I've gotten some accusations about me making this a self insert story. That can not be further from the truth. First, during this chapter, it's purely centered on Jaune with the Crow God sort of just there and making occasional comments. Second, if I was going to self insert, it wouldn't be the god of travels, but a more powerful main god. So no, the gods are just OCs that Jaune gets to meet and maybe eventually they will do something important. For now, they are talking animals with some unusual gifts. Not going to lie, it was kind of fun writing Yatagarasu. Keeping him detached from humanity but also curious as to human's growth on Remnant.

Special thanks to Cawme for Betaing. This was his first time!

If you enjoy my stories and feel like tossing a few bucks my way for expenses, please see my P a treon below.

P a treon . com (Slash) Darkbetrayer

"Is that light the city?!" Jaune gasped, his lungs and legs burning. Far ahead of him, a faint glow was rising up from over the trees.

"That is the human Settlement you call Vale." Yatagarasu answered, perched on Jaune's shoulder. "About an hour's travel and it should come into view, unless you keep needing to rest every ten minutes."

"Hey!" Jaune gasped. "We've been traveling for three days! I'm starving."

"I led you through multiple locations with berries, along with finding you a container to drink from." Yatagarasu huffed. "You should be grateful, human."

"Dirty river water." Jaune muttered. "And berries are hardly filling."

Even as the words left his mouth, he knew he was being ungrateful. Yatagarasu had saved him and brought him back to Vale. A few hours in the airship was a hell of a hike back. Jaune liked to think he was fit but walking through the wilds for days was exhausting. Even the thought of an hour more felt like torture. Strangely, they didn't encounter a single Grimm, even with the sheer number that had chased him in the first place. Yatagarasu had guided him from his shoulder along the safest route. It was tough, but not undoable. For the longest time, the boy doubted if the god knew what it was doing, but the sight of the city filled him with true belief.

"I can't wait to get into town and have a nice long bath." Jaune sighed as he pushed his aching body forward. "Best thing the last few days was washing in the river this morning."

"You have a lot of work to do first, remember?" Yatagarasu reminded him sternly, pecking at his head and making Jaune flinch in pain. "You need to acquire supplies. I would also recommend learning to use that blade on your hip. Danger is everywhere in this world."

"I thought you had the ability to lead me safely?!" Jaune turned his head as he raised his voice in concern.

"I will lead you on the safest path, but safest does not mean risk free. One route may have certain death, while the other may only have a high risk of death."

Silence followed this pronouncement. Jaune believed he was safe following the bird. The weight and risk of what he was doing was finally fully dawning on him. He had been too focused on the now and the prospect of being a hero. Remnant was full of Grimm and humanity only lived on a small fraction of the world. Learning to fight was a necessity, but could he learn how to quickly? Maybe there were other ways of going about this? He'll have to cross that bridge when he comes to it.

"I'll figure something out." The boy answered. "For now, I just want to rest for a bit. I'm not used to walking so much."

"You should get used to it, because we will be doing a lot of traveling."

"Can't you fly me to the locations?"

"No, I'm a guide, not a mount."

Jaune expected it to be difficult to enter the city. Wouldn't it be suspicious for a teenager with a bird on his shoulder to just waltz into town? How should he explain the events leading up to now? The blond was figuring out what to say when he saw a group of people heading to Vale. It was unusually easy to enter the city. All he had to do was show his ID. Thank god his wallet was still in his pants. Sure he didn't have any money, but that wasn't an issue thanks to Yatagarasu.

"Fascinating. Human settlements have changed dramatically since I was last awake. Homes made of metal that reach toward the sky. Horseless carriages everywhere." Yatagarasu's head was spinning and looking in every direction. A few heads turned to look at Jaune, but none lingered. In a world of monsters, a crow on someone's shoulder was hardly awe inspiring. It made things easier for Jaune, at least, in avoiding a lot of awkward questions. "Where are we going first?"

"I want to find a hotel and sleep for a year, but I need money first." Jaune groaned. "We need some of those gems."

"Find a tree and I'll access the trove." Yatagarasu told him.

