"Why are you telling me all of this?" Mr. Courrier walking into her team's dorm with her uncle and babbling on about philosophy was not something that Yang had expected, right after ripping someone's leg off that is, "Are you asking me to like… kill Mercury?" He wouldn't mean that now would he?

"Ye- No! I mean no, of course not!" Mr. Courrier shook his head, "I'm not asking you to kill anyone! I'm just telling you that you shouldn't feel so bad about hurting your opponent!" he pointed a finger at himself, "I mean, I've hurt scores of people and I don't really feel anything!"

"I don't think that's a good thing," Uncle Qrow rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation, he turned to Yang, "Feeling something is a good thing, feeling something when you beat your enemies is a good thing, that proves that you're still capable of empathy!"

"Empathy slows you down!" Mr. Courrier sighed, pointing at Yang, "Besides, what you did was self-defence! You don't need to feel anything about some guy who just attacked you out of the blue!"

"But I ripped his leg off!" Yang yelled back at the man; noticing Mr. Courrier seemed too casual about this whole thing.

"And? So what? It's just a prosthetic," he waved his hand dismissively, "Get yourself some wonderglue and maybe a third-rate mechanic and you're good as new!" he scoffed, looking out of the window and at the Colosseum, "Besides, that kid should be grateful that that wasn't his real leg."

Yang glared at Mr. Courrier angrily, "Grateful?!" her hair flared up as her Semblance activated subconsciously, although it wasn't as intense when she actually got hurt, "You're saying that he should be grateful that I- I ripped his prosthetic leg off instead of his real one?!"

"Duh."

"What is wrong with you?!"

"Wow, look who's talking," he smirked, "I'm not the one who feels bad about ripping another person's leg off now am I? So who's really the crazy one?" Mr. Courrier then crossed his arms with a smug look on his face.

Uncle Qrow just sighed and took a swig out of his flask, "Are you saying that crippling someone is fine?"

"What? No! Stop putting words in my mouth," Mr. Courrier scoffed, "I'm just saying that if you did do something like that then you shouldn't feel bad about it," he shook his head, "Kids these days, can't even handle a bit of blood and gore. They always vomit or hurl at the sight of it."

"You say as if that's a bad thing!"

"It is! How can they be expected to fight when they can't handle it?"

"They're Huntresses, not soldiers!"

"Qrow, what do you think will happen to the Huntsmen after the Grimm are gone?" Mr. Courrier narrowed his eyes, "I'm telling you to imagine it for a second, I know it's not going to happen but I want you to just think really fucking hard about it," he pointed at Uncle Qrow with a sneer on his face, "Get that through your thick fucking skull, Qrow, they might as well be soldiers."

"They fight Grimm, not other people!" Uncle Qrow gritted his teeth, "They're kids, Courrier, let them enjoy their lives at least."

"So the realization can hit them harder in the future? Huntsmen don't just hunt Grimm, Qrow; you of all people should know that, maybe even as well as me," Mr. Courrier walked out of the dorm, "You signed up to be a Huntress," he glared at Yang, "Don't be surprised by all the shit that you willingly signed up for, you know what's going to happen, don't whine about it when it does."

Mr. Courrier them slammed the door shut on his way out, Yang growled out in anger, "Who the hell does he think he is?!" she deactivated her Semblance, sitting back down on her bed, deflated, tired, "Walking in here like that and telling me how I should feel after crippling someone!"

Uncle Qrow placed a hand on her shoulder, "Courrier's always been kinda crazy," he chuckled, "Pretty sure he got a screw loose somewhere, probably because he got shot twice in the head."

"Did you know about that?"

"No, actually, first time he told me about that story," Uncle Qrow chuckled, "That explains a lot of things actually…"

"…" the two fell into silence as they mull over Mr. Courrier's words, Yang agreed with her Uncle, Mr. Courrier's way of seeing things were, to be painfully honest, extremely outdated, it's like he was raised in a tribe or something! "How'd you two meet? I thought you guys were like… friends or something."

"I wouldn't call him a friend, more like… a trusted acquaintance," Qrow sighed, "You probably know him from that train incident right?" she nodded, "The Headmaster got me to shadow him from afar, make sure he doesn't go off and blow up another city wall or something, we met, we talked, and he gave me some damn good moonshine."

"After that, we kinda hit it off a bit, but our relationship mostly boils down to him giving me alcohol while I do other things for him," Uncle Qrow took a sip out of his flask, grumbling when he realized its empty, "He was seriously unhinged, there's many things that I saw him do during my mission that I'll take to the grave with me."

"Oh…" Yang looked down at her palms resting on her lap, "Can I… Can I tell you something?"

"You don't have to ask."

