Crocea Mors slashed down in a powerful arc, generating wind pressure in its immediate surroundings. Jaune lifted his sword back up and cut down again in a repetitive motion. He was on the edge where the sand turned into dirt and trees so people wouldn't interrupt him. Jaune could be found there commonly in the 9 months that had passed since founding the new fishing village.
After the initial hiccup that came in the form of a Grimm horde, the settlement became functional and protected within a month. After that, Jaune decided to stay there and further his training, occasionally helping Aldric on his excursions into the desert.
The reason they even bothered with the desert, considering it was unlivable? It was for the dust mines that could be found rather commonly the deeper you traveled. It was far too dangerous and expensive for bigger companies to mine on Menagerie, and that's not even counting the threat of the White Fang.
Outside of that, it was a peaceful time for Jaune, which was a nice change of pace from the frontier. He made a closer acquaintance with Calla and Ajax and even trained with them a bit. Skete went off to god knows where. Not that Jaune cared all that much, considering the man's dislike for him.
His 'graduation' was the only notable thing that happened outside of desert exploration.
/**/**/
Hammer and sword clashed, sending sparks flying through the air. Aldric's muscles bulged, barely needing to hold back against his student. They fought along the beach as both struggled to gain a foothold in the loose sand.
Jaune glowed with a golden light as his semblance passively reinforced him, allowing him to fight on equal ground with the older hunter.
Aldric spun his hammer in a wide arc that ended with the head slamming into Jaune's guard. The blonde jumped right as their weapons clashed, letting the force throw him backward to gain space.
Blue eyes narrowed as Jaune kept his guard raised, preparing to go in for another atta—
"That's enough," his mentor declared, standing up out of his stance.
That confused Jaune, who asked why they were stopping.
The faunus sighed, "You've just about learned everything I can teach you at this point. The only things you need are experience and a more trained aura, things you can do on your own."
"That's it, then? We're done?"
Aldric rubbed the back of his head, "With training, at least."
Jaune stared at him, not comprehending what he was being told.
"After all the years you've trained me for… And we're just done?" Jaune asked, getting slightly upset.
"No! I mean, no, I'm not gonna just leave you on your own. I'll still be here, just not as your teacher. Don't jump to crazy conclusions."
"Oh. Uh, sorry?"
Aldric rubbed the bridge of his nose, "It's fine, you've never been the quickest outside of combat."
Jaune stepped back as if shot, "Hey! I resent that!"
The lion faunus just snorted in amusement, "Kid, you can barely talk to Kali and Calla and they're both way older than you. I don't think I've seen you speak to someone your age in years."
The blonde deflated. The truth can hurt.
Aldric coughed, "Anyways, I'm going to help down at the main outpost. You can stay here or you can join me."
Jaune contemplated for a minute before answering.
"I think I'll stay here for now. The faunus actually like me here anyways."
He shuffled awkwardly in place, "So, I guess this is goodbye?"
His former mentor shook his head, "Not really. I'll still swing by at least once a week to check on you. Otherwise, you're free to do what you want."
"Ah, okay."
The silence stretched as the two of them stood there, only the sound of the waves accompanying them. Jaune started to feel emotional, realizing that things were about to change.
And maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
/**/**/
With Aldric not in charge of his training anymore, Jaune had a lot more free time. Well, he still used it to train most of the time, but he also spent more time cooking and learning the various cuisines of Menagerie.
He finished the last repetition for the morning and brought a hand up to wipe the sweat that accumulated on his brow. The blonde walked across the beach toward the proud walls of the settlement, which was dubbed Awa Laau.
There weren't many people in the town and the ones that had decided to move there were mostly fishermen. Most of them recognized him by now and waved as he walked by. Jaune returned the wave as he came upon the spattering of wooden houses.
They were all two to three-room houses with limited dust access since they were built less than a year ago. The lack of plumbing was also something to get used to.
The blue-eyed teen entered his house, a small double room with a living room/kitchen and a bedroom. There weren't many decorations around the house except for his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, which was a gift from his sisters.
He smiled fondly in remembrance of them. As the years went by, so did some of his grief over their deaths. It wasn't gone, per se, but he had accepted it. And Jaune never forgot his original dream of being a huntsman.
He sat down on the edge of his bed to think. There were so many things he could do. He was free to go anywhere he wanted. Jaune flopped back onto his bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
The blonde liked his life on Menagerie. Hanging out with Calla, sparring with Ajax, and visiting Kali and Ghira every once in a while. But something was missing.
What that was, Jaune didn't know. What he did know, is that he wasn't going to find it on Menagerie. After a few more minutes of thinking, the blonde got up to his feet and started moving. It was time to give Aldric a visit.
/**/**/
"It's gonna be weird with you gone," the lion faunus commented.
Jaune smiled lightly as he hefted his backpack onto the boat, "Yeah, same here. I'm gonna miss all you guys here in Menagerie."
The blue-eyed teen hopped onto the boat, which would be leaving the docks in less than a minute. They both stayed in silence as the crew hurried around, getting everything ready for their journey to Anima. The boat was let loose and started to move.
Jaune turned back, "See you around, Aldric."
Aldric grinned, but you could see the hint of sadness in his eyes, "I'll hold you to that."
Jaune tore his gaze away as the boat picked up speed and looked toward the open waters. He sighed, knowing it would be rough at first to be alone again. But the blonde wouldn't let that stop him from achieving his dreams.
He was going to travel and hone his skills in the frontier once more until he was of age to attend Beacon Academy. Until then, he would do what he was born to do; kill Grimm. And maybe drink some alcohol as well.
