A Not So Common Criminal
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Narration
My name is Jaune Arc, I'm 17 years old and I've been through a lot of shit in my relatively short life. I've done and seen things that could blow people's minds or completely disgust them depending. I never really thought much on what I'd want to do with my life, you could say that I have a particular set of skills, knowledge and experience acquired over my unique lifestyle choice of part time jobs one of which happens to be working security at a nightclub.
The thing about working at a nightclub is the night aspect. Work for me starts at 7pm and ends at 4am. As such I get my eight hours of sleep when people are starting to just wake up. It's usually not a real problem.
*THUMP**THUMP**THUMP*
"Jaune!"
That is unless you don't have a pain in the ass landlord.
Jaune groaned and shoved the pillow in his face to drown out the noise.
*THUMP* *THUMP*
"HEY! I know you're in there!"
The banging and shouting continued until Jaune threw the pillow and sheet off himself to sit up and glare at the door. His eyes trailed off to the sheathed ratchet he kept under his pillow.
'So tempting'
Clad in nothing but shorts he went to the door and turned the lock but didn't take off the chain lock.
"Mr. Kanush, good night" he greeted sleepily.
"It's almost 12 in the afternoon" the older man snapped.
Kanush was a good foot shorter than Jaune but his mouth more than made up for his height.
"Where's my rent?"
"I said that I'd pay you by the end of the week, that's when I get my paycheck."
The man gave him a scathing glare "always the excuses with you, either you have my rent or you move out by the end of the week."
Jaune glared at him for a few moments before he spoke "I don't have the rent since I didn't get paid yet."
The man seethed but Jaune waved it like it wasn't his concern, which it wasn't "you'll get your money when I get paid so if there's anything else I'm gonna get some sleep" he yawned.
"I want my rent first thing on Saturday or your drug dealing ass is outta here!" he stomped off.
"Fuck you too" he closed the door.
Needless to say, my landlord is a son of a bitch. He thinks that for some reason wearing a hoodie and keeping to yourself means dealing drugs…okay he may have a point but you know what? Fuck that guy, the apartment wasn't worth the price. A small one bedroom place with a kitchen, bathroom and dining area I had to maintain myself since I got tired of complaining to the bastard.
With the amount of money I spend to make this place habitable he should be paying me but forget it.
"That's what I said but" he stretched his arms "there's no way I'm getting back to sleep."
He looked around the relatively clean apartment before heading to the kitchen "let's see what's for breakfast."
Inside the refrigerator were a few cans of soda, a box of milk, some pizza he was saving for dinner, an egg carton.
"Empty egg carton" he corrected shaking the empty box.
He took the milk but it was almost done, forget filling a bowl, it wouldn't even be able to fill a glass, he shrugged and took it out anyway. He checked the freezer to only see an ice buildup.
"Note to self, de-frost the freezer."
He took out a bowl filled it with milk that barely went quarter way and emptied a box of Pumpkin Pete's only for five flakes and starch dust to drop in.
"Shit."
He stared at the slightly orange milk and sighed before drinking the entire thing.
"I should get out of the house."
A quick shower later and he was in a black hoodie, faded ripped jeans and his only pair of sneakers. He grabbed his wallet, making sure to count the money inside before attaching the wallet chain to a belt loop and headed outside.
\
Jaune walked about the downtown streets of Vale with a slight smile. Kids played on the sidewalk, shops are open and the people are going about their business. Jaune walked into the convenience store and the first thing he saw was a wolf Faunus working the register. He had his eyes down peering at something in his palms.
"Rico!"
The boy almost jumped out of his skin at the volume "gah, Jesus Jaune what the hell!?"
Jaune ignored him and went over to the fruit stand "hey don't blame me, you're the one who's supposed to be watching the store."
The Faunus scoffed and they both gave a swindle slap greeting.
Rico Emmanuel Velasquez is one of the friends I've made in the neighborhood which considering that most of the residence are Faunus who have a few choice words about humans, was no small feat.
"What is it this time?"
"Got the final match in the MRC's this year" he grinned "you gotta check this out!"
Jaune suppressed a grimace as he caught sight of blonde hair and red haired women fighting each other. He did manage to block the image and gently pushed the scroll away "no thanks man, I'm on the clock, you know what it is"
Rico retracted the still playing video then looked at him before looking at the time "damn, didn't know it was so late. Why the hell do you look like that?"
Jaune scoffed "oh please, I just didn't get my beauty sleep" he smirked "see how much of a difference it makes" he said gesturing to his face.
Rico looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze "nope you've always looked like crap to me."
Jaune frowned and picked up three apples "well screw you too."
"Seriously though, what happened?"
