A man sat at the top of a mountain in front of a temple made of stone. Around his head was a headband which covered his eyes so that he would not be able to see, but his ears remained attentive to his surroundings. It was around this time of day that the creatures of Grimm would attempt once more to take him, but everything always ended the same.

A small boy watched along with his friend, both hidden in the shadows of the temple, as the man cut down scores of Grimm with only a sword in hand. Their eyes widen as he finished the rest off, and walked up to the temple. He placed a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it up as he set his sword down on a kneeling table. The two boys attempted to sneak off, but were stopped as the man pulled out a pair of wooden swords and turned to them.

"Whenever both of you are ready, we can begin."

A red blade was held to the neck of the man with his eyes covered. He did not move, nor did he flinch when he felt the cold metal meet his skin. He remained calm and pulled out a hand rolled cigarette.

"Welcome back, Adam." He placed his headband back into place, and looked up at his pupil. "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"You didn't flinch, or raise your blade." The man stood, almost towering over the young man. He began to walk back to his stone temple.

"You forget, I've memorized everything about you; breathing, footsteps, heartbeat." Adam's eyes widened under his mask in surprise. He followed his old master into the temple, finding it much cleaner than it had ever been before. He looked around, memories coming to him as he did. "You came for a reason. What is it?"

"I came to complete my training, master." The man turned to look at him. Years wasted on a pointless crusade to make humanity fall on their knees, and now he had returned to finish his training. The only question the master had for him was;

"This is about Jaune, isn't it?" Adam said nothing, his grip on his favored weapon tightening. His master understood, and with a nod led him into his stone temple. The master looked around, taking in the scenery; not much had changed, other than a few extra blades and hand crafted figurines. "Go wash up and take one of the practice swords. We'll begin shortly."

Adam nodded and placed his weapon down in front of his master before stepping into another room. The man finally lit his cigarette and took a drag. His eyes wandered to a shelf just above his figurines. A ghost of a smile came to his face as he looked on.

"Just like old times, Jino..."