11 - ||

After having made it back to our hotel and checked into our room, forgoing our standard sleepwear due to the fact that this was still a mission, even if it was in a hotel room and thus required us to be ready for combat at a moment's notice, I shut the door, ensuring the deadlock slid shut with a click.

"Okay Ren, story time." I said simply gesturing with my hands for him to start talking. "What the hell was that back there?"

Ren sighed loudly, sitting up from where he had been lying down on his bed. "I did say I'd explain. What do you want to know?"

I gave Ren a blunt look. "Oh gee, I dunno? What was that place? How about who's Li Shang? Since when have you apparently been in hiding? How the bleeding heck did that Pai Sho den disappear behind us?

Ren stared at me silently for a moment before closing his eyes, nodding his head. "Okay, but first there are some things you need to understand. There are some things I can't go into, for everyone's safety.

The place we were in has many names. I call it the Den. It's a meeting point for people who belong to a certain…group. People like Li Shang."

"So Shang's a member of the group?" I asked, seeking to clarify.

Ren scoffed. "Well calling him a 'member' may be underselling things a bit but essentially yes. The thing is the Den doesn't really…exist in a single location."

"What?"

"It's not somewhere so much as everywhere?"

"That makes no more sense than in did before!"

"Okay think like this. The Den exists outside of regular space, somehow. Don't ask me how they do it, it just does. There's normally no way to enter the Den from the regular world. But there is a door to get in. Thing is, the door doesn't stay in the same place. It moves, near constantly really, hence why no one can find it."

"Unless someone tells you where it's going to be." I realized, thinking back to Ren's original message from Shang.

Ren nodded. "Precisely. But Shang can only hold the door in place for so long. Hence why I was so anxious to get here."

I nodded in understanding. "Okay, that makes sense. Sort of. But it doesn't answer the question of who Shang is, or why you're apparently in hiding?"

Ren hesitated for a moment as if struggling with how to put it into words.

My birth was something of a…problem. I wasn't supposed to have been born. But I was. Which was a problem…there. So to stop anyone from discovering my existence I was handed off to Li Shang, my parents…well I guess the best word for it would be bodyguard. I was told I was an orphan, taken in by Shang to be raised to one day take his place."

I raised my eyebrows. This was….considerably more than what I had first envisioned.

Ren continued on. "I lived like this for several years, Shang teaching me how to fight among other things until a…an attack from one of my family's rivals killed both of them. Shang rescued me and went on the run from my parent's killers.

We moved from place to place until one day Shang set me up with a place to live while he had to go…address…certain issues. That was where I met Nora and her family. Shang was gone on the job for a few months but that was expected."

I blinked. I was wondering how they could have met with Ren moving all over the place.

And a few months? Where the hell did Shang go?

"Later on Shang showed up to retrieve me and Nora's mother happened upon him. Thought he was a kidnapper." Ren winced at the memory. "It didn't end well for anyone involved. Long story short Shang skipped town, left me with the Valkyrie's and I was sort of taken in by them. Enter Lie Ren."

Well that's one mystery solved.

I went to continue on questioning Ren when the unmistakable sound of Nora's thumping tread approached our room.

Ren spun to look at me, terror in his eyes. "Don't tell Nora." He pleaded, imploring me with his eyes. "Don't let her know."

I looked back at Ren, shocked by the suddenness. "Ren…"

My teammate barged over me, continuing on. "Jaune don't make me tell her."

"You told me!" I hissed back at him even as the footsteps got closer.

"Only because I had no other choice in the matter!" He hissed back, eyes constantly flicking back and forth towards the door. "Swear it to me Jaune!"

I stared at him, stunned into silence.

The deadbolt slid out of place, neither Ren nor I having touched it.

Pyrrha.

"Jaune!" Ren hissed, lunging for me before stopping just as the door swung open revealing Nora and Pyrrha on the other side.

"Howdy partners!" Nora crowed, miming pistols with her hands and making firing noises. "How was your day as deputies?"

Ren's eyes flicked towards me, silently begging.

I looked at Ren. Then I turned to face Nora and Pyrrha. "Oh it was alright I guess, we had to turn back early because I still felt a little motion sick." I said casually, scratching the back of my head as I did so.

