AN: Well here's the newest chapter late as per usual :D

Chapter 9 - Bloody Therapy

Year 13X10 NRE

"No. I'll agree to wear something discreet but I would like to walk around the city by myself for a little bit. I know you're worried but I'm not going to die just by walking outside" Jaune argued exasperated. He'd been spending damn near the entire walk to the limo arguing with Weiss.

It had been a week since he'd recovered from his injury and despite walking around, dominating class spars and generally just being a normal individual everyone treated him as if he was fragile. There were three things in particular that drove him up the wall.

The first were the additional guards now posted near Schnee manor. The guards themselves were easy going individuals and were generally enjoyable to be around. That they'd been expressly instructed by Winter to watch his windows and prevent him from leaving the manor without her approval was obnoxious. How the hell was he supposed to get his revenge or pick up Cinder's package if he was constantly tracked?

The second thing he absolutely despised was something he had never anticipated. Fans. Fucking. Fans. He held a grudge against Walden that would last to hell and back for spreading his background just for some solid PR. Upon arriving back on campus he was nearly swarmed by students trying to get a closer look at him. Fortunately there were some sensible students who helped deter them alongside Weiss threatening legal action.

Nobody wanted to fight a legal battle with a Schnee. Nobody.

The final thing that pissed him off to hell and back were the fucking stares. It didn't matter if it was in the limo being driven to campus or even just walking around. Apparently once a person saw him they lost the physical capability of looking away! He was raised as an assassin damn it. Shadows, night and blood did not result in hundreds of awestruck glances. That there were several women who practically undressed him with their eyes only fueled his mortification.

"How about this Weiss, I'll look after him for you. Plus this way you guys can have some time off from each other. Oum knows I see you two sneaking enough kisses in the back of my class" turning around he saw Cynthia walking towards them. He felt his face flush at her words but he wouldn't take it lying down.

"Now Cynthia, you shouldn't be jealous of Weiss actually having someone to make out with." Boom. His sister, although beautiful, frightened most men in Atlas due to being a woman who could soundly beat them into the dirt. Once it was let out that they were related? Well a woman on a pedestal was rarely easy to approach.

Now that he thought about it, Walden had managed to fuck both of them over. Perhaps some misdirection later could work brilliantly.

"Wow I give you an out and that's how you respond? Perhaps I should just make sure you make it to the limo then?" Cynthia responded.

"Actually Cynthia, could you go with Jaune? While I care for his safety I don't want him feeling caged up and going stir crazy…well more stir crazy." Weiss caved in as soon as Cynthia hopped on board. She didn't want him caged up but still wanted an escort for him apparently.

He would never understand women.

"…Alright Weiss just for you I'll keep little Jauney company" even as he attempted to protest the nickname she reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Thanks Sis, good thing I have a spare change of clothes in my locker. We're gonna have to go back and grab it" he commented as he started walking away at a rapid pace. Hopefully they wouldn't wonder why he had spare clothes in the first place.

"WERE YOU PLANNING TO RUN OFF ANYWAYS?" Weiss shouted horrified behind him.

Jaune's fast walk became a full on sprint.


It had been awhile since Jaune felt like a sketchy bum. Dressed in black jeans with a grey hoodie with the hood up he made for a figure that wasn't really the most appealing to look at.

Or was it the fact that he was staring straight at the ground so that others didn't see his face? Meh he'd think about it later.

As he walked on the sidewalk he couldn't help but feel at ease walking unseen. The towering skyscrapers, the throngs of people, the noise of vehicles commuting created an environment he enjoyed being lost in. It's would be all too easy to be distracted by his thoughts at the moment however as he had something to take care of.

Right now his biggest project was ditching Cynthia.

He understood that she was watching him because of her protectiveness and her promise to Weiss but he couldn't deny it was frustrating being coddled this much. She was trailing a good twenty feet behind him so that she drew attention to her and more importantly away from him. Who would notice a youth in a hoodie when a celebrity is nearby after all.

Jaune came up with what he considered a brilliant idea. He smiled as he saw that they'd reached the train station. Giving a cursory glance at the departure schedule he noticed that his particular train would be leaving in two minutes.

Best to hurry this up then.

"OH MY OUM IS THAT CYNTHIA ARC?!" he screamed as he whipped around and pointed at her. As people followed his finger they all noticed the celebrity in their presence and had acted as all fans do. They ran up to her for autographs and questions.

