his hand, what followed was planning his route.
Getting to Mountain Glenn right away was futile. He didn't have the strength to accomplish anything even if he went there directly. Instead, he decided on a more practical course of action.
He would head to the settlement on foot and venture into each location marked as "Grimm-infested." From the memories he had, it was a massive horde of Grimm that had destroyed Mountain Glenn, and while that didn't explain the strange explosions in the tunnels, it was a good place to start.
First, he would clear as much Grimm as possible in the vicinity to gain strength. Once he considered himself ready, he would go directly to investigate why someone had blown up those tunnels and what reasons they might have for doing so. If it was some kind of evil organization or government conspiracy... well, Jaune had destroyed several of those before.
.
.
.
As a martial artist, surviving in the wilderness was something his master had taught him well.
And although this was a different world, some things seemed extremely similar.
Getting a book about plants and herbs was a bit more challenging but not impossible.
Reading it all quickly was simple, and this allowed him to notice that there was an extreme resemblance between the types of plants and herbs on Earth and Remnant.
Even their flora and fauna were remarkably similar.
Going to a market and obtaining some samples of herbs, vegetables, and fruits was all he needed to confirm that at least the majority of his knowledge would be sufficient to survive in the wilderness, even if his rations ran out.
So the problem was water, but fortunately, there were some rivers marked on the maps. If Jaune stayed close to them, he should be able to get enough water.
Jaune smiled when all this planning reminded him of the old times with his master. How the master used to prepare him for a training journey alongside the other disciples. Even though he was alone now, it didn't stop a smile from forming on his face.
.
.
.
The next step was to get bandages, lots of bandages. As a martial artist, techniques to help speed up the healing of his body and treat his injuries were something he had in abundance.
For martial artists, modern medicine was a joke. There's nothing that will, technique, and effort can't heal! Or so his master said.
In the end, it worked, so Jaune didn't object. But if one thing was necessary, it was bandages or fabric to cover wounds. Secret techniques or not, an infection was still a pain. And bleeding was still possible unless you were strong enough to control every muscle in your body with extreme precision and force your wounds to close.
And even though Jaune had that ability in his life as Charanko, he didn't have it now. So, until his body could do it, he would have to wear bandages, lots of bandages. Just like appropriate clothing.
As there was no longer a dojo of his master in this world, wearing a martial artist uniform didn't sit well with Jaune. The only uniform he would always be willing to wear was the one from his master's dojo, and if he didn't have that, then there was no need for one.
But at the same time, he was the only martial artist in this world capable of using his master's martial art. He was no longer just a student, right?
Looking at the long-sleeved black shirt in his hands, Jaune couldn't help but recall the time he spent with Bang. Now, he was the only master of Ryūsui Gansai-ken in this world, so he should dress as such.
Without further hesitation, Jaune put on the long-sleeved shirt that clung to his body like a second skin, loose-fitting white combat pants, and a black belt.
On his feet, a pair of kung fu shoes. Looking in the mirror, he saw only a shadow of what his master once was. The shirt clung to his body, but there were not enough muscles to accentuate, and while the pants were better and matched his shoes, there was still something missing.
This body still didn't exude the presence of a warrior.
"Oh well, nothing that extreme training can't fix."
Taking his gaze away from the mirror, Jaune looked at the travel backpack he had prepared. Since making his decision, a week had passed, and in that time, he had gathered everything he needed for his training journey. Now, he only had to wait for the right moment to leave.
Listening to the activity outside his room, Jaune couldn't help but wish this family a happy future.
Truth be told, they were all lovely, and during this week, the little time he had spent with them was enough to make him feel some appreciation for them. But that's all it was, a little. It was time to leave.
.
.
.
"He's planning something," Jade's words made the rest of the sisters who had been training together look at her.
"What?" Jeane asked.
"Jaune is planning something," now they all stopped what they were doing and looked at the eldest sister present.
With their father absent, Jade, who was attending a combat school and was only a year away from going to Beacon, supervised their training. That's why all of them were gathered, except for Jaune and Juniper, the youngest.
"I don't know, Jade. Although he's been acting weird, I don't think he's planning something," Crystal spoke, and despite being the youngest of the present sisters, her opinion was heard.
"No, she's right," Jean said, recalling some strange behaviors.
"First, he borrows money from all of us to buy a game, but as far as I know, he hasn't gone to the video game store at all."
"Maybe he decided to save it," Jeanne said, deciding to give her brother the benefit of the doubt.
"It could be..."
Jade listened to them talk but didn't say anything else; instead, she narrowed her eyes at Jaune's room. He was planning something, and she would find out what it was.
.
.
.
The day ended quickly, and the night arrived, the time to leave was here.
Jaune tried to wait until it was completely dark and everyone was asleep. If he were still Charanko, he would have used his heightened senses to ensure that, but unfortunately, he no longer possessed such senses, so he had to take a gamble.
Slipping away silently was easier. Jaune didn't think anyone would have been able to hear him. While he wasn't a master of stealth, his skills in that area were not to be underestimated.
As he walked towards the outskirts of the village, Jaune couldn't help but look at the broken moon in the sky. It was an unsettling sight, seeing it so close and shattered like that made him wonder when one of the fragments would decide it had waited long enough and would impact the planet.
He hoped that would happen when he had regained all his strength; otherwise, it would be quite challenging and annoying to destroy a meteorite.
A noise caught his attention. Looking back, he noticed a figure approaching slowly, causing him to squint.
"So, this is what you wanted to do," his sister, Jade, said as she walked towards him. She stopped only three meters away, her eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.
"Did I make any noise?" Had his abilities decreased so much?
"No, if I hadn't been secretly watching your room, I wouldn't have even noticed. I didn't know you were so good at sneaking around," she said, shaking her head and sighing. She looked at him before pointing her thumb back.
"Let's go back home. It's late, and you have school tomorrow." When he didn't move, her expression darkened even more.
"I was hoping to leave without causing too much fuss, but I guess it won't be that easy, huh?" Jaune spoke more to himself than to his sister.
Jade didn't like those words. She looked at him with clear disapproval.
"What are you thinking, Jaune? Do you really want to run away? Do you even know how much danger there is out there? Come on, let's go back before you hurt yourself," she reached out, but Jaune shook his head.
"I've had this feeling, you know. I couldn't quite understand it at first, but now I see it. You annoy me. I don't know why. I like all the others, but you... you have something that I simply don't like." It was a feeling Jaune had been trying to understand at first, but now it didn't matter. He wouldn't see her for a long time, so why bother with that?
"What are you saying?!" His sister seemed hurt by his words, but Jaune didn't want to waste more time on this conversation.
"Go back home, Jade." He tried to keep walking beyond the village walls, but Jade quickly stepped in front of him.
"Something is wrong with you, Jaune. I don't know what it is, but we'll figure it out when Dad comes back. Now, come back with me obediently. Just don't force me, I don't want to hurt you." Her words seemed genuine in the end, but to Jaune, it felt like she was looking down on him.
Hurt him? He would have laughed if he weren't aware of how weak he was now. But even if he was weak, he was still a martial artist. Being underestimated in that way still irked him a bit.
"I should be saying that, Jade. It's better if you go back before you get hurt." He wasn't going to repeat it. His words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. The sixteen-year-old girl didn't budge an inch, instead, she came closer, wanting to grab his arm and drag him back.
He easily dodged her grip.
"That's it! I'll take you back even if I have to drag you!" Her hand shot out with surprising speed. A regular person would never have seen the grab coming.
And even though Jaune had a week of training his body, he hadn't increased his strength enough to surpass that of an average person.
In every sense, it was impossible for him to dodge his sister's grip, a Huntress in training.
Yet, he did it so effortlessly that it seemed like no effort at all. Jade's eyes widened in astonishment. Although Jade hadn't used all his strength, it was known that she had an aura. Her strength, speed, and reactions were on a completely different level from any regular human.
A 14-year-old boy with no training shouldn't be able to dodge her.
Her amazement left her with no time to react to Jaune's next move. His fist blurred, and a precise punch struck the left side of her head.
For anyone else, this blow would have been enough to make them lose consciousness. Instead, a semi-transparent barrier of yellow light almost completely nullified the impact, causing Jade's face to move only slightly, more from the shock of being attacked by her brother than from being hurt.
'Psychic barrier? No, this feels different,' Jaune thought. He, on the other hand, frowned upon seeing that his blow was futile.
Quickly, he took a step back to create some distance. Supernatural power wasn't something he had considered when deciding to fight. How resilient was this barrier? Could it do more than just protect?
"Did you... hit me?!" Jade looked at Jaune with bewilderment, touching the left side of her face.
"You expected me to let you drag me without defending myself?" her silence was the only answer.
In Jade's eyes, bewilderment gave way to rage.
"Someone taught you how to fight!" she accused, her anger boiling as she realized this. That blow had been too well-delivered. There was technique in it, even if she was only a Huntress in training. She knew enough about fighting to see that.
Someone would have to answer for disobeying her father, but for now, she had to take Jaune home, whether he agreed or not. Knowing that someone had taught him to fight, she was no longer casual as before. Instead, she positioned herself and launched towards him with surprising speed and strength. She wanted to end this quickly to avoid hurting him too much, her aura glowing, a sign of her increased effort in this attempt.
Her foot broke the ground as she propelled herself, and her blurry figure launched toward Jaune faster than a car on a freeway.
Jaune couldn't even keep up with her speed of movement, but he didn't need to. From the moment she made her first move to position herself to the moment she launched forward, Jaune had already read and predicted her next actions.
His body twisted, evading Jade's hand. Still, her fist lightly grazed his cheek, scraping his skin. That feeling of almost being hit didn't stop him. Instead, his hand extended into a claw, grabbing Jade's outstretched arm and using her momentum against her to send her directly into the ground, her body hitting the earth with force.
"You!" Her astonishment was evident, but Jaune wasn't going to let her recover. His body lunged towards her, and Jade used her superior reaction speed to get up and get into a defensive stance. She wanted to catch Jaune's fist, but like a snake, his arm passed through her defense, impacting her face again. This time the force was greater, causing her head to jerk back a few centimeters.
Jaune stepped back again and observed. He was testing—how much damage could this energy shield take before breaking? After all, he didn't want to kill her.
Jade touched her chin, where Jaune's second blow had landed. She wasn't hurt, but she still felt the impact. Aura, after all, didn't entirely prevent you from feeling the blows—it only blocked most of the damage.
Jaune noticed her action. "So, she can feel my punches to some extent, even if she doesn't seem hurt by them."
More serious than before, this time Jade didn't attack recklessly. Instead, she approached from the side, her fists glowing with aura and held high.
She was fast, at least fifteen times faster than Jaune, but she was predictable. Her fists were launched at Jaune with inhuman speed, but Jaune's hands moved even before, having predicted each move she was going to make before she did it.
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!
The flow was clear to Jaune. His hand easily deflected the incoming blow, and his own counterattack struck Jade again. This time, he used her strength and momentum against her.
There was a sound like an explosion, and his sister's body went flying several meters, crashing into a nearby tree and easily breaking it upon impact.
Even though Jaune's strength wasn't on par with Jade's, it didn't mean he couldn't hurt her. After all, one of the secrets of the flow of the most potent martial art was to use the opponent's force against themselves and deliver the counterblow with double strength. This was achieved by guiding the flow of the opponent's force through one's own body and releasing it through a precise counterattack.
Jade had experienced her own strength turned against her.
'She really wanted to hit me, huh?' Seeing the damage caused, Jaune couldn't help but smile ironically. Even if he had doubled the strength she used in the first place, if a blow like that struck him now, he would undoubtedly have a bone fracture.
"How the hell do you keep doing that?!" Jade got to her feet. Even though that blow was strong, it wasn't enough to break her aura or keep her down.
"You're strong, no doubt, but you have no idea how to fight against another person, do you?" In response to Jaune's question, Jade couldn't help but agree.
She had trained to kill Grimm, not to fight against others. Her only experience in fighting against another person was probably with her father, and that had involved using weapons. She didn't have her weapon with her because she didn't think there would be a fight. She was at a disadvantage, although that should be impossible.
Looking at her without showing any damage or irritation, Jaune couldn't help but click his tongue. This shield or whatever it was was annoying. If he had just one more week of training, he would undoubtedly have ended this fight at this point. Well, he just had to push harder.
Jaune assumed a stance, and Jade hesitated for a moment before taking hers. She didn't know how he kept connecting his blows and evading her attacks, or how he had hit her so hard. He clearly didn't have aura, there was no sign of it in his body. Still, she felt like she had to treat this as if he had aura, or she wouldn't be able to win.
Since when was her little brother so strong?
The next attack was a kick that flew toward Jaune like a whip, aiming for his torso. Jaune simply deflected it to the side as easily as before. This time, his counterattack was not only executed with the flow but also added an extra touch.
Exploding Heart Release Fist!
The synchronization with his heartbeat was perfect. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he felt the strength of the flow and the explosive beat of his heart combined in a single strike.
His fist collided with his sister's face, and this time her head jerked sharply to the side. The air exploded upon impact, and Jade's body was sent flying dozens of meters through the air, crashing against a distant rock and shattering it into pieces.
"That probably made too much noise," Jaune cursed inwardly.
He examined his fist, which was now bleeding, the skin on his knuckles torn. He would need to bandage it. He felt his heart pounding strongly, and cold sweat running down his back. Combining two such different martial arts had a small cost for his unprepared body.
He looked at the spot where his sister had fallen. She was trying to get up but was unsteady.
Jade stared at the ground in confusion, her head spinning. 'What the hell was that punch?' She felt it, oh, she felt it! She felt her brain rattling inside her skull, and even though she still had her aura, she had no doubt that if she checked it now, it would be red or very close to it.
"I'm sorry." Those words made her pay attention again, and when she looked up, the image of a fist approaching her was the last thing she saw before passing out.
.
.
.
Back at the Arc family's house, Jaune left Jade's unconscious body in the front yard before quickly departing. That fight had been tougher for him than it seemed, and he had to leave now to find a place for his body to rest.
"I couldn't break it after all, huh?" That barrier was tougher than he had thought, at least for his current self. However, even if he couldn't break it, finding a way to go beyond it wasn't difficult. In truth, he merely followed the same principles that many martial arts followed.
If the exterior is the toughest, just attack the interior. Make the force of your strike go beyond the first layer of defense, ignoring it to some extent. Although Jade's aura barrier was strong, it didn't completely block everything. The fact that she could still feel his punches was enough for Jaune to figure out how to win.
"If all Huntsmen have something like this, it will be quite annoying to deal with them at this stage."
It was a good thing he wasn't looking for a fight with any of them. His current focus was on the Grimm, and that's what he would concentrate on unless he had no other choice.
Moving away from the town's walls, he soon ventured into the wilderness beyond the guards' protection. In no time, his figure was lost in the darkness, beyond the glow of the shattered moon. His journey in this world was officially beginning...
.
.
.
Note:
the journey begins now, by the way I made a drawing of Jaune, I should have uploaded this chapter before but I wanted to upload the drawing at the same time, I tried to make him 14 years old but I think I'm not good at drawing such young men so let's say he's about 15, he still lacks muscle! I will make a better drawing in the future with its final appearance.
"The way of the sword?" In a Japanese restaurant, two young apprentices looked at each other.
"That's right! I believe that if you practice swordsmanship, you'll achieve great things," Laian exclaimed with excitement.
Jaune looked at Laian before slowly chewing his food.
"I'm not sure, Laian. I'm a martial artist, and using a sword doesn't really fit my style," Jaune replied. But Laian insisted with enthusiasm.
"Come on, Charanko! I know you have the talent. Even my master could see it. Just give it a try. I'll teach you!" As Jaune looked at his fellow hero, he couldn't help but smile.
"Well, as fellow heroes and both apprentices of Class S heroes, I think there's a lot we can learn from each other. How about you let me teach you martial arts?" Jaune suggested.
Laian blinked, initially confused, and was about to refuse, but then reconsidered and nodded.
"Only if you let me teach you swordsmanship."
"You're quite stubborn. Alright, you teach me, and I'll teach you. Deal?" Jaune extended his hand, and Laian shook it firmly.
"Deal!"
Neither of them knew that the future held great significance for both of them with this little agreement made in a small restaurant on an ordinary night.
.
.
.
Jaune opened his eyes, dreaming of the past was not common for him. He stretched his body, looked at the still-dark sky, and decided to start his preparations.
After leaving the village, he had traveled about 5 kilometers before deciding to find a place to spend the night and recover from his previous battle. If he had been in perfect condition, he probably would have gone further.
Surprisingly, he didn't encounter any Grimm on his way, and he wasn't sure if it was due to good luck or how close he still was to the settlement.
Regardless of the reason, it was time to venture deeper into the Grimm lands. Jaune quickly had breakfast with the rations he had brought and descended from the tall tree where he had spent the night.
Sleeping on a tree was more comfortable than you might think when you knew how to do it.
As soon as he put his foot on the ground, his senses began to scream. Without hesitation, he leaped to avoid a clawed hand's strike that could have taken off his head.
"So, there you are," Jaune said, looking around and noticing several dark figures surrounding the tree where he had been resting.
The Grimm, resembling a werewolf, growled in annoyance at its failed surprise attack.
"I guess the warm-up begins now," for some reason, this situation excited Jaune.
