Welcome to ch 13 of TPA. Hopefully it won't be unlucky.

Ch13

Jaune looked at his reflection in mirror and winced. He didn't look too good. And he wasn't even talking about shadows under his eyes, or how tired his face looked. He lifted his right hand, and winced again. The pain wasn't as strong as it was before he applied his medicines, but it still hurt to move it around.

Most Witchers prefered to take at least a day or two of break after each Harrowed kill. And if they had to take on three in a single week -they would usually take at least two weeks to recover.

Not because of exhaustion, or wounds. Though these could be valid reasons too, but there was another, much more serious concern - corruption.

Jaune clenched his teeth as another wave of pain washed over him. It originated from his right arm - which now was pitch black, with multiple red, slightly glowing lines covering it.

Well, could be worse. Good thing they finally hired some help, me and Peter wouldn't be able to keep this up any longer.

Jaune sighed, and started putting on his uniform. He spend most of previous week hunting Harrowed left in wake of some new psycho murderer. The only reason he accepted the job was because Peter had asked him to. The old Witcher received an emergency request when he was busy with some other job. Since he was out of Vale, and it would take him several hours to get back, he contacted Jaune, and asked him to take care of it.

Jaune hadn't had anything better to do, so he agreed. He needed the money anyway, after a whole weekend spent with his family, his bank account was looking rather miserable. The job looked simple enough - a murder victim turned into Harrowed. It happened all the time.

He took care of the job fast enough - only for more murders to follow. And every single victim turned into the same type of Harrowed. That got him worried. Both because it was a mystery - it wasn't unusual for the victim of a brutal murder to turn into a Harrowed. And if every victim was killed in the same way, it wasn't unlikely it would be the same type. What got Jaune on edge was how similar this case was to one he was helping with a few months ago in Atlas. Back then, the victims were young girls too, and all of them turned into Harrowed too, though not everyone was the same type.

Jaune finished putting on his uniform, and a single, white glove on his right hand. Thankfully, his team didn't questioned this addition. And honestly - if Ruby could wear her cloak everywhere, he could put a single glove on, right?

His team was already ready and waiting for him.

Good thing Beacon uniforms cover so much. That would be a really awkward conversation if they saw my arm right now.

They were on the way to cafeteria when Nora skipped to him and asked with wide grin.

"So, Fearless Leader, care to explain what happened yesterday?"

"Hmmm?"

"Oh, don't you play dumb. We barely left the bullhead, and you were stopped by some guy in a suit. What was that about?"

Jaune smiled at the memorey. After his Saturday job, Pyrrha all but demanded he will take a break. He didn't protest, since he knew full well he needed one. So his plan for Sunday was to eat breakfast, sleep, eat lunch, sleep some more, maybe hang out with his friends a bit, and then sleep again.

It worked perfectly - until the 'hanging out' part. His team decided to visit Vale. On the way to the dock, they met team RWBY who had a similar idea. It was turning out to be nice outing - up until the moment they left the bullhead in Vale. Almost immediately, Jaune was approached by a Company agent, and basically forced into a car.

"Please Nora, I don't want to talk about it." He groaned.

"Did something bad happen?" Asked Pyrrha.

"No, it's just…" he sighed and shook his head. "Let's just say that the job description didn't match reality."

"I guess it's another secret you can't really talk about?"

"Yeah, something like that. Company regulations are pretty strict when it comes to sharing information about jobs."

"I see…" Pyrrha looked like she wanted to say something, but then gave up with a tired sigh. Instead, she turned to Nora, and the two girls started talking quietly together.

Soon after they reached the cafeteria, and sat in front of team RWBY. Jaune barely sat his tray down, before Yang leaned towards him with a grin.

"So, Ladykiller, what was that about yesterday?"

Jaune's head hit table, a long groan the only response Yang received.

"Wow. That bad?"

"Total waste of time. Well, I got paid well, so maybe not total."

"And I guess you can't tell us what that was about?"

Jaune lifted his head and sighed.

"Yes. Like I've said on multiple occasion, there are rules. I can't just go on and say what I was doing, especially when the contract specifically says that everything I do has to be kept a secret."

Yang just hummed, and went back to her meal. Form there it was the usually light conversation - them talking what they were up to, complaining about classes, and other things any normal students would talk about. Jaune wasn't participating in the conversation too much - mostly because he was still tried, in bad mood after last night's job, and because he was too busy trying to not wince in pain everytime Nora bumped into his right arm.

