It was times like these that Daniel appreciated just sitting on the roof and stare off into the sky. He just felt so much at peace with himself as he feel the wind on his face and the clouds dusting around the sky. The sound of Jaune screaming as he was sent flying back into the door again for a third time in a row while he was training with his partner, Pyrrha in close quarter combat skills.

…Okay that last one may have been a stretch as he got up from his rather peaceful cloud watching in annoyance. As he saw Pyrrha running over to Jaune as he remained crumpled on the ground moaning in pain. As the rather strong woman was apologizing for accidentally flying across the roof once more. He had to admit though, it was rather funny to see him fly like that.

Since he came here whenever he's not talking to the history professor or the vice headmistress, he would often find himself coming here to stare at the clouds in contemplation. Things were changing quickly and there was not much that he could do about that, apparently there was a festival that had a tournament showcasing all the warriors in training from across the world.

But there was something that honestly bothered him more than anything right now, it feels as though the world was at a calm before the storm. He knew that sensation…war was coming soon, and it will not be merciful to those that do not prepare or have the guts to face the devil himself. But it was a gut feeling so he told no one, but nevertheless he kept a wary eye out still.

But as he turned back his attention towards Jaune and Pyrrha sparing once more, he could not help but get a very unusual feeling about his fellow comrade Jaune. Earlier he noticed that his callouses were not as well developed as the rest of his classmates and he even stumbled a bit in training last time he saw him trip over a small crack in the ground, which is dangerous to him.

But he noted for all his improvements, the boy's skills were nowhere near developed or as polished as the rest of his classmates. Heck even Cardin and his band of maggots have a better hold over their weapons than he does, and that is not really saying much about them. He then narrowed his eyes as he examined Jaune's fighting style when he was training with his partner.

Everybody have their own unique way of fighting, there are the tiny little differences that showed up when they fight or shoot. Natasha had a habit of sniffing the air before she take a shot and Laughing Dead tensed his muscles whenever he's about to ambush someone. Heck even he has these as well, when he twitches his ears to prepare himself ready to fight in combat at times.

Even his classmates show these habits at times. Ruby narrows her eyes, Weiss shift her right leg a bit forward, Blake's ears twitched a bit, Yang tenses her muscles and what not, Ren relaxes his body, Nora just grins heavily, and Pyrrha always shift her right hand back a bit. Jaune on the other hand, his body looks to be all over the area as if it was still working what it want to do still.

The issue that came from that was if the boy had no combat reflexes or presence to call upon to help him. It was as though the boy was still trying to pull out his combat presence to truly prepare for the challenges ahead of him. It only became more noticeable when he had his Aura activated. Apparently people glow when they get into that perfect state of mind to fight then.

So he decided to do a little investigating dating all the way back to when Jaune first did his initiation here at Beacon. He raised his eyes as he did not even bother to pay attention nor did he have a landing strategy to aid him and had to be rescued by Pyrrha then. But what really got to him was that he had no idea what the heck Aura was at the time when Pyrrha helped explain it.

Which makes absolute no sense at all, just about every academy that helps teach the basics of fighting and what not to their students require them to activate their Aura and learn how to use it. He was an exception among exception considering that no one has ever managed to do what the people of Remnant did with their Aura had done. It has also led him to one conclusion so far.

Jaune must have faked his way into Beacon Academy and was not actually a real student from any of the academies his transcripts must have said. Usually Daniel would rather not think of the worst from his comrades, but he knew full well that people were always willing to do what they can if they can get any significant benefits out of it. It is human nature to do that after all still.

But even so, he is taking the time to improve himself every bit on the way to becoming a protector. So he really does not care about whether or not he may have faked his records to get in. The Headmaster is far more perceptive than he looks at times. So he may have seen something in Jaune that allowed him to be accepted in the first place, like his determination.

But really the guy could use some additional help as well in his combat poses. He was already far too tense for a swordsman. Keeping yourself both loose and tight is key to close quarter combat. Even if he fancy himself more as a gunner than a fighter, he does know the basics in close quarter combat. Hell, every Minuteman knows some close quarter combat just in case.

"Now listen here Jaune, you have been making some improvements, which is great. Bow keep in mind of your own limits as well." Pyrrha advised Jaune as they got up to spar once more. "The key to battle is being able to keep focus and try not to let anything distract you, okay?" She smiled at him as the young leader psyched himself up again as they got into their combat stances.

