Sorry for making such a filler chapter…

-Y.A.R.N.

Jaune gasped harshly - each breath feeling like cold sandpaper down his throat - as the sun slowly rose over what was once a massacre of grimm.

Dissolving grimm bodies were strewn everywhere and Jaune lay slumped against a slab of rock that was all that remained of a somewhat intact fountain that had long since gone dry. He had spent the the entire night fighting and couldn't bring himself to get up. It had taken too much energy and time to kill them all; Jaune knew he needed a few minutes to let his aura build back up and to catch his breath. He'd rather conserve what aura remained from the fight so he wouldn't be so utterly defenseless if life decided to be a colossal bitch right then and throw a few more grimm at him. If it were to occur, that would force him to draw shadows in and risk losing his mind in a rage-fueled haze if he took too much. He had a decently well-estimated idea of how much he could take, but he never wanted to rely on a risky power like that unless the world was collapsing around him. Soon the sounds of birds singing and the wind blowing intruded on the silence. The ruins of the town had been even more silent than the first few moments he had entered in the middle of the night.

Well, before the grimm decided to swarm him.

"Thank god for weekends..." He rasped scratchily, rubbing at his throat as if it would soothe how dry it felt, "I don't have any desire to do anything when I get home... screw classes."

He also promptly decided to never do something this stupid again. If he was going to be swamped with opponents to the point of exhaustion, a retreat was fine. He forced himself to focus and push past the exhaustion that was weighing down on him.

He looked at himself and sighed.

He removed what had become of his once-pristine armor, frowning at the various nicks, dents, and cracks that littered the bone chestplate before shaking his head and placing it at his side. He removed the rest of his armor with practiced efficiency and placed them out of his way. He shrugged off his torn hoodie and hissed at the friction on his cuts as the sweat-soaked fabric rubbed uncomfortably against his wounds.

He managed to unbuckle some of his pouches from his belt and lay them out with gentle motions. When he finally managed to find the correct pouch, he opened and took out a small blue dust crystal. He sat up and sat a bit straighter by leaning back fully against the rock. He placed a small cylinder from another pouch next to him and tapped it once on the top. With the sound of a mechashift, it expanded into a metal water cup. He grimaced at the pull on his already drained body but covered his right hand and arm with bone plating. He carefully scraped a finger against the crystal - not wanting it to erupt - and collecting the dust in the canteen until a thin shimmering layer of dust covered the bottom.

"That's the hard part over..." Jaune whispered softly.

He slipped the crystal back into its pouch and set it to the side. He then forced out a tiny spark of his aura and flicked a spark at the dust in the cup. With the sound of a trickling water running, the water dust activated and water filled up the cup. He gently reached for the cup and brought the water to his lips, taking slow gulps so he wouldn't choke by guzzling it all down at once. He groaned in satisfaction as the water quenched his thirst and washed down his dry throat. He took a moment to let the cool water help alleviate the sleepiness that weighed his eyelids down.

In all honesty, he could have probably waited to get home for some tap water, but the better nourished and rested the body, the faster the aura would refill.

He winced as a cut on his waist pulled and he looked down with a frown, scowling at the red beading up along his raw scabs. His aura did work wonders, but mid-combat recovery was impractically hard to achieve, let alone actually use. He opened another pack and began to pull out some medical gauze and tape, along with some antiseptic. He could've of bought some medicinal dust, but the truly effective dust was insanely pricey and usually not available without some waiting time. He wasn't hurting for money, but he wasn't going to blow lien on something that wasn't an emergency situation, especially when it could be taken care of of other - albeit slower and not as easy - more easily available methods.

He quickly began bandaging his cuts and bruises, ignoring the painful stinging of the antiseptic as he realized just how out in the open he was. Back in Kuroyuri, just after fighting the Nuckelavee, a dustplane had arrived and had taken them to Mistral. It wasn't unreasonable to assume that pilots might do once overs every now and then to see if there was a movement of grimm. A black cloud of dying and dissolving grimm could catch their attention and if that were the case, he had to get back. He grunted as he stood, nearly stumbling as he tentatively reached for his aura and sighing in relief as it had now gotten to an acceptable level. Gathering his armor and packs and buckling them back on, Jaune pulled at the shadows and let them empower himself just a bit more before they swallowed him whole.

The dusty concrete really wasn't the most pleasant cushion.

Then again, he really should've realized his control wasn't at it peak and that resulted in him being spat out of the shadows and onto the dirty floor of streets with a loud thud. He took a moment to just lay there and squeeze his eyes shut so hard he almost strained himself before pushing his battered body up and grunting at the twinges of pain that spiked. He staggered out of the convenient alley he looked into before his first excursion into the wilds and took a moment to catch his breath; giving his best try to push back the drag of his once-again-depleted aura before stumbling towards his hotel to rest. He'd completely forgotten like he'd been on the loosing side of a gang war and was wrapped like burn victim in some places of his body; some of the passing pedestrians were giving him a horrified looks as he walked by.