He was doing well, but after one particularly strong hit, he felt something worrying. Up until now, the pain was dulled, coming in waves. Now it felt as if someone was poking his arm with hot needles. And there were more and more of them with every second.

Crap. Well, looks like today will be fun.

"Sorry guys, need to go to restroom." He said aloud, getting up and leaving the cafeteria. He didn't pay much attention to what response - if any - he got. If he did, he might have noticed the conflicted expression on Pyrrha's face.

"So… Are we gonna just ignore that?" Asked Yang.

Pyrrha let out a tired sigh.

"I guess we have little choice in the matter. Jaune made it clear he is not willing to talk about this with us." She said, hurt evident in her voice.

"You tried asking him?" Asked Ruby, with a hint of worry.

"Not about what is up with his hand specifically. But every time we try to talk about anything related to what he's doing in Vale, he quickly changes subject." Answered Ren.

After that the table fell silent.

They noticed something was wrong last Wednesday. It was a small thing - Jaune started to wear a glove on his right hand. It wasn't anything to worry about in itself, but the fact he was wearing it all the time, even when sleeping, coupled with other things, made it clear that something was wrong.

Like the time Nora sneaked a peek at his Elixir box, and noticed several bottles were missing.

Or that he started to sleep in a long sleeve shirt, rather than his usual t-shirt.

Or the fact that he was making tonics from various herbs - some of which Ren identified as having strong anesthetic properties.

Or how his mysterious job started the same day the murders did, and Jaune's reaction to the reports of new victims found - or rather lack of any.

Pyrrha didn't think that he didn't care, he just wasn't surprised.

And then there was the conversation she overheard last Friday. She was sneaked out of her room late at night and headed towards the docks, hoping to catch her partner and have a talk with him. She found him talking to someone on his scroll. Pyrrha didn't catch much of the conversation, but what little she overheard told her enough.

Jaune needed money. She wasn't sure if it was because he owed it to someone, or for other reasons, but it was clear he needed it fast. When he finished talking, she considered coming out and confronting him about it, but something stopped her. What if he just gave her some lame excuse and walked away? What if he got angry ? What if he did tell the truth - and it was something she wouldn't be able to accept?

She realized she might be overreacting - but she really loved her team. And she didn't want to lose it. So instead of going out to talk to her partner, Pyrrha returned to her room, and pretended she didn't hear anything.

"So, what are we gonna do about it?"

Ruby's voice broke her out of her thoughts. Pyrrha let out a tired sigh, and looked up at the young team leader.

"I don't know Ruby. Honestly, I'm afraid that if we ask, he will avoid the subject. And even if he tells us truth…" she didn't finish.

After that, they remained silent for a moment. Eventually, it was time leave the cafeteria for their first class of the day.

On the way, Ruby bumped her arm with Pyrrha's and sent a reassuring smile to the red haired champion.

She smiled back and nodded.

Maybe she was just overthinking things. Maybe it was nothing, and she was just looking for problems where there weren't any.

Maybe if she told herself that enough, she would believe it.

Monday classes passed relatively fast. Sure, it felt like they were dragging on forever, but even then they were free before two o'clock.

Well, expect Jaune. He had to sit through an hour and half of supplementary lesson with Oobleck. He did his best to listen and take notes. He really did. But the subject was so boring, and Oobleck talked so fast, that it was almost impossible to focus on the lesson. A sharp pain coming from his right arm didn't help, nor did the nausea and slight migraine.

Well, it have been worse. And payment is good, so I guess I can't complain too much.

He sighed. He usually avoided taking contracts set up by the police. He didn't know why, but this particular institution was almost alway short on funds. However, it turned out the Vale Police had pretty deep pockets. They even threw in a nice bonus after he and Peter finished their Friday jobs. And then another for the emergency call on Saturday.

Jaune smiled, but it turned into a wince when another wave of pain washed over him. With all the little jobs he took for the past six months, he managed to save quite a bit. Sure, his bank account got hit pretty hard after a weekend spent with his family, but he was not worried about that. This contract with the VPD, not to mention this extra job from yesterday, more than covered all the losses.

Just a little more. I'm almost there.

