It had been a long time since Shirou felt genuinely taken aback with his Master, but this was certainly one such instance while silently observing Beacon's initiation trial in spiritual form.

The actions that Ruby had taken were odd to say anything of the least, but at the same time, they seemed to be grounded on some basis of thoughts revolving around future foresight. Honestly, it was hard to believe, especially when Shirou considered that Ruby was a not-so-secret comic nerd who lined up for limited edition releases as if her life was on the line. Frankly, it would have been no surprise if she had ended up woefully misguiding herself into believing something that wasn't real, and yet, Shirou was now doubting his prior judgements.

It wasn't the way that Ruby was acting that got to him, but the nature of the words that she'd just spoken in pursuit of Jaune Arc.

Salem and the Queen of Grimm wasn't something that Ruby should have been privy to considering that Beacon, Anima, and Vermillion had been the farthest she'd ever been from home.

If not for Archer, even Shirou wouldn't have been informed of Salem's existence. The only real saving grace Shirou realized was that Ruby still seemed ignorant of the story revolving around the conception of the present Remnant. In which case, could he attribute everything he'd heard into some far-fetched guess?

No. Obviously not.

Somehow, someway, Ruby may actually be able to infer or see things from the future. This could be just as much of a danger as it could be a boon, and if one thing was genuine, it was that Ruby was trying to prove it to him, likely to recruit his aid.

Well, congratulations were in order because Shirou was actually starting to believe her. However, whether it was the right thing to confide with him or not, that was still too early to conclude. After all, what his Master wished to save and protect, may differ from what Shirou wished to save and protect. Moreover, what if the things she potentially saw in the future were created due to his and her actions prior? Would that not mean that by trying to change an outcome, they would be indirectly creating it? Or…what if the current trajectory of the future was already doomed for failure and Ruby was trying to stop that? More importantly, was the future Ruby saw from her point of view alone? In which case, many aspects that answer how or why would be neglected in favour of Ruby's own perspective bias.

.

.

.

Shirou ended up shaking his head. Future foresight was a complex thing, but come what may, he'd already agreed on a course of action.

In this world where humanity was already on the brink of extinction, he, a man once propositioned by Alaya, was called forth? It was too coincidental wasn't it?

Whether Ruby could predict the future or not, sadly it didn't change what he and 'Archer' had already planned not just for Ruby's sake, but for Remnant as a whole. There had to be a meaning about why he alone was summoned as a Heroic Spirit in a world bereft of a wish granting chalice. Just as Alaya had her Counter Guardians to safe-keep the will of humanity, Shirou could not factor out that he may have been summoned with a similar purpose in mind.

"Give it back!"

Noting that Ruby was suitably distracted in her quarrel with Pyrrha, Shirou slipped away in spiritual form such that no one could see him unless he materialized. Moreover, with his connection with Ruby, he'd still be able to communicate with her despite the distance between them, creating the illusion that he was still next to her.

Shirou sighed at the act of decievement.

A Hero's duty was never done, and for the sake of Remnant, a Witch, a Wizard, and Ruby's own happiness, the future stage had to be set.

This was something that both Shirou and Archer agreed on.

Unbeknownst to Ruby, Shirou had now shifted from a sedentary guardian role, into an active one upon Archer's return from the Grimm lands.

BREAK

This wasn't going to plan. This wasn't going to plan. This wasn't going to plan. This wasn't going to plan. This. Wasn't. Going. To. Plan. Should she repeat?

-This wasn't going to plan!

"Give it back!" Ruby felt her breath leave her when Crescent Rose continued to remain out of reach no matter how hard she tried to claw for it by swimming through the air. With nothing to push off of, all she could do was angle herself more steeply to descend at a faster rate and bridge the gap between her and her baby.

All the while, she couldn't help but feel a stifling sense of shame and mortification.

Shirou was probably floating around somewhere near her and watching her make a fool of herself when she'd so confidently boasted about having everything under control! How was she supposed to prove her future knowledge if she floundered at every step?!

