Hello again!

Another Chapter, so soon? What do you mean?

It's surprising how quickly you can write when you've actually got stuff planned out. Like, really. I'm pretty much putting this out ASAP, because I hate to keep you guys waiting any longer than I have to.

It doesn't help that reading some of you guys' reviews gets me giddy like a schoolgirl and really inspires me to write more.

Enjoy!

Jaune took a lengthy swig from his canteen. Killing Grimm was thirsty work, especially considering that himself, Yang, and Sherry were currently on the longest hunt of his life.

They'd left the town of Nyurse the moment the sun crested the horizon. Sherry led them in the direction the last pack of Beowolves were spotted in, according to the militia scouts. To that, Yang had made a request, of both Jaune and of Sherry: for them to leave the entire first pack to her.

Sherry said there was no problem with that – she wasn't meant to actively participate in the hunt anyways – and Jaune understood exactly why she wanted to take on all the Beowolves herself. It was one of the many things they'd talked about the night before. She decimated the first pack of Beowolves they came across, finally able to let loose, and then they moved on.

The night before, after Jaune's rather embarrassing – to him – breakdown, he and Yang talked about lots of things. Jaune discussed what he'd been feeling ever since the White Fang raid on the lab; how he was ultimately crushed by what he had to do – what he had done.

Yang was accepting; There was no other word for it. She listened, asked questions when she didn't quite get something, and more than anything, she made him feel better.

She explained if he didn't feel anything about killing those faunus at the lab, then he would be a 'monster'. She expressed how their deaths were an unfortunate necessity, and how if he hadn't done what he'd done, that those people could have gone on to hurt others.

That by killing those Fang, he'd saved lives.

Jaune... Jaune already knew that. Only before, he hadn't been willing to justify it. Would the Schnee heiress, Weiss, have been forced to kill them herself if Jaune hadn't? Would she have been injured, possible caught if he hadn't?

As far as Jaune knew, the girl had went for non-lethal blows when she could, but surely without Jaune there to help, she'd have eventually had to kill one or two.

Yang also pointed out that if Jaune hadn't killed those faunus, the Schnee heiress – or anyone else in the facility – might have been the ones to do it.

After that, Yang went on and talked about how helpless she'd felt during the whole altercation. How she couldn't help, even if she wanted. How she wished she could have been there fighting alongside Jaune.

They talked until they were too tired to talk anymore, and then quickly fell asleep.

The blonde boy shook his head, as he realized just how far his thoughts had wandered. Jaune screwed the cap back on his canteen, clipping it on his belt loop. Him and Sherry were currently watching from the top of a tall rock, in a plains-like area at the edge of a forest, as Yang punched her way through some Beowolves.

Literally. The beasts might as well have been made of paper, the way the blonde brawler's punches ripped through them.

Sherry had been content to allow the two students to take on the majority of the work. The woman was an expert on tracking Grimm, apparently, using any number of signs to determine where there was another pack of Beowolves, or, in a particularly interesting case, a herd of Boarbutusks.

Unfortunately for Jaune, Beowolves and Boarbatusks were all they'd come across so far. He'd wanted to test some of his new rounds on bigger Grimm, like an Ursa Major or a King Taijitu. If one of his normal .50 cal rounds was enough to punch a sizeable hole in a Beowolf, he didn't want to waste his Dust on something that could be dispatched so simply.

Sherry had also wanted Jaune to conserve his regular ammo, something the blonde could agree with. Even using his normal rounds would be a waste considering just how easy it was to take Crocea Mors and cut down the enemies they had so far.

Jaune smiled as he shook his head. He'd never would have thought something like that just over a month ago. How easy it was to kill Grimm.

"Ha ha ha, yeah!" Yang's laughter rang all the way up to the duo standing on the rock, as she sent a fist straight into the bone plated face of yet another Beowolf. The wolf Grimm was sent flying, falling to the ground with it's 'mask' shattered, dead.

"She's a really good fighter. You don't see many huntresses capable of killing Grimm with one punch – and I've been around." Sherry commented.

"Yang's good – really good – but you should see what her sister can do. She can cross the distance from here to the edge of the forest and bisect a Beowolf in under a second." Jaune reminisced, the image of the red cloaked girl standing at the top of the hill, a dead Beowolf behind her had been burned into his mind.

"No kidding? She must be quite the huntress."

Jaune felt a certain pride in saying: "She's two years younger than Yang and I. Not even a huntress yet."