Ren sagged forward almost imperceptibly in relief before he lazily turned to face the girls as well. "Yeah, I had to drag him half the way here." He added, shaking his head in exasperation.

Pyrrha stepped forward concern on her face. "Are you feeling alright Jaune? Would you like me to go and find a doctor?"

"Ooh, or do you want me to go make some pancakes?" Nora exclaimed bounding forward as she did so. "Those cure everything you know!"

I shook my head, holding my hands up in surrender. "No, don't worry about it. All I need is some sleep that's all. Tomorrow morning I'll be right as rain." I promised, smiling as best as I could, trying not to betray the lie I was telling.

Pyrrha looked at me dubiously. "If you're sure…" She ventured, looking at me as if she half-expected me to spontaneously keel over at any second now.

Thankfully at that point Ren decided to cut in. "So how was the patrol of the outer defences?" he asked from his seat on his bed, addressing the girls.

Nora's face lit up. "Oh my dust, it was AWESOME!" Nora squealed, jumping up into the air in excitement as she did so. "First she was all like 'grr' so we were all like 'ooh' and then she was like 'hmph' and then we were…"

"What Nora is trying to say," Pyrrha interjected, ignoring the outraged squawk of "HEY!" from the bubbly berserker as my partner cut her off, "Is that we came across some Grimm and tracked them down to near the outer limits. Sheriff Lin tagged one with a tracker so we can follow it to the others in the morning."

I raised a brow at that and let out a whistle. "Well at least you girls had fun." I said lightly, more than a bit amazed at the ingenuity of the town's defence.

Nora giggled. "Hey look at the bright side, tomorrow we can all go together and beat up Grimm."

Ren let out a short laugh at that. "Sounds fun."

I chuckled before a yawn escaped my mouth. "And that is a sign that it's time for us to go to bed." I said shaking my head lightly. "G'night everyone."

"Good night fearless leader."

"Sleep tight, fearless leader."

"See you in the morning, Fearless leader!"

I growled half-heartedly. "I thought I said…not to…call…me…"

Darkness.

The next morning, one shower and meal later I found myself standing in Sherrif Jinshu Lin's office once more, alongside my team as she gestured at a projector screen she had linked to her scroll.

"The signal from the tracker leads me to believe the Grimm that have been harassing the trade convoys are based here, near this outcropping." Lin began, gesturing at said outcropping on the map. "There haven't been any fatalities yet, but if the attacks keep up someone's luck is going to run out. That's where we come in."

I nodded in agreement. "What's the plan?"

Cobalt stepped in at that, indicating the area the tracker was in. "There's only one way in or out of that outcropping, so the plan is simple, we go in, kill them all, and then go home."

I blinked for a moment before shaking my head in bemusement.

Simple. I like that.

Lin gave us all a brief inspection before seeming to meet her requirements. "Well you at least look like you're prepared, I suppose that's something." She stood up and threw open the door striding outside. "C'mon, we're burning daylight here. Those Grimm aren't going to kill themselves you know."

I blinked at that.

I'd heard that before.

That turn of phrase.

But where?

I wracked my memory for a few moments, still following after the Sheriff as I did so before coming up empty.

Ah it'll come to me.

Still annoying as anything though.

I felt someone nudge me and I looked up to find that we were standing by the gates that led outside Dragon's Passing, Cobalt having gone forward to talk to the person manning the gate controls.

Sure enough the massive bolts holding the gate in place retracted into the ground, allowing the doors to swing out just enough to allow us through the gates.

Lin turned towards us, one brow raised as she did so. "I hope you kids are fine with a little running through the forest."

I grinned at that.

Sounds like home.

Pyrrha must have caught my expression and giggled slightly. "Something tells me we're not going to have any problems on that front Sheriff Lin."

Nora let out a snort of laughter at that which she quelled with a yelp when Lin's gaze turned towards her. Ren's slight smirk was far more subtle in comparison.

I cracked my neck, one hand coming down to rest on Candidus Mors' hilt where it was still strapped at my side.

Well then.

Let's go hunting.

We moved through the forest at a rapid pace, blurring past trees and shrubs as we steadily made our way towards the targeted area.

