Same note as yesterday – skip if read

Hey all. To those who don't read it or didn't see, the business I work for is going insolvent. This is gong to cause some short-term chaos, but will change things for the better long-term. There's a more detailed post on my p a tr eon for free, but you don't need to read it. Basics here:

1) Company is going insolvent. I'm going to be involved in lots of meetings and stuff for the next while. Might take 2-3 months. I don't know as have never been involved in this before. This may cause sporadic or short updates, typically on weekday fics.

2) I will be OKAY so please don't worry or feel you need to rush to support me. I've wanted to quit for a while but had too much loyalty to staff to leave them. I want to commit to full-time writing, so I'll be happy once this is concluded.

3) I'll do my best to keep updates going as usual but if you see me absent for a day, please assume it's me being called to meetings with accountants and insolvency agency. I won't always be available to post a notice on my profile but just assume it's the reason.

Chapter 11

The second huntress came from the trees while the first fussed over the small child, comforting her. They were as night and day, the first blonde of hair and large and the second small with black hair tipped red, and a vibrant red cloak. A huge rifle was slung over her back, the tip bladed like a glaive, and belts of ammunition hung about her waist as fashion mixed with rugged practicality. Heavy boots crunched twigs underfoot as she paced slowly into the clearing, brilliant silver eyes catching him before switching to the crying child.

They had their priorities straight, at least. Jaune let out a breath and looked down at his arms, taking in the devastation wrought by his incorrect use of a technique he'd practiced for a single day. Oddly enough, there were no visible cuts or scars despite the worrying amount of blood caking his arm from elbow to wrist. Turning his right arm over, there was no indication at all where the blood had come from, but his skin felt like it had been stung by a million wasps.

Since the Iron Limb Technique uses aura to strengthen the top layer of skin, rather than the body as a whole, I wonder if that's what the blood is from. Did the entire outer layer of my arms explode...?

It was a grim thought, but not entirely dangerous. The skin was, after all, made up of lots of layers, the top being the newest and most likely to dry and be shed within a day or so. It wasn't like he had blown his arm off. Brushing the blood down his arm, he found the skin underneath pink and sore, not quite yet ready to expose itself to sun. A reminder not to take even the most fundamental of techniques lightly.

If this had been an Incarnation level technique...

He dreaded to imagine.

"Hey you!" It was the first huntress, the blonde who had knocked the Grimm away. Her vibrant smile matched bright purple eyes, and she cocked her head cockily. Something about her looked familiar, though Jaune would swear he'd never forget someone with hair like that. "Are you okay? You're looking a little queasy there."

"I'm fine, thank you." Jaune swept the blood from his arms and dragged his sleeves back down. They were wet and soggy, but they'd dry, even if the blood would need to be washed out later. Jaune approached them slowly, linked his fist to palm and bowed. "Thank you for your timely arrival."

"Err, yeah. No problem." The blonde appeared more offput by his gesture if anything, which felt weird. It was only right to thank them. "It's what huntresses do."

"Apprentice huntresses," the shorter, younger girl chimed in. The blonde clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"Apprentice Huntresses, sure. Like it makes a difference, Rubes. We do the same work as a normal huntress but get saddled with a worse title and less pay. Talk about unfair." The blonde bulled on, grinning at them. "The name's Yang. Yang Xiao-Long. And this little bundle of joy is my sister, Ruby. Don't worry, she's just shy, not antisocial."

"Jaune Arc." He bowed again. "And this is Anna and Celeste."

"Arc, huh. The name rings a bell but I don't think I know a huntsman called Jaune Arc, and you don't look that much older than us. What academy did you study in?"

"I didn't."

Yang blinked. "Apprentice, then? Who's your teacher?"

"I don't have one. I'm not a huntsman."

Something about her demeanour sharpened. It was a subtle thing, but he caught her right foot shifting outward, ready to steady herself if she needed to either take a hit or push off to deliver one. "Military?"

