"Klein, I need your help with requesting something of my father…" Weiss asked her family butler as he brought her a morning coffee. "It's something that's been weighing on my mind since I got back to Atlas."
Klein who had been her butler for years eanging back to serving Winter and now for Weiss and Whitley; "Of course, Ms Schnee…I shall do all in my power to bring what you need to his attention." He responded with that same polite yet kindly tone he reserved for Weiss and the other young ones. "Though whether he will bloody listen is something else entirely…" He said with a quick change as his eyes flashed red to his Angry mood before turning back.
Weiss nodded with a serious look on her face; "Klein…Do you know anything about a group called Demon Hunters?" She asked him as she sipped her coffee.
Klein raised an eyebrow and took a seat across from her as he knew this wasn't as straightforward as it could be. "Well, that all depends on who you ask…Some people say they were divine paragons of virtue who were sworn to fight against the worst of those colluding with the darkness." Klein explained before changing his tone to a more serious one; "Though others tend to say that they are the Humans' version of the White Fang; Morally superior fearmongers who try to paint other Humans and Faunus as Demons while looking for a chance to prove their supposed greatness."
Weiss realised that the latter half of that comment certainly applied to the boy she met at the Fall of Beacon and she realised that if one could be that bad, it could make it worse when people recognise Jae if he shows himself again. "Do…They still exist now? With what happened at Beacon, I was wondering if they would resurface." She asked with some level of concern; Weiss had already filled Klein in on Jae and explained that regardless of whatever people said about him was exaggerated.
"Even as the war ended and Sparda became a memory; The only people who still outright called themselves Demon Hunters were the ones looking to scapegoat Faunus and people they didn't trust…Along with the older ones clinging to past glory and young ones looking to try and claim it." Klein said though noticed her expression and rested his hand on her wrist; "But trust in your friend, Ms. Schnee…You said he was as strong as he was stubborn, correct? Then have faith in him…" He reassured her with an almost fatherly smile on his face.
"Alright, please pass this onto my father…Tell him that anyone claiming to be from the Demon Hunters is to never approach me…I don't want him ever coming back to finish what he started." Weiss requested of her butler and gave the description for Jaune Arc from when she saw him back at the Fall of Beacon.
"I will do my best…"
—Meanwhile in Anima—
"What's the plan, Ruby?" Jae asked as he pulled his gun out and shot an approaching Lancer out of the sky; "Because we got more coming!" It had been a familiar sight of Grimm being ready to attack another town during their travels to Haven.
"Ren, you and me will take to the trees or the rooftops and we can snipe the Grimm from the front!" Ruby ordered as she used her Semblance to hide in the treeline and Ren did the same but hopped up onto the rooftops.
"Alright, while they do that…Nora, you'll hang back with me and we'll take out any that come into the town's gates." Jae decided to summon up his razorwire gloves that he labeled as Anansi; "You handle where Ruby and Ren are and I'll take care of the rear gate…Thankfully at least this town has the common sense to make walls."
Nora saluted and went off to join Ruby and Ren as a pack of Ursa and Beringels showed up. "You got it, Jae! I'll help blast those Grimm back with the others."
Jae nodded as he saw the numbers of Creeps and lancers trying to rush the other way through the trees and towards the gate. "This shouldn't take too long anyway…" He said as he began walking towards the group with the threads fully extended and glimmering in the light.
The Grimm felt themselves drawn and their agitation only grew as Jae extended his weapon hands; Each movement from him with his gloved hands was like an conductor of an orchestra moving in time to a divine music sheet, though the alert and the anger set in when each sway of his hands and the flex of his fingers made one after another fall to a different fate.
Jae smirked as he watched the Lancers bisect and fall apart while the Creeps were reduced to diced up pieces, the herds slowly thinned as their attention became less towards getting in as they were trying to avoid the glimmering sparks that tore their cohorts apart. He rushed forward and swung his hands to start catching more of the Grimm in his path and eventually reduced the groupd down to nothing. "So much for vicious Grimm…." He remarked to himself as he dispersed the Grimm and headed back towards the Gate while surrounded by the collapsed piles of black smoke but stopped when he heard a scream and saw a Nevermore overhead.
Said Giant bird Grimm had managed to grab a girl on the way back home, drawn to her anxieties and had started to take her higher and higher up so that it disappeared over the treeline.
