A/N: So, this is my first RWBY fanfic. It will also be one of my first fanfics as well. If you don't like it then sorry :P Maybe next fic will be something you can enjoy. The concept of what I expect this story to turn into probably isn't super original but I thought it was interesting enough to give it a shot. I hope you all find it interesting, and look forward to more.

I guess without further ado, please enjoy the read.

[Insert of Obvious Disclaimer Here is Obvious]

Jaune forced his eyes open as he slowly came to, his entire body aching and protesting against him as he struggled to move even the slightest amount. His mind fought to recollect anything as Jaune tried to recall what had led to him being in a hospital bed with an iv and a few other devices attached to him. His cobalt eyes scanned the room, locking onto his weapon, Crocea Mors that was leaning up against one of the walls. He let out a small sigh, glad to know that whatever happened to him didn't result in him losing his weapon. He used his left hand and tried to force himself up, only to immediately stop when pain erupted from his right side.

"What the hell?!" Jaune groaned out, all the air leaving him as he tried to make the pain stop, freezing in place in hopes that it would cause the agony to pass faster. Luckily for Jaune, after a short minute, but for him what felt like an eternity, the pain dissipated leaving behind a dull ache in his ribs. Jaune took a deep breath, sliding his left hand across the beds surface hoping to find a way to call a nurse or just someone so he could finally get an answer to all the questions that were currently flooding his brain.

He felt a small plastic object brush against his fingertips, carefully craning his neck to see what he had found, he couldn't stop the small smile that came across his face. In his current situation, Jaune would take any small victories he could. He raised the remote up to his face, before glancing across all the buttons, trying to figure out which one he needed to push.

Once he finally found and pressed the button he was searching for, he was left lying perfectly still in silence. His eyes fixated on the door to his left as he waited for someone to finally come through it. After fifty-three seconds had passed by, Jaune finding nothing better to do than counting the seconds until someone showed up, Jaune heard two voices approaching his room. One a deeper and masculine voice that he could've sworn he had heard at least once before, the other was a sharper, more feminine voice that he instantly recognized as Glynda Goodwitch. Jaune struggled to figure out where he had heard the male voice from, unable to find the answer before the door was pushed open, the question was answered for him as he stared into the eyes of the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin himself.

"It's good to see you awake Mr. Arc, you've been unconscious for the last few days." Ozpin spoke calmly, grabbing a chair from the wall and sliding it up next to his bedside. "If it's not too much to ask, can you tell me how you're feeling?" The grey-haired man gave Jaune a reassuring smile before taking a sip from the coffee cup in his hand.

Jaunes eyes moved back and forth between the two adults before him, before he forced himself to speak, "Not too great, my right side feels like it's been stomped on by a elephant…" Jaune paused as he struggled to breathe, almost as if to accentuate the pain he was trying to describe. "What… what happened to me?"

"You are unable to remember it?" Glynda spoke up in concern as she narrowed her eyes on the blonde boy before her, who just shook his head in response to her question. Glynda sighed before placing her hand on her chin as she seemed to contemplate something.

"You see, Mr. Arc, there was an accident during one of the training expeditions to the Emerald Forest. The accident involved you and Miss Schnee from Team RWBY." Jaunes blood seemed to freeze at Ozpins words, unable or perhaps just unwilling to process the information. As the headmaster opened his mouth to continue Jaune cut him off. Struggling to sit up as he fought against the immense pain that broke out in his side, Jaune forced himself to raise his back off the bed, his blue eyes staring into Ozpins brown eyes.

"Weiss… She's okay, right?" Jaune choked out, fighting against all the pain that continued to dance through his body, his fists tightening their grip on the sheets in an attempt to help him ignore the pain. Ozpin placed his free hand on Jaunes shoulder and slowly pushed him back down.

"Miss Schnee is fine, her Aura was completely drained and she had a few scrapes and bruises, along with a minor head injury. She has been recovering quite well in her dorm. Her injuries would have been a lot more significant if you hadn't saved her." Glynda paused in her explanation at the look of utter confusion that had come over the young knights' features, she shook her head before continuing, "Your team, as well as Team RWBY had gone into the Emerald Forest for training, during this training exercise a Deathstalker appeared and had caught Miss Schnee by surprise, and knocked her down a cliff side. You had been the closest to her at the moment and attempted to save her by diving after and catching her."

Jaune nodded his head along with the womans' story, trying to recall the events in his own mind as she spoke. He could see the images slowly coming back to him, they were blurry and distorted but he could remember what had happened, whether his memories were accurate to how she claimed things had happened or not was another thing.