"Ugh, long night" he leaned in and continued in a whisper "word on the street is the White Fang is stirring up some shit recruiting harder than usual, couldn't leave the old man by himself."
Rico gave him a skeptical look "think you'd make a difference though? I mean, you're good but these guys are hardcore, I mean blowing up trains and shit."
Jaune shrugged "like I care about any of that. I see any fake ass Grimm masks and they gets a fist full of Jaune."
"Whatever man"
"Yeah" he looked at the time "I gotta go so -"
Rico raised his hand "say no more, I already had it bagged."
"Thanks Rico, say hi to the folks for me!"
"Yeah, give my regards to the little monsters."
\
Jaune exited the store soon after and was walking the streets again, he turned the corner stopped before he came upon a playground. For a moment Jaune leaned against the entrance, watching the Faunus kids play amongst themselves, completely oblivious to his presence.
A few seconds later a younger boy stopped beside him, he wore a shirt one size larger a hat and cheap sunglasses to hide his features.
"You got the stuff?" he asked looking around.
Jaune rolled his eyes and flipped the hat off him.
"Hey!" he covered the floppy dog ears at the top of his head "what did yah do that for!?"
"Stop treating this like a drug deal Ralph, it's just candy" he held up a bag filled to the brim with an assortment of discounted sweets.
At the end of the sentence both boys noticed that the playground got eerily quiet. Both of them turned towards the kids who were looking at them.
"HE SAID CANDY!" a bunny girl shouted.
A wolf boy stood up with a dangerous glint in his eyes and pointed at him "GET HIM!"
Sometimes I forget about how acute a Faunus' hearing can be.
Jaune looked horrified as the kids stampede towards him. Thinking fast Jaune did a corkscrew jump over the crowd, once upside down he grinned at their astonished faces in slow motion and did a two finger salute. The moment his feet touched the ground he made a b-line to the jungle gym where he easily made his way to the top.
The angry/hungry mob was quick to follow and soon the crowd had him surrounded on all sides.
One bear Faunus kid stepped forward "give us the candy or else" he drew back a slingshot to validate his threat.
"Wait, let's make a deal!" he held out the bag of candy "I have enough for everyone so if you line up I will give you the candy for my freedom."
"Or we could beat you up and take it" the wolf Faunus countered.
"You want to risk it? cause I could always throw it in the street."
The wolf and bear looked to each other before the rabbit girl step forward "what are your terms?"
"I want a single file line, any specific request will be taken under advisement" with those words the kids were quick to form a line.
It was a little ritual I did from time to time with the neighborhood kids whose parents couldn't afford some of the luxuries of life.
"Let me guess you want the carrot sticks?"
The little Faunus girl who couldn't be older than 10 looked affronted "that's a stereotype!"
'Where'd she learn a word like that?'
"Oh" Jaune held up the candy carrots "so I guess you don't want-*swish* these?"
Jaune glanced at his empty hand then back at the bunny girl who looked more like a squirrel eating the sweet. Jaune scoffed with a shake of his head to resume distributing the candy until only one remained.
"Sorry Ralph" he turned the bag upside down "I'm all out."
"Bullshit"
*Smack*
"Ow-what the hell!"
"Watch your language"
"What are you, my mother?"
"If I was I'd spank you right then and there"
Ralph rolled his eyes "seriously though, cough it up" he extended his palm flexing his fingers in a grabbing gesture.
Jaune shrugged and Ralph scowled, his dog ears twitched "I can smell it on you."
This time the teen reached into his pocket and pulled out two lollipops "nothing gets by you does it?"
"Yep" he snatched the lollipops out of his hand but instead of playing with the others he sat beside Jaune watching over everyone else.
"Not gonna play with the others?"
"Naw"
"…something on your mind?"
He saw the boy adopt a contemplative look before turning to him with a curious expression "where'd you learn how to do that?"
"Do what?"
"You know, fight."
'I don't like where this conversation is heading.'
"Why?"
"I wanna know"
"Okay, why do you want to know?"
"What, can't a kid be curious?"
He was being defensive 'Cool it Jaune, there could be another reason why he wants to know.'
Jaune looked to the clouds "it wasn't in Vale I can tell you that" blue eyes shifted to see his posture slump a bit.
It perked a little on his next question "so where is it?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"Because, I have no idea."
Ralph frowned at his innocent expression "wh-
"Why are you so interested anyway? Don't tell me you want to learn how to fight like me" he chuckled.
"Yes."
Jaune's chuckling abruptly halted as he looked at the boy.
"Why's that?"
"I'm a twelve year old Faunus orphan Jaune, my best options are either working in the mines or joining the White Fang."
Jaune brow furrowed "who told you that?"
"No one, I'm just being realistic."
"If you were then you'd know those aren't your only options" he ignored the dismissive scoff "I mean look at me, I can kick ass and I'm still living in a crappy apartment with a shitty job."
