A/N: Alright, I got lots of feedback for the two questions I posed last chapter, which I am very grateful for.

It terms of powerups for Jaune, I'm still on the fence on how to develop him. Making him use his aura in more unique ways sounds interesting, and has a lot of potential, but I'd have to be careful in ensuring that it doesn't cross the line of just being a new semblance. Or I could have Jaune develop his aura in more interesting ways and be able to use elemental powers. Eh, I'll decide when it comes time.

As for pairings, I'm sorry harem enjoyers but I do not count myself as one of you. I do not like harems, and I'd rather not have to juggle the multiple relationships not only between Jaune and his love interests but also between the love interests themselves. The closest I'd be willing to do is a polyamorous relationship and even that's a stretch. I prefer 1 on 1 slow slow-burn development between two characters. As for suggestions on who to pair him up with, well I still don't know but you'll find out when it happens.

Anyways, lemme stop boring you with my ramblings and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The next couple of days were exceedingly calm for Jaune. They mostly comprised resting and talking to Miko. She mainly asked things about his past, and the trials he undertook as a huntsman. She didn't really have any interest in his full past and seemed more interested in the 'fun' stuff. At least, that's what she said.

The day finally came when he was cleared to leave, and Jaune couldn't be more thankful. He had a long journey ahead of him, and he didn't want to waste any time. Thankfully, Maki got him some travel-worthy clothes, as Miko didn't want to, and he had swapped out his robes for something more fitting.

He now had sandals that fit his size, with white socks that went up to his ankle. His black pants were tucked into the sucks, and he wrapped a simple black belt cloth belt around his waist. Despite the trouble it gave him, he had placed Crocea Mors on his hip. Finally, he had on an almost shirt-like, navy blue version of the robes that Miko gave him. The name escaped him, but unlike his previous garments, it didn't go to his ankles. Jaune had tanked Maki immensely for this and had promised to pay her back one day. Despite her refusal, he still promised, and she eventually relented.

Jaune walked out of the room he'd been staying in for the past few days, and his right arm was holding the rope for the bag slung over his back. The container held all his old items, as one day he hoped to find someone who could repair his armor at the very least. He closed the door behind him and walked to the entrance of the shrine, saying his goodbyes to all the maidens he had gotten to know over his stay here. Miko hadn't shown herself, so he figured she had some other business to attend to. The blonde reached the front of the shrine, and he walked to the cliff overlooking Narukami Island.

"Ah, there you are."

Jaune turned his head to see Miko strutting towards him.

"I didn't know you were around," Jaune said as the woman joined him on the cliff.

"I was… attending to other business. The area around the mountain has a pest problem, and my attention was focused on that."

"I see," he said as he looked towards Inazuma City. It was to be his first destination on his journey to find a way back home. Maybe he could even talk to this Archon person. A god must know how to travel to other worlds, right?

"I recommend you search elsewhere for answers."

"Huh?" Jaune looked at Miko with a confused expression. However, she was staring calmly at the city. "What do you mean?"

"The Raiden Shogun will not have the answers you seek, and even if she did, she wouldn't give you the time of day."

"How do you know she won't?"

She was silent for a moment before answering him. "Trust me. She won't. You should turn your attention to leaving Inazuma."

"But why? Wouldn't it make more sense for me to start in Inazuma and then move on from there?"

"Did you not just hear what I said, boy? Inazuma does not have the answers you seek."

"How do you know?" Jaune said with a frown of annoyance. Why was she being so insistent about this? "If you're so sure, where should I go?"

Miko's usually calm face morphed into one of displeasure, yet it seemed she had an answer for him, "... Alice."

It almost seemed like Miko had forcibly torn that answer right out of her. "Who?"

"An annoyance and somebody I loathe. However, she is also a powerful witch who has lived for a very, very long time."

"And you think that she'd be able to help me?"

"Potentially. Like I said, she's been around for a very long time and has been to the many corners of Teyvat. If there's anyone who could give you the answers you need, then it'd be her."

Jaune considered his option, and in hindsight, it was obvious what the optimal one was. Staying to travel across Inazuma in search of an answer was inefficient, and he'd be looking blind. He'd have to ask people if they knew anything about traveling to other worlds, which would make him sound like a lunatic. If went looking for Alice, at the very least he had a direction to go and someone who could have what he wanted. At least he hoped so, but considering Miko knew more about Teyvat than him, finding Alice was likely the best option.

"Alright then. I'll go look for Alice… where is she, by the way?"

Miko shrugged, "I don't know."

Jaune deadpanned, "Seriously? You tell me to look for a specific person, but you don't even know where she is?"

A small crossed her face as she seemed to gain slight satisfaction at his frustration. "Oh~ Don't get so mad. I wouldn't have told you about her if I truly knew nothing about her location."

"But you just said-"

"That I don't know where she is at this current moment. I do know where she was and where you can start looking," Miko responded with a teasing smile, "Mondstadt. I believe she has a home there. I heard she even has family there as well. They could probably tell you where she went if she's not there."