Ozpin interrupted Glynda as he noticed the slight recognition on the young mans face, "I take it that you can recall some of these events."

Jaune nodded slowly, his brow furrowing as he concentrated, "I remember the horrible landing, Weiss was out cold after that point, but I was able to still move a little bit."

"It's thanks to the fact that you have such a large amount of Aura, Mr. Arc." Glynda chimed in, "Do you recall what happened after that?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing a few Grimm roaming around down there, two Beowolves and an Ursa Major. I think." Jaune let out a breath, trying his best to get any more of his memory back. "I know I fought them, and I guess since I'm here, that means I won, right?" Jaune let out a nervous chuckle at the looks the two adults were giving him. "What? What's wrong?"

Ozpin let out a sigh, before he placed his coffee mug on the floor next to his chair. "What I have to say next isn't easy. I want you to try your best to remain calm while I explain everything, can you do that for me Mr. Arc?"

"Uh, yeah… I mean yes sir." Jaune nodded numbly, unable to hide his uneasiness as his mind whirled with all the possible things that could come out of the brown-eyed man. Glynda walked over to the other side of Jaunes bed and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder but couldn't hide the pitying look in her eyes as she glanced between the two men in the room.

"Thank you, have you ever heard of a rather rare infection known as Aura poisoning, in case you haven't, I'll explain." The headmaster speaking before Jaune could even open his mouth to say he had no idea what it was. "Aura poisoning is an ailment that can affect a person who has been harmed severely by a Grimm. Those wounds you have on your right side is from one of those Grimm you had fought and has resulted in you being afflicted with the infection." Ozpin stared into Jaunes eyes as he spoke, keeping his tone as even and calm as he could. "The infection itself isn't dangerous and will naturally fade away once the persons' Aura has fully recovered and they're given time to rest and let it work its way out of their system."

Jaune, no longer able to keep himself quiet, forced Ozpin to stop so that the knight could speak, "Why tell me this? If what you've said is true then if I do have Aura poisoning, it will just go aw-." He halted in his speech as Glyndas hand tightened its grip on his right shoulder.

"I am getting to that, I understand that this is an uncomfortable situation for you but I need you to be patient. You are correct however; normal cases of Aura poisoning fade away on their own. Your case is not a normal one." Taking in a breath to prepare for what he had to say next, Ozpin allowed himself that moment to study the changes in the blonde mans face.

The light in Jaunes blue eyes faded away and panic had set in its place, his shoulders rose in a defensive manner and his whole body seemed to shake slightly as he struggled to fight back his fear. A cold sweat ran through Jaunes body, his hands gripping the sheets as tightly as he could manage in his current state.

Ozpin seemed to allow himself to take in one more breath before he pressed on. "Mr. Arc, you have what can only be described as a curse. The infection has taken a strange turn that I, nor anyone of the medical staff here has ever seen first-hand, only a handful of reports, stories, rumors and myths. We believe the infection has now combined itself with your Aura, meaning whenever you make use of your Aura, the infection itself will grow and harm you more, at least that is what we believe will happen. As of this moment, there is no known way to help or cure it, and no way to know just how it will affect you from here on out."

Once those words had left the older mans mouth, Jaune froze in place. His mind shutting down as he tried to comprehend the words he had just heard, but none of them made any sense to him. Jaune felt his heart pound violently in his chest as his breathing quickened.

Jaune wanted to run.

To get away from the two people in front of him.

To get away from Beacon, and all the people there.

To get away from the truth.

But he couldn't.

No matter how much Jaune willed himself to stand and run, his body refused to move. Whether it was exhaustion, fear or Miss Goodwitch that was holding him down and keeping him in place, he didn't know or care. His life was over, his career as a hunter obliterated right in front of his eyes before it could truly begin. His voice made a strangled sound as he tried to speak, his throat tightening while his eyes stayed focused on some random point in the air past the headmaster's head.

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Arc."

He meant it. Even in the horribly emotional state Jaune was in at the moment, he could hear, no, he could feel the sadness and regret in those words.

Jaune took a shuddering breath, forcing back his emotions and tears that threatened to build up and spill out of his eyes. "I can't be a hunter anymore." He had meant to pose that as a question but his voice failed him. He flinched when he felt the hand that had been on his shoulder tighten in a reassuring manner, his eyes flicking up to meet Miss Goodwitchs.