At first there was silence and then a blunt voice called out to them. "You're too stiff." Eyes widening as they saw Daniel looking at them with observant eyes. She was wondering where the heck did he come from and what has he's been doing here? As they both looked confused as Daniel stared at Jaune once more with his observant calm eyes that made her a bit weary.

"Your stance is far too stiff, especially for a melee fighter, you have to be tight enough that you can keep firm yet loose enough so you don't fall over like a thin stick." Daniel lectured with great patience and observance as he went to Jaune and explain of the nuisances of close quarter combat. In all honesty I was quite surprised that he knew so much about fighting in melee.

As he went on about melee combat, he noticed that we were both staring at him with eyes widened and jaws dropped. "What is it you guys?" He asked a bit curiously and noticing the way they were staring at him with the postures and close quarter weapons he started to figure it out. "Ah is it because of the fact that I seem adept at using close range weapons perfectly fine, is it?"

As we both silently nodded our heads in response, he could only sigh as he went on to explain it. "All of us Minutemen have been taught a competent level of skills in both firearms and melee weapons, that way we will be able to use whatever is around us to kill our foes. Granted you don't see many Minutemen doing that, considering it is suicide to engage our foes in close quarters. But it is a necessity and sometimes we have to use it to kill our foes up close at times."

We could only nod as that actually did make a lot of sense for his group to do something like that, but then he went on further. "But there are some of us who use melee weapons more often mainly due to the fact that unlike some of us. Those specific Minutemen are better suited for dealing with Raiders, and we do not have the resources to keep using silencers as you call it."

Then he went into details about those kind of Minutemen that specialized in close quarter combat. "These Minutemen who perfected the art of sneaking around and silently killing off the Raiders were among our sneakiest kind. But there were also Minutemen that perfected the art of psychological warfare, leaving the kind of marks that would make a grown man piss himself."

When he said that last sentence rather ominously I could not help but shudder at thought of those kind of warriors to face. "They fought with fear, they fought with pain, and they fought with suffering. These were the nightmares of the Raiders on all those that dare to hurt others and prey on civilians. It just so happens that one of my old friends was a talented specialist in fear tactics."

I could not help but notice as he spoke more and more both me and Jaune were paying very close attention to his story. "And then he earned the moniker the Laughing Dead. Quite possibly the scariest chap you have ever met." He shrugged his arm as if it was not that big of a deal. "Though to be fair guys, he is not that bad once you get to know him, I know I did. Quite a reasonable guy in all honesty. Just a bit off his rockers if you ask me, but overall a nice guy."

He finished of his details with a shrug as he then looked at us. "So. How goes the training in blades go for the leader of your team so far?" Well now that I think about it, Jaune has really improved since the last time he fought and now has actual skills and battle maneuvers to work with now. So I like to think that Jaune has come a long way since he first got here at Beacon.

As I told him of our progress so far, Daniel seemed rather impressed. "Amazing, you have only been here for a short time and your skills are vastly improving already Jaune." He praised him as Jaune looked a bit sheepish and scratched the back of head. "It is almost as though you have never been taught in the basics of fighting back at your academy." I did not know why but I could not help but stiffen alongside Jaune who flinched at his remark, not that I could blame him.

Then he no longer looked impressed any more as he stared at Jaune as he also noticed my sudden stiffening as he walked up to Jaune. "I just have to know one thing. Did you or did you not fake your transcripts into Beacon Academy Jaune Arc?" And like that my heart dropped at what he said, how on Remnant did Daniel figured out that Jaune faked his transcripts into Beacon?!

Seeing the looks on our face he just sighed at us as he raised his fingers. "Oh don't be that surprised you two! It was not that hard to figure out from the clues he left. Jaune for one, does not have callouses on his hands that most warriors do when they have practiced with their weapons for a long time. Second, he did not have any idea what Aura is, despite that being a prerequisite at just about any Combat schools. Thirdly, Jaune does not have any habits or combat presence that everyone else here does, and yes that includes Cardin and his fools you two."

Then he raised his fourth finger as if to signal the coming end. "And lastly, Jaune has no idea of how to honestly use his sword and only just repeatedly just slash and hack his way into battle. Meaning he has no fighting style of any kind whatsoever." As he listed out all the reasons, I must admit he is rather good at knowing the reasons why Jaune should not be here at Beacon.

