Whoever fights monsters

Jaune had to admit, Ruby certainly had skill. As they had moved through the forest, the grimm they had come across had been quickly dispatched with little to no action on his part. Ruby had flickered about at high speeds, cleaving grimm in two. Only a few grimm had got anywhere near him, which they soon regretted as he cleaved them in half. While she was skilled, her lack of experience showed. Ruby would rush headlong within an instant of the grimm appearing and focus on wiping them out.

'A dangerous habit…'

Still, she was more than competent and Jaune had little doubt that she would grow into a fine huntress with some more experience under her belt.

'Still…'

Jaune sighed. He was dodging around the issue. Ruby, for all her skill, was a 15-year-old teenage girl. He on the other hand was… well, a mercenary wouldn't be too off. When his contract ended, he would leave Beacon and thus Ruby. At first, when Ozpin had informed him of the plan, he hated the idea, but had decided that it would end up alright. He would partner up with some student; they might become friends within the next couple of months, and then he would leave. The student could acquire a new partner and he could move on to his next job. While not optimal, the fallout wouldn't be catastrophic.

"Hey, Jaune! Are you all right?" Ruby's concerned voice pierced Jaune's thoughts. Jaune smiled at Ruby, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Of course! Don't worry about me… just thinking…"

Still looking concerned, Ruby nodded.

'I really should have known better…'

When one awakened their aura, they essentially ridded themselves of the shell that surrounded their soul. The shell surrounding one's soul is there to separate them from the world aura. A Hunter's soul, when released, intermingled with the world and eventually, they developed a trait known as a semblance. A worldly expression of their souls. The interaction of a soul is not limited to the passive aura of the world.

The souls of humans could also interact with each other. Two unchained auras could intermingle with each other, passing a bit of each soul to the other. Hunters took advantage of this fact; the reason behind the system of partners was so that Hunters could bind their souls together through a bond. Through this bond, they could share strength, but this was not the main purpose. When one fought grimm, they fought an absence of soul. Something horrifying and unnatural that wore on unprotected souls, slowly eroding them away through continued exposure. Hunter partners acted as guardians of the soul of the other. The fact of the matter was unless a Hunter was incredibly strong, contact with the grimm would eventually destroy one's sanity.

Of course, this bonding process was explained to hunters after they received a partner and had spent at least a year with them to ensure compatibility. Before then, prospective Hunters were trained to create an artificial shell around their souls to protect them against the grimm. The shell also served to prevent from souls accidently intermingling and bonding. Students attending a secondary Hunter school had usually mastered the shell, but at times a young hunter's shell could slip, especially when excited.

Ruby had slipped.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem either. The shell could be reinstated in seconds and all was well.

'Really it's my fault…'

Pain. Horrible pain ripping through him. Tearing and ripping him to shreds. Gone. Alone.

When a hunter bonded with another hunter it was for life. The souls of each hunter intermingled and were shared. If one hunter died… There is a reason why there are stories of hunters collapsing when their partner perished. Why hunters would go berserk screaming and sobbing, throwing themselves at grimm till they perished. The loss of a bond of souls was considered worse than death. Those who survived would often retreat within themselves till they withered away. The few who didn't would eventually recover somewhat, their soul mending itself. The soul, while eventually recovering its strength, would still constantly reach out, trying to desperately latch onto what it had once lost. These incomplete souls were termed 'Wandering Souls.'

The only known way to heal a wandering soul was for the hunter to bond with another hunter. Furthermore, the soul that the hunter bonded to would have to share enough characteristics with the previous Hunter's soul to allow the bond to occur. The circumstances were so rare Jaune only knew of two occurrences where a hunter with a wandering soul had been able to forge another bond.

Tentatively, Jaune focused on his aura. What had once been an angry storm that he had to tune every day to utilize, and even just before he had been launched had been starting to stir, was now starting to settle. He wasn't healed, but even this minor improvement was an incredible feeling. Already regretting it, he reached out to the part that was missing… had been missing since…

Warmth provided him a joyous energy just like…

'No… Don't go there…'

Looking at Ruby again, who was chattering about something, Jaune could only tiredly grimace. Ruby deserved to know, but he had no idea how to bring the topic up. What made it worse was that their souls were already synchronizing. Jaune could already feel the faint glimmer of her presence settling into his senses. Even without looking, he sensed that she was a bright ball of energy. The fact she had never been part of a bond before made her unaware of his soul connecting with hers.

