Welcome to Ch14 of TPA. As always, JJD made sure its readable.
"Ok, so what did we learn? Yang?" Asked Ruby. It was late at night, and her team and JNPR gathered in team RWBY's dorm room. Well, the latter was without their leader - for obvious reasons.
"Nothing much. The police are very tight lipped about this. According to my sources, the number of reported victims match what they actually found, and they were all young girls just like reported. The only new thing I learned was that they hired a few Hunters to assist with the investigation. Apparently it was someone from Beacon last week, and now they've hired a few others."
"Blake?"
The black haired girl sighed.
"Same here. The web is full of conspiracy theories, every new one more crazy than the last. Because of this, there are tons of fake photos and videos. I only found two interesting things. One was post by someone who supposedly is an assistant of the coroner doing the autopsies of the victims. According to him, none of the victims had any sign of injury, so they suspect some kind of poison was used. But so far they haven't been able to confirm it."
She pulled out her scroll, browsing something for a few moments.
"The other thing I found was this." She said, placing it on table for everyone to see. It showed a map of Vale with several spots marked by an X and numbers from one to six next to each.
"The marks show where the victims were found, the numbers next to them - the day on which they were murdered. The ones with asterisks next to them indicates that corpse might have been from the previous day."
Everyone in the room looked at the map for a few moments.
"They are all over the place." Pyrrha noted.
"Yes. There is no way a single person could have traveled to all these places on their own."
Ren hummed.
"Maybe not impossible, but certainly very hard. Especially considering such a person wouldn't want to gather attention. I guess that makes the poison theory more plausible. If a slow acting one was used, the murderer could have applied it to several victims, and wouldn't have to stay close as it took effect."
"But why? What could anyone achieve be doing something like that?" Asked Ruby.
"There could be multiple reasons. An argument between lovers, money, jealousy, or they saw something they shouldn't and someone decided to silence them." Answered Blake.
Nora shook her head.
"None of that really fits. Most of the victims didn't know each other, had different backgrounds, went to different schools, and so on. Hell, two of them weren't even living in Vale - they were just visiting family."
"So either there is some kind of connection we don't know about, or the murderer is a psychopath." Said Ren.
There were a few moments of silence, where everyone was absorbing everything. The first one to speak up was Yang.
"So.. what did you learn Weiss? Any similarities between these murders and the ones in Atlas?"
"Yes, quite a few actually. Similar to this case, all the victims were young girls, between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. There were a few cases of the victims knowing each other, but there were little to no common traits shared between all of them. Similar to this case, the police weren't able to determine the cause of death, but they too suggested poison. If there was one big difference, it was that in Atlas murders seemed to be more… organized."
Yang raised an eyebrow.
"Organized?"
"Yes. That killing spree lasted for three weeks. Everyday, exactly two girls were killed. The first victims found where the daughters of the CEOs of some of the biggest companies in Atlas. From there killer seems to work down the social ladder. The last victims found where two orphans from an orphanage in one of the poorest parts of Atlas. Though the police officer I talked with suggested there might have been more victims among the homeless that simply weren't found."
"I see…" Ren nodded a few times, then looked up at the heiress.
"So, how does Jaune fit into all of this?"
Weiss let out a sigh and looked over the people gathered in the room.
"He and his teacher came to Atlas around one week after the murders started. I don't know if they were investigating them on their own, were working with the police, or their presence was just a coincidence. All I know was that they would often disappear in the city, and more often than not, they were back very late, and very tired. They left Atlas the same day the last victims were found, but long before the public announcement was made."
"Ok, let's recap what we know." Said Ruby, clapping her hands together.
"So, we have two murders cases, One from Atlas from around six months ago, and one happening now in Vale. In both cases all the victims were young girls, and there is little to no connections between them. In both cases the police had trouble identifying the cause of death, it was suggested poison might have been used. Based on all of this, I think we can assume that in both cases the killer is the same person."
"Unless the one from Atlas was caught." Said Blake, looking towards the heiress.