He wouldn't be military on his own out here, so what she was really asking was if he was a deserter.

"Neither," he replied. "I'm just a boy who lost his village and was saved by someone who taught me how to protect myself. I'm no threat to you."

"Heh. Fair enough." Yang relaxed, perhaps dismissing him a little too quickly once she knew he wasn't a huntsman or soldier. He could obviously handle himself just fine. "You can never be too sure around here, you know? Deserters have been almost as much a problem as the Grimm have been. Only good thing is they often take one another out."

"Yang!" hissed Ruby. "They're still people!"

"Oops. Yeah, sorry." Yang didn't look it. "Anyway, we heard a village went down not too far from here and were sent out to look for survivors. We heard the fight and came to investigate. I take it all three of you were from there?"

"My daughter and I were," said Celeste. "Jaune... Jaune is someone we met running away. He's protected us and promised to take us to the closes village."

"Did he now? Good enough for me. We should take you there so we can get a picture of what's happened, anyway. Pops will want to talk with you."

"Pops?"

"She means our father," Ruby explained. "He's the one we're apprenticed to and we need to report to him that we found you. And he'll want to ask Anna and Celeste a few questions so we can find exactly where the village is and look for more survivors."

Yang grinned. "That's what I said! Except in less words. So, you all agree?"

The question felt like it was aimed his way and, again, with the vaguest undertones of suspicion as to his motives and past. Jaune let out a quiet breath, gently pushing down any frustration he might have felt. Anna and Celeste would be safer this way, and he had nothing to hide. The only risk was them expecting him to join their war.

Because it wasn't his war.

"Very well. Let's be off."

/-/

It was curious to see how much more animated Celeste was with the apprentice huntresses than she had been with him. The fact didn't bother him as it obviously wasn't a personal attack on his character. They were girls, they were more open than he, and they were huntresses – the much-loved heroes of Valean childhood stories.

Yang was also markedly better with children than he, letting the girl ride on her shoulders and spinning her around, playing with her with a casual confidence that could only come from having more people to watch your back. He hadn't had the luxury. It was good that Anna got to walk easier, however, as they had been able to shoulder the bags between the two apprentice huntresses and himself.

All in all, for his first meeting with the fabled huntsmen, Jaune felt this could have gone much worse. Two girls his own age or a little younger saving them and helping guide him, Anna and Celeste to the nearest village was about the best he could ask for. Behind, Jaune heard the crunch of leaves increase in pace as the younger girl caught up and walked beside him. Her hood was drawn up despite the lack of rain, and she eyed his arms curiously. Given the blood, it wasn't hard to guess as to why.

"They're fine," he said, sliding the sleeve on his right arm back to show her. "The blood made it look worse than it was."

"Is that a Semblance?" she asked. "Healing? Blood-based attacks?"

He wasn't sure how to explain it. Master Ren had given no warnings against telling people the truth of his abilities, and yet seeing how much Cinder and her ilk had coveted them had him worried. While there was no suggestion Yang or Ruby would be like that, anything he said here would make it back to their father, then to Vale, and surely the military would want to know more. The idea of having their soldiers trained to fight like this would be appealing, and they'd care as little as Cinder did for warnings on how much discipline it took and how long it would take to learn even the simplest of skills.

He'd trained with Master Ren for longer than the average soldier trained before being dispatched to war, and there was still so much for him to learn. He had the fundamentals, the foundation, and yet the military would expect to churn out soldiers ready for combat.

"It's more a case of aura control gone wrong. As I said, I'm not a huntsman so I was never formally taught how to control it. I made a mistake when the Grimm hit me, and while it didn't cost me my arm, it looks to have cost me a little skin and some blood. Better than the alternative."

"I've never heard of bad aura control doing that."

"Maybe I'm a special case," he said, shrugging. "Or maybe that's because your teachers are smart enough to make sure you can perfectly control your aura before putting you in front of a Grimm to make this mistake in the first place."

Ruby giggled. "I guess so! Did it hurt?"