"That's cause you're an idiot" he replied as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"What?"
"Dude, it's not exactly a secret that you actually love it here."
"I wouldn't say I love it…"
"We both know that if you wanted to you could be out of here."
Jaune snorted "and how would I do that?"
"Beacon"
The one word managed to put a frown on his face and sour his mood.
"Hell, no"
"Why not? Seriously if you went to Beacon you could be a Hunter. You have any idea how much perks you get for that?"
Jaune sighed.
"I'm talking about, money, fame…chicks…"
"-risking my life to fight abominations of darkness, fighting a bunch of people for the entertainment of the masses, not getting so much as a thank you for saving some ungrateful schmuck's life."
Ralph raised an eyebrow "what?"
"Oh, come on Ralph, you're not actually buying that bullshit the council advertises are you?"
"You just don't like hunters."
Jaune frowned but didn't make eye contact, choosing to keep his gaze forward.
"It's a lot more complicated than just not liking them Ralph. I'm not their biggest fan and I've met some I can say I definitely hate but that doesn't mean I hate Hunters in general. I don't label people based on the actions of a few. That would be like hating the Faunus because of the White Fang, you know?"
"Yeah" he said looking down "those idiots are giving all Faunus a bad name. Still, how come you're not at least trying to get in Beacon?"
"Uh, because I don't want to" he said obviously "look just because I know how to fight doesn't mean I want to be a Hunter. There's no big rhyme or reason why I don't want to be a Hunter other than the job just doesn't appeal to me."
"Really?"
"Really. Does a guy who knows how to cook five star meals have to be a professional chef?"
"…can you still teach me how to fight?"
"Ralph-"
"It's not about trying to be a Hunter! It's just, I figure it's better to know how to do something and never doing it than to not know and can't do it when you need to do it."
Jaune stared at him for a long while before he spoke "where did this come from?"
Jaune's known Ralph for a long time now and despite being amazed by Jaune's skills he's never actually cared to ask to learn before, unless…
"Did something happen?"
"No! Why would you think that?"
'Bullshit'
Jaune eyed him suspiciously.
"Kinda warm to be wearing long sleeves don't you think?"
Immediately Ralph tensed and Jaune grabbed his shirt.
"It's nothing!"
Undeterred Jaune rolled up his sleeves to see bruises along his arms at which point Ralph stopped struggling.
"It's nothing"
Jaune stared at his arms then in a single motion took off his glasses before stopping the urge to break them in his hand. Ralph sported a swollen black eye that made Jaune want to strangle the one who did it.
"Who did this?"
"…"
"Hey!" he grabbed his shoulder dropping to eye level "who, did, this?"
"…just some guys."
"Give me details Ralph, when did this happen, who did it and where do they hang out?"
Ralph tried to wrench his arm away but ultimately gave up "it's none of your business."
Jaune was not known to be sensitive.
"The hell its not! Now tell me who did this!"
"I can't!"
"Why not!?"
"Because I want to beat those jerks myself!"
"…what?"
"These assholes keep harassing us. I tried to fight back but there's too many of them."
At this point Jaune let him go
"I saw them beat up a bunch of guys at once."
"Why didn't you just tell someone?"
He scoffed "like anyone's going to give a crap about some kids messing with a Faunus."
'I give a crap'
"Besides, even if I told someone and they did something about it they're just gonna come back and make it worse when the heat dies down."
He's not wrong, contrary to popular belief when it comes to bullying its better for the victim to resolve the issue rather than involve a third party. Because, more often than not, the bullies would just come at the victim even harder. Besides, as a man it's better for them to handle their own business.
Jaune ran a hand through his hair "this guy, how old is he?"
"I don't know, 15 I think"
"You don't know his age?"
"I'm sorry I was too busy getting acquainted with his and his friend's fists."
Jaune flicked him on the head "rule number 1, know your enemy. I take it, it isn't the first he's harassed you."
"No"
"How long?"
"A few weeks"
Jaune inhaled through his nose "you should have told me."
"Are you gonna help or not?"
He sighed "I'll help but I'm just gonna teach you enough to fight this kid, so don't expect me to unlock your Aura or show you how to fight Grimm."
Ralph slumped a little "oh"
Jaune gave a skeptical glance "really?"
"I mean you know, don't you need to do that stuff to fight?"
"Actually no, you don't. Did you actually think I was going give you Hunter training?" he scoffed and pushed the hat over his eyes.
"Hey!"
"Nice try Ralphy. Now get back to the others. I'll set a date if my calendar clears up."
\
Local Basketball Court
One of the most important activities for me is exercising. Whether you're a Hunter, a soldier or even a civilian you need to exercise in order to keep fit. That's why ever so often me and the neighborhood boys like to come together for a game of basketball.