"Are you this frustrating on purpose?"

"It's not my fault you humans make it so easy."

Jaune just shook his head. Thankfully, he didn't have to deal with her anymore.

"Before you leave…" Miko spoke up and Jaune looked back at her to suddenly see two objects in her hand. It was a letter and a small pouch. "Take these. A pouch of mora to get you started, and a letter I want you to give to the guards at Ritou."

Jaune took the items before asking, "What's the letter for?"

"If you want to leave Inazuma, find someone willing to take you at Ritou. The letter is an assurance from me that will hopefully prevent you from being arrested by the guards."

"Arrested?"

"If you're caught outside of Ritou without a travel permit, you'll be detained and imprisoned. That letter will hopefully get you into Ritou without trouble."

"Hopefully? You're saying that it's not a guarantee they won't?"

"My word may be highly respected, however, I hold no power amongst the government."

"Oh." Jaune stared at the letter before pocketing it and tying the pouch to his belt. "Thank you, Miko. For everything."

Miko waved him off. "Yes, yes, I'm amazing. I already know. Now, off with you. I have duties I must attend to and standing around conversing with you won't get them done."

He shook his head in amusement before saying his condolences. "Alright. Goodbye, Miko."

The blonde waved before heading towards the stairs leading down the mountain. The shrine maiden simply watched him leave until he was out of view. His mind was focused on the journey ahead, and a part of him couldn't help but feel hopeful for the future. And hey, who knows? Maybe Alice will be waiting at Mondstadt and he could finally return to Remnant.

[-]

"What a troublesome boy…" Yae Miko said as she watched Jaune walk down the stairs until he was out of view.

Not that he himself was troublesome. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The boy was a respectful guest in her shrine and helped where he could despite his injuries. He also had a veritable fountain of stories from his world, which was the main reason she saved him. She might even write the things he said down, and may even muster up the energy to write her own book about his adventures.

The problem with Jaune was the unfortunate pests that seemed keen on finding him. She had spent these last few days running interference and leading the Fatui astray wherever she could. It was fun watching them scramble around like rats, but the real reason she did it was so they didn't cause trouble at her shrine.

Now that Jaune left, there was no need to do such things. The Fatui might find the trail leading back here, but the blonde boy should be long gone by then. Or they already know about where he was and are now actively following him. Whatever the answer, she didn't care anymore.

Maybe she should get an author to recreate his stories. That sounded like a profitable idea.

[-]

"How do people go up and down those stairs? It makes no sense."

Jaune finally reached the bottom of the mountain, and he wondered how people made the trip without collapsing into exhaustion. He has Aura, and even he can't help but feel slightly winded. Anyway, Jaune focused on getting to Ritou, and he traveled in the general direction that he saw from up top of the mountain.

His destination was at least less than a day away, so he could enjoy the new environment around him. It was a breezy afternoon with the sun still high in the sky. Jaune didn't have to worry about any Grimm trying to get the jump on him, so the calm atmosphere allowed him to be alone with his thoughts. The first thing his mind went to was home.

'I wonder what the others are thinking about?'

Jaune didn't know if anyone else fell into Teyvat, but if they didn't were they wondering about where he was? Maybe he was in one of those situations where time moved slowly in Remnant compared to Teyvat. They might not even notice that he had been gone. However, they also might not know if he fell in as well. Winter was the only one who saw him fall in, after all.

'Does that mean they didn't see what he did?'

Jaune stopped walking at that sudden thought but tried to shake his mind off it as he continued walking.

His friends couldn't have seen it. At least not all of them. He was sure a few were aware of his…failure. Did that mean he'd have to explain himself? Explain why he did what he did. Would they accept his excuse, or blame him for his actions? Just the thought of them staring at him hatefully scared him. Like he was a murderer. Yet would they be so wrong? It was his fault she-

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. An idiot who thinks traveling alone is the smart thing to do."

A gruff and smug voice pulled Jaune out of his thoughts. It was then he realized that someone was blocking his path. It wasn't just him, either; a small group surrounded him. All of them were wearing straw hats, and some hid their faces with a cloth. Their clothes were basic, if ragged, and all of them had katanas in their hands. Jaune placed a hand on the hilt of his blade, yet he was incapable of going further than that. Guess he was doing this with his fist.

"Drop everything you have and we'll let you go," the man, who was clearly the leader, demanded menacingly.

"No," Jaune responded seriously, staring the bandit down.

A sneer crossed the bandit's face as he stalked toward the blonde in an attempt at intimidation. It didn't work as he stared the guy down fearlessly as he approached. A frown came across their face as they stopped a couple of feet away from the huntsman.

"Do you wanna die?"

"Back off. I'll only warn you once."

The bandit furrowed his eyes fiercely as the sneer grew worse. His hand reached for the blade on his hip and unsheathed it from its container. He leaned it menacingly on one shoulder as he looked down at Jaune from the bridge of his nose.