He sighed again. With how far his corruption went, he would need to take at least two weeks break from hunting Harrowed, possibly more. This meant that most likely he would not be able to work with VPD on this case anymore.

Jaune sighed again. Another reason why he don't like working with police, was because it always made him feel bad that he essentially profiting from the suffering of other people. Leon always said to not be bothered by it, since the same could be said about every Hunter related job, nut Jaune knew his teacher shared this sentiment.

Oh, well doesn't matter. I only need a few thousands more, shouldn't be too hard to earn with Peter's help.

Just before his family visited Vale, Jaune had a little talk with his Grimm studies professor. After he explained his situation, and why he needed the money, the old Hunter was more than happy to assist Jaune in both finding suitable jobs, and providing him excuses to leave Beacon. He set only one condition - that Jaune will not let this affect his grades.

Jaune sapred quick glance at rest of classroom. He wasn't only student having to take supplementary lessons with his History teacher. Most people seemed as interested in what oobleck was saying as he was, but few were diligently taking notes.

After class finally ended, Jaune let out lng sigh and slumped out of classroom. He stopped briefly outside, considering what he should do. There was some homework he needed to do, so he could go to library. His team apparently went to Vale - and specifically informed him to not follow them.

Jaune smirked when he read this message on his scroll. He knew they were upset about him leaving them yesterday, and whole 'no talking about job' thing, and he did feel a little abt about it. But rules were rules, and unless it was life-or-death situation, it would be unprofessional of him to break them on whim.

So, I guess I'll go to library after all. Got my homework done, maybe read some book. I heard Beacon have quite impressive collection.

"Weiss you know something, don't you?" Yang stated, looking intently at her teammate.

Heiress put away her cup of coffee and looked up at her teammate.

"I'm not sure what do you mean by that."

"Oh don't play dumb with me. We all noticed this looks you are sending Jaune's way ever since this murders started. You know something about what he is doing, don't you?"

Weiss opened her mouth to respond put paused when hand grabbed her own.

"Please. If you know anything, please tell us." Pyrrha pleaded.

Heiress looked around the table. All members of team RWBY and JNPR - minus the leader - were gathered in open-air cafe. It was nice, quiet place, perfect to relax after long and tiresome day at Beacon. Both teams chatted, laughed and generally had good time.

But it didn't took long for conversations steer towards recents murder spree. And from there - to certain very troublesome blond team leader.

Weiss took one more sip, before speaking.

"Listen, I know about his current job as much as any of you. It's just that…" she let out a tired sigh and continued, "a few months ago Jaune visited Atlas. There was a similar murder spree going on - all victims were young girls too, seemingly not connected. I remember him being on edge. He and his teacher were spending a lot of time in the city, often coming back late and exhausted. I saw them talking with the police a few times. But I do not know if it was related to the murders - when I asked Jaune, he just said it was a personal matter."

"You think it might have been related? Like, he was chasing the person responsible for the murders?" Ruby asked.

"I said, I don't know!" The heiress snapped. Then she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and continued.

"All I know is that Jaune and Leon came to Atlas. They stayed for about two weeks, and then left. The murders stopped around the same time."

"So it is possible it had something to do with the murders." Blake mused.

"Yes, it is plausible. But back then he was more… restless. He could barely sit in one place. Whenever he wasn't out in the city, he would talk about something with his teacher in secret, or train."

Weiss sighed.

"He.. wasn't in a good place then. I could see it in his eyes in the rare moments we got to talk. He was angry. Very angry. And scared."

There were a few moments of silence after Weiss finished. The one who broke it was Nora.

"Do you think it's the same now?" She asked quietly. It was strange coming from normally energetic girl.

"I really don't think so. He doesn't seem as agitated as back then. Just tired."

"Then why he won't talk to us about what he's doing?" Inquired Ren.

Weiss scoffed.

"Because he is an idiot. He's got it stuck in his head that he cannot allow himself to be 'unprofessional', whatever this means\. I have no idea why, but it was the same back when we first met."

"I see…" said Pyrrha.

Yang looked over her friends, and then smirked

"So… what are we gonna do about it?"

"Do we need to do anything?" Asked Blake.

"We don't. But aren't you guys curious? Ladykiller has some serious secrets here, and I can't be only one who wants to find out more. Besides, we can as well try to look into the murders. Who knows, maybe we can find whoever is responsible for this. We will be heroes!"