He might be a hero, and the strength he had gained once was for the greater good. But Jaune was also a martial artist, and enjoying a fight was a part of him.
A fight where no one was in danger, and he didn't have to worry about his opponent's life? That was pure fun.
The Grimm lunged at him in a coordinated pack attack, their wolf-like appearance was more literal than expected. They were all faster, more agile, and stronger than Jaune, any of them could have killed him if a single one of their claws landed a proper blow.
A single mistake, a single moment of carelessness would mean the end.
Indeed, Garou seemed to have infected him more than he thought as a toothy grin formed on his face at the prospect. One mistake, and it was all over, his third chance at life finished.
He should have had doubts, fear, or something of the sort.
Instead, his hands rose, and his fingers took on the form of claws.
Tiger Fang True Fist!
As if they were a tiger's Fangs, each of his fingers tore through the black flesh of the nearest Grimm.
His fingers, sharp as fangs, dug deep, and with a motion that mimicked the bite of a fierce tiger, the head of the first Grimm that attacked him soared into the air.
The Grimm, soulless creatures, did not falter at the display of brutality.
Instead, they lunged at him fiercely, increasing their speed.
Red eyes gleamed with malice, and white bone plates shone in the dawn on the horizon.
Jaune's body contorted, narrowly dodging every attack, reading the trajectory of each enemy around him and relying on his sixth sense to evade blows he couldn't see.
A sense he had developed after years of training and life-or-death battles.
People called it by various names: premonition, danger sense, sixth sense, survival instinct.
Regardless of the name given, one thing was real; when you developed it to a certain point, things like sight, smell, hearing, and touch became inconsequential.
Jaune didn't need to see his enemy to know that a fatal blow was coming towards him.
Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist!
His left hand moved, and the air whirled as two Grimm that had tried to attack him from behind found themselves face to face with his palm, his fingers guiding the highly compressed air currents into a spiral of death.
Everything in front of that palm was cut into several perfect circles.
But it didn't come without a cost, Jaune's fingertips and nails broke.
Blood shot out and Jaune withdrew his hand.
"Tch! I only used it a little and it already caused me so much damage."
Despite the wound, Jaune didn't stop. His bleeding hand moved through the air, precisely spreading his blood into the eyes of several Grimm, temporarily blinding them.
At the same time, his leg moved like a flowing stream, easily deflecting an incoming attack.
His body danced in the air with agility, and his knee descended onto the head of a Grimm, crushing its skull.
He clenched the fingers of his right hand and hurried towards a group of three Grimm, his hand like a needle stabbing towards their bodies.
Pressure Point Killer Fist!
For beings made of darkness, their bodies maintained a certain level of animal anatomy.
Jaune had sensed it at the beginning of the battle, and his recent attack had confirmed it.
The bodies of the three Grimm fell to the ground like puppets with cut strings.
Their pressure points destroyed, as well as their joints.
They weren't dead, but unless they had some kind of super regeneration, they wouldn't be able to get back up.
In every sense, they had been crippled.
Exhaling, Jaune looked around, still surrounded.
He took a deep breath and prepared to continue the fight before noticing something inside him.
Indeed, of all the things he could have gained from Garou, perhaps the most significant was something that another Class S hero had possessed.
Fighting Spirit!
It was something Jaune had faintly grasped before, but he hadn't fully understood it until his fight with Garou.
It was too mysterious and elusive to learn in a traditional way; either you obtained it or you didn't.
It was probably one of the most important factors in why he managed to hold his ground in his final battle, even managing to catch up and keep pace with Garou.
And now he felt it inside him, wanting to burst out.
He had to suppress it. If he let it come to him now, his strength would start to increase significantly, and he would probably destroy all the Grimm in front of him in no time.
But that would also have a serious disadvantage later on. His current body couldn't withstand the power of the Fighting Spirit.
The exhaustion that would come afterward would be a death sentence if he stayed outside of a settlement
"When I become stronger, when I am stronger, I will use you." Calming that indomitable spirit within him, Jaune continued the fight, this time being more methodical and cautious.
His body pumped with adrenaline with every punch and kick. A well-directed elbow sank into a Grimm's face, and a precise kick broke another's spine.
This fight was like entering a pack of wolves, except these wolves had no fear and didn't retreat even as more and more of their own died.
"Aaaauuuuuuuuuuu!!!!"
It was then that the alpha decided to appear.
Jaune barely dodged in time, a claw grazing the side of his arm and blood splattering.
It was fast, much faster than any other Grimm present.
It was also larger and had more of those bone plates covering its body.
Jaune didn't rush to attack, and neither did the alpha. They both looked at each other cautiously, sizing each other up.
Suddenly, Jaune's body flickered in a display of unprecedented speed, even to a trained eye it would seem as if his body vanished into thin air.
Flashy Fist!: Senkōken!
The alpha didn't even have a chance to blink before a dozen strikes hit its body from all directions.
The white plates on its body shattered upon impact, and a growl of pain escaped its jaws as its body twisted in a quick motion that pushed Jaune away from continuing his attack.
"Not fast enough, tch!" If Flashy Flash were present, he would probably be indignant at the blatant use of one of his techniques.
In truth, Jaune had long ago copied to a lesser extent the fighting style of the fastest Class S hero.
He simply hadn't used it because he didn't want to antagonize the guy, and he hadn't fully mastered it.
It was again thanks to Garou, who fought against Flashy Flash and defeated him while stealing his techniques, that Jaune ended up fully learning Flashy Flash's moves.
"Everything keeps coming back to you, you bastard." Jaune was strong on his own merit; many of the martial arts he had learned were the result of his hard work.
But it was undeniable that Garou had helped him perfect each of them in their fight.
Just as Garou further perfected his "perfect" martial art thanks to Jaune.
For that reason, Jaune had no qualms about using the things he had gained from Garou, even if he didn't like the guy.
"I learned from you, and you learned from me, so it's only fair that I use it all, right?"
Still, feeling a twinge in his left foot, Jaune grimaced. Using Flashy Fist wasn't suitable for him at the moment.
"So, no Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, Flashy Fist, or Fighting Spirit. Probably any other flashy flash move is off-limits for now."
This warm-up was proving quite useful so far. Testing what he could and couldn't do at this moment was very helpful for him.
However, his body had already suffered enough injuries; it was time to end this.
Jaune dodged an attack from the alpha, who had rushed in, thinking he was distracted.
His body leaped into the air and hooked onto a straight and sturdy branch.
Jaune felt it with his hand before tearing it off and descending back to the ground.
It was long enough, and the weight was suitable.
"Maybe that dream had some meaning? Or am I just being nostalgic?"
Setting the branch aside by his hip, Jaune held it like a sword about to be unsheathed.
Iia of Certain Kill!: Hissatsu no Iai!
Then the air stirred, and all the Grimm in front of him were cut into pieces by the blades of a sword moving at inhuman speeds.
Blades of air extending beyond their bodies, cutting through trees and rocks as they passed.
The branch in Jaune's hand exploded, and his fingers twisted as if they were about to break, with blood splattering from his broken nails.
"I'm sorry, Laian. That was a rather embarrassing display of your move." Looking at his hand with disappointment, Jaune relaxed and looked around at all the dead Grimm dissipating into black smoke, except for the ones he had left crippled.
He took out a pack of bandages and began carefully covering his wounds.
Once he finished, he walked towards the Grimm that were still alive, writhing like worms with all their useless limbs.
"I wonder... Can I eat them?"
As Charanko, there were many times when he ended up devouring the monsters he killed, mainly those that had an animal or plant-like appearance.
The Grimm seemed to be made of dark energy, and their bodies dissolving upon death was the clearest indication of this.
However, as demonstrated with the Grimm in front of him, while they were alive, they mimicked the biological structure of a living creature quite well.
So, if he kept them alive, could he eat them? And what would happen if he ate them and then killed them? Would the energy they were made of have any effect on him?
Would they taste good?
Thoughts swirled in his mind.
To do it or not to do it...
"No, you're too ugly, not appetizing at all," he decided not to tempt his luck. It would be unfortunate to be the first martial artist to die from a stomachache.
It wasn't worth it.
.
.
.
The water currents washed over his body, the sound of the waterfall was like a soothing melody.
And a nostalgic one.
Breathing in a rhythmic pattern, his body released streams of heat that turned into vapor upon contact with the crystalline liquid.
His heart pumped his blood in a special pattern, and his skin reddened.
The wounds he had gained on his body were forcibly made to close, and the speed at which his cells regenerated increased thanks to the deployment of special techniques for treating injuries.
It was nothing like super-regeneration; the wounds were still there, just closer to healing than before.
Sighing slowly, a stream of air, akin to an arrow, shot out from his mouth under pressure.
In the distance, a tree suddenly gained a new hole.
If he were Charanko, using these techniques in the midst of battle would be a piece of cake. Jaune, on the other hand, had to find a secluded place, meditate deeply, and use all his concentration to help his body accelerate its healing.
Disappointing but expected.
Jumping from the spot in the middle of the waterfall, he looked up at the blue sky. The day was just beginning, and there was much to do.
He took out his map and, using his experience, marked the location where he found this small waterfall. It was truly lucky that he stumbled upon something like this. It would certainly be a good place to return to if needed.
.
.
.
Fighting, fighting as if every moment were the last of your life, pushing your body to its absolute limit and still continuing to fight.
Treating your life as if it were trash and ignoring any injury, even if your bones crack, even if your muscles tear, and you feel like you could fall unconscious at any moment.
That was Jaune's life for the past three months.
Every moment felt like dying.
Every second felt like being burned alive.
But his will never faltered for a moment.
His spirit never surrendered even when his body begged him to.
And for every moment of pain, for every drop of blood, came the reward.
Strength!
Jaune's body launched forward like a ballistic missile, the ground where he had previously stood sank and a crater formed.
His agile and swift figure met with a massive twenty-story tall creature, resembling an elephant, the Grimm called Goliath roared and charged with all its might towards the human who dared to oppose it.
There was a moment of silence before a powerful shockwave was generated from their point of impact.
Jaune's fist overcame the massive bulk of the Goliath, causing the Grimm to twist backward, its head sinking into its body and its extremely durable white bone plate shattered into a thousand pieces.
Exhaling a large amount of air, Jaune looked around.
An entire pack of dead Goliaths, many other Beowolves, and a ... variety of different types of Grimm starting to disappear into black smoke.
He hadn't expected to come across such a large and diverse group of them. His body hadn't been prepared for this kind of large-scale combat, and he had to use Gousei Kohou: Awakening Breath to level the playing field and win against all of them.
Now he felt like he was on the verge of collapsing, but he forced himself to remain standing.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he looked towards a place not too far away.
A group of people was hiding behind some ruins.
Slowly, they began to emerge, looking in astonishment at the dead Grimm.
"Are you okay?" Jaune looked them up and down, searching for any injuries, but he found nothing.
In truth, he had to exert himself so much because a group of civilians had been too close. A small settlement had been attacked by Grimm, and if he hadn't arrived in time, it would have been destroyed.
"Are we okay? Look at yourself! By Oum, how are you still standing?" An eighteen-year-old woman exclaimed with clear concern in her voice, though her face and clothes were somewhat dirty due to all the commotion, her beauty shone through.
"They're just superficial wounds," Jaune brushed aside his concern.
"No, she's right. You need treatment, son, please let us help you." The one who spoke was an older man, slightly overweight with a thick white beard, the leader of the settlement, Jaune assumed.
Jaune almost declined again, but a sudden dizziness told him that refusing the help would be too reckless at this moment.
"Please, it's the least we can do," the woman spoke again, and Jaune reluctantly decided to accept.
Just for a few days, he needed a place for his body to adapt to his new strength and heal completely.
.
.
.
"You don't have to do this," in a white room filled with the scent of medicine, Jaune looked at the young woman tending to his wounds.
"I have to. With the settlement's doctor dead, I'm the only one who knows how to treat injuries." The woman cleaned the deep cuts on Jaune's body and gazed at the numerous scars on his arms.
For someone who didn't seem to be more than 14 or 15 years old, his body was in good shape, and considering all the wounds on him, it was obvious why.
"Why aren't you using your aura to help heal yourself?"
"Aura?"
The young woman suddenly stopped, a foreboding feeling washing over her.
"You know, aura, what helps hunters fight against Grimm? The soul's power that protects them and enhances their strength?"
'So that's what it's called.' Jaune filed away that information and shook his head.
"No, I don't have that thing."
And the woman's foreboding turned real; her face paled to the extreme.
"H-How did you fight against Grimm??" Her incredulity made Jaune shrug.
"Martial arts and a lot of determination?" The shy smile with which he said that made the woman snort.
"If that were all it took, this world wouldn't be infested with them." Her incredulity was understandable, but Jaune didn't really care if she believed him.
"Believe it or not, that's the truth."
"Seeing your wounds and how you killed an army of Grimm with your bare hands, I have no choice but to believe it." Jaune smiled; of course, actions spoke louder than words.
The woman sighed and gathered the few loose strands of her white hair that had been disheveled in her ponytail.
"Don't move too much, okay? Even though I've cleaned and stitched up all the external wounds, you should still have internal injuries. If I had the right equipment, I'd like to run some tests to determine the severity, but given the circumstances, we'll have to wait," the woman cautioned.
Jaune shifted his body despite the irritated look he received and tested the stitches. They restricted his movement a bit, but he had no intentions of fighting in the next few days. They could stay until he recovered.
"Wait?" Jaune asked, and the young woman nodded in response.
"Before you arrived, we requested help through the CCT. Normally, that would be futile due to the large number of Grimm and how close they were to destroying the village. But with your help, we managed to hold out. So, we're hoping the Kingdom of Vale will send huntsmen with rescue equipment and aid."
Jaune furrowed his brow; that could complicate things a bit.
He didn't want to deal with huntsmen for now.
"How long do you think it'll take for them to arrive?"
The woman lost irritated look in his.
"One? Two days at most," she responded thoughtfully.
"And how long would they stay?"
"If the settlement can be saved, they'll clear the Grimm in the vicinity and help with rebuilding as much as possible, so two or three weeks at most. If the settlement is deemed lost, they'll assist with the evacuation, so it could be less time."
It seemed like his rest plan was ruined.
Oh well, one or two days should be enough for him to recover.
For now there was something else he needed to know.
"About that Aura, tell me more"
.
.
.
"This is the sixth one in the last four months."
In a boardroom, several veteran Huntsmen gathered, discussing recent events in the Vale territory. The words were spoken by a well-built older man with neatly combed gray hair.
Ozpin, the head of Beacon and the leader of all the Huntsmen in the Kingdom of Vale, nodded in response to the Huntsman's words.
"Sightings of this 'hero,' as people call him, have increased in the vicinity of the less secure settlements."
The topic they were discussing had been brought up a few times before without much attention, but it was beginning to gain more and more significance.
"They say he fights with his bare hands and bleeds as if he doesn't have an aura," one of those present said.
"Some claim he has already single-handedly destroyed entire Grimm armies," another commented.
"Are these rumors even remotely accurate? I mean, it sounds quite fantastic if you ask me"
Ozpin looked at the last man who made this statement before nodding to Glynda by his side.
The blonde woman adjusted her glasses before taking a step forward and deploying a projected screen.
Everyone in the room fell silent as they watched.
In the video
A distant settlement found itself surrounded by Grimm on all sides.
The Huntsmen on the scene were exhausted, and the defenses were rapidly falling.
Desperation hung in the air, and the people started to panic.
Then it happened. From a side where the horde of Grimm was thickest, there was a blurry movement, and as if cut by a spiral blade, hundreds of bodies were separated into perfectly circular pieces.
Someone exclaimed in amazement, and the camera on the scroll tried to focus more accurately.
It was like a blur; wherever it went, the Grimm were decimated in an instant.
With its mere presence, the tide of the battle completely changed. Where death was once certain, victory now loomed.
The spirits were clearly lifted, and the people in the settlement started to help. When all was said and done, the figure stopped moving at those extreme speeds and stood in the midst of literal mountains of Grimm corpses.
The camera managed to capture its figure in more detail thanks to that.
Its clothing was torn and battered, dried blood and dirt clung to it like a second skin.
Its hands were covered in bandages that were once white but now displayed a deep crimson hue.
A torn and tattered gray cloak concealed most of its features, yet glimpses of blonde hair and a bright blue eye were briefly visible.
For a brief moment, its features were visible, and everyone in the room watching the video exclaimed.
"He... he's too young."
"His gaze sent shivers down my spine! Those eyes belong to a huntsman!"
"Do we know his name? Who is he? Why is he in that condition? What's with his aura?" More and more questions were asked, but answers were nowhere to be found.
Ozpin looked at the image with interest, a warrior, a hero, who destroys Grimm armies and helps less-protected settlements, a lone figure who has been wandering throughout Vale.
Initially, the rumors seemed exaggerated, but with these images, all doubt dissipated.
'The power that comes from the soul, huh?' atop a great mountain, sitting with his legs crossed and feeling the wind strike his body, Jaune couldn't help but think about the explanation he had been given several months ago.
What a strange power, aura.
Truth be told, Jaune wasn't really too interested at first.
As a charanko, he had faced all sorts of monsters and people with strange powers and abilities.
Mind control.
Cloning.
Teleportation.
Psychic powers.
Super regeneration.
Kinetic energy nullification.