"It was shocking, but I suppose the adrenaline stopped me from feeling too much of it. I've definitely felt worse. Can I ask a quick question, Ruby?"

"Uh? S—Sure. What's up?"

"This village we're headed to." The opening line seemed to calm her down. "I'm worried about Celeste and Anna. I've heard there are a lot of refugees trying to reach Vale and they're not being treated well. Will they be welcome in this village we're headed to?"

"Oh, um. I'm not really sure." Ruby looked ahead, her hood dipping. "It's true that refugees aren't getting a good welcome in Vale right now. People are being really cruel about it, acting like it's their fault things aren't going well."

"In the war?"

"Mostly in the country as a whole. The war hasn't really hit us that much, but it's definitely hit supplies. Dad says the trade from other countries was one of the first things to go down, then we suddenly had to deal with food shortages. Things are getting back on track now everyone has realised they need to be more self-sufficient. We have new farms and everything, but supplies are still tight. There's enough to go around but not plenty."

Supply issues, then. It made sense, even if he'd never thought about it. All those imports and exports stopping, and then the White Fang raids taking out fishing villages and towns. There was one staple of the diet practically removed in one go. Limited. Places closer to Vale were probably fine, and the city itself was on the water, but there'd be a lot less fish coming in. Farmland, too.

"We'd just started getting things under control when the first refugees appeared. It was okay at first. We welcomed them in and they worked on the new farms, so it felt like it was a good thing. But then more and more came, in their hundreds and then thousands. Suddenly, there weren't enough homes, weren't enough jobs, wasn't enough food. That's when things started getting worse. A lot of people blamed them like they were cowards for giving up on their homes and coming to Vale."

"I'm sure most of them lost their homes."

"I know. Either to Grimm or to the White Fang, and dad thinks they're doing that on purpose – terrifying communities away from coastal villages with raids so that they flee to Vale and clog the city up with even more people. An army marches on its stomach and if ours can't march, then the White Fang have technically won." Ruby shrugged. "Or that's what dad says. Our job is just to protect people from the Grimm."

"What about this village? Will they be any more welcoming?"

"I don't know..." Ruby ducked her head. "They'll be more accepting than the city, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be welcome..."

It was about what he'd feared, and what Anna must have been afraid of as well. There weren't many places that would be happy to accept a mother and a child too young to pull their own weight. They would need housing, food, and a way to support themselves. Jaune frowned, knowing there was little that could be done now and from here.

The rest of their journey was in silence but for Yang encouraging Celeste with tall tales.

No Grimm threatened them.

/-/

It turned out that they hadn't been that far from the village, only a few kilometres at best, though given the thick forest they could easily have passed it by. The small settlement ringed by wooden walls churned smoke from numerous chimneys, and had farmland stretching out on the outside, parting the forests and creating natural paths between fields tall with wheat and rye, much of it in the process of being harvested before winter.

Curious glances came their way, but most for Yang and Ruby, who stood out from the average people due in no small part to their clothing. Bright, vibrant colours like theirs, along with their hair and, in Ruby's case, the strange weapon slung against her shoulder, drew attention like a candle drew moths. Jaune, Anna and Celeste were far less interesting, and summarily ignored by the various farmers.

Less so by the sentries guarding the gate who stopped them.

"Apprentice huntresses Yang Xiao-Long and Ruby Rose," said Yang, offering her ID card. Ruby did the same. "We're returning from dealing with some Grimm."

"Yer welcome back, of course. But who are these?"

"Survivors from a village attacked." Yang didn't bother with the explanation he'd given her, perhaps thinking it too complicated to waste time debating with these men. "We managed to save them from the Grimm."

"Refugees, then." The sentry eyed Jaune up and down. He had a drab military uniform but had lost an eye and had a grisly scar down the left side of his face, over his lip. Injured, maybe? He looked like he'd been sent here to recover, relegated to this position even though it was less rest and just work of another kind. "He looks to be of fighting age. They'll be moving on to Vale, then?"