"What's up bitches!"
"About damn time!" one man said. He had a shaved head ad dark skin wearing shorts and a sleeveless jersey
"The hell took you so long?" a Tiger Faunus question.
"Hey relax Ron" he said addressed the first man "and I was dealing with some business."
"Careful Jaune" said boy turned to see a particularly tall man with dark skin, his hair set in a buzzcut stroll onto the court "some people seeing you play with kids might get the wrong idea."
"Well Michaels you tell those guys" and he proceeded to flip the bird.
"So we getting this game going or what homes?" spoke a slightly tanned youth with teardrop tattoos on the left side of his eye.
Ron bounced the ball once before speaking "let's do it"
\
Two hours later a sweat drenched Jaune headed straight home to shower and change his clothes before he headed out again. Since his food supply was running dry he decided to save from buying and cooking the food by eating out.
'And what better way than to go to the best noodle shop in Vale.'
A Simple Wok which is ironic considering how many complex dishes the place make. The place was devoid of any customers which was good because Jaune would like to enjoy his meal in relative peace.
So hopping on the stool on the edge of the counter he greeted the owner/chef "hey old timer. Gimme a bowl of beef noodles, extra beef" he placed a few chips of Lien on the counter.
The old man silent as ever scooped up the chips, gave a nod and went around the back to prepare his meal. Jaune shook his head lightly two months of knowing him and the man hadn't said anything to him short of a mumble or grunt. Jaune's sure by now that he's a mute or just very, very shy. He also learned that the man somehow owned several businesses which he manages, he should know, he frequents his Dust shop.
'I think I saw him driving a truck once.'
He would've asked but knowing the old man he wouldn't have gotten an answer.
When the large bowl was shoved to him Jaune found his mouth was watering and dug into it with gusto. Jaune wasn't much for manners but even he knew not to be a total slob in public, not unless he was really trying to make someone uncomfortable anyway.
Jaune finished his meal by tilting the bowl into his mouth and drinking the contents. Releasing a content sigh he pushed the bowl forward.
'Best damn noodles in Vale'
He turned in his stool but he didn't leave, not yet. He picked his teeth with a complimentary toothpick while viewing the street before him.
'A perfect end to a perfect day.'
\
Or at least the perfect way to start my job.
"…hey"
"Yeah?"
"You ever wonder why we're here?"
"No, boss told us to guard the back entrance in case someone tries to sneak in the club."
"No not here I mean why are we here, alive, as humans?"
Jaune turned to him, his expression obscured by the red tinted sunglasses, a hat covered his blonde hair. They were both dressed in black suits with red ties.
"Jimmy, what the fuck are you talking about? Wait" his eyes narrowed "haave you been hitting the pipes again?"
The man known as Jimmy shrugged "I'm just saying, why are we here? Was it just some big cosmic coincidence? Or is there really a god out there, watching?"
"You're high aren't you? Either that or you're just incredibly stupid"
"…hey I'm not stupid!"
The moment those words left his mouth the blonde face palmed "god dammit Jimmy, you know you're not supposed to be doing that shit."
"Oh I'm sorry Mr. high and mighty but some of us don't have a problem smoking weed" he scoffed "punk ass think you're better than me just because you ain't hit the pipe yet."
"I don't care if you want to smoke Jimmy, I really don't but do you have to do it when we're on the clock? I mean come on man! You know Junior's going to deduct from your pay if he finds out you're skimming from his stash."
"Who says this is Junior's shit?"
"I can smell it on your shirt Jimmy" he deadpanned.
"So what? Not like he's going to find out, right?"
The silent threat went over the blonde's head as he dismissed it with a wave of his hand "yeah, yeah but remember if he finds out it's your ass."
"Right" the blonde could hear the eye roll in his voice.
"I'm serious Jimmy, I'm not going to cover for you this time and I swear if you call my name-"
Jimmy raised his hands in surrender "okay, okay I get it!"
The reason why I'm out here with this drug addict of a guy is because it's part of my job. The job as one of The Club's many nondescript bouncers. Why am I here instead of…anywhere else you ask? Well there aren't not a lot of places in Vale that hire 17 year olds with no formal schooling and the places that do are either minimum wage or illegal.
The Club's not exactly illegal but some of its operations are, not that I care, I'm in it for the money plus anything short of killing people is fair game for me. I don't care if some poor schmuck wants to do coke, it's their life as long as they don't screw with me.
'Case in point.'