Weiss shook her head.
"I don't remember hearing anything about the one responsible being caught. And I'm sure it would be made public."
"In that case, I think It's safe to assume we are dealing with the same person."
"So now onto the next topic: what does Jaune have to do with all of this?" Asked Ruby.
Nora cleared her throat, and started counting off.
"Well, we know he was in Atlas during the first killing spree and left at the same time it ended. We also know he started to take odd jobs in Vale at the same time the murders started. And we know the police hired a Huntsman for help in this investigation - and someone from Beacon at that."
"It doesn't have to mean he was involved in any of this. It could be a coincidence." Pyrrha pointed out.
"Yes, but he did say that this was supposed to be a short job but it started to drag on. And that some additional help was hired this weekend. This would fit with what Junior said." Ren countered.
"It could also explain why he is so secretive about all of this. If he is working with the police, it would make sense he can't share details about his job." Blake added.
"I guess it makes sense..."
"By the way, what is he doing now?" Asked Ruby.
Pyrrha's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not sure. But the localizator on his scroll indicates he is still in Beacon."
Jaune paused before one particular doors\, and looked around. The corridor was empty, not a soul around. Confirming that the coast was clear, he raised his hand and knocked.
"Hey, Peter can I come in?"
To most students' surprised delight, today's Grimm Studies class was canceled. Jaune was not surprised by that. Considering how bad his arm got corrupted, the older Witcher had to be in an even worse state. It was a given that he needed rest.
Jaune waited patiently in front of the door, even when he didn't receive a response.
Is he sleeping already? It's not that late, but maybe he is just tired.
Just as he made to leave, the doors cracked open.
"Come in." A hoarse voice spoke.
Jaune did just that, and entered the dark room. He closed the doors behind himself, and took a closer look at his teacher.
Peter Port didn't look good. His right arm was hanging freely at his side, the old Hunter obviously not having enough strength to move it. His neck, and parts of the right side of his face were blackened, thankfully without red veins. His right eye had slightly reddish hue to it - though this might have just been Jaune's imagination.
Peter turned around, and started walking deeper into the room, signaling for Jaune to follow. He was cleary limping with his right leg, and had to support himself on the wall.
Damn, this is worse than I thought.
Jaune wanted to say something, but noticed Peter stagger. He hurried to support the older man, and sat him in a nearby chair.
"Damn it Peter, you overdid it. Should have let me handle more of them on Saturday."
"Nonsense my boy. It's us old-timers duty to lessen the burden on you youngsters. Besides, I can afford to take a longer break, someone can always fill in for me. But you have classes to attend."
"Yeah, but…"
"No 'buts'. Anyway, what brings you here? I somehow doubt you come just to visit this old man."
Jaune smiled.
"Well partially, yes. I also brought some painkillers."
Peter managed to laugh a little.
"Thank you my boy. I already have some from our infirmary, but the herbal ones taste better. And are easier on the stomach, I hear. Well, this reminds me of this one time in Vacuo.." The older man paused and looked at Jaune.
"But I guess you're not here to listen to my stories. For real this time, what brings you to me Jaune?"
The blond boy let out a tired sigh, and sat on the sofa opposite of Peter.
"It's these murders. I… Did you heard about Atlas Massacre? From around six months ago?"
Peter nodded.
"Of course I did. When news hit about Harrowed spawning, and that the Atlas police was forming a Witcher team to deal with them, I was planning on going myself. Sadly, I was preoccupied with other tasks. Why do you ask?"
"I was part of that team. Well, technically Leon was, I was just tagging along. The point is… I didn't really get time to think about it earlier, with how busy I was, but now that I sat down and really gave it some thought... These two cases look kinda similar. But also… I don't know.."
Jaune ran a hand through his hair, eyes locked on his own feet.
"Similar to this case, the victims in Atlas were all young girls too. At least, I think they were."
"You think?"
Jaune rested his head on his hands, remaining silent for a few moments.