"Someone…Anyone...Please…Help me…"
Once he saw the girl flailing in the Nevermore's talon, he summoned up Mezzalom and used the impromptu chain knives as tethering hooks to skim through the trees until he got high enough to swing into the giant bird itself, using the daggers to "pilot" the bird lower until he grabbed the girl before using Electra's lightning shot to paralyse it on the trip all the way down. "Hold on tight!" He ordered the girl as he made sure she didn't fall from his arms as they descended.
The girl wasn't about to argue on that as she clung on to the boy who rescued her and held on for dear life as they descended back down to the ground. "Th…Thank you…I was half thinking that I wouldn't make it."
"Hey, it's nothing to worry about…That's what we're here for." Jae said as he carefully lowered them back down to the ground and helped to set the girl down. "Now, come on…We've gotta get you back to the others in town." He remarked as he dissipated his weapons to escort her back.
"You…Look familiar, don't I know you from somewhere?" The girl asked as she kept following Jae back through the trees; Something nagging at her mind about the similarly aged boy but it was still vague on what exactly.
"Maybe one of the other villages nearby started talking about my friends? We've been travelling along this path for weeks to get to Haven Academy." Jae suggested to her as they saw the town gates in the distance; The sound of talking could be heard to him as they got closer but he had a reason to hurry...The girl's dark hair and vibrant eyes were a haunting reminder of a familiar face that tugged on his chest when he looked at her.
"Maybe…Would you…" She started to ask and felt a little shy when it came to actively asking this to her saviour. "Would you and your friends like to stay for the night? Since you were helping our village from the Grimm then it'd be the least that we could do for you all." She asked him as she wanted to repay him for saving her…Among other things.
By the time that the two got back to the village, there was a group of villagers talking to Ruby and the other remnants of JNPR as they thanked them expressively. "Truly, you saved our homes and stopped those monsters from making things worse." A tall man remarked with a grateful tone to Ruby.
"We're just doing what we can to help, sir." Ruby stated with a small smile and looked around as she started to wonder about Jae. "Have you seen our friend around? He was helping with watching the rear of the town."
"I can't say that I-Juno!" The man said as he rushed over to the girl as both Jae and the now named Juno came back into view. "Oh, thank the Gods that you're safe!" He said happily as he hugged her tightly.
"I'm okay, dad…Jae was able to save me from the Grimm that caught me." Juno said calmly as she returned the embrace with her father. "He managed to swing up into the trees and catch me before I fell."
Jae smiled a little as he felt satisfied that the girl could get back to her dad. "It's really nothing sir, I only did what I thought was…right?" He said with his attempt at being humble though felt a little off-put when he saw the father looking at him with a far more knowing expression as they walked back to the group.
"Jae, what happened? You vanished out of nowhere and we couldn't find you at the gate." Ren asked as they went to go touch base with him.
"I was helping to defend the back gate into the village but I saw a Nevermore take a girl out and into the sky…I went after them." Jae explained as he looked back to her as Juno explained the details to the villagers. "But on the plus side, she's able to give us a place to stay for the night so we don't have to camp out."
"That's great! Now we can sleep in actual beds and not worry about the rain!" Nora said with a more cheerful tone now that she knew that they both had shelter and not worry about the wilderness.
"You need to leave….Now…" The man came back with his eyes purely directed at Jae is though he had a look of recognition and an emotion that he recognised all too well: Disgust.
"Wait, what?" Ruby asked as she walked to the man with confusion; "Hold on, I thought you were okay with us staying here for the night? I promise, we won't be too much trouble." She added to try convincing them that they weren't a problem.
"Ruby, I think we outta go…" Jae said to try dissolving the budding talk since he knew that this was going to go a certain way and he didn't want to see how far they could push it.
"I know where I recognised you from, boy…You're that kid who was broadcast all over the place at the Vytal tournament…" The man cut Jae's suggestion off; "You were that vile monster who mercilessly tore that innocent girl apart just because she beat you."
Quiet murmurings were shuffling through the crowd of formerly thankful villagers as the tension started to layer slowly.
"Look, that wasn't all him!" Ruby tried to stick up for him; "Someone was there, they messed with his head and made him go crazy."
"Yeah, Jae's not a monster or a bad guy!" Nora chimed in as she got in front of Jae defensively. "Sure he's a little stubborn and he can be a bit of a dumdum sometimes but he's also a good person."
Ren nodded in agreement; "We're trying to find the person who was responsible for what happened…Not just for what happened to him but also so that what we lost never happens again to the other school." He explained with the utmost of seriousness in his voice.
"And yet you stand there to defend this boy…" One person from the crowd called out.
"That monster!"
"Murderer!"