We'd be there fairly soon if I was judging our pace correctly.

"Thank you." A voice appeared by my side and I spun holding back the fist that was about to strike Ren at the last moment.

Blast it, make a damn noise why don't you!?

"For not telling Nora." Ren said from his place at my side, close enough that he didn't risk being overheard by the others. "I never got to thank you for last night so…thanks." Ren finished, his gaze still focused on the path ahead, not looking at me in the slightest.

I bit back a growl. "Ren I understand that this is something of a big deal for you but I didn't appreciate the way you kind of sprung the whole 'don't tell our teammates' thing on me at the last second."

Ren looked at me, surprise in his eyes. Then shame and he turned his head back to face the road once more. "Jaune, listen…"

I wasn't having any of it. "No you listen Ren!" I hissed back at him pausing for a moment as Cobalt turned to look back at us mid-leap, acting as if I wasn't talking before turning back to face Ren when the deputy turned away. "Now if they were just random people, sure I could understand, but this is Nora and Pyrrha we're talking about here. You know, Nora, remember her? The person who's going to be your partner for the rest of your time at Beacon, your best friend even?"

"Jaune you don't understand." Ren replied, something far harsher than his usual tone lying under the surface.

"Clearly!" I replied. "So what am I not understanding!?"

"Because if Nora finds out the only thing she's going to do is get herself killed!" Ren snarled at me, teeth bared like a wild animal. "First thing she'll do after finding out is go pick a fight with them, and they will tear her apart! I've already lost my parents to them Jaune, I'm not going to lose her too!"

There was silence as we continued moving, Ren clearly having said what he wanted to say and I…

What was I supposed to say in response to something like that?

Sorry?

It didn't quite seem to cut it.

Before I could get a chance to say anything further Sheriff Lin raised a fist, signalling to stop and we all slid to a halt.

"We're here." She said tersely, Cobalt unslinging his rifle and cocking it as she continued to talk. "Cobalt, you hold the chokepoint, ensure nothing makes it past us."

"You got it boss." Cobalt acknowledged with a salute before he took up a position, rifle aimed at the chokepoint.

"You four, you're with me clearing out anything still inside the area." Lin continued, the reels on her armour steadily unspooling as she talked, wrapping around her arms before they trailed onto the ground.

I drew my sword smoothly, tossing the sheath into the air and threading my arm through the grips as it popped into a shield.

Damn that looked awesome.

The others made their own preparations for the battle to come, Magnhild turning into its Warhammer form with a twirl, Stormflower sliding into ready hands and Miló and Akoúo̱ now gripped tightly in my partner's gauntlets.

Ready.

"On my mark." Lin stated, moving her arms, the cables by her side moving in a loose mimicry of her own movements.

Once more into the breach.

"Mark!" Lin snapped and her cables lanced forward like bullets, slamming into the body of the trees in front of us before they retracted, sending Lin soaring forward like a rocket with a roar, the rest of us charging in after her.

The first Grimm to get into my range was a creep that's loud screech was cut short by my boot colliding solidly with its face sending it crashing backwards into its brethren.

I ducked slightly and felt Ren's hand as he vaulted over me, slamming a Beowolf into the dirt, shredding its form with a flurry of gunfire.

I impaled another snarling beast to the ground with one strike before I reversed my grip, surging forward with a great slice as it cut through yet another beowolf.

Who's next?

I saw Nora leap off a Creep's face as she flew towards me, her hammer drawn back for a mighty swing and I ducked, just as the swipe of an Ursa's claws appeared where my head had previously been.

That was close.

Thank you for the training, Peter.

And I guess the Old Bastard as well.

The Ursa's upper body was reduced to a consistency of fine mist as Magnhild powered through the Grimm as if it wasn't even there. Nora flashed me a grin before bounding away towards where I'd last seen Ren.

At least I think he was there.

I ducked as a decaying Creep body ploughed through a number of Grimm, whooshing by me before it slammed into the cliff face by my side with enough force to embed the Grimm into it, a shoeprint clearly visible in the mask.

Yep.

He's definitely over there.

And kicking some serious ass by the look of it.