"Back in Atlas, it was a lot more… messy." He paused again for a few moments, then looked up at the older hunter.
"Peter, what would you say about victims this time? How they looked I mean?"
Port looked surprised at question. He hummed, stroking his chin.
"I would say… they looked normal. They were in as good a shape as a corpse can be. No external wounds, no profanation, nothing that would indicate they were in pan before death. They looked almost…" he paused for a few moments looking for the right word.
"Peaceful?" Jaune offered.
"Yes, I would say so."
After that, a silence fell between two men. Jaune looked lost in thought, his head hung low, while Peter watched him carefully. They just sat there, with pale moonlight as only thing brightening the dark room.
"Jaune?" The older Hunter asked when silence stretched for a few minutes.
"They were twisted Peter." The blond looked up at his companion. "The corpses. They were twisted beyond recognition. At least the first ones. We…" his voice hitched. Jaune swallowed and continued. "The first pair we found… we didn't even recognize that they were humans at first. They were just that twisted. Someone spotted a wristwatch that belonged to one of victims attached to one of these.. things. And that's how we knew."
Jaune paused again. They just sat there, in the dark, quiet room. Him staring at his feet, Peter staring at him.
"It was… I knew people can be monsters, but this..." Jaune took a deep, shuddering breath.
"And the Harrowed were different too. We had a few Ghouls, one or two Aberrations, and the rest were Wraiths. But they were all different. It was a total mess." He paused again. This time Peter remained silent too, waiting for the young man to speak on his own. When Jaune did so, his voice was quiet, very quiet.
"Near the end, we found a few of his hideouts Peter. There were cages in there. And cells. What we found in them…"Jaune took deep stuttering breath. He was visibly shaking.
"Some of them had Harrowed. Ghouls and wraiths. But a few had bodies. They looked like they stopped halfway between Ghoul and human. One team found some notes." The blond looked up at his teacher.
"He was doing it on purpose, Peter. These Harrowed… They didn't spawn as side-effect of him torturing people. He wanted them to spawn. The whole thing, all these murders, it was all some sick experiment."
"Jaune?"
"Yes?"
"You keep saying 'he'. From what I heard, the murderer's identity was never confirmed. Was that just the official story?"
"No, we…" Jaune paused and let out a tired sigh before continuing. "It wasn't a coincidence that me and Leon showed up in Atlas at that time. We were tracking this guy for a few months already. I… I once killed one of his 'experiments.' It was about year ago, not long since I made my Witcher sword. We took an escort job for some caravan, nothing big. It was going well, but we had to change route because the passage we were supposed to use was blocked by an avalanche. Leon sent me ahead, to inform people in the village we were heading to about our situation."
He paused, recalling old events. Eventually, he shook his head and continued.
"I overheard people talking about some monster appearing in the nearby woods. Apparently, some girl was killed there, and now people were seeing her ghost. A very violent ghost. I talked with a few towns folk, and figured out it was a Fire Wraith. Since it was still a few days before Leon would make it to town, I decided to go and take it out myself." Jaune paused again, a small smile appearing on his lips.
"It was the first time I killed a Harrowed without Leon. When he learned about it, for a few days after, he couldn't decide whether to praise me for a job well done, or scold me for taking unnecessary risk."
"A few months later, we were coming through the same village again. It was then that I met him. I went to check on the girl's grave, to make sure there were no complications. He was standing there, staring at the gravestone. At first I thought he was someone from the family, there to pay respect. We talked a bit. I remember thinking that he was a nice guy."
Jaune chuckled bitterly.
"Funny, how easily they can blend in, isn't it? I was standing, talking, with a monster far worse than any Harrowed or Grimm I've ever encountered, and I had no idea. I found out two days later. I saw him doing… something, to some other girl. I managed to stop him before it was too late, but he got away."
"Did you see his face? Could you provide a description?" Peter asked when it is clear the blond was done talking.
Jaune chuckled and shook his head.
