A/N: Finally updated. I rewrote this at least four times, and I'm still not satisfied, but enough is enough, and it's time to move on.

The Price of Altruism II

Jaune was enraged, even two hours after the fact. He kept walking back and forth in his room, trying to burn off the anger in his heart.

He couldn't believe his father; it was his choice where to take the apprenticeship. After all, it was what he was most likely to do for the rest of his life. Only his opinion should matter.

Suddenly a rough but female voice came through his door, "Jaune, stop pacing, or I'll burn every comic book you have!"

Jaune was about to yell 'Shut up!' at his sister, but the words were stuck in his throat when he opened his door and saw his sister, Kumori. She was filthyand exhausted.

The upper part of her hair that was usually blonde now had traces of mud and leaves, the lower half that only reached till her shoulders were even worse, where she dyed her black now it was only brown. Her cheeks in her face had traces of dried mud that she washed away with water.

Her face of annoyance transformed into a look of surprise when he opened the door, and she asked, "You were about to yell at me?"

Jaune didn't know what to say, as he wasn't up when her sister came home from her shift as a scout, and words just jumbled in his mouth, "I.. Yea- No, no, it's nothing."

Kumori just raised an eyebrow, put a hand on her hip, and said calmly, "So you are pacing in your room at three in the morning, and the moment I tell you to stop it, you almost yell at me, and you say nothing it's wrong?"

Jaune sighed and said, closing the door, "It's nothing. I just argued with Dad."

Jaune felt as if the door hit a steel wall as he tried to close it. He took a glance at the hand at the edge of the door and sighed as he looked at the curious look on her sister's face; he should've just stayed quiet.

Kumori said incredulously as she entered the room and closed the door behind her, "Good little boy Jaune argued with Dad?

Jaune could only let her in and said with frustration, "Don't talk like I've never argued with Dad before."

Kumori snorted and said while rolling her eyes, "Yeah, when you were five, and he stepped on your toy truck."

Jaune countered as he leaned on his desk, "What about the time he made me come outside for the barbeque when I was about to finish the game I was struggling with."

Kumori said with a knowing look, "Come on, we both know you were just frustrated."

Jaune was about to counter, but Kumori stopped him as she said, "Come on, we both know you aren't one to get angry—at most frustrated or annoyed, and if Dad was the one that made you angry, it must be pretty serious."

Even then, Jaune still hesitated. He was unsure which side her sister would take, as she was pretty rebellious, but she was also pretty serious about her job. Kumori saw that and spoke again, trying to convince him, "Jaune, come on, you are always there when I need to vent. Let me repay the favor."

Jaune sighed and said a bit unsure, "Fine. It was abo-"

Kumori cut him off. She urgently said as she took a glance at an upper corner of his room, "Not here, Dad and Mom can hear us. Let's go outside."

Jaune took a wary glance at the corner and nodded at her sister, and proceeded to follow her outside. As he followed her behind, he noticed that her clothes were clean, so she must have changed and asked, "Why didn't you shower at the Guard House?"

Kumori took a glance back and asked with fake hurt, "Do I smell that bad?"

Jaune nodded and said honestly, "A bit, yeah."

Kumori laughed a bit and, for a moment, stayed silent and said, "I prefer to take a bath after a shift. If not, I feel on edge until my shift starts again."

Jaune was unsure what to say as it felt deeply personal. Unlike the usual Kumori, it was after they reached the backyard that he said, "It's amazing we haven't noticed the water running at three am before."

Kumori nonchalantly said as they reached the backend of the yard, "Well, Dad and Atlanta notice when I get home and prepare the bath. Only Dad gets up from the bed to welcome me back. Meanwhile, Atlanta, get back to sleep."

Jaune nodded as it made sense. Nobody should be able to sneak into their house while Dad or Atlanta was in it.

But a more pressing question appeared in his head when Kumori told him about her routine with Dad, "Did Dad welcome you back tonight?"

Kumori took a glance back and examined his face before saying, "No, he was talking with Mom."

Jaune questioned with a bit of hope, "Talk-talk or Talking?"

Kumori replied, a bit exasperated, "Not arguing, if that's what you are asking."

He had no words for his disappointment, so when a few seconds passed, and a chilling wind brushed against his ears, he said, "It's a bit cold out here."

Jaune took a look at her older sister's face, and she was staring at a point in front of the house as the wind flayed her dirty hair.

Kumori turned around and looked at him with a smile at the edge of her lips and said, "Okay, we're safe—spill."

There was a bit of silence as he leaned on a patio table, and his sister did the same across him. Her expression was of a starving wolf, and her appearance only reinforced that fact, a total contrast to his attitude.