Weiss just sighed.

"Yang, do you seriously think that a bunch of students could prove more capable of finding the criminal than the police? And even assuming we would - what do you intend to do? It's not like we can arrest anyone."

"Yang…"

"Yes, Nora?"

Theinger girl let out a sigh and then looked up at the blond, who just laughed nervously.

"This idea…"

"Yeah?"

"IS BRILLIANT!" She shouted, grabbing both Ren and Pyrrha by their necks and squeezing them.

"We will be like super detectives, and will find out why Jaune is so grumpy, and we will be famous, and we will get tons of pancakes! It will be great!"

Yang grinned.

"Well, looks like they are on board. How about you guys?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest, but paused when Nora squeezed her a bit harder. She glanced at Ren, who managed to look totally unbothered by the fact his head was half buried in Nora's chest. When he noticed Pyrrha's gaze he just mouthed 'roll with it'.

One look at Nora's maniacal smile told her that this solution might be better for her health.

"Well. We are Huntresses. It's our job to help people." Said Ruby nodding to herself.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to look into this. If we find anything, we can inform the police. It's not like we have to chase whoever is responsible ourselves." Blake added with a nod.

All eyes focused on Weiss, who just shook her head.

"I guess I'll tag along. Someone has to keep an eye on you lot, or you will get in trouble."

Yang wrapped an arm around the heiress.

"Oh, don't be like that. Weiss-cream. We all know you're worried about Jaune."

"I'm not!"

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? Even though you were nagging him about taking better care of himself even more than Pyrrha? Or that you complained for hours on end how irresponsible he is for overworking himself? Or that you were making spare notes for him, when he fell asleep in class?"

Yang leaned closer and smirked.

"Or that you were looking out for him through our window, and only went to sleep when you made sure he came back?"

"I-I did none of those things!"

Yang's smirk grew even further. She pulled out her scroll, placed it on the table where everyone could see it, and opened a folder named 'Teasing Materials W'.

"Oh? Then I suppose this isn't you on this little recor.." This was all she managed to say before Weiss shut the scroll down, and got up.

"Let's go everyone! If we are to find this murderer, we can't afford to waste time!" She exclaimed, heading towards the exit.

The rest of the just shrugged and followed her.

"So… any idea where to start?" Asked Ruby

Yang grinned.

"I know just the place."

"So, this is it?" Asked Blake, looking at the entrance to the club apparently named 'The Club.' Not the most original name, but hey, who was she to judge?

"Yeah, owner's an information broker. Apparently he knows about everything that goes on in Vale."

"And why would you know such people?" Asked Weiss with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm a worldly girl, I visit all sort of places. Anyway, We shouldn't all go in, people in there might get nervous if six Huntresses and one Hunter suddenly burst in. Besides, Ruby's too young to enter anyway."

"Aren't we all?" Asked Blake.

"Hush, you. Ok people, me and Ren are going in. They know me, so it might be easier to get them to talk. And Ren's a cool guy, so he won't put them on edge."

"Then why do you need him?"

"What, you want to send a beautiful and delicate girl like me to a place like this alone? Just think what could happen. Someone might try and molest me!"

All of them snorted.

"But on a more serious note. All kinds of people come here. Most of the time everyone's chill. But sometimes you will find an idiot who had one drink too much and will try to start something. If they see a Hunter they might want to try they chances. But against two? No way."

"I guess that makes sense." Said Ren with a nod. He turned to the rest of the girls "So what are you gonna do, while we are inside? Wait for us?"

"I see little point in us just standing here. I'll go to the CCT and make a few calls. Maybe I will be able to learn something about the murders in Atlas, see if there are any similarities." Said Weiss.

"Oh! Can I come with you?" Asked Ruby.

The heiress nodded with a small smile.

"Sure. Why not?"

Blake shrugged.

"There's a book store nearby, and I know the owner. I'll try asking him if he knows anything, then check the web for any info."

Nora grabbed Pyrrha's hand and dragged her closer.

"Then me and Pyr will just try asking around places where the victims were found. Maybe someone saw something."

Yang nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. We will start asking around once we are done inside. So, where do we meet up?"

"I guess at Beacon. We will have to go back soon anyway." Said Ren.

"Ok, so let's not waste anymore time. Get moving!" Exclaimed Ruby, before turning around and sprinting away, her cloak fluttering behind her.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted at her partner.

