Yesterday's chapter a no show due to my mother getting news of a second cancer, potentially terminal since she survived the first a decade ago. She's having a call to the clinic again tomorrow so may find out bad news then. Expect Thursday's chapter to suffer if that proves true.

Chapter 12

The brawl was very much just that, with too many people attempting to fight in too small a space, all with too little actual experience. Fists were thrown like one might a toy for a dog, with only the vaguest control over direction and speed, and local men and women wielded glass bottles and wooden chairs clasped in two hands. What they lacked in skill, they certainly made up for with enthusiasm, but if there was one thing Jaune had learned under Shu Ren, it was that passion alone wouldn't win a fight.

It'd just slow you down.

Stepping into the swing of a bottle, Jaune placed a hand on the man's wrist to control him, then slid his other down the length of that arm, transitioning from a two-handed parry to a vicious chop aimed at the man's neck. The older man fell with a gasp, choking, but the blow had been to the left-hand side of the man's neck, stunning, but not enough to damage his windpipe and truly harm him. He fell all the same, unused to such pain.

Stepping over him both to move on but also to protect him from others trampling forward, he engaged the next, leaning his head back from a fist that sailed in a wide arch before his face, before lunging back in with a single fist to the woman's solar plexus. She buckled over it, and he grabbed her by her upper clothing and twisted, hefting the stunned woman up over his hip and throwing her into others oncoming, who dropped their attack to catch her and were knocked back for it.

A scream warned him of the next attack, a young girl of only around fourteen years with a face full of tears lunging in with a knife. Where she'd gotten it from, he had no idea, but Jaune jinked to the side and wrapped his arm over hers, pinning her arms and the knife against his side. A quick strike to her temple made her slump and drop the weapon, and he set her down as gently as he could before the next attack came.

These weren't Grimm and he wouldn't treat them as such. The girl, so young, had likely lost a father or brother to the recruiters and saw them as more of the same. Everyone here was shrouded with misery and loss, strained tight to the breaking point. It hadn't taken much to set them off, but it was foolish to believe that was because they were naturally hateful people. Like so many others, they had been hurt, and now they wanted to take that out on others. Everyone needed someone to blame, someone to vent their anger on.

But he would not let it be Anna and Celeste. They were innocent in this.

Instead, he worked twice as hard to disarm and peacefully disable, to show these people the difference between them without delivering broken bones – which would have been so much easier. With aura, he could have kicked hard enough to break legs, but what would that teach them? That disobedience was met with punishment? That they should take whatever was dished out without complaint? That the strong ruled? Those weren't lessons Shu Ren had taught him. That wasn't the way of the Lotus Sect.

I'm angry as well, he realised. Anger born from concern for Anna and Celeste, and anger born of disdain for these people's unwelcoming attitudes. Deep breaths. Calm. There's no need to be angry at these people. They are hurting just as much as I am.

They were all victims of this war. Him for losing his family due to his father being called away, Anna and Celeste for losing their home for the same reason, and these people for having their loved ones drafted. The war had cost them all in one way or another.

With that in mind, Jaune caught a bottle, gently disarmed it, then spun the person around and pushed them back into the crowd. He side-stepped a fist, guided it past down, spinning the boy onto the floor in a heap, but through his own momentum. Standing, he caught a punch in his bare hand and tipped his body, flipping the woman over his shoulder but lowering her down to the ground with a flex and dip of his knees, rather than slam her to the floor with all his might.

His methods were not shared.

A boy no older than Ruby screamed and flew over the bar, crashed into the drinks display on the wall and fell down showered in broken glass. Another lunged at Yang with a broken bottle, only for her to trap his arm the same way Jaune had with the knife. The difference was the follow-up, as Yang twisted her body, bending the man's arm between her elbow and her hip until it snapped like a dry twig. He screamed, and she drove a knee up into his chin, breaking several teeth.

"Is that all you've got!?" she roared, eyes flashing red with anger and glee. She stepped forward and threw a haymaker, fully seeing the bottle coming for her face but just closing her eyes. It smashed on her aura, as she'd known it would, and that did nothing to prevent her fist powering into the wielder's face, breaking their nose and sending them flying back into and over a table. They crashed to the floor and didn't move. "Come get some!"

They were only civilians – old and young, at that. All those of fighting age had been taken for the armies, and these were those deemed too weak or frail to fight.

What did she expect of them?

