A/N: Another day. Another story. Thankfully, I have a few chapters already written, and I plan to always keep it that way so I at least have something to post if I'm not up to writing on a particular day.

"Reincarnated as the Raiden Shogun's Kitsuné... how wholly unoriginal." Yae Miko hummed in slight disappointment as she read the draft. "I wonder if they'd have written this if they knew who I was. Oh, what am I talking about? Of course they would."

The head shrine maiden of the Great Narukami Shrine sat on the stairs facing the Sakura Tree. In her hand was a book containing the most recent drafts from the editors of the Yae Publishing House. As the editor-in-chief, it was her duty to read and approve the drafts their editors sent. Unfortunately for her, most of these drafts fell into two categories: reincarnation stories or transmigration stories, sometimes even both simultaneously.

Either way, both ideas had long overstayed their welcome in her mind, yet they were extremely popular amongst the populace. She never really understood the buzz about it. What is so mundane about this world that you wish to go to another? Considering the brief lives that mortals live, you would think they'd appreciate life more than someone such as herself. The popularity of the genre showed the complete opposite, and instead, it was she who appreciated the world as it was.

Miko sighed as she lowered the book and looked up into the starry night sky. The Kitsuné stared at a bright star that outshone the rest. What is it that the mortals say? To wish upon a star, or was it a shooting star? No matter. She was going to wish either way.

'I wish for something to break up the tedium of this task.'

For a moment, nothing happened, just as she expected. Miko only did that to serve as a momentary distraction from her work. Something to spice up her day, despite how minor it was. The pink-haired woman stared down at her book once again, dreading having to read this dull story. Maybe she was judging the book by its cover and the premise was the only dull thing about it, yet could you blame her for wanting something more creative? Talking to the editor might-

Yae Miko's thoughts ground to a halt as she noticed the world slowly brightening around her. Her head angled upward to see the star she previously noticed was getting brighter was bigger than before. She instantly understood that it wasn't getting bigger, it was getting closer. The shrine maiden was about to make preparations to ensure the safety of the shrine and the tree as Electro coursed around her body.

Thankfully, such a thing was unnecessary as she noticed the falling star's course wasn't at the shrine. It flew past dangerously, causing the wind to blow through the shrine with immense force. Even she had to brace herself as she watched the comet with an intrigued gaze. She squinted and could parse out what the star was and she couldn't help but feel an intense need to investigate.

"I wonder what stories you have to tell…" she mumbled as the other shrine maidens hastily cleaned up the mess left in the wake of the falling object.

[-]

Jaune didn't know what to expect when he fell into that featureless void. Death was the obvious first choice. What he didn't expect was the pain he felt all over his body, and just how exhausted he was as he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a rocky hole leaking moonlight above him. Every now and then, pieces of rock and dust fell from the opening, and at any moment, the entire ceiling could just collapse. He turned his head to get a better look at his surroundings, and his body disapproved of this action by letting out a sharp ache in his neck.

The blonde man could figure out that he was now in a gloomy, yet featureless cave. Considering the hole in the ceiling, it was obvious he had fallen into this cave. How high he must've been to create such a reaction. Jaune didn't want to know, so instead he focused on standing up. It was a laborious effort as he had to turn his body around so it was facing down, and then push himself up. He pushed himself up off the ground and could get a knee under him, however; he was forced to stop as he felt extremely weak.

"... Aura…break…" Jaune mumbled with labored breaths. His aura had taken all the damage of the fall, yet considering the state of his clothes and armor, it wasn't able to stop all of it. His normal garments had tears and holes all across them, his boots were barely held together, and his armor had dents and scuffs everywhere. The huntsman hoped that wherever he had fallen, there was a tailor and armor nearby.

With some of his strength returned, he could push himself into a standing position. Maintaining that position was a trial in and of itself, but he pushed through as he didn't know what was lurking nearby. Speaking about potential threats, Jaune looked around the crater he made for Crocea Mors, as it wasn't on his hip where he expected it to be.

He found it lying on the edge of the crater and painfully hobbled his way over to it. Then, with a groan of effort, he reached out for it, but just as he was about to grab the handle, he felt his body go ill and his heartbeat pick up speed. For a moment, he thought he saw blood on the sheath, and from his memories, he knew whose blood it was. The dying face of Penny flashed in his mind and his hand shook in response as an overwhelming feeling of guilt welled up in him.

Something making noise further into the cave caused his Huntsman instincts to kick in and override his current state of mind as he quickly snatched up his blade. It felt heavier than normal, though he attributed that to exhaustion, and he placed the sheath on his hip before pulling out the sword properly.

Jaune felt like he was about to vomit, as he saw dried blood on the edge of the broken blade, yet when the noise got louder he tried to push it out of his mind. Jaune carefully walked out of the creator and into the cave proper, which extended further before bending to the right. Seeing nowhere else to go Jaune trekked down the path with his sword at the ready.