Jaune was a bit put off as he realized he was doing this more for his sister than himself, but Jaune had no option but to talk, so he would be as blunt as possible to get out of this as fast as possible.

Jaune took a deep breath and said after a moment, "It's about my apprenticeship. I want to be a guard."

Any sense of curiosity was slapped out of her sister's face by that statement, Kumori's lips transformed to a thin line, and her eyebrows scrunched together.

Kumori's silence was deafening. Only after a few seconds did a whisper come out of her lips, "What did Dad say?"

Jaune examined her sister as he said, "He didn't say anything at first. I think he was a bit in shock. But after that, he said, 'No, absolutely not.' and after that, it was just a blur."

Kumori's face was unreadable, and she made no motion to talk, so he continued, "We argued, I shouted a bit, he stayed calm and tried to explain to me why I shouldn't do it, while Mom stood silent in the corner and did nothing."

Kumori still didn't speak, so he took a silent sigh and continued, "After a few rounds of that, Dad had enough and said if I applied to an apprenticeship as a guard, he would make sure nobody would take me. I shouted angrily and left the room."

He turned to leave, but a hand grabbed his wrist. It wasn't a firm grip, he could shake it off if he wanted to, but her sister's words froze him.

Jaune took a second before he could process them, but they were soft, warm, and caring, "It must've been hard for you."

Jaune slowly turned around, and her sister slowly withdrew her grip from his hand, leaving a faint trace of warmth as he looked at her. Her face was soft as she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, her head against his shoulder.

She reeked of dirt, sweat, and blood, but her hands pushed him slightly in her embrace, warming up against the cold winter night. Kumori's words once again reached his ears, "You knew this was going to happen. That's why you waited for a night where it was only Mom, Dad, and you."

Jaune felt something stirring up in his throat as he said a bit hoarsely into her sister's head, "I thought I could change his mind."

He slowly retreated and rubbed his eyes as he looked away a bit, and her sister replied softly, "Jaune, you know what happened to our uncle and aunt. Not only them, but how many friends, colleagues, and students have Dad buried over the years? I don't think he can take to lose his only son."

Jaune didn't remove his eyes off the ground as he said, "But you and Atlanta are guards... And you are the only scout I have heard that stays for so long outside the walls."

Kumori sat on the patio table as she said, "It's different... We were ready. We trained years under Uncle Elm, and he went above and beyond to make sure we were nothing less than exceptional."

Jaune finally took his eyes off the ground and said, "But that's the whole point of apprenticeships, to learn from an expert... I just want one chance."

Kumori said somberly, "It's different, Jaune. Let me be real for a second here—everyone expects that Atlanta or I will die- it may be small or big, but it's there, it won't come as a surprise."

Jaune interrupted her for a moment, "It's not like I will be sent to fight right away. There is a period of training of a few months. "

Kumori nodded as if she expected it, "There are the differences of nine to ten yeards to a few months."

Jaune had nothing to say, and Kumori continued, "Let's say you have your one chance. Do you think you can do what a guard does?"

Jaune, with a bit of hesitation, said, "With training-"

Kumori interrupted him as she raised her hand to her face and said, "I'm not talking about that. We don't just kill Grimm."

Jaune paled and didn't know what to say as he said, "I-I think I could."

Kumori looked at him and said, "Jaune out there is no 'think' or 'could' its do or die."

Jaune had no words, so Kumori continued, "I've killed seventeen people, each of one had Kill Orders from a Kingdom. They each lived a life with hardships, joy, friends, family, enemies, but I cut it short."

Kumori said then, "You think you can do that and come home and act normally?"

Jaune looked away and said, "You are an exception. I'm sure it's because you're a scout."

Kumori didn't deny it and changed the subject, "Jaune, dying is just a few horrible moments. What matters the most is what you leave behind. You think you can still go through with this?"

Jaune didn't know what to say to the implied question, 'Are you that selfish?'

Jaune shook his head as his eyes focused. He was still feeling a bit sleepy, and his head was wandering. It was probably why he remembered his conversation with Kumori.

Maybe it was a reminder that this was his last chance before turning back. He felt as things would change once he came back from the Hunting Grounds as it would prove something to himself, that it was only himself that decided his lot in life.

That is if he came back alive and with the will to go on.

As he thought of that, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his breath shorten. Jaune knew himself; he knew he was afraid, but that wouldn't stop him, but this was the step that his father and sister warned him.

Going out to the Hunting Grounds was no game. This was life and death, as Grimm gave no mercy.

Jaune reached into his bag, where Crocea Mors lay, and grabbed its hilt. He felt his body and aura settle as he grasped it, and conviction filled his heart as he knew he had already enough practice and he needed to take the next step.