Force fields.
The list could go on and on, not to mention that many of these powers were found in the same individual at the same time.
Aura simply sounded like an elegant power armor, something that protects and enhances an individual's strength to a certain extent.
Jaune had destroyed many of those before.
Probably the only advantage he could see was that you didn't need to literally put on armor that could be easily torn off as soon as you put it on.
And Semblances.
Jaune didn't think too much of them either.
As mentioned, the number of beings with strange powers he had faced was immense.
Many of them had multiple abilities combined.
So, even though he knew about aura, he didn't care that much and didn't give it too much thought.
Until he remembered a phrase recently.
"Truly protects hunters from all harm, even their clothing seems impeccable thanks to aura."
Looking at his pitiful current state, he couldn't help but think,
"It would be nice if my clothes didn't tear or get dirty so much..."
Could Aura serve for that, right? Preventing his clothes from continuing to tear and his blood from staining everything...
.
If any Huntsman were to hear Jaune's thoughts, they wouldn't have been able to avoid indignation. Aura! The power that humanity was given to face the Grimm, the power that all hunters cherished more than anything, the one that saved countless lives!
And he only thought it would serve to keep his clothes clean?!"
.
So, with the mindset of the well-being of his attire in mind, Jaune climbed the highest mountain he could find and tried to sense that "aura" lying within his soul.
It wasn't working.
He was probably doing something wrong because, even though that girl from the settlement that saved and healed his wounds knew a lot about aura, she didn't know exactly how it naturally unlocked.
Of course, she also told him that other people with aura could unlock yours for you, but Jaune didn't consider that method.
If it could be unlocked naturally, then he would do it that way.
the aura is something that can be obtained through training, which means it should be obtained that way. Any other method simply wouldn't do.
The martial artist in Jaune roared at the idea of someone else giving him something easily that others struggled and worked hard to obtain.
So, with the mindset of 'it would be nice if I get it, but if I don't, it doesn't matter,' Jaune tried to unlock his aura naturally.
And, as mentioned before, it wasn't working.
There was probably something he didn't know, some secret method or special training. Perhaps he would have to talk to a Huntsman who had unlocked their aura naturally to better understand it.
"Well, I gave it a try." With that simple dismissal, Jaune cleared his mind of any thoughts about aura and decided to continue his journey.
He stood up and looked at the landscape below him. Grimm of all shapes and sizes gazed up at him from below, and in the distance, he could see some of those large birds circling around him.
Nevermore?
Honestly, remembering the names of things that were going to die anyway was annoying. Why not just call them all Grimm and be done with it?
Of course, Jaune knew it wasn't that simple. Different names were probably given for a reason, but to him, that reason wasn't relevant.
Big, small, long, or wide, aquatic, flying, or terrestrial – none of these things made a difference to his fist.
And with a single step, his body lifted into the air, launching himself directly into the army of dark creatures seeking to destroy him.
.
.
.
"Why do you keep doing this?!" an angry voice of a girl echoed in the white room's walls, making Jaune grimace as his ears buzzed.
"Why are you shouting like that? If you keep doing it, your voice will get hoarse when you're older," Jaune's words elicited an angry look from the girl in front of him.
"Seriously, Jaune, every time you come here, it's like you jumped into a meat grinder. You need to take better care of yourself," the genuine concern in her voice made Jaune smile faintly.
"Didn't you say you'd help me whenever I needed it? I can stop coming if you want," he said in a joking tone, but the girl didn't catch on and quickly shook her head in clear panic.
"Don't even think about it! If you can't take care of yourself, then I have to make sure you at least stay in one piece," she was resolute about this, and Jaune would have said he'd be fine even without her help, but he didn't want to dismiss the effort she had put into helping him these past months.
"How's the settlement, Bianca? Have there been any Grimm sightings?" The change of topic caught the attention of the 18-year-old girl named Bianca. She sighed but still answered.
"As I've told you the last times, ever since you started coming, Grimm can only dream of getting near this place. Even the Huntsmen who were here after you left without warning couldn't find any Grimm in the vicinity," her reproach for the latter part was evident in her tone of voice.
She still couldn't forgive him for leaving without a word one day after saving the settlement.
Several months ago, after Bianca had tended to his wounds and he had rested for a day, Jaune decided to leave. He didn't want to cross paths with the Huntsmen for now. His father was a fairly well-known Huntsman, if his few memories served him correctly. He preferred not to have to confront him if he found out about his location due to his influence and tried to come for him.
After that, a month passed before he decided to return, solely to make sure the settlement was doing well and restock some basic supplies. Needless to say, Bianca, the girl who now took care of the local clinic and whom he had first spoken to when saving people from the Grimm attack, was not pleased.
It was understandable. She had been learning medicine from the local doctor before the Grimm killed him. Her calling was medicine, and being strict with patients to care for their health came naturally to her.
She cared about his health and had offered to treat his wounds whenever he needed it. That's why Jaune visited this settlement from time to time. Of course, he didn't do it openly.
Lately, he had built a certain reputation among the less protected settlements in Vale. Probably the only one who knew he would come here was Bianca.
"That's good; I'll make a sweep just to be sure." Even if the Grimm weren't seen by the settlement's people, it didn't mean there weren't any or that they weren't hiding somewhere.
"Maybe you should rest... people are talking about you, about what you've been doing. Stories and rumors have spread through the CCT network and among the settlements outside Vale's direct protection. They talk about how much you've helped people, but they also talk about the sorry state you're in almost all the time. People are worried, Jaune... you're working too hard..."
Jaune thought about it. It had been nine months since he woke up in this world as Jaune Arc again. His current strength was at least enough to face a demon-level threat. If he used the Fighting Spirit and Awakening Breath at the same time, he could push his body to dragon-level strength, albeit with severe consequences afterward.
The Grimm had started to become ineffective for training, unless there were thousands of them attacking him at the same time, his life wouldn't be in danger, not like in the beginning.
His wounds were due more to the different extreme training methods he had started using to compensate for the lack of Grimm power.
Maybe it's time to investigate the situation in Mountain Glenn? The deadline was at least a year, at most two, and 9 months was close enough to the minimum for him to take a look.
"You're right, I need to rest." His words seemed to surprise Bianca. Her eyes widened, and as if she couldn't believe it, her mouth opened and closed quickly.
"Are you serious?!"
Jaune nodded. To confront the issue of Mountain Glenn, his body and mind needed to be in the best condition. Despite Jaune having killed an astronomical number of Grimm in the last few months, the quantity of them around Mountain Glenn was too much.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't kill them all in a short amount of time, not while they were so scattered. The best course of action would be to wait until the largest number possible had gathered and then attack. This way, he could save Mountain Glenn from external threats.
Of course, there were internal threats as well. Maybe it would be better to deal with them before the Grimm attacked.
But, would a few months be enough to figure out who and why someone thought destroying the tunnels of Mountain Glenn was a good idea? If the minimum time was indeed a year, then he might have to face both the external and internal threats at the same time.
If it was two years, he could address the internal one first.
A hand on his forehead snapped him out of his thoughts.
"No signs of fever, maybe poisoning? Did you eat some unknown mushrooms, Jaune?" The clearly sarcastic tone made Jaune snort.
"Believe it or not, I do know when to take a break, Bianca." If his expression were any indication, she seriously doubted his words.
"I won't believe it until I see it." Although her attitude seemed to suggest she still didn't believe him, Jaune could see the relief in her. The load on her shoulders seemed to lighten a little., figuratively though there were two significant reasons why it couldn't realistically disappear.
A pleasant silence followed, but then an explosion, panicked screams, and hurried footsteps interrupted them. Jaune and Bianca wasted no time, both of them rushed out of the room to the clinic's main area near the entrance.
Through the window, Jaune saw one of those small Bullhead aircrafts crashed in a somewhat cleared area, with a few people exiting it and running toward them.
The clinic's doors swung open, and a group of clearly injured and battered individuals entered, dragging a man whose legs were missing.
"Please, we need help!" The situation wasn't good. Bianca did her best, but her medical education had been interrupted by her master's death, and injuries as severe as these required more than just the assistance of an 18-year-old girl and the equipment in a small clinic in a remote settlement.
So Jaune pitched in. He wasn't a doctor, but his knowledge of the human body wasn't far from one. As a martial artist, he knew how to treat combat injuries and what to do to resolve certain life-threatening situations.
Bianca accepted Jaune's help without hesitation, Having learned a long time ago that Jaune knew a lot about the human body despite looking younger than her.. In fact, Bianca had learned some special wound-treatment methods from Jaune.
Soon, they managed to stabilize the situation. The man with the worst injuries was now stable and could at least hold on until a rescue team that had been requested arrived. From there, they hoped he would be transported to Vale's hospital.
Jaune finished bandaging one of the less injured men, looked into the panic in his eyes, and making sure no one could overhear, he asked the question that had been on the tip of his tongue.
"What happened?"
The man trembled upon hearing his question, swallowing blood-tinged saliva and wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand before looking at Jaune.
"It was supposed to be a s-safe trip! We're just a group of mercenaries without aura. They told us there were no more Grimm around, but when we arrived, the whole place was destroyed, and that thing! That strange Grimm attacked the entire group. He...he ate them! He..." Jaune slapped him.
"What place, where is it?"
"The settlement of Bright to the south!" Startled by the sudden slap, the man replied hastily. Jaune nodded and, from the corner of his eye, looked at Bianca, who was talking to some settlement residents who had come to help.
Everything was in order here, so he decided to go check on this "strange Grimm."
The man was left in shock as the boy who had been treating him suddenly disappeared in a blur of movement he couldn't quite catch.
.
.
.
Not far away, in another border settlement, a man with black hair was lounging against the bar, his massive sword resting by his side and a bottle of liquor in his hand. Suddenly, his left pocket started to ring and vibrate vigorously.
The man quickly pulled out the device and saw an alert on the screen.
"A distress call from the settlement of Bright? That's not far." The man took a long swig from the bottle before strapping his sword to his back. It was time to get to work.
"Put it on my tab, Bart!" With those words, he swiftly left the bar without waiting for a response.
"What? Wait! Qrow, you damn scoundrel, this is the third time you've left without paying!" The indignant shout didn't reach the ears of the person who had already bolted.
Hundreds of meters in the air, a black bird soared toward its destination at high speed.
.
.
.
For Jaune, the landscape changed rapidly, each step he took making his body move at impossible speeds. Indeed, Flashy Flash's footwork was truly unique and useful.
The speed at which he could move when using the technique had no comparison to any other footwork Jaune knew. However, it came with disadvantages. Just a few months ago, doing this would have been impossible. His legs wouldn't have been able to withstand the immense effort required with each step he took. Although it was an incredible footwork technique, it was impossible to use for anyone who didn't have a certain level of physical strength in their lower body.
Jaune had to work hard to use it without tearing his muscles with each step.
But now that he had achieved it? The word "speed" fell short in describing how fast he was moving.
The air exploded as the sound barrier shattered four kilometers behind him. By the time the shockwave began to take effect, his figure was already several kilometers away.
However, despite moving at incredible speed, the terrain he passed through wasn't as affected as it should have been. Apart from the initial shockwave, he wasn't actually leaving a trail of absolute destruction, which anything moving at such speeds should have done.
All of this was thanks to Flashy Flash's movement technique, the movement technique of a true ninja.
.
.
.
Soon, Jaune saw the smoke rising in the sky, and in a blink, he got close enough to see a settlement engulfed in flames.
But despite being so close, Jaune didn't see any Grimm, in fact, he couldn't see anyone at all. Stopping, he let his senses extend. Different sounds entered his ears, but there were no screams, cries, or anything of the sort.
A bad premonition washed over him, and with gravity, he ventured further into the settlement, beginning to search for survivors.
What greeted him was an eerie silence.
There were signs of a struggle, traces of blood, and tattered pieces of clothing, but there were no people
Jaune recalled the man's words, "He ate them!" Jaune had witnessed scenes like this before, monsters that devoured humans. This was very similar in many aspects.
"But Grimm don't eat humans..." At least not literally. Of course, when they kill them, they can tear off parts of their bodies and even "devour" some of them. Jaune had experienced it firsthand with his first kill. However, strictly speaking, Grimm didn't completely consume a person. Once they stopped breathing and ceased emitting negative emotions, the Grimm lost interest and left the remains of the body to rot over time or until another human found them.
Typically, a Grimm attack left many body parts and incomplete bodies, but the scene in front of him was different. The bodies had disappeared completely, with only a few bloodstains indicating that there had once been a body.
Jaune examined the area carefully and began to trace the trail left by whatever had done all this. The trail ended at one of the town's entrances, and after that, it was as if they had cleaned up. It grew increasingly faint and hard to follow.
A sound caught his attention not far from him, steps?
.
"Damn, what the hell happened here?" Qrow Branwen looked around the destruction with bewilderment. As a seasoned Huntsman, he had seen many scenes of carnage, but never one where everyone had disappeared. The strange silence unsettled him.
Had his stupid Semblance led him straight into a bad horror movie?
"Something devoured everyone who was here," the sudden voice that sounded behind him and broke the silence made Qrow jump in alert. His hand drew his sword on instinct, and his body spun at high speed. The wind whistled, and the blade of his sword struck the ground, creating a deep cut.
Qrow blinked when he saw that he hadn't hit anything. But when he was about to raise his sword, he felt an extra weight and, upon looking, saw a figure covered in a gray cloak standing on Harbinger's hilt.
"Be careful; you could hurt someone." With a slight hop, the figure moved away, and Qrow regained his weapon.
Looking at the person who had startled him, Qrow noticed two things instantly: he seemed too young, and he were in a sorry state, or at least appeared to be in a sorry state with all those torn clothes and bloodied bandages.
Qrow squinted. Had he seen this kid somewhere before?
"Are you a Huntsman? You reek of alcohol." The kid wrinkled his nose in disgust, and Qrow felt somewhat offended.
"Hey! It's my day off. I didn't expect to get a distress call right now." Although he said that, the truth was that even if it weren't his day off, he'd still have a drink or two.
"Besides, you're not one to talk about smells. You reek of blood, kid." Jaune looked at himself and realized it was true... though for him, it was a scent he'd grown used to, whether from killing monsters or getting injured in fights.
"What did you mean when you said something devoured everyone here?" Despite the strange encounter, Qrow didn't forget the main issue.
"I've searched the entire settlement. There are bloodstains and signs of a struggle, but no bodies or body parts. Whatever attacked this settlement got rid of all the bodies. Additionally, I met some people who managed to escape to a nearby settlement. One of them told me that a strange Grimm ate some people, so it's easy to deduce what happened."
Qrow pondered the situation. If he took what this kid said as true, then it was indeed easy to deduce what had happened. However, it was hard to believe. As a Huntsman who had dealt with Grimm for so long, he had never seen one completely devour a body.
Furthermore, a nearby settlement? As far as he remembered, the nearest settlement was several kilometers away, which was where he came from. Certainly, no one had arrived there to alert anyone. It must be another, less nearby settlement. The distress call had just been sent, and even if they used a Bullhead, the time it would take them to arrive, inform someone about what happened, and then have that person come to check, would be substantial.
When he was flying in his bird form, he hadn't seen any Bullheads that weren't destroyed.
"Let's say I believe you. What are you doing here then?" Qrow stepped back from the kid with suspicion.
Jaune looked at him, noticing his distrust, and sighed.
"Investigating, looking for the responsible party, and if I find them, destroying them." Upon hearing this, Qrow raised an eyebrow with clear doubt in his eyes.
"You're here, looking for something capable of destroying an entire settlement on your own? Just you?"
Jaune didn't see the problem with that. Obviously, he was alone; who else would he be searching with?
"Yes?"
Qrow sighed.
"Of course you are, kid. You'd better go back to your mom. I'll handle this." Qrow dismissed him as if his statements were foolish, and Jaune didn't feel happy about it.
"It seems I thought too highly of the Huntsmen," Jaune said with disappointment. He ignored the man and went to continue following the trail. The reason he had initially decided to talk to him was to see if they could cover more ground by working together. The trail had been too well-hidden, and it would take a long time to find it on his own. A second pair of eyes would have been helpful.
'Oh well, I'll just do it on my own.'
The clear disappointment in his tone made Qrow furrow his brow, for some reason, he felt somewhat slighted.
"Hey, what did you mean by that?!" There was no response; the kid simply walked away. Qrow watched him go before looking around. It didn't seem like he would find anything on his own beyond what he had already seen.
"Did the kid find something?" With no other leads, Qrow tried to follow him, but he quickly realized that the kid had moved faster than he thought because he couldn't see him.
With a frustrated sigh, his body transformed, and he soon soared into the sky as a bird.
.
.
.
Despite the fading trail, Jaune was still able to follow it. He soon reached the deep forest, where a large opening on the right side of a mountain greeted him.
It appeared to be the entrance to a cave.
Sounds of crunching could be heard, and Jaune didn't need to be a genius to know that whatever was inside was chewing.
Jaune stretched his body before deciding to enter, his instincts warning him that something dangerous was inside, but that was okay. If it felt dangerous to him, then all the more reason to eliminate it.
In the sky, a crow watched him enter the cave and quickly descended.
Qrow returned to his human form and looked at the dark cave. Cold sweat ran down his back, and he felt that something extremely dangerous was inside. The effects of the alcohol in his body quickly dissipated, replaced by alertness.