Not looking forward to the talk I'm going to have with him afterwards.

The distinctive sound of Miló firing drew my attention to Pyrrha taking on a pack of Beowolves with ease, the rifle smoothly transitioning into a blade, removing an arm before piercing through the skull of another Grimm as a javelin.

I caught sight of one of the Beowolves stalking through the corpses, clearly aiming to attack from my partner's rear. Its maw opened, drooling as it leapt into the air.

It let out a yelp as I backhanded it with my shield so hard that some of its teeth broke off. I spun under its sloppy attempt to keep me from getting any closer and bisected it with a single slice, its torso dropping to the floor as its legs collapsed.

To my left!

I flipped backwards as a massive Boarbastusk thrust its tusks where I had been not moments earlier before it continued to charge forward, making its way towards the only exit, Deputy Cobalt picking a string of Nevermore from the sky with great precision. The deputy's rifle clicked empty and he went to reload.

He hasn't seen the Borbatusk coming!

I watched as the large Boarbatusk curled itself up into a ball and launched itself at Deputy Cobalt as a whirling dervish of destruction. But before I could so much as utter a warning Cobalt casually threw out a hand and the Grimm let out a squeal of shock as it slammed into a shimmering wall of energy that appeared before it.

A barrier semblance. Impressive.

Then Cobalt continued to reload his rifle and having slapped in a fresh clip of rounds began firing it once more. The bullets zoomed through the barrier as if it wasn't even there before detonating with considerably more force than they did before

My eyes went considerably wider.

A barrier that impedes enemy attacks but not your own while at the same time severely augmenting them?

Oh that is so broken.

Granted it doesn't appear to be omni-directional but with a kill box like this it doesn't need to be.

Okay, how's the sheriff doing then?

I turned to see the flailing body of a Deathstalker slam into a herd of Ursa Major with the force of a bomb before Lin was zooming forward, the cable retracting rapidly and pulling her back into the thick of the fight. The cable in her free hand contorted impossibly and what was once slackened cable became a sharpened scythe, slicing through the Grimm as if she was separating the wheat from the chaff. A Beowolf leapt up to attack her from behind only to cleanly be decapitated by the short arm blade the cable morphed into before shifting again piercing into the ground like a lance and ripping a dying Creep from the earth.

It was magnificent to behold. It akin to watching quicksilver, ever changing, always flowing into yet another form or shape, each one as useful or devastating as the last.

As the last Grimm sought to take flight and escape Lin's cables lashed out, wrapping around the sturdy branch of one of the nearby trees and propelling her into the sky after it. With a gesture one of her cables circled around the monster in mid-air. Then she pulled it tight.

The Sheriff landed lightly on her feet, one of the spurs on her boots giving off a metallic 'ting' as she did so, the cables retracting themselves back into their respective reels.

The rain of Grimm chunks that had preceded her descent were in the process of slowly dissipating, their small size hastening the decay process.

I swallowed.

I guess that's why there's only two people for the whole town.

"Nicely done kids." Lin said, walking forward as if she didn't look like something out of the latest Song Carpenter horror fest, the black blood of the Grimm slowly dissipating into the air with every step.

Pyrrha stepped forward examining the cables as they were dragged back into their appropriate reels, looking at them with an odd expression. "How do you move it like that? Some from of magnetism?" she asked, gesturing at the cables.

Lin let out a bark of laughter at that. "Magnetism. Ha! Not quite kid." She said shaking her head with a wry chuckle before looking over Pyrrha for a moment. "I can see what Port was talking about. Can I ask you a favour kid?"

As Pyrrha went to reply I interjected, something she'd said leaping out at me. "You know Peter?" I asked, shocked.

Lin shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah he was a friend of mom back in the day. He helped set up Dragon's Crossing in the first place you know."

No, no I did not know that.

I mean I knew Peter went off adventuring a lot when he was younger but this was one of the first times I'd ever heard about from someone other than him or the Old Bastard.

That and Peter wasn't really in the habit of using names to describe places during his adventure.

Or people for that matter.

Generally it was, "the town where we had that stupendous pot roast at the tavern" or "the old main who smelled distinctly of cabbages."

Not exactly the most easily understood of descriptions.