It wasn't hard to find one, even within the city. Vale not only had them as decoration throughout the city, there was an ample park district. The trick was to find a place where no one could see what they were about to do. Who knew how people would react when they saw Jaune pull out tons of jewels from under a tree? Lots of different scenarios came to mind and most weren't positive. Luckily, it was getting late so the park wasn't packed with people.

"Here's good." Jaune crouched down behind some bushes next to a large oak tree. "Do your thing, Yata."

"Call me that again and I'll peck your eyes out."

"Noted! Sorry Yatagarasu."

"Remember, while I am your guide, I'm also a god. You treat me with respect."

Yatagarasu flapped his ebony wings and then took off from Jaune's shoulder. Landing on a low branch of the tree, the bird spread his wings and the roots began to shift under the earth. Slowly, the dirt crumbled away to reveal the small chamber under the trunk, where the last few beams of daylight caused the gems to sparkle. Quickly, Jaune grabbed a few and shoved them into his pocket. They couldn't waste time and have someone see them.

"This should be enough for now." Jaune announced, standing up. "I'll have to sell one or two of them for Lien, since most places don't take straight gems, gold, or silver."

"You humans put value in the strangest of things. I see that has not changed in centuries." Yatagarasu sighed. "Very well. Take us to a trader."

"They are called stores now, but I guess they do the same thing." Jaune chuckled as he used his scroll to locate a shop that buys gems and gold. "Wow, a lot of pawn shops… they only give a fraction of what things are worth though."

After a few minutes of searching, he eventually found a place to suit his needs and rushed over there. They arrived less than half an hour before the place closed.

"You didn't steal these, did you?" The older man behind the counter asked, taking the lens off his eye he was using to study the green emerald. A couple other gems and a gold necklace was also being appraised. Jaune had no idea what they were worth and just presented a couple items that looked nice.

"Of course not!" Jaune shook his head as the man stared at him. The eyes traveled down to his tattered and dirty clothes before looking at the bird on his shoulder. Shit, he should have changed or something, but he didn't have any money. That's why he was here in the first place. "I don't want to sell my family heirlooms, but I just arrived in Vale and my group was attacked by Grimm on the way here. I lost most of my stuff except what I had on me. I don't really have a choice."

It was kind of true, even if Jaune really didn't lose much in the crash. Just that rejection letter from Beacon and it was better that way. His Bullhead had been attacked by Grimm and destroyed. The only thing he was lying about was that the valuable items were family heirlooms. In the grand scheme of things, it was such a small detail. Though Jaune figured the shopkeeper wouldn't believe him. That man probably heard tons of sob stories from people to get better deals.

"Ah… that happens way more than you think."

The man's expression softened.

"It… does?" Jaune asked. Being stuck in his home town of Ansel growing up, he didn't have experience on the outside except for his short time in Vale.

"Traveling is dangerous and even if people survive, cargo is lost." The old man shook his head. "I'm sorry you had to go through it. Are you sure you want to sell these?"

"Yeah, my mom always said, 'Make sure to treasure these, but if you find yourself in trouble, feel free to sell them. You're more important than trinkets." Jaune made that saying up, even if it sounded like something his mom would have told him as a kid.

"Wise words." The store owner paused and tapped his finger. "The gold necklace I can give you fifty Lien. The other gems would be around one hundred to two hundred Lien each. The emerald on the other hand is one of the best cuts I've ever seen. It must have taken a master craftsman to do that. I can give you one thousand Lien for it."

"A-A thousand?!" Jaune gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Too low?" The man frowned. "Twelve hundred?"

"I'll sell it!" Jaune immediately agreed. "I'll sell all of these. That should be plenty to get by."

"Total will be 2350." The store owner tallied up and then counted out the bills. "Here you go. Pleasure to do business. Honestly, you helped me out a lot. Some of my new shipments are late due to Dust heists and they've affected gem deliveries. I needed some to replace my stock."

"Guess I picked a good time then." Jaune smiled and pocketed the money. This amount was more than he ever remembered having at once. It would take weeks to get this at a minimum wage job back home. "Thank you so much. You helped me out of a jam."

"Please come again." The man waved as Jaune exited.

"So that is what humans trade now." Yatagarasu stared at Jaune's pocket with the Lien. "Still putting value in strange things."