Cynthia's livid/horrified expression brought him no small amount of amusement as he used the confusion to blend back into the crowd. Instead of pushing away from the mob which would have given up his position he let himself be pushed gradually out of the crowd and to the side entrance.

"She's going to be pissed" Jaune mused to himself. Walking up to the gates he swiped his scroll for the automatic ticket purchase and boarded the train. As he gazed at the ground he realized he'd need something for his face later.

What was that movie he watched with Weiss? The Scourge?


2 hours later

Cynthia had worried every day about Jaune never waking back up again. She'd acted strong and told her family that he would be fine but the confidence in her words was always lacking. After he woke up she'd broken all professionalism and tackled him when he came back to class. It was her sisterly affection that motivated her to follow him for Weiss.

That she had lost him soon after saying she would watch him was a problem.

"Weiss is going to kill me" Cynthia bemoaned. She was currently scouting the train station out to see if she could find her wayward little brother. While she had a feeling that he'd try to escape at some point she was confident in her skills enough that she'd be able to catch the little bastard if he ran.

Instead of running however he set a mob on her and hid. She wasn't even able to ask others to help find him since that would defeat the whole purpose of him traveling incognito. Oum knows he didn't need another assassination attempt this early.

It was a brilliant move on his end considering that she still couldn't find him hours later.

The first half an hour Cynthia had searched the station only to come up with nothing. From there she had bounced from station to station trying to find even a glimpse of his grey hoodie. Now that she was back at square one a thought occurred.

"...what if he changed his clothes?" Jaune had already kept incognito clothes in his school locker to sneak out. If, after getting away, he'd changed clothing there would be no way to find one person in a city of almost eight million. With the eyes of the dead and she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Cynthia? It's rare to be receiving a call from you in the evening" James Ironwood's voice came through…happy? "I hear you're watching over young Jaune. How is he doing?"

"...if I could find him I'd tell you" Cynthia stated after a lengthy pause. The only sound she could hear from Ironwood was the sound of nothing. Silent as the grave.

"This one person seems to just make my life rife with logistical nightmares" he sighed. "I'm alerting every soldier in Atlas to detain him if spotted and to report any tips. Reason for detainment being listed as: because his fiancée is going to be mad if she finds out he booked it. I'll also have someone search for every time a scroll purchase is made by the name of Jaune Fall."

Cynthia blinked at the reasoning provided. Hearing her scroll go off she glanced down and saw with abject horror that the general wasn't kidding. What's more there was a five-hundred lien reward for finding him.

James Ironwood had casually just created a competition to find Jaune. The competitors? Every soldier in Atlas.

Oum have mercy


Jaune was all smiles as he finally picked up his present. Upon arriving at the warehouse he'd checked in, made some friendly conversation with the clerk and was now relaxing at small coffee shop as he opened up his present.

The coffee shop was a small one with walls of dark brown and soft jazz floating through the air. Upon entering he'd taken seat a small booth in the corner. Looking at the package it was a cardboard box just larger than his forearm but significantly wider. Drawing out the opening he gasped when he finally saw the gift.

Two hunting knives. Unlike his previous knives they had black grips and the silver blades were curved inwards toward the end, almost like talons. These weren't meant for simply cutting. They were meant for slicing and gouging, for violence.

They were also surprisingly heavy.

"How do such small knives weigh so much?" he mused. The reasoning for her gift was not lost on him. He'd ended up losing the knives from his father and Cinder in the explosion. All that had remained were molten bits of slag covered debris as far as he was aware. It was quite thoughtful of his mom to buy them.

So lost in his thoughts he almost didn't notice the two small buttons on each knife. Sliding his thumb alongside one of the knives he watched as the bottom of the knife popped out revealing a container.

The container was filled to the brim with small lead pellets. It didn't take him long to realize that it was so he could always have some sort of lethal ammunition for his semblance.

It also explained why the knives were somewhat weighty. While inside the weight would help him cut easier and when outside he could have ranged projectiles. Jaune placed the knives in his jeans and quickly checked his jacket. His poor sister was unaware that it was a reversible hoodie and all had needed to do was turn it inside out and boom. Gray jacket off, black jacket on. Sipping the coffee he'd bought he pondered what his next move would be.