The guy standing next to me is Jimmy. He's just like every other guy Junior (my boss) hires. Some punk he found off the street that could make decent muscle. Doesn't matter if he's a drug addict, as long as he can stay straight during his shift then it's all cool. Besides he can always have him guard the back….like me.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say Junior had a lot of guys on the payroll and they don't all hang out at The Club. Only the ones who are presentable enough get to work at Junior's club but sometimes there are people who are eligible to work there but can't be inside. For example an underage kid and a pothead.
'That's fine, I still get paid and at least I don't have to deal with whatever crap they have going on in there.'
The thing about working outside a club is that sometimes you miss things
"Do you hear that Jimmy?"
"…nope."
"Exactly"
Like when the music stops.
Jaune made his way into the club with Jimmy trailing behind him.
"What the…"
"Holy…"
The dance floor was a wreck, the rest of the guys were sprawled across the room and junior was unconscious in the corner. What had both men in awe was the thing taking place on the dance floor. The twins were fighting some blonde girl
"Uh, should we help them?"
Jaune spared him a glance "do they look like they need help?"
Jaune gestured to the twins who were currently double teaming the blonde with a flurry of slashes and kicks to finish off with a double kick to the chest sending her flying.
The twins, Melanie and Militia were The Club's last line of defense, in case the patron's are more than what the regular guys can handle. Between the two of them they make an almost unstoppable team…or so I thought.
Blondie wasn't even on the ground for two seconds before she got up and propelled herself with her Shotgun-gauntlets to deliver a heavy punch to Melanie's face leaving Militia alone to deal with her. The red twin held her own until blondie started firing buckshots to get past her guard.
Several more punches to the gut to propel her in the air and a final one to launch her into the glass pillar and Militia was sown for the count. Jaune and Jimmy winced at her impact.
"Ouch"
"That gonna leave a mark."
Now Melanie was alone, she flipped back to avoid more buckshots ending with a spinning kick that blondie blocked. The two started trading kicks but Melanie had the advantage so her opponent tried a buckshot punch but Melanie did a roundhouse kick to disrupt the shot. Using the same leg she attempted multiple kicks but was blocked.
She did an abrupt axe kick to deflect another buckshot punch and finished up with a spinning back kick to the chest sending the blonde skidding away. This time the white clad twin went for the attack doing a series of feints to catch blondie off guard. The feints were all blocked and on the fifth try blondie spun on her knee to do a reverse elbow strike to the twin's stomach.
Melanie staggered back and the blondie grabbed her hand twisted it and dragged her in a circle before performing spinning kick that nailed her in the face incidentally performing a lariat.
At this point Jaune and Jimmy's mouths dropped "that was fucking brutal."
Then blondie turned her attention to them 'dammit Jimmy!'
"Oh shit."
Jaune straightened up when the blonde prepared to charge only to stop at the sound of Junior coming from the back with a bazooka over his shoulder.
"You're going to pay for that"
"Shit's about to get real" jimmy whispered.
"No kidding"
"Think we should help?"
Junior fired several rockets to which the blonde flipped and rolled from the impact. At this point Jaune spied Melanie limping towards her fallen sister. His eyes flickered back to the fight to see Junior smash blondie away with the Bazooka which was now a baseball bat.
"I don't think he needs any-" Jaune's words caught in his mouth when he saw the blonde stood up, punch her fist together and erupted in flames "scratch that you go help the twins, I'll back up the boss."
"You sure about that?" Jimmy asked.
Jaune would have answered but then Junior landed right beside him with his weapon punched clean off and a long strand of hair in his hand. He stood up smirking at the blonde who looked at the strand. First Jaune saw her eyes change to red right before she literally erupted in a blaze of fire.
"I'll just let you handle it then!"
Jimmy was gone but Jaune didn't pay attention to that, he looked at his boss' trembling form before his eyes shifted to the raging blonde and sigh.
'He doesn't pay me enough for this'
Before her fist could connect with Junior's face Jaune pushed him out the way and got in front of the now surprised blonde. Ignoring the sting of the buckshot he stretched his palm out to catch her fist but instead of stopping it he allowed her momentum to continue. While cupping her outstretched fist with one hand his other came to her bicep to lift it while simultaneously directing her fist down.
This resulted in an overhead throw using her own momentum with the least movements on Jaune's part.
"WHA-!"
*CRASH*
The blonde was so surprised that she neglected to right herself mid air and crashed into what's left of the steps that lead to the DJ booth.
Jaune spared a glance to Junior who looked at him in shock "might wanna give us some space boss" he spoke backing away "this is gonna get ugly."
The moment those words left his mouth blondie erupted from the rubble not looking the least bit winded. Jaune noted that the flames centered on her hair.
'If it has something to do with her Semblance no wonder she was pissed Junior snatched some of it.'
The blonde regarded him with some mild shock before she smashed her fist together, there was nothing that needed to be said. Jaune himself fished out brown fingerless gloves, if he's about to kick ass he might as protect his assets.