They, too, were beginning to see the way the tide was turning and many had run already, slipping out while they could and before their tavern was reduced to a pile of rubble. Yang saw two young boys scrambling away and lunged after them, hair seeming to ignite like fire.

Jaune flung himself between them. "Enough—"

Her eyes flashed red and she lashed out at him, forgetting – or uncaring – that he was an ally. Jaune brought his arms up but realised at the last second just how bad an idea blocking the hit would be. He could see the visible distortion around her fist as if the air itself were being superheated. She was pumping so much aura through her body it was warping the air around her. That fist was going to hit with the force of a truck.

Dropping his left leg to one knee, he barely just ducked beneath it, then caught her knee with two hands when she instinctively corrected. Holding it in place with one, he hooked his other hand behind her hamstring and pushed up into her body with his, toppling her back. Yang hit the ground, but kicked off and flipped onto her feet before he could follow up.

Luckily, that seemed to be enough to snap her out of her berserker rage.

"Oh, hey," she said, smiling wildly. "Didn't realise it was you. Eheh. Whoops? No hard feelings."

"None," he replied, but he was cautious as he stood at rest. "The fight is over, though. There's no need to continue when they're in full flight."

"They're the ones who started it."

"And we finished it. That's enough, isn't it...?"

The woman looked him up and down as if thinking she rather wanted to continue, and that he might make for a more interesting fight. Jaune met her gaze head on until, with a sigh, she let go of her aura and stepped back.

"Yeah, fine. I guess you're right. Oi, bartender. Two drinks!"

"M—My home!" the man behind the bar groaned. "My livelihood!"

Jaune had only a little sympathy for him, walking past Yang to pull out a stool and sit. "All actions have consequences, elder. You chose these ones and must now live with them."

The man gazed hatefully at him, then fearfully at Yang as she took the stool on Jaune's left. He bit his lip and poured them two pints, slammed them on the table and then stormed away, out back, abandoning them in the bar without asking for payment. Jaune slid some lien onto the counter either way.

Just because the man had been dishonest with them did not mean he should be the same.

"You weren't half bad back there," said Yang, taking a long drink. "Ahh. Nothing like a cold one after a fight, eh?"

"I wouldn't know. This is my first beer."

Jaune sipped, and his face scrunched up at the bitter taste.

Yang burst out laughing. "Your face! Ahah! Oh, that's classic!"

"How... How does anyone like this?"

"It's an acquired taste."

He'd take her word for that but quite happily stick to water and tea in future. Maybe it was just the overly processed nature of the stuff, or his own tastebuds being used to subtler, more natural flavours. Jaune set it down and also shook his head when Yang snatched a packet of salted peanuts off the wall and offered him one. Since she didn't seem about to, he slid a little more lien into the pile to pay for that small theft.

"Yeah, so, you weren't half-bad in that fight back there. Not everyone can outmanoeuvre me like that."

"You were too angry. It clouded your mind."

"Sheesh. I get that enough from dad. Don't need to hear it from you as well." Yang flicked a peanut his way, which he caught between two fingers and set back down in front of her. "Eh," she said. "I could probably do that. Throw one at me."

"I'd rather not make any more of a mess here than we already have."

"Not much of one for fun, are you?" Yang snorted. "Why did you let them beat on you anyway? You could have fought back. And don't give me that shit about the landlord's rules. We broke those just now."

"I was concerned about that before, for Anna and Celeste's sakes. They're obviously not welcome here."

"Hmm. Yeah. Fuckers." Yang snorted. "I guess we'll have to take them to Vale and hope for the best. It's not ideal, but nowhere is going to be. Better a rough time in Vale than being run out of town here. At least you'll be able to check in on them, maybe even reroute your pay to support them. You're pretty tough so you should be able to broker a good deal, maybe even get yourself accepted as a huntsman."

Jaune hummed, tapping his beer glass and acting like it was something he was still considering. It was not. Yang obviously thought he'd be coming with them to Vale, and that he'd sign up either with the huntsmen or the military. He was a young man of fighting age and no small amount of skill after all, and it was their job to drag him back.

I thought as much. I can't hunt down Tyrian and his allies like that, however...

Vale was out of the question.

Which meant he needed to be gone before Yang's father returned, as he was far more likely to be able to best him in a fight. He was no Shu Ren, not yet, and his skills weren't going to be up to taking on a professional huntsman.

"I'd best check on Anna and Celeste," he said, setting the beer toward her. "You can finish this, the taste isn't really suiting me. Can I trust you'll handle this?" He gestured to the ruined tavern. "Or do I have to answer questions or give evidence?"