"Well, it's what we use, so no use in complaining." Jaune told him. "Thanks for being quiet in there by the way. He probably would have thought I was crazy talking to a bird. Because he doesn't know you're a god of course!" The boy added the last part quickly.

"I understand that." Yatagarasu huffed and looked away. "You have your currency, now go purchase supplies. The sooner we begin, the better."

"Eh, most of the stores are closed now, it's really late." Jaune pointed out. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Then why are there so many humans over there?" Yatagarasu asked, pointing a wing toward a location down the street. Jaune turned his head and focused on the flashing lights and loud music that could be heard all the way here.

The large sign said 'Juniors.'

"Oh, that's a nightclub." Jaune answered. "They have a bar that sell drinks and some food, but it's a lot of dancing and entertainment." His stomach growled loudly. Now that he had money, his body demanded nourishment. "I was there once to get some documents I needed to enter Beacon but it turned out they didn't work."

"It sounds like that should be your next destination." Yatagarasu decided. "A bar is a perfect place to gather food and drink, along with information. Didn't you say most places would be closed?"

"Yeah, but there's a late night diner or fast food place open for sure."

"As your guide, I order you to head to this nightclub place."

"But nightclubs are dangerous!" Jaune protested. "It's run by a gang! The only reason I went there in the first place was because I had no choice!"

"You have no choice here either." Yatagarasu's voice was firm, with a hint of amusement. "A god has given you an order."

"Aren't you supposed to be the God of Travelers?" Jaune demanded, stomping his food. "Like protect them? Why do you want me to risk my life?"

"Sometimes the path required can not be completely free from dangers." Yatagarasu answered calmly. "As a god, I am telling you that to achieve your dream, that is the path you must traverse."

"You know how loud and crazy it is in there?!" Jaune pushed back. "Everyone looked at me weirdly the last time I went. They knew I didn't belong there."

"Hmm, they didn't try to kill you though?"

"No… I guess not?" Thinking about it, even if the club was run by a gang, it didn't mean he was in danger. People wouldn't cause trouble in a place knowing that. "Being a little uncomfortable might be okay for some food and maybe a refund on what I paid for those transcripts."

"Don't you have enough money?" Yatagarasu asked curiously.

"It's more of the principle of the thing." Jaune countered as he began to walk toward the club. "Wish clothing stores were open. I washed off a bit but my clothes are still torn and burnt."

"One step at a time." Yatagarasu told him. "Once you're inside, the path will open."

"I'm definitely insane." The boy mumbled to himself. "Might as well go all the way." Slowly, he approached the club. The music grew louder and the street was lit up with neon lights. People were laughing and talking as they lined up in front of the club, waiting to get in. Jaune remembered waiting for hours to get inside since he wasn't famous. He really didn't have that much time right now, as his stomach was growling angrily at him. Demanding substance.

"Hey, kid! Nice outfit. The bird is a great touch. Gives you a wild look."

Jaune nearly jumped as he spun around and saw a couple of women standing behind him. One was wearing a tight, form fitting, shoulderless, red dress that hugged her body and her heels clicked as she approached. Large sunglasses covered a good part of her face, even though it was nighttime. The other woman had a purple dress, though she was a little more… fuller figured then her friend.

"I'm sorry… what?"

"You're outfit." The woman in the red dress gestured to his torn outfit. "The tears and burns, the ironic wearing of a child's sweatshirt, the simple crude peasant blue jeans and worn out sneakers. All of it meshed together perfectly in a show of Vale simplicity."

"And the final touch with the bird is genius." Her friend added. "The seriousness of the Grimm that stands above humanity. I must know who designed your ensemble."

"D-Designed? I picked out this outfit." Jaune spluttered and glanced at Yatagarasu, who was just sitting quietly on his shoulder and wasn't saying anything. "Why?"

"So young and talented then." The woman in red nodded, as she crossed her arms. "So much potential. What do you think?"

"Indeed, if you ever want to get involved in the fashion industry, look me up." The second woman held out her hand with a card. Automatically, Jaune reached up and took it. "We are always looking for talented newcomers."

"I'll think about it." Jaune wasn't sure how else to reply to this. Did they really think his clothes looked good? Sure, his sisters said the hoodie looked great on him and he ate a lot of cereal to win it, but he mostly wore it because it was comfy. "I have a few other things to do first."