"Demon…"
Ruby could tell things were going south and she ultimatelydecided that she wasn't going to let this carry on. "He's not a murderer! He's a loving person and he's had to live with things since the Fall of Beacon…We ALL have!"
"That's only because it's what he's MADE you believe you think." one of the older villagers remarked as they stepped forward; "Demons like that monster are heartless, violent and manipulative…I've seen plenty of those poisonblooded beasts spin their words around and entice others into doing their bidding…" She said with a narrowed glare like she was permanently tasting lemon. "If you three ladies know what's good for you…You'll kill that vile creature in his sleep and get far away while you still have your sense."
"I'm not a girl." Ren stated with a deadpan expression but his innards felt like a boiling pot at not just getting labelled but by listening to Jae getting demonised. "And I can't believe that someone like you could even think those things after the efforts he went to make sure you all lived."
"I've had enough of this!" Nora stomped forward with anger burning on her face; "Having a problem with Jae because of what happened in the Tournament is one thing…But I will NOT have you spitting such horrible, HORRIBLE things at someone that I care about!" She yelled as she then pointed to Juno; "If he's really as bad as you say he is then why would he go and save that girl from the Grimm?!"
"He must have capitalised on Juno's hospitality!" A stern faced looking woman called out as she leered at Jae with the same kind of contempt that dog mess felt at the bottom of a shoe. "She's such a sweet girl and she is naive enough to make not only prey for herself but if she welcomed THAT thing into our town…He'd turn us all into his obedient slaves!"
"Look, I just tried to help…We all did! If you want us to leave then that's okay, we don't want an-GH!" Jae tried to persuade them but he felt his cheek erupt in pain as a rock came out of the crowd and smacked him hard, it was enough for blood to form a droplet under the bruise and it was enough that Nora finally decided she had enough.
"Oh, that's IT! I am not just gonna stand there and let you guys brutalise someone who's done nothing but help you!" Nora screamed at the crowd as another rock flew past Jae's head and missed. "I'm gonna make you guys say bye bye to your le-!"
"Nora!" Jae clasped a hand on her shoulder with a rather prominent growl in his voice; "If these people don't want us…me specifically here…Then let's just leave them." He said with a quiet and shaky tone. With a glare that barely contained his own anger, the others and the crowd could see his eyes practically glowing blue and his irises became slits like a reptile's for a brief moment before turning back to normal. "They don't want us here…So let's go before they attract Grimm to themselves."
Ruby wanted to say something, anything to the crowd to persuade them but Ren gently placed a hand on her back as they walked away. "But…But we helped them…I thought that they'd be happy that they don't have to run."
"I know…But it's like they said; They saw what happened at the Tournament…Something like that's too difficult to dissuade without anything to back it up." Ren explained as they headed for the gate, noticing Nora had holstered Magnhild in a huff.
"But they don't know Jae like we do! If they just give us a chance then they can see what we mean…" Ruby tried to argue it but then saw Juno running towards them as they got to the gates.
"I'm…I'm sorry that they acted like that…A lot of people in town lost loved ones to the Grimm and they just…" Juno tried to apologise but noticed that Nora and Ren were still hurt by their words and Ruby was still trying to process what happened.
"A lot of people lost family and friends to the Grimm…We know that better than anyone…But that still doesn't give them the right to treat Jae like he was the one to kill them!" Nora snapped as she was hard pressed to give out sympathy.
"You got saved by Jae…How come you didn't say anything?" Ren asked, curious about why she of all people didn't try to oppose the villagers.
"I tried to…Everyone just got so caught up when they started to recognise him from the broadcasts…But I do have to ask him something though." Juno explained and then looked to Jae who was trying to nurse the wound on his cheek. "Something that I couldn't ask before…" She asked him as the group could see why Jae wouldn't look her in the eye.
This girl was around a few inches shorter than Ren but her maroon hair hung down to her shoulders and her lime green eyes seemed to radiate a sense of worry and of curiosity.
"Okay…What exactly do you want to ask me? If it's about how I get through all those words and not get angry, then the most optimistic way I can put it is years of practice." Jae remarked glibly as he finally looked up at her.
"The day that Beacon Academy fell was the day that Pyrrha Nikos died…I remember she was on your team." Juno said with a hint of sadness in her voice; "Did you…Were you there…When it happened?"
Hearing that phrase made Nora and Ren uncomfortable since they knew what kind of subject that was plus the fact that it still hurt knowing that she was gone, Ruby on the other hand had a very visible look of dismay since she had been there to see what happened and she still couldn't believe it.