"Now then with all these coincidence in hand here please tell me whether or not I am wrong in my assumption in that you, Jaune Arc, faked your way into Beacon Academy." Looking to me for support all I could do was nod my head in reveal it to him. As then Jaune turned back to me he nodded as Daniel just sighed. "You know I am not a very judgmental person I like to think but I do wish to know why in God's name did you faked your way into the school, so enlighten me."

As Daniel raised his left hand towards Jaune wanting an explanation for why he did what he did. Jaune looked a bit conflicted but he then took a deep breath and told Daniel the whole story. He was just a kid who wanted to be a hero and warrior like his father and grandfather before him, how he wished to be the one saving others, how he desired to a man worthy or respect, and how he desired to be the one man that people look up to and be an inspiration towards others as well.

By the time Jaune finished his story, Daniel's facial expression has not changed, yet his eyes said a lot more though. His eyes were not the kind, understanding ones, nor were they the thoughtful ones as well. They were full of scorn and anger and the kind that made you feel like nothing. Then for the first time, he turned his scowl on someone that he considered to be a friend here.

"So you mean to tell me that you snuck into this school, put yourself in danger, left your family, got yourself nearly killed, charge in recklessly, and lied to your fellow comrades in arms. All for the sake of glory?" He said very coldly that caused both Jaune and I to flinch, despite the fact I was not the target of his fury right now, though the rage he had was terrifyingly cold and quiet.

He then continued on as Daniel was obviously not pleased with Jaune's lies about getting into the school, "Not to mention you went out and did not inform of your family of your entrance into Beacon, imagine if you had not made it through. How do you expect your family to feel about it Jaune Arc?" Then Jaune got angry when he mentioned his family's reactions to his actions now.

"SO what!" he snapped back as Daniel was caught off guard by his shout as Jaune continued his rant. "My parents never believed that I could do anything on my own and thought that it was better for me to do nothing and stay back home." He scoffed further as he went on, "My parents never believed in me they never thought I could do anything well guess what! I'm glad they are not here. Not only that, but you were already a major badass at doing what you did, unlike me."

That caused her to wince heavily as her heart also reached out to the boy that saw her for only as she was and who she became. But even then, that was not the right thing to say to Daniel as his eyes became vicious and had a look of revulsion on his face. He then dashed right up to Jaune before any of us could react, then he grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him up and punched him painfully hard.

Just as she was about to intervene she heard him whisper out. "Glad your parents are not here? I would give just about anything to see mine again." That caused all of them to go silent as Jaune realized what he just said and Pyrrha could do nothing about it. "My mom's name was Emily, my dad's name was Paul. They were taken from me when I was a kid and I miss them dearly."

As Daniel seemingly went into a trance both I and Jaune could look very nervous at his reactions. "My dad was a firefighter, ensuring that lives could be saved from fire disasters all the time. My mom was a nurse at the local hospital treating and taking care of the patients with special needs. I even had a sister by the name of Jenny, she loved to do ballet for the family. But all of that was torn away from me when I was a kid, I never truly got over their deaths. The only thing I could do was keep on living for their sakes and to make the most of my life so that when I eventually die, I can smile at them knowing I lived the way I wanted to." He said all of that quietly as he then started looking at Jaune in anger. "Do you think that I am happy about gaining the skills I did?! It simply took me losing my entire family, having my entire world shattered in front of me, almost dying, barely rescued, and learning to survive to gain my level of skills Jaune Arc. I was denied my right to normalcy and had to quickly grow up in order to survive my ordeals. I never tried to look back on the past too much, because what's done is done."

But then he pointed his finger very accusingly towards Jaune. "But let me tell you one thing Jaune, on the battlefield there are no such things as heroes and monsters, there is only the victors and the dead. You put yourself in danger out of vain ambition when you were clearly not suited to be a fighter, everyone else had their skills assessed and ready to fight to the bitter end. You abandoned your family for fame and glory that does not even matter!" Daniel almost shouted at him as he then scoffed at him before heading towards the exit but not before looking back at us. "I won't tell your secret Jaune, you do what you must I supposed. Pyrrha, I expect you to bring Jaune up to speed on fighting with blades. But I must ask you this Jaune, are you truly prepared to go down the Hell I once had to live through just to live like a pro? Are you grateful that your parents are not here while someone like me wishes to just even hold onto his parent's warm hands? Do you even have a reason to fight like the men and women back in the Minutemen do? Our motto is 'For those We Cherish, We die in Glory.' Are you ready to die for the people?" And those were the last words he said before he slammed the door shut and left soon enough.