"According to Cinder's information they won't be at their base for another few hours at least. I guess I'll just relax here for a while" content to enjoy his coffee in peace Jaune leaned back against his booth and let out a sigh of contentment as he closed his eyes.

Not a minute later heard footsteps approach his booth and then the words "excuse me Mr. Fall we need you time with us". Opening his eyes he saw two Atlas soldiers standing next to his table.

Well there went his peace and coffee.

"Now why are two soldiers coming to pick me up in a coffee shop? Aside from ditching my sister I don't believe I've done anything to warrant an arrest" yet, he added mentally.

"We have a warrant for your detainment sir" detainment? One of the soldiers presented him a scroll and glancing at it Jaune felt tempted to shove one of his new knives through it. A city wide detainment order? What. The. Fuck.

Nope. Jaune was all for keeping cover but this was some grade A abuse of power. It was straight up bullshit.

Letting none of his thoughts show Jaune let out a sigh. "Sure I'll come along" he responded in a forlorn tone. As he walked in front of the soldiers he caught them casting him looks of pity. Good, he could work with that. Opening the front door he quickly cast his eyes around surveying the various buildings and areas with a high concentration of people.

The soldiers stepped behind him while making light conversation. Before the soldiers could react Jaune activated his semblance and rocketed up vertically. As his momentum started to slow he kicked off the side of the building. Moving from building to building for a minute he smiled as he soared through the air. Jaune couldn't help but sigh in relief as he finally saw a thick crowd. He rocketed towards the crowd to blend in. Feeling himself get closer to the ground he slowed his momentum with his semblance and landed seamlessly in the crowd.

As Jaune caught the stares of the passerby's he merely adopted a casual walk while fixing his eyes on the ground. Jaune couldn't help but inwardly smile as the citizens simply assumed he was "one of those weird hunters" and went about their own business. If he was a criminal or a mass murderer these sheep would be extinct.

No wonder Cinder was so cynical about the hope of Remnant's civilization.

"That's him!" a familiar voice cried out. Lazily glancing to his right Jaune's eyes went comically wide in shock. Accompanied by two soldiers Winter was marching straight for him.

"...nope fuck this" Jaune muttered to himself. Wasting no time he shot himself away from Winter. He heard the signature sound of her glyphs and could practically feel her catching up.

"I request back up in apprehending the target. I'm broadcasting my coordinates to all Atlas personnel so make sure to be ready to intercept" Winter called into her scroll.

"ISN'T THIS EXCESSIVE?!" Jaune shouted back. "YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO THIS. YOU HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHT!" he could understand the ordinary Atlas soldiers chasing him. Recognition and five hundred lien wasn't a bad deal. Why in the name of all that is holy was Winter participating? Specialists don't need more than their title to survive in Atlas.

"I'm doing this because I'm bored! I'd also rather not have Weiss ranting at me for not doing my part!" Winter yelled back as she gained on him.

Huh. Well that wasn't a particularly bad reason he supposed. He'd do the same in her position. Unfortunately that didn't change the fact that he needed to get away since he wouldn't beat her in a fight.

Time to do something she'd never expect. Ever.

As he landed one Jaune planted his feet against the ground and shot himself TOWARD Winter. They were both already accelerating too quickly towards each other to change direction. He stuck his fist out and let the force of two rapid objects crashing together strike her squarely in the jaw.

He'd essentially just sucker punched his future sister-in-law.

Briefly watching Winter spiral down into the crowd was mildly amusing in its own right. Deciding against sticking around he ducked into a nearby store.

The shop had black walls and surprisingly low lights. As he walked around he realized he'd found a neat little costume store. Reversing his jacket again he glanced around for items to disguise himself.

On the far side of the wall an item caught his attention. A clown mask. The mask had a tearful expression which would have been amusing if not for the bloody decorations adorning its face.

Oh this would be lovely for tonight!


Four hours later

"So-pff-y-you're telling me y-you got sucker p-punched by Jaune?" James Ironwood asked while visibly restraining the urge to laugh. Judging by Winter's eye twitch and glare he was clearly failing.

It didn't help that Cynthia had given trying and was collapsed on the floor laughing.

"It was...unexpected. Also why are you laughing Cythia? It's your fault he got away in the first place" Winter bit out. It was undeniable that being outdone by a Haze Academy student, no matter how much of a prodigy, was nothing short of humiliating. The worst part of it all being she just knew he was going to give her that blasted smug grin of his later.