"That hasn't been decided."

The man scowled suddenly, both his and his companion's moods taking a turn for the worse. "They should head on to Vale," he stressed. "More room there."

"Again," said Yang. "That hasn't yet been decided. You going to let us in?"

They grumbled but let the group inside, where they were swiftly faced with more curious expressions. Luckily, no one regarded them poorly just yet, but then they didn't know that Anna and Celeste wanted to stay. Jaune kept close to them just in case.

"Dad said he'd wait for us in the bar," said Yang. "Which is funny since he doesn't drink. I think he just wants to be seen. Reassure the locals and all that."

"It's our job to be noticeable," said Ruby.

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before, sis. Let's just go report so he can tell us how we could have done it better and why we're reckless idiots."

"That's kind of his job..."

"Sheesh, you are such a brown-noser sometimes, Rubes."

The bar was closer to a public tavern, the kind of place the locals would retire to at night to drink, eat or just interact with one another. It was rustic, built mostly of wood but with some clay on the walls. The tables were all wood, typically circular with stools lacking backrests arranged around them and a fire in the centre. Above it, a clay and brick oven cooked food and also directed smoke up and out a chimney poking up through the slatted, wooden roof.

Despite obviously being quite rural, there were photographs and pictures on the wall, along with a pool table off to one side and a jukebox that looked like it had seen better days. A single bandit machine stood with an "out of order" sign over its smashed glass screen, and a large sign reading "NO FIGHTS" hung from the wall next to it. Around it were dotted memorabilia from movies and celebrity culture, perhaps from a time before the war when trade was more common and people could travel to and from the big city.

The bar was quiet at this hour, only a little past midday, but a muscular man with tattooed arms and short blonde hair sat on a stool at the bar, nursing a glass of water while he chatted with a large, old man behind it.

"Dad!" shouted Yang, waving.

"Daughter," he replied, sighing and turning on his stool. "I'm not so old I need you to yell like that, and I've told you not to do it indoors." He had a tired but handsome face, his blue eyes similar to Jaune's own but his skin a shade more tanned. Stubble dotted his chin and jaw, still too sparse to look anything other than a yellow fuzz.

The way he moved as he stood told Jaune he was a man used to fighting hand to hand. The lack of a weapon would have made that more obvious, but it was his posture, the way he balanced his weight and rolled his neck. He had bigger muscles on his upper body, so he probably preferred boxing combined with grappling.

Instantly, Jaune wanted to test himself and challenge the man. He pushed it away. I can't underestimate them because they're huntsmen. He's at least twice my age and could probably wipe the floor with me. Don't let arrogance blind you, Jaune. Just because huntsmen take shortcuts doesn't mean they're weak.

Certainly not one who had graduated and gone on to survive long enough to have grown children of his own. This was a man who had taken that substandard training and made it work, taking on the Grimm and winning despite it.

And even calling it "substandard" felt like a mistake on his part.

Huntsmen were trained differently, with different priorities, and it wasn't his place to judge it when he'd never even experienced it.

Yang had just finished reporting on where they found them and why they'd brought them back when Jaune came out his thoughts. The huntsman looked exhausted on hearing another village had fallen.

"We'll have to check the village even if survivors are unlikely," he said. "But I'll do that. The two of you did well today. Onto these three, then. Anna, was it? My name is Taiyang Xiao-Long, huntsman of Vale. I'm sorry for what befell your village. Had Vale more huntsmen to station, we would do so."

Anna smiled weakly and shrugged, neither accepting nor dismissing the apology. It wasn't Taiyang's fault the village fell, nor was his apology going to fix anything. At the same time, they all knew that the city's constant drafting of fighting-age people and withdrawal of huntsman support was in some way responsible.

Ultimately, all the man could offer were comforting words.

And Anna was in no place to reject them.

"And you." Taiyang turned his attention to Jaune. "Quite the curious story. Not a huntsman, nor military, but able to use aura and fight the Grimm. I'm sure you can understand why that would sound suspicious."