Though it was comforting to know that Daniel will not sell out Jaune, it was… distressing to see just how badly, did Daniel miss his family. I realize that there was a lot to Daniel that we have still not figure out, and it seems Jaune will never know considering he just burned that bridge. It was harsh on Jaune as well as he collapsed on the ground and muttering and berating himself.

I just quietly walk through the hallways as I just started heading to my room, Jaune had no idea what did he suffered and only thought about what it was I gained. It has been a long time since I last exploded like that but honestly, how could I not explode like that? That fool had no idea of just how lucky he is to be in the position he was in considering the circumstances of his entrance.

The punk somehow got teamed up with possibly one of the most competent Huntress in training from Remnant, somehow got himself really good teammates that are very destructive or skilled. And is not taking instructions and lessons from said competent Huntress in training. Ordinarily I would not have mind this, if he had earned and worked his way into becoming a student.

But he did not do anything like that, and he sneaked his way in all for the sake of living up to a legacy? He just scoffed at such a pointless desire, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He will eagerly await the day that when he finally goes down into despair, he will be there to point out all the crap that has occurred. Then he stopped in his tracks think about what he said.

Since when did he started acting like an annoying, stuck up, rude, spiteful, envious little prick? This was below him and the thoughts only came after Jaune talked about his…family and…skills. He only sighed as he continued walking on now in a more somber mood now. He really did miss his family a lot and would have given just about anything to see them again.

It was somewhat of a sore point for him still, and to hear that Jaune so casually dismissed his parent's love and envious of the way he had gained his skills really rubbed him in the wrong way. He just sighed, it was like the time back at the orphanage and this time it was hurting more deeply that he care to go about. He went about his business till he bumped into someone then.

Now looking up he was surprised to see that it was Ozpin and Goodwitch walking down the way. It also seems that Ozpin and Goodwitch were surprised if their raised eyebrows were anything to go by. "Greetings Headmaster, Vice Headmaster, my apologies for bumping into you, just going back to my room and just got lost in thoughts along the way, sorry for bumping into you."

The two just smiled on as Ozpin then spoke up. "That is very much okay Daniel, just next time watch where you are walking all right?" I nodded and just as I was about to walk off Goodwitch spoke up. "Daniel if you don't mind me asking…just what was it you were thinking about?" Ah Goodwitch must have catch that look in my eye she was incredibly nice and observant like that.

Of all the staff members and teachers that helped me get used to Remnant the most, Goodwitch has been a major factor in all of that. She was honestly pretty distressed over the way my previous situation have gone and has tried everything in her powers to help me out. She was truly a mother hen, and it was something that I will be grateful about for the rest of my life then.

"No professor I do not mind, just reminiscing about my family and all, it has been a while but I do miss then still." Then their eyes turned rather sorrowful for me, it was a sore subject still. "Do not worry professors, just remembering about the best times I had with my family, nothing to worry about." I lied straight through my teeth but it seems they caught onto that lie though.

Goodwitch just sighed at me as she looked at me with understanding and sympathy "Daniel, you do not have to lie to us we are your teachers. It is our duty to help you students in any way we can. So will let us help you Daniel?" I looked up to them and saw that they were just concerned about my wellbeing not only as teachers, but sort of my guardians in this world now so I nodded.

Later we were in Ozpin's office as Professor Goodwitch offered me some tea, which I gratefully accepted it, soon as I took my first sip I felt calmer now. Then Ozpin faced me as he drank from his coffee mug once again, seriously though, how much of that coffee does he drink? It can't be that good or healthy for his body, same with Professor Oobleck. It cannot be that healthy to do it.

Then Ozpin motioned his non-coffee holding hand to me. "So Daniel mind telling us what has got you somber today?" Well I did not know where to start but starting from the rooftop of course might be a good place to start. So I started from there to my arguments with Jaune, to the fact that he's grateful not to have his parents, to my skills, my outburst, my loss, and my somber tone. I left out the fact that Jaune faked his way in here out of the promise I kept but I said everything I needed to say for now. Ozpin looked strangely contemplative till Goodwitch left.