Lin turned back to face Pyrrha, drawing my mind back from its inner contemplation. "Would you care to spar with me for a moment?"

Pyrrha looked shocked at her suggestion. "In the middle of a Grimm nest?" She asked incredulous.

I heard Cobalt cough at that. "Was a Grimm nest. Key word: Was." He said dryly, gesturing to the many decaying corpses around him as a clear illustration of his point.

"Peter asked me to spar with you to help, in his words, 'illustrate a point, my dear' so that's why I'm asking." Lin explained.

Illustrate a point?

I winced.

Oh I don't see this ending to well for Pyrrha.

Maybe if I can discreetly signal to her how much of a bad idea this is shaping up to be.

"I'll be happy to spar with you." My partner said brightly, Miló turning into its sword form with a flick of her wrist.

Too late.

"Alright then." Lin said taking a firm stance that placed both of her hands in clear sight. "On three."

I stepped back hurriedly, taking a place next to Ren, Nora and Cobalt.

"One."

Hey maybe it won't be so bad.

I mean it's only someone who's competent enough for Peter to view them as an 'illustrator'.

"Two."

How bad can it be?

I blinked.

"Three."

There was a flurry of movement and a startled cry from Pyrrha. And just like that. It was over.

The Sherriff had not moved an inch, her arms still in that same firm stance as before.

Pyrrha on the other hand was now trapped in mid-air, a cable having wrapped around her entire body, trapping her arms by her side and pressing tightly against her throat.

She hadn't even lasted more than five seconds against the seasoned huntress.

Heck she hadn't lasted three.

Lin got out of the stance she'd been in and yawned, stretching her arms as she did so, Pyrrha remaining in place above her, unable to move an inch.

Then at some unseen signal, the cable released her, dropping her to the floor as she heaved in great gasps of oxygen.

I ran forward to help her, when a firm hand grasped me by the shoulder and I turned to see Cobalt shaking his head minutely at me.

Yeah, this is just about the same kind of thing that would happen whenever Peter wanted to 'illustrate' a point with me. Usually something he'd deemed important that I hadn't viewed with the same level of respect.

Namely he'd show me precisely why I should hold respect for whatever it was, usually after it had beaten the crap out of me.

Only the sound of Pyrrha's heavy breathing filled the air for a few moments, Lin silently watching her before she decided to speak up. "Do you know what happened just then?" Lin asked softly, the silence making it seem far louder than it actually was. "Do you know why you lost?"

Pyrrha pushed her head up, confusion still evident on her face.

"You see my semblance allows objects I touch to be given the concept 'part of my own body'" Lin explained calmly, still looking down at the defeated huntress. "This concept means that it acts and functions as if it were indeed a 'part of my own body'. That means it moves as I want it to move as well as having my aura travelling through every part of it. Because my aura is already there, constantly, you can't manipulate the metal with your semblance."

Pyrrha looked down, nodding in agreement while still clearly contemplating something else as well.

"But that wasn't why you lost."

At Lin's latest comment Pyrrha looked back up surprised at the answer. "What do you mean?" She asked, searching for clarification.

"The reason why you lost was simple. You didn't have another strategy ready if your semblance didn't work." Lin said bluntly, not holding back in the slightest as she verbally laid into my partner. "You didn't detect the wire that was behind you because you relied solely on your semblance. You hesitated. And then you lost."

Pyrrha stood there stunned into silence as Lin stared at her before the sheriff turned to look at me. "Kid, what's rule number one about any fighter?" she barked at me as if she was some kind of drill sergeant.

"Nobody's perfect." The answer spilled out of my mouth before I even realised I'd said it.

Lin nodded, a gleam in her eyes. "That's it right there. Nobody always wins, No technique always works and do you know why? Because sometimes it just isn't going to be your day. You're going to come across a hard counter for your semblance, just like you did now, and it's going to fail you. That is why you need to have other plans in place."

A light cough interrupted the impromptu lecture that Lin had been giving us, Deputy Cobalt waving a hand slightly, sliding his scroll back into one of the many pouches on his combat pants as he did so. "Sorry to interrupt boss but the Bullhead from the Academy just called ahead. They'll be here within the hour."