It wasn't his fault! Jaune usually had a large store of aura to close up his cuts and fade bruises so he usually looked a bit more rumpled than usual when he got back; not to mention he was tired and fighting to keep his eyes from shutting for a power nap.

Anyway, he'd walked into the lobby only to hear the receptionist gasp in shock, and immediately usher him to sit down while she called the hospital. It took a long while for him to calm the receptionist down and wave off his injuries as a result of a spar that went a bit too far (it was nothing short of a miracle that his overstressed mind could actually make up a somewhat coherent and not-entirely-unreasonable reason he was looking so battered) . When he finally did managed to get to his room, he shuffled over into his room, paused long enough to unbuckle his armor, and collapsed face-first into the bed.

Jaune woke with a groan as his consciousness was unwillingly dragged back into the world of the living. He rolled over onto his back and sat up, reaching up to scratch at his scalp when he felt some of his wounds ache. He looked at his body and sighed at the rags he was wearing before he began to strip. He tossed his ruined shirt onto his desk and shimmed out of his torn jeans; frowning at what was left of his clothing, which pretty much resembled rags. He sighed and walked over to his bathroom to get a better idea of how battered he looked. He stood in from of the mirror and unwrapped the layers of brown-splotched bandages before frowning at the few cuts that had opened over the course of his nap. He sighed in annoyance, rolling around in a bed was probably going to irritate his cuts and keep them raw. He was just about to use his aura when his stomach began to remind him of its existence.

Painfully.

He chuckled weakly at the muted growling of his organs and paused only to slide on some sweatpants. He walked into the kitchen and pulled out some milk and cereal, not wanting to cook something while still sore.

After a quick bowl of cereal and feeling a heck of a lot better now that he's full and rested, he let out a slow trickle of his aura and sighed as it soothed the various aches and closed his cuts. He stretched and grinned at the lack of pain before standing with his hands on his hips. He looked over at the time and sighed, a bit late but...

He really should take a shower, he smelled... less than stellar.

After he took his shower, he looked at the bloodied clothing and bandages before gathering them in a black trash bag. He took careful consideration in dumping the bloody rags and bandages in a garbage bag and throwing it out into the collection bin outside the general area of his building. If he had simply thrown it in the trash, someone who might be searching through the dumpster outside his apartment would find his bloodied garments and probably wonder what the hell happened to the guy who had been wearing them. Even if it was borderline paranoid, he'd rather be safe than sorry. He didn't want to set it on fire because it would probably be heard and the smell of smoke would linger on his person. For the bloody smell, he simply dumped a overbearing amount of air fresheners in the bag, spilling the liquid as much as he could.

He half-expected someone to jump out of the shadows and approach him as he left the dumpster. Because his luck was the type of luck that made thing inordinately difficult just to see if it could kick him while he was down. He went back to his room and sank heavily onto his chair. Nothing to do for now…

He picked up his scroll and began to dial his home number, he wanted to talk to his family.

Pyrrha hand's grabbed at the shaft of the arrow lodged in her chest, weakly pulling at it to try to pull it out.

She couldn't.

She would die.

Watching Cinder's cold anger.

Despairing over leaving what she finally longed for.

Abandoning Jaune...

'I'm so so sorry.' She murmured in her head.

Emerald eyes snapped open and Pyrrha sat bolt upright, breathing heavy as she frantically looked around the darkness of her room. When she realized where she was, she put her head in her hands, trying to relax.

"I hate those stupid dreams..." She groaned.

They had lessened steadily all throughout the time she had been alive, but nonetheless it still hurt to have them at all. She kicked of her covers and walked over to her window, sparing a long glance at the moon. Her eyes traced the contours of her room and she began to think of an option she could very well take.

'What if I stayed here and went to Haven?'

She didn't have to go to Beacon.

She could stay away from the whole mess Beacon and Vale would become.

She wouldn't even have to care.

But she thought of her friends, her second family.

Nora, crazy and loving.

Ren, calm and supportive.

Ruby, young and honest.

Yang, caring and strong.

Weiss, scolding and accepting.

Blake, quiet and hard-working.

And lastly but most definitely not least, dorky but brave Jaune.

Could she live with herself for abandoning them?

With a sigh she shook her head.

No.

She wouldn't run away.

Because she already cared. She already loved her friends and couldn't live with the knowledge that she abandoned them to die. If she didn't go, someone like Yang or maybe even Weiss would be chosen to become the new maiden and they would probably die, fading away to ash on the breeze because they never had the chance to be ready. With a sigh, she padded over to her bed and made to lie down when her eyes landed on her scroll. She shook her head before she turned over and muffled a tired sigh into her pillow.

There was no point in wondering if anyone she knew would pick up or remember.

There was a loud thud as Jaune hit the mat.

"Ugh," He groaned as he let himself lay on the floor for a moment rather than get up.

Oh what the hell, he might as well get up, it wasn't like he WASN'T learning.

He just really wished it didn't hurt so much as a price.

