Jaune looked at the target. He had gotten better with his pistol, not by much, but by enough that it was definitely noticeable. Getting closer to the center, day by day. Shaking his head, Jaune walked out of the range, making sure to put the safety on his pistol, and removing the plugs from his ears. Outside, Grayson smiled. "Well kid, I didn't think you'd have a chance in hell to hit the broad side of a barn, but look at you. You're actually 'getting good', like all those hip teens say these days." The shit eating grin told Jaune that the huntsman was intentionally being like that one old relative that was trying to get closer to their grandkids, but didn't know the first thing about them.

"Sensei please don't do this to me." Jaune held his hands in a pleading gesture. He had only known Grayson for a week, but he had come to realize how much of a sadist the old man could be when he wanted. "Please, for the love of all that is holy, just talk like a normal person."

Chuckling, the huntsman decided to relent. "Fine. But seriously, you're not exactly improving by leaps and bounds, but it's not exactly anything to scoff at either, you should be more proud, kid. Not every day you find somebody as determined as you." His grin returning, Grayson decided to let the kid know exactly how much he had improved. "In fact, you've improved so much, I think you're finally read to go a round or two with me."

Jaune's eyes widened, an instinctive fear gripping him. Looking past his mentor, the young Arc saw freedom in the exit of the gun shop. "Uh, you know, as much as I would love that, I actually haven't eaten anything today, so I kinda need to go do that." Walking past Grayson, Jaune prayed that this wouldn't be a repeat of their first encounter.

Unfortunately, fate had different plans for the blonde. "Nonsense. Hunters don't get the luxury of just eating whenever they want when they're out on missions, you'll be fine if you miss lunch." Grabbing Jaune by the hood, Jaune jerked, thankfully staying on his feet. Wrapping an arm around Jaune's neck, Grayson's grin turned sadistic. "Besides, what good will simple Grimm and cage fights do you? You need to experience a real fight some skilled warriors. It helps show what you can achieve, if you just set you're mind to it."

Squirming, the young Arc, tried his best to break free from his mentor's hold. "Uh, yeah, that's nice and all, but don't you think you can give motivational speeches when you're not wrapping an arm around my neck? It doesn't exactly let me feel free to disagree with you. I mean, I'm sure that cage fighting is going to help me a lot. It already has, I think I can see some muscle building in my body."

Shaking his head, Grayson dragged Jaune outside the shop, and into the streets of Vale, the sun beating down on the pair. "Oh please, sure you can build muscle, but we both know that your aura is going to be doing most of the work during the initiation, then we'll get you some real gains. Besides, you haven't been able to use your semblance ever since your first fight, and you told me that you were feeling some pretty intense emotions at the time. Maybe we can replicate the experience, get those feelings rushing to your brain, eh?"

Gulping, Jaune wasn't sure if the old man was trying to scare him or not, but if he was, it was definitely working. "Uh..." The words seemed to stick to the young man's throat, unable to even enter his mouth, much less get out. He couldn't exactly argue with Grayson's logic, even it he really wanted to.

The huntsman's grin grew wider. "Great! I'll just call in a favor from Glynda, she owes me a few more. Probably three or five. Eh, I'm sure she's been keeping track, its' what I would do in her shoes." Glancing back to Jaune, Grayson remembered that they needed to get to Beacon. "Oh, right. Back to Beacon, so make sure to get a bucket ready."

Jaune groaned, not wanting to suffer, but knew that it didn't matter what he wanted, because at the end of the day, Grayson always had a way to rope Jaune into sessions of torture that he called training.

Standing over the trash can, Jaune wanted nothing more than the sweet release of death. Only then would he be truly at rest. Spitting out the bile that had collected in his mouth, the young Arc looked up, glaring swords at the huntsman. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Rolling his eyes, Grayson reached into his pockets, pulling out a tin of mints. Popping it open, he offered the little candies to the young man, who had taken the whole container. The old man shrugged. "Not really, but strength is born in the face of despair, or something like that. Anyway, you need to get your game face on, because we're going to be using one of the combat rooms, and I'm not sure how well Glynda is going to take it. So just let me do the talking, and everything is gonna be fine."

Shoving three of the mints into his mouth, Jaune nodded, not wanting to open his mouth any more than he had to. The young man stepped away from the trash, and began to follow the old man, who was walking toward the grand buildings of Beacon. Walking through the halls, Jaune couldn't help the feeling of wonder that was blossoming in his chest. It all looked so majestic.

The feeling died as he heard heels clicking against the stone floor. "Professor Hunt, I see that you're here with young Jaune Arc. Again." Glaring at the old man, Glynda Goodwitch sighed. "Whatever am I going to do with you and your reckless stunts?"