Just as he was deciding whether to enter, a blurry figure shot out at such a speed that Qrow only had time to open his eyes in panic before a body collided with him, sending them both dozens of meters away, crashing into several trees.
Qrow's back hit each one, his aura glowing with each shattered tree.
"Ouch," Qrow exclaimed, touching his back. When he looked up, he saw the ragged boy already on his feet, seemingly unaffected by the impact that had launched him dozens of meters at incredible speeds.
"You followed me? How?! Doesn't matter, you have to run!" His voice had a sense of urgency, and Qrow couldn't help but feel a queasy sensation in his stomach.
"What? I'm a huntsman, kid, I don't run." He seemed like he wanted to say something against that, but his words were lost when the entrance to the cave exploded, and a massive, hideous Grimm emerged from it.
"HA HA HA! What's this? Now, food delivers itself to our doorstep?!" It was then that the ugliest and most deformed Grimm Qrow had ever seen stood before them.
It looked like a Beowolf had been poorly inflated, its body bulging and contracting as if bubbles of something were appearing and disappearing inside it.
Moreover, this thing had spoken!?
The deformed Grimm somehow had something extremely akin to a human face that grinned sinisterly.
Four pairs of red, hungry pupils glowed.
"Huntsmen? That's good. I haven't tasted your kind yet. I wonder how many cells I can create after devouring you." Suddenly, the deformed body began to shrink, the malformations disappeared, leaving a much more humanoid figure. Not to mention that sinister face and a dark whip with white plates running down to the tip, sprouting from its head.
Fist 6: Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist!: Extreme Fa Jin!
Crushing oppression, that's what Qrow felt in the face of the enemy before him. It was as if gravity had suddenly decided to increase, a sensation that made his body want to bend in submission due to the instinctual fear that dwelled in every living being when confronted with a superior life form.
A superpredator.
Any normal human would have fallen to their knees in absolute fear imprinted in every fiber of their DNA.
Qrow Branwen gritted his teeth, and his aura glowed, causing his spirit to rise and ignoring that suffocating sensation.
"Ho~" the Grimm smiled widely as he saw her show of bravery out of the corner of his eyes but his vision was focused on someone else.
Someone radiating a sense of danger to its existence.
For the first time since it had merged with the Grimm and started devouring it from the inside out to take over its body, it felt something that was genuinely "dangerous" to it.
How interesting, it wondered how nourishing it would be once it consumed his body.
Jaune removed the gray cloak that covered most of his body, rolled his shoulders, and assumed a stance.
The air seemed to stagnate, and for a brief moment, silence reigned.
Then they moved.
Qrow could barely react in time as a white bone spike shot up from the ground under his feet at high speed.
Instincts and years of experience saved him from being impaled on the spot; his body quickly retreated and where had been before, the spike it shot more than 5 meters into the sky.
The Grimm didn't even glance at Qrow to see if its surprise attack had succeeded. Its blurry figure met Jaune's, and the sound of an explosion echoed as they collided in mid-air.
Strong winds swept through the area, and several trees were uprooted by their force.
Qrow drove his sword into the ground, preventing himself from being carried away by the currents.
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!
The Grimm opened its four pairs of eyes wide as its humanoid body was suddenly assaulted by countless blows from the front. Its body was immediately covered in dozens of impact marks, and some of its bone plates shattered instantly.
Jaune didn't stop, didn't hesitate. His heart beat strongly, and adrenaline surged through his system. "Exploding Heart Release Fist!"
His right fist seemed to leave residual images as it moved and released a shockwave that exploded upon impact with the monstrous Grimm's body. The entire place shook, and the Grimm's chest caved in, black blood splattering. Without wasting a second, Jaune's body shot forward, both palms together, aiming directly at the Grimm's abdomen. For a moment, his palms seemed to glow from the intense amount of gathered kinetic energy. Then, both open palms collided, creating multiple shockwaves that pierced through the Grimm's body entirely.
Great Fa Jin!: Dai-hakkei!
Like a meteorite, the Grimm was sent flying back into the cave, shockwaves spreading and destabilizing the entire natural structure. Then, the entire mountain began to collapse upon itself, raising a large amount of dust.
Jaune took a deep breath and looked at his palms, both of which were bleeding deeply. Was that enough? The reason Jaune had unleashed such powerful attacks consecutively, not giving his opponent any time to react, was because the sensation he felt was one he had felt before but hadn't fully identified until he faced it when he entered the cave.
Level of threat: Superior Demon, almost reaching Dragon level.
If he let this thing continue to roam free, there would be no way for any settlement near Vale to remain standing.
Qrow stared in disbelief at the now-ruined mountain and couldn't help but open his mouth in astonishment. What the hell?!
He looked at the boy again, now that he didn't have that gray blanket covering him and the alcohol had burned out of his system. He could now understand why he had seemed familiar before.
Wasn't this the boy that Ozpin had asked him to find? Was Ozpin crazy?!
"I- You?! What the hell!"
Jaune looked at him, noticing his disbelief, but he didn't have time to respond. His eyes widened as he felt the entire place tremble, and the debris from the collapsed mountain was forcefully thrown into the air. A twisted mass of black, contorted flesh grew in size, surpassing any Goliath. Then, thousands of white bone spikes stretched out in all directions from the ground, and the entire terrain changed instantly.
With quick reflexes, Jaune dodged hundreds of spikes that sought to pierce his body. Qrow, proving himself worthy of the Huntsman title, evaded several of them and used his sword to block those he couldn't escape from. The impact sent his body flying and made his hands tremble.
"That hurt, kid!" The Grimm retracted the massive flesh back into its body, returning to its humanoid form, as if the previous damage had vanished.
"Let me return the favor." With those words, the Grimm accelerated forward, destroying everything in its path as its speed surpassed the supersonic level in an instant. Just as Jaune was about to deflect the attack with the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, the Grimm's fist grew to colossal proportions, covering Jaune's entire frontal field of vision with its mass. Without hesitation, He quickly crossed his arms in front of him.
It was as if a mountain had struck him. His body began to move backward at high speed, everything on his back breaking as he tore through the entire forest in less than a second. His feet, however, remained firmly planted on the ground even though his body didn't stop. Then his back slammed into the wall of the settlement he had left earlier, piercing through three meters of reinforced concrete as if it were paper.
The Grimm growled, and its fist stretched like a snake, sending Jaune directly into a building, causing him to go right through it. His body, however, didn't stop and continued to tear through building after building, some of them collapsing due to severe structural damage. Shockwaves after shockwaves caused even more damage to the surroundings, and if not for the fact that all the people in this settlement had died before, this strike it would have killed thousands.
The outstretched arm quickly returned to its "normal" size, and the Grimm grinned as it saw the blood on its fist.
"Hahaha, what did you think of that? This body is truly marvelous! So malleable, I can hardly contain my cells' excitement!" Black felt euphoric. The fusion of his cells with the bodies of these Grimm creatures had brought unexpected benefits, with the ability to mold his body beyond what he could do before being one of them. Of course, he had previously been able to use his cells to modify the size of parts of his body, but it was limited in a sense. In this body, it seemed like he had almost absolute control.
What was even better was that he, the first cell to enter this body, had full control. Even if there were more like him inside, eager to emerge, his will dominated over the others, just like when he became Platinum.
They weren't so perfect, of course. His current strength was not even a shadow of what it once was, but the feeling was similar enough to fill his mind with euphoria.
As he enjoyed his new body, he felt several projectiles coming towards him but didn't pay them any attention. He felt them impact his body with no effectiveness whatsoever, not even leaving a mark on his bone plates.
How could such useless things like bullets even be a threat to him?
"Damn it!" a figure fell from the sky, a scythe in his hand.
Qrow didn't really expect to do much harm with those shots, but for the Grimm to ignore them as if they were thrown grains of sand? that was total bullshit.
He was really having a serious headache here. This Grimm and that kid had completely shattered his logic with the things they had done in the few seconds since this disaster began, and Qrow really wanted a drink right now.
But he couldn't, not as long as this unknown Grimm was still alive. No matter what it was or where the hell it came from, even if Qrow died here, he couldn't let this thing roam the continent of Sanus or any other place in Remnant.
"You're a bit disappointing, but it's okay. I'm not picky with food," the Grimm laughed, and then its figure became blurry. For the first time in his life, Qrow was glad to have his Semblance. Just as fingers, as sharp as claws, were about to pierce his eyes, the Grimm suddenly slipped on a puddle of blood from one of the settlement's residents.
Seeing an opportunity, Qrow swung his scythe with all the strength he believed he had. The blade struck the monster's neck with a powerful blow, creating a shockwave. The bones in Qrow's hands trembled from the impact, and with horror, he watched as the blade of his weapon came to a sudden stop against the Grimm's tough black skin.
"Nice try, but an insect could never harm me," the Grimm said coldly. Tripping like that had been an unexpected embarrassment, and its temper was about to explode. It couldn't let anyone who witnessed such a shameful scene live for another second.
Spikes of white bone shot out from its shoulder blades faster than any bullet. Having felt how tough the Grimm's skin was, Qrow didn't want to find out how hard those bone spikes were or what they would do to his aura if they hit him. With no other option, his body transformed into a bird and quickly navigated away from the attack.
"What?" Black looked at the sudden transformation with some astonishment. "Interesting, I suppose you're not a bad appetizer after all." Just as he prepared to launch himself towards the bird, his sense of danger screamed at him.
Like a fluid current, Jaune's figure approached at high speed. like a sharp point his fingers aimed at all the vital points a humanoid figure could have.
Where shotgun bullets and even the edge of an aura-enhanced weapon couldn't leave a mark on the Grimm's skin, Jaune's bare hands caused the flesh to sink and the bone plates to break.
"Ugh!" The Grimm growled, but its feet remained steadfast, and it forced itself not to be sent flying. Its clawed hands retaliated, but Jaune deftly deflected each attack with grace.
Swiftly dodging a spike that suddenly protruded from the Grimm's side, Jaune performed an airborne spin, and his leg struck the monster's head, causing it to lose its balance. Still, the creature counterattacked by extending its arms like whips, lashing out at high speed, but Jaune effortlessly deflected each of them and returned each blow with twice the force.
The buildings and houses around them collapsed during this brief encounter.
Qrow descended from the sky and watched the confrontation with mixed emotions. He had been unable to harm the Grimm with everything he had, yet the boy was doing it barehanded!
"Damn it, I'm a Huntsman, how can I stay behind like this?" He quickly reloaded his weapon with dust bullets. If regular projectiles weren't effective, then this should do something, right?
He waited for the right moment from the side, watching them clash at nearly imperceptible speeds, even for him. But even as they moved so fast that he could barely see their blurry figures, he remained a veteran Huntsman. He knew when the precise moment and opportunity came.
A devastating attack by Jaune caused the Grimm to stagger backward, and Qrow pulled the trigger.
Black had paid no attention to the sound of the projectile, completely useless against it, How could it be a threat?
The response came when the bullet struck, and suddenly half of its body was covered in ice. "What?!" More surprised than hurt, he looked at his left side with curiosity.
That was a foolish move on his part, and Jaune demonstrated this when his fists struck, shattering the ice. But even though half of his body was encased in ice, only a thin outer layer of skin was truly affected. Any other Grimm with a body part encased in ice dust would have seen that part shattered after being struck.
The monstrous Grimm roared! Jaune's blows had stunned it enough for more bullets to start hitting it as Jaune sidestepped to let the projectiles pass.
There was fire and lightning this time, electricity coursed through its body, and flames bathed its figure, but they could barely be considered a nuisance. Still, it angered him. How dare an insect attack him in this manner?!
With a mental command, several figures that had been lurking rushed toward Qrow. A whole pack of Beowolves interrupted his shots.
Soon, the Huntsman was forced to focus on the Grimm attacking him, moving a bit away from the main fight.
Jaune realized that it was the enemy in front of him who had called those Beowolves, marking it as another ability of this strange Grimm. The more they fought, the more Jaune realized that this thing was vastly different from the Grimm he had encountered before.
Moreover, its face, for some reason, seemed familiar to him. He couldn't quite place it, but a small voice in his mind told him that he was missing something.
Where? Where had he seen that face before?
Wiping away the blood that had started to trickle from his nose, Jaune decided to save those questions for later. This confrontation was proving to be more challenging than he had anticipated. The Grimm could modify its body in the midst of battle, suddenly producing more of those spikes or altering the size of its fists and claws.
Moreover, that blow that sent him all the way from the forest through the settlement's wall and multiple buildings was not something easy to endure in his current state. He could feel that his arms were nearly broken, and at least two of his ribs were fractured.
He had to end this soon.
His lungs began to rhythmically inhale air, and the Awakening Breath began to take effect in his body. His muscles swelled slightly, and his heart started pumping blood faster. Then he let that indomitable spirit within him that had been eager to break free awaken, Fighting Spirit!
Perhaps sensing the change in him, the Grimm opened its eyes, and its pupils suddenly shrank, alert bells going off. The Grimm clenched both fists, and the white bone plates began to cover them, taking the form of two large blades. The whip extending from its head also increased in size to nearly two meters in length, and the tip became sharper.
Flowing Shadow Feet: Ryū Ei Kyaku.
Suddenly, Jaune's figure became blurred, and hundreds of residual images flooded the battlefield. The Grimm suddenly couldn't discern the real from the fake. Like ghosts, they attacked it from all sides. The monster crossed both arms, and from its shoulders, two enormous mouths full of fangs opened suddenly.
It was then that a powerful shockwave was released in all directions. The ground sank as a massive crater began to form, rapidly extending over a hundred meters in less than a second. Buildings and debris were sent flying, and in an instant, half of the settlement collapsed.
Shockwave Energy Blast!
The residual images vanished instantly, and Jaune had to exert himself to deflect the thunderous impact that threatened to engulf his body.
Qrow wasn't as lucky. The Grimm around him was instantly killed by the impact, but he didn't manage to move away in time. The shockwave pierced through his aura as if it didn't exist, directly hitting his insides. His vision became blurry, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he lost all balance. Spasms began, his body convulsing as his nervous system was affected.
The fact that he didn't faint demonstrated his astonishing willpower.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune saw him collapse to the ground in violent spasms, but he couldn't do anything for him now. He couldn't afford to be distracted.
"That was exhilarating, do you like it? It's a new move I've been practicing," the Grimm arrogantly boasted, looking at the destruction around with satisfaction.
Jaune didn't respond. Instead, his right arm swung back, the fingers of his hand coming together and forming a blade.
His figure disappeared faster than Black expected, and suddenly he saw hundreds of blade-shaped hands stabbing directly towards his body.
Heavy Flashy Slash! JūSenZan!
Like a sword stabbing at extreme speeds, the Grimm's body was pierced hundreds of times in less than a second.
"Damn it!" The Grimm growled, and suddenly, from every part of its body, the black whips with white spikes shot out, attacking Jaune and leaving residual images in their wake.
Like a flowing stream of water, Jaune began to deflect them with his hands. Wherever the whips passed, everything was cleanly cut as if an incredibly sharp blade had sliced through it with great force. What little remained standing of the settlement began to collapse.
Then, while about to deflect another whip, a mouth full of teeth suddenly opened, and a concentrated shockwave shot out toward the hand that was about to deflect the blow.
Jaune opened his eyes and quickly shifted from defense to offense. His fist collided with the attack, piercing through the shockwave and shattering the black whip.
His instinct screamed at him, and he leaped backward when four more whips attempted to strike him with those same shockwaves. Then, the Grimm lunged forward, its blade-like hands stabbing toward his body.
Seeing the imminent danger, Jaune couldn't help it, an enormous smile formed on his face at the thrill of a true battle.
.
Qrow forced his aura as much as he could to calm his body, spitting out more blood and attempting to get up. It wasn't easy, given that everything around him seemed like a war zone in the middle of a bombing, with explosions and shockwaves seeming to come from all directions, making the ground continuously tremble.
He blinked several times to clear his vision, and when he raised his head, all he could see were two blurry figures moving at high speeds, beyond what he believed a human could do, aura or not.
Wherever they passed, everything was destroyed. The terrain changed instantly, and debris flew everywhere. Black whips covered in spikes and mouths lashed out indiscriminately at everything around them like a massive wrecking ball. Except this wrecking ball had swords and explosives attached to it that not only demolished but obliterated everything in its path.
And as if to oppose this mass of massive destruction, the other figure moved like currents, diverting, countering, and nullifying every deadly attack directed towards it.
One of those whips was deflected, and one of the few remaining buildings, a 20-story structure, was cleanly sliced in half, then shockwaves reduced it to rubble.
Qrow would think he was dreaming if not for the intense pain emanating from every part of his body. Slowly, he retrieved his nearly broken scroll and started recording everything he could. He didn't believe anyone would believe him unless he had evidence.
If he managed to come out of this alive.
.
Jaune deflected three of those pesky whips with one hand and, with the other, his fist struck the monstrous face. He felt his neck snap, but this wound that should have been fatal for any other living being didn't faze him in the least.
Both of them moved rapidly throughout the area, but Jaune was careful to keep the fight away from where Qrow was. If they stayed too close, they could accidentally kill him.
Jaune quickly analyzed his opponent. No matter how many wounds he inflicted, this thing seemed capable of rapidly healing from all of them. But slowly, he realized that this didn't come without a cost. It was a faint sensation at first, but he could tell – it was weakening after each healed injury.