"...Impressive."

Yang sent a fist into the gut of the last Beowolf in the clearing, one that had charged Yang from behind. The Grimm stopped dead in its tracks – again, literally – before it collapsed into a heap, slowly beginning to dissipate.

Sherry hopped down from their perch, the battle over, and Jaune followed.

"Jaune. Water." Yang panted out between breaths, hand outstretched towards Jaune. He could tell the girl wasn't truly winded or anything like that, but she had been moving constantly for a good five minutes straight; again having wanted to take on this entire pack herself.

"Yours is already empty?" They'd refilled their canteens from a stream not even an hour ago. Jaune grabbed his canteen, tossing it to his fellow blonde. Yang nodded, quickly unscrewing the cap before taking big gulps as she swiftly drank the contents.

She pulled the canteen from her lips – something Jaune, being the teenager he was, struggled not to notice – before letting out a satisfied sigh. Yang handed him back the canteen, now empty, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks. Don't worry, I'm sure there will be another stream you can refill it at. Hey, Sherry..."

"Yeah?" The huntress was inspecting the ground where the Beowolf bodies lay. Despite the scarred and marred ground where their clawed feet had dug in, Jaune was sure she was still looking for more signs that would tell her the whereabouts of more Grimm.

"How are we doing for the killcount?" Yang asked excitedly.

Sherry's pale fingers traced patterns in the ground as she responded. "Honestly, we're doing very well. I had the Inn rooms booked for three days, but currently it seems like we may only have needed two. If you guys keep it up, you might just end up with an extra day just ta' relax back in the village."

Jaune smiled at the thought. An extra day off, in addition to having completed their mission? That sounded great.

"I'd say we're about half done," Sherry added "and all we've fought so far are Beowolves and Boarbatusks. If we find some Ursa or anything considered more dangerous, we might be done even faster."

Yang nodded, grinning, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"There is one thing that is troubling me actually," the redheaded huntress gestured to a marking left in the ground. It certainly didn't look like the footprint of a Beowolf to Jaune. "I didn't really want to mention this, but it's better you guys are informed. I've never seen this kind of footprint before. And I've been a huntress for seventeen years."

Not a month then? Jaune smiled to himself, before wiping it away when he realized just what it was that Sherry meant.

"Do you mean to say that there's a new type of Grimm out here in this area?" Yang asked uncertainly. And for good reason. For the Grimm, different was bad – different meant that there was a chance it could be too powerful for them to handle. Too difficult to kill.

"No, that isn't exactly what I mean." Jaune sighed in relief, "Although, it's a possibility, it's more likely that it's a Grimm that I myself am not familiar with. Some Grimm are restricted to certain regions or habitats. I spend a lot more time in Atlas and Mistral, so I'm less familiar with the more unique creatures of Vale and Vacuo."

"What kind of Grimm do they have there? In Atlas and Mistral." Jaune could list a few of the ones unique to Vale himself, but knowing what Sherry had experience with might narrow down the list of possibilities.

"What you typically see down here. Most commonly it's Ursai and Beowolves, but we've got a lot more Creeps up on Solitas than Sanus does. There's more King Taijitu in the swampy areas around Mistral as well."

Jaune looked down at the track, puzzled. "What do you think left this though?"

"Well, King Taijitu don't have feet, and Creeps mostly live underground, so that rules them out. What do you think Yang?"

"Way too small to be a Goliath, obviously. Can't be a Nevermore; the tree's would have been disturbed..." Yang looked closer.

"Good observati- move!"

Jaune didn't hesitate, leaping forwards as Sherry ran past him, drawing her weapon. He heard the loud 'ting' of bone hitting metal and turned, pulling his gun from his back.

A glowing orange stinger was being held back by Sherry, her weapon – whatever it was, it was surprisingly small – crossed in front of her.

Was it safe to say that the track was left by a Deathstalker?

Sherry pushed the Deathstalker's stinger back, before hopping back to stand between Jaune and Yang, both with their weapons at the ready.

A greyish green moss stuck to the Deathstalker's numerous bony plates – a clear indication that it was one old Grimm. How did it even sneak up on them?

"What do we do?" Jaune asked Sherry, examining her weapon. It was very unassuming, a simple metal rod the length of her arm. It certainly didn't look like it had any power – more of a weapon meant to be fought with using finesse, aiming at vulnerable areas.

Judging from the amount of armor this Deathstalker had, it had very few vulnerable areas.