A small grunt had Jaune turn to meet Ozpins eyes instead, the older man fixing him with a look he couldn't quite understand. "Not entirely." Ozpins voice was calm, steady as he gained a sad smile. "As I said, this disease is practically unknown, there is no telling what could happen should you choose to continue on your path to being a hunter." The grey-haired man took a long sip of the dark liquid in his mug.

Jaune opened his mouth to speak, but kept his mouth shut as Ozpin raised a hand to tell him he wasn't finished.

"There are a few cases of Aura Poisoning transforming into something more dangerous or otherwise threatening a hunters long term career, even if they are rather vague in detail they are share enough similarities to your current predicament. One of the few reported cases was said to have retired after contracting it. That person lived a long life, and died of old age. Another of the cases continued their work as a huntsman, having the infection since they were 26, the illness affected them throughout the entirety of their career, but they lived until the age of 43 and sacrificed themselves in the line of duty." Jaune looked hopeful at that, a small glimmer of light appearing in his deep blue eyes. "Another case, however, had continued to work as a huntress. She died two years after she had contracted the disease. It ate through her Aura,then her body d her hen her mind, until there was nothing left." The sharp, almost pained look in Ozpins brown eyes told Jaune all he needed to know. The headmaster had been lying when he said he'd never seen it himself. The person he was talking about had been a friend of his, a close one at that. He had never seen Ozpin show so much emotion like this. "No case is quite like the other, nor is it exactly like yours, but they all had one factor that linked them all together, so take from that what you will."

"So, there's no telling just what will happen if I continue my training and try to become a hunter."

"That is correct." Ozpin took a small swig from his mug, "The only certainty is that if you choose to stop your journey on being a hunter and live as a normal civilian, there is a lower possibility of this illness harming you. The decision is entirely yours."

A thoughtful look came over Jaunes face, as he struggled to weigh his options. No matter which path he took, he knew he wouldn't be free of his ailment. It would always be in the back of his mind now, wondering when, if and how it would act up and force him to change his life for it.

"Can I-," muttering an internal curse at the crack in his voice, Jaune cleared his throat before continuing. "Can I have some time to think, please?" In any other circumstance, he would have been embarrassed at himself for sounding so weak but Jaune just couldn't force himself to care.

"Of course," Ozpin moved to stand, Miss Goodwitch let go of the young knights' shoulder before returning to the headmasters side.

"Your team has been sent back to your dorm a while ago, but if you wish then feel free to contact them and have them come back." Miss Goodwitch spoke softly, and if Jaune had been looking he would have noticed the apologetic look she was currently giving him.

Jaune just nodded his head, keeping his eyes trained on his lap to avoid looking into either of the adults' eyes.

Without another word, Jaune heard the two slowly make their way out of his room. The soft click of the door closing signifying that he was now alone once more.

Free from any judgement or pity, Jaune broke. Tears fell freely from his eyes, his teeth tearing at his lower lip to hold back the frustrated scream that threatened to come out. His fists all but tore the sheets apart from his tight grip, the sharp ache that shot through his body with each rough breath was easily overwritten by the emotional trauma he was suffering.

The blondes back thudded softly against the mattress, his left arm coming over his eyes in an attempt to stop the flood of his tears. His mind wandered back to the events that led up to the present, his eyes screwed shut as he allowed himself to get lost in his memories.

Jaune looked around his surroundings, his eyes scanning the forest for any potential danger that could pop out. A hand placed itself on his shoulder, making him jump as he swung around to look into the eyes of his partner, Pyrrha Nikos. Her green eyes filled with concern as she stared into his own.

"There's no reason to be so tense Jaune, this is just a simple training exercise." Pyrrha offered him a soft smile, and a reassuring pat on his back before moving forward and meeting up with the other six people they were with. His cobalt eyes scanned each person in front of him, taking their forms in as he hung back. No matter how many times he entered Grimm infested territory he couldn't shake his fear of it being the last time. He had been training with Pyrrha for a good while, even besting Cardin in one of Miss Goodwitchs' spars.

Even then, with all his improvement he failed to shake his fear. He questioned himself if he truly was the only one who felt any form of fear or unease. From the way everyone acted, it was only him. Yang and Ruby were talking back and forth excitedly about what kinds of Grimm they might face, Nora was… being Nora and recounting one of her extraordinary dreams to Ren, who continued to walk quietly. Now that Pyrrha had returned to the group, she and Weiss were talking about one of the tournaments she had been in. And Blake was on the other side of Pyrrha, she didn't seem interested in the conversation the two were having, more likely just trying to avoid being involved in the other two conversations that were kinda out of control.

