Struggle and Strife

Chapter 4, Of Ninjas and Love

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

[SaS]

After a few minutes of debate and asking permission by what appeared to be the local law enforcement, Jaune decided that perhaps driving Fenrir up the steps would be the only choice he had outside of dragging the monstrosity of a bike by hand. People had quickly gotten out of his way to allow the large bike to pass them, more than a few folks giving him an ugly stare as a result.

During the climb up the multiple flights of stairs, the former Army grunt took his time to examine his surroundings a bit closer, finding more than a few instances where he could compare Kuo Kuana to Wutai, if in architecture and native plant life.

The island nation was very obviously tropical in nature, quite a few palm trees blowing in the wind while the faint smell of the sea mixed pleasantly with the scent of fruits and spices in the distance. Thanks to his enhanced senses, the former puppet of Sephiroth could pick out subtle hints of something else mixed in the breeze, likely an odd mixture of pheromones being released by the animal-like people around him.

He once more found himself cursing Hojo even in his death for the curse placed upon him in his former life, knowing that he shouldn't be able to pick up traces of the sickly sweet smell that faintly wafted by when he passed by a particularly bold Faunus with wide hips and a lions tail wrapped around her waist.

Jaune had glanced in her direction for all of a moment, Mako green meeting amber before he turned away with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

She had wiggled her brows before winking as he passed, and it took a bit more restraint than normal to stop him from turning his head slightly to watch her descend the steps from the corner of his eyes.

He was a male, and he did appreciate a good view, but staring at someones ass while driving where he shouldn't have been had been the main reason Reno the former Turk wasn't allowed in Edge and Jaune did not want to be kicked out of Menagerie for crashing.

After a few moments of driving, the spiky haired swordsman reached the top of the stairs and slowed Fenrir to a stop to give him a moment to figure out where he was going. Houses and businesses dotted the horizon for as far as he could see, large portions of foliage having been removed within the once dense jungle to make way for the civilization that had sprung up on the island.

There was nothing he could really do at the moment besides continue forward, driving along the widened dirt path until he came across what he assumed to be a hostel of sorts. Once more pulling over and allowing Fenrir to lower itself to the ground to rest upon its frame to prevent the bike from being stolen, Jaune retrieved the rest of the Fusion Sword from his weapon compartment and the brown parcel he had carried from Mistral to Menagerie.

The black-clad blond found himself being watched by the curious passers by that lumbered up and down the streets of Kuo Kuana, some of them going as far as whispering and pointing like the passengers of Captain Black's ship had. It was obvious that the rumors from the ship-goers was already making their rounds with the natives.

Suppressing a wince at just how many eyes were drawn his way, the blond ushered himself into the hotel and proceeded towards the front desk after making sure his array of weapons were secure within their holsters.

"H-hello! Good evening, mate!" Came a nervous voice to Jaune's right as he stepped into the main lounge, causing him to slowly turn his head to meet the gaze of the jittery looking woman that called out to him, "May... may I help you?"

The woman looked to be less than five and a half feet tall, though her ears clearly put her at almost six foot alone. She wore what appeared to be a tight black leotard under a slightly unzipped mechanic suit with large goggles upon her brow. Her hair was a dark chocolate brown while her eyes were only a few shades lighter. A button like nose and pouty lips rounded out her already soft features, giving her an appearance that put her well within Jaune's top fifty of memorable faces.

Her accent was strange, sounding almost mocking in a way just by the tone, even though she had clearly worded her greeting and question politely.

"I'd like to rent a room for four days and nights, please." Jaune proceeded towards the desk at a brisk pace and had to lean down a bit to maintain eye contact. Mostly it was so he didn't have to look down his nose to maintain eye contact with the woman bearing a name tag with the name 'Scarlatina' on it.

"Oh, were you one of the Huntsmen for the Black Pearl?" She perked up a bit after hearing how long he would be staying, having been told by the owner of the hotel that she should expect an influx of guests within the next few days, "I hope you didn't have your hands too full on this trip, I heard you guys ran into a Sea Feilong!"

Jaune blinked in confusion, having never heard the name before in his life before coming to the conclusion that she was talking about the dragon Grimm that had roughed up the team of four hired to protect the ship he was on.

"I'm not a Huntsman, but we did run into a sea dragon if that's what a Sea Feilong is." Jaune didn't elaborate on the fact that he had turned said sea dragon into sashimi after the Huntsmen failed to take it down, "So, about that room?"