"Nah, it's cool. Martial law is in place, so huntsmen and huntsmen-apprentices like me and Ruby are pretty much the final say on law nowadays. This was clearly a case of self-defence on your part, and me breaking it up."

Which explained Yang's utter lack of concern for the consequences of her actions. It would be easy to write it off as corruption, but she was likely hurting just as much as everyone else was. The war was pushing everyone.

"Thank you. I'll check on them."

The mother and daughter were huddled in their room when Jaune knocked on the door and announced himself, to better not startled them. They still looked afraid of him, so he stood by the doorway and didn't enter further.

"Yang has agreed to take you to Vale," he told them. "I know it isn't going to be perfect but it has to be better than living here. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you—"

"No. No, Jaune, it's fine," whispered Anna. "You saved our lives. You've done so much."

"I preserved your lives, Anna. They won't be saved if you suffer in Vale." He knelt and removed his coin purse. "There isn't much here but I want you to have it." Her eyes widened, and he cut her off before she could protest. "Money is meaningless to me, Anna. I spend most of my time in the wild. Take it, please. Use it to feed yourself and Celeste."

Gingerly, she took it, then offered him a sad smile. "You're leaving, then."

Jaune didn't answer.

"I knew you would," she continued. "The huntresses and huntsman expect you to go with them to Vale and join the army, and you don't want to. I... I don't blame you. Not one bit. You should go tonight, before he returns."

He knew she was right. "Will you two be okay?"

"We will survive. We will... Celeste?"

The small girl wriggled out her mother's hold and ran over, arms open. Smiling, Jaune accepted her hug, her tiny hands wrapping tight around his neck as her face pressed against him. She kissed his chin, whispering, "Bye-bye" in a tiny voice.

"Bye-bye," he replied, stroking her back. "Be a good girl for your mommy, okay?"

"Mmm!"

Anna smiled warmly from a short distance. Their time together had been short, and much of it had been spent with a healthy dose of caution, but Jaune felt that they had come to trust him in the end. He squeezed the small girl tight and let her plod back to her mother's lap. His and Anna's gazes met, hers asking a silent question, and him shaking his head. They were strangers, both hurting, and it was tempting to bond together and share their misery, to seek comfort in one another and commit to something unwise when there was no feelings beyond pain between them. It would be a soft and pleasant distraction, but it would not be love.

"If I ever return to Vale, I will seek you out," he promised. "Just to make sure you're safe, and hopefully to share some stories of my travels."

"Where will you go? Or is it better if we can't say?"

"I'll go to Mistral." Cinder and Tyrian had suggested they came from there. It was a small lead, but it was a lead. Mistral was currently being used as a proxy for a lot of conflicts between Menagerie and Atlas, so it would be a dangerous land, all the better for Tyrian and his companions to hide in. "You can tell them that if you wish, I doubt it will be enough for them to track me down. I'll go tonight when the sun goes down."

"Then..." Anna took a shuddering breath. "Will you join us for one last meal?" she offered. "Before you go?"

Jaune nodded and, with a gentle smile, sat cross-legged in the room with them.

/-/

It was gone midnight and closer to one in the morning when Jaune slipped out the tavern and into the night. There had been no attempts toward Anna and Celeste, the locals being much too afraid to make any moves with Yang around. In a way, her overly violent reaction had done an excellent job providing a disincentive to others, far greater than his more peaceful protest. It galled him that her results worked, even if he understood why.

People responded to force sooner than they did reason. It was cruel to say it, but it was the truth.

With his backpack on his back and some fresh water in his skin, Jaune picked his way to the eastern edge of the town and scaled up the wooden ladder onto the wall. The sentries were looking outward and there was no real reason for them to care at someone climbing the wall from within. He might just be coming up for the view for all they cared.

Though anyone watching might have felt some alarm when they saw him vault the wall with one hand on the edge and drop to the ground. Aura flexed to cushion his blow, and he fell to a crouch to drain off the excess energy. He could have dropped like a rock and made a small crater with his aura if he wished, but it would have been a pointless waste. And loud. There was no reason to risk that.

Instead, he picked himself up and calmly walked away from the town and toward the trees.

Where Yang awaited him.

"You're late," she said, pushing off the trunk she'd been resting against. "Don't you know the traditional time to sneak away is midnight? You've made me wait a whole hour. That's rude. You shouldn't keep a lady waiting."