A sigh escaped his lips before Jaune could stop himself, but luckily Pyrrha was to wrapped up in recounting one of her previous bouts to catch it. Another sigh followed as relief washed over him, he appreciated everything Pyrrha did for him, from the training, tutoring, and being supportive of him whenever he doubted himself. But she also could be a little to overbearing at times, like she wanted to do everything for him to protect him instead of allowing him the chance to try and learn from the experience on his own.

Shaking his head to derail that train of thought Jaune forced himself to take in his surroundings once more, focusing on the environment instead of his companions this time around. Surrounded by large trees on every side, blanketing the forest floor in their shade. Every so often there would be an occasional clearing or break in the tree line.

Before he could continue analyzing any further, a low growl broke out of nowhere causing his body to tense up and snap his head in the direction of the sound. One hand resting on the hilt of Crocea Mors as he turned his body fully in the direction of the noise. His eyes roved over the trees and bushes, looking for anything that stood out but he found nothing. He took one small step forward, pulling his sword free of its sheath with a small hiss of metal against metal before flipping the sheath up and attaching it to his left arm as it transformed into its shield form.

His eyes broke from the tree to his left to look for his team, only to find them missing and team RWBY gone with them. How did he not notice them continue to walk away from him? Was he that lost in his thoughts or did they just not notice he hadn't continued to follow them?

A louder growl broke out from his right and he was immediately ripped from his thoughts to search once more for the source of the sound. Only this time, his eyes instantly locked onto a pair of soulless glowing red eyes staring back into him. Jaune felt a chill run through his body and blood freeze as every one of his muscles tensed and wound up. Tightening his hold on Crocea Mors, Jaune slid into the stance his partner had practically beaten into him over the few weeks he had been training. His shield up and at the ready to defend against any possible attack.

Now in his stance, the blonde knight was contemplating his choices. To charge in against whatever Grimm that lay behind those bushes that stared at him, or wait for the monster to surge forward and make an attempt to attack him. Neither option felt best, he didn't know what his enemy was so attacking blindly felt wrong, but wasting time and letting his friends move further away as he waited for the Grimm to come out and strike wasn't good either.

Steeling his nerves, Jaune decided and took a step forward before breaking into a sprint. The Grimm leaped out of the shadows as well, ready to kill its prey that foolishly came to it. It revealed itself as a rather small Beowolf, quickly the beast brought its claws down hard, in an attempt to claw Jaunes eyes out. Jaune easily raised his shield to block the incoming attack, successfully blocking and absorbing it before he surged forward with a war cry and swinging his sword down swiftly across the Beowolfs chest.

The Beowolf recoiled and jumped a few feet away from Jaune as black blood began to seep out of the wound. A small grin grew on Jaunes face, unable to hide the joy he felt at the brief exchange. "All that training has actually paid off."

A loud roar erupted from the Grimms throat, almost as if responding to his words in some weird way. Jaune bent his knees, ready to charge forward once more and attack before a loud crash caught his attention and he looked off into the distance out of instinct. An instinct which quickly proved to be a mistake as his vision was suddenly filled with the large claws of the Beowolf to his side.

The blow slammed across his chest hard, his aura protecting him from any major damage but the sheer force still left him gasping for air as he slid across the ground on his back. Rolling over and pushing himself up, Jaune had just enough time to duck under another strike from the beast before he forced himself back onto his feet with Crocea Mors at the ready, aimed at the enemy in front of him.

Letting out another roar, the Grimm rushed forward on all fours, rearing up to bite into Jaune and take him out. Jaune was prepared however, and brought his shield up into the Grimm's maw and held the Beowolf where it stood. The knight saw his opening and took it with a furious thrust forward, burying his blade through its chest. A low whimper escaped the Beowolf as its form slumped against Jaunes body, black smoke floating off of it as it began to disappear into nothingness.

Jaune rolled out from under the disintegrating beast, before falling back and sitting on the harsh ground. His eyes continued to watch the monster before him though, even if he knew it was dead he couldn't fully relax. His free hand went into his pocket before fishing out his scroll and opening it up. "Ninety-seven percent. I thought I lost more than that."

A loud explosion sounded throughout the entire forest, urging Jaune to his feet before he took off sprinting in the direction, his eyes searching for any sign of his team or their sister team. It didn't take long to find them though, with the way Nora continued to launch explosives left and right with her weapon. The sound, not to mention the clouds of dust and shockwaves that rocketed around giving him a pretty clear idea of where to go.