"What was that? I don't think I heard you right."

Jaune sighed, already seeing the trouble to come. "I don't-"

"RAAGH!"

Suddenly, and without warning, the bandit leader raised his katana and brought it down in an attempt to strike the blonde down. The way the man wielded the weapon was brutish, yet there was still some skill there. Rusted, but there. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Jaune.

The bandits gawked as Jaune simply grabbed the descending blade with his hand, and he put his Aura up to protect him from the damage. His foe's eyes widened in shock as his jaw dropped. No words came out of his mouth and the huntsman would not let him.

"I warned you."

Faster than they could see, Jaune raised his foot and kicked the bandit leader right in the stomach. The force made the man keel over with a gasp of breath, which put his head in a direct path with the knight's knee. A sickening crunch resounded across the field as the highwayman fell backward unconscious. The blonde kept his grip on the katana as it slipped out of the hand of his opponent, who crashed onto the ground unceremoniously. The other bandits were silent as Jaune examined the weapon in his hand.

'Not horrible. Not good. It feels different to Crocea Mors, but it'll have to do.'

He kneeled down to the unconscious thug and took the sheath off of him before placing it on his own hip. The huntsman still held the sword in his hand, properly this time, as he stared at the others. They didn't react at first, and Jaune hoped that they just gave up. He wasn't so foolish to truly believe that outcome would come true, but he desperately wanted to. He didn't want to take a life, but with how willing they were to kill him he might not have a choice. Unfortunately for him, the bandits weren't keen on seeing him walk out of this alive. They screamed out their anger and threw expletives his way as they charged with their weapons' prime to strike.

Jaune immediately reacted by charging the closest foe. The sudden attack surprised them and they hastily raised their weapon in defense. Instead of using his sword, he kicked the bandit's legs out from under him, causing the thug to stumble, and he raised his newly gained weapon before bringing it down like a guillotine. The only reaction he got was the widening of his opponent's eyes before his head separated from his body.

Before Jaune could truly process what he had just done, the other bandits quickly attempted to overpower him through numbers. He dashed away as their weapons cut where he was standing. Quick to react, they ran after him. Jaune blocked the first swipe that came his way before pushing the bandit back with ease. He parried the next attack from another bandit and swiftly riposted with a thrust that pierced the man's body. The huntsman pulled out his sword and focused on his next target.

Taking the initiative, he charged directly into a foe with his Aura throwing him onto the ground. Not one to waste an opportunity, he brought his sword up and stabbed it into the fallen enemy. He felt something hit his back, and he turned around to see a shocked bandit. His sword did not reach his skin thanks to his Aura and Jaune retaliated by turning around along with his sword and slicing the man's stomach open. He fell to the ground, and Jaune focused on the last two bandits.

They were shaken from seeing their comrades fall so easily, yet they still stood their ground. Jaune waited for them to make the first move, and unable to handle the anticipation, they ran at him. They attacked at the same time, and Jaune caught their blades with his own. He kicked away one of them and focused on the other. His foe's defense was paltry, and he easily took him down with a katana through his abdomen. The final bandit died just as easily, and soon enough, the blonde was the only one left standing.

Jaune stood still amongst the carnage he wrought. He brought the nameless blade up into view and stared at the blood staining it. Something welled up in his heart. An emotion that he stuffed deep inside till he felt numb. This was necessary. He… he had to do this. If he left them alive, they would've caused more trouble elsewhere. Innocent lives could have been lost if he hadn't…killed them.

The blonde closed his heart as he swiped the blade into the air, the blood flicking itself off with the movement. He slid it into his sheathe before turning away. His legs automatically moved on his own as he continued on his journey and he didn't dare turn back around in fear of his true emotions spilling out.

A/N: To be honest, I didn't know what direction I wanted to take this story when I was first writing it. It began with, "Jaune falls into Inazuma" and I just built off from there. The more I wrote the less I wanted Jaune to be involved in the events of Inazuma and to have his direction and path. I didn't want him to just be Traveler 2.0 and solve all the issues the nation has, and I wanted him to have a concrete goal to chase after, in this case, it's finding Alice. Also, I'm not a huge fan of a lot of things in Inazuma so there's that.

You're probably wondering why I would even choose Inazuma if I wasn't going to have Jaune thoroughly explore, and to that, I say... yeah I fucked up. I'm generally a pantser when it comes to writing. I write in the direction that my mind wants to go, and I usually stick with it. Sometimes I'll rewrite an entire chapter if I don't like how it goes, but that's rare. I'd lose a lot of motivation to continue this story if I had to scrap all the chapters I've posted and pre-written and rewrite everything.

So, yeah. That's my excuse. I'm sorry If you aren't happy with the direction this story is now going, and If you decide to drop it because you wanted to see Jaune explore Inazuma I don't blame you. Other than that, comments and criticism are always welcome and I'll see you next chapter.