"That's the funny part, you know? I did see his face. He was wearing a travelers robe, the long kind, with a hood, but when we talked, and then when I saw him trying to kill the other girl, his hood was down. But I can't describe it. I remember so many details from the second encounter. If I close my eyes, I see this scene as clearly as if I was there again. But I can't describe the bastard's face. It's not even that I don't remember it, it's just that the only word that comes to mind when I think about it, is 'normal'. I know I'll recognize him if I see him, but right now? You could show me any male, and I could say he looks similar to that guy."
"I see." Said Peter. The settled into silence again, each lost in his own thoughts.
"Jaune?"
"Yes?"
"If you don't mind me asking - how did the case in Atlas end? I heard some mixed reports."
"Remember when I told you that we found notes in one of the hideouts we busted?" Peter nodded.
"Well, it was more of a journal. Anyway, the police took them to have a look, they sent them to the Atlas military. They put a special team together to analyze every bit of information regarding the murders."
"Oh? That's a surprising amount of resources put into one investigation."
"Yeah, it turned out one of victims was good friends with the daughter of a high-ranking officer. Guy was apparently on good terms with several important people, and he was doing whatever he could to help find the killer. Anyway, they eventually figured something out, and made several teams stand around city on lookout. It paid off - one of the groups spotted someone suspicious, and they tailed him until they reached some abandoned warehouse. When they busted in, they found a hidden passage underground leading to the freakin lab. A fight broke out, there were a few explosions, and whole thing went up in flames. Everyone on that team made it out alive, and they sealed it up."
"You weren't there?"
Jaune shook his head.
"No. I was in bad shape back then, Leon made me sit this one out. Anyway, they managed to put together an investigation team, and sent them down there, but not much was left. They never found the body, but assumed it just incinerated."
"And you don't believe this?"
"I…I don't know. It's just that..." Jaune paused for a moment, then looked the older man in the eyes.
"I'm scared Peter. Terrified. Back then, when we first met. When he learned it was me who killed the Harrowed, he went mad. He acted as if I killed his family. He was calling me monster, murderer, and so on. At the end, when he was fleeing, he said he will 'make me suffer as much as I made him.' And I believed him. I still do."
"Back in Atlas, when Leon told me what happened at the end, I went there, to take a look at the place myself. I thought that maybe if I see it with my own eyes, I'll believe he's gone. But it didn't work. I still have nightmares. Most of them about what happened in Atlas, but sometimes I dream about what would happen if I was late back then, in the forest. And I'm scared. Scared that one day, it would be someone I cherish that I will have to release. My family, my friends. My team." He was shaking now, his hands clenched together so hard his Aura flared, protecting them from harm.
"I'm scared to tell them, because it might push them to try and find this guy themselves. And they might get hurt. I'm scared of keeping them in the dark, because this might leave them unprepared for when he comes. I'm just...scared."
Peter Port spent a few moments just looking at his student. He hated it. He hated it when people so young had to deal with things like this.
He hated fact that the only thing he could do for him was to offer advice.
"Do you trust them?"
Jaune looked up, surprised.
"Do you trust your team?" Peter repeated his question.
"Well, yeah. We known each other for only three weeks, but they all seem like great people."
"Would you trust them to have your back in a fight?"
"Of course. We fought together at initiation. I know it might be stupid, but…"
"Then hold onto that trust Jaune. Your team is there to have your back. You can't protect them by pushing them away, it will only harm the trust you have for each other."
"But... it's my problem. They have nothing to do with it. I can't just drag them into this."
Peter laughed.
"Nonsense my boy. It stopped being only your problem the moment when someone started to care about you. Which meant it was never only your problem."
"But, I can't…"
"You can, and you should Jaune. Think about it for a moment. If you try to deal with it on your own, and get hurt in the process, do you think they would thank you? Or will they be upset that you didn't trust them enough to let them have your back?"
Jaune sighed. The answer was obvious.
