AN: For 10,000 years, I have slumber; who dares to disturb my slumber? Ah I'm just kidding, how's everyone doing? I'll fill you on what has been happening and I hope you guys didn't forget me. After some talking with my girlfriend, there's a reason I've waited so long to post this chapter. Fun fact I at first had a chapter more or less done before my hiatus but I just couldn't do it. So I have another finished, but it's going to be like 2 or 3 months until you see it. I was going to have 2 parts as well. Funny huh? Also, the author's note was made when the chapter was done for this part of the story, which is why it talks about some dated stuff. Oh, and happy holidays.

Chapter 9: Trails

Beta: My Girlfriend

Bartholomew ran through the halls as a green blur. "I must grade these papers, and if I have time, I'll peruse those historical records from the Vale National Museum until one in the morning." Papers slipped through his grasp as he turned down the halls like a drift car racer. Finally, the green speedster slowed to pull out his scroll to unlock his office.

With a click, he calmly walked into the room made of paper and book skyscrapers. He dodged them with practiced ease and pulled out his pen to begin his duties as a teacher. He graded Ruby's paper with practiced ease. Her combat skills were impressive, to say the least. From what her scores reported, she took on combatants with two or more years of experience with excellence.

What needed aid was her studies. While fighting was one of a Huntsman's duties, it was only one of their primary duties. From first aid to criminal studies, it was something most people were introduced to before taking on one of the main schools. The reason why they fought, why laws were there, and the plethora of knowledge anyone should have before protecting the world were introduced to the students in the two years she missed.

However, she and her father, the latter who already attended Beacon, chose to send the young Rose to the school. So, her naivete wasn't an excuse for her poor grades. He only hoped she would get over the spat with her partner, the highest scorer in the first year. Unfortunately, the same could be said for some of his other students. History was important; learning from their grey past's failings would guide them all to a brighter future.

The historian only hoped that would be true for some other students, like Team Cardinal. While Mister Thrush and possibly Mister Broznewing could be following the pack. It didn't excuse them to follow Mister Lark's and Mister Winchester's behavior. They needed everyone they could get to fight the Grimm, but not all Huntsmen were good-hearted like the stories presented.

He only hoped that their racist actions against the Fauns population of the student body weren't something deeply rooted. Oobleck stopped short and examined the number of papers he had closely. As he adjusted his circular glasses, he realized one thing. "I dropped Mr. Winchesters' homework," he said out loud. He sighed and retraced his steps out of his office. "Maybe Glynda is correct about my speeding through the halls."

Thus, the historian was off through the halls briskly for Oobleck, stalking the halls like a bloodhound. He asked any students he passed by, but they seemed to have yet to see the missing parchment. Oobleck found himself at a crossroad of hallways until he heard heavy footsteps from his left. "Ah, Mister Winchester, I have some unfortunate news to inform you."

The built ginger only smiled softly and raised the target of Oobleck's hunt in one hand. "You mean this Doctor Oobleck?"

Bartholomew turned a light shade of pink and coughed into his fist. "Ah yes, it slipped through my hands while heading to my office. I apologize, Mister Winchester." Cardin handed over his homework to the Doctor, who put it securely between his hands. "This will not leave my person."

"It's okay, sir; I'm just lucky I got it before anyone could damage it or throw it out," Cardin looked back from where he came from, and Bartholomew could only raise his eyebrow at the gesture. "Well, if there isn't anything else. See ya later, teach." The ginger disappeared into the halls of Beacon.

Multiple footsteps rapidly approached the doctor and dodged Bartholomew. "Sorry, Prof," shouted Cardin's partner, Russel Thrush.

"It's Doctor," Bartholomew called in response.

The other half of Team Cardinal apologized to the teacher as they passed by him to join the rest of their team. The boys jeered and laughed about some joke the doctor wrote off as he sped off to his office. A knock came on his door as Oobleck sat in his chair and got his pen ready.

The historian unlocked his door from his chair and said, "Come in." The door revealed it to be Jaune, wet from head to toe, but he stopped short when he saw the state of Bart's room. "Jaune? What happened to you?"

"I uh," he started with, but the rest just died in his mouth. Bart put down his pen and disappeared to reappear in front of Jaune with a towel. "Thanks, Bart." Jaune wiped down his hair in a vain attempt to stop the water from dripping onto the floor. "Some of your papers flew out of your hand. I should go change before Glynda has me mop the floor with my head."