Lin rolled her eyes. "Typical." She said quietly under her breath before looking back up and addressing us all. "Okay kids looks like your ride home is going to be showing up a little earlier than we first expected. We're going to have to make our way back to Dragon's Passing at a rapid pace. I assume you can all keep up?"

There was silence for a moment as we all went over what was said.

Then in a blur of pink Nora vanished. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" She called out over her shoulder, cackling wildly as she did so.

I blinked, stunned at my teammate's sudden escape.

Then a grin sprang up on my face and before I knew it I was sprinting after her, jostling with Ren for position as Pyrrha sought to overtake us.

No way that I'm coming last this time!

I'm so going to be first to get back to the hotel so we can get back to Beacon on the Bull…head…

My happy mood came to a rather sharp end as the realization sunk in.

The Bullhead.

The flight back to Beacon.

Oh this isn't going to end well.

But hey, maybe it won't be as bad this time?

I rolled off the Bullhead with a thump, groaning weakly as the blazing sun burned into my eyes.

I was right.

It wasn't as bad as last time.

Somehow it was even worse.

Must have been the little race we had back to Dragon's Passing.

But still I took solace in the fact I hadn't lost that race.

I still say I would've won if not for Lin's uncanny ability to constantly slingshot herself forward at tremendous speeds.

Urgh.

Gah, I'm going to need to break open my emergency motion sickness tonic aren't I?

I reached back to pull it out only to stop mid-way at the realization that I'd already drank all of it at Dragon's Passing.

Blast.

Blessed shade appeared blocking out the harsh rays of the sun and I looked up to see Ren leaning over me, a wry smirk on his face.

Now there was another issue that needed addressing.

After his little outburst to me concerning why involving anyone else with his little secret would be a bad idea I hadn't had a chance to talk to Ren.

Or at the very least talk to Ren somewhere that we wouldn't be overheard by anyone else, which was hard at the best of times when you were sharing a room with one of the specific people you didn't want knowing the secret, let me assure you.

Suddenly there was the distinctive trill of Pyrrha's scroll going off and I heard her pull it out to answer it. "Yes?" She said before going silent as she listened to the person talking to her through the phone. "Of course sir, I'll be right there." Her scroll shut with a distinctive click.

"Who was that?" Nora asked, peering over my partner's shoulder trying to glimpse the caller ID. "You're manager or something?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Thankfully, no it was not. It was Professor Port. He wants me to come by the Grimm studies classroom so he can continue teaching me some more about honing my senses. The rest of you are welcome to come as well."

I shook my head slowly, still feeling slightly queasy. "I'll take a raincheck on that one. I need to rest for a bit before I start doing anything strenuous." I admitted, forcing myself up onto my feet, swaying slightly as I did so.

Ren slipped one of my arms over his shoulder, supporting me with the other. "I'll take Jaune back to our room, make sure nothing happens to him on the way." He said in a deadpan, causing an outbreak of giggles from Pyrrha and a snort of laughter from Nora.

"As always you remain a master of comedic timing Ren." I groaned, stomach gurgling dangerously as I did so. "Truly one of a kind."

Not a good kind per say.

But still, one of a kind.

With that we said our goodbyes, the girls heading off to go see Peter while I, with Ren's assistance, made my way back to team JNPR's room.

Beacon seemed to be even more packed than it was before, people milling back and forth all over the place, not only the students from the other academies but also workmen constructing far more temporary versions of the stalls that had populated the majority of Dragon's Passing.

Looks like fairgrounds.

Neat.

Guess the festival part of the Vytal festival isn't just nice sounding wordplay.

Wonder if they'll have any of the stuff I saw in Dragon's Passing…

We made it back into the building that contained our room, the halls remarkably empty compared to the usual hustle and bustle that was going on through them.

I shrugged. Looks like everyone must either still be out on missions or focusing on their training for the tournament.

Not much longer till that starts anyway.

With a swipe of my scroll I opened the door and stumbled inside the room, dragging myself towards the bed, unstrapping my weapon and propping it against my bed before dropping onto it, my bag hitting the floor with a loud thump, my head facing the ceiling.

