"Dust in the bag, old man. You know the drill." I faintly heard from behind me. "Er, yes, just please don't hurt me..." I knew that voice. It belonged to the owner of the store.
I shifted my weight to my back foot and glanced over my shoulder. Greeting my eyes was a tall, terrifying-looking (yet strangely flamboyant) man wearing a white suit, complete with black bowler cap. There was a smoldering cigar in his mouth. He seemed angry. I probably should've just left him alone, and things would've been a lot calmer for me.
That was an understatement.
My heroic instincts kicked in, and I reached for my waist, where two short swords were waiting to slide into my hands. I slowly unsheathed them from my sides, and leaned up against one of the counters.
On an unrelated note, unsheathing swords is actually louder than you'd think.
The kingpin of the mob narrowed his eyes in my direction. All it took was a wave of his hand and there were three minions heading my way. And they weren't lacking in weaponry. Time for all of my (nonexistent) fighting training to kick in!
I couldn't even hit one.
The first one came around the corner in front of me. I took a swing with one of my swords. It clanked harmlessly of my opponent's sword and knocked me a foot backwards. Guess physics is a thing.
The momentum of my parried blow had knocked me straight into the other two assailants' waiting arms. "Uh, put me down please?" I stuttered, flailing my swords around. It took them two seconds to disarm me, and drag me to the newly-Dusted villain.
He looked at me and scoffed. "This kid thought he could take on Roman Torchwick?" He took another long puff of his cigar. "I highly suggest you keep your hands to yourself next time, kiddo." He abruptly turned away from me and exited the building, henchmen in tow.
"They left my weapon..." I muttered to myself, grabbing my two swords and forming them into a bow. I heard the old man groan from behind the Dustless counter behind me, shocking me back into reality. "I've gotta go after them!" I yelled, sprinting out the door. Sure, it may not have been the smartest idea, but I had to do something, right?
As my feet hit the stone roads outside, I caught a glimpse of a white coat turning the corner, about ten feet in front of me. I blindly pushed myself even faster, in hopes of catching up to him.
I didn't think about what I'd do when I got there.
I flew around the corner, bow in tow. It dragged across the pavement, scattering stones everywhere. Good thing it was metal, or else I'd have several problems. At least I was able to keep my problems to a minimum, but the one I did have was pretty urgent. And about to become painful.
"Ngh, this kid again?" One of Roman's henchman groaned.
"Kid doesn't know when to give up." The other one grunted, swinging his sword around, clearly trying to intimidate me.
"Pickin' my battles!" I screamed, slipping between the two. One of them grazed my side with their sword, but I was too adrenaline-pumped to care. My sights were on the ginger prick heading into the helicopter.
Wait, helicopter?
"Oh, did you seriously follow me?" Roman didn't even look in my direction, but continued his ascent in the chopper. "Here's a lesson to learn. Not getting in other people's business." He finally turned towards me and pointed his cane at me. Pfft, like that thing could hit me from way up there.
Famous last thoughts.
I heard a bang coming from the cane, a flash of red light heading towards me, and then everything went black.
I woke up a few hours later, head pounding. I was in a dimly-lit room that appeared to be an interrogation room, complete with one-way mirror. "I'm pretty sure I was on the right side of the law, though!" I muttered to myself, tapping my feet.
The door to the room swung open, and a very annoyed blonde woman stomped in, high heels clacking. "Of all the inane things for Jordy's son to do, this has to be at the top of the list!"
My face contorted into a scowl at the sound of my father's name. Of course he'd be brought into this. "Look, I didn't-" I began, before being shut up by a glance from the woman.
"Jack, it doesn't matter what you meant to do, but you did it anyways!" She slapped photos of me getting the crap beaten out of me on the table. "The heir to the Aero dynas-" She started to say, before I cut her off.
"Why does it matter who my family is?" I rolled my eyes. "Are you telling me I did something wrong?"
"Not at all. If you were just a normal child, there wouldn't be a problem." The woman stated, glancing at the door.
"I am normal! Everything but my damned last name." I grumbled, shaking my head. "I dunno where I am, but can I like, go?"
"I'd love to let you go home, but somebody is here to... propose an offer." She shook her head.
What kind of offer? And why did this woman seem so disappointed about it? Before I could think about it any further, the door swung open with a light squeak. Entering the room was a tall man with messy grey hair and dark glasses. There was a near-empty mug of coffee in his hand. The smell wafted through the dark room, but I wasn't complaining. Coffee always had a relaxing smell.
"Well, well..." The man chuckled lightly to himself. "The son of the great Jordy Aero. It's an honor to meet you."
"I'm really nothing special, seriously." I shook my head. "Don't treat me like that."
He smiled. "As you wish, Jack. Now, exactly how much combat experience do you have with your weapon?" He asked, nodding to the two swords on my belt. I looked at them in surprise. I didn't realize they'd let me hold onto them this hold time.
"None whatsoever." I blushed a bit, embarrassed. "I'm not even supposed to have a weapon, but if I can't defend myself..." I trailed off.
"As expected." The man nodded. "Still, you show great potential for someone completely untrained. Now, tell me, have you ever heard of Beacon?"
"Yeah, sure, who hasn't?" I said. "One of the great schools for Hunters and Huntresses in training, right?"
"Correct." The man set his coffee down, taking a step closer. "And I am its headmaster. I would like to personally invite you to join in this upcoming school year here at Beacon."
I was taken aback. Me, a hunter?! But wait, there was a glaring problem...
"Even if I could learn to fight there, my father would never let me go, and I'm sure you know that." I complained, crossing my arms.
"That is true." The man said, gravely. "But parental acceptance is not required to go to Beacon. All that would be needed would be for you to make your way to the airship before it takes off this Saturday at six." He shrugged. "Once you're in Beacon, I doubt you could be taken out. But that's fine. If you can't accept, I'm sure I can find someone else to replace you. You're free to leave." He said, picking up his coffee mug and exiting the room.
The woman shook her head. "Quite frankly, I don't think you're ready to go to Beacon, nor do I think you'll be able to escape your father for long." After speaking these parting words, she walked out of the room as well.
Was she right? Was I just getting my hopes up for nothing? I laid a hand on one of my swords, knowing what I had to do.
"Gotta take the opportunity while it lasts..." I muttered to myself, standing up.
I was going to become a Hunter.