And then he faced me and smiled kindly, not unlike of that of the captain, but what he said surprised me. "I am fully aware of Jaune's fake transcripts. Did you really think that I would not have noticed that a boy with no understanding of Aura or the correct training to even begin standing a chance to go to Beacon?" Boy did he get me there, also a good point as well.

"I'm assuming that you are curious as to why I let Jaune Arc in here to begin with then Daniel?" I nodded wanting to know why he let him in here. "It is because I see great potential in him Daniel, just as I saw potential in you to become part of a group that would become the new protectors of the next generation. I also thought that maybe Jaune could use some work to help him unlock that hidden potential of his, and now he is working towards unlocking that potential."

Daniel could only nod at him, he was a bit eccentric but at the end of the day, Ozpin always had his reasons for doing what he did. Then he reached the crux of the matter for me. "I supposed that when you found out about Jaune and what were his goals were you were more than disappointed with them considering they were not noble?" He asked as I nodded to him.

Then Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug once more as he stared out into the sky through his office. "The fact that he brought up the act that he did not care about his family and were jealous of your skills set you off, I believe. I can understand for you the desire to see your family again and the pain and agony that came with learning your skill set. And for someone like you that was an insult both emotionally and mentally as you lost everything because of what you suffered."

Ozpin now headed to the coffee machine to grab some more coffee and poured some sugar in it as he started stirring it. "For one such as you it is difficult to imagine people fighting for glory or respect. You are the kind of man that would prefer to protect as many people as you can and remain in the shadows. But when Jaune spoke of his jealousy you did not like it in the least due to the pains that you had suffered." He finally stopped stirring and drank more coffee down.

"It is perhaps a strong sore point for you, while you do have every right to feel angered about it. I also ask you that you give Jaune the chance to apologize to you as well. Unlike most of your fellow students, not all of them were forced to grow up in the way that you had to. So please keep in mind that not all of them are as mature that you wish for them to be. So I am asking you that you give Jaune the chance once he is willing to make up for it, can I ask you that at least?"

I was silent for the moment, did I really think it was a good idea to give Jaune a second chance if he apologizes for it? Of course my brain says yes and that it was better to let the past be bygones. But my emotions screamed no, considering that he stepped on a pretty big landmine and set off a nasty bomb with his comment. But like Ozpin said, he did not have to grow up like I did though.

Guess we will have to wait and see how this goes then. Well I will have to wait and see I mean. "I make no promises, if he does apologize consider it water under the bridge. But if he does not, that is a whole different story Professor." Daniel replied as Ozpin nodded, accepting that answer. After all, if one does not desire it, then there will be no progress made on the desire at all.

So for now the two warriors sat in peace, each enjoying their respective drink as they talked about philosophy and ways that people should live their lives. It was also a time in which Ozpin also asked Daniel about the old world and what was it like for the young boy to grow up in before the Great War. A subject that Daniel was all too happy to talk about as he eagerly spoke.

Cinder was not happy at all, so far it seems everything was going to plan till that maggot, Adam called her and had the gall to demand that they deal with whatever threat that has been annihilating his men. Ordinarily she would not have cared, but she needed whatever resources she can get her hands on. Not to mention she was losing useful and numerous meat shields.

So when she got to Mt Glen, she found out that they somehow encountered alien lifeforms from another world. She wonder if the leader of the White Fang was starting to lose it till she saw the pictures and recording for herself. It was at that point she needed to deal with them immediately and move on with her plan. These creatures had weapons that could easily bypass any Aura.

That was a threat that had to be taken care of as soon as possible. Not to mention since the constant attacks keep causing the White Fang grunts to either die or desert out of fear of dying or being captured by these aliens. She will not have anything disrupt her plans. Already Roman was having more troubles trying to collect Dust with fewer and fewer men each day due to troubles.

She was not amused when the brainless White Fang got themselves caught on television and confess to numerous crimes that would make most potential recruits back off from joining them. Not to mention the White Fang cell that was stationed hear Patch have all been wiped out. So there was no longer a base of operations or a unit that can operate in Patch and that cost dearly.

She needed to have everything under control and be perfect, those damned aliens were making her plan come to a sudden halt now. And she needed all of them to be ready by the time the festival starts and when the tournament rounds begin. She cannot afford any distractions like this right now. So she and her two minions were walking down the cave to deal with the aliens once and for all.

Too bad, that she underestimated the powers of the Chimera and their intelligence.