"Back on that train… when Prof. Oobleck and our team were fighting through the carriages, I saw my mom," she clenched her fist, "The White Fang were pretty concentrated, each carriage was basically packed with them and when I thought I was overwhelmed… I saw her and the sword… the same one in you and dad's old picture, and the White Fang were gone..."

"That… sounds like her alright," her uncle said slowly, hand on his chin as if he's thinking about something, "Did she say anything? Wait, let me guess, she just stared at you before leaving through her portals right?"

Yang nodded, Uncle Qrow chuckled, "Looks like she's as predictable as ever," he shook his head, "Y'know, even though we don't speak to each other much anymore, she does try to… keep in touch whenever it suits her."

"You met her?" Yang's eyes widened, looking at her uncle with rapt attention, "Did she like… talk to you recently?"

"Yup…" Uncle Qrow leaned back a bit, "You know that mission I told you? When I was shadowing Courrier?" she nodded, "Well Raven decided to pay a little visit when I was tailing him, she told me that she saved you once, but only once, and that you shouldn't expect the same kindness again."

He chuckled, "In a way, she's like Courrier, but a lot more childish, with this whole 'the strong eats the weak' thing she got going on," Uncle Qrow then turned serious, "She told me that she'll tell you more if you ever decided to try and track her down, and something interesting about Courrier as well. And regarding the former… I think I can help you with that."

Yang raised an eyebrow; her uncle just slapped his knees and stood up, "Well, you really shouldn't let this whole 'dismembering a fellow student' thing hold you down, look on the bright side! You're going to the next round aren't you?"

Pyrrha sat outside the dining hall, it was nearly the evening, she leaned back on the bench and sighed, remembering Amber, the Maidens, the agreement that she made with the Headmaster and his group of Protectors… and whatever it was with Mr. Courrier.

"Hey…" she looked up to see Jaune, both hands holding a cone of cotton candy, he smiled nervously and handed one to her, "A- Are you alright? I see you just sitting there and I thought- uh…"

"It's okay; I'm okay," Pyrrha said to Jaune and to herself as well, giving him a small smile in return, she grabbed the cone, "Thank you, Jaune…"

She took a bite out of the cotton candy, it was entirely too sweet, Jaune sat down next to her as Nora and Ren then came running by, "Uh... hey Ren! Let's go back to the fairgrounds; I'll win you another stuffed animal!"

Nora then grabbed Ren and dragged him away from Jaune and Pyrrha, Jaune looked over to Pyrrha and said, "I- You were the first person to ever believe in me…" he looked down at his lap, "My parents, they uh… told me that I don't have to worry about what they'll say when I get rejected from Beacon, they said 'when'… not 'if'."

"And then I came to Beacon and I… uh… met you," Pyrrha yelped as she felt Jaune place his hand on hers, "Then I met a bunch of other people that supported me through my troubles… but you were the first one that actually thought that I was worth a damn here…"

"I just wanted to say that…" Jaune breathed in, "Thank you, for believing in me, for everything. You've helped me out when I was just some goof with no Aura and a dream… now it's time for me to help you out… I think."

Pyrrha smiled; placing her hand on Jaune's cheek, the other still holding onto that cone of cotton candy that he gave her, "You're already doing it…" his eyes widened, "You just being here with me… really helps."

She then looked away; a dark expression came over her, "Jaune… I don't know what to do…"

"Huh?"

"Do you…" she hesitated, looking up at the sky, trying to find her words, "Do you believe in… destiny?"

"I… maybe? I mean, depends on how you see it, I guess."

"When I think of destiny… I don't see it as some kind of predetermined fate that you can't escape, or some kind of set path that you have to follow… I see destiny as more like a… a final goal," she turned back to Jaune, "Like a goal that you work towards your entire life…"

Jaune nodded, "I can see that. Uh… sure…"

"What if… what if something then came along and just knocks you out of it? Like an unexpected situation or problem that prevents you from achieving your destiny?"

Jaune stayed silent, Pyrrha grew increasingly more stressed, "What if you can fulfil your destiny in an instant? But you'll lose the thing the makes you, you?"

Jaune caressed the back of her palm, he looked down at his lap, "I… When I signed up to Mr. Courrier's class… I did so because I thought that it'd help me with my goal, or er… destiny rather," he turned away from her, looking out into the distance, "I wanted to be a good Huntsman, and a good Huntsman has to be strong right? So I signed up because I thought that it'd make me strong…"

"I got stronger but no one looked at me any differently, Mr. Courrier especially so, unlike how he treated Ms. Greenhorn," he stared down at his lap again, "I realized then that my goal, or destiny, never was about being a good Huntsman… and that the thing that I wanted was actually the fame that came with being a good Huntsman, the recognition, the… the acknowledgement…"

"I thought that my destiny was to make it through Beacon and become a Huntsman… then Mr. Courrier came by and put a roadblock on that goal, constantly berating me for 'not being good enough' and that I was better as Grimm fodder than an actual person," his fist clenched, "And then I accomplished my destiny, I got stronger thanks to him but I… I can't even… I can't even think of him without my Aura flaring up… it's like I lost a bit of myself after that…"

"Jaune…"

"I don't know your destiny, Pyrrha… but is it something that you really want? Would you… sacrifice who you are just so that you can achieve that goal at the end?"