'I guess I'll just have to figure something out…'

Ruby's voice finally broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Jaune! Look I think we found the relics!"

Looking to where Ruby was pointing, Jaune saw a ruined circular structure with pedestals situated around the center each containing a gold or black object. Nodding his head in affirmation, he walked to the structure with Ruby keeping pace by him.

As he entered the structure and got a better look, he realized that these objects were chest pieces. Going up to one of the stands, he looked at Ruby questioningly.

"This one?"

Ruby shrugged in response, "I guess…"

Grabbing a gold rook, he stared at it appraisingly.

"Well, I guess that means we should head back…"

"Ruby!"

Jaune recognized the voice of Yang as he turned around to see her walking inside the structure with a red headed girl who was incredibly pale.

'Wasn't she the one in front of my locker earlier?'

Seeing that Ruby had engaged Yang in conversation, he walked over to join them.

"So, you're my little sister's partner eh?"

Jaune smiled in a slightly forced manner, "Yes, Ruby is really very skilled; she is an exceptional partner."

Ruby's face reddened slightly and Yang smiled ruffling her sister's hair.

"See? Nothing to worry about little sis! Jauney boy here likes you!"

Jaune cocked an eyebrow and looked at Ruby questioningly.

Ruby's cheeks blushed as she stuttered out, "I-I was worried that you didn't think I was good enough and…"

As Ruby's stuttering became unintelligible, Jaune mentally smacked himself. No wonder she was charging in head first to fight the grimm. Ruby was trying to impress him. He had been so lost in his own thoughts and worries that he had given Ruby the wrong impression. Smilingly in a slightly more genuine manner, he placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"It's fine Ruby, you don't need to worry about it. We're partners. If you give your best, that's more than enough."

Ruby's face matched her name in color as she nodded back at him. Turning back to face Yang, he nodded to who he assumed was Yang's partner.

"I believe we met earlier. My name's Jaune."

"My name's Pyrrha Nikos," she responded, looking slightly weary as she said her name.

Jaune nodded at her and giving a final look around, the temple he said, "Well, as nice as it was to meet you, we should probably cut this short and head back. Don't want to keep the headmaster…"

Jaune trailed off as the sound of explosions and a large mass ripping through the forest reached his ears. Spinning to face the sound, he drew his blade, resting it on his shoulder. His fellows likewise followed his example, prepping their weapons. With a final crash, an Ursa burst through the foliage, rearing up and then collapsing to the ground.

"Aww it's broken…" an orange haired girl jumped down from the Ursa, wielding an incredibly large hammer. Following that statement with a rustle, a boy with raven hair stepped through the bushes panting.

"Nora… Please don't do that again."

His statement fell on empty air because Nora had already vanished. With a cry of joy, she picked up a golden rook and started dancing around.

"I'm the Queen of the Castle! I'm the Queen of the Castle!"

"Nora!"

"Coming, Renny!"

'And I thought Ruby was energetic…'

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as another pair emerged from the forest. This pair was made up of the two girls he had seen Ruby with yesterday. The monochrome duo walked silently to the structure and the girl with white hair picked up a golden knight. The duo walked over to stand with the rapidly growing group. Yang cleared her throat, grinning slightly.

"Seeing as how we're all here, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'll go first. I'm Yang Xiao Long."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

The white-haired girl tossed her hair slightly.

"Weiss Schnee."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Lie Ren."

"Nora!" the orange-haired girl shouted out, giggling.

"Ruby Rose."

'Maybe she's not related to Qrow after all…'

"Jaune."

Jaune finished last and looked around the assembled group.

"So, shall we be off?"

Receiving nods of affirmation, he turned and walked back towards the cliffs; the rest of the group behind him, with Ruby stepping up to walk by his side.