Ren in comparison moved sedately across the room, sat on his hid cross legged and bought out Stormflower, taking it apart and beginning to clean the various components as he was taken to doing whenever he had a spare moment of his time.

Okay then.

Now's your chance Jaune.

Just you and Ren, no chance of anyone stumbling across you for a while, so now's the prefect time to finish you're conversation from before.

"Look Ren," I started, trying to find the right way to word it. "About before…"

Ren cut me off, his attention still seemingly directed at the disassembled weapon in his hands. "Don't worry about it Jaune. I shouldn't have snapped at you." He said quietly, lightly brushing a spring as he did so.

I shook my head. "No you were right. I'm sorry I kept pushing you." I apologised bowing my head. "I didn't think about the consequences of what might happen if you told her."

Ren sat there silently, still brushing away at that same coil before he sighed, placing both coil and brush down precisely alongside the rest of the disassembled gun. "It's not that I don't want to tell her. You have no idea how much I've wanted to tell her over the years." Ren said solemnly turning his head to face me. "But it's not just that Nora might go after them that I'm afraid of."

I blinked at that, surprised. Something else? "But what else could you be afraid of?" I asked, honestly puzzled by Ren's words.

Ren ran a hand through his hair. "If Nora finds out than she'll know that essentially everything she's ever learned about me, everything, was a lie." Ren revealed his expression clearly troubled by that possibility. "And if that happens then I might lose Nora as a friend."

Understanding coursed through me. "Ren…"

Ren continued on, not letting me interject. "Nora was the first friend I'd ever had. I hadn't even known what a friend was until I met her." He looked at me, more determined than I'd ever seen him look before. "I cannot lose that."

I nodded closing my eyes for a moment. "I understand that Ren, I really do." I opened my eyes back up and focused on him. "But these people are obviously still keeping an eye out for you if what your uncle said was any sign."

Ren nodded, grimacing as he did so. "We'll deal with that when it happens." He said, sounding disgusted with what he was saying.

I could understand why.

But at the same time I could understand why he had to say it.

"I'm going to try and get some rest." I said aloud, rolling over and burying my face into my pillow, not even bothering to change out of my clothes. "Wake me up if anything interesting happens."

Ren gave a light 'hn' at that, the sound of the brush working away at Stormflower's parts a clear sign he'd gone back to cleaning the weapons parts.

I closed my eyes and before I knew it, found myself nodding off to sleep.

"X-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY AND VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVV!"

I pulled my scroll out of my pocket, eyes still closed and placed it next to my ear. "Yes?" I asked, having no idea who it was that was calling me at…I raised my head to see the sun was in the final stages of its descent below the horizon.

Sundown?

Man I must have needed that sleep more than I thought.

"Good Laddie you're still awake." The Old Bastard's voice growled through the scroll. "I need you to come down and meet me in the Grimm studies classroom. I need your help with something."

I got up out of bed, stretching my free arm out with a series of cringe worthy cracks. "Be there in a minute. See you then." I slid the scroll shut with a click, letting out a yawn as I did so before I noticed something sticking to the front of my armour. I pulled it free and examined it.

It was a post-it note, Ren's precise cursive writing clear to my eyes.

'Jaune.

Gone out with Nora to go get some dinner.

Went to wake you but you didn't want to get out of bed.

Be back later tonight.

Ren.'

I turned to the other side and found what appeared to be an elaborate doodle of me sleeping, complete with snooze bubble done in a pink so bright it was essentially florescent.

I bit back a snort. I knew there had to be a contribution from Nora.

Still time to get going.

I picked up Candidus Mors from where I had it leant up against my bed and strapped it to my side before making my way out of the door.

I opened the door and stepped into the Grimm studies classroom, looking for the Old Bastard.

The lights aren't on.

I bit back a curse.

I swear, if this is his idea of some kind of joke then I am going to…

"Think fast laddie!" Tob's grizzled old voice barked at me.

I heard the faint whistling and flung out a hand, catching the object that had been thrown towards me.

Wow, now this brings back memories.

In my hand was a wooden training sword, hand carved and whittled by the Old Bastard himself just like he had when I was a kid.

The lights switched on with a click and I turned around to see the Old Bastard in his chair by the switch.