Jaune needed [Nightmare of Eternal Battle] if he was going to make it into Beacon. He knew there was still potential in [Shadow Fighting V.2], but he needed to advance his semblance because the clock was ticking, and he only had three months and a week left.

He had a few ideas for [Nightmare of Eternal Battle]. For one, he could try to buy dust. While he couldn't buy continuously, he only needed to make sure he had a supply during his dreams.

Hopefully, he could use a piece of dust over and over again. However, he needed a permit if he wanted to take it home, so he needed to figure out how to use dust in his dreams.

This would give him a ranged option as he would need against the hard-light constructs in Beacon's examination. He had no expectations of being good at dust manipulation. It only had to be usable in a fighting context.

Jaune didn't need to be the best. He only needed to be good enough; he would worry about everything else after making it into Beacon.

Though it also brought the necessity of money once again. Jaune had looked through options to make money, and they were possibilities, but it was dangerous.

The biggest and most obvious option was to become a mercenary and use his semblance to fulfill different requests, but there was an obvious problem.

People would take notice of his changing semblance. That would be unsettling as the most common reason for kidnappings was a combination of a semblance and a lack of training. He would fit perfectly.

But what concerned him the most was the potential of his semblance of using itself as a price to enhance another person. He had at first thought nobody could force him to use his semblance, but then he remembered the girl at the bar that forcefully activated it.

Sure he didn't know if they would force his semblance to enhance another person or what result may happen, but there was always a possibility that it could happen.

What he was most scared of was someone forcing him to use [The Gamer] on someone else, and it would leave him with six months to live and no semblance. Meanwhile, he left someone like the club's boss with the ultimate growth semblance, just a recipe for Vale and Remnant's disaster as a whole.

Jaune didn't know if it could happen; he didn't want to check because he was scared of a worse possibility. After all, the semblance still left him six months. There was still a higher price.

With that thought, he started taking deep breaths, let go of Crocea Mors' hilt, and interlocked his fingers as he sat on the bus seat.

After a few moments of silently focusing on his breath, he focused on his surroundings, at the vacant bus and the moving city around him.

Vale was utterly different from what he was accustomed to. It was a metal city, its colors gray and dull, but despite that, there were more signs of life than in his village, people always moving, talking, and generally with a purpose to where they were going.

People only talked when spoken to and never tried to talk to people they weren't with, and it made sense to him; they weren't united like they were in Meliora. In Vale, people's most significant threat was other people, and in Meliora, it was always Grimm.

People in Vale knew Grimm was the most significant threat. Still, they never actually experienced it, except during Vale's expansion, but even then, people didn't look at Grimm like the culprits, only the administration at the time.

Suddenly a chime sounded through the bus sound system. He checked the map and made sure this was his stop before grabbing his bag and leaving.

Jaune stepped out of the bus, and he felt a nostalgic air at the scene he was witnessing.

Lush green trees were at both sides of the road, the buildings were small, at most one or two floors, and they weren't clean and slick like they were in Vale. They looked old, filled with cracks.

But what caught his attention the most was the Wall of Vale, its back propped back against the sky, almost reaching the sun, and it felt as wide as the earth itself. He made his way towards the wall as he focused on it.

The sight of the wall and the greeny made Jaune feel like he was in Meliora-if it wasn't for the overwhelming amount of publicity surrounding the streets, but he had already been in Vale for a few weeks and gotten used to ignoring them.

So he went along looking for the Hunting Grounds #36 Administrative Office. As one couldn't just go outside the walls, he needed to be registered as an Aura user and sign a waiver that the government was not responsible for his possible death.

The waiver didn't peeve Jaune. He was mainly bothered that he would be registered as an Aura user, where he would have to have to pay a higher tax rate, and he needed every lien he could find.

But it was much better than what having aura meant a few decades ago, where one would need to be a Huntsman, join the military or complete a certain amount of missions as a mercenary in a year. This change was mainly due to the implementation of drones and paladins in the military.

For a few years, there was an increase of Aura users across Vale, but people soon realized that having an aura was a lot of hard work, dangerous -for the people around you-and expensive.

There was still a possibility that they could have a semblance with commercial use, but those were rare, and most problems could just be solved through innovations and technology.

Jaune just shook his head as he arrived at the Hunting Grounds #36 Administrative Office. It was a small one-floor building, and although it was old, it looked well maintained.

Jaune sighed as he entered. He hated doing these formalities.

An hour later, he had passed through all the paperwork and gone through a quick shop at Hephaestus Armory, where he bought a few items he had researched before.