Of course, the rate at which it weakened was so slow that it might as well not be happening at all.
If he wanted to win, he had to deplete this healing ability.
Time to go further.
Taking a deep breath, Jaune extended both hands forward, in a circular motion, merging two different martial art forms to create a superior move.
Suddenly, an extreme aura of death shot into the sky, and Black's pupils shrank to their limits. Its four eyes widened in horror, and mouths of all shapes and sizes on its body suddenly opened, unleashing an omnidirectional Shockwave Energy Blast with a force ten times greater than the first.
Then Jaune's fists struck, and the shockwaves released by the Grimm were instantly obliterated. It was as if an explosion hit its body, bypassing any defense and penetrating its interior with the force to ripping the sky.
Visible cracks extended across its body, which began to swell, on the verge of bursting.
"How is this possible? How is a mere human so strong?!" For the monstrous Grimm, this made no sense. It considered itself the superior life form, a true monster beyond any human or Faunus, a super predator. Humans should know their place and be happy to serve as its food.
So why was it losing?
Feeling his body on the verge of tearing apart, terror flooded him. NO! He couldn't let his body separate; if he did, his cells would go out of control and detach from him, losing his control over the collective consciousness that composed him.
He would cease to be one and become many, ceasing to exist.
"RAAAAARGHHHH!" He roared with all his might, and with his extreme control over his body, he forced it to remain intact, while the energy inside continued to devastate him.
More and more cells were dying, but he didn't care. Still, if he kept it up like this, he'd soon run out of cells, and he'd become weak, losing over half of his power if he didn't do something soon.
His entire thought process might have seemed to take a few seconds, but in reality, it happened extremely quickly. Almost instantly after Jaune had executed his attack and his body was on the verge of exploding, he regained his composure. Then, from his front, a massive mouth several meters wide opened.
If he couldn't do anything with the energy inside his body, then he would expel it!
Jaune's eyes widened, his bleeding hands barely managing to get up on time. the world seemed to freeze in his perception.
A shockwave in the form of a massive lightning bolt shot out of the giant mouth. Everything in its path disintegrated instantly, in less than a millisecond, it was in front of Jaune.
The tip of Jaune's hand met the energy bolt, and as if it were a stream of water, he guided it through his body. It was extremely difficult, but Jaune still did it. He guided the flow of energy within his body and, as if his hands controlled the lightning itself, he held it between his palms and then struck back.
In a life-or-death moment, his instincts unleashed a move he currently couldn't use. Using the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist's ability to counter with double the strength, he managed to reach the minimum power to use one of his strongest techniques in combination with the energy from another:
Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist!: Extreme Fa Jin!: Goku-hakkei!
"IMPOSSIBLE!" The Grimm screamed with absolute horror when it felt Jaune's palms strike its body.
For Qrow, it was as if a flash of light had hit his face. Suddenly, all sound disappeared only to reappear suddenly as a massive roar, followed by an explosion. Qrow lost consciousness at that instant.
At that moment, if one were to look at the sky, they would witness a massive torrent of energy piercing through the clouds, tearing through everything in its path. If it were nighttime, the sky itself would have lit up as if it had suddenly become dawn.
Across the continent of Sanus, people could feel a brief but powerful tremor.
Jaune gazed at the spot where the Grimm had been, its body having disintegrated completely from the inside out.
With the battle over, Jaune felt his body burning all over, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His legs trembled, and he almost fell to the ground but forced himself to stay upright.
He looked at his hands, from the tips of his fingers to his shoulders, every bone had been broken. That attack had come at a great cost, but if he hadn't done it, he would have been the one to die.
Still, he couldn't help but let a broad smile spread across his face. For a brief moment, he had reached the Dragon level once again.
.
.
.
.
.
"Uh?" In an underground laboratory, a mass of flesh trembled upon sensing something.
"What's happening?" a somewhat weary voice asked. Not far from the mass of flesh, Doctor Merlot observed the unusual behavior of his newest "companion."
"I felt a large number of my cells disappear," a white face appeared in the mass of flesh and spoke. His expression was somewhat darkened. That was a significant amount of cells that vanished suddenly.
Well, it's not like there aren't others of his kind out there, although that was the one that had gathered the greatest amount of cells so far. It seemed like he would have to wait a little longer.
"Will that be a problem?" Doctor Merlot asked with genuine concern rarely seen in him.
Black Sperm shook his head. "They were just a bunch of spare cells. I have more out there, although in smaller quantities. It doesn't matter; they will multiply again over time. Now, what were we talking about?" When the conversation returned to the topic of interest, Doctor Merlot got excited, like a young child getting their favorite candy. His eyes sparkled with the excitement.
"You were telling me about these monsters and the monster cells you've helped create."
.
.
.
Bianca finished organizing the clinic, the patients who had suddenly arrived, having been picked up by a Bullhead from Vale, were now being transferred to a hospital that could provide full treatment.
A sense of worry filled her heart. She had noticed Jaune's absence and, having a bad feeling, had inquired about what had happened to the group of mercenaries.
When she found out, she knew why Jaune wasn't in sight. That fool had gone straight to confront that Grimm, right? Although she knew he was strong, stronger than anyone she had ever seen before, she couldn't help but worry. The significant tremor she had felt some time ago and the sudden bolt of light piercing the sky did nothing to alleviate her concerns.
With a heavy heart, she began to review some documents in an attempt to distract herself. It was then that she heard a noise from the room where she always let Jaune stay when he visited. That room always had the window open for him to enter.
She quickly approached the room and when she opened the door she couldn't help but exclaim.
"H-Hey! I may have exaggerated a bit," Jaune smiled, blood covering his teeth and his entire face, his hands bent at angles that shouldn't be possible. On his back, he carried a man who also seemed very injured.
Bianca hurried to help them without hesitation. It seemed that this day wouldn't be calm at all.
.
.
.
.
.
Note:
And here's the chapter! What do you think? I really had trouble writing this due to various factors. This is probably going to be the biggest fight we'll see for a while. The action is good, but if this story were only about Jaune killing Grimm and practicing martial arts, it would end too quickly. I want this story to have more than just fights, even though it's great to write battles. There are many things I want to write that may be boring to some and interesting to others.
Anyway, I want to know what you think about the story so far and what direction you think it will take with everything that has been presented up to this point. I have an idea in mind for it, but knowing your opinions could help me better solidify that idea or take a completely different direction if I believe I can do it better.
Anyway, this is just a novice author seeking feedback from those who follow this story.
By the way! Thanks to the people on FF, we've reached over 140 followers and more than 100 favorites! I really appreciate the support and the reviews you leave.
I like this story, but the difference in power is a bit brutal. Everyone in RWBY is basically helpless, which makes things awkward in some ways. Especially since it looks like you are planning on introducing more OPM threats.
I like this story, but the difference in power is a bit brutal. Everyone in RWBY is basically helpless, which makes things awkward in some ways. Especially since it looks like you are planning on introducing more OPM threats.
That's good. I was(and kinda still am) a bit nervous since Both RWBY and OPM are undergoing apocalypses that are only delayed, not prevented, so making things worse turns things unnecessarily grimdark(In my opinion).
That's good. I was(and kinda still am) a bit nervous since Both RWBY and OPM are undergoing apocalypses that are only delayed, not prevented, so making things worse turns things unnecessarily grimdark(In my opinion).
actually opm already has life insurance that is not only a person as you would think (saitama) there is also blast and his group that travel through different dimensions, so even though in that universe a large number of people die at every moment they have better possibilities than others... about rwby... we'll see.
The first thing his mind registered was the characteristic smell of a hospital room. He hadn't been in one for a long time, not since he stopped being that inexperienced young hunter who thought he could do it all, not since Summer died.
His eyes slowly opened, but the light from the ceiling made them close again, with his pupils burning slightly.
That brought back the other sensations, and Qrow wished he hadn't woken up yet.
There was a dull pain running through his body from the inside, every muscle felt numb in some way, and every bone seemed to have stabbing pains.
He felt his aura, that power that had saved his life countless times, trying to help him, heal him, but aura wasn't infallible, it couldn't do it all, and it seemed that this time aura wouldn't help him heal as quickly as he would have liked.
Still, feeling that comforting warmth amidst the myriad of uncomfortable sensations was enough to make him relax, as much as someone who felt pain in every inch of their body could.
"You woke up," a tired and youthful voice, with a touch of maturity that contrasted with its tone, reached the huntsman's ears. He opened one eye and looked to his left side.
In a bed not far from his own, there was a young man with messy blond hair, bright blue eyes like a crystal-clear lake, and a small smile on his face.
His hands, from fingertips to shoulders, were wrapped in bandages and casts resting on armrests that Qrow had seen before when someone had the misfortune of breaking a bone.
Qrow didn't recognize him at first, his mind still somewhat clouded due to the painkillers and confusion.
Slowly, the memories began to come back to him, and his expression darkened.
"H-how, how are you awake?" Hadn't this boy been at the center of that blinding light that made him lose consciousness?
The fact that his arms were in that state was a clear indication of that, but the fact that he could stay awake while Qrow had been unconscious for who knows how long reaffirmed his internal thoughts.
'This guy is a monster.'
But even a monster can bleed, huh...
"Oh, believe me, I would have wanted to pass out like you and sleep peacefully. Unfortunately, I can't relax. That's a luxury I still don't have."
Qrow wanted to say that it should actually be a luxury that a boy his age should have, but he didn't say it because this world wasn't one that allowed everyone to be so fortunate, and this boy wasn't like any other boy his age.
Instead, he tasted the lingering blood in his mouth and asked a question.
"What was that at the end, that blinding light?"
The boy glanced at him thoughtfully before responding.
"That Grimm, it seems like my final attack did enough damage to put it in a desperate situation. Somehow, it redirected the energy I hit it with back at me, so I returned it with more than double the force" He said as if that wasn't crazy.
Qrow blinked and decided he was too lazy to try to understand it.
"I'm sorry about that, by the way. I couldn't control the energy properly due to the situation, and the shockwave hit you."
The apology was unexpected. If he had to choose between being hit by a shockwave and being eaten by a Grimm... well, it wasn't a difficult choice to make.
"Don't mention it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still alive and not in the stomach of a Grimm, thanks to you."
His tone was softer than when they first met. Truth be told, Qrow wasn't the kindest person when dealing with strangers, but even he knew when to be grateful.
The boy nodded, accepting the gratitude easily.
There was a peaceful silence. Qrow was still processing his memories of the battle, and the boy simply seemed bored, staring at the ceiling.
"What's your name? I'm still thinking of you as 'the huntsman' in my head, and that's getting old quickly," the question made Qrow look at him, snapped out of his thoughts.
"Qrow Branwen. How about you? I can't keep calling you 'that guy' in my head either."
The boy thought for a second.
"Jaune, just Jaune." That was unusual but not impossible. Having only a first name without a last name was not commonly seen in Vale or Sanus.
"Well, just Jaune, I also have to... apologize." The word felt strange in his mouth. He wasn't one to apologize.
But he certainly wouldn't be so petty as to receive apologies and not give any in return.
Jaune smiled slightly before speaking.
"If you're referring to our first encounter, then don't apologize. You're a huntsman, it's your job to deal with Grimm. A 14-year-old boy trying to get involved in something as serious as the complete destruction of a settlement is too dangerous. If I were you, I would have wanted that boy to leave too."
Jaune didn't really blame the man. Sure, he could have been kinder or chosen his words better, but at the end of the day, the man didn't know him or what he was capable of. As a huntsman, having him around, thinking he was just a 14-year-old boy, even if he were a hunter-in-training, would still be too dangerous in a situation like that.
In truth, Jaune also dismissed the man due to his wounded pride, being looked down upon. He had to remind himself that he was no longer a world-famous hero and that people wouldn't easily be willing to work with him or follow his orders.
He no longer had that influence... for now.
"Still, I could have been less harsh, I don't know. Just let me apologize," Qrow felt somewhat uncomfortable with the boy's understanding. The fact that he understood so easily only made him feel more ashamed.
"It's okay, I accept your apology. Don't dwell on it too much, man. The past is the past, let's focus on the present."
Qrow had to agree with that, at least for this matter.
The sound of the door opening caught both of their attention, and soon a beautiful young woman with white hair cascading down to the middle of her back and amethyst-colored eyes entered.
She was dressed in a doctor's coat, which seemed a bit contrasting with her age, no older than 20. She had a somewhat exhausted expression, but when she saw them awake, she immediately sprang into action.
Bianca entered and swiftly examined them with agile and practical movements that only someone who had spent their entire life caring for others could offer. She checked every instrument measuring their vital signs, inspected the IV drip, and asked the appropriate questions at the right time.
If you had to depict the description of a competent doctor in an image, you could put a photo of her at that moment, and it would be unanimously accepted.
And when it was all over, that image shattered, and a long tired sigh escaped from a young girl who seemed too exhausted for her age.
She sat down next to Jaune and gave him a stern look, as if saying, 'I'm so exhausted, and it's all your fault.' This type of trust between a doctor and a patient was not normally seen, but Jaune and Bianca had long ceased to be just a doctor and a patient.
In this days, it was more accurate to call them close friends.
"I've already apologized, so I won't do it again no matter how many stern looks you send my way, Bianca," the mentioned girl pouted.
Qrow observed their interaction with some interest before speaking.
"What's the diagnosis, doc? How long will I be bedridden?"
Bianca looked at him, and the image of the doctor returned to her, albeit more faintly than before.
"Normally, I would say that you would have to be in bed for at least a couple of months. Whatever happened to you attacked your nervous system in a way I've never seen before. If you weren't a huntsman, you would probably have serious consequences. Your aura has been helping your body a lot, preventing the worst outcome. I would say a week should be enough for you to be back on your feet, but it's better to have a more thorough examination in Vale. I've arranged for transportation, and it should arrive tomorrow."
She finished speaking, causing Qrow to grimace. He didn't like Vale's hospital.
"My things, my weapon, and my scroll are still in that settlement?" Qrow asked Jaune, assuming that only he had been brought, and his belongings had been left behind.
Jaune chuckled and shook his head.
"I brought the sword, and you wouldn't let go of your scroll. Bianca had a tough time getting it out of your hands," Jaune would have gestured with his hands if they weren't broken.
Bianca nodded in agreement, recalling the effort it took to remove something from a hunter's grip.
"I'll have them brought along with you on the transport."
Qrow nodded gratefully; having to go back for his things wouldn't have been pleasant.
Bianca did one final check before leaving, leaving them once again in a quiet silence.
Jaune had thought about many things during this time. That Grimm had been so strong, stronger than any other Grimm he had ever faced, and he had faced entire armies of them.
Of course, it wasn't as strong as some of the monsters he had faced as Charanko, but it certainly wasn't weak either.
Moreover, its intellect was too advanced, able to form words and even devise new tactics. It wasn't something a mindless beast bent on humanity's destruction could do.
that was more than a Grimm... something derived from them, some kind of special class?"
There was only one way to find out.
"That Grimm, have the kingdoms encountered something like that before?" Jaune's question broke the silence, and Qrow, who was about to try to sleep, opened his eyes again.
"No, I've been a Huntsman for over ten years, worked for the high councils of all the kingdoms, especially Vale, but I've never heard of anything like that thing. If it wasn't black with red eyes and those white bone plates, I would seriously doubt it's a Grimm."
Qrow also pondered it, as one of the strongest Huntsmen in the world, he was obviously aware of many things, many secrets.
But this... this was very different. If such Grimm existed, then humanity and the Faunus would have no place in this world anymore.
"I see... and I hope you don't mind this question, and I hope you'll be honest, how do you rate your strength among Huntsmen?" The change of topic pulled him out of his thoughts, and he considered the question before answering.
"To be honest with you, until recently, I thought I was one of the few people who could genuinely be called strong in this world. I don't want to sound arrogant, but few Huntsmen can compare to me." A faint smile formed on his face, but it quickly faded as he remembered who he was talking to.
"If you're asking to know if there's someone as strong as you out there, then I have to disappoint you; I don't believe there's anyone as strong as you"
Qrow sighed; words like these were not something he ever expected to say. For someone to be so strong that they could be called one of a kind was unheard of. Everyone had their limits, right? It seemed like that was no longer the case.
Jaune heard the response and couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. No one was as strong? Not a single Huntsmen?
Of course, relying solely on a man's words about this was difficult; he could be exaggerating or lying. But Jaune didn't feel like he was.
He'd probably confirm it somewhere else, but if it were true, then this world was in big trouble.
Did that Grimm appear in his previous life? He tried to think, but nothing came to mind that could give him a hint.
What if the Grimm had changed or mutated due to his return to this world? Are there more like it, or is it unique? If there are more, then how many are there, and where are they?
Is that the limit of their strength, or can they go even further?
Taking the hints given by the Grimm, it seemed like consuming humans or living beings in some way was something the Grimm wanted and needed. It mentioned increasing the number of cells, right? That by consuming, it could increase its cell count or something like that.
So, perhaps it could become stronger?
There were many questions, but Jaune decided to take the darker path in his thought process. He assumed that there were more Grimm of its kind out there, capable of altering their anatomical structure at will and with a power at least at the demon level. They could consume humans and Faunus to grow stronger, and their strength could reach unknown levels.