All it took was a quirk of his brow and a further incline of his head to get the poor woman to quickly start tapping away at her large Scroll, a blush dancing across her button-like nose at the look. She had cast another nervous look at the arsenal of weapons on his back after his admission of not being a Huntsman, only for her eyes to widen a moment later in some form of recognition after eying his pauldron.

He didn't know what she was thinking, and he most likely didn't want to. She seemed like a strange individual from what he could tell, shy and quirky. He had his fair share with just what quirky really meant beneath the surface.

"T-that will be two hundred Lien, sir! Are you p-paying with chip, or card?" The brown haired Faunus eventually gathered her wits enough to speak once more, pulling up one of the fifteen rooms left available in the hotel.

Reaching into his inner coat and fondling the contents of one of his hidden pockets, Jaune eventually found what he was feeling around for and withdrew what functioned as 'cash', three cards that held a hundred Lien within each. "Chip is fine, never trust a bank."

Scarlatina giggled at his monotone delivery and attempted to hand him back one of the cards after noticing more than two. "Here you go sir, I only need two hundred."

"Keep it, I was actually about to ask a favor of you, if you wouldn't mind." Jaune refused the card before raising the brown parcel with his left hand, having had it tucked beneath his arm while they spoke, "I have a delivery to make but I have no idea where to start looking for the recipient."

"Oh? I, uh, do mechanic work when I'm not here, so I know a lot of people around town... m-may I ask who you are looking for?" The woman looked a bit concerned about taking such a large amount of money from a stranger, especially for something as little as giving directions.

"A woman named Kali Belladonna, does that ring any bells?" The spiky haired blond asked hopefully, knowing that his chances of finding the woman on his own were abysmal at best.

It wasn't as if he could just look her up on the web with his Scroll, as most people hardly put their information out for the public to know.

"That's the High Chieftain's wife, of course I know who she is!" The woman almost seemed offended at the question and then her eyes narrowed in his direction, "How do you not know who she is?"

Well, that wasn't something he was expecting to hear. Jaune knew that unlike the four Kingdoms, Menagerie had a singular leader in the form of a benevolent dictatorship, but that was as far as he bothered to study in the past. Considering his occupation and his lack of ability to stay in one place long, he never took the governments of those around him too seriously, as they would hardly impact his life out in the wilds of Remnant.

His education had been slightly lacking in some departments, as he focused more on things that would directly influence him and his life. Making a mental note for himself to pick up his studies again during his free time, Jaune focused his attention back towards the short woman named Scarlatina.

He tilted his head slightly at the questioning look she was giving him, as if she couldn't comprehend how he didn't know the name of Menagerie's leaders wife.

"I guess I just didn't pay attention if I was told in the past, who knows. Can you tell me where to find her, then?"

The heavy gaze of the rabbit Faunus didn't leave his back until he cleared the doorway of the hotel once more, his target having been located with far more ease than he was expecting.

Reaching into her pocket, the woman with the Scarlatina name-tag withdrew her Scroll and made a quick call the moment the tall blond was out of sight, only taking moments for her call to be answered. "Hey Georgie, it's Sylvie, from night shift? What's the scoop on the blond swordsman that was on the Black Pearl on this trip? No, he didn't threaten me, just checked into the hotel for a few days, now what do you know? Is he one of us?"

[SaS]

Kali Belladonna had been humming to herself, dancing around her large kitchen as she worked on her husbands favorite dish when an out of breath guard rushed in and nearly collapsed to his knees before her.

Pulling her mittens from her hands, Kali addressed the man payed to guard her and her husband with his life with concern evident in her voice. "Citrine, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, my lady, I thank you for your concern! I must ask, were you expecting a package from a man claiming to be from one Strife Delivery Service?" Citrine gulped down another lung-full of air, having ran from the main entrance of the Belladonna manor all the way towards the kitchen as quickly as he could.

It was, of course, to either confirm or deny the sword wielding maniac currently looking for his High Chieftain's wife in his efforts.

"Oh! Goodie, my books are here! Ghira is going to be so happy!" Kali looked absolutely giddy upon hearing that the delivery boy from the SDS had finally arrived, having been waiting not so patiently for the last few days for its scheduled arrival. "Let me just turn the temp down on the oven and I'll be right down!"

Not trying to hide his nervousness what-so-ever, Citrine felt it prudent to argue her decision, even if it potentially got him fired. "Ma'am, I... don't think that's a good idea! The delivery boy... something about him isn't right! His eyes make my hair stand on end!"

"Oh that's just rude, Citrine! I'm sure there is absolutely nothing wrong with the boy, you are always so paranoid about everyone!" Kali didn't seem to want to listen to her bodyguard, "Here, come with me then, now I want to meet him just to say I told you so."