"By keeping them in the dark, you will just make them worry more. They might even end up doing something reckless out of concern. Something that will get them hurt, and you will not be there to help them, because you kept an unnecessary distance."
Jaune smiled and nodded.
"I guess you are right…"
"One more thing. I assume you didn't share any details about your work with them?"
"Of course not! It.."
"You should tell them."
"What!? But the contract…"
Peter sighed.
"I'm not saying to tell them every little detail. Just informing them that you work with the police as support on murder cases would be enough. Because if you don't say a thing, they will start to wonder, and worry. They will piece together what little info they have, and make assumptions - most of them probably wrong. And next thing you know, you wake up in some run down motel on the outskirts of Vale, naked, with new tattoo, goat in your bed, and your team preparing an intervention for you, because they think you are a drug dealer."
Jaune blinked a few times.
"What?"
Peter coughed and looked to the side.
"That is a story for another time. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be so strict about this secrecy clause. Sure, they will worry if they know that you are doing something dangerous, and they can't be there to help, but they will worry much more when they realize you are doing something dangerous, but don't know how dangerous it is, and why you don't bring them with you."
After Peter finished talking, both men again fell silent. Jaune lost in thought, with his head hung low as the older Hunter watched him. Eventually Jaune nodded.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks for the talk Peter, it really helped me out."
"Ha! No need to thank me. I'm your teacher after all, it's my job to help my students."
Jaune smiled and got up.
"Well, I better get going. You need anything, before I go?"
"No, our school nurse should be coming along shortly."
"Then I wish you good night, Peter."
"You too, Jaune."
And that wraps it up. Chapter shorter than usual, but its main purpose was as set up for what will be happening next.
Also, there were guest reviews that asked why teams RWBY and NPR are so insistent on learning what is Jaune doing, when it is none of they business. Well, it kinda is, at least for JNPR. They are a team, in what is essentially a combat school. If one member of the team is not at his/her 100% it will affect the whole team. It's doubly true for Jaune, who is also team leader. Since he's the one who is supposed to make decisions, he should do what he can to be at his best - both mentally and physically.
As for team RWBY - they are simply concerned about a friend.
JJD: What my boy said. You're allowed to have secrets until it threatens team effectiveness, then we're going to have a chat. If anything, Pyrrha should be telling him what's up and confronting him about it more directly, but you know...they're kids. They'll learn.
And here is this week omake. Enjoy.
Learning with Leon.
"Dodge."
Jaune tried to do just that. He almost made it. Almost.
Leon's practice sword caught him in the shoulder. Jaune winced in pain, and tried to slam his shield into his teacher's face. Leon jumped back, as expected, but it did give Jaune a bit of breathing room. The blond raised his shield and eyed his opponent.
Leon was standing in what one could describe as a lazy stance. Legs slightly bent, left foot forward, and sword held low, with tip pointing towards ground. It looked as if older man was taunting his opponent, lowering his guard like that.
Once upon a time Jaune might have tried to take advantage of this opening. But now, after four months traveling with Leon, and over a month of intense sword training? He knew better than to take the bait.
By now he had some idea of how fast Leon was. Honestly, Jaune could barely follow his teacher's sword, and he was fairly sure the older man was holding back.
Well, that is to be expected. He's been fighting for years, I've only been at it for three and a half months.
Jaune sighed and focused back on trying to figure out how to land a single hit on his teacher. He long since abandoned any hope of winning - that would happen only if Leon let him. Landing one hit though -that should be possible. Eventually.
Now, what do I do? This is obviously bait, he leaves his upper body open to make me attack it, and follow up with a counter. But how…
His thoughts came to end when Leon dashed towards him, sword already mid-swing. Jaune cursed, caught it on his shield, and tried to counter with a slash on his own. Leon managed to bring his own weapon back in time to deflect it, and countered with a stab.