She wanted to cry, but she had no tears to give, nor the childishness to follow through with throwing a tantrum.

Instead, when Crescent Rose finally left Pyrrha's sphere of influence, and Ruby finally managed to get hold of it again, Ruby was fuming from a sense of being wronged. Having crashed through the trees and landed numbly on her butt when she hit the ground, Ruby blew away fragments of leaves in her bangs and pouted at Pyrrha who stood in front of her.

It was a coincidence that Pyrrha had withdrawn her hold on Crescent Rose when Ruby was above her due to overtaxation of her Semblance, but the despair when their eyes met couldn't be faked for either of them.

Mortification caused Ruby to redirect her fluster on the one person who she was sure just ruined everything.

"Look what you did?! We lost Jaune!" Worse…you ruined my image!

Ruby pointed at Pyrrha, aggrieved and accusing. Pyrrha had made a fool of her in front of Shirou, and foiled her plans to recruit his aid! And for what? Because she shot her spear? Was the butterfly this terrifying?

Nearby Pyrrha had no words to refute Ruby's statement, not that she wanted to after her mood took a blow. She was as equally put out by the unexpected twist of events as Ruby was. She'd intended on sending Crescent Rose flying further away from her position, but due to how conservative she'd always been regarding the use of her Semblance, she'd neglected to factor in the exertion of prolonged control. Now, she'd been paired with the 'fangirl.'

Pyrrha suddenly felt her future prospects at a wonderful normal student life dim considerably.

"Guess this makes us partners," her voice was the blandest Pyrrha had noted in her life, and Ruby didn't even seem to notice, staring listlessly at the sky as if someone was laughing at her.

Neither of them spoke, the both of them sulking to themselves and remaining utterly still.

This was no longer a matter of pointing fingers, but one of spilt milk. There was no way to pick it back up or take it back.

"So ugh, my name's Ruby. You're Pyrrha, right?" Ruby tentatively spoke up, realizing that there was no use dwelling over the specifics when Shirou may still be watching her. Showing herself dispirited now would only make her words about the future seem less reliable.

"Yes," Pyrrha's answer was a blunt confirmation. Everyone knew her name to the point that she wasn't surprised. Only Jaune had been different, and she no longer had the possibility of being partnered with him.

"I guess neither of us get to be with Jaune in the end," Ruby rambled, not taking the cue that this was a rather sensitive topic for the both of them. Social ineptitude was a killer.

Pyrrha's shoulders drooped as she resisted the urge to ball up and mope right then and there, but light still shone in the end of the tunnel now that Pyrrha actually thought about it. "Beacon's made out of a team of four…" she mumbled aloud.

This was to say, there was still a chance.

"Right, right! A team of four!" Ruby's second wind had come, her face quickly brightening as her ears perked at the words she'd heard Pyrrha mutter. She'd even jumped back up onto her feet and began darting her eyes in the direction she remembered Jaune disappearing from.

Shamefully, Pyrrha realized that her actions were no better than Ruby as she found herself doing the same; the two of them now awkwardly looking at each other now that they were back on their feet.

"Truce?" Pyrrha proposed slowly.

"Truce," Ruby didn't even have to consider it, the two striking an immediate accorde.

It was a temporary alliance if only for the sake of their own selfish motives, but unless they called each other out, none would acknowledge it.

Unfortunately, neither of the two could even get ahead of themselves in order to begin pursuit of their intended partner before everything just started to go wrong.

A rustle in the bushes revealed a head of lustrous white hair tied into a ponytail bobbed out. Ruby recognized that shade of hair faster than Pyrrha could, and tried to flee rather than endure an encounter, but it was frankly already too late. If she believed that Weiss hadn't spotted them before stepping out through the bushes, then Ruby was beyond help. No. She was just trying to deny reality, fully knowing who was supposed to have been her original partner.

No offense, but it unnerved her that despite her actions, she'd still run into Weiss. It was discouraging considering she was trying to change things, and yet again the outcome was still persistent in trying to stay the same.