Snorting, Grayson looked to the side, a smirk on his face. "I don't know, but I'm sure if I wasn't as reckless as I was, you'd still be dealing with the fallout of the Qrowjob Incident." At those words, the blonde woman's eyes widened, her body stiffened, and Jaune was sure he could see one of her hands shaking. "Anyway, speaking of that, I'm gonna be calling in another favor. I need a combat room ready real quick."

Glynda was silent for a moment, before nodded, and, in a voice so quiet both men could hardly hear it, "I'll make sure to do that. That's two favors you have left, Grayson. Spend them wisely, because you won't be getting any more, save in the event you happen to keep me alive in some way." Turning, the woman walked away stiffly.

Jaune watched Glynda leave, a bit concerned for the woman. "Uh, Sensei, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the Qrowjob Incident?"

Snickering, Grayson began walking again, his stride having a bit of pep in it. "Oh, that something I've under legal contract to not go into detail, but then again, you've seen what I think of certain activities that are deemed illegal. Anyway, there's a colleague I have, his name is Qrow. So, there's this Atlas gathering we're all at, and Qrow, he get's drunk. Well, drunker than usual, they had Atlesian vodka, which is almost the strongest stuff on Remnant. So, Qrow gets absolutely shitface drunk, and I'm talking blackout, wake up in bed with a complete stranger kind of drunk, and I shit you not." Fighting off giggles, Grayson struggles to tell the story. "I swear, he gets up onto a table, and shouts out, in these exact words; 'Glynda, if you can get me a lifetime supply of this shit, I promise, I'm going to give you a Qrowjob that will swear you off of any other human being for the rest of your life.' Word for word, albeit slurred to nearly gibberish. And the whole party stops dead."

Jaune wasn't sure if what he was being told was completely accurate, but he didn't really care, the story was too good not to crack up at. "What happened then?"

Grinning like a madman, the huntsman continues. "So, while everyone is just gawking at the bastard, I walk up, a little buzzed myself, and I just say; 'Qrow, did what we have mean nothing to you? Am I just some piece of meat to be used and tossed away without a second glance?' And that's when somebody starts giggling, and pretty soon everybody is laughing their asses off, because people in Atlas may be stuck up cunts, but at the end of the day, they're people too, and everybody can laugh as some stupid shit."

"Wow, I think that story just made my day." The old man's grin turned sadistic at those words.

"Good, because I'm about to ruin it." Jaune frowned, confused, before he remembered why they were at Beacon in the first place.

"Sensei, no..."

Wrapping an arm around Jaune's neck, Grayson began to laugh. "Oh, Sensei yes. Don't worry Jaune, I'll make sure to take it easy on you. After all, I'm not a complete monster. Only about, eh, I wanna say a sixth of one. More or less." Opening a door that the young Arc hadn't noticed, the huntsman took his student into a large room with what looked like a simple ring in the center, a large screen near the top of the room. "So, here's how it's going to go down; we're going to get some sensors to measure our auras on that big screen, we're going to go into the ring, and we're going to fight. Simple, but definitely not easy. For you, at least, I'm probably going to be using one hand to give you a handicap."

Scrambling out from Grayson's grip, Jaune glared at the huntsman, ready to give his mentor a piece of his mind, before something hit him in the face, cutting his rant off before it could even begin. Yanking the object away from his face, the young man saw that it was a tangle of wires with what looked like sensor pads. "Uh, Sensei? What am I supposed to do with-" Looking up, the young Arc understood why the very concept of brain bleach was a thing, as he saw his mentor, a man older than him by decades, shedding the upper portion of his clothes, attaching the sensor pads to his lean, scar-riddled body. "Well, that answers that question." Looking down to the wires, then back to his mentor, Jaune spoke up nervously. "Uh, can you, maybe turn around until I'm ready."

Raising a brow as he put his shirt back on, the old man shook his head. "What, you got performance anxiety?" Even with that little jab, Grayson turned around, not wanting to actually make his student uncomfortable. "Take as long as you need." Whipping out his scroll, the huntsman connected the sensors to the large screen.

As Jaune attached the pads to his skin, he felt his aura react, a sensation not unlike the shivering of skin. "So, how exactly are we going to do this? Is it anything goes like the cage fights? Or is there a set of rules or something?" Pulling his shirt back over his head, Jaune looked to his weapons reassured at the sight of Crocea Mors, along with the magnum holstered on his opposite hip.