The wooden blade collided with the steel shield, and the blond boy threw a stab on his own. It was swatted aside, and Jaune raised his shield to block follow up attack. But instead of a sword, his shield caught Leon's boot. The kick wasn't strong enough to send the blond boy flying, but it was strong enough to stagger him, and break his stance.
Jaune barely managed to deflect the follow up strike, but yet another kick sent him to the ground. He used the momentum to roll back and jumped to his feet, and then jump back a few times for good measure.
Leon looked up at him, his sword raised in preparation to stab at the spot where Jaune would have stopped otherwise.
"Good call." The Hunter said with a nod.
The blond boy managed weak smile.
"Thanks. Even I learn after I get hit by the same move over and over again."
Leon tilted his head to the side, and looked like he wanted to say something. But eventually he just shrugged, and took his stance. Jaune did the same.
Well, I'm at my limit here. It looks like today's not the day I will be able to hit him.
He took a moment to analyze Leon's stance.
Right foot forward, balde held low and pointing behind and downwards. Yep, another bit of bait.
Jaune sighed. He really wished his teacher at least pretended he was taking this seriously. He knew full well there is huge gap in skill between them, but it still hurt when Leon was showing off like that.
Oh well, it's not like this matters. I might as well try and just charge in. It can't get any worse than all of my previous attempts.
Just before he moved, an idea struck him. He was exhausted, frustrated and hurting all over. There was no way for him to close the distance so fast that Leon would not be able to react in time. And his teacher knew all of that. So why not try to do a little baiting himself?
Jaune took deep breath, and with a roar charged at Leon. The older man just bent his knees a little more, and tightened his grip on his sword.
This had happened many times before. Jaune, frustrated with how easily he'd been beaten, would make a slow, reckless, and predictable charge, that Leon would counter easily.
But this time Jaune had a plan. He didn't try to charge at full speed -not that it changed much from Leon's perspective. But it allowed Jaune to backstep just in time to avoid upward slash, and then step in with a diagonal slash towards his teacher chest.
Jaune grinned. There was no time for Leon to step out of his reach. His sword was knocked aside, and even though Jaune noticed his teacher's arms moving to bring it down on him. With both of them starting their swings at roughly the same time, Jaune was sure he had the advantage since his sword was lighter - and that mean it was also faster, right?
He was proven wrong when the wooden longsword slammed into his wrist, causing him to drop his own weapon with a pained yelp. Before the blond could even think about what to do, the practice weapon blade pressed at his neck.
Jaune let out a sigh of both pain and frustration.
"I yield." He said
"Not a bad fight. You are getting better." Leon nodded, pulling his sword back.
"I guess. Now you almost have to try to beat my ass." He joked bitterly.
Leon tilted his head to the side, and considered his student for a moment. Jaune knew this look - his teacher often watched him like that after their spar ended, as if he was judging him. It always put Jaune on edge. Each time it happened he expected Leon to just state that he was done with teaching him, that he simply was not cut off for this. It never happened - in fact, his teacher usually didn't say a thing. But it didn't mean that it wouldn't happen eventually.
With another sigh, Jaune turned towards the camp, already thinking about what to do for a dinner. They still had some meat from the deer Leon hunted down last night, and a few eggs they found today.
"What did you expected?"
The sudden question made Jaune to pause, and look back to Leon.
Hsi teacher was still observing him, the same way he always did.
"What did you expect when you decided to come with me? That you would turn out to be good at something you have little to no practice with? That I'll make you best fighter in the world in a matter of weeks?"
Leon walked up to Jaune and looked him in the eyes.
"These things take time Jaune. You are behind everyone else, and you need time to catch up."
"I know!" The blond snapped. He was panting now, from both anger and frustration. He took a moment to calm himself down, head hung low.
"I know I'm bad at it. I know I need to work harder than anyone to catch up. It's just… frustrating." He said, his voice quiet now.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked up into Leon's eyes.
"I know Jaune. But trust me - you can do it. You are doing it. Your skills might not be on par with the average Combat prep school student your age, but you are fairly strong, and have good stamina. Your defense is quite good, and you are a quick thinker. So don't be so hard on yourself."