Both fighters met with a flurry punches, blocks and counters, obviously the blonde was just testing the waters…that or she just didn't take him seriously.
'Let's fix that'
Jaune elbow struck her right straight down, he ducked her left hook to do a reverse elbow strike to her stomach so hard she doubled over and he finished with an axe kick to her face sending her sprawling on her back. not a second later she did a kip up to close the relatively short distance.
She caught him off guard with her recovery speed and successfully did a buckshot punch to gut that made him double over while sliding back. She followed up with a round house kick that sent him flying but he managed to do a handspring to flip backwards onto his knees.
Jaune saw her smirking arrogantly at him and he scowled
'Bitch'
They both ran at each other
'I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face!'
Their fists collided with the blonde releasing a shot and causing an explosion that sent both of them careening on opposite ends of the dance floor. The blonde flipped mid air to land on her feet while Jaune crashed into the tree. He glared at the blonde before standing and went into a stance while she did a boxing stance.
This time the blonde attacked first by jumping to before firing an explosive shot. Jaune ducked and did a roundhouse kick which she managed to dodge upon landing. He managed to block her punches with some difficulty due to her strength. He deflected a cross punch which she tried to turn into a backhand but Jaune swept her feet from under her.
Upon falling in a spin she planted her hand in the ground to do a double handstand kick, the first one Jaune blocked but the second tripped him. The blonde was quick to get jump and slam her fist into him but he managed to roll away.
*Boom*
Her fist hit the ground in an explosion that left a crater.
Jaune kicked behind her knees and did a roundhouse kick to the back of her head causing her to stagger forward where he took advantage to rush her with a series of punches which she weaved through before cocking her fist back to retaliate but Jaune surprised her when his knee came up to strike her exposed midriff.
His foot struck forward but she blocked and tried to deflect but it was a feint and he turned the front kick to an axe kick which she side stepped to grabbed his arm and threw him at the tree. He righted himself to land feet first on the tree and kicked off to catch her head between his thighs. Jaune spun her around fell into a handstand and threw her into the bar.
*Crash*
The blonde crashed into the counter but she recovered quickly enough "grrr" the flames seemed to permeate as she released a volley of three shots at Jaune who flipped past all of them without breaking stride.
The girl had to dive roll away to avoid the axe kick that sunk his foot halfway into the counter. Jaune rushed after her with a spinning back kick that was dodged followed by a side kick that was blocked and affront kick that was blocked again. Jaune kept on the attack with punches that were narrowly dodged until she chanced a kick that Jaune went to block.
The kick turned out to be a feint for the girl to release a shot but Jaune side stepped it and kicked the girl in the side and followed up with a spinning back kick to her chest.
The girl slid a few feet away while glaring at him with red eyes jerking her arms, the gauntlets opened to release empty shells to the ground and she tossed two belts of shells and caught them in the gauntlets effectively pulling off a reload.
'Crap'
Jaune glanced down at one of the square tiles and smirked a bit. The girl started letting loose a volley of shots and that's when Jaune kicked up a large square tile to block the shots. It was only for a moment but it obscured Jaune from view and before the tile was destroyed he jumped over it to deliver a kick that was unfortunately blocked.
She did a kick that was blocked but followed up with a barrage of punches Jaune deflected with his palms. On the last deflect he punched forward but she blocked with her forearms, he did a spinning backhand but she leaned away and when he followed up with a punch she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.
She brought up her knee to strike his face but he caught it instead so she used her other hand to deliver a buckshot punch to his gut and another with her other hand. The wind was knocked out of Jaune and before he could recover she attempted a kick but he managed to slap it down and do his own.
She blocked his kick but was pushed back by his followed up spinning back kick. She attempted a roundhouse kick then a spinning kick he ducked and counter with a roundhouse kick which was also ducked. She did a one two punch combo the second of which discharged a buckshot to his cross guard.
Jaune flew a few feet but instantly charged her with a flying kick she blocked but didn't expect three more kicks to the face before gravity claimed him. He landed and attempted a spinning backhand but she ducked it, grabbed his wrist in a vice like grip and punch him in the stomach…hard.
*Bang*
Then an uppercut to the chin
*Bang*
And finished off with a yamazuki that caught his face and chest.
*Bang*
Jaune flew towards where Jimmy, the twins and Junior were watching and rolled into a crouch with his head down.
The girl was panting now "hey, not bad guy"
Jaune wiped the trickle of blood from his lip before his Aura healed it "I thought the cat got your tongue or am I just special."
She straightened up and grinned "nah you lasted longer than them."
"That right?" he stood up still not facing her.
"Hmm-hm"
"You know I'd like to have friendly banter as much as the next guy but I'm not in the mood" he started pulling off his tie.