He was the only one in this world capable of facing them and protecting the people from them. The more he thought about it, the darker his expression became.
While he didn't expect his third chance at life to be a walk in the park, he also didn't anticipate bearing such a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
Nonetheless, he arrived at the same conclusion he had once reached as Charanko.
He couldn't do this alone.
Defending an entire kingdom by himself, or even an entire continent, wouldn't be too challenging if he set his mind to it, especially if his strength continued to grow up to its previous maximum. He might even handle two or three continents simultaneously. But watching over the entire world wasn't feasible, at least not for him. Even if he were willing, what would that turn him into?
So he had a thought.
Can I train others, right?
If he couldn't do it alone, then he wouldn't do it alone. He would simply take the right people under his guidance and teach them.
But that raised a different problem: time. He didn't have the time to start from scratch with someone like his master had done with many students. Laying the groundwork, conditioning the body, and then teaching martial arts not only required the student's time but also the master's.
And the time for each student varied depending on their own level of understanding and compatibility with the martial art.
"No, if there are more Grimms like that out there, and problems keep coming into this world, I can't teach anyone from scratch," Jaune thought, glancing at Qrow.
If he couldn't start from scratch with anyone, what if he taught someone who already had a strong foundation and a fit body?
Jaune knew better than anyone the speed at which you can learn a martial art when you already have a certain level of fighting knowledge and a certain level of physical conditioning.
Hunters were very physically strong, but for that reason, their fighting techniques were superficial. Not that they were bad, but they relied too much on the power their aura gave them. They didn't seek more power than that and thought that was all there was, that the human or Faunus body couldn't go further.
They were wrong, of course.
And for that reason, their 'martial arts' were at best very average. But even if they were average, they still provided a solid foundation, and their physical strength was there, so using certain types of movements shouldn't be impossible for them.
Additionally, aura increases the body's natural recovery rate, right? So, what if you combine it with your medical techniques to accelerate natural healing? How fast could someone learn with aura in that way?
Feeling an increasingly intense gaze on him, Qrow glanced at Jaune from the corner of his eye.
"Do I have something on my face?" To that question, Jaune responded with another question.
"Tell me, Qrow, do you want to be strong?"
To that question, Qrow couldn't answer immediately. Did he want to be strong? He used to think he had reached the peak of his strength, that there was nothing more for him.
Qrow wasn't very ambitious, he appreciated the things he had, and he lamented the things he lost, but he never sought more than that.
But now... he pictured that Grimm reaching Patch, reaching his nieces. He clenched his fist.
"Yes... I want to be stronger."
Jaune nodded, satisfied with the response and the sincerity in it.
"If that's what you want, I can teach you."
Teach him? Qrow blinked in incredulity, confused.
"Teach me? What do you mean?"
"I'm a martial artist, a very good one, I must say. Everything I can do is due to special techniques and training methods, and I'm a master in all of them. So, if you want to be strong, I can teach you," he said as if it weren't a complete madness. Could someone else learn those monstrous strength and impossible speed techniques?
Qrow would have laughed in disbelief if he hadn't seen the boy bleed and take hits with no sign of aura.
"So, that's the secret? Special martial arts?" His voice sounded quite surprised, even to himself.
"Basically, yes. There's more to it, but I could explain better if you're willing to learn," he offered again.
Qrow thought for a moment, but the truth was that he had no reason to refuse. If he could truly gain the strength he had seen displayed in that destroyed settlement, then he had to do it. He had to try.
"Then please teach me," his voice was a bit low and slightly hoarse. He had never asked for something in this manner, but if it was for the sake of his nieces, then bowing his head was a very small price to pay.
"Very well, then I will teach you." The words were soft but carried great determination.
Jaune contemplated how to teach a Huntsman or Huntress his martial arts. Most of them used weapons, right? That limited the pool of potential students.
While he was a great martial artist, he'd be lying if he said he mastered every weapon and combat style. His primary strength lay in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, regardless of the various types of swords. Even things that weren't strictly swords, as long as they had an edge, he could teach a thing or two.
Of course, the further away from a sword, the more difficult it would be for him to teach something adequate. That's why he couldn't take in every Huntsman unless they were willing to change their combat style almost entirely.
So he began to think.
What martial art should he teach, or should he teach them all, or just individual techniques that could be combined?
The last option made him pause.
Now, he could combine all his martial arts in a way that could create synergy between them.
What if he created a martial art specifically for Huntsmen to become stronger? Combining various key elements from other martial arts with the innate advantage of Huntsmen who possess aura...
He started to envision it, creating scenarios in his mind, and studying every martial art, every technique, and training method.
He discarded some, considered others, and kept some.
As a base, he would use the Water Stream, for deflecting and counterattacking, a defense that would save lives no matter the situation, and also using the flow as a crutch to accelerate growth.
As explosive force, he would use the Exploding Heart Release Fist, so that every punch and kick would be more lethal to the clear enemy: Grimm. This martial art should focus on killing them, so it should be deadly for them. However, there should also be enough self-control since a Huntsman doesn't always fight Grimm.
As a movement technique, he would use the ninja arts of Flashy Flash for speed, agility, and elegance.
If they used weapons like swords, he would use the Hikūken: Air Blade as a base to increase range, lethality, and strength. Additionally, he would incorporate all the sword techniques he knew to provide more versatility.
Perhaps he could adapt the Water Stream to use the sword as an extension of the body, deflecting blows with it and countering with double the force? He visualized it in his mind, and it was more than viable. Not only the sword, but weapons like a spear or staff could also fit with this martial art.
He could also incorporate some movements from other Class S heroes that he had learned.
The concept solidified in his mind, and an image of himself practicing this martial art quickly appeared in his mind.
In a matter of moments, he corrected mistakes, improved methods, and combined movements. He studied the learning process and used his knowledge of aura to theorize how it would affect the training level. He still lacked some knowledge about aura, but Qrow would help him figure that out later.
It wasn't perfect yet, not entirely. There were more things to polish, more things to add. He would have to test it in reality and gauge its effectiveness.
But in all the essential aspects, he had created a new martial art specifically designed for Huntsmen.
What should he call it?
Grimm Fist? No.
Slayer Fist of Grimm? No.
How about Fist of Grimm Annihilation? Too long.
Calamity Fist of Grimm? That was embarrassing.
"Grimm Slayer Fist." Jaune's voice rang out in the room, catching Qrow's attention.
It might have seemed like Jaune had spent a long time thinking, but in reality, only three seconds had passed since he last spoke.
"What?" Qrow asked.
"That's the name of the martial art I'll teach you, Grimm Slayer Fist – a martial art specifically designed to kill Grimm." Jaune smiled, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he thought about the possibilities.
Qrow tested the name in his mouth.
"It doesn't sound bad," he admitted. Only a martial art with that name would be fitting for a Huntsman, right?
So the two of them contemplated the not-so-distant future.
And so, in a simple room, on an ordinary day, in a small and unassuming settlement on the outer edge of Vale, the most significant martial art of Remnant was born.
Seeing Qrow leave for Vale made Jaune consider his next steps.
Qrow had to recover, be in his best condition, and resolve any pending matters he had before they would meet again and his real training would begin.
He had told him that, he had suggested that he should talk to whomever he needed to talk to, show them that video he had taken to whoever needed to see it, and resolve any matters before coming back to him.
When Qrow heard that he knew about the video, his eyes widened a bit, and maybe he would have apologized if Jaune hadn't admitted that he didn't care at all.
Recordings, photos, and any of those things were very common in his everyday life as a hero.
To whom Qrow would show that video, Jaune didn't care.
High-ranking officials, government leaders, or simply his friends or family.
It didn't matter, to Jaune any of those things were, at best, inconsequential.
In fact, it could even be somewhat useful for him if the right people knew about the impending threat. They could be more vigilant about strange Grimm, and more lives would be saved.
If Qrow was as good a Huntsman as he claimed, then the people he was in contact with should have enough influence to do something, right? At least Qrow had assured him, before leaving, that the warning about such a dangerous Grimm would be given to the right people.
He wanted to say more, but Jaune stopped him. Any discussion could be had when the time came.
So they set a date. They would meet in four weeks on Patch Island, where Qrow lived.
It was best to have a suitable and private training site, and Qrow had assured him that his home was quite secluded, at least enough to not be distracted.
Why so much time? Well, mainly because Jaune wanted Qrow to be completely free. Learning a martial art was not something you could do with interruptions.
In addition, he had to be fully recovered from his injuries.
On the other hand, Jaune didn't know how aura would affect the training speed, so he could potentially teach Qrow enough in two weeks, considering that his body was already strong enough to execute some techniques. Alternatively, it could take six months or even a year.
Fortunately, Jaune had ways to speed things up if he felt they weren't progressing fast enough.
On the other hand, Jaune also had matters to attend to before focusing on training Qrow.
At least one year, maximum two.
Nine months had passed since he gave that ultimatum, so it was time to try to find out what was happening with Mountain Glenn.
.
.
.
With a crunch, his hands clenched, and the thick casts that covered them shattered into several pieces that fell to the floor, revealing perfectly healthy hands.
There were some calluses, of course, as well as faint white scar lines that extended from the fingers to the shoulders.
But they weren't too pronounced, and if you didn't focus hard enough, you'd probably miss them.
It had been 5 days since Qrow left and 7 since his fight with the Grimm.
7 days to heal all the broken bones, from the shoulders to the tips of his fingers.
Martial arts, true martial arts, could do unimaginable things.
After freeing his hands, he discarded all his clothing, what had once been a clean and new set was now nothing more than a pile of tattered fabric, stained with blood and dirt. He should have changed it before, certainly, but it was the last of the three nearly identical sets he had prepared, so he didn't have many options and preferred to wear them out completely before getting something else.
Nine months were not kind to them.
Their naked body entered the shower, the cold water droplets washing away nine months of relentless effort.
Nine months of almost constant pain, where life and death hung by a thread, and where a warm blanket and a home-cooked meal were only distant memories.
Truly, giving up so much would not be easy for anyone else.
even more so, knowing that there was a place to return to, a warm home with a loving family.
Enjoyable meals made by a caring mother, the playful games of younger sisters, and the protection of older ones, the warmth of home.
Many would kill for something like that, many would die for something like that, Jaune knew it, oh how he knew it... There was a time when he would have done anything to have something like that again, to have people to love.
But that was a long time ago, when he was just a lost child in a completely new world, when those people who seemed to love him with all their being had died under the attack of a monster to give him a chance, to let him escape.
When he ate from the trash and slept in dark alleys, searching for a place he had only heard rumors of, when he wandered through destroyed cities where misery was the daily bread.
When he lived where any other 4-year-old child lost in the streets without a family would have died.
The reality was that it took him two years to find his master's dojo.
Two years in which he dreamt of a home he no longer had and hated it so much that he locked away those painful memories that haunted him on cold and lonely nights, where rats and garbage were his only companions, and his only hope was a dream of another life.
Two years in which his determination settled like a cold fire in
slow-burning.
For others, giving up an easy life, a comfortable home, and a happy family would be very difficult.
But for Jaune, it was simple because he knew what it felt like when no one did anything, when there was nothing standing between you and the monsters, when the people you love die, and all you can do is run.
And that's why he had sought true strength, the kind of strength that could make him confront the monsters head-on, knowing that there was something worth protecting behind him, something worth dying for.
And now, there was much to protect, right? He wondered if it was worth it, but it was a foolish question because he already knew the answer.
After he had cleaned every part of his body, he stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.
His blue eyes shone with the cold determination he had forged through countless fierce battles. His gaze was penetrating and precise, as if he could pierce through any defense and analyze every piece of anything down to its core.
The eyes of a man who was willing to die for his dreams, well, now a young man, but someday a man, he hoped.
His hair, which had grown a bit in these months, gleamed with a faint golden sheen. As unruly as it was, Jaune still managed to tame it and tie it back in a simple ponytail.
He dried himself off and pulled out an outfit that Bianca had bought for him following his instructions.
It was an elegant set of semi-formal attire in dark colors with a royal blue trench coat, gray gloves, and shiny black shoes. What set it apart from any other suit was that it had been designed for combat.
In Remnant, clothing stores tended to have various sets of garments specifically designed for huntsmen.
This was convenient for him.
The suit fit perfectly on his well-built body, the result of months of hard work. It was practical where it should be, not limiting his movement as suits of this style usually would, endowing him with a visible grace.
Elegant yet casual, it gave a sense of maturity, and thanks to his height, Jaune could appear to be one or two years older than he actually was.
That was what he was aiming for, after all.
You couldn't infiltrate the underworld without dressing appropriately for it.
For now, the tough martial artist would have to hide behind the stylish young mobster. After making some final adjustments, he looked at himself one last time before leaving, with confident and firm steps and the right posture.
He might not be the world's best actor, but the experience of infiltrating dozens of criminal syndicates before destroying them had been a great teacher. He knew how to give off the air, even if it was only for the sake of the mission.
"Are you done with your shower? I swear, if you didn't wash off all that dirt, I'll drag you back in there and do it myself-!" Bianca's voice suddenly cut off, and Jaune saw her staring at him with her mouth agape and a blush rising on her cheeks.
He raised an eyebrow at her stunned look but dismissed it without thinking too much.
"I made sure to scrub every part thoroughly, thank you" he said with a hint of amusement, adjusting the gloves on his hands. He preferred using bandages.
Bianca blinked several times, still unable to believe her eyes, even if a familiar voice came from those lips.
In truth, Bianca had never seen Jaune, not once, without being covered in blood or dirt for one reason or another. She hadn't really thought about it, but seeing him now standing before her so clean and elegant, with a firm, confident, and assured posture, a tall and well-built figure, broad shoulders, a handsome, sharp face, and hypnotically intense blue eyes, all while exuding an air of maturity that highlighted everything else, made her heart inexplicably quicken, and her cheeks warm.
"A-alright" she said with a bit of shyness, and involuntarily averted her gaze.
Jaune raised another eyebrow but didn't pay too much attention. Women, in this life or his previous one, he never quite understood them entirely. The greatest mystery in the world, or something like that, his master had once said.
"I will do one final sweep within a hundred-kilometer radius of the settlement, so there shouldn't be any problems with Grimm in the short term. However, if anything comes up, get in touch with me immediately, alright? I didn't acquire this scroll for it to be useless" he said, taking out the device and shaking it slightly before putting it away again.
Bianca nodded and forced herself to compose, but her cheeks remained tinged with red, a color that stood out against her fair skin and contrasted with her white hair.
"Don't worry, I'll stay in touch. Go and do whatever you need to do" she said, although she didn't know why Jaune was leaving or where he was going. She didn't ask. Jaune hid many mysteries, and she didn't hold any illusions about uncovering them all.
The young martial artist nodded before turning to leave, but at that moment, Bianca stopped him.
"Wait! You're missing something." She quickly ran to her office, and Jaune waited as he soon saw her emerge, holding an elegant fedora hat.
"A gift to complete the look" Bianca said, carefully placing the hat on Jaune's head, who towered a few inches above her despite being younger.
The young blond smiled, straightened his trench coat, and squared his shoulders.
"How do I look?" he asked, striking a pose.
"Like a well-dressed gentleman" Bianca smiled and approached, brushing off an imaginary speck of dust from his suit.
"I would tell you to stay safe, but knowing you, you'll probably end up back here with a broken bone" she joked, and Jaune laughed along with her.
"Just one?" a light tap on his shoulder was the response to his sarcasm.
"Take care, Jaune" the young man nodded and prepared to leave, but before he could go, he felt a gentle touch on his cheek.
"For good luck" Bianca said blushing before running away.
"Hmm" Jaune felt the lingering warmth of the kiss on his cheek, and maybe he imagined it, but he felt like his luck suddenly improved.
Every time a woman kissed him, he felt that, and so far, he had never had bad luck afterward, so it must be real.
With that, he walked away with more confidence in his steps.
.
.
.
"So, I told him, 'Listen, you idiot, if I see you around here again, your face will change so much that not even your mother will recognize you!' The moron thought I wasn't serious, so I beat him so bad that I couldn't even tell if it was the same guy" there was laughter, and the atmosphere at the bar table became livelier.
"You're quite daring, man" a young but clear voice resonated, and the man telling the story smiled, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"Listen, Johnny, if you really want to shine in this world, you have to be decisive. You can't let any punk think they're above you. It's about authority! You'll learn it soon. You're still young, but quite perceptive. The streets of Vale will shine for you, I guarantee it"
"If you say so, I can believe it," the young man, dressed in a semi-elegant black suit with gray gloves and a wide-brimmed hat that concealed most of his blond hair, said seriousness and approval.
His blue eyes shining with "admiration"
"Hahaha, that's why I like you, Johnny! Maybe if some fools were half as smart as you, my territory would truly expand," he said, showing some reproach towards some of his men who were sitting not too far away.
"I'm sure you're more than capable of making things progress, Greg. You're a capable man," Jaune raised his beer glass, and Greg did the same, clinking them together in the air.
"You're right! I'm Greg McKren, the future owner of this city! I can make all of this work, no matter what idiots get in the way. Cheers to that!" There was arrogance but also confidence. Greg didn't notice it, but for a split second, Johnny's eyes gleamed with mockery.
The conversation continued for a little while longer before Greg and his men left, leaving Johnny alone at his table.