"I do not, actually." Jaune's answer caught them by surprise. "Do you really believe there aren't retired huntsmen living alone who wouldn't teach others? My father was a huntsman before he was drafted away, and that caused him to not be there when my family were slaughtered. I owe my life to a kindly old man of almost a hundred years who took me in and taught me."

"And where is this old man?"

"Dead." Jaune's eyes narrowed. "Murdered by huntsmen, in fact. Do the names Cinder Fall or Tyrian Callows mean anything to you?"

Taiyang grimaced. "They don't, but then I can't claim to know every huntsman or huntress in the world. What was it your mentor did? Why would huntsmen be after him?"

"He was an old man living alone, his only crime being that there were rumours he'd found some secret to eternal life for surviving so long. Obviously, he had not." Jaune's eyes narrowed. "And I will not stand by and have someone cast accusations toward his character. My master saved me, raised me, taught me, and I won't allow you to suggest he was somehow in the wrong for being murdered."

"Whoah. Whoah." Taiyang raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I didn't mean to suggest that."

"And yet suggest it you did."

"Then I'll apologise for sticking my foot in my mouth. Part of my job is to keep people safe, and there aren't enough of us left to do that. Huntsmen are being stretched thin all across Vale right now, not to mention defending the city as well. It's left us paranoid. I'm sorry for insinuating your teacher did anything wrong but I have to ask the question. It's my job."

"I thought it was your job to kill Grimm and protect people."

Taiyang sighed. "It used to be, and I damn well wish it still was, but I'm not the one who makes the decisions. This second uprising from the faunus has complicated things. Turned the whole world crazy. Stories like yours are a lien a dozen now, with whole families torn to pieces and us left to do nothing but look after the survivors. I realise that doesn't comfort you any but it's the way things are."

Jaune grunted.

"Okay, this is getting heavy." Yang stepped up with a huge smile and an awkward laugh. "How about we put suspicions on the shelf, yeah? Dad, you need to go check that village and we need to make sure this place is safe."

"Telling your old man what to do? That's not how an apprenticeship works." He chuckled. "But fair enough. If I had my way, you'd all be in Beacon like I was at your age, not forced out here to learn on the job."

"It's fine," said Ruby. "We're good enough."

"It's not about being good enough, Ruby. It's about making friends and having fun in what should be the best years of your lives." The man sighed. "Damn war." He shook his head, then looked to Jaune. "Will you be staying here a couple of days? We need to talk more."

"I will remain until I am certain Anna and Celeste have somewhere to stay. They are homeless and need help. With all due respect, your suspicions of me can wait."

"Agreed." The man grinned. "And why do I get the feeling that `all due respect` means none at all? Hah. I guess I deserve that one. Yang and Ruby will be available if you need them for any help—" And to keep an eye on him. "Don't hesitate to call on them. As for the murder of your mentor, that's something that can be brought up in the city. It could be deserters or traitors. There are some that have even shirked their duty to sign on as mercenaries and make some profit off the chaos. If they're registered huntsmen, they'll be on record."

"Thank you, sir. Good luck on your hunt."

/-/

Yang and Ruby continued to hover around him through the rest of the day and night, even after paying for him and Anna to have their own rooms at the tavern. The innkeeper had been looking at the mother and daughter with no small amount of suspicion ever since overhearing the story, and Jaune was sure the news would spread. Refugees weren't wanted here, so the two would face pressure to leave and try their luck in Vale.

Taiyang, Ruby and Yang could take them there, but they'd fare no better.

And there was another problem with that, and with Taiyang's plan. The problem that Jaune was a young man of fighting age and no small amount of skill. The military would want him. That or the huntsmen, neither of which Jaune had any intention of joining.

Saying that to Taiyang before he left, however, would have been a bad idea.