/**/**/
Music was played obnoxiously loud as people danced and drank more than was healthy. Looking past the crowd, there was a bar that was pretty much empty save for one man. It was a tall, muscular blonde, with a scar running vertically from his forehead, over his eye, and down his left cheek. The man was wearing a white chest piece of armor over… A Pumpkin Pete's hoodie? With similarly white greaves and bracers.
The blonde sighed as he held up his glass to the owner of the bar, "Another one, please." The barman looked slightly concerned but did as he was told, filling the glass with more whiskey.
"You sure you can handle more? This is your seventh glass…"
The man just shook his head, "Don't worry, I'm not a light-weight, Junior."
Junior shrugged as he went back to business. Far be it from him to refuse the man. Hei Xiong, or "Junior" as he was more commonly known, could tell that the blonde wasn't someone to mess with. Call it a hunch, but you the man, young as he was, had the aura of an experienced huntsman; and Junior had learned to trust his instincts.
Jaune sighed as he downed his glass of whiskey. He didn't like the music all that much, but Junior's club was the only place he could get a decently strong drink. 15 minutes later, and four more drinks, Junior was starting to wonder if Jaune was human.
Jaune, who was still completely sober, just held up his glass for more. Junior shook his head and went to grab the glass when someone knew stepped up to the bar.
"Heya, Junior!"
It was a buxom blonde with a tan jacket and short, black shorts. Junior raised an eyebrow, "Do I know you?"
"Not yet, but we can change that. I heard that you know a lot of things." The blonde said. The barman sighed, "You need to learn some subtlety, girl. But yeah, I know some things. For a price, that is."
The blonde smiled before she pulled out a picture. It was of a woman with long black hair and a Grimm mask, "Do you know this person?" She asked.
A flicker of recognition passed across Junior's face, but he quickly set a poker face, "Sorry, girl; I don't know who that is."
Frustration flashed in the girl's eyes and, as fast as lighting, reached down and grabbed Junior's… "Junior."
Jaune winced in sympathy for the man as Junior cringed, "You're going to tell me what I need to know, capiche?" She said menacingly.
Some of the bodyguards noticed the commotion and started moving towards Junior. Just as they were about to act, the busty blonde let go.
Junior scowled, "I'm not telling you anything, bitch." The girl smiled sweetly, before spinning around and punching Junior across the club. Chaos erupted as the henchmen rose up in defense of their boss.
Hell, even the DJ pulled out a gun and joined the fight.
Jaune sipped on his glass this time as the anarchy increased, realizing he probably wouldn't be getting another one anytime soon. He watched as the other blonde tore through her opponents like they were wet paper. And then two girls, twins from the looks of it, made their appearance. Jaune could tell they were more experienced than the regular grunt.
They had a quick back-and-forth with the blonde before beginning their fight. Jaune went for another sip and cursed when no alcohol touched his lips. He decided that watching the girls battle was enough entertainment for now, as he set his glass down.
The twins actually gave the busty blonde some trouble with their combat style, switching out with each other and showing off their rather impressive coordination. That is until the blonde sent one of them flying with a well-placed punch.
Flying straight at Jaune, in fact.
He sighed as he stood up from his chair. As the red-wearing twin flew at him, he stepped to the side and stretched out an arm, catching her unconscious form. This caught the attention of the two who were still fighting and a groaning Junior, who was just now getting up from the other side of the club.
The distraction didn't last long, as the more palely dressed twin launched another attack. Jaune set down the girl gently on the floor and sat back down. The non-blonde girl didn't last much longer without her twin to help. She was disposed of rather quickly, which is when Junior decided to join the fight with a rocket launcher/club of all things.
'Kind of a weird time to rejoin the fight, right after your only help is defeated…' Jaune thought to himself as he watched Junior get punched through the doors and out of his own club.
"Yang!? What happened here!?" A girl that was very… Red-themed, asked/shouted from outside the club, having witnessed Junior get thrown out. The blonde, or Yang, shrugged sheepishly, "It's a long story."
Jaune snickered at that, looking around at the destroyed building. Junior's rockets and Yang's fighting style hadn't kept the damage to a minimum and had pretty much totaled the club for the foreseeable future.
Yang gazed toward him when he laughed, "And who are you? Did you really just sit there the whole time?" She asked incredulously.
Jaune shrugged, "It honestly wasn't any of my business; I just came here for the drinks." Yang couldn't refute that and turned to leave, when Jaune spoke up, "That woman you're looking for," He barely started when she was suddenly in front of him, glaring.
"What about it?" She said as Jaune raised his hands in surrender, "No need to get angry," he said, "It's just, that I know who she is." He had her full attention now.
"I don't know her name, but I do know that she's the leader of the Branwen tribe, a tribe of bandits that move around the continent constantly. She's also the one that gave me this scar," he said, pointing to his left eye.
Her gaze softened at that and she backed off, "Sorry, it's just, she's my mom…" Jaune winced; this was getting awkward very fast.
"Ah, don't worry about the scar. It's no big deal." He said hastily. Yang snickered at him, "You're not the best with words, are ya?"
Jaune's head dropped in depression.
"Yang! I think I hear sirens!" The red girl from earlier shouted. Yang let out a nervous chuckle, "Guess I should get going, huh? Maybe I'll see you sometime again, blondie." Was her parting remark as she rushed outside to the other girl. They both left while arguing in hushed tones.
Jaune looked down at his empty glass and then at the surroundings. A bunch of unconscious or groaning criminals and one gang leader.
"I wonder if they'd notice if I took some for the road?"
/**/**/
Hello all. Sorry for the late chapter for those who actually read this. I have been failing chemistry and working extra hours so I didn't really have the motivation to write anything. Also, Beacon next chapter! I tried not to rush it much but I had a time skip of his two years on his own planned from the beginning. His travels will slowly unravel over the story.
Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think!