Once the last member walked out the door, Johnny's comfortable smile slowly faded until it settled into a small grin. His outward expression revealed nothing, but inside, he almost wanted to vomit.
"All that bullshit, and I still have nothing," he clicked his tongue in annoyance when no one was looking.
In reality, he had a lot, but within all that, there was nothing he really wanted to know.
Jaune dropped the act completely and sighed, looking at the bar where people were drinking and the music was playing loudly, discreetly scanning each table.
How many of these had he been to already?
How much information, enough to destroy at least half of the gangs in Vale, had he already gathered?
Two weeks had passed, and there was only one week left before Jaune had to meet with Qrow.
He had accomplished a lot in these two weeks, but he hadn't made any progress on his main objective.
The first thing he did was inspect the tunnels of Mountain Glenn, each and every one of them.
He checked them from top to bottom to make sure that no "bombs" had been planted beforehand.
He examined every nook and cranny, down to the tiniest speck of dust, but he found nothing. It would have been easier if they were there; he could have removed them and tracking down those who planted them would have been a piece of cake for him.
But they weren't there, leaving him with only one option.
To find out if a specific group or person had any motive for letting Mountain Glenn die completely.
The motives could be simple or complex, but they didn't really matter. What mattered was who had them, not the why.
Whether it was due to a belief, personal gain, or sheer malice.
Everything would come to an end when Jaune found them.
However, it wasn't happening as quickly as Jaune would have liked.
Annoyed, Jaune sighed. It seemed like it was too early. If the minimum timeframe was a year, then whoever was planning something would already be making preparations or at least halfway through them.
If there are no clues or indications, it means they haven't started.
So maybe it was two years, meaning he still had a year and a few months left.
That would be the best-case scenario, but it would also be a mistake on his part to assume that just because he hadn't found anything yet.
Perhaps he wasn't looking in the right place?
Although he had searched everywhere...
He took a sip of his drink, alcohol, something he never really liked.
But if you wanted to blend in with a certain type of people, you had to do certain things to avoid arousing suspicion.
There wasn't really a real problem for him in drinking since he could neutralize any effects the substance might have on his body.
He might as well be drinking water for all that matters.
"Come on! Is that all you've got?!" a voice caught Jaune's attention a few tables ahead, and he couldn't help but sigh. Youngsters, always so reckless... Somehow, thinking that made him sound old, so he decided not to dwell on it until he reached at least 20 years old.
If he was very good at gathering information, then of course, there are those who are very bad at it, or simply don't know how to do it. A vivid example of this was taking place not far from him.
"That's all there is, take it or leave it, brat" the argument at a nearby table seemed to pause for a second in a tense silence that only lasted briefly.
"You!" teeth clenched and fury could be felt even from a distance.
Jaune glanced sideways and saw a blonde girl clenching her fists tightly. He could sense her tense body and how her muscles were preparing for a fight. There was even a faint glow of her aura igniting.
He wasn't the only one who noticed. Throughout the bar, the noise suddenly diminished, and several eyes focused on the situation. He saw hands reaching for their weapons, as well as others preparing to stand up, auras starting to activate.
The blonde girl didn't seem to notice that suddenly the whole place was gearing up to kick her ass.
Sighing once again, Jaune stood up and approached with confident steps and a practiced smile.
"Hey, Raúl! I see you have a difficult customer. Why don't you let me handle it?" The man named Raúl looked at him, his angry face seemed to relax a bit before nodding and clicking his tongue.
"Tch, fine, I've wasted enough time." The man stood up clearly annoyed.
"Hey, wait! This isn't over yet!" The girl tried to stand up as well, but Jaune was faster. With a graceful movement, he placed a hand on her shoulder, applying pressure to a certain pressure point that made her stop abruptly, her body forcefully returning to a seated position.
He felt her aura glowing, but it did little to help her.
He waited until Raúl had moved away enough and the attention of others dissipated. Without releasing the pressure, he sat down next to her.
He could feel her fiery eyes focusing on him and how she struggled to try to free herself.
She was stubborn, he would give her that.
"Listen, in ten seconds, I'm going to remove my hand. You won't scream, you won't suddenly get up, and you won't start a fight. If you understand and follow my lead, maybe I can help you" he said, pointing with his finger to a photo that had been taken earlier and was lying on the table.
The lilac-colored pupils focused, losing some of their anger, and he felt the girl's body slowly relax, although that fire still burned within her eyes.
A fighter indeed eh.
Nodding, he removed his hand, and the girl suddenly seemed to take a long breath.
"What the hell was that?!" she said, furrowing her brows and touching her shoulder uncomfortably, grimacing.
"It's a little trick, useful for avoiding unnecessary fights" he responded calmly.
She looked at him, her lilac eyes shining with slight distrust and curiosity.
"And who are you, gangster boy, and why did you interrupt my business?" the girl crossed her arms, her voice gaining a touch of irritation. She was trying to act tough, but it was easy for Jaune to see through it.
"Just call me John. It's really none of my business, but I've seen you these past few days, asking for information everywhere like a lost puppy. Not very subtle, to be honest. But people notice, and the really bad ones notice twice. You should be more careful, girl, or you're going to get burned"
He gave her some well-intentioned advice. She was young, probably around his current age, and shouldn't be in these places. Although that was a bit hypocritical of him, but hey, he had lived twice. He didn't think she had done the same, and she certainly didn't seem to have that experience.
She wasn't subtle, and she clearly didn't know where to look properly if she thought she would find what she was looking for in a bar like this. He had noticed her several days ago and would have done something earlier, but he was busy searching for his own information.
Now that it seemed he wouldn't find anything and she was about to get into a fight, he had no qualms about helping her in a certain way. He could see that she was the type of person who wouldn't back down easily, so it was best to guide her and not let her stumble around like a blind person on a highway.
"Oh, believe me, I can burn quite well," the smile she gave him along with those words didn't inspire confidence in Jaune. He raised an eyebrow, letting her know that he didn't believe her at all.
This girl really didn't know what she was getting herself into, right?
"I don't think we're talking about the same thing" Jaune sighed and picked up the photo from the table, examining it.
"Hey!" the girl wanted to grab the photo back when she saw him, but she couldn't prevent him from taking it.
Jaune looked at the photo, then back at the girl, and he roughly understood what was going on.
"I'll assume that's a relative. You want to find her, right? Then you shouldn't be looking in these places" he said, returning the photo. The girl took it quickly, shooting him a harsh look, and Jaune could imagine she'd show her teeth if she had fangs.
"What do you mean? I thought these places were where they know everything" she asked, unintentionally displaying her inexperience.
"You should stop watching so many movies. While there's a lot to learn in these places, if you really want to find someone, you have to do it in other ways"
She furrowed her eyebrows at his words, clearly not pleased.
"So where am I supposed to go 'mister expert'?" she asked with a touch of sarcasm.
Jaune considered his next words.
.
Yang tried to make her words not sound too urgent, thinking she did a good job without knowing that she had completely failed.
In truth, at this point, Yang was quite irritated and almost desperate.
It had been almost a week since she came to Vale as part of a training trip from Signal Academy, and time was running out. Soon the trip would end, and she would have to go back home.
She thought she could find information about her mother quickly while being in the big city of Vale, unlike Patch, which was smaller and had scarce information networks. But things had not gone well at all.
This had been the last place she thought of trying her luck, and it almost seemed like another failure.
Fed up and tired, she had almost burst into anger towards the man named Raúl, but a young and clear voice sounded at that moment, and before she could do anything, a hand on her shoulder made her body seem to lose all its strength and stay numb
She had tried to fight, but it was like trying to breathe underwater, impossible.
That scared her. She had been left completely defenseless so suddenly that she tried to fight more aggressively, but without any success.
Then she saw him. He was young, tall, and well-built, dressed quite decently, and would have been a nice sight to behold if it weren't for the fact that he was restraining her movements with just one hand.
Then he told her that maybe he could help her, and Yang calmed down, more or less. She hadn't received any help so far, and all her attempts had failed. With no other options, she had to consider his words.
She didn't know if he could really help her, but at this point, she could take the smallest of chances.
So she stopped struggling.
She looked at him more closely, a blond-haired, blue-eyed companion, and up close, he seemed much younger than she initially thought and more handsome too.
He was almost her age, perhaps a year or two older than her? With his height, she couldn't quite tell for sure and again quite handsome, but that didn't matter right now.
They talked, and although she was a bit annoyed by his judgmental attitude, Yang pressed on until the topic she was interested in came up.
"So where am I supposed to go 'mister expert'?" She tried to make it sound not too interested, but it probably didn't come out as well as she'd hoped.
He smiled, a small smile, and his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit.
"Follow me"
Hmm... follow a clearly dangerous guy to an unknown place? Her father would probably kill her if he found out. But he wasn't here, and despite the circumstances, Yang felt that the person in front of her wasn't a bad guy. It was a strange feeling, but her instincts had never failed her when it came to reading people. She hoped it would continue to be true. Plus, he was handsome, although that didn't matter...
"Alright, lead the way"
.
.
.
It was a gloomy place. Normally, the city of Vale seemed quite lively, colorful, and in a way, overly cheerful. Yang had never imagined that there would be such a... dark place?
"Put this on," the voice snapped her out of her observations, and when she turned to John, she saw him offering her a gray hooded cloak. The boy himself was wearing a similar one, and Yang hadn't even noticed when he put it on.
"What?" She didn't take it right away; instead, she just looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Listen, where we're going is not a place where you want people to know who you are, especially if you're looking for someone. People have enemies who pay attention to these things, and judging by your appearance, I don't think the person you're looking for is your enemy, right?" He was right in a way. Her mother... she wasn't her friend, but to say that she was her enemy would be wrong.
In fact, she didn't know her at all, and that's why she was searching for her. She wanted to know more about her, to truly get to know her, and maybe... She shook her head, clearing those emotions, hoping they wouldn't show on the outside, but she failed.
He probably noticed this and smiled beneath that hood that concealed most of his features now.
"So, you don't want her enemies, if she has any, to find out that you're looking for her, so put this on" Yang reluctantly took the cloak and put it on.
It fit well and concealed most of her features. If it were red, it would match her sister's. She always carried something like this with her.
Once they had done that, they continued walking through dark and narrow alleyways, entering places she didn't think had entrances and navigating through them effortlessly. Soon, they arrived in front of a dark gray door with some rust in the corners and a simple LED light above it that flickered as if it were malfunctioning.
"Let me do the talking, okay?" It was a whisper, but Yang heard it and reluctantly nodded. She could sense when something was beyond her, and she didn't want to ruin this. It could be the best chance she had in years to find something about her mother.
John knocked on the door using a strange rhythm, first one knock, then three, followed by a three-second pause, and then two more knocks.
Yang made sure to remember it. You don't learn these things every day, and she didn't know if it could be useful to her in the future, after all.
A small window opened in the door that she hadn't noticed before. The door didn't seem to have it until it was opened.
"Hey! I need some dust, good quality" Jaune made a gesture with his fingers as if rubbing something. Dull gray eyes looked out from the window before a muted sound of understanding came, and the window closed.
A small slot opened, and a ticket with a printed number came out. John took it.
Then the door opened.
"Come, stay close" he whispered, and she nodded, moving closer to him. This place made her nervous. They entered a long, dark hallway, and Yang couldn't find the person who had opened the door anywhere. Had they disappeared so quickly?
Further down the hallway, there were many doors numbered with numbers written on them. Some had those numbers glowing in red, while others were in green.
"The red ones are occupied, don't go to them. The green ones are available, and the number on the ticket should lead you to one of them" as he said that, he led her to a door with a green number matching the one on the ticket.
She nodded at his words. He probably noticed that she was paying attention to the whole situation, intending to learn how to navigate these places.
They entered a small living room with a table in the center surrounded by a long sofa against the wall. On the other side, there was another door, from where Yang assumed someone else would enter.
And indeed, once they sat down, someone else entered.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in an elegant purple suit with golden details that would have looked good on him, but the smell of cigarette smoke and his unkempt beard prevented any kind of elegance from sticking to him.
"Uh, a couple, huh? I was told you were looking for quality, so here I am. What can I do for you?" The man sat down carelessly, causing Yang to raise an eyebrow, lowering her already poor impression even further.
"Valentino, the man I was expecting. Lucky to find you here" John said as if he hadn't explicitly spoken the code words that would allow him to speak specifically with the man, his "joy" evident as he leaned forward slightly.
" I heard you're quite fond of La-Cross cigars, something expensive and of high quality" as he said that, his hand pulled out a small golden box with a transparent side made of what seemed to be glass instead of any regular transparent plastic. The box contained a cigar stored so securely that it looked more like a valuable artifact than a consumable product. There were golden engravings on it that almost seemed to shimmer in some way.
Yang had never heard of a cigar brand that would go to such lengths for a single cigar.
Valentino's eyes gleamed, and a smile formed on his face. Without hesitation, he took the cigar and stored it away so quickly that it seemed as if he had obtained a treasure and didn't want anyone else to see it or snatch it away. John's smile diminished slightly upon seeing something so expensive being taken away.
"Jo, you certainly have some knowledge, kid. I'll give you that. You know how to get on my good side" the man now seemed happier than before, and John smiled in response.
Then he took out the photo that Yang had brought with her. When did he take it?! Yang checked her pocket, now empty where she had stored it, finding nothing.
"It's good to know because I need some reliable information, specifically everything you can tell me about this woman" Valentino's smile grew smaller as he looked at the photo, and his eyes narrowed with a seriousness he hadn't shown before, his relaxed posture disappearing.
"Listen, kid, what you're looking for is dangerous. Are you sure you want to know?" His words carried a warning.
"That means you know something. It's okay if it's dangerous, I'll handle it."
Yang's eyes sparkled; he knew something! She almost stood up to demand that the man tell her everything, but a hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks, and her rationality returned.
'Calm down, don't ruin this' yang taking a deep breath to control her agitation.
Valentino looked at them for a full minute before sighing.
"Well, I'm not one to tell people how to die" he clicked his tongue before becoming serious and starting to speak.
"The woman you're looking for is not someone easy to deal with. You're lucky to have found me because I'm one of the few people who knows something about her, and even that information isn't too much," he looked at the photo before taking out a briefcase he had been carrying with him, which Yang hadn't noticed until now.
He opened it and took out some papers along with a series of photos. In the first one in the stack, you could see a higher-quality image of the woman. Unlike the one Yang had brought, the woman's face in the photo was covered by a mask similar to that of the Grimm, and around her were the ruins of what was once a settlement. In her hands, a long sword covered in blood seemed to shine alongside the flames that surrounded her.
"Her name is Raven Branwen; she leads a notorious bandit tribe in the deserts of Anima, a dangerous group that has confirmedly destroyed at least a dozen settlements, and who knows how many more remain unconfirmed. A bunch of crazies, if you ask me. I really don't recommend getting involved with them."
His advice was serious and sincere, but Yang couldn't pay attention.
All the sound around her seemed to disappear, and, unable to stop herself, she took the photos with trembling hands and began to review them as if she were hypnotized by the sight.
In each photo, there was a settlement engulfed in flames, the corpses of people clearly killed by human weapons, not by Grimm.
In every photo, the figure of that woman was there, either close, far away, or in a corner, in different qualities, but it was undoubtedly that woman.
Her long, wild black hair was unmistakable, as well as the attire she wore.
Along with that blood-covered weapon and all-too-familiar red eyes.
She felt her stomach twist, and bile threatened to escape her mouth.
She felt her face grow paler the more she looked, and her blood ran cold in her veins, her body beginning to tremble.
Her eyes started to sting and blur, tears threatening to spill at any moment.
If she weren't sitting, she would have probably collapsed to the ground, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, the truth was evident to her, even if it was a truth she desperately wished to be a lie.
The woman who was her mother, the woman she dreamt of knowing.
Just found this story, liking it so far. My only question is if you have a beta-reader yet? It could help out with some of the formatting issues that occur, though that may just be stylistic choices.
Just found this story, liking it so far. My only question is if you have a beta-reader yet? It could help out with some of the formatting issues that occur, though that may just be stylistic choices.
formatting problems? I don't think I can have a beta reader, I usually write in my native language then edit and then translate everything and edit again, so the beta reader could only read what has already been decided is going to happen. The truth is I don't know exactly what a beta reader does.
"Here, drink this." The cold sensation of a soda can, freshly taken from a fridge, against Yang's skin made her lift her head.
She looked at the hand offering her the can and took it reluctantly.
It had been fifteen minutes since they left the place where John had taken her.
fifteen minutes since she found out about her ma—no, since she found out Raven was an assassin, a wanted criminal, a monster.
Those images, those eyes.
The memory alone made her nauseous, and without hesitation, she popped open the can and took a big gulp, the cold liquid going down her throat and getting rid of that bitter taste in her mouth, at least temporarily.
"This is crap!" Her hand crushed the can with force, splashing the remaining liquid it held.
She watched the refreshment drip down her hand and could almost envision her mother crushing someone's neck in the same manner.
it disgusted her
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"
Yang stood up and began to stomp forcefully, each step breaking the concrete beneath her as she felt the anger rising.
Why!? Why!?
Her temperament began to surface, and she felt the fire burning inside her.
"Ragh!" She threw what was left of the can with all her might; muscles enhanced by aura caused a shockwave, but before the can could get too far, a quick hand caught it in the air.