"I was…" Jae said with a soft but morose voice; "I fought to do what I could to protect the school…I did everything I could to stop her from getting hurt…I struggled to catch up when she ran off…And I was there…unable to do anything when…When it all happened." He explained in a more flat tone like he had been in a trance, even retracing his old steps did nothing but drag his nerves across shards of glass.
Juno listened to him and her tears that formed in her eyes were wiped away by her hand, before anyone could react; her expression changed to that woman's from the village earlier as she swung her palm down to smack Jae in the face…Hard. "Then you clearly didn't do enough! She was a good person! My cousin was one of the best warriors out there and you just sat there, watching and doing nothing!" She yelled at him before quietening down into a dull whisper; "Just go…get out of here before I tell them what you told me…"
"You're…Pyrrha's cousin?" Nora asked as she was still stuck in a whiplash from watching Jae getting his cheek bruised more but not even moving and from hearing that this woman was Pyrrha's relative.
"Was…Now she's dead and it's all because of HIM!" Juno said bitterly; her maroon hair tousled by her outburst and her lime green eyes were now shining with nothing but furious resentment towards her former savior. "If I should be completely honest? She shouldn't have died…You should have."
Jae got up from his seat and then silently left the town without even looking back at her, the other three members of Team RNJR quickly followed as Juno watched them leave.
The girl quickly picked up another rock and threw it at Jae from behind, though her aim was off so it only bounced off a tree trunk instead of hitting someone. "You hear me?! Pyrrha didn't deserve to die! She was the best thing out of your team and you let that fall to nothing!" She screamed out to the shrinking team in the distance before finally collapsing to the ground and started to sob loudly.
On top of a ridge that oversaw the village and what had happened; Qrow watched with a small sense of sympathy for Jae, he had wanted to jump in and help them but he knew from experience that he would make it worse. "I guess some traditions still hold on after decades…Higanbana's next…That should be able to help them get shelter nearby." He thought to himself as he cut down another Beowolf that came close by to him and then saw a black bird fly past and smirked a little; "Looks like we're about due a reunion…"
—Later, That Night—
"Hello Brother…." Raven greeted with a smirk on her face as she had her mask to the side and noticed that Qrow was wandering over with a drink in hand. "Good to see you found my offering."
"Raven." Qrow replied with a more curt tone; The two were never on anything resembling good terms but they remained civil, however with recent events, what he heard about her offer to Jae AND Ozpin's mission on top of that made it difficult to be cordial. "So…What do you want? You don't normally make courtesy calls…" He snarked and gestured to her mask.
With a disgruntled sigh, Raven moved her helmet over and let him sit; "A girl that wants to stop and see her family is suddenly a problem for you now?" She asked and crossed her arms. "Besides, I think you could probably benefit from a friendly face, right about now."
Qrow rolled his eyes at her statement; "Family, huh? Well…Ain't gonna stop you if you want to…But you're not exactly a friendly face, so how about you get to the point…Unless you plan on keeping these coming." He snarked and jingled the icy drink in his hand. "So…Again, what do you want?"
"Does she have it?" Raven asked with a serious look on her face as she watched Qrow sipping his drink.
Qrow looked to Raven with a mix of apprehension and exasperation. "Raven…Did you know that Yang lost her arm?" He asked her with the harshest glare he could.
"That's-"
"A rhetorical question...I KNOW you know! It's just pretty damn obnoxious that you have the audacity to talk about family yet run around like your own daughter doesn't even exist." Qrow sniped at her with another hefty swig of his drink.
Raven smacked the table lightly as she snapped back; "I saved her! Along with the boy that she had goo goo eyes over!" She remarked like she was in the right on this.
"Yeah, once…Because that was your rule, right? You're really doing wonders for that Mom of the Year Award, sis." Qrow smirked as he then remembered something; "As for the kid? I'm surprised you went out of your way to protect someone voluntarily…I mean…Unless you were looking to get something out of it?"
Raven exhaled through her nose when she realised he nailed it on the head but not all the way; "I simply have an eye for talent…I know that a kid who has Ozpin's eye on him is someone worth keeping track on."
"Oh, really? And judging by the fact that he's sticking with the Beacon side means that you really sold him on the idea?" Qrow smirked as he decided to rub in her failures. "So…What exactly was this "Deal of the century?" that you tried to coerce him into? A high place in the tribe? Guidance from an expert?"
"I think that you should keep your nose out of business that doesn't concern you…Especially when it's regarding the family you ran away from!" Raven snapped at him as she gripped her helmet in frustration at the words from obnoxious man called her little brother.