Grayson shrugged, then remembered that Jaune wouldn't see it. "Well, once one of our auras goes into the red, we'll call it off, then I'll tell you what you did right, and what you did wrong. We'll probably be doing this two or three times a week, maybe every other day. I might give you a resting period for the last week, just make one last mad dash to the finish line with your stamina, and Grimm killing skills."

Turning, Jaune nodded, signaling that he was ready. "Okay, just making sure." Looking up to the screen, he saw two bars, with Grayson's portrait next to one of them, while the other was blank. "Hey, Sensei, why do you have your picture up there, and I don't?"

"Because kid, you're not officially a part of Beacon, so we don't have anything to identify you, aside from your name on a piece of paper, which I'm sure Ozpin has already sniffed out the bullshit that's coming from it, anyway. Not like it'll matter if you pass the initiation, since he legally can't refuse anyone that passes. Trust me, you're actually not the first one to do this, but you might be the first one to actually pass the thing." Putting his scroll on the floor a good distance from the ring, Grayson rolled his arms back, popping coming from his shoulders. "Alright, do your best kid, otherwise I'll feel bad."

Shaking his head, Jaune stepped into the ring, unsheathing his sword, and bringing his shield up. "Alright, ready whenever you are."

Entering the opposite side, Grayson chuckled. "No, kid, you're not." With those words, the huntsman drew Hikari, and rushed forward, daring the weapon back, and swinging down on top of Jaune, the strike stopped by the young man raising his shield in time. "Rule one of a real fight, you're not getting any heads up." Drawing back, Grayson thrust at Jaune from under the shield, getting a solid hit, before the young Arc slammed the shield down.

Letting go of the weapon was painful for Grayson, but he had to teach the kid more than a few lessons in this fight. As Jaune swung down with his sword, the old man stepped out of the way, cocked back his fist, and unleashed the devastating punch, causing Jaune to stagger back a few steps. Kicking the guandao back into his hands, Grayson smirked. As the young Arc regained his bearings, he saw the huntsman standing in the middle of the ring, resting his weapon on his back, a shit eating grin on his face.

Gritting his teeth, Jaune charged forward with his shield raised. As he neared his mentor, the young man decided to take a risk, and let his shield down, and lunged forward, ready to tackle the old man to the ground. Unfortunately, Grayson had seen it, and jumped away from the blonde. As Jaune was on the ground, Grayson stepped forward, reared his leg back, and kicked Jaune right in the ribs, sending his protege back by a good few feet.

Gasping out from the pain, Jaune was quick to get back to his feet, already realizing that he would be lucky to land even a few hits on the old man. He also knew that his mentor would just find a way around his shield, forcing him to expose himself by attacking. Shaking his head, the young man decided the only way to have the slightest hint of a chance would be to be an unrelenting force against the huntsman. But to do that, he would need one good opening. Glancing down to his holstered pistol, the blonde decided to go for broke. Rushing forward and dropping his sword, Jaune drew his pistol, peering over his shield to see Grayson reaching into his duster.

Ducking behind the shield, Jaune felt the rounds hit his shield harmlessly. As soon as he counted six, he lowered his shield, aimed the pistol, and fired three times at Grayson. The old man took the shots, his aura flaring. Growling, the huntsman charged forward, and grabbed the pistol before Jaune could pull the trigger another time. Ripping the gun out the the young man's hand, Grayson reared back his fist, and let loose another blow to Jaune's face.

But this time, the huntsman wasn't about to let the advantage go to waste. Grabbing the shield, Grayson yanked it away from his protege's body, leaving him open for whatever the huntsman was going to subject him to. Namely, it was a series of punches, along with a knee or two thrown into Jaune's stomach. Jaune tried to retaliate, his fist swinging near Grayson. Knocking the arm away, Grayson threw his protege to the side, kicking the young Arc as he was falling. The blonde landed, his wind knocked out of him.

Looking down at the young man in front of him, Grayson shook his head, and decided to do the right thing. Stepping to the young man, the huntsman extended a hand, concern hinted in his eyes. The blonde took the hand, and found the strength to stand. Grayson clapped both hands onto Jaune's shoulder, and with a grin, told his protege, "Kid, you've come a long way in literally just a week. Hell, you've done what took me months to do. You're growing faster than anything I've ever seen."

"Uh, thanks, it really feels like I can do better..."

Barking out a laugh, Grayson gestured to the large screen displaying the aura levels of the two. "Jaune, do you really not having any idea how much aura you have?"

Looking up, Jaune's eyes widened. He was only at about half, while Grayson was at three fourths. "I... I knocked you that far down?"

"Yes, Jaune, I don't nearly have as much aura as you do, it's honestly impressive." Something even more so since he hadn't exactly been hitting the kid like a normal person, he had been hitting like a truck compared to his rare sparring sessions with students. "You'll be ready in three weeks, hell, maybe even half that."