The red Huntress paused and looked back.

"The CCT is that way." The heiress said, pointing in the opposite direction of where Ruby was heading.

There was a moment's pause, then a sudden gust of wind leaving a few rose petals behind. Ruby Rose passed, now standing where her partner pointed.

Weiss shook her head, and followed after her team leader.

The rest of group split up, leaving Ren and Yang alone.

The blond cracked her neck.

"Ok, Ren, let's get this show on the road. Stay close to me, do what I say, and you might get out of this intact. I like this club, would hate to see Nora destroy it in revenge."

Ren just smirked.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Have you ever been in the club like this before?"

"No."

"Have you ever even seen a club before?"

"Not really. Me and Nora lived in a small village."

"Then what makes you think you are even remotely prepared for what await us inside?"

"Living with Nora for the past ten years." He deadpanned.

Yang opened her mouth, then closed it.

"Good point."

Soon after they entered The Club, and the loud music and crowd surrounded them.

Blake let out a tired sigh. She spend the last hour browsing various news sites, forums, looking for any reliable info about the recent murders spree. She didn't have much luck. Only thing certain is that every victim was a young girl, there was no connection between them, and that according to the police, they were all poisoned. The last thing was only new information she learned - and it wasn't like it would help them in finding the one responsible.

She looked to clock, and confirmed she had about two and half hour before she had to go back to Beacon.

Can browse some more I guess. I wonder if others had more luck.

"Thank you for your assistance."

"You are welcome Miss Schnee. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact me."

"Of course sir. I wish you good day." With that, Weiss ended her call. It honestly went better than expected. The few people from Atlas Police Department she contacted were all too happy to assist the heiress to the SDC. While they couldn't provide all the information through a normal call like that, they assured her she would get all the info she wanted delivered to her scroll.

"That was awesome!" Ruby exclaimed, looking at her partner in awe.

Weiss huffed.

"It's to be expected from a Schnee. Our name carries a lot of weight, especially in Atlas."

"They were so nice, and so eager to help! They treated you like you were a princess!"

"Now, let's not got ahead of ourselves Ruby. This was simple transaction. They didn't really lose anything by sharing info about a long closed investigation like that, and by doing me a favor, they can expect a favor in return in the future. This is how this works."

"I see. But it was still impressive!"

"I guess it is..."

"Ok Weiss! So I guess we'll be heading back now? If they are going to send you all the info to your scroll, we can look over it in our room."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Let's go Ruby."

"I wonder if the others are ok."

"I'm sure they are. They all can take care of themselves."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh." Weiss mused or a moment. "Well Blake looks like the kind of girl who would rather avoid trouble. Nora is kinda energetic, and talks about breaking legs a lot, but I don't think she would seek trouble. Or harm innocent people. Yang…" she trailed off, shooting a wary glance at her partner.

"Well, she has Ren with her. If he can deal with Nora, maybe he will be able to prevent Yang from getting into trouble too." Ruby said.

Weiss just nodded. Yes, Ren looks like a very reasonable man. Surely he will not let the brash Xiao Long do anything reckless.

"I'll ask you for the last time. Are you really, positively, absolutely sure you want to do this? If you just walk away…"

"Shut your fucking mouth, moron. You talked so big back there in front of your girl, and now you chicken out?" Said one man.

"Yeah. Don't think you can just talk back to the Black Reapers like that and get away with it." Added the second.

"And don't worry. We will take really good care of blondie back inside." The third exclaimed and laughed.

"Yeah! She'll finally get a chance to hang out with real men. She must be really desperate for one if she went out with a wimp like you." The first added. It elected a wave of laughter from his companions. All twelve of them.

"I mean,seriously, why would she go out with a fag? What, she thinks she is so hot, she could set him straight?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it past her. You don't see a rack like that everyday."

"Or maybe she's lesbian? And wants to have a girls' night out?" Another wave of laughter.

"Well then, we will have to help set her straight then!"

Ren took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and slowly let it go. He could have ignored it. Even back in the bar, when the muscular, bald, and tattooed guy sat next to Yang, and started asking her out. Obviously Yang was not interested, and just as obviously, the slightly drunk guy didn't get the hint.

When Yang ignored him yet again, in favor of talking with Ren, the guy got offended that he was stealing attention from 'his' girl.