The girl pouted "aw don't be like that~" she teased.
"You come in here, attack my co-workers and my boss and" he turned around "you broke my sunglasses" he took said glasses off and stepped on it "we are way past talking."
"Jimmy hold my shirt" He unbuttoned his and gave it and his tie to Jimmy.
The girl went into a south paw stance as he approached slowly until they were ten feet apart. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his vest and rolled up his sleeves, his eyes not leaving hers.
She scoffed a little "not gonna lose the hat?"
"Not gonna lose the attitude?"
The crisp retort made her frown but she didn't falter in the banter "yeesh, overreaction much."
"Says the girl who exploded over her hair" he deadpanned before going into an open palm stance, both feet forward, hands mirroring the position with his palms facing inwards.
The girl cocked her head and eyebrow at the odd, vaguely familiar stance.
"What's the matter, scared?"
Her fists clenched and shot her hands behind to propel herself to him with a shot-punch he deflected with a spin. Not falling for it twice, she halted her momentum to kick from behind but his palm blocked it down. He attempted a back kick but she ducked and tried a backhand that was caught.
She spun to use her other hand to do a shot punch but he leaned away at the last second to dodge it, sidestepped the follow up kick and deflect the roundhouse kick. He grabbed her hand when she attempted a punch, ducked the shot to do a elbow strike the side of her ribcage before dealing a palm strike to her shoulder.
"Argh!"
With a growl she jerked her hand away to do a backhand but he leaned away simultaneously doing a front kick that sent her staggering. He went back into the stance with his face stoic he gestured with his palm for her to attack and she took the challenge with all the tact of a bull.
She charged firing shots that Jaune dodged but once she was in close he took to redirecting all of her buckshot punches with well placed palm strikes to her wrist, forearms and elbows until the last shot where grabbed her arm and judo threw her to the ground with her hand behind her back. Jaune wasted no time in delivering a powerful knee strike directly to the side of her face.
"Agh!"
He saw the flames on her hair die a bit from his attack and pressed forward. She saw him coming and did a double handstand-kick which he blocked. She got to her feet and attempted a side kick but he did a front kick to the back of her thigh forcing her to lose her balance and stagger. He capitalized on her loss of balance with several gattling jabs to her chest and face ending with a powerful punch that slammed the back of her head into the door.
She reared back her hand to fire a shot but he leaned away while delivering a palm strike to her face. She tried to use her other hand but Jaune used his right forearm to her wrist to halt the trajectory while sidestepping the shot and deliver a elbow strike across her face with his left arm.
He punched her square in the chest to keep her pinned to the door and delivered a series of elbow strikes. The girl had no choice but to put her arms up in an attempt to protect her head and face. It was when he reared his fist back did she take the chance to duck and roll from under him. She vaguely caught the sound of the metal door denting.
She came from her dive panting, her lilac eyes widen when he wasn't there. Her eyes darted around the area but he was gone. Upon hearing incoming footsteps she whipped around just in time to be punched across the face. Her Aura visibly flickered before her body slammed into the metal door and she collapsed face first on the floor.
There was a brief moment of silence where everyone gawked at him while he slowly lowered his fist. After a moment of her being unresponsive he gave a tired sigh and turned to the peanut gallery.
"You guys okay?"
Junior was the first one to break out of his shock "what the hell was that?" he gestured to the unconscious girl then him.
"Me earning my paycheck" he said as if it was obvious "that's the reason why you hired me right?"
Junior's mouth opened but it closed just as fast and he adopted a stern gaze "what's your name kid?"
Jaune stared at him 'it's been almost two weeks and he doesn't even remember my name?'
His eye twitched at the revelation but he sucked it up "Jaune"
"Good job"
'Good job?'
He looked around "you're club is destroyed" he noted.
Junior looked around and grimaced "at least you got the one who did it."
Again his eyes trailed to the blonde girl's unconscious form, Jaune shrugged 'whatever helps him sleep at night.'
"So do I get paid extra for this?"
Junior glared at him "no"
"No? I singlehandedly put her down when she kicked all your asses."
"That's what I pay you for"
"You pay me to guard against punks and drunk civilians. You pay the twins to handle anything above my pay grade like say, a trained Huntress, who by the way beat them" he glanced at the twins "no offence."
Melanie rubbed her jaw while Militia held her stomach with a grimace.
Junior still held firm so Jaune sighed "you know what fine, if I'm not gonna be properly compensated for my hard work then I'm out. You guys can deal with the next pissed off Hunter that strolls in."
"Ugh~" the girl groaned, starting to stir.
"I guess that's my cue" he mumbled before heading towards the door.
The twins looked worriedly at their boss while Junior paled "alright, alright! Fine" this made him stop "you'll get your compensation."