"Heh, I won't stop you from dreaming, Sensei."

Shaking his head, Grayson stepped back, raising his hands up. "Trust me. I'll make sure to talk to you right before the initiation."

One entire month. It had felt like years ago, back when he had gotten angry at his dad for not wanting his son to get himself killed. Jaune shook his head, not entirely out of nostalgia, as his stomach was doing flips, and he wanted so desperately to be on solid ground, almost praying in his head. He just had to-

It was slowing down, which set off a lurch in his stomach, but he held it down, with nearly all of his willpower, waited until the bullhead landed, and the doors opened, that he made it to the nearby trashcan, and lost the battle, his lunch coming up and back out. Once done, he smeared his mouth with his sleeve, which had somehow come unstained. Walking more more steadily now, Jaune looked up, and nearly had a heart attack with what he saw.

There, with the shit eating grin that had inspired fear in his heart, was Grayson Hunt. Gulping, Jaune had forgotten the bile in his mouth, and continued to fail to notice. "Uh, hey Sensei. I, uh, I definitely didn't get motion sickness." Cringing internally, Jaune cursed his inability to lie well. "...yeah that's what happened..."

Shaking his head, the old man chuckled. "Kid, you are literally the only one to have it, in all the time that I've been here, and this is my seventh year teaching. Called it."

Rolling his eyes, the young Arc walked past the huntsman, who hadn't even taken a second to fall in sync with the blonde. "Sensei, it's fine, it only lasts for a minute after the ride, no big deal."

"I know, but it's still real fucking hilarious."

"Oh, so you're telling me that my suffering brings you joy? Alright then." Grinning, the huntsman shrugged.

"Anyway, the initiation is going to start at the cliff face, I'm not sure why. Good thing you spent so much time in the forest, so I'm positive you know which one I'm talking about. Anyway, you didn't hear it from me, but word is that first person you see becomes your partner for all the Beacon, so be sure you know who to trust your life with." Stroking his beard, Grayson couldn't help but wonder why that had been chosen, but only shrugged, sure that Ozpin had thought hard about the method. "There you go, there's your obligatory grain of wisdom."

"Thanks, it's better hearing it not from you, than from someone else."

"Nah, he wouldn't tell you at literally the last minute. I think." Again, the huntsman shrugged. So just listen to what he has to say, and do what they tell you."

With that last bit of advice, the mentor stepped away from Jaune, and began to walk in a different direction entirely. Walking, Jaune was breathing in easy.

At least, he was until he heard an explosion in the distance, and sighed, before doing the right thing, and heading to the explosion to check if anyone was hurt. Near the source of the noise were three young women. A girl with the purest of white hair, complete with the figure of an angel. In an instant, Jaune could feel hormones, and confused them for feelings of love, but it was really just his brain telling him to procreate. In any event, he noticed the other two girls soon enough, the one in red reminding him of one of his little sisters. And finally the girl in black and white, just standing there, nearly stoic.

After the monochrome girl, and the snow angel had left the girl with the red hood, Jaune approached, the girl falling to her knees, and then to her back, something Jaune could relate to, as he had been as awkward. Walking over to the girl, he stood over her, hand reached out. "So, you don't look like you're having a great day. I'm Jaune."

The girl looked up, and smiled, thankful that there was somebody will to stick around her. "I'm not gonna lie, it hasn't been the greatest." Taking the offered hand, the girl pulled herself up, smiling to show her appreciation. "I'm Ruby." Looking at Jaune, the girl, Ruby seemed to realize something, and snickered into her hand. "Hey, you're the guy that nearly lost his lunch on the flight here, right?"

Jaune frowned. He didn't want his first impression to be the 'vomit boy', otherwise Grayson wouldn't ever let him live it down. "Yeah, hey, can we just forget about that. It's actually a lot more common than you think it is." Jaune knew he had said the same thing to his mentor, and he had just laughed at Jaune, not with any malice, but it still annoyed him a bit.

"I don't know, it really only looked like you were struggling the way there." Taking a step forward, and kept walking, at least until, tapped her on the shoulder. "Huh, what's up?"

Pointing his finger in the opposite finger, Jaune raised a brow. "Uh, the auditorium is that way, so we should head on over."

Scratching the back of her head, Ruby felt herself blush, a tad embarrassed. "Oh, uh, right. Hehehe..."

Smiling, Jaune simply rolled his eyes, and began to walk, his first new friend at his side. Yeah, Jaune was glad that he was where he was, and he could only thank the man he had run into by complete accident.