He could ignored him back then, he was sure that the club bouncers would throw the annoying gangster-wannabe out if he got too bothersome. Even when he told guy to take it outside, he could have avoided the current situation by simply running away. He wasn't Ruby, but he was fast enough to outrun any civilian.

But he didn't. Instead he followed the group of twelve tattooed, oddly dressed men to a nearby alley. He allowed them to push him inside, against wall, and block his escape route.

Even then he could probably have tried to talk it out. Failing that, he could use his Semblance to calm them down, and end this peacefully.

But he didn't.

Instead he looked over people surrounding him one more time. They were smirking, throwing insults at him, some pulled out 'weapons.' A knife here, a baseball bat there. One had brass knuckles, another a heavy looking chain.

Ren tried to not laugh. You hang around a girl wielding a warhammer that turned into a grenade launcher long enough, and your perception of what is, and what isn't a weapon changes.

"I see. Then I guess we are doing this after all."

"Hell yeah we are!"

"And don't blame us for what happens next. You brought it on yourself!"

"Yeah..." he said, pulling out his scroll.

They all looked at each other, surprised by his calm response. It grew even further when the first tunes of an angry melody came out of his scroll. They probably didn't expect him to start playing songs in situation like that, much less one like that. Ren didn't blame them. No one expected it from him.

He looked up at them.

"I guess I did. And I must thank you."

'Arf arf

Yeah, yeah, yeah (Grrrr)'

The first lines of song came out of his scroll.

Ren cracked his neck, and smirked.

"I needed to blow off some steam. It's nice of you to volunteer."

'Uh, Yeah don't get it twisted

This rap shit, is mine'

The song continued.

They looked at each other, and then, with angry shouts, charged forward. Ren smirked and charged too.

I wonder what Nora up too. I hope she is not giving Pyrrha too much trouble. He thought, avoiding the first strike, and countering with an open palm strike to the chest.

"Awwwwwww it was such a waste of time. We learned nothing!" Exclaimed Nora, hanging from her teammate's neck.

"Well, it was just the first day. And it's not like we had any plan. Honestly, it would be a miracle if we learned anything at all. Things like that happen only in the movies." Said Pyrrha, chuckling at her friend's antics.

"I knowwwwwww. But Still I hoped we will find something. I wonder how rest are doing. I hope Renny is ok."

"I'm sure he is fine. Anyway, what do you want to do now? We go back, or continue searching?"

Nora got to her feet, and pulled her scroll checking something out for a few moments.

"Hmm… Still nothing."

"What?"

"There is still no report of a new victim. Or victims. There were none yesterday either."

Pyrrha hummed. Nora was right. Ever since last Monday, there were reports of new victims found everyday.

"Do you think they stopped for good?"

"Don't think so. The police are no closer to finding out who was behind this yesterday, than they were last Monday. So unless the murderer just randomly decided to quit, I'm sure he will be coming back soon."

Pyrrha nodded. That made sense. She really wished these murders would stop quickly as possible, and for very selfish - directly or indirectly, were putting strain on her team relations. And she hated that.

"Anyway, let's go back to Beacon. Maybe the others had more luck than us." She said aloud.

Nora considered her words for a moment. Just when Pyrrha though she would start arguing, her teammate nodded.

"I guess you are right. Maybe Renny is back already. I wonder what kind of pancakes he will make today.

He observed two girls walking away. It was obvious they were looking for him - and even though normally he would be thrilled to have such beautiful ladies after him, he had a feeling those two had less than pleasant intentions.

Really, he should have seen this coming. With the blond boy and the old man on his tail already, he knew more pursuers would come soon enough. For the moment, he had to lay low for a while - possibly even leave the city altogether.

Well, he was running low on his supplies and was planning on going out to gather some more anyway. Might as well do it now. Hopefully, by the time he was done, the heat would die down a bit.

And that wraps up this week chapter. Jaune gets his well-deserved rest, our mysterious killer gets his ill-deserved rest. And both teams turned out to be not as oblivious as Jaune though they were (or hoped).

Oh, and in case you wonder - song Ren started playing is 'X gon give it to ya' by DMX

JJD: Not bad, but I'd argue Winter has a better playlist ;-)

Anyway, omake time:

Learning begins

It was a peaceful day. Sun was shining, birds were singing, the delicate breeze ruffled blond locks of one Jaune arc, who was currently sailing through the air.