Jaune burst through the tree line, his feet continuing to carry him as his eyes fell on the battle happening before him. Ren and Nora were fighting a King Taijitu, while Blake and Yang covered their backs by handling a horde of beowolves that would have surrounded them and cut off their maneuverability. His eyes moved over to the other three in their group to see Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha all fighting off a Giant Deathstalker close to the edge of a ravine. The Deathstalker looked to be even larger than the one they had fought and slain in initiation. Pyrrha was handling the pincers while Ruby used the reach on her scythe to her advantage to fend off its stinger. Weiss looked to be casting glyphs and summoning ice in attempts to lock the beast in place. Looking between the two groups, it was easy for him to decide where to go and he charged over to his partner, letting out a yell to let her know he caught up.

She heard, and turned to him with a small smile blooming onto her face before it disappeared and changed into a look of panic. Apparently, his call hadn't gotten just her attention as the Deathstalker ignored the two people attacking it and came towards him, moving way faster than Jaune thoughts its legs would be able to carry it. Jaune moved forward as well, charging to meet the Deathstalker head-on.

"Jaune, don't!" He caught Pyrrha's warning cry a second before he let himself drop and slide across the ground and slip under the Deathstalkers claws and body, sliding under it and passed it before he jumped to his feet and ran over to the three who had regrouped, internally praising himself for the cool entrance and the fact it hadn't gone horribly wrong.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." He gave a sheepish smile before turning back around to see the monster move to face them again.

"Glad you could make it Jaune," Ruby chirped as she leveled her scythe in front of her.

"How on Remnant did you manage to get lost, and separated?" Weiss scowled at him for only a nano-second before all her attention was on the Grimm.

"Aww, were you worried about me Snow Angel?" He knew the response he would receive for that remark before he even said it, and the icy glare that made his blood freeze confirmed he was right. "Sorry, had to take a leak. Didn't expect you guys to get in a fight in the short time it would take to pee." Maybe a small joke would help ease some of the tension from the situation, at least he hoped so.

That caused Ruby and Pyrrha to let out a small giggle or smile at least, but the heiress didn't show any reaction other than the way her grip on Myrtenaster tightened. The Grimm let out a howl, moving forward to attack them once more. Jaune and Pyrrha both moved forward and caught its pincers as the Deathstalker tried to make a move to catch the pair with them. Jaune braced both arms on his shield and took the full force of its attack, his boots digging into the dirt to keep himself in place. Pyrrha on the other hand, clearly knew the right way to handle the monster and used her shield to offset and deflect the large claw aside, bringing up Milò and slicing at the exposed flesh of the Grimm.

Ruby flew over their heads, swinging Crescent Rose with all her strength in an attempt to cut off the beasts' tail which sadly failed in taking the limb off, but it did leave a large gash where it had hit. Weiss moved to the left of the Deathstalker, peppering its side with hits from her rapier before using a glyph and locking two of its legs in ice.

The Grimm did not take to kindly to now being trapped and thrashed its body wildly, effectively forcing them all to move back. Its tail sailed through the air at an almost blinding speed, hitting Ruby aside where she would have crashed painfully into the ground if Pyrrha hadn't rushed in and caught her. Immediately following up on its attack on the younger girl, the beast spun itself around with a speed Jaune didn't think it would be capable of with two of its legs frozen. It seemed Weiss was in the same boat as him as she got hit with the full force of its pincer slamming into her ribs and tearing the air from her lungs. She let out a yell in pain as she took the hit and began sliding across the ground, but managed to stay on her feet and stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground to keep her from sliding back any further and sailing into the ravine.

Unfortunately, it seemed that one attack had done way more damage than Jaune thought as Weiss dropped to one knee, struggling to get the air back into her lungs and keep her eyes on her enemy.

"Crap," was the only word Jaune could think to say as he shot off in her direction, trying to get in between her and the Grimm. Yet again, the Grimm surprised him by moving faster than Jaune thought it could.

The next part happened in slow motion for Jaune, the Deathstalker got to Weiss before he did and reared one of its pincers back, its claws opening so it could grab the heiress with it and cut her in half. He saw Weiss fight to get back onto her feet, her chest still heaving from the breath she just couldn't recover. Jaune screamed at his body, pushing himself to get there in time. And he did, he turned toward Weiss, and wrapped his arms around her. He wouldn't be able to stop the Grimms attack with his shield, especially with all the power the Deathstalker had put into it. He could only hope that his Aura, on top of his armor could hold it off just enough.