"Calm down" John's calm voice was like a spark threatening to ignite the fuse of a bomb.
Yang started to see red.
"Calm down!? You want me to calm down!? How can I calm down, my moth—" she shook her head, halting her words.
"that woman... How many people has she killed? How many homes has she destroyed!? She's a monster!... and I have her face" like she suddenly had a revelation, Yang did something she never thought herself capable of doing.
She started to pull at her hair, wild and long blonde locks that she had carefully tended to, making it the envy of any other girl her age.
When she had let him grow so much, she hadn't thought too much about it. But the face of that woman, gazing at everything with coldness, now seemingly etched into her mind, made her realize something she had previously appreciated somewhat unconsciously. Though not exactly the same, both shared certain distinctive characteristics.
The most noticeable and easily distinguishable was their hair. It made her somewhat similar face almost identical.
Identical to the face of a killer.
It wasn't the same color, didn't have exactly the same shape, and perhaps wasn't as long, but it was undeniable that anyone who looked could associate one with the other because of it.
In her current state, Yang ignored all the small differences that existed. For the 15-year-old girl, the image of herself and her mother simply overlapped in her mind like an unpleasant mirror, painting the most horrifying image she could imagine right now.
Imagining herself as Raven.
Fingers that could crush steel began to tighten, and she didn't activate her aura at all to protect herself. She felt the strands of hair starting to break, tears flowing from her eyes.
It wasn't until she saw the strands of blonde hair starting to fall to the ground that she realized what she had done.
She almost fell to her knees, but a pair of hands held her wrists, causing her hands to lose their strength freeing her hair from them.
"Raise your head" the voice was firm, making Yang tremble slightly. She slowly lifted her gaze that had been fixed on the ground and saw those deep blue eyes looking directly at her. She almost averted her gaze; she didn't want to be looked at with the same eyes as that woman. However, those blue eyes didn't seem to contain fear, hatred, or resentment towards her.
"You're not like her"
She blinked in confusion.
"Your nose is smaller, your eyes are bigger, your eyelashes are longer, your lips are slightly wider, and your chin is less round. Not to mention the color of your eyes or your hair; you're very different from her in physical terms, but that really doesn't matter, does it?" Jaune shook his head, as if searching for the right words but not finding them entirely.
despite that he continued talking
He let go of her hands and pointed to her heart.
"No, what really matters is what's in here. I don't know you. I don't know your full name, where you come from, or what things you like. But I can see the pain this causes you; your tears are the most important sign and what makes me believe without a doubt that you and she are not alike at all... That woman, a monster like her, could never cry for others the way you do"
Jaune wasn't good with words. If he were, he might have achieved much more with them than with his fists. He could only be sincere and hope that it would work a little.
Of course, it might be futile, but he had to try. What kind of hero doesn't even attempt it, even if they know the chances of success are minimal?
He sighed and ran his fingers through Yang's hair, blonde strands falling to the ground, broken by the force Yang had exerted on them.
Yang looked at the strands with pain and wanted to cover her head with her hands, but Jaune was quicker to notice the issue.
He narrowed his eyes, took off his hat, and placed it atop her head.
Yang held onto the hat, gazing at the ground and gritting her teeth. Why had she done that?
Her nose suddenly felt wet, and she slowly sat back down.
She let the tears flow and remembered the words she had just heard.
Was it true? Was she really different from her mother?
Yes... they weren't the same, and they never would be.
Yang would never allow herself to be like that woman, no matter what.
"Do you talk like that to every girl, John?" Trying to distract herself, she looked at the guy who had sat down beside her.
"Like what?" He blinked. Now that he didn't have his hat on, his face was more visible, younger, definitely her age.
"You know, giving pep talks, detailing their facial features in a low, gruff voice, and giving cheesy speeches about the heart and stuff?" She attempted to tease him, but it didn't come out as it should have.
She didn't have that spark she usually had when teasing someone.
It was just a feeble attempt to be herself without really feeling like herself.
John seemed more thoughtful than embarrassed, and that was all Yang needed to know she had failed in her attempt.
"No, not really. Usually, it's the girls who pull me out of my melancholic moments now that I think about it... congrats, Yang, you're my first" he said that, feigning a shy look and tilting his head with "embarrassment," and Yang would've spat if she were drinking something.
"W-what? y-you?" Astounded, she couldn't find words, but she didn't need to.
"Hahaha!"
His laughter snapped her out of her bewilderment, and she watched as he chuckled while looking at her.
" you!" Yang gritted her teeth, but John waved his hand in a placating gesture.
"You're about ten more years away from embarrassing me, girl" he winked, and Yang felt the urge to hit him, but instead, she just huffed and looked away.
John calmed down and gazed thoughtfully at the sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yang sulking to herself, muttering something about "stupid blondes."
Things had taken an unexpected turn. He hadn't imagined he'd encounter the daughter of such a notorious criminal.
Jaune hadn't known about Raven before because she hadn't been on his radar; they were on different continents, after all. But now that he knew, there was only one outcome.
He would have to stop her, dismantle her tribe, and if she didn't cooperate, kill her.
He felt relieved knowing that her daughter wouldn't be an obstacle. He'd dealt with enough vengeful family members after defeating, imprisoning, or killing a bad guy.
On the other hand, the surname was familiar, and if those red eyes were an indication, he would have to talk to Qrow.
He didn't believe he was the same as his sister, but he couldn't tell the man if there was something of her in him.
What a mess.
Returning to the present, he saw that Yang was calmer, but not too much; things like this couldn't be resolved in a moment.
"What will you do now?" John's question snapped Yang out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him.
What would she do now? She hadn't thought about that...
Actually, she thought about it too much, but there were so many things in her head that nothing seemed to settle.
She needed a distraction, something to ignore all her problems until they disappeared or, alternatively, something else replaced them
Yang stood up suddenly and began looking around; they were still in the bad part of town, and the place was as shady as hell, so finding a distraction should have been easy.
Emphasis on should have been. At first glance, everything was calm. For being the bad part, there was a clear lack of shady things happening.
"Damn it," she clicked her tongue, watching as her plan started to fail. Depressed as she was, she still was, well, her, so she felt the need to hit something. She needed to vent. She looked, and her eyes landed on John, who was still sitting there, looking at her with those calm eyes. That angered her. Why could he stay so calm when she couldn't?
"Hey, you!"
"Huh?" He blinked, being suddenly addressed.
"You're strong, right?" He had done all that to keep her still and had even prevented her from ripping her hair out completely, so he seemed pretty strong.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm weak" John replied, standing up and dusting off his backside.
he could feel the intention to fight in her.
"That's enough for me... fight me" Yang took off her hooded cloak; it would only get in the way at this moment.
"This is where I should say this is a bad idea" John said, but he did nothing to move away. Instead, he edged a bit closer.
Impulsive, violence-prone individuals— he knew them well, having dealt with many before.
Ignoring them only caused more trouble than simply kicking their behinds until they calmed down.
And partly, this was his fault. Perhaps she wouldn't have found out the truth about Raven if he hadn't dragged her to this place. He could've just pulled her out of the bar, preventing the fight and stepping away, but he had been too meddlesome, hadn't he?
Oh well, that came with the territory of being a hero—get involved in matters that don't concern you or something like that
He just had to take responsibility and prevent anyone else from getting hurt, which wasn't difficult at this moment.
He looked at the empty street; it was already night, and no soul walked this place, at least none that could be noticed.
Dangerous places tended to have that characteristic.
It was also a spacious street, and Jaune recalled one of those scenarios from fighting games, Street Gladiator? Or Emperor of Fighter? No, this seemed more like Street Gladiator.
If that was the feeling the setting gave him, although it lacked the crowd of spectators, but that was fine— not having to worry about others while fighting was more fun.
Yang cracked her knuckles, assumed a stance, and her eyes seemed to glow in a reddish hue.
Jaune, still in a relaxed posture, extended his hand forward, fingers straight and together, pointing at Yang, while his other hand went behind his back.
"By the way, my name's Jaune; John is just a nickname," since this was going to be a fight, a proper introduction should be made.
Yang huffed; she obviously had guessed that before.
"Yang, Yang Xiao-Long. Remember it because it's the name of the one who's going to kick your ass"
Jaune processed the name and couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Of course, little dragon~"
Yang's eyes widened slightly.
Oh, he didn't just say that! Nobody mocked her name!
With a growl, Yang lunged forward, her feet leaving a deep mark in the street behind her. Her body instantly broke the sound barrier, and her practiced fist skillfully shot towards Jaune.
A fist that had easily knocked out many trainee huntsmen.
Jaune received it with the back of his hand, stopping it abruptly. The air rippled, and Yang had only half a second to be alarmed before she felt a palm strike her stomach; the air exploded upon contact.
Her body was thrown backward, her feet tearing the ground until she stopped by sheer force.
"Ouch!" Yang grimaced, feeling her stomach; her aura had absorbed most of the damage, but she still felt it.
"Is that all? I thought you'd kick my ass" Jaune taunted, a confident smile on his face.
"Oh, you'll see!" Yang decided to stop fooling around and launched forward twice as fast as before, a barrage of punches raining down on her opponent.
Jaune received each blow, not dodging or deflecting them but directly blocking each one with his hand.
He studied Yang's fighting style with every punch and couldn't help but smile.
'So, a hand-to-hand fighter... But judging by those bracelets, she should have some kind of weapon too'
His suspicions were confirmed when Yang let out a frustrated cry, and suddenly the bracelets on her wrists unfolded, revealing they were indeed some sort of weaponry.
"Take this!" she shouted and struck from a distance.
Jaune saw the bullets coming toward him.
"A shotgun, huh? It makes sense; it gives more impact to her punch" but shotgun bullets or not, the reality was that Yang's blows were, at best, mild nuisances.
With a quick motion, his hand moved deftly, catching each projectile thrown instantly.
"What?" Yang seemed somewhat puzzled but didn't give herself time to think. As fast as he caught them, he returned the projectiles with even more force.
"Oh fuck" Yang crossed her arms but still was thrown backward.
Fortunately, her aura managed to withstand it, so she just grimaced.
Jaune decided to give her a little fight to let her emotions out, of course, he'd have to hold back a lot as he didn't want to truly hurt her.
Besides, holding back was a challenge in itself; he still didn't entirely know the limits of the aura. Perhaps he could test it a bit on this occasion.
Yang stopped covering herself to look at Jaune, but what greeted her was a fist coming straight at her.
With no time to think, she instinctively moved to the side, but the fist seemed to flow along with her movement, and she felt it connect with her cheek.
She grunted in pain and annoyance and retaliated, this time Jaune didn't cover to block; he let Yang's fist hit his face.
The air rippled at the impact and the thunderous sound ran through the empty street.
Yang smiled with satisfaction, which vanished when she realized she hadn't moved Jaune even half a centimeter.
Then a fist struck her in the stomach, almost knocking the air out of her, and she retaliated by hitting him in the side
Without paying attention to blocking or dodging, they both started hitting each other directly.
For every punch Jaune landed, Yang connected three, but this didn't give her an advantage since each of Jaune's punches felt like she was receiving ten.
The fact that he seemed completely unaffected by her blows only made her angrier, causing her to hit harder and faster.
It was like hitting an immovable steel wall, something unbreakable, exactly what Yang needed to let off steam.
Every thought, sadness, frustration, and anger were lost in her fists, her mind focusing only on continuing to strike even if she was hit in return.
She felt the fire burning inside her, and her broken hair began to blaze in flames; once it might have been a visually stunning and striking sight.
Now it was like uneven fire.
Fortunately for her, the aura-protected hat blocked the worst view.
Jaune felt the shift; Yang's eyes gleamed in intense red, and heat radiated from her in waves.
There was an almost familiar sensation every time he hit her, but it wasn't until now that he realized what it was.
'Is she absorbing the energy from the hits?'
It was somewhat akin to what the water stream did, yet different at the same time.
Like a blazing comet, she launched herself at him much faster than before and with greater force.
Her fist connecting with his face actually made him stagger back a bit, the heat stinging slightly against his skin—not painful, but uncomfortable.
The air exploded, the ground beneath their feet cratered, and debris flew.
The shockwave rippled out for hundreds of meters with great force.
It was a solid hit.
But it also caused a lot of collateral damage; he could already hear people in the distance reacting.
"How about that, eh?" Yang grinned and panted, breathing heavily. Her knuckles ached like hell, her hand was starting to numb, but that didn't matter now that she'd landed a blow—one that seemed to have done something, at least.
"I think we need to run," Jaune said. Yang blinked, confused, the fire within her dwindling.
Then she heard the sirens, and her eyes widened. "Oh shit."
She looked around; the street was a mess with potholes and signs of their scuffle everywhere, too much damage.
The winds generated by their fight didn't help; dust and debris scattered, making it look even worse than it was.
Yang nearly panicked, but before she could, she felt a hooded cloak being deftly placed over her, almost making her feel like a doll being dressed in a rush.
"Let's go! Unless you're a millionaire and can pay for this damage," he grabbed her arm and started running, and she quickly followed suit.
Clearly, she wasn't a millionaire.
Jaune might have felt bad about all the damage they had caused, but he wasn't because that street wasn't a "normal" street.
He knew this; he had learned a lot about it these past few days.
Although it was referred to as the bad part of the city, it wasn't because it was a poor area. In fact, everything about it screamed "expensive."
The poor area and the bad area were two completely different things.
The poor area might have had crime, but the bad area was where high-level players truly crossed paths.
Drawing a little police attention here wouldn't hurt; it might put nerves on edge for several of the criminals roaming these streets.
They quickly ran toward the rooftops, getting away from the sound of the sirens.
.
.
.
"That was close" Yang took a deep breath, adjusted her hat on her head, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She winced as she moved her hand, took off the fingerless gloves she usually wore, and inspected her knuckles; even with her aura, they were slightly red.
They were already healing, of course, but the phantom pain lingered.
"What the heck are you made of?" she asked, looking at him. He didn't even have a mark from where she had hit him; even her strongest hit at the end hadn't left a thing.
Jaune seemed to consider it seriously before responding.
"The last time I checked, 35 liters of water, 20 liters of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 liters of quicklime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of—"
"Okay, I get it! I get it!" Yang interrupted him before he continued reciting all those strange ingredients.
That was fine by Jaune; he didn't remember what came next anyway.
Yang relaxed; hitting something had cleared her head a bit. It didn't make her problems disappear or anything, they were all still there.
But at least the anger had subsided.
"I'm sorry" Yang blinked and realized that she was the one who had said that.
"Huh? Why are you apologizing?" Jaune sat down beside her; they were at the edge of a tall building, overlooking the city.
"You've just been helping me and I'm being a shit, an ungrateful shit no less... I don't want to be like her... but my temper gets the best of me sometimes" She didn't like that. What if she goes too far? What if, at some point, she crosses a line?
"You certainly have an explosive temper, but I don't think that makes you like her. Your eyes seemed to burn with fire, and hers are just like a glacier, quite different if you ask me" Jaune admitted.
Seeing people's true nature was difficult, but there were obvious signs one could notice with enough experience.
"You have a passion within you that's different from the coldness that woman exudes. Although I don't know you very well, so my words might not mean much to you" Jaune felt that the words were somewhat difficult to find. because not all problems can simply be solved with fists?
Yang listened, and within herself, she actually appreciated his words, But she didn't say it out loud because she was embarrassed to admit it.
A comfortable silence filled the edge of the building where they sat. Yang looked at the broken moon in the sky; it would probably take a long time to overcome this revelation.
But even though it hurt, what weighed on her most was disappointment, disappointment in herself.
Why had she sought out that woman? Why had she become so obsessed with her? Was it just because she sought to fill the void left by Summer? The void left by her real mother?
Spending so much time chasing after someone who wasn't worth it left her feeling somewhat lost, even though her long-term goals hadn't changed.
She was going to be a huntress; this was just a stumbling block in her path, something to overcome.
She tried to convince herself of this.
Feeling the depressing thoughts, she quickly shook her head and asked a question to distract herself.
"What will you do now?" That question had been asked to her by Jaune before, and now it was the other way around.
Upon hearing Yang's question, Jaune pondered it.
His quest to find those seeking to destroy Mount Glenn had failed; now, all he had left was to meet Qrow and talk to him about his... sister? Cousin?
He didn't exactly know what Raven was to Qrow, but from her appearance, it was obvious they shared a close blood tie.
"I have some matters to attend to in Patch. I need to meet an acquaintance there" he admitted, not seeing the harm in saying so.
Yang widened her eyes. Was that a coincidence?
"You're going to Patch? That's great! I live there. My excursion in Vale ends soon. If you want, I can show you around the place. I know every corner of the island like the back of my hand" she quickly offered, blushing as she realized she had been overly enthusiastic and hasty.
"Just... to thank you and all that," she adjusted her hat to try and hide her expression.
Jaune considered it and shrugged. "Sure, I haven't been there before, so I guess a guide could be helpful"
He figured a little tourist break wouldn't hurt.
So, the two continued chatting for a while longer before deciding on a meeting point when it was time to depart.
.
.
.
note
Writing this chapter took longer than I expected. Who would've thought that depicting character interactions and emotions would be more challenging than writing fights? I had to rewrite many things, and I'm not sure if it turned out as I intended. However, I'm not displeased with the result; it's just about learning and improving for future chapters.