With Pyrrha standing by his side.

What was she doing here?

May as well find out.

"What am I doing here old man?" I asked, lifting the sword from where I'd held it by my side to rest it on my shoulder. "And what's Pyrrha doing here too? I thought she'd gone to go see Peter?"

The Old Bastard scoffed at that. "Peter found himself unexpectedly delayed by the preparations for the Vytal festival, so he asked me to step in and continue the young lassie's training." He explained, nodding his head towards Pyrrha before turning back to face me. "I called in you so you could help her with the next step." He gestured to the wooden blade, identical to my own, in Pyrrha's hands.

I nodded slowly, slowly getting the picture. "Same deal as before?"

Tob shook his head. "Not quite. I'm going to need to get you to change into these." He held up what appeared to be a simple pair of cotton shirt and pants, seeming utterly normal in their appearance.

I cocked my head to the side, an unsaid 'and why would I bloody do that?' directed towards the Old Bastard.

He rolled his eyes. "These clothes don't have any metal on them at all, no tags, no zippers, nothing for Pyrhha's semblance to latch onto." The old man explained, shaking the clothes lightly for emphasis. "If we really want Pyrrha to succeed in learning how to hone her senses than we can't allow her any way for her to use her semblance to locate you, even subconsciously."

Makes sense. When one's trained oneself to do something for so long that it becomes instinctual like Pyrrha has it isn't simply a matter of stopping yourself from doing it at the drop of a hat.

I ducked behind one of the desks and quickly changed into the new clothes that the Old Bastard had provided for me.

The Old Bastard flung one of the blinders at me and I caught it as I stood up, stepping around the desk as Pyrrha took her place on the ground floor, a wooden blade of her own in her hands, moving it through a series of motions as she tested the weight.

"Ready Laddie?" The Old Bastard asked, as I took my place in front of Pyrrha.

I slipped my black out bandana over my eyes and twisted my sword around my body, dropping it from one hand to grab it with the other mid-swing. "Ready." I called out, blade up in a loose guard, wary of any sudden blitz attacks from Pyrrha.

I heard the light click of Pyrrha's shoe touching the wooden floor. "Ready." Pyrrha called from her position in front of me.

The Old Bastard gave a loud grunt. "Well then, quit lollygagging and get into it already!"

I dashed forward, blade slashing forward towards Pyrrha who managed to deflect it, but with nowhere near the amount of usual precision in her technique.

Pyrrha stuck back with a lighting fast slice but I simply leaned out of the way, the blade soaring past me as I dodged with the lightest of movements.

I frowned thoughtfully before I stopped, a light smirk appearing on my face.

Now there's an idea.

My left arm unleashed a scything blow, beginning from my right and travelling to my left which Pyrrha raised her sword to block, successfully stopping…nothing.

I grinned.

Still falling for the same tricks Pyrrha.

My right hand grasped the hilt of the sword as it fell and harnessed the momentum I'd already built up, taking care to aim my blow much lower than my feint.

The sword connected with a dull 'smack' of wood on flesh, Pyrrha letting out a hiss of pain. I could hear her pull back but she didn't fall to the blow, keeping her guard up despite my attack.

"He's ambidextrous lassie, and more than capable of switching hands mid-slash as I'm sure you already know." Tob's voice barked out, stilling the combat for a moment. "If you keep letting him set the pace then he's going to walk all over you."

"Right." Pyrrha said in acknowledgment, taking on board the Old Bastard's advice.

Me on the other hand?

I fell back on one of his favoured techniques when teaching me.

That being insulting your opponent mercilessly.

"Well Pyrrha if you're done talking to your cheer squad, we can get right back to that ass whooping I was handing to you if you like?" I asked lightly, a laughter clear in my voice.

Pyrrha laughed at that. "Are you sure your up to it? I mean after you lost your mighty struggle against the bullhead I thought you might have to sleep for at least another hour in an attempt to bury the shame?" She asked me teasingly.

The Old Bastard chocked on whatever it was he was drinking.

Damn.

She got me there.

Part of me is proud of Pyrrha, that she's finally stepping down the road of combat quippage.

The rest of me?

"Ohoho, you are so dead."