There was a good chance Taiyang and his daughters were under some obligation or duty to bring anyone back who qualified, and as well-meaning as the man was, Jaune couldn't expect him to risk his daughters' futures by breaking the rules here. If the draft had gotten to the point where even huntsmen were recruiters then he'd be dragged back to Vale to enlist.

I wonder if dad is there. I could see him again...

The thought had him scowling. He didn't blame his father for what happened at Ansel, but it was hard to want a reunion given all it would entail. He'd moved on as best he could, and going to Vale to be conscripted alongside his father would open up old wounds. It would also put a stop to any hope of tracking down the scrolls and protecting the Lotus Sect's secrets.

Taiyang might have had a duty, but so did Jaune.

I can't move on without seeing to Anna and Celeste, though. I need to make sure they have a place to stay. Anything less and I'll be abandoning them to their fates.

Unfortunately, two hours spent walking around asking people if they would be willing to take in a mother and child had earned him little more than insults and, in one rare case, hysterical screams directly to his face. No one here was strapped for space, and the homes were large enough to have spare rooms, but the very concept of refugees had been demonised as far as he could tell.

How could you trust them not to be White Fang sympathisers? How did they live when everyone else died? What if their grief brought Grimm? What if they were bad omens? Some reasons made more sense than others, but the final decisions always remained the same. Whether apologetic or aggressive in their responses, no one was willing to take them in. He couldn't imagine how much worse it was for Anna, trying to find work with a child.

It was early evening when Jaune made his way back to the tavern, dispirited and annoyed but doing his best not to let it show and frighten Celeste. If they would not take the mother and daughter out the goodness of their hearts then he needed some way to make it in their best interests. Forcing them wouldn't do, but maybe he could make it an exchange. Do something for the village on the condition they look after the pair. He'd have to check tomorrow with whomever constituted the village leader in this place.

Jaune was on his way to the bar when a young man of around seventeen years blocked his path. "Hey, you!" the boy shouted, holding a pool cue out in Jaune's path like a spear. There were two others, about the same age, each looking a little drunk and very angry. "Yeah, you. You're the one that the huntresses dragged in, yeah?"

"That would be me," Jaune replied, calmly. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

"You're moving on, yeah? Leaving."

"That is correct. I'm only staying here a few days at most."

"Good." The one with the cue nodded. "Then you'll take those two with you as well." He pointed the cue back toward Anna and Celeste, who were sat nervously at a table in the corner of the tavern. The whole building went silent, patrons stopping their talk to watch.

Not a one of them stepped up to intervene or call for the boys to stop.

Not even the barman.

"They're not welcome here," said the lead teen. "Not wanted, either. Bad news, they are. You have to take them to Vale when you leave. Get rid of them there. We don't want them. The village is better off without them."

Anna covered Celeste's ears with her hands and drew the smaller girl into her bosom.

"Is this the feelings of the entire village?" he asked, louder than he needed to. "Is this what you will hope for if your homes are destroyed, your families slaughtered? Does a mother and her child frighten you all that much?"

He meant it for everyone, and as much as some looked chagrined, they didn't speak up or correct their actions. What was the use of accepting you were in the wrong if you made no effort to do right? It didn't fix anything. They may have hung their heads, but they intended to carry on exactly as they were.

"I'm not afraid of nothing!" roared the teen, far angrier at the idea of being frightened then bothered about what Jaune had implied. "We're here standing up to you because no one else will! You think you can come here, drag people like them here, and then demand we take them in? It's our home! Not theirs!"

The other two raised their fists.

Jaune slid one foot back and raised his own hands.

"OI!" shouted the barman. "No fighting! Or I'll call the guards on you and they'll throw you in a cell!"

Finally. He'd wondered if the man would hold to the warning words on the sign by the quiz machine. Jaune brought his hands down, but noticed movement as the lead teen lunged, swinging the pool cue with both hands at Jaune's face. Quick, but not quick enough. Jaune pushed his aura up to block it, closing his eyes so the splinters from it shattering on his cheek wouldn't fly into his eye. When he opened them again, the boy wore a victorious grin as he clutched half a pool cue.