"Hmm, well hopefully we'll talk again." The second woman told him. "I can't let just any potential threats to my business escape." Her predatory gaze sent warning bells ringing through the boy's head. Jaune silently swore to stay away from whatever fashion business this woman was involved in. Being polite, he waved and headed toward the club. As he was passing the bouncer to get into line, the man held out his hand.

"Entering?" The bouncer asked.

"Eh, yeah?" Jaune blinked and stared at the man wearing the typical outfit of the employees at Junior's; a black suit, black hat, red tie, and red glasses.

"Go on in." The man pulled back the red rope and gestured inside.

Jaune was stunned at the treatment. Normally only famous people or friends of the owner had that kind of sway. The other people in line were also of the same mind. They began to yell angrily as the man let Jaune in without any hassle.

"Why does that kid get to go in?"

"We've been waiting an hour!"

"Any friend of Madam Lourange is a welcome member to the club." The bouncer shot back before facing Jaune again. "Welcome to Junior's."

At first, Jaune had no idea who this Madam Lourange was. Then it dawned on him. One of those fashion women who commented on his clothing must have been her. For some reason she was under the impression he made some really special design when it was just from traveling and surviving a crash. It was lucky on his part because while he wasn't familiar with the specifics, a lot of people liked the torn clothes look. As he stepped inside the club, music blaring around him, it dawned on him and he slowly turned to Yatagarasu.

"Did you know what would happen?"

Yatagarasu didn't answer and just stared back at him with black eyes. Though Jaune could swear there was the hint of a smile gracing its beak. The god didn't seem to be giving him any other information, so Jaune was on his own. Luckily, it wasn't the first time he was here so he knew where everything was. There wasn't really a specific procedure to talk to the owner. On paper, Junior was a legitimate business man. It was just well known his gang did things outside the club.

Walking up to the bar, he sat down at the end and waited. Eventually, a bartender, dressed similar to the bouncer slid over.

"You old enough to drink, kid?"

"I'm here for information." Jaune answered. "Need to talk to the owner."

"One minute."

The bartender went through a back door behind the bar while Jaune waited, his eyes scanning the club nervously. A lot of people were drinking nearby, their laughter breaking through the thumping of the music. Jaune liked to dance and thought he was pretty good thanks to his sisters teaching him, but dancing in front of so many strangers made him nervous. Especially since most of the women here were really attractive. Early twenties, older than Jaune and wouldn't spare a second glance at him. Well, some did, but mostly at the bird on his shoulder.

Keeping his head down wasn't stopping people from noticing him.

"He's in a meeting." The bartender told him. "Will be a bit. What is it about?"

"Er… I paid him for something and it didn't work." Jaune answered, thinking he was supposed to keep it vague.

"No refunds." The man replied instantly.

"Not asking for that, but I need him to help me meet up with the guy he set me up with before." Jaune answered, wishing Yatagarasu would help him. The crow just sat on his shoulder, barely moving his head to look at other people passing.

"He'll meet you when he's out." The bartender informed, after examining him for a moment. "Can I get you anything?"

"Got any food? It's been a long day." Jaune's stomach decided it was a perfect time to loudly gurgle and growl.

"Burger and fries okay for you?"

"And a large soda."

"You know you're at a bar, right?"

"I'm not old enough to drink." Jaune felt Yatagarasu's talon dig into his shoulder and he knew he had to do something. Only one idea came to him and the blond reached into his pocket and passed over 20 Lien. "Thanks for the help."

"Not a problem." A hand swiped the money off the bar and then went off to get Jaune's order.

Sighing in relief, Jaune leaned forward into his hands as his elbows were propped up on the bar. His stomach was still rumbling with hunger, but he was about to fill it up at last. Or at least satisfy it for a bit. He could feel gazes on his back from people noticing the crow on his shoulder, but he was too tired to spare the energy to worry about them anymore. When his food came, he quickly snarfed it down. It was perhaps the greatest thing he ever tasted. After living off foraged fruits and nuts for a couple days, the greasy meat was a five star meal. At the last moment, Jaune did remember to save some fries for his companion.