It had been a mistake to turn his back, if he hadn't, he would've seen that the Deathstalker closed its claws just short of them. He would've thrown them to the side, now that dodging the attack had become possible. Its attack impacted into his back, his teeth grinding together to keep the scream that threatened to burst forth down, until he noticed that his feet were no longer on the ground and he, while still holding Weiss, had been launched off of the cliff side.

He felt weightless for a few seconds until he felt the pull of gravity begging him to come back down. Just before he started falling, his eyes landed on Pyrrha and Ruby, both were staring at him in horror and then he fell. All he could see was the ravine, that steadily grew darker the farther they fell, and white hair that whipped around wildly.

He felt the heiress wrap her arms around his torso, he couldn't tell if she was screaming like he was though, the wind howling in his ears. Think Arc, you have to slow down! Even with his Aura, wherever it rested at in that moment, wouldn't be enough alone to save him. His eyes locked onto the blade that was held in a death grip in his hand, then flicked to the rock wall just a short distance from him.

I'm going to lose my arm. Jaune thought as he maneuvered himself in the air, and thrust his blade as deep into the rocks as he could. His left arm locking with all the strength he could muster on Weiss as he felt his body jerk as their descent slowed down. His teeth grit together, as he felt his shoulder explode into pain, the bone threatening to pop out of its socket. It was working! They were slowing down, and his arm was still attached to his body. Unfortunately, that appeared to be the last of his luck, as his sword suddenly caught in the cliff side and refused to move down. The force of the sudden stop of his blade caused young knight to lose his grip and they began to fall again, his eyes squeezed shut as he felt death itself grasp his heart as they freefell once more, only this time there was no way for him to slow them down or even stop it. He opened one eye against the wind and saw the ground fast approaching. With a last-ditch effort to at least let one of them live, he flipped so that he would impact the ground first and Weiss' landing might be cushioned somewhat by him. One final thought broke into his head, how it was his failure, his weakness that would result in the girl in his arms losing her life.

I'm so sorry Weiss.

Then his back made contact with the ground and his vision faded to black.

Jaune let out a hiss as his eyes snapped open and his body jerked, sending a whole new wave of pain throughout his body. He immediately noticed he was no longer laying in dirt but was back in the hospital bed he had been in before. A breath slipped out of his lips as he relaxed, his body feeling uncomfortable with the sweat the covered his entire body. His eyes seized shut as the light that broke through the cracks in the blinds burned his pupils. How long had he been out for?

Jaune ran his left hand through his damp hair, not taking the chance with his right and experience the pain that might erupt from the action. "What the hell do I do?" He questioned the empty room he was in.

The reality the headmaster had bestowed upon him upon waking up replayed in his mind. He heard the words as echoes, never perfectly clear and some overlapping the others. But the message was still crystal clear in his mind.

The decision is entirely yours.

Those words, that sentence rang the loudest, resonated to the deepest depths of his soul. This disease, this ailment or curse or whatever other word they used to describe it as, had changed his life and the way he viewed his future. "If I give up, I pack up and go home then there's no risk." Except in doing that, he would be giving up much more than his dream of being a hunter, a hero. He would be giving up his team, his partner and all the effort and work she put into helping him improve, his first and arguably best friend at Beacon, and the first girl he had ever fallen for.

And if he chose to stay? He risked it all, and could end up losing them anyway! If he stayed, and continued training, continued fighting and moving forward then he could at least say he didn't give up, right? He could at least keep trying for his dream, and if it ended up getting cut short then he would have no regrets, because he didn't surrender to it, and fought against it till the end.

Cobalt eyes opened once more, hardened with renewed determination.

"I won't stop here."

And scene, I hope it was interesting and that you look forward to the future of this fic. I plan to update this often, but college life is just unpredictable and a bit of a pain so I can't make any promises. I will try not to let this die out though and update it whenever I can. Also, just know that Aura Poisoning is purposefully meant to be vague for now. You'll get more details through the story as Jaune uncovers the secrets of it and *cough* suffers *cough* through it. To properly place this in the RWBY-Timeline, it takes place in between the Volume One finale and the start of Volume Two.

I'd also like to quickly add that the pairing will and won't be the main focus of this story but it will play its own part when necessary . And one final note, if you have any criticism, or tips for writing or ways you feel might improve the experience, please feel free to express them and share your thoughts. I am new and learning as I go, so any and all feedback is appreciated.