"Great~" he pulled the brim of his hat down further to approach the blonde Huntress.
She managed to get to her knees before he grabbed her by the scruff of her jacket and pushed her back against the door. She looked pretty Jaune admitted, even with the bruised cheek, bloody nose and black eye.
"What's your name blondie."
"Y-Yang."
"Well Yang I'm gonna only say this once so listen up. I don't know who you are and I don't care. I made you lose your attitude, if I ever see you causing trouble here again" he pulled out a switchblade and held it to her throat "you'll lose something more permanent"
Just for kicks he brushed the blade against her bangs and her eyes widen in panic "no!"
He pushed her against the door harder "shut, up. Just remember what I said because your life and your hair are going to be on the line, got it?"
"G-got it"
He backed away and jerked his head "now beat it."
She said nothing more and went through the door with her tail between her legs. Jaune held no sympathy, she should have thought about it before thrashing The Club.
He shook his head "fucking Hunters."
This is exactly why he didn't like Hunters, they think just because they have power they can do whatever they want with no consequences. At least some of them know their place but then you get the ones like Yang.
He turned to the thrashed club, Junior was in the middle of it grumbling to himself while Jimmy was helping the twins up the stairs to the condo upstairs. He sighed,
It felt good putting blondie in her place but it was a hollow victory at best. Beating blondie wasn't going to fix The Club or pay for damages. On the bright side, at least Junior's reputation would still be intact. As far as gangbangers went Junior was mild, he was still hardcore but he was a businessman (a stingy one) and I prefer that to an ignorant jackass.
I walked up to him "so what now boss?"
Junior had a piece of glass in his hand "gonna assess damages and clean up. Place will be shut down for a few days-"
A glass pillar collapsed
"-weeks, we'll be shut down for a few weeks" he swept a hand through his hair "fuck."
"Come in tomorrow?"
Junior gave him a raised eyebrow "yeah I still got some stuff for you to do. Christ kid why didn't you tell me you were combat trained?"
Jaune scowled at him "I did"
"Really?" Junior couldn't believe that, how the hell could he have a guy arguably more skilled than the twins on the payroll and put him on back entrance duty.
"I'm pretty sure I put it I put 'combat trained' on my resume under 'skills listing'"
Junior gained some clarity "oh"
"…you didn't read it did you?"
Junior didn't look remorseful "you wouldn't believe how many of these morons put down combat trained after a few rounds in a boxing ring."
Jaune could understand that,
There's a big difference between combat trained and knowing how to fight. The key difference being Aura, being 'combat trained' means that you have your Aura unlocked and trained knowing how to utilize it along with some formal training in combat. Contrary to popular belief, it's a lot more complex than simply knowing a few moves and having your Aura unlocked.
"In my defense kid, you don't exactly dress like someone combat trained."
"What you mean my clothes don't have a color theme and I don't carry around stupidly complex weapon?" he scoffed "I don't need all that to prove I can kick ass and the last thing I want to do is be compared to a Hunter."
Junior didn't miss the contempt in his voice when he said the word.
"Besides" he cracked a grin "I like the suit."
Junior stared at him for a moment before guffawing "heh, you're alright Jaune" he shrugged in response "alright get outta here and come back tomorrow."
"Alright boss" he gathered his suit jacket and tie before heading for the back.
\
Twenty minutes later and Jaune was walking down the poor streets of vale wearing blue ripped jeans, dirty white sneakers and his black hoodie he had up to conceal his face. Soon the smell of sewers and the sight of gutter trash entered his vision. Hustlers hung out on the street corners talking and the convenience store owner was closing shop.
Today was an early night thanks to blondie, he was used to going home with a lot less people on the road. Not that it really mattered, no one really messed with him, as far as people were concerned he was just another punk on the street.
He turned into an apartment complex and headed up the stairs towards his room. Once he unlocked the doors a smile came to his face.
"Home sweet home"
Author's Notes: Continuing my time into new territory I've always toyed with the concept of Jaune as a gangster, well not a gangster but a thug.
To be clear this take on the blonde knight wasn't grown in a warm household, he lived his life in the ghetto on the edge of poverty. He isn't chivalrous and isn't out to be a hero making the world a better place. He's just a guy trying to get by in life in the way he wants to. He doesn't give shit about authority and though he has enough of a moral compass to not be a complete asshole the only people he really cares about are the ones from his neighborhood.
On the other hand though he isn't an ignorant gangbanger he can sympathize with people on the wrong side of the law and the so-called 'rats' of society so any crime they commit he gets it enough not to hold it against them…much.
PS: Stay Tuned for Valentines Day or what I'd like to call crackship day where I will be releasing stories dedicated to two of my favorite (and most obscured) crackships.