"I wasn't aware we had an appointment. And Ruby?"

"Still in town. Someone has to keep the locals safe. It's just me and you." Yang cracked her knuckles. "Romantic, eh?"

"You can stop with the nonsense, Yang."

"Yeah?" Her smile fell. "Good. I assume, then, you know why I have to do this. Trust me, I take no pleasure in forcing people into the army. Problem is, if news gets out that we let you leave then all of a sudden we're the ones in trouble, and there's already a lot of tension between the military and huntsmen."

"Is there?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't know it, I suppose. Long story short, the army wants us fighting for them. We're stronger, faster, tougher, and they want to throw us at the faunus and tell us to go wild. Ozpin – that's the one in charge of us – doesn't agree. He says we're to protect people from Grimm, and most huntsmen and huntresses agree with him. Without us, there'll be even more villages destroyed."

"They're being destroyed anyway."

Yang grimaced. "I know. I know we failed you and also Anna and Celeste. I'm blonde, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. The reason we're failing is this stupid push and pull between the army. If we make one mistake, if a single huntsman steps out of line, then the Council of Vale claims we've broken the law and pressgangs us into the army as punishment. That's why your village fell, not because we couldn't be bothered to fight that day, but because the huntsmen or huntresses that would have saved you instead got convicted on bullshit charges and forced into the meatgrinder against Menagerie."

Jaune controlled his breathing, keeping it even. He set his pack down softly but didn't make any aggressive moves. Yang would have been too young to fight Grimm when Ansel fell, so it wasn't like she was directly responsible. There was no reason for him to get angry and become clouded, so he kept calm and let her work herself up.

"I can't let that happen to Ruby. Do you have any idea what they do to captured snipers? Ruby is quick, but she isn't as tough as I am." Yang's eyes flickered, turning from purple to red. It reminded him of someone. "I won't let that happen," she hissed. "So, like it or not, I'm taking you back to Vale."

Her breath came out raspy and angry.

In turn, Jaune inclined his head in a calm manner. "I respect your reasoning and your choice, Yang Xiao-Long. You're here with good intentions in defence of your sister. However, I also have a duty to the man who raised me, and that cannot be achieved if I am stuck fighting someone else's war. Tell me, will you be punished for failing to stop me? Will you be punished if the choice was taken out of your hands?"

Yang snorted. "You saying you'll beat me?"

"Yes."

"Ballsy fucker," she laughed. "But yeah, sure, if you can beat me then I can't do shit to stop you escaping, can I? Not my fault, but we'll still have to report you and you'll be a wanted criminal. Others will come after you. We can't not report you with this many witnesses."

And, left unsaid, was the fact that he wasn't their friend and he wasn't someone they'd be willing to risk their lives to keep safe from the authorities. He didn't think they hated him, but they had their own family to protect. He couldn't expect Ruby and Yang to keep his secrets if it meant putting one another at risk.

So, Jaune nodded, and stepped away from his backpack. "There will be no hard feelings, then."

Yang paused, nodded, then lunged. It was a direct attack, barrelling straight forward like a battering ram, with her fist cocked back and aura rippling across her skin. It was so direct, so telegraphed, that Jaune assumed it a feint and focused more on the hidden attack, only to almost fall to the first as she sent her fist careening into his guard.

The clap of their aura meeting sounded like thunder and sent Jaune skidding six feet backwards. His arms burned even though his aura had shielded him. It was the sheer force of the meeting that caused the air to heat up, and his skin tingled like it'd been out in the sun too long.

Such strength, he marvelled. I dare say she could shatter a tree with one blow!

Yang leapt and brought her fist down to follow up, but Jaune slid aside. She reeled and threw her elbow at his jaw, but he caught it with his palm and deflected rather than blocked it. Parrying with his forearms would soon lead to injury with her raw strength, so he gave ground and diverted instead, gently nudging her blows to go wide and slipping into the gaps between.

And there were many. Yang was all offence with little to no defence, relying on her aura and natural toughness to weather the storm of whatever he might throw back. It was a reckless gambit that would have seen a normal person dead in the first pass, but this woman could shrug off small arms fire. It didn't matter how many times he hit her if one good strike from her would lay him out cold.

The Iron Limb Technique would be ideal here, but I can't risk testing that without practice. He moved to a more balanced defence instead, deflecting her heavy blows and responding with kicks to her left leg, seeking to weak it through repeated force.