"Want any?" The boy asked Yatagarasu. No reply came except for the god to turn his head slightly and stare at him. "Hey! I was just asking. Figured you didn't need to eat, but you said before you liked sweets so I wasn't sure." Jaune shrugged as the bird still didn't respond. "More for me." Then he popped the last few into his mouth.

About twenty minutes later, he felt a tap on his bird free shoulder. Spinning around, he came face to face with a pair of extremely attractive twin girls, probably a few years older than him. Both had black hair and green eyes, but different color schemes. Jaune had met them before during his first visit, though neither of them gave him the time of day. He did manage to find out their names were Militia and Melanie.

The first girl, Miltia, wore a strapless dress with black and dark red lace layered tulle that hung down more than the dress, with an off-centered bow belt around her waist. She also had a pair of red thigh-high boots with black heels. Lacy black stockings that peek out over the top of her boots. The girl also sported a pair of black fingerless forearm length gloves with red lining around the tips of the fingers. Her accessories include a large long wing-like red feather and two short white feathers above her left ear and a short black fur shrug held by four beaded chains with a white gemstone in the center.

Her sister, Melanie, wore an off-white, strapless dress that graduated to a cyan towards the skirt, it had a cyan layered feathery tulle that hangs longer than the dress and a small bow in the top center part of the dress. Her thigh-high boots were white with red lace-up detailing. She wore cyan stockings under her boots with lace-trimmed tops that peek above the boots. She sported a pair of white forearm length gloves with cyan lace detailing running from wrist to forearm. She had a white belt around her waist that had a cyan gemstone in the center. Her accessories include a white flower-shaped hairpin above her left ear, a white feather scarf with two short red feathers surrounding a long cyan feather on the left side.

Of course, girls like them had way better options in guys than someone like Jaune

"Junior's ready to see you." Melanie sniffed disdainfully at him.

"Hurry up." Miltia added, snapping her fingers.

"I'm coming!" Jaune shot up and followed the two. "Hey, do you two remember me?"

"Nope." They replied instantly, not even looking at him.

It wasn't like Jaune expected anything different, but it still felt like a slap in the face. Yatagarasu glanced at the two girls for a moment, but still remained silent. Jaune was confused as the god talked quite a bit on their way to the city, and even outside of the club. So why was he silent all of the sudden? Did he not want to talk in front of others? Maybe Yatagarasu wanted to keep his identity secret. Even with the music dulling conversation, Jaune couldn't talk to the bird without looking crazy. Crazier than he already looked with a bird sitting on his shoulder. At least the girls didn't comment on it.

"Junior, we got him." Melanie announced, pushing open the office door in the back of the club.

A large bear of a man sat behind a desk with stacks of paper on it. Junior was dressed similar to his men, but with a few differences; a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants. He had gray eyes, short black hair, along with a matching beard and mustache.

"Pssh, at least find us someone cool to escort next time." Miltia sniffed.

"Or rich."

"And hot."

"Yeah, yeah, this is business." Junior rubbed his nose. "Thanks for bringing him." He looked up as Jaune stepped into the cluttered office. The twins shut the door behind him and left. "Hmm, you look familiar. James right?"

"Jaune." Jaune corrected him as he sat down.

"Sure, Jaune. Always glad to see a returning customer." Junior chuckled. "So you wanted me to connect you with the guy you met last time? Why?"

"He provided me with some documents I needed and I paid him a lot of money." Jaune explained himself as he sat there. Junior was actually a pretty easy guy to talk to. Weird for being a gang leader. All Jaune had to do was make sure not to anger him by accident. Otherwise, he would be bound with cement and dropped in a lake. "But they didn't work and I got screwed."

"Huh, he's normally pretty good about those things." Junior actually looked surprised. "If he's getting rusty, I might have to find another person to deal with those things." The man studied him. "You're lucky, kid. The guys' still here. If you had arrived a little later, he would have been gone. I'll let him know you're looking for him. Any refunds will be between you two. It doesn't concern me."

"That's more than enough. Thank you." Jaune replied graciously.

"Maybe you can teach those twins some basic manners." The man chuckled as he pulled out his scroll and sent a message. A few moments later, he got a response. "Okay, he agreed to meet with you. Down the hall, take a right, and the second door on the left."