"Man, who'da thunk it…Me being the one on top and YOU getting rejected by a boy? Time's have really changed from Beacon, si-" Qrow laughed as he brought the drink to his mouth but felt her hand grip his wrist.
"I warned you that Beacon would fall and it did! I told you that Ozpin's plans would fail and they have! Now he's dead with no Maiden to guard the Relic and that Demon sword he kept in his vault! Tell me, how well did keeping that old thing work out for him?" Raven growled under her breath as she kept his attention. "Now it's your turn…Does. Salem. Have. The Relic?"
Qrow shook his arm when Raven let go and looked at her in confusion. "You're asking about that? I thought you didn't believe in that stuff…You said it was all fairy tales and superstitious crap."
Raven then traced her finger on the table; "I just want to know what we're up against…"
"Oh yeah? And which WE are you referring to? Because in all this time that I know you…You've always looked out for yourself AND you only got in with other people when it suited you." Qrow asked with a hint of scepticism.
"The Weak Die, The Strong Survive…That's how it normally goes…And would you really believe me if I wanted another stronger person on my side of things?" Raven asked him rhetorically and crossed her arms. "It's not really my fault if the boy was too obsessed to see it."
—Meanwhile on the other side of the Inn—
Jae groaned as he was still stuck in the halfway point between asleep and awake. Normally if he felt this then he'd just go out for a little to train but for some reason, he felt a weight continuing to press down on him; He had chalked it to the guilt he felt from earlier that day but that didn't explain him feeling it physically, he reached up and tried to push off whatever was on top of him but all he could feel was…soft?
"Nnngehe, tickles~" A voice made a quiet but sleepy giggle and the weighted lump squirmed about.
"Weird…The hell's this?" Jae thought to himself as he was still trying to fight himself away and tried to get another hold to pull off whatever this was. This time, it was a palm sized handful that earned him the sound of something gasping in his ear and THAT was enough to fully wake him up. "Wh-Nora?!" He yell-whispered as it was late and it looked like Ruby and Ren were still asleep in their own beds.
"Not morning…Lemme sleep more…" Nora groaned while pouting as she rubbed her eyes; The Valkyrie was currently sprawled on top of him like a redheaded starfish and snuggled up into his neck.
"Okay, Nora…You picked a hell of a time for sleepwalking! Now come on, go back to your own bed and sleep…We have to be out early in the morning." Jae grumbled as he was still trying to understand why Nora was suddenly so clingy towards him.
"But if I get up…You'll just leave…" Nora said quietly as she peered up to look at him; "I know you go out to train at night…But you can take one night just to sleep in a bed…Can't you?" She asked him with a noticeable level of concern in her voice.
"Nora…I do it so I can make sure to protect you guys…And to make sure Grimm won't attack you all in the night…" Jae explained, though he could tell from Nora's stare that this particular excuse wasn't going to fly.
"Is this about what happened today at the town?" Nora asked as she sat up, no longer sprawled on top of him but now straddling his waist between her thunder thighs. "You shouldn't blame yourself for that because everything that was said and done back there was REALLY out of line!" She whisper-ranted as during that whole ordeal, she was ready to all-out break someone's legs.
"That doesn't mean they were wrong though…" Jae admitted with a note of sadness in his voice; "They have every reason to distrust me…It was why I kept my distance from that Mayor when we did those missions and I got it in my head that people would favour you guys more if I weren't around you...Today kinda proved my point."
Nora glanced away as she realised that whatever Jae felt during what the townsfolk said and with that girl at the gate, it ran real deep. "Okay…I won't pry in until you're ready to talk about it…But please…Just do me a favour and stay here with me? I've been worrying all day about you and I don't want you to sleep alone with those nightmares." Nora asked him as she lay back down with her head resting on his chest.
Jae felt himself falter for a moment but the fact that Nora's slow breathing and her body rising up and down on him was practically lulling him as he felt his eyes grow heavier. "Alright…I'll stay here tonight…Anything to help you guys out." He promised her before finally falling into dreams while Nora gazing at his gradually sleeping body.
"Jae…Me and Ren, we're both here for you just like you and Ruby are for us, you mean more to us than you could ever imagine…That's because we care so much, you dummy…" Nora whispered as she finally rested her head on his chest and started to hum a song to help lull him back to sleep. "For a while~ Thing's had seemed so different~ Like it's the same but brand new~" She quietly hummed as she felt his breathing slow further; "I can't believe it~ When did I start to fall...for...you~" She finished as she heard his gentle snoring, smiling to herself and then leaned up to lightly tap his nose with her finger.
"Boop~"