"'A' for effort, kid." Qrow said as he idly stretched his back, "But honestly you're not going to learn anything substantial if you're able to walk home after sparring with me."

To be honest, Jaune had spent the day when he came back lazing about and relaxing. When the next day came around, he figured he should probably not tempt fate by heading out and decided to phone Yang to see if she could teach him some hand-to-hand combat.

Unfortunately for him, Qrow happened to overhear and decided to chaperone.

Which really meant practice with Jaune in Yang's stead.

Which finally boiled down to Jaune getting his ass kicked by a hunter who he'd personally see punch a insane bastard so hard the man screamed into his hands as he cringed.

Life decided to lull him into a false sense of security before being a colossal bitch, go figure.

His father hadn't neglected to teach him, but most of his hand-to-hand combat was not quite as focused on in favor of practicing with his sword skills, aura, and (when he was alone) bone blades. His father had been an ardent proponent of the idea that if you were any good, being disarmed shouldn't happen. While Jaune was never truly without a weapon in any given moment, he wanted to see if he could build a CQC style that would mesh well with his elemental abilities.

Jaune pushed himself up to his feet, "Remind me why I am not able to practice with Yang again when being taught hand-to-hand. Isn't the point of this little session for me to at least have a decent basis to fight without my weapon."

Qrow smirked, "'Cause I said so."

Jaune groaned, "I really hope this isn't because you think I'm a perv or something, because Yang is only a friend."

Qrow laughed, "I trust Yang to be able to kick your teeth in if you tried anything. Anyway, back to your stance. We aren't done yet."

Jaune blew out a exhausted breath and got in a classic boxing stance. He hadn't wanted a really heavy workout since he had checked that of his weekend list, but he didn't want to come across as desperate to spar with Yang (Qrow was almost as protective of Yang as he was Ruby, so even giving him the idea that Jaune was into Yang would only end up with Jaune's decomposing corpse found in the sewer if found at all). He dashed at Qrow and launched a right at him. Qrow ducked away and retaliated with an uppercut at Jaune's left. Jaune sidestepped and cocked his head to avoid it before grabbing Qrow's wrist with his right hand, grabbing Qrow's collar with his left and lifting him. Qrow twisted in the air, landing on his feet and lunged forward, breaking Jaune's hold and forcing his hands into an awkward cross to tumble away. Jaune used the momentum to roll to his feet when he suddenly tipped back and slipped on the mat they were sparring on.

"Gah!" He grunted as he landed flat on his back and his head thunked against the wooden floor that the mat was placed on.

His luck was worsening the longer he kept on sparring with Qrow. It was small at first, tripping or stumbling slightly here and there on slippery parts of the mat, but soon it was things like that AND things like when a light shattered above him, startling him out of focus, and a dancing spark subsequently lighting the side of the mat he was located on fire.

'Fuck you Qrow. Fuck you and your stupid semblance.' He snarled in his head.

"Can I give up now?" He groaned.

Qrow laughed, "Yeah, I think you would want to go home without a concussion."

Jaune huffed and rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't know you read minds… useful semblance."

Qrow features seemed to stiffen before he sighed, "It would be wouldn't it… I could make a killing in poker or something…"

"If that's not your semblance," Jaune said as he sat up, "what is it?"

Qrow features stilled, "Nothing you have to worry about kid."

Jaune immediately decided it'd be better not to push. It was something he only admitted to RNJR after getting himself poisoned by Tyrian and causing a beam to nearly hit Ruby. If it had been anyone else…

"Alright." He replied, making his tone somewhat dubious, "I'm going to wash off, I smell and frankly I think a shower would do me some good."

"So…" Adam said looking dubiously at the newest leader in the council of The White Fang, "You want us to scout out potential recruits at schools?"

The current head of the Vale white fang division gave the young faunus a heavy glare, "Any complaints?"

"Am I allowed to give my opinion on the matter?" Adam said, grimacing.

The leader stared at him, "Your grievances - young man - better have actual value."

Adam bowed, "I don't believe any of the children there will be willing to help us, and furthermore, they need some decent training to be of any value. These children only just barely know the correct end of their weapon from the hilt."

The leader chuckled, "Ah… Don't be so certain. Many feel oppressed by the system that doesn't care for faunus. I am not asking you to approach anyone, Adam. Merely observe and see who would be an asset and if at all willing, who knows? You might even find some humans willing to help."

"Humans?" Adam gasped, "I won't le-"

His leader silenced him with sharp look and slammed his fist down on the chair with a loud crack, "I don't care for your prejudices here! We need as many members to rally around us as we can get! These non-violent fools in The White Fang's Vale Council outnumber us and if we really want to get any control of The White Fang, we need to gather more members! If more humans die for the cause, that would mean one less faunus life lost! You will do as I say or suffer for your disobedience!"

Adam scowled but bit down on his temper, he couldn't argue against that, "As you wish sir."

He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, passing by a young girl with cat ears and yellow eyes.

"So?" She asked.

"We'll go." Adam replied, "Look up schools that generate promising candidates Blake."