"Oh no no no no no!" Ruby cradled her head and tried to pretend as if she didn't see anything while trying to drag Pyrrha away by the arm. She only managed to tire herself in place, the ground at her feet forming grooves from where her heels were digging in.

In contrast, someone else was jubilant, and refused to let others overlook her.

"Oh yes yes yes yes!" Weiss repeated, storming towards Ruby and Pyrrha with unconcealed relief, only to pause as she realized that her decorum was slipping. However, considering her recent experiences lately, she felt she deserved to vent if only a little.

Both Ruby and Pyrrha were a tad taken aback by the look in Weiss's twitching eyes.

"There's justice in this world!" Weiss was practically sobbing, her hands clasping together, her attention focused solely on Pyrrha and ignoring all else. "I thought it was over, but if all it takes to reach the top is putting up with a mute and a little brat, then so be it. We still have me, and the Invincible Girl!"

Ruby had paused at the word 'mute.' There was only one person she remembered in her future diary that fit that description.

Ruby nervously bit her nails, and didn't have to wait long before Neo waltzed in with a confident swagger in her steps; a strut here and there with a sway in her hips. She even winked at Ruby, fully aware that Ruby had been scoping her out the prior night and making Ruby feel like she was on tenterhooks.

Nooooooo! Ruby felt like her world was spinning. No actually, it was. She'd fallen on her butt in a daze while holding her head in her arms and rocking back and forth like a trauma patient.

'Drama Queen.'

The sign Neo was holding in front of Ruby with a small flip book wasn't helping.

After Ruby gradually beset to depression, it was Pyrrha's turn to allow Weiss's words to set in, and Weiss wasn't exactly quite done yet.

Finally getting to grips with herself and affirming her composure, Weiss realized she regretted appearing so forthright and eager. The more she thought about it, the more she felt unbecoming of herself and tried to shamefully start over. First impressions were always important after all. As a Schnee she knew this all too well.

"Ahem, is that you Pyrrha?" Weiss's features were mechanical, pleading with Pyrrha to pretend as if her prior outburst hadn't happened. "Why, we were practically destined for this encounter. Together the two of us will surely exceed Beacon's expectations. Just think of it, I, the Schnee heiress, and you, the undefeated champion on a team!"

No. No, she didn't want to think about it.

"Ugh," Pyrrha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, and nearly failing to resist the urge to sob. She should have just let Ruby drag her away, but at the same time, with Ruby's stature and build, it wasn't going to happen.

Why was the world so cruel?

A fangirl, a mute, and a Schnee- this team was the furthest from the normal Pyrrha wanted! No, not even that. She could settle with it if they just treated her as herself, but the twinkle in Weiss's eyes, the disinterest in Neo's, and Pyrrha's guarded attitude towards Ruby, meant that Pyrrha's hopes were already ground into bits.

Please let this not be her team.

Please no.

Elsewhere.

/-/

Emerald wasn't having a good day. No, in fact, she hadn't been having a good week. Worse, now that her intended partner, Neo, was flung to who knows where, Emerald was left to leave her partner to chance. Cursing, she aimlessly wandered the Emerald Forests while picking twigs out of her hair.

For a forest named after her, Emerald was anything but pleased with it. It was normal as far as forests go, but the density of Grimm and the feeling of danger here were worse than that of the outskirts of border towns.

More importantly, who the hell flings students off a cliff, and considers themself sane? Emerald knew there was something off about Ozpin, but she didn't expect him to be a complete looney.

She could have died!

It was too unexpected and her Semblance and gear accommodated little for any sort of 'landing strategy.' In the end, she got lucky and somehow got out of the entire ordeal by crashing through numerous layers of foliage with only her Aura to protect her. If she crashed into rocks or directly with the ground, she shuddered to think of the result. It was anything but graceful, and she swore that she'd make Ozpin pay one way or another. Growing up as a street girl, she could accurately recall everyone who'd ever slighted her enough for her to care. If Ozpin kept up his track record, he'd soon be on the top of that list above even that Qrow bastard who knocked her out without reason in Anima.