"Great," Jaune stood up and turned to leave when he heard the man cough and hold out his hand. "Oh, right, I almost forgot." Junior was an information broker along with being the leader of his gang and owner of the nightclub. If you wanted something, you had to pay him. He was the one who connected Jaune with the transcript forger after all. Passing over some Lien, Junior nodded.

"Everything seems to be in order. Come back anytime you need information."

Jaune left the office and walked down the deserted hallway in the back of the nightclub. The twins were nowhere to be seen. Reaching the door, the boy of course knocked, as it would be pretty rude to barge in. It's not like he was in a rush anyways. After a couple of seconds, a male voice came from within.

"Come on in. I don't have all day."

Pushing open the door, Jaune stepped into what looked like a break room. There was an old couch, a card table, some chairs, and a refrigerator. Sitting on the couch, with his feet propped up on the table, was an orange-haired man. He was tall and lanky, dark green eyes, short hair, and long bangs covering his right eye. The man wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. A lit cigar was sticking out of his mouth.

"Hey, kid. James right?"

"Jaune." He sighed. Did no one remember his name?

"Close enough." The man named Roman chuckled. "Huh, nice bird. You didn't have it last time you were here."

"I recently… acquired him." Jaune answered slowly, glancing at Yatagarasu who was staring at Roman intensely.

"Looks good. Distinguished even. So, kid. What brings you here? Junior said you wanted to meet up again? Need more forged documents? I warn you, it won't be cheap. I gave you a first timer's discount." The man laughed and tapped his cigar on an ashtray.

"Actually about the ones you made…"

"Great right? Quality guaranteed." Roman smirked.

"They were discovered and I wasn't able to get into Beacon."

Silence followed his words and Roman stared at him. His expression indicated his mind was processing what he just heard and trying to figure out what went wrong.

"Listen, if you blew it during an interview, that's not on me." Roman finally replied, his tone light and refusing to accept the blame. "I only made those transcripts look good."

"Never got to meet any of the teachers there." Jaune informed him, bursting his bubble. "They did some secondary checks and discovered mine were forged. Got a letter saying I was lucky not to be arrested."

"Eh, arrests build character." The man shrugged. "So is that why you're here? To get a refund?"

"Well, yeah?" Jaune gulped and tried to look firm, but he could feel his sweat trickling down his brow. Roman did not look impressed. "Y-You talked about how you're the best at what you do and you were caught so easily. Wouldn't that hurt your reputation?"

"Hmm, clever." Roman puffed on his cigar. "But let's say you disappeared and didn't tell anyone. Wouldn't that protect it?"

'Careful. There's someone hidden in the corner of the room behind you. They're dangerous.'

Yatagarasu's warning rang softly in his ear like a wind chime. No one else seemed to have heard it at least. Jaune spun around in his seat and stared at the corner of the room. It was completely empty. Like not even a desk to hide behind. What was Yatagarasu saying? No one could hide there. Unless they were invisible or something and who would do that? A bodyguard? It's not like Jaune was a threat to anyone. Was Yatagarasu messing with him, but what would the god get from doing that?

When Jaune turned back to Roman, the man was staring at him with a hint of surprise and held up his hand a moment before speaking.

"Hmmm, actually kid. I like your moxie. I won't give a refund, that's my policy, but maybe I can get you some other information." Roman leaned back in his chair. "Because I am also disappointed that my forgery was detected. Personal pride and all that. So anything you want to ask about? I might be able to help or at least point you in the right direction."

"Umm…" Jaune was actually kind of surprised. Whatever he expected, it wasn't that. Yatagarasu wasn't whispering into his ear, so the god was leaving it up to him. Now what did he need to know to move forward in his quest to wake up the other gods? Roman probably wouldn't know a lot about mythology and gods. Thinking back on his adventures, something came to him. There was some information that would be useful to me. "How are Huntsmen so powerful? Like how are they able to do superhuman feats?"

"Training and Aura obviously," Roman shrugged. "Some of them have crazy complicated weapons. Brats are compensating for things nowadays. They need to stay in their lane."

"Aura?" Jaune blinked and titled his head.

"...You don't know what Aura is?" Roman stared back at him. "And you wanted to get into Beacon?"

"Is it important?"

That question caused the man to face palm.