She'd have to step up his training with her. If she happened to be a bit rougher so be it. Bruises built character after all.

"...okay let's call it even" Cynthia said sobering up.

"I'm honestly tempted to call this hunt off" Ironwood commented with a frown. "If this keeps going on then we're going to be considered a laughing stock. This reminds me. How does a teenager know to blend in and evade as well as he does? His combat level is unheard of but within reason. This...evasion however, is not."

It was a fairly pertinent question Cynthia realized. Aside from his disappearance and somehow being found by Cinder there was nothing on how he survived the way he did. The only thing they really knew was that his training was exceptional and that he was rendered comatose briefly.

"If I may, perhaps Cinder simply taught him more than just combat? Hunting often requires blending in with ones surroundings after all" Cynthia offered.

"Blending in with scenery yes, using crowds of civilians not so much" Ironwood countered.

"According to our records he lived four years on his own before being found by Cinder. I don't imagine living alone as a child being particularly pleasant or easy. Certainly not through legal means" Winter finally stated.

The silence in the room was palpable.

"Let's end this here" Ironwood finally said after a few minutes. "The hunt can continue but we'll leave Jaune's past be for now. Oum knows he's been through enough and is still the kind, if not a pain in the ass, individual he is".

Both Cynthia and Winter sighed in relief and shared an amused smile. They both knew that Ironwood's affection for Jaune was only half the reason he didn't delve to deep.

The other half was all the paperwork that would arrive on his desk if it did.


A large brunette male with grey eyes and orange shutter shades was lounging in his office. The man was impeccably dressed in white dress pants and a form fitting black dress shirt. This man was Randall Thorn.

Randal Thorn considered himself one hell of a good smuggler. Atlas' best even.

Despite Atlas being a military state it was still a kingdom that had spoiled rich kids. In their rebellious moods many wanted to try out new drugs from other kingdoms. Even soldiers would come to his boys for some red-102 to unwind from the work day. In exchange for the drugs he'd get cash, oaths of silence and even the occasional soldier to help him out.

It was because of the help that he'd managed to get a nearly abandoned factory complex on the south side of Atlas as his base. The complex took up a square mile and consisted of one central production plant and several smaller buildings. What made it perfect were the unclimbable thirty foot high walls surrounding the entire facility.

The factory functioned in the daytime as a producer of teddy bears of all things. At night, drugs would come in by the rate load and sales would be on their way.

All until his business took a hit roughly four years ago. His chief supplier from Mistral made the piss poor decision of pissing off Sloan. Then Sloan had the infamous bitch Cinder massacre the poor bastards whole gang.

How that fucking woman got a job as a teacher despite her criminal history was beyond his comprehension. Whether she falsified false records or ate out Haven's headmistress he didn't know and he didn't care to look.

His supplies had run low and it had taken him four long years to get his supply chain and funds back to normal. When he'd seen Cinder's adopted son living in Atlas he knew he had a chance for revenge.

It had taken months of planning. But they'd seemingly done it. The younger Fall hadn't died unfortunately had ended up comatose. Then he woke up.

Randall could have killed something. All that effort and planning ultimately did nothing.

Except bring an angel of death to his home.

It had started with the security system seemingly malfunctioning. The whole gang had ended up trapped inside the factory compound as it entered lockdown sequence, their walls had become a cage. Then the power had died. It was at this point they'd all realized that something was wrong.

Randall had immediately started a video conference call on his scroll to contact everyone in the factory. He'd only started explaining about a possible Atlas raid when something surprising had happened.

One of his men's head had seemingly exploded. The gore had showered the camera lens in a filter of blood and bone. Through the camera however he could make out a hooded figure with a clown mask.

"Today you pay for your sins" the figure had said before raising a knife and stabbing towards the scroll. The connection had cut there.

Despite immediately ordering his men to find and kill the man he'd been met with nothing but failure. Failure in the form of more and more of his men dying. Sometimes they would die quickly and the scroll connection dying off. Other times they'd witness disembowelment, hanging, being punched to death and other gory messes.

He'd never been more thankful for having a trash bin to puke into in his office.

Despite the macabre sights Randall ordered his men to stay connected to the call if only to better track the monsters movements.

He slammed his fist down on his desk. Once he found them they would be the ones paying. Paying for the sin of crossing him.