After making sure the kitchen was secure and the tuna casserole wasn't going to burn, the two set off towards the main entrance at a more subdued pace than Citrine had run in at. A minute or two later and the two stepped into the main foyer, which had become thick with tension in Citrine's absence.

Standing in the center of her foyer was a sight to behold.

"I'm not here for a fight, but if you try an' poke me with that stick one more time..." A tall blond dressed from head to toe in black with some silver accents looked positively livid, an obviously heavy brown parcel clutched tightly at his chest in a defensive manner.

Using her sharp eyesight to take in his figure better, Kali couldn't help but be both impressed and slightly intimidated by the tall blond with spiky hair. Upon his back was a plethora of swords, as if he had a different one for each day of the week, and each was easily larger and longer than either of her arms. She couldn't help but question his diverse taste in all that was a blade, as well as how he could possibly have a need to carry them all at once.

The mere fact he was able to carry so many weapons upon his back while appearing so casual about it spoke volumes of his strength, possibly putting him on par with her beloved Ghira as far as raw physical power went.

She bet his ass looked fabulous with that kind of constant work out if he went around carrying that many swords constantly.

His arms were lined with well defined muscle, obviously from wielding so many swords of varying sizes and shapes, and Kali was forced to resist the urge to imagine what he looked like beneath the stylish turtleneck vest he wore. She was deathly loyal to Ghira, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to have lewd thoughts.

She just tried to keep them to a minimum. Imagining everyone she saw naked was an old habit she developed during the early days of the White Fang when they were still a rag-tag traveling bunch of peacemongers. It was hard to entertain yourself with so many days spent walking in between secluded villages bearing minimal Faunus populations, even with such an endearing husband at your side nearly every day of the week.

He had a single pauldron upon his shoulder, styled in the motif of a wolf. Near his chest, there was another little wolves head, this one with a hoop in its mouth. Heavy black fabric covered his waist above wide, flowing pants of some sort of custom design, either leg of the pants rolled up and suspended with a belt so they didn't drag the ground when he walked. The last notable piece of clothing was the heavy boots upon his feet reinforced with metal plating, some wear and tear obvious to her even from a distance.

The last notable feature about the tall blond with gravity defying hair was his eyes. They were glowing a strange green color that was azure in some spots and a deep emerald in others, the light shining from within visible even during the day. His pupils were slit in a way that was feline, but at the same time, she got a very reptilian vibe from.

He must have been a Faunus, then, because no Human had eyes that primal, no matter what their Semblance may be.

Kali could very well see why Citrine was intimidated, having never really been exposed to an obviously powerful Huntsmen or Aura user. Hell, even with her own experience with exceptionally strong warriors, she still got the 'Don't Cross Me' feeling down her spine despite the some dozen foot gap between them.

Deciding it was better to step in before one of her body guards bit off more than they could chew, Kali addressed the tall blond with obvious cheer in her voice.

"Hey! You! Are you with Strife Delivery Service?" Kali questioned loudly, making sure she could be heard over the grumbling and threats of the many people gathered in the foyer aimed at the blond, "I've been expecting you for the past few days now, what happened to prompt delivery?"

"I apologize ma'am, the Black Pearl was attacked by a Sea Feilong, I believe it was called." The blond answered her question promptly and with no non-sense, a professional tone taking over his voice at once, "A few of the engines were blown and a portion of the ship had to be sealed off, making the trip pretty darn slow."

"Oh my goodness, the Sea Feilong? I'm glad you were able to get away from it, it's been haunting our seas for years now!" Kali was not expecting to hear that one of the only vessels going from Mistral to Menagerie was damaged so badly, knowing that it would damage the economy just as badly if it wasn't repaired post-haste.

Captain Black was one of the only people trusted by the higher ups of Menagerie to handle their goods and people without letting prejudice color his actions, and most of their trading was done in Mistral through his vessel as a result.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that one any more, it's skull is now a proud ornament of the Black Pearl." The courier was quick to dismiss her fears and it visibly brought her relief to hear, causing her to brighten back up in an instant. "I'm sure the ship with be as right as rain in a few days."

"Where are my manners, I'm so sorry... My name is Kali Belladonna, Matron of Kuo Kuana, It's nice to meet you Mister..." Kali trailed off, obviously fishing for a name.

"Jaune Arc, Strife Delivery Services, it's nice to meet you Miss Belladonna. I have a package here for you, if you wouldn't mind signing for retrieval?" Jaune extended the large parcel in her direction, clearly eager to have it out of his care so he could go about his business.