"Aura is a key tool to being a Huntsman, kid." Roman leaned back in his chair and started laughing. "AHAHAHA! Man, when you came to me, I thought you were just someone with bad grades who wanted to get into the best school. Who knew you didn't have any idea of what you're in for. It's probably best that you didn't get in, or you would have died. Beacon's initiation is pretty rough."

"I figured the school would teach me how to fight…" Jaune trailed off as Roman kept laughing. "Okay! Can you stop laughing?!"

"You would have died in less than a minute!" Roman wiped a tear from his eye from laughing too hard. "Oh, I needed that." He sat up and grinned. "Tell you what. Because I'm such a standup guy, I'll have someone unlock your Aura. I would do it, but man, it tires me out and I got things to do tonight."

"Unlock my Aura? Will that hurt?"

"Not usually. It's rare but you might explode."

"You're joking right?! Tell me you're joking!"

"Neo, come on out and help this poor boy. He already seems to know you're here." Roman seemed to be talking to someone behind Jaune, so he turned around to stare at the blank corner.

Or what used to be a blank corner.

Cracks formed as what seemed to be a fake wall crashed down and vanished, revealing a diminutive girl sitting on a chair who resembled neapolitan ice cream. Her hair color was half pink and half brown, with white streaks on the pink side. One eye was even pink and the other brown. The clothes she was wearing consisted of a white cropped wide, broad tailed jacket with a pink interior, collar, and large pink cuffs. She wore skintight brown leather pants with a dark belt. Under her jacket was a brown over bust whalebone corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, which exposed her hips. She also wore a multitude of black beaded necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck.

She was also incredibly short, because standing up, she was about as tall as Jaune was sitting on the chair.

"Since you heard everything," Roman continued. "I take it, you'll help out? After all, it was a one in a million chance my perfect forgeries didn't work." The girl, Neo, rolled her eyes and held out her hand to Jaune.

"Er…?" Jaune wasn't sure what she wanted. A handshake? But her palm was open upwards.

"You got to pay her, kid." Roman explained. "She doesn't work for free."

"Hang on!" Jaune spun around to face the man. "I thought this was to make up for the transcripts?"

"My reimbursement was introducing you to Neo," Roman lit up a new cigar with a grin. "You have to pay her for her service." Neo also grinned as she continued to hold out her hand. "I'm not going to suggest a price. That's between you two."

"You're a crook!" The boy accused, causing the two of them to laugh at his childish antics. Sighing to himself, Jaune was about to reach into his pocket and start pulling out Lien. His fingers just started to enter his pocket when an idea came to him. Instead of Lien, maybe he could give the cute girl something else. There was a gem she might like based on her color scheme. Yatagarasu did say the trinkets were useless to a god. Reaching over, Jaune dropped the jewel into Neo's hand. "This should do it."

Neo's mouth fell open, causing Roman to lean to the side to look around Jaune. When he saw the jewel, he whistled.

"Damn. Where did you steal that from?"

"It's mine, but when I saw Neo here, I thought of her." Jaune grinned, feeling good he managed to shock both of them this time. In the girl's hand was a large pink diamond. "I trust that's sufficient?" Neo stared at it and then a moment later, it vanished into her pocket.

She grinned at him and gestured for him to lean over. Not sure what he was expecting, Jaune did as he was told and Yatagarasu hopped off his shoulder to stand on the desk. Neo meanwhile slapped her hands on his cheeks and then placed her forehead against his. Being this close to an attractive girl, Jaune instantly felt hot in the face. In fact, his entire body felt warm. Something within him was growing and flooding through his entire body. Any fatigue he was feeling was fading away. Even the aches in his knees were gone. Jaune felt better than he ever could remember feeling.

Neo eventually let go of his cheek and stepped back, looking a little tired, beads of sweat dotting her face. She did a few gestures in what appeared to be a pattern at Roman, who raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, you have a lot of Aura." The man commented. "Maybe you have some potential after all."

"What is this?" Jaune glanced down at his hands, which were glowing slightly, along with the rest of his body.

"Aura, you can think of as the power of the human soul." Roman explained. "Increases your strength and acts as a barrier so the Grimm don't tear you to pieces."

"So it's like a forcefield."