"Jaune, wait," Bartholomew called out. Jaune looked back with a raised eyebrow as the teacher approached him. "Who did this to you?"

"Oh, this," he gestured to his wet form, "it's nothing. I had to get into one of the fountains to save the papers. I kinda tripped into the fountain, though." He chuckled near the end of the sentence with a scratch of his head.

Bartholomew squinted his eyes through his glasses and scanned the boy. "Jaune, if you have a problem, you can rely on us. The staff at Beacon will always have your back. It can be something small or even if it's a fellow staff member. I will especially have your back, young man."

Jaune gave the Doctor a thousand-yard stare but quickly returned to the present. "It's nothing, I swear. I just fell into the fountain after saving some student's homework. Now I best be going and call for a janitor." Jaune walked away briskly, and Bartholomew's attempts to call his young co-worker were ignored.

Bartholomew sighed at the younger boy's actions as he retreated into his office. He only hoped that Jaune would open up in time. It was the same when the statue of "The Everlasting Hunters'' halted their tour around the school. He sat down, looked at the work ahead of him, and pushed Jaune's troubles to the back of his mind. A good doctor couldn't help anyone without solving his paperwork.

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Jaune ran through the Emerald Forest faster than the wind. Behind him was the jovial laughter of his teacher and coworker, Peter Port. "Ho, ho, ho," he laughed as he jogged up to the young man. "Doesn't it feel nice to have the wind blowing through your hair, the smell of fresh dew in the air, and the fresh earth below our feet?" Jaune's ragged breath was his only reply as the apprentice stumbled into a clearing.

"Did," Jaune swallowed gallons of air into his lungs, "did we lose them?"

"Ho, ho, oh, my young coworker/student. We've taught you better. How would." Peter was interrupted by the clearing being broken by two packs of Beowolfs. "Ah, there they are. I can't tell if they're getting slower or my greatness is slowly moving to different parts of my body?" Peter slapped his stomach at the jab he made and then looked to the Arc in a beacon hoodie and armor. "Now, you take as many as you can, Jaune, and I'll take care of the rest."

Jaune looked at Peter in disbelief and then gulped at the 20 Beowolves. "Okay, but how are we going to capture one of them?" A Bullhead roared as it flew overhead and dropped a metal cage behind the pair. "Okay, I guess here we go."

The pack snapped their jaws, waiting for the command to attack. The two warriors stood and waited for the monsters of darkness to charge them. The alphas barked at each other and tried to decide what to do until one young Grimm rushed the pair. Then, the rest only followed and proceeded with their base programming. At the same time, Peter stepped forward with his blunderbuss axe and ready it to swing. The youngest one slipped past the joyful teacher, and his axe blades glowed a bright burgundy. "You got this lad. I believe in you," Peter called back to Jaune.

Jaune thought he missed, but as the axe blades crossed the space in front of his teacher, a crescent of Peter's aura appeared before the huntsman. Then the blades lost their shine, and the crescent flew forward, bisecting 12 Beowolves. The display of technique distracted the young man, and he just barely brought up his shield for the pounce.

Jaune tried stabbing the beast as it clawed away at his shield and aura, but the arming sword was too long. He threw his shield to the side, and with it, the young Beowolf. Jaune rose quickly with his sword in hand. He got into a basic stance as the monster rushed for him. It lunged forward for a stab with its bone claw, but a quick side step and graze from the human's sword was all the monster got.

Jaune ran in with his sword held high in two hands. The Grimm rushed him again and pounced, intending to rip out his windpipe. The flat of Jaune's sword connected with the top of the creature's skull. "Crap," Jaune yelled out. He followed through with the strike and smacked the black thing into the ground.

The young hunter stabbed into the beast with a hurried raise and one foot on top of the young Beowolf. It cried out in pain and lashed for Jaune's legs. They gave it out as a black paw knocked him over, and Jaune's sword slipped out of his grasp. The young man kicked the pup in the snout several times and scrambled to his feet. "Good, good. You remember the first tip about fighting Jaune."

Jaune didn't have time to look back at Peter as the monster rose with his sword sliding out with a quench. He looked around for anything and then found an idea. The young Arc dashed for his shield, and the monster followed. Its claws were only a few inches away until a shield smacked its body away. Before the monster could recover, Jaune repeatedly drove his shield's point into the beast's skull. He continued until black flakes rose from its unmoving body.