The clouds are so beautiful today…

He thought, right before his back slammed into a tree. Jaune slid down with a loud groan, but by now knew better than to stay in one place. He threw himself to the side, and was rewarded with the sound of a metal-reinforced boot slamming into the tree trunk, not his torso. He didn't have much time to celebrate though - he hastily rolled, avoiding a downward thrust to his stomach, and pushed himself up, facing his opponent in full.

Leon was already upon him, his sword swinging towards Jaune's head. The blond managed to block it, but the force of blow send him sprawling on the ground.

Get back up, get back up!

He didn't made it. The practice sword slammed into his solar plexus, knocking air out of him.

"Out already? Well, I guess this is it for today."

Jaune managed to stop coughing and staggered to his feet.

"No, I can still…"

The slash was slow, lazy even. Jaune could see it coming cleary, but his arms were just too heavy to lift them in time to block it. It wasn't a strong strike, more of little tap, but he still staggered and fell.

"Don't give me that bullshit Jaune. If you try to train when you are too hurt to move, you will only hurt yourself. We are taking break, end of discussion."

Jaune slumped to the ground, taking gulps of air. Leon's training was nothing like what he had done with his father, older sister, or by himself. He could feel his whole body to ache, pain from exhaustion and bruises combining in one overwhelming sensation. When Leon announced that now, almost two months after they started travelling together, it was time to start training seriously, Jaune was excited. Now, after about half an hour of constant beatdown - less so.

Oh well, I knew that I couldn't afford to take it easy.

"Hey, Jaune…"

The blond looked up at his teacher.

"About dinner…"

Jaune smirked.

"Just give me a few moments to catch my breath."

Leon nodded and started preparing the campfire, humming some melody. Jaune shook his head with a smile, recalling the first time they camped together, and had to prepare their own food.

-/-

"What the hell is this?!" Jaune screamed, looking with utter disgust into his bowl.

His teacher looked up from his own and shugged.

"Food."

Jaune laughed nervously.

"No, no, no, no, this 'he pointed at his bowl,"is not food. This is abomination, calling it food is insult to every cook in all of Remnant!"

"Really?" Leon put another spoon full of the thing from his bowl inside his mouth and swallowed. Jaune barely stopped himself from vomiting.

"I think it turned out pretty good today."

All Jaune could do to was to stare.

"This is not good. It's utterly terrible." He stated finally. Jaune winced at Leon's hurt expression.

"If you don't like it, don't eat it. And if you think you can do better, you are welcome to try."

"You bet I can. And I will."

-/-

Next day

Jaune put down his bowl and let out a content sigh. The rabbit stew turned out pretty well. He probably wouldn't put it on his family's table, but considering what he had to work with, he was quite pleased with the outcome.

Jaune looked up at his teacher, who was holding a bowl of terrible abomination that he called food. He was eating it slowly, only from time to time glancing up at him.

He filled another bowl, and considered it for a second.

The blond boy briefly considered finishing it himself, but discarded the idea. He would be traveling with Leon for a long time, it was best to start building the friendship as soon as possible.

Besides, he offered to train my useless ass so I can be Hunter,and didn't even asked for any payment. The least I can do is offer him some decent food.

"Wanna try it?" He asked, extending his bowl to Leon.

The older man looked up, genuinely surprised.

"You… I…"

He carefully extended his hand, taking the offered bowl. He was eating slowly, mulling every potion in his mouth far longer than necessary, before swallowing.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Jaune, a bit worried.

Leon looked up at him and shook his head.

"No, its good. Very good. I don't think I ever eaten something this good."

He paused for a moment, staring at his bowl, then looked up at June, an unreadable expression on his face.

"It's just that… I don't remember when was last time someone gave me food like that. It's… nice."

Jaune shook his head, and took taste of stew. It was rabbit today - just like that day. The blond boy smiled. There were still a lot of things he had to learn, both about, and from his teacher. Even now he wasn't sure why sharing food was such a big of a deal for Leon. But hey, man liked his cooking, and Jaune liked to cook. So at least he had something to offer, instead of just being dead weight.

And here it is. A bit of character development for Leon, and the beginning of serious training for Jaune. I think it's high time I show at least parts of it, so this will be a theme for few following omakes. Just a quick note - they will not necessary be in chronological order.