It was a good thing there were dust items that didn't require a permit (to use outside the walls) or any skill to use them, there were used through a quick push of a button or flip of a switch.

The first item he bought was called Earth Wall. It did exactly as its name said, though you would need to borrow it into the ground for it to work, and he would need to activate it through his scroll, though it was simple enough, press the lock screen button three times in a row.

Jaune also bought five Gravity Grenades. They created a concussive force in a small radius, but they didn't do anything too damaging, at most, push back an Ursa.

Jaune pushed his duffel bag back after checking he had everything in place and taking out Crocea Mors. He then strapped it to his belt, and after shaking his leg a bit and making sure it wasn't falling, he focused on the scenery in front of him.

There was a road of dirt ahead of him, quickly showing the path forward, big and old trees surrounding the Wall of Vale, but even the highest trees didn't reach a third of the wall's height.

In a way, it reminded him of home, when he was taken out on field trips, but the forest was all wrong, the spaces between the trees were too far apart and the road too traveled. But he still felt the same excitement, nervousness, and fear, except ten times over.

Suddenly a voice reached out to him, "You shouldn't go out there if you aren't ready."

Jaune turned to look at his right side, and a guard was leaning against the wall. With dark green hair, leather armor, with a sword in his waist.

Jaune took a deep breath and reached into his aura, and it was completely different from usual.

Aura wasn't stored in the middle of his body, but he could feel it dwelling in his muscles because of [Minor Cloak of Strength], and he slowly drew it out towards the surface of his skin. It was a bit awkward, but eventually, he accomplished it.

Jaune turned to look at the guard, and he said, "I'm ready."

But the guard wasn't leaning back on the wall anymore; he was standing upright, knees buckled, his hand nearing his sword and eyes focused on his frame as he said with a warning in his tone, "Be more careful with your aura, kid."

Jaune was a bit confused for a second, but then he realized it was because he was drawing out his aura and said with embarrassment as he scratched his head, "Sorry."

The guard relaxed and took his hand off his sword as he said, "Just go," and after a brief pause, he added, "and good luck."

Jaune replied, "Thank you." He moved along the rough path of dirt and moved along the Hunting Grounds.

Jaune trudged the forest for an hour at a slow pace, and he started noticing the difference in his surroundings. They no longer were old, healthy trees.

They were young, with traces of edges along with the bark, sometimes even entire sections ripped off, but Jaune couldn't tell if a Grimm did it or not.

But as he walked forward, there were fewer footprints on the dirt and more claws that told him enough that he needed to draw his sword.

Jaune decided that he was far enough to lay his equipment and traps a few ways off the main road, as a place he could fall back on if he couldn't handle himself. He knew soldiers were patrolling the Hunting Grounds, but he should only count on himself.

So Jaune walked West of the main road, and after a few minutes, he heard a low growl coming from his right side, and his head snapped to the side.

Roughly ninety yards away was a newborn Beowolf, not like the ones he had manifested with [Shadow Fighting V.2], its pitch-black fur soaking wet, its claws and feet stained with mud, but its red eyes were the same, filled with hate and rage as its started to charge him.

Jaune's breath hitched for a second, but he still slightly bend his knees, relaxed the grip on Crocea Mors, and kept his eyes trained on the Beowolf.

Jaune saw it motioning its mud-stained claw backward and immediately ducked its strike, but he could still hear the mud swishing in the air, but he paid it no mind as he turned to look the Beowolf righting itself to charge him once again, but he was faster.

Jaune took a step forward. As he did, he could feel his aura strengthening his every muscle as he thrust the sword through its throat with little resistance.

He locked eyes with the monster as its maw opened and closed, trying to impale itself further, and swung its claws towards him, but it had already started to disintegrate, and only black dust reached him.

Jaune stood there as he slowly lowered his weapon, and after looking silently at the vacant space, he thought to himself, 'Shouldn't have gone for a thrust. A swipe would've been better.'

He had to admit; he was a bit concerned that relentless will to continue even after having a sword in its throat was terrifying, but he pushed the thought back and heaved a sigh of relief because [Minor Cloak of Strength] was enough.

Jaune then righted himself and set out to look for a place where he could place his equipment.

Jaune was looking for a small clearing where he could set up his traps. The idea was it was a place he could fall back on, so it would only be used if there was a significant amount of Beowolfs or if he was low on aura.

So when he reached the clearing with Beowolfs on his tail, they would converge on him as there would be no trees. At that moment, he would head towards where the Earth Wall was planted and raise it the moment he passed through, where wooden spears launched by Gravity Grenades would kill the Beowolfs that hit the Earth Wall.