"Excellent work, Jaune," Peter said as he approached him. "Your quick thinking will save you against just about any Grimm. However, we must work on that swordplay of yours, young man." Jaune panted as a wave of tiredness flowed through him. He looked over to the thrashing cage that held a Beowolf. Jaune was slick with sweat, and his hands shook. "Ah, the rush of your first kill. It will wear off soon." A Bullhead slowed and then hovered over the pair. "Come, let's head back up to the school."

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Glynda sighed as she looked at another live Grimm within the school. "Peter, why do you have another live Beowolf in the school?" She asked as her fingers massaged her temples.

"Why the lectures must be interactive and have the students' blood pumping. Like our young friend and student Jaune here. Why, he took everything he has learned so far and killed his first Grimm." Peter slapped the back of the barely awake boy, and in turn, he rose with a start.

"And what of you, Mister Arc? Do you have the paperwork for the students on missions I assigned you?"

"Uh, is that the Grimm anatomy report?"

"No, that's for Peter," Glynda sighed. "The paperwork for the students to Forever Fall. I need you to secure the go-ahead to use the Bullheads. What about your homework, the paperwork for Doctor Oobleck, and your training in general? Speaking of which, Peter," the older man snapped to attention. "He isn't ready to go out in live combat. He's only been fighting for a few weeks at this point."

"Ah, but I disagree. Our young co-worker is quick on his feet and is able to hold his own against a young pup. While he's still rough around the edges," Peter walked behind Jaune and touched his shoulder. "He is becoming something great. I know you see it."

Glynda looked at Jaune with worry, and Peter could only tighten his grip on Jaune. They stared each other down until Jaune coughed into his elbow. "Sorry, I might be getting a little sick."

"Well, make sure you see Tsune before the day is over, young lad," he commented as he walked to the Grimm cage. "Actually, why don't you go see her right now," Jaune was surprised at the sudden shove Peter gave Jaune. He stumbled to the door and ducked his head in thanks as he passed the doorway.

When the door closed with a click, Peter turned to his co-worker with a strong look. "Why do you insist on pushing young Jaune like a work animal? Are you trying to get him fired? If so, I would've thought you better than that, Glynda."

"I am not Peter. I am simply trying to raise the boy to Beacon standards. He wasn't ready for Beacon or the workload that was expected of him. But he is raising to the occasion to the best of his ability," she said as she gestured to the Beowolf.

"Then why not say that to the young man?"

"Because I will give him praise like a dog for everything he gets done. You have all taken a quick liking to him, but do not forget he is also our student. So we must give the same care as we do to others." Glynda walked past the old huntsman only to stop in place for his final words.

"He is also our co-worker, a new person to our chaotic space, and a boy working to fulfill his dream." Glynda looked back at Peter with a softness that would only appear with a couple of drinks in her.

"Yes, yes, he is."

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Team Prawn Jam looked at the sight before them with concern. There lay their final teammate passed out on his desk. Tiny snores slipped past his teeth, drool dripping past his lips, then onto the papers below. They looked at each other, barely knowing what to do.

The shuffle of feet turned their attention to the open door to see Team Ruby with questioning gazes. "Hey guys," Yang started, but Nora shushed. She pointed to Jaune and shuffled out with the rest of her team. "Huh, I guess Beacon runs the teacher's pet hard."

"Yeah, that mean old witch always has work for Jauney," Nora added.

"Well, there is much work to be done around Beacon," Pyrrha commented. "As well, the amount of staff around Beacon is small. Which is odd because there are more than just our first years."

"Well, the council of Vale seems instant on cutting the school's budget for the Vital Festival this year," Weiss said, while her classmates just looked at her blankly. "Do any of you keep up with the news?"

"We didn't really get much news on the way here," Ren explained.

"How did you guys get here?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, oh, oh. We trudged through the great swamps and climbed the? Renny, what's a word for tall?" Nora asked

"Lofty," Ren said.

"The lofty cliffs and swam through the Mistral straight and marched through the great Valen forest to get here," she finished with pride.

"Wow, that's ama—," Ruby started.