"Well, you've been waiting all day for a big Grimm to test your rounds on." Yang called from past Sherry. "Here it is."

Jaune felt his heart beat faster at the suggestion. "Got it." He reached into his pouch, pulling out the Frost-Light hybrid he'd shown Sherry and Yang on the Bullhead ride.

He loaded it – quick as he could – as the Deathstalker began to charge forwards. "Get clear!" He yelled, as he fired a couple of normal rounds to get the scorpion Grimm's attention. Jaune ran backwards, aiming for the eyes. The eyes appeared to be the most vulnerable part, yet when one of his bullets hit the glowing red-orange target, the Grimm wasn't even wounded.

Eventually, Jaune had his back against the rock he and Sherry had stood on earlier. The Deathstalker charged Jaune, it's pincers crossed in front of it's face to protect against any more incoming shots. Jaune jumped over the charging Grimm, using Crocea Mors' shield to block the stinger that followed up. The Deathstalker practically ignored the fact that it just collided with such a large obstacle, the rock splintering into pieces as it broke through.

Jaune was propelled quite the distance away, further from the forest, but it gave him more time. He flicked his arm, extending his rifle's barrel, and took aim as he slid along the ground.

Sherry, Yang, and even the forest ahead of him was forgotten in that moment. All that remained in Jaune's world was himself, the Deathstalker, and the distance between them.

And then he pulled the trigger.

And his world was filled with light.

Jaune's bullet shone brighter than the sun in the sky as it carved a path through the open space on it's way towards the Deathstalker. But Jaune couldn't look away, despite his eyes' protests. The Dust projectile impacted the face of the Deathstalker just as it was about to charge again. There was an odd ripple, as shards of ice began to spontaneously form along the body of the scorpion, the crystal-like ice glowing with the remnants of the Light Dust.

The entire black and white body of the Deathstalker was covered in ice, from it's face plate to the base of its tail. The only parts that weren't were it's pincers, it's legs, and the end of it's tail, where the stinger was.

Nothing moved. And then suddenly, the ice shattered.

Initially, Jaune thought his experimental shot a failure. But then he saw it wasn't just the ice that was breaking. The off-white bone plating that covered the majority of the Deathstalker's body cracked and began to flake off. It did so slowly at first, before in an instant, nearly all of the Deathstalker's armor had fallen off. The only armor left was what hadn't been touched – at the pincers.

Jaune didn't even know when he'd loaded another round. Had his hands moved on their own? He didn't even know what round he'd loaded; but as he slid the bolt forwards with a satisfying click, Jaune pulled the trigger a second time.

The Deathstalker screeched as it's body combusted, the roaring inferno consuming it as it spasmed in apparent pain. The flames seemed to stick to its body, as if attracted by some unseen force.

Ah, the Energy-Burn shot then.

After a few seconds, the screeching of the dying Grimm ceased. The ground shook briefly as Jaune saw the insectoid Grimm's legs collapse underneath it.

In just two shots, the Deathstalker was dead.

Jaune looked around, and quickly caught sight of where Sherry and Yang were standing at the edge of the woods. Sherry was glancing back and forth between Jaune's weapon and the dead Deathstalker, eyes showing apparent appreciation. Yang, however, had her mouth agape, a look of utter surprise on her face as she stared at Jaune.

Perhaps taking a page out of Ruby's book, he pulled back on the bolt of his rifle dramatically, ejecting the spent casing.

"What was that!" Yang shouted from where she was standing, still in utter disbelief, pointing to the dead Deathstalker. Jaune himself was shaking with excitement and adrenaline. He ran towards the other two, his legs practically jelly beneath him.

Jaune smiled giddily, "That... is what I didn't want to test on you in a spar." And for very good reason, he noted.

"That's..." Sherry sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Destructive."

"I told you they were dangerous." Jaune added, still excited from how well his Dust rounds performed.

"You weren't wrong. Say, Jaune...?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the effective range on that rifle of yours?" Sherry asked.

Jaune thought about that for a moment, "I'm not really sure, I haven't really tested that quite yet. Why?" He could hit the farthest target at Signal's range, but at only one hundred and fifty yards that wasn't saying much.

"Because if you get a scope on that thing, then you should be able ta' hit a target at over five hundred yards. At that point, the only Grimm that will be safe from you are the ones beyond the horizon."

Jaune looked down at the rifle in his hands. He'd yet have it painted, but Crocea Mors' shield still needed a new paint job too. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone?