Grumbling to herself, Emerald brushed off the dirt and grime on her face before doing the same to her clothes. All the while, she continued on her way to the ruins she'd seen while flung through the sky.

She sighed, features downcast and moping.

If she wasn't here right now, she'd be doing something more useful and interesting with her time.

She was supposed to have been helping vet new Rose Mercenary candidates with Roman today, one being some wannabe named Mercury Black, and the other an actual wandering merc called Steelheart or something. Meh, to be honest, she'd been looking forward to 'breaking in' the newbies than actual introductions. Otherwise, why bother going if it was just pleasantries?

Now though, the role fell onto Roman and Scarlet's hands while she sweated away in a dank forest.

The only saving grace that Emerald could look forward to was that Archer was the leader of the current mission, meaning that he'd be on the field with her and Neo. Having learned that he'd be in Beacon as a teacher, Emerald considered the prospect of skipping her other classes to remain in Archer's classroom. Rather than learn bullshit history or education outside of what's needed to live in Remnant, she'd rather learn life-skills with Archer. He was her role-model and-

"Might want to move away from there."

A voice interrupted Emerald's train of thought, but if you'd think she'd be grateful, then you had another thing coming.

Emerald snorted, firing one of her guns behind her back and reholstering it in the same motion. A thunk sound echoed by her heels, revealing a smaller Grimm fading away into motes of black light.

"I can take care of myself." Emerald crossed her arms and turned in the direction of the voice.

This wasn't her first rodeo, nor was it the first time she fought a Grimm in her career as a Rose Mercenary. Anything barring the special variants of Grimm wouldn't phase her easily.

A youth jumped down from the branch of tree he was resting on, and lowered the mecha-shift rifle he'd been aiming at the Grimm sneaking up on Emerald.

"I can see that," the boy nodded curtly at Emerald before extending a hand forward. The two had made eye contact the moment Emerald had turned to face him, so he was offering courtesy at this point. "The name's Ectoras. You might have heard of me before? I recently obtained a title in Mistral's fighting rings."

"I don't pay attention to fanfare," Emerald remarked cooly, glancing at Ector's offered hand and giving it a light shake before quickly breaking contact.

"Right well, I'm not one for fanfare either. Mistral was just a family thing I did for my grandmother." Ector let out a low chuckle while Emerald gave him the 'do I care?' look of disinterest.

"You can call me Ector. You?"

Emerald finally perked up at the name, and gave Ector another once over from a feeling of familiarity. Then it hit when she noticed his gun shift back into a golden coloured spear that she'd seen in news briefs surrounding a certain event that had propelled Jaune Arc into Remnant's spotlight.

-Mt. Glenn.

The name echoed in Emerald's mind like thunder as she tried to recall why she thought Ector seemed too familiar. He'd been in one of the feature videos she'd watched in the attack on Mt. Glenn. The last Verdant or something like that. Honestly, she'd only noticed him while searching for more videos on Archer, but all the same.

"Emerald," Emerald introduced herself with a grudging tact.

Ector nodded while strapping his spear on a harness saddled over his back. "Guess this makes us partners."

"Yeah."

"Not one for words are you?"

"What gave it away?" Emerald rolled her eyes at the obvious before moving on, uncaring if Ector followed, but still calling out for appearances sake. "Are you coming or not?"

A grunt was the only answer before Ector began matching Emerald's stride.

In the grand scheme of things, Emerald realized that Ector wasn't all that bad in comparison to some naively optimistic school kid.

In the end, he wasn't Neo, but she could cope with this.

"Heeeeelp!"

Birds flapped their wings and took off startled by an ear-piercing wail that was accompanied by deafening thuds and toppling trees. Panning out, one would be able to see a trail of devastation stretching on for a good kilometer of erratic movement.

Clouds of dust and debris were rising up into the air with a frequency higher than even professional demolition groups, and the cause was none other than a young woman trying to wrong a right.