As they passed under the green foliage, the slight rustling of the hunter's bodies brushing past wayward branches and their conversation was the only sound that broke the silence.

The silence of the forest around him unnerved Jaune. Shifting his body slightly, Jaune scanned his surroundings. Nothing. Concentrating, Jaune channeled a small amount of aura to his ears. It was quiet, unnaturally so… It was almost like…

A sound

'Is that…'

Jaune glanced behind him.

'Have any of them noticed?'

The boy named Ren who stood next to a chattering Nora had an impassive face, but Jaune could see by his posture that he was tense. Blake was similarly tense, though her bow was twitching strangely…

Jaune noticed that the trees were thinning and as they emerged from the forest into an area bordered by a cliff. A chasm split the center of the clearing and single bridge was visible in the distance.

"That's our exit? I have to say that I expected more…" Yang's words trailed off as growls came from the forest and various grimm emerged. As the would-be hunters readied themselves and their weapons, Ruby looked to her side at Jaune. The words on her lips died as she realized he was missing.

Xxx

Jaune moved through the forest, his movements causing nary a sound to break the unnatural quiet. Looking around he decided he was far enough from the group. Reaching his hand behind his back, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it with a flick of his wrist.

"Well come on; I don't have all day."

The air whistled as a golden spike tore through it. With a flick of his wrist, Jaune slammed his blade into the spike, sending it off course. Before him stood a Death Stalker. The grimm that had followed the hunters through the forest had been attracted by the gathering of the Hunter's souls. By themselves, the grimm posed little to no threat to the tyro hunters; but with a Death Stalker added into the mix... Death Stalkers were known to lie in wait during battle, ready to take advantage of a perceived weakness.

Therefore, Jaune had left the group. As a hunter leaving the protection of the numbers of a group, the Death Stalker saw weakness.

The spike dove forward again and Jaune merely angled his blade, sending the spike skittering off. Launching his body forward, he slammed his weapon against the claw that tried to attack him, planting the tip of the sword into the ground. Pivoting his body, he spun through the air, bringing his sword around with his spin to smash into the Death Stalker. The blade bit deep into the grimm's armor, the force of the swing leaving cracks across the black material. The Death Stalker, still very much alive, shot its pincer forward causing Jaune to spin his body using his sword as a base. Directing his aura to his muscles, he slammed his right palm into the pommel of his weapon, sending it completely through the Stalker and embedding the tip of the sword into the ground. The Stalker's body collapsed, slowly dissolving into ash-like flakes.

'Well… That's done.'

Xxx

"Jaune Blanc, Ruby Rose, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. These students shall make up team RNJR, pronounced Ranger and led by Ruby Rose."

Ruby looked as if she had been slapped; Jaune gently put his hand on her shoulder to steer her forward as polite clapping echoed throughout the hall. Jaune walked down with his new team.

Jaune had seen both Ren and Nora in action, arriving in time to witness the last of the grimm's demise. Both were quite skilled, Nora could cause a great deal of damage with her hammer grenade launcher combo; Ren was precise and efficient, dispatching any grimm that came near him.

Jaune had hoped they would not notice his disappearance in the chaos of battle. This hope had been dashed by a worried Ruby checking him over, asking if he was all right. Jaune had spent the rest of the journey trying to allay Ruby's fears, saying he had just ended up being separated by some grimm who hadn't caused him any real trouble. It was technically close to the truth.

As Ruby's sister was called up along with the other half of their group, Jaune sighed to himself. He was unsure of what to do. To investigate and work on his contract, he would have to disappear from time to time. Having a worried partner looking for him could cause serious issues. Worse, he could feel a faint sense of excitement tinged with worry in the back of his mind. An emotion that distinctly was not his own. The bond he had with Ruby was growing at an unprecedented rate. From what he had read, it should take weeks for the bond to be at the point it was now. When he had bonded with… her… their bond had cemented into place within two months. Jaune desperately tied to recall more of the text he had found on wandering souls. He could faintly recall a mention of how the two hunters who had been able to bond again established a full bond within two weeks.

'Damn it'

His job had just become a lot more complicated.

Authors Note: Edited for Grammer