"It's been sooooo long since I've had this much fun!" Jaune mused excitedly. There were many things pleasurable in life but few things had matched killing in his opinion.

Killing grimm and other animals were fine but they lacked something humans had when hunted. Pure, unadulterated fear in their eyes. He could tell they were spooked. The first one he'd killed simply with a rock through his skull. For his next kill he'd strung some braided rope around and hung. Goon B as he'd dubbed him had looked at him with such hate and fear as he'd tried to loosen his noose that he couldn't help but smile back beamingly.

His mask ruined that effect unfortunately. Oh well.

He had gone on to alternate between silent murders from range and closer up intimate encounters. By mixing in ranged assassinations he could kill multiple guards from entirely different areas of the compound and keep them guessing his location.

Not that they'd be a threat to him or anything like that. If they had an idea of where he was it would kind of kill the whole "let's kill them while they freak the fuck out" thing he had going.

After all, a monster you can't see is infinitely more terrifying than one you can.

Spotting a new target he had a fun idea. He took out his knives and shot them through the man's kneecaps. This one had a delightful scream. Quite a range in fact. As he walked up to the screaming man he decided now would a good time to experiment a bit more with his new aura control.

He started by cutting off the wrists with his knives. Safety first of course.

Crouching next to the man Jaune shoved a finger into his bleeding kneecaps. Upon activating his semblance he could feel the blood through his aura. Every vein and capillary, almost as if it was his own.

Jaune focused on directing the blood 'outside' and watched in fascination as it started flooding from the man's pores. From his legs, arms, torso and even his skull! Within a minute all of the blood had seamlessly left his body to pool on the floor and on top of his skin.

It was as if the man had bathed in a tub of red paint.

Well that was certainly different. Jaune turned the man's scroll around so that those on the other side would be able to get a solid look. He chuckled as he imagined their reactions. Noticing a bulge in the man's jacket he reached in to have a look. Though blood covered, the man had a small black lighter.

"F-FREEZE!" a voice cried out behind him. Oh one of the goons had actually managed to find him?

Glancing behind him he noticed the man dressed in a grey suit and orange tie like the rest of them. The man had a pistol trained on him though it appeared to be shaking lightly. Letting out a bored sigh he closed distance and casually kicked the man into a nearby wall.

The sound of several cracks brought a grin to his face.

"Oh my sounds like you broke something there" Jaune commented. "Let me be your good old Doctor then" he finished as he pulled out one of his now bloody knives. Before the man could waste his breath begging for mercy he simply chucked it into his throat. Watching the man's blood start to leak as he choked to death he couldn't help but have one thought.

I wonder how else I can move blood around?


Randall fell out of his chair as the last of his feeds cut off. All his men were dead. Every. Single. One.

He'd started the day with one hundred men in his compound. They had been spread out over a square mile. Not one of them had survived.

"I'm not waiting for that fucker to get to me!" he muttered furiously. Pulling out his pistol he took aim at his door, waiting on the intruder to try it. There was only one way in and sooner or later the bastard who massacred his men would have to try it.

It was a sound plan in his opinion. Unfortunately his opinion didn't particularly matter when the wall behind him shattered into pieces. Randall attempted to spin around only to be met with a vicious punch to the hand holding his pistol.

He screamed as a knife followed the punch and his wrist was disconnected from his arm.

"Found you, at long last" the clown masked individual spoke.

"Y-you won't get away with this! People know me! They know I'm here!" he cried out in defiance even as he attempted to scuttle away.

"They may, but it won't matter. If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that fire cures most things" Randall could hear the maliciousness in the man's voice. Before he could comment on it he watched as the figure pulled out what appeared to be lighter. "Enjoy your time in hell".

The flames from the lighter shot to him as if they were fired from cannon. Even as Randall screamed and writhed he couldn't help but watch as the flames covered his body, the office and presumably the hallway outside.

Within minutes the entire compound would be wreathed in flames that would cause hundreds of machine explosions. An entire square mile of Atlas would be burned by the end of it. To put out the flames it would take Atlas personnel hours of flying airships to douse them and the assistance of specific hunters using their semblances to mitigate the damage.

General Ironwood would assign investigators to locate the reason for the large fire. Unfortunately all they would find were a multitude of remains charred beyond identification.

Jaune couldn't help but smile as he went back to Schnee manor. His new lighter was rather nice.