Jaune felt the blood draining from his features. No matter how much his father and sisters began to seriously train him after the excursion in Mt. Glenn, they'd never actually crossed the line of trying to kill him.

Doctor Nora insisted that he'd just be knocked out if he let himself get hit, but Jaune saw no doctor. He saw only a harbinger of death, and it spoke sloth.

"Let's talk this out!"

Jaune jumped behind a tree that quickly found itself uprooted by a dose of grenade to its trunk.

"Violence isn't the answer!" Jaune tried to reason again when the impact sent him sailing through the air.

Through the dust, a smiling Nora would have none of it. "~Oh Jaune Jaune, talking won't make you forget~"

Dammit!

Jaune hurriedly backed away, but he realized his strategy of running between trees to reduce the effectiveness of Nora's hammer was quickly coming to an end. He was running out of trees to hide behind. It was only going to be a matter of time before there'd be nothing he could use to mitigate the force of Nora's blows.

Oh Gods, he was done for.

Frantically weaving through Nora's swings, Jaune could practically feel the wind force generated by Nora's hammer sucking him closer and closer. It didn't help that each time Nora's hammer made contact with the ground, the entire area seemed to shudder and crack into minor crevices.

Just imagining that hammer striking him made his bones shudder and groan. Aura or not, he didn't feel like he'd be able to survive even with his banner's healing field. You can't heal what's already dead after all.

Finally, the last tree Jaune could use to hide behind was shattered into splinters.

"~Heeeere's Doctor Nora!" Nora's hammer raised itself high, leaving no room to maneuver with how fast Jaune had seen she could swing it down. "~And she has your medicine~"

Mommy, I'm too young to die.

Jaune braced himself for the inevitable, arms shielding his face, and body curling to reduce surface area.

"Extend your left arm up, shoulders proud."

What?

Jaune was dumbfounded, but it didn't mean he didn't subconsciously follow through with the words. The voice reminded him too much of his father's authoritative tone. Based on Nora's lack of a reaction, it was safe to assume that he was the only one who might have heard it.

Jaune's hand that suddenly pointed forward had a shield equipped over it that bounced back the hammer before it could complete its full downward arc with minimal damage. It was only natural though, since Jaune was equipped with the family sword and shield from the Great War. It wasn't a mecha-shift weapon, but the material of its make could hardly be found anywhere in Remnant anymore.

"~Hmm?" Nora made a confused noise when her hammer rebounded, and she staggered back a step.

"Follow up with a raised sword angled at a slant with your right hand."

So, he really wasn't just hearing things!

When the voice sounded again, this time Jaune was ready and followed the action consciously. His sword arm moved strictly to instruction and somehow inserted itself into the gap between Nora's grip on her hammer. Sparks grated as the angle of the sword and Nora's own momentum had the edge scraping against the war hammer's shaft. If Nora didn't let go of the two-handed grip on her left hand, she was going to lose it.

By instinct, Nora let go, momentarily leaving the stability of her hammer to her right hand alone as Jaune's sword swept by.

"Step into her defense, body her with the shield, and activate its sheath form while pressing it to her sternum. She'll stagger from the force of the shift. Use that moment to make distance."

As if guided by a greater will, Jaune found that the words spoken to him were all things within the scope of his ability to pull off at every instance. You know, like he was the game character in a fighter, and the voice was the player with the remote controller.

Once more, Jaune followed through with what was said to terrifyingly accurate battle results.

The sudden shift from a flat shield into a pointed scabbard really did force knock Nora back by the full length of the sheath, giving Jaune the opportunity to back pedal. .

C-Could this be?

Was this his Semblance?!

Natural instinct? Guardian Angel? Mind's Guide?

Despite his life and death being at risk, Jaune still couldn't help getting excited at the awakening of such a unique power. His family would be ecstatic, his sisters beyond envy at a clear battle-type skill. This was a Semblance here. His Semblance.

"Focus."

…Right. And it had his dad's authoritative tone by default. It was hard not to straighten his back in memory of a stern dressing down for inattentiveness.