"I- I want to be a great Huntress, my destiny is to become a great Huntress, someone that can protect the world… and I know that I wanted this but I don't know if I can go through with it..."

"Pyrrha, you are a great Huntress, from my point of view, you've already achieved your destiny," Jaune sighed, "Huntsmen and Huntresses don't save the world alone, Pyrrha, that's why they're in teams. Remember that I'm- that we're here to help you through this! You don't have to bear this burden alone…"

"But this is something that I have to do alone!" Pyrrha cried out, wrenching her hand away from Jaune, clutching her hair as she curled into herself, "I- you- there's nothing that any of you can do… this is my burden to carry… I shouldn't drag you guys into my problems as well…"

"Pyrrha I-" "Well, well, look at what we have here."

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she heard Jaune's Aura activate, she turned her head up to see Mr. Courrier standing in front of both of them, "Y'know Nikos, that boy Jaune is actually right! This shit that you're going through, you don't have to do it alone!" he grinned, "But you're selfish, aren't you? Always thinking that you're the only one capable of doing this, doing your 'destiny' or whatever the fuck."

Pyrrha glanced at Jaune to see him utterly terrified, his Aura on at full capacity, like he's facing down a large Grimm… "Looks like I was right in my comments as well, you are too dependent on that boy Jaune!" he laughed, "While I don't mind you asking others for advice, that's perfectly fine… but asking people about what you should do? Tsk, tsk, Nikos, wrong answer."

He reached into his pockets and pulled out a blood-stained bullet, suspended by a string, he dangled it in front of her, "Nikos, ever tried actually thinking for yourself before? Jaune doesn't control you, y'know," he threw the necklace at her, she caught it as he grinned, "A little gift from me to you, since I don't trust you to make the right decision at all. Clearly, you can't think for yourself for shit."

He leaned forwards, staring at Pyrrha through his shades while Jaune gritted his teeth in… anger? "Listen, Nikos, for the next one-on-one battle, I want you to wear that thing," he pointed at the necklace, "Lavs got one too, remember that Ozpin wants you to be safe, and the only way I know of keeping you safe is through that, so wear it."

"W- Why-" "Why would she listen to you?!" Jaune yelled back, angrily, "Who… Who are you to just walk up and say those things to her?!"

"Be quiet, Jaune, the capable ones are talking here," he stared at Pyrrha, completely dismissing Jaune as a whole, "Nikos, I want you to think for yourself this time, especially in the upcoming fight. I know I'm in no position to make demands, but just make sure that that necklace is on you when you enter the arena, for Ozpin's sake."

He leaned away, glancing at Jaune, "Don't let Weakboy over here dictate your actions, make your own damn decisions, and live with the consequences."

Mr. Courrier then turned around and walked away, waving goodbye, "See you at the arena, Nikos."

When Mr. Courrier walked out of sight, Jaune's Aura deactivated as he hyperventilated, a hand on his chest as he tried to calm his nerves, Pyrrha looked down at the bullet necklace. Jaune was right, why would she listen to him after he just walked up to her and say all those terrible things? But if this really is something that the Headmaster wanted her to hold onto for the next battle then…

She shoved the necklace into her pockets, her fingers brushing by the bullet as her eyes widened. A vision, a quick flash of something as her skin came into contact with the bumpy texture of the bullet, sights of a man with twisted hairs, and a duster with thirteen stars encircling another one at the centre. She shook her head, the visions going away as she looked over to Jaune.

"Jaune? Are you… alright?"

Jaune furrowed his brows and breathed out slowly, "What did he… give you?"

Pyrrha hesitated, should she tell Jaune? After what Mr. Courrier said… about thinking for herself… "No… he just… came by and gave some advice?"

Jaune grimaced, Pyrrha didn't know if he believed that or not.

I might slow down on the updates, might, probably, maybe.

They say 'Quality over Quantity', I say that they're probably right but I like updating semi-daily so that's that.

Besides, why would I spend months writing a magnum opus when I can release daily slop for the same results! Maybe the same results, I don't know.

I'm trying my hardest to make the characters act not out-of-character here, probably not doing so well on that now that I think about it.

Anyways, Jaune's more confident but is severely traumatized by the Courier, and the Courier himself is looking to enact his own plans so he's not all buddy-buddy with people anymore.

Thanks for reading! Please review! I'm begging you!