"Sure, think of it like that." Roman's eye roll was not hidden. "But that should help you in your future endeavors. Maybe you can get into Beacon next year. They do take older students too. I could even help you with your transcripts again too. I'll make sure they pass inspection with all the 'training' you'll do over the year."

"Yeah, that won't work anymore." Jaune sighed, thinking of the note from Beacon. "Besides, I found something else to occupy my time for now…" The boy trailed off as he saw Neo approach Yatagarasu, holding a cracker in her hand. She was trying to feed the crow sitting on the desk. Of course, being a god, there was no way it was going to demean itself like that. However, Yatagarasu did mention once that he could eat. Not that Jaune was sure gods had genders. "He likes sweets."

Neo paused and grabbed a package of cookies from her bag before holding it out before Yatagarasu. Jaune wasn't sure the god would take it, since it seemed to just be staring at her for a moment. Then it snapped the cookie out of her hand without warning. A huge grin formed on Neo's face as Yatagarasu flapped his wing and flew over to perch on her shoulder.

"Traitor." Jaune half joked.

"Neo has a way with animals." Roman shrugged. "So, kid. Anything else you need from me?"

"Er, no?" Jaune racked his brain. "I guess not?" The man didn't need to know about his quest awakening gods and Jaune doubted he would know anything otherwise. Part of him was ready for bed anyways. Even if his body was feeling better thanks to his Aura, he was still mentally exhausted. "I'll head out. Thanks for your help."

"Hey, it's all business." Roman laughed and held out his arms.

"Come on, Yatagarasu." Jaune motioned and the crow flew off Neo's shoulder and back on to his, making the short girl pout as he left. Walking down the hallway with no one around, he whispered to the god. "Well? Did you know all this was going to happen?"

"Not the specifics, but this route was the safest way for your future. Only a small chance of death for now."

"A small chance?" Jaune gulped.

"Most routes always have a small chance of death," Yatagarasu huffed. "The world is chaotic and unpredictable. However, this Aura you acquired should be useful in preventing your demise."

"That's good to know." Jaune grumbled.

"Also, those cookies that the human female gave me. I desire more of those. Humanity has certainly come a long way with their sweets."

"Fine, we'll get you some." Jaune sighed with his lips twitching upwards.

As he left, he passed Junior's office and waved to the man, though he seemed to be busy. One of his employees mentioned something about a 'blonde girl' wanting to see him. It wasn't any of Jaune's business and he was the type of person not to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. There was too much to do already and he was tired. Finding a motel was the next order of business after getting snacks, then tomorrow he needed to buy gear for his travels. These things were never talked about in the adventurer stories he had back home.

Meanwhile, Neo was poking Roman's arm as he examined the pink diamond under a magnifying glass.

"It looks real," The man told her. "Good cut too. I'm not an expert at appraisal, but it's probably worth a pretty Lien. That kid gave you quite a gift." Neo hopped up and down gleefully. "Yeah, yeah, you can show it off and rub those twins' faces in it if you want to."

The quiet girl gave him a thumbs up.

"It's actually a good thing that guy gave you a real diamond. If it was fake, I'm sure his body would end up floating down the river."

Neo grinned and ran a finger across her throat.

"Yeah, no one crosses us." Roman let out a laugh. "But that begs the question now: who is that boy? First time he came in, I thought he was a normal punk trying to just be a famous big shot Huntsman. Not sure where he got that gem though. Think he's some master criminal and just pretends to be an idiot kid?" The two of them stared at each other…

…before bursting out in laughter. Neo was clutching her stomach as Roman wiped a tear from his eye.

"Haha, yeah, I crack myself up." The man chuckled. "Seriously though, maybe he's the son of some rich tycoon? Trying to sneak out and do stuff on his own. Wouldn't be the first time someone without any street smarts makes their way in here."

Tapping her cheek, Neo pondered something and then grinned maliciously, She put her hands together and made a cute expression.

"If you want to tease him, have at it, no skin off my back." Roman shrugged at his accomplices' antics. No words needed to be said from the girl for him to understand what she planned to do further. "Going to get those two to join in on the teasing too? That poor boy is going to regret getting your attention."

Neo puffed out her chest.

"Yeah yeah, you're the best." Roman rolled his eyes and stood up. "We need to get going anyways. That one bitch's demands never end."

Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.