"Oof, you actually knocked back doctor Nora?" Nora looked more confused than anything as she recalled Jaune's prior appearance to how he was acting now.

The sense of urgency and franticness in Jaune's demeanor had disappeared, replaced by an expression that looked almost eager like a child wanting to play with a new toy. He stood tall, panicked features shifted into firm concentration. The shield that turned into a sheath had been strapped over his waist before his left hand reached over his back to pull out a banner Nora swore she felt was eerie familiar somehow. Something Ren must have told, or that the two had seen somewhere on a passing television.

In any case, Nora shook her head.

Getting knocked back once wasn't enough to discourage Nora in the least.

"~You're bad. Patients aren't supposed to hit their doctors." Nora re-gripped her war hammer, Magnhild, with both hands and stalked forward.

Calm as Juane appeared, he couldn't help but recall the strength of the girl marching towards him. Was this really going to be okay?

His doubts were steadily returning, but his excitement had managed to suppress even that as his Semblance continued talking.

"She'll strike high. When she does, hold the banner aloft and brace with both hands locked at the forearms."

Strike high? Brace? What if it snaps? Jaune couldn't bear to imagine the consequences, but found that like before, the words were a hundred percent accurate.

Nora charged, leaping on the ground with her legs spreading from the torque of cocking her hammer back for a mighty overhead swing. Hammer, meet nail!

Jaune flinched, knees wobbling before his Semblance 'reassured' him.

"That banner is not so fragile, nor is it just a protective item like you may think. It's a symbol carried by an Arc like you who didn't even know how to properly wield it yet followed through by will and blind sentiment alone."

Was…was it just implied that he was unskilled?

No. No it couldn't be.

Jaune pretended as if he didn't hear the last part, and mustered up the courage to follow through.

Sheathing his sword, he hastily grabbed the shaft of his war banner with both hands, and raised it up in stalwart defense.

"Take pride."

His Semblance seemed to whisper amidst the billowing of the flag on the banner's pointed tip.

"Remain firm."

A soft white glow encompassed the banner from its butt end to its tip just before Nora's hammer made contact. A dronning clang echoed in the space, and from between the hammer and banner, a barrier of protection swept out. Nora recoiled in stunned disbelief as the force of collision had her reeling even with her Aura protecting her.

"Follow through with the banner's momentum, and leg sweep."

Allowing the force of the hammer's impact to fuel the movement of the banner, the weapon swung low and clipped the back of Nora's knees with its shaft, sending her tumbling forward in a vulnerable position.

"Twirl."

Jauen followed through again, his hands spinning the Saint's banner in a full circle ,and disarming Nora in the next instant when the metal shaft clipped her hands.

"Extend your left hand, and grab in three, two, one-"

Jaune grabbed just as the voice of his Semblance hit one, and there and behold, Magnhild, which was flung in the air when Jaune had disarmed Nora, magically landed in his grip.

Wind swept through the area, rustling Jaune's bangs while the flag on billowed spear flapped back and forth under Nora's stunned gaze.

"Had enough?" Jaune asked, trying to de-escalate while keeping Magnhild out of Nora's reach.

Disarmed, and apparently, outskilled, Nora curled up, hugged her knees, and immediately began sulking. She'd given up on attacking again. "Renny Renny, it's not fair. The secret call was intercepted by an imposter!"

"For what it's worth, I am still thankful," Jaune scratched the back of his head, growing sheepish out of sympathy for Nora's plight.

It was here when more company arrived.

From the nearby bushes and behind a pile of toppled trees, Yang and Blake stepped out with varying levels of astonishment; first at the level of destruction, then at Jaune who managed to contain it by himself.

"Wow. He actually didn't die." Yang murmured, only to remember that she wasn't alone and immediately put on airs with Blake staring flatly at her. "I-I mean see? I told you he'd have it handled. He's a celeb."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Blake was not in the mood, aloof features pointed. "You also said you wouldn't get involved with crazy over there."