"Anyway, enough of that babble. Beacon also has one of the most hands-on programs of all the academies. Only second to Vacuo, and there are second-year teachers, but they are mainly out with their students on missions. If not that, they have their missions to complete," Weiss stated.

The door opened and out came a yawning Jaune. "Hey guys, what are you doing outside my office?"

Pyrrha stepped forward and wore a concerned smile. "Oh, nothing. We just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with us. But it doesn't appear to seem you are free."

Jaune looked back to his office and then to his team. "Sorry guys, I have all that paperwork to get to, or Goodwitch will have my head. Maybe another time?" His scroll rang, and Jaune saw the caller ID. "Oh, it's Goodwitch." Jaune slinked back into his office and through the door, muffled. "Yes, ma'am," and "I'll get it done right away" could be heard.

Jaune peered out one last time and said, "Sorry guys, I just got some new work from Miss Goodwitch."

"Awe," Nora complained.

"It's all right, Jaune, but maybe you should rest. We caught you drolling on your homework," Pyrrha said with concern in her tone.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I'll get it done along with the work for Goodwitch." Jaune waved off his partner's concern and turned to his door. Ren nudged Pyrrha, and she moved quickly to intercept her partner. The redhead put a hand on his shoulder, and Jaune looked back.

"Jaune, get some sleep. As your partner, I am worried for your health, and as your team leader, I need our fourth member to be top of his game. That includes you getting enough sleep, and if you don't, I'll get Miss Goodwitch."

The blonde looked at his partner and sighed. "Okay, team leader, I'll go to sleep." He gave her a mocked salute. Pyrrha gave her own, and then he disappeared into his office. The light seeping under his door was killed a moment later.

As they walked, the redhead nudged her black-haired teammate. "Thanks, Ren."

He smiled alongside Pyrrha and said, "You're welcome." His smile turned upside down, and he spoke. "I am concerned with Jaune's health as well. Nora was taken to him quickly, and she would lose sleep if he were hurt while training. After an hour, he was out like a light when he spent the night in our dorm room."

"And you would also lose sleep," she said with a knowing smirk.

"Sleep is sacred," Ren said with a shrug.

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Jaune spent soundly as milk and cookies occupied his dreams. A smile graced his lips, and everything was right with the world until a loud ringing played in his ears. His eyes shot open, and he tried to slap his alarm off. He did it several times until he brought the clock to his face. Strangely, the alarm read '1:34 a.m.', and the sound still bounced around in his room. It was muffled, but it was loud enough for Jaune to get up and open the door to his dark office. He activated his lights and went to his door.

Jaune looked around until he found an alarm on the ground. "Ugh, I swear, when I get my hands on whoever did this, I'll. Ugh, I don't know." Jaune shut his door, turned off his lights, and returned to sleep. An hour later, another alarm went off, and he found a new one outside his window. He promptly threw it and its twin out the window. Finally, two hours later, Jaune found two alarms outside his door and one on a window sill.

"Stupid fuckin' clocks. Ear bleeding sound." Jaune crushed one alarm in his hand with a bit of aura. "I fucking swear. I fucking hope all alarm clocks burn in a fiery explosion." Jaune threw the second one as far as he could. "I will destroy every last damn one." Jaune smashed the last one under his foot. Grunts and curses followed him to bed as he tried to get a bit more sleep before another busy day.

AN: Alright, dudes, so long story short, I GRADUATED! Yes, yes, hold your applause. Nah, who am I kidding? Pile it on. Feed the dragon that is my ego. He is very small and needs some lovin. I cried when I realized I did it. Anyway, after trying to find some semblance of balance in my life for everything because I graduated.

I have decided to post this when I am finally working on the next one and not right when I am done. I'll probably be either done with the chapter or almost done with it by the end of it. It will be good and more importantly I hope you all had good lives from the last time we talked. I've had my downs, but I've had many ups as well. Don't forget that life might seem unfair, and at some points, it can be. But if you keep walking forward with hope for better and striving for better, you'll get it. Well, that's what I believe. It might not be what you're looking for, but it is what it is.

But also forget that whole thinking. It is what it is? Why not change it if you can? Like truly do so, pah. So many people are going on strike in the USA, and they got sick of it is what it is. So yeah. Oh, if you need cheering up, go to dragoofire on Instagram. There's a cosplay I'm sure you all will enjoy. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. See you in the next one.

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Next Chapter: February 17th