Horizon, huh?

He liked it.

"Anyways, I think that's enough for today. We should get back to Nyurse." Sherry explained, noting the time on her scroll "We're going to encounter more Grimm on the way back anyways. We can kill as we move, and besides..." she gestured to the slowly disappearing corpse of the Deathstalker, "Something of that size should count for more than a couple hundred Beowolves."

Jaune nudged Yang. "If you've been counting, that means I'm winning."

Yang shook her head back, "Still only counts as one."

Jaune leaned with his back against the windowsill, breathing in the cool night air. He flipped the page in his book, eager to find out what happened next.

Oh Umi, you dirty girl.

At home, he never would have dared open a window in the late days of winter, but in their Inn room – consistently filling with steam – he felt like he had a good enough reason.

But just how hot was the water that Yang was showering with?

One might think Jaune insane, that he – a hormone driven teenage boy – was reading smut while there was an attractive girl showering just on the other side of a thin wooden door.

But those same people who would think Jaune insane clearly didn't know Yang Xiao Long very well.

Yang's rule for Jaune back in Atlas, when they'd shared a room there with Qrow, had been: 'Look, and you die.' It didn't help that Qrow had also been there to enforce that rule. Jaune had weighed his options then, and decided to chose life.

The door to the bathroom had water vapor rolling from out underneath it, courtesy of Yang. For the water to have been generating that much steam, it had to have been nearly boiling. Jaune wasn't sure if Yang was simply cleaning herself in there, or making soup.

He heard the tap turn off, and he closed the window. Almost instantly, it fogged up from the warmth and moisture.

Jaune made sure to avert his eyes as the bathroom door opened.

"Shower's all yours Jaune." Yang called as she walked over to her bed, her legs all Jaune permitted himself to see, using his hands as blinders.

Jaune tossed his book on his bed, moving towards the bathroom. He made sure his view of Yang was obscured. She'd trusted him not to look, and he wasn't about to betray that trust.

He turned on the water, and stripped down in preparation. He patiently waited for the water to warm up, testing the temperature with his hand.

Just to realize that it simply would not happen. For Yang had used the last of the hot water. Jaune sighed as he considered complaining, but upon realizing the futility of that pursuit the boy condemned himself to a cold shower.

Before he jumped in, however, he realized he hadn't brought his own soap, and that the Inn didn't provide any – unlike most hotels in Vale would.

He cracked open the bathroom door, sticking his head out, and called out to Yang, "Hey Yang, can I borrow some... soap...?"

The girl was wearing her night-clothes – a orange tank-top and short black shorts – but that wasn't what caught Jaune's attention.

She was sitting cross-legged on his bed. Reading his copy of Ninjas of Love.

Oh no.

Qrow was going to kill him.

Yang looked up from Jaune's currently least favorite piece of wonderful literature – the one that brought doom upon his world – an epic grin on her face. "Jaune~~!"

The blonde boy knew his face was beet red. He slowly pulled his head back inside the bathroom before closing the door, smacking his head against it a couple times for good measure. Despite how embarrassed he felt about the whole situation, he couldn't help but smile as he heard Yang's laughter from the other side.

Okay, so no hot water, and now no soap. Great.

Jaune took his shower – his brutally cold shower – and then toweled himself off. He got dressed in his own sleepwear shortly after. He didn't pack his onesie – Yang said that she'd burn it if she saw it again – instead just wearing simple grey pajama pants and a black tank-top.

When he exited the bathroom, he'd been expecting... something else? Yang was simply laying down – on her own bed this time – still reading Ninjas of Love. She didn't even acknowledge that he was there, as he went and crawled under his own covers.

Maybe everything was going to be okay?

"Okay, so how does Rin know Shiro? This doesn't make any sense." Yang said to herself, still not realizing that Jaune was there.

...Or maybe not.

He rested his head against the pillow at the head of his bed, closing his eyes as he drifted away to sleep.

Another shorter chapter, my apologizes. But we've finally got a name for Jaune's weapon, so yay! Plus, a little more exposition, as well as a slight hint of things to come - I wonder if any of you picked up on it?

And what will be the consequences of Yang reading one of Jaune's favorite books? We'll find out next ti- What do you mean we won't find out next time? WHAT?

Any complaints about Jaune's overwhelming victory over the Deathstalker? Please examine exhibit A: Coco's minigun turning one into chunks in V2E12.

Yeah. That's what I thought.

'till next time!

Updated: August 10/16