Jaune had considered using the Gravity Grenades on Beowolfs, but it would just give him more time to run. Though it was still a plan as he wouldn't use all of his Gravity Grenades on the spears, he would just use three, and the two left would be the backup plan if all failed.

Though he hoped he wouldn't have to use any of it.

Jaune then took out the knife and wire he bought the day before and got to work.

Jaune was walking through the forest with a bit more confidence, as he had a place where to fall back on, so that lead him towards where he could test his new semblance.

He already knew it was a strength boost, but he didn't know how much and was eager to find out. Jaune stood in front of a maple tree, at least fifteen meters in height, with Crocea Mors in his right hand.

Jaune took a deep breath as he felt the aura coating his muscles and skin as he swung his sword towards the bark; he barely managed to make out the bark hitting his sword, but it wasn't putting a strain on as the tree was cut clean off and started falling towards him.

He scrambled to the side and watched with a dumb grin as the tree slowly smashed itself against the ground.

Jaune's confidence rose as the sound of the crash spread through the forest as if declaring a challenge to the monsters.

It didn't take long for one to appear as he heard its signature growl reverberating through the forest. Jaune's attention was immediately pulled towards Beowolf as it charged towards him.

Jaune was only going to wait in place until he heard howling behind him, so he rushed towards the Beowolf that was in his sight, and it shoved its maw towards his shoulder, but it stopped in place when a sword came through its throat and left by its skull.

Its weight stopped him by a second before it disintegrated, but it helped him turn his shoulders towards the second Beowolf, and it was at most ten feet away from him, already jumping with its claw midswing, but he didn't panic.

Jaune moved his left feet towards the Beowolf and brought his sword down, cleaving through its shoulder and leaving through its hip, tearing in two and leaving each piece at each side of him.

Jaune turned to look at the evaporating pieces of the monster, and a smile bloomed on his face, and he thought to himself, "I knew I could do this."

But his thoughts were halted by the rustling of leaves nearby. Jaune's eyes trailed its source, and he saw another Beowolf, but unlike the others, it had white markings forming in its face.

He slowly walked forward, but the Beowolf held its place. He was confused until he heard growls around him; after a brief pause, Jaune rushed ahead, and it couldn't maintain its composure any longer and swung its claws towards him.

Jaune had no choice but to swing towards the attacking claw, cutting in clean at its forearm, but this didn't stop his momentum forward, so he awkwardly kicked the abdomen of the monster, sending it forwards with its back to the ground and stopping his momentum.

Jaune runs towards the fallen Beowolfs as he heard growls drawing near his ear; he quickly inverted his grip and thrust Crocea Mors through its skull and into the ground. Immediately after, Jaune felt a claw tore through his t-shirt, shoulder, and aura, making him let out a small grunt of pain as he was sent tumbling ahead.

He caught himself with his head facing downwards and his sword away from the Beowolf, so he could only manage to grab the Beowolfs forearm before it reaches him, and to his surprise, it felt as if he was fighting against a child.

He drew his sword back and swiped his sword through its hip, tearing it in two. For a second, Jaune awkwardly held Beowolfs upper part before it disappeared.

Jaune then did a quick take of his surroundings and didn't see any more Beowolfs seeking death, so he relaxed his stance and breath a sigh of relief as he sheathed Crocea Mors.

He felt proud of his accomplishments, but most of them had disappeared except for the maple tree that called out all the Beowolfs, so he went towards it to examine it.

As he walked towards the tree, he checked his shoulder, and there didn't seem to be any problems except for the giant claw marks on his t-shirt. He felt they were cool, but more importantly, it proved that he was at the level where he could use aura to protect himself.

Movement at the edge of his eye and the sound of dirt being kicked off brought his attention toward the fallen tree. There was a rifle staring at him a hundred yards away, and behind it was a silver-haired man wearing a long-sleeve grey shirt, jeans, and a backpack on his back, staring at him coldly through a scope.

Before Jaune could say anything, the man, just a few years older than him, spoke, "Drop your weapon and walk away."

Jaune had a feeling he wasn't a guard.

A/N: This chapter was a pain to write, I had three other scenes, but I eventually deleted them. They were the Hunting Grounds Office, buying at the dust store/armory, and setting up camp, but they were empty and served no purpose.

I also apologize for the flashback-(I may rewrite it in the future)- but it's necessary not only for this arc and to move forward. As for Kumori, she has a purpose; she would've trained Jaune if he had more resolve then and decided to say to her that 'Yes, despite everything, it's what I want', but at a point in time didn't have that.

Anyway, thanks for all the support, and I'm sorry I haven't uploaded it in so long.