Said crazy didn't even seem to register Blake pointing at her. Nora was just too busy sulking at the world.

"Then why are we partners?" Yang was ruthless.

"..." Y-You, you know why punch-happy lumberjack.

Blake's ears flopped as she narrowed her eyes, but she didn't pursue the topic anymore. Her terrorist of a partner was insufferable and selfish, but for the time being, Blake had put aside plans to 'inspect' Yang's dagger until after initiation. They couldn't bicker the entire time and expect to pass, but the annoying thing was that Yang wasn't convinced that she was being genuine.

Blake sighed while Yang moved towards Jaune and a despondent Nora drawing circles on the ground until Jaune finally handed Magnhild back to her.

"Sup, younger sister's friend!" Yang greeted Jaune with a firm pat on the back.

Juane was flattered that such a beautiful girl would actually walk up to him, but her words threw him for a loop. "Younger sister?" He echoed, unable to recall anyone resembling a younger version of Yang.

Yang was unperturbed. She got this kind of reaction a lot. "Small, young, dorky…red-hair?"

"Ruby?" The description dawned on Jaune.

"Got it in one, hero." Yang made finger guns.

"Awe shucks. Hero, d-do you mean it?"

"No," Yang answered flatly, dropping her hands and brushing the dirt off of her shoulders, leaving Juane deflated at the sudden rise and fall of his emotion.

"Right, right, I had a feeling it was like that," Jaune mourned the loss of whatever ego had been starting to build after subduing a raging Nora.

"Although…you did look kind of cool at the end there," Yang smirked, instantly brightening Jaune's mood.

"I did look cool didn't I?" Jaune brightened like a lamp, a feeling of accomplishment as an aspiring Huntsman welling within him for the first time in years.

"And you ruined it. You were better off saying nothing," Blake interjected in the exchange, growing irritable at how carefree Yang was to be chatting idly with Jaune and a moping Nora.

"What's the rush kitty cat?" Yang goaded, wiggling her eyebrows at Blake. "Besides, the whole place is a mess, and I sort of last track of the direction of the ruins."

Blake had a quip for Yang's forgetfulness, but she was the bigger person here and didn't stoop to it. Honestly, she knew it would only lead to further bickering and this was counterintuitive to what she wanted.

Jaune however was different. He actually thought of Yang's words as a question and began thinking. Being as he was the one who was too busy running for his life prior, how could he possibly remember which way they should be going? Yet, he felt it was uncool if he didn't know something so essential to completing Beacon's initiation-

"Head north."

"That way." Jaune found himself pointing out the specified direction for everyone, much to their stupor and Blake's suspicion.

No matter how Blake had looked at Jaune, he'd look absolutely clueless seconds ago. How could he suddenly seem so sure, now? It couldn't just be a wild guess. There was no way. After all, he'd pointed the right way.

"How do you know?" Yang asked while humming in thought.

"My Semblance," Jaune coughed, but was unable to hide his glee. "It helped me beat Nora."

"Cheater!" Nora accused, having not used her Semblance at all. Still, there was nothing that could be done, and Nora had already cooled her head enough to know that she really couldn't change being partners with Jaune.

"What's it do?" Blake inquired.

"Now that you ask…" Jaune's expression pinched in thought.

With Nora subdued, and the immediate threat to his life neutralized, Jaune found himself ruminating on the prospect of just what his Semblance was, or what to call it for that matter?

The conductor? OOoh, with how it seems to function, how about the Commander.

"Jaune? You alright in the head? You're smirking at yourself." Yang pointed out.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just got my Semblance so it's hard to say," Jaune answered Blake's prior question, earning a nod from her. "Right then, follow me. I'll lead the way."

Jaune balled his hands into fists.

What about Hero Maker? Or ooooh maybe the chosen!

Unseen floating in the air, Shirou shook his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. Maybe he should have chosen a better candidate to be Remnant's hero?

In the end, when one hero falls, another will rise.

The course was set, and he wouldn't change his mind now.

Thanks for reading!

Next update: TBA

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