Jaune glanced to the barman who had called for no fighting.

And caught the man looking away at the last second.

"So," he whispered. "That's how it is..."

A fist came flying in from his left and struck his cheek, knocking his head to the side. Jaune brought it back and closed his eye as a knuckle caught him in the socket. Another pool cue came down over his back, cracking atop his clothing. Through it, he glared at the barman, staring coldly until the man lost his nerve and refused to look back.

No one in the tavern acted as the men punched and beat at him, their silent inaction as good as tacit approval for the yobs to continue. Jaune weathered it like a mountain in a storm, refusing to give ground, refusing to react, and refusing to emit a sound. He didn't even dodge, simply taking hit after hit and using it as an opportunity to practice his fine aura control. Not full-body aura like a huntsman but fluctuating it through his meridians from one spot to another, reacting with instantaneous speed.

There came a tangible point in the "fight" where everyone in the building seemed to realise this wasn't going as they imagined it would. The yobs became tired and worried, quailing when Jaune fixed his eyes on them, and the onlookers were nervously tugging at their clothes and burying their faces in their drinks.

This had been meant as some brave local youths defending the village's traditions against dangerous outside elements, and now those brave youths were being made to look hopeless bullies. Left flailing on a man who refused to fight back, and ultimately achieving nothing more than exhausting themselves.

And then Yang Xiao-Long arrived, crashing through the door foot first.

"CUT THIS SHIT OUT!" she roared, smashing a fist into the nearby wall and punching through it. Everyone flinched.

Anna and Celeste were behind her. "There they are," whispered Anna. "They were hitting him!"

They'd gone to fetch the huntresses.

Clever.

Yang took the scene in quickly, noting that not only were none of the teens injured, but that his sword was sheathed and he was the only one surrounded by broken pool cues. It wasn't hard for her to tell he hadn't done anything, especially when she'd seen him hold his own against Grimm.

"Right then," she spat, stalking forward and yanking a cue out one boy's hand. "Does anyone want to give me an explanation for this? Because I'm here to protect you from Grimm, not the consequences of your own stupid actions!"

No one spoke up.

"Jaune?" she asked.

"There's no fighting allowed in the tavern," he said, pointing to the sign on the wall. "Since the barman seemed intent on holding me to that rule, I decided I wouldn't do anything that would risk him throwing me, Anna and Celeste out the building."

The barman quailed, suddenly on the spot as Yang turned to glare at him. "W—Well, he's a dangerous man," he stammered. "That sword—"

"Stayed sheathed," Yang interrupted. "It's a dangerous world out there. Can't blame a man for walking around with protection. Speaking of, I see these brave boys are intent on protecting the village from all threats, eh?"

The teens, high on adrenaline and hormones, puffed out their chest. "Yeah, we are!"

Yang grinned evilly. "Great! Then congratulations, I am hereby enlisting you."

Their smiles dropped.

The tavern burst into uproar.

"They're children!" screamed one woman. "No more than children!"

"Have a heart!" cried another.

"I wonder where all your hearts were when you wanted to turf a woman and her child out into the wilderness alone," Jaune snarled, but his words went ignored as the people clamoured and argued for Yang to rescind her decision. Jaune took Anna and Celeste and steered them toward the staircase to their rooms, feeling an oncoming brawl. "Go upstairs," he told them. "Lock the door. I shall make sure nothing happens to you."

They scurried upstairs.

"Enough of this shit!" Yang roared, kicking one leg up and then slamming it down on a wooden table, shattering it with raw strength alone. "The law is the law! You don't like it, you come say that to my face! But rest assured I'll fight back!"

That should have been it. Yang was a huntress and these were civilians. And yet at least ten people lunged to their feet, picking up bottles and chairs and, in one case, a hunting knife. Common sense went out the window, fuelled by alcohol, anger, and resentment against the military that had taken so many of their children and loved ones.

Jaune cursed and dove in to help her.

Next Chapter: 3rd June

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