Yang grunted but didn't react to it, not even to switch her footing to avoid it. The damage was meaningless to her. He'd sooner have luck chipping away at a mountain. It reminded him of when he was younger and played videogames. Back then, certain characters in fighting games would have something known as "hyper armour" which was where a certain special move wouldn't be stopped if the character was hit. It was usually used for slow attacks, to balance them so they weren't utterly useless.

Yang wasn't slow or ponderous at all but she fought as if she had that hyper armour, as if she was fully prepared to take every hit if it meant landing one crushing blow on her opponent. After five minutes, he'd scored twenty hits and she none.

And yet she was still confident in victory.

This is ridiculous! And the longer this goes on, the more likely her sister responds.

The answer was obvious, and yet also dangerous. He could use his aura to deactivate hers and render her hyper armour null and void. It'd be a shock for sure, and he'd be able to break her leg with one blow and end the fight. The problem was what would come after. He would be a wanted criminal no matter what, but one among many, whereas a person who could teach others to ignore aura would be an asset to be hunted down.

They'd send their best against him.

But there was another option.

A riskier one.

If he'd already decided the Iron Limb Technique was too dangerous to use, and that was a Foundation level technique, then the thought of using an Incarnation level technique should have been a thousand times worse. And yet, technically, he'd already achieved the Demonic Gu Soul Technique in his moment of life or death struggle. The danger had been in accepting poisonous material into his body and aura and risking his life to suppress it.

Ducking under a wild swing, Jaune stepped into her guard and pressed his right hand to her stomach. His aura, finely controlled, flooded down the meridians in his arm and out his body, into her. He knew where her meridians were thanks to his studies of the meridian map with Master Ren, it being the same for every person, so he knew where to send his aura to connect to hers. It was not like what happened with the Aura Sealing Technique. That was like a knife severing meridians temporarily.

This was akin to a blood transfusion, him giving aura to her and letting it mesh with her system, practically boosting her aura supply with his own. It wasn't much, but it was enough that he felt a drain on his aura. Enough that hers might have jumped some 10% from what she'd lost.

Enough that she felt it.

Yang sucked in a breath at the alien sensation, smacked his arm aside and jumped back.

"W—What was— ugh." Her hand flew to her mouth, vomit bubbling past her fingers. "Blargh!" she cried, dropping to her knees and throwing up.

"My Semblance," he lied. "The fight is over, Yang. My Semblance makes my aura toxic and allows me to inject it into other people. It's debilitating now, but you can fight it with antibiotics. If you push me to keep using it, I could cause serious damage to you."

Yang gazed at him with angry red eyes, but her body was shaking, wracked with muscle craps and pain. "F—Fuck," she groaned. "How? Why? You never... You never used... it... ulp... before..."

"Where would I? On the Grimm? It's not much use against them, and I wasn't going to poison a bunch of civilians in a bar brawl. Vale doesn't want me, Yang. I'm a walking war crime." A little grandiose, but he hoped it would do to make his `Semblance` seem less than impressive. "I'm leaving now," he said, picking up his pack. "You shouldn't try and chase me. The cramps will stop you, and then you might not have the strength to make it back. Get some rest, take some medicine, and you'll be fine."

"You... You... Urghhh..." Yang spilled forward, forehead against the grass, heaving up her dinner onto the floor.

It hadn't been a lot of aura, so he was sure she would be fine. As a huntress, her own aura would be working to purge her system from the inside, and it was doing just that by forcing her to throw up like this. It was forcing her to expel his aura from her system. Once it was burned off, she'd be back on her feet but, had this been a real fight to the death, this would be an opportune time to strike her down.

This could be useful against Tyrian and Cinder, Jaune thought. But I'll need to learn the limits of it and how to use it more effectively. They already know about Shu Ren's aura sealing technique, so they won't want to let me get close to them as it is.

Ultimately, it wouldn't be enough. He would need to get stronger.

Jaune pressed his fist to his palm and bowed to Yang Xiao-Long. "You are a worthy opponent, but you need to rein in that temper of yours. I wouldn't have had such an easy time afflicting you with this if you'd taken me seriously."

Yang responded with a stream of vomit.

"Farwell. And please look after Anna and Celeste for me."

By the time Yang dragged herself back to the town and raised the alarm with Ruby, Jaune was long gone, using his aura as fuel to keep up a fast run for mile after mile after mile. His destination, east, toward the coast and, beyond that, Mistral, where the war was raging the hardest.

Next Chapter: 25th June

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