Several minutes later, he finally came across what made that noise. A pair of grey-skinned humanoid creatures communicated with each other in an indecipherable language. The only thing they wore was a loincloth and bandages loosely wrapped around their arms and legs. The white, small-horned mask of their face had some marking upon it, and the color contrasted against the large tan mane. Both creatures had wooden clubs in their hands, and when Jaune came into view, they quickly jumped into action as they raised their weapons threateningly.

Realizing a fight was at hand, the huntsman raised Crocea Mors at the monsters, yet he found his hand shaky and his grip loose. No matter how much effort he put into it, he could not handle his weapon properly. The monsters didn't care about such a thing and charged at him haphazardly. In response, Jaune grabbed his sheath with his other hand and swiftly transformed it into its shield variation. He blocked the closest monster attack before pushing the beast away and using the opening, he attempted to bring his sword down. Unfortunately, the attack didn't have the effect he wanted it to as he only caused a minor cut across its body.

'C'mon Jaune. Pull yourself together!'

He tried to psych himself up, yet his mind didn't respond as he could not use his sword as he was trained to. The other creature reached him and he was forced to block its attack. In response, Jaune attempted a stab as he thrust his blade forward. It didn't reach as far as he expected and he just barely poked the broken end into its skin. For a moment, he could feel the blade subtly penetrate the creature's skin and his heart dropped.

Lifeless eyes. Somber smile. Pushing the blade into the corpse.

Bile rose in the back of his throat as he stepped away from the monsters. His hand almost let go of his sword, and it was only through sheer willpower that he held on. Suddenly, pain exploded in his left thigh and he gasped painfully as he forcibly kneeled. Jaune looked down to see an arrow sticking out of his leg, and he slowly looked up to realize that far behind the two monsters was another, with a crossbow in its hand. Cruel laughter echoed from their masks as his club-wielding foes approached with bloodthirsty intent.

Jaune felt fear well up inside him, and he wondered if this was how he died. Pathetically kneeling as monsters that he should've been easily able to take care of struck him down. Even now, he could not grip his sword properly, and it was obvious his doom was soon to draw near.

'...you deserve this…'

A dark and quiet voice spoke in the back of his mind, and Jaune wondered if this was a punishment for…for…for murdering Penny. For not saving her.

Yet another part of him railed against this line of thought. He's gone through so much. Faced monsters the average huntsman would never face. Lived through situations where he should've died. When Pyrrha decided to fight Cinder, she didn't give up right at the offset. She fought, even when the outcome seemed inevitable. Giving up here would just disrespect her, and many others' memories.

He may be a murderer, but he would not lie down and die here, of all places!

Jaune felt energy course through his veins, and his mind pierced through the fatigue, pain, and mental anguish for this one moment. As the monster raised its club high, Jaune clenched his sword and pushed himself towards his opponent. With their weapon raised, their guard was fully down, and Jaune exploited it fully as he pulled his sword back before slicing it horizontally across the monster's stomach. Blood poured out of the open wound as the beast roared in pain before falling back.

His other opponent fell in the same fashion, unable to raise a defense quickly enough. Pain bloomed in his shoulder as an arrow pierced his body, and Jaune set his sights on the crossbowman. He charged, ignoring the pain it caused, as the monster tried to reload its weapon in a panic. It was a futile effort as she reached his foe and quickly neutralized it. He watched its corpse crash to the ground and Jaune was left there, panting tiredly.

Not wanting to deal with the aftermath of pushing his body too far, Jaune limped his way further into the cave where he hoped an exit lay. The pain and fatigue came in full force as the adrenaline faded, and the firm grip disappeared as he could not hold it tight once again. Instead, he sheathed his sword and held his arrow-pierced arm. He knew that pulling out the arrows was the worst thing to do, so for now he left them there despite the discomfort they caused him.

When he felt a draft wash over his skin, he knew he was approaching his goal. The huntsman hobbled his way further, not even considering what he was going to do after he left the cave. When he saw the signs of subtle light, hope welled up in Jaune's heart. He went further and further, getting closer and closer to the exit until-!

A gigantic shadow smothered him, and Jaune looked at the source to see a large humanoid creature similar to the smaller ones he fought. It stared down at him silently as it held an enormous axe with both of its hands.

All the stress, exhaustion, and blood loss came down on him at once as the adrenaline finally ran its course. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed onto the rocky ground. Jaune had no more strength to use, and he couldn't stop the anvils that his eyelids became.

'So this is it, huh?'

The monster raised its axe so it could kill him once and for all. Life gave him another chance, as he heard a heavy boom followed by the monster roaring in pain as its muscles seized up. Purple electricity visibility coursed through its body, leaving it as a charred mess that fell away from its prone body.

"My oh my, this just won't do…" a female voice echoed in the distance, and he just barely glimpsed the color pink as his eyes closed shut, "I can't have you dying just yet. I haven't committed your tale to memory…"

A/N: Tell me your thoughts and criticisms. Whether good or bad I'll read them and heed them if they're valid.