Giving him another once over, Kali suppressed a smirk and decided to delay him instead, a nefarious plan brewing in the back of her mind involving her daughter and a mysterious courier who went to the extremes to see his duties fulfilled.

Just like one of her favorite side characters from the Ninjas of Love series, Claude Strafe!

It was a thrilling story with just the right amount of smut to keep her sitting on the edge of her seat in frustration and anticipation, filled with corporate espionage, love triangles, political intrigue and violence! What wasn't to love about it?

"Sure, sure, but only if you stay for dinner! We're having tuna casserole~!"

Jaune couldn't argue with that logic even if he tried.

[SaS]

"Ghira, dear, our books are here! We also have a guest for dinner, come say hello!"

Ghira Belladonna heard the voice of his wife call out all the way in his office, causing him to do a little happy dance in his chair upon hearing the great news, completely ignoring the fact that he was currently in the middle of a video call with the High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan.

"It's hard to take you seriously when you do things like this, Ghira." The person on the other end of their call spoke with a disbelieving tone, unable to understand how such a man could have founded the White Fang with how goofy he acted sometimes when alone. "I can call back in an hour, I'll have a better idea on our situation by then I'm sure."

"Oh hush, Sienna, you'd be doing a happy dance too if you just found out an unreleased Ninjas of Love, signed by the author, just arrived at your doorstep. Excuuuuse me." Ghira defended himself from the fiery womans snarky attitude, not letting her words detract from his now great mood. "I'll ask Kali if she's heard anything about who killed the Sea Feilong, she's more in tune with gossip than I'll ever be. Hopefully she'll find the video floating around as well."

"And when you find him?" Sienna seemed hesitant to address the man who recently killed their resident nuisance, the sea dragon having sunk dozens of fishing boats and transport ships over the past few years.

Only the largest of ships had been capable of treading the waters safely, and even then they had to be heavily armed to ensure the safety of the passengers aboard.

"I'll ask for his help, obviously." The large man with thick facial hair responded without having to think about it, as if his answer was as obvious as he said it was.

The two had been discussing the damage to Captain Black's vessel and the ramifications it would have, especially with their best team of Huntsmen now either missing or heavily wounded. They had been expecting the ship back for almost three days now, specifically the group of four that represented the best four academy trained Huntsmen loyal to Kuo Kuana.

The White Fang were not the only armed forces of the island nation, though they far outnumbered the Huntsmen and Huntresses who reported to Ghira as High Chieftain. With their best hopes dead and wounded at the hands of the Sea Feilong, Kuo Kuana was in a tight spot as the Grimm incursions from the desert to the east were getting worse by the day.

They were losing people left and right holding them off, and most of their Huntsmen and Huntresses lay wounded in the hospital recovering while those in the White Fang without Aura proved less fortunate. It was turning into a bloodbath, and Ghira was only a few days away from being forced to deal with the issue himself, even if it cost him his life.

There was a good reason that the island now named Menagerie hadn't been settled in the past, as the Grimm that roamed the lands were far more dangerous than those near Atlas, Vale and Mistral alike. The only other nation that had it nearly as bad as Menagerie when it came to the native Grimm population was Vacuo, and that was merely due to their location being near a dried up oasis in the middle of a vast desert.

Sienna and Ghira had been working nonstop to keep information from leaking to the public on the off chance of causing a panic. With the Black Pearl having returned damaged after an attack by their dreaded local sea dragon and their remaining ground forces spread thin, it was only a matter of time before the negative emotions started attracting the worst of the Grimm to the village should word start spreading too.

"What would we have to give for his help, though?" Sienna questioned softly after a few moments of silence, a pensive expression upon her face on the display.

Despite her violent methods to achieve Faunus equality, she did not approach every situation in life with guns blazing. Sometimes, diplomacy was needed, especially when asking a foreigner for help with issues of vital national security.

"I'd give anything to keep Kuo Kuana safe." Ghira left no room for misinterpreting his words, making it clear that no price was off the table when he found the man rumored to have slain the Sea Feilong. "If he could kill that beast, then maybe he can kill another."

Sienna said nothing, instead nodding her head as if she agreed with him before their call abruptly ended.

Leaning back in his seat, Ghira Belladonna allowed his call screen to close, bringing his large Scroll back to its home screen, which showed the image of Kali, Blake and himself all smiling for the camera with the large village they all called home in the backdrop.

"Let's hope you are a reasonable man, stranger."