Jaune couldn't help but smile. He hadn't known him for long, but he and Leon got along pretty well in those four months. There was still a lot of things he didn't know about his teacher, but one thing was certain - he was not one for empty words. This was one of the reasons his praises always managed to lift Jaune's spirit. He knew they were genuine.
"Anyway, what's for dinner?" Leon asked.
Jaune laughed. How a grown up man could pull off puppy eyes almost as well as his younger sisters, he had no idea.
"I think I'll make scrambled eggs with some deer meat."
Leon's face split into a wide grin, and he hurried up to prepare a campfire. Jaune just shook his head.
Well, I guess there is no point in getting frustrated over facts. I just have to work hard. Mom always said that key to success is patience.
"Hey, Leon?"
His teacher looked up from the pile of wood he was trying to set on fire.
"What is with this stances you take? When you hold your sword high above your head, or very low, with the blade pointing downwards, or behind you. I know they are just baits, but you said to never show off, and…" he trailed off, not sure how to finish. Leon did it for him.
"You think I just mock you by taking a 'cool' stance, just to show that you can't touch me even if I show off?"
Jaune blushed, and laughed nervously. Like always, Leon read him perfectly.
"Listen Jaune. Sword stances are not just for show, they are not meant to make you look cool. Though it is nice side-benefit. They are meant to open up some angles for attacks for you, and close some for your opponent. And in a real fight, you usually change between them all the time. It's not like in games, when you take x stance and you get plus ten to attack, and minus five to defense."
Jaune laughed and nodded.
He made to ask another question, but a loud rumbling made him pause. Both him and Leon looked down to their stomachs, and then back to each other.
"How about we leave this talk for later, and focus on getting food ready for now?" His teacher suggested.
"Sure thing." Jaune answered with a smile. There would be time to learn all of this later. But now? Now it was time for him to put years of cooking practice into good use.
Here it is. Jaune continues his training, and learns about the importance of proper stance. Jaune's question here -'what is the point of stances?' - is something I get a lot when talking with people not familiar with proper sword fighting. Most people think they are there just to look cool, and that the only 'proper' one is when you hold sword in front of your body, in slightly bent hands.
Well, this particular stance is good for defending, but is very limited when it comes to attacking - the only good offensive move you can make from here is a thrust. Every other attack would require you to switch to another stance.
And here is another point. You usually don't spend too much time standing in a single stance - you switch them all the time. Most of them feel very natural, and are easy to switch between - once you learn them properly.
And lastly, I would like to discuss two stances Leon presented in this omake. First two terms you might have seen me using before, that I would like to clarify:
1)Weapon hand - refers to your dominant hand. So if you are right-handed, your right hand is your weapon hand, even if you are using a two-handed weapon.
2) Weapon Leg (or arms legs) - leg on the same side of the body that person's weapon arm. So for most people - the right one.
Now onto stances.
First one: either leg can be forward. Sword is held very low, usually between the legs, sometime to the side, with tip pointing towards the ground at around a 45 degree. This stance (or guard, as they are sometimes called) is called Fool's Stance, and is basically a trap. It leaves most of the body exposed, however you can very easily step out of the way of incoming attacks and counter, either towards the body, or their hands.
Second one : Arm leg is back, sword is held low, to the side, with tip pointing behind the wielder and towards ground. Blade is pointing towards opponent. This one's called 'near ward', or 'tail,' and, much as previous one, is a baiting stance. It looks like you are open, but it allows for an easy counter, and throwing very powerful attacks at several angles.
Both of these guards are also considered 'resting stances' - since your arms are held low, they don't tire as fast as in higher guards.
Well, that wraps it up for this week. See you guys next Monday.
JJD: Much as Jaune learns, the secret to success is: Show up Watch and Learn Drill Fight Good Guys Get Ass Kicked Sulk Eat Banana Get Over It Repeat Cycle Until Bad Motherfucker