"This was a bad idea," Nori said. She had a ciabatta loaded with cured meats and vegetables she'd bought from the cafeteria food cart when it passed. Next to her was Euclase with a slice of pepperoni pizza, Verde with a box of fried rice, and Jaune with another two protein bars.
"What did you expect from someone who uses just a big shield fighting someone with a smaller but almost as big shield?" Verde said with a frown. He was pointing with his chopsticks at the fight with a passion.
Vida was using her large heater shield to swat Sphene away from her. The girl had a mean arm and an even meaner style of fighting, using her massive strength to tank blows and dish out counters. From the other side, Sphene would meet her shoves with his own shield then try to get a hit in with his arming sword. In terms of style, Sphene's was the closest to Jaune's, but his shield had an extra gimmick to it—just like everyone else.
Crocea Mors didn't do anything though, but that was more his not wanting to decide than for lack of trying to come up with something.
Sphene jumped back from their shoving match and put something to his mouth, after which he became wreathed in flames. The guy's semblance was to give his aura a fire element and empower his attacks with splashing heat, and what he'd taken was most likely a small pill of fire Dust.
"Senka's gonna have my ass for this," Mr. Branwen said.
The air around Sphene was distorting from the heat, and Vida unpacked her shield into its anti-material rifle form. The thing with fighting Vida was to either risk her using her semblance and strength to near literally rip you apart—because her semblance was friction—or to get shot to kingdom come with her gun. With Sphene, it was to not let him get close. Both fighters fought with the same dogmas but executed them in differently.
Sphene hid behind his shield and charged forward, but each of Vida's shots pushed him back and ate away at his aura. Jaune was reminded again of his father's words: aura isn't magic. The same aura that protected their bodies from harm was also the same aura that protected their weapons, clothes, and even fueled their semblances.
Verde was grumbling to the side, and Nori tried to wave down the irritable teen. "I can't get why that idiot keeps taking the shots straight on," he said. Verde stood up. "Angle your shield you idiot!" he said out loud.
Sphene started doing so and Mr. Branwen just chuckled while instructor Meitnerium gave a grudging shrug.
Just then Yang took her seat behind Jaune and she passed him a milkshake. "Oh," she said. "Vida and Sphene."
"Thanks Yang," Jaune said. "And yeah, Vida and Sphene."
"Yikes," the blonde said.
"Yikes is right," Nori said with a pout.
Vida fired shot after shot at Sphene and effectively brought him down by fifteen percent from the barrage alone. But with such large shells, she could only carry so much. Jaune knew she carried three clips of six shots each during normal spars, and she'd just unloaded two with this.
Sphene used that lull after the last shot to charge at Vida, fiery aura flared in full before inserting his sword into the tip of his heater shield. The mass of metal revealed sections along its surface and the entire thing folded out into a large axe, and the fire along the boy's body travelled up to the blade.
Another peculiarity to Sphene's semblance was that it caused his aura to become explosive after leaving his body—and combined with Dust…
Vida put up her shield and Sphene jumped into the air, axe head pointed back from him. The air behind him exploded and he was flung by the blast forward. In mid-air, Sphene turned his axe up, the almost as large as him weapon looking ominous flying towards the girl.
Vida stood her ground and angled her shield at him.
The air above Sphene exploded again and his axe head crashed downwards with a roar—
—then he flew straight up into the ceiling without his weapon and his aura going down to the mid-yellow zone while Vida was thrown back where they collided.
The buzzer went off when the girl stopped rolling.
Vida stood up after that and dusted her clothes clean before picking up the no longer burning axe off the ground. Sphene landed on his feet a moment later, and she passed him back his weapon.
Yang whistled at the outcome, Euclase nodded with his lips pressed together, and Nori puffed out what little chest she could. The others around them clapped at what happened.
"Win by disarming," Mr. Branwen said. "Vida, good one with that last hit, but that was some wild shooting earlier."
"What just happened?" Verde said, turning to Jaune. His eyebrows were knit together.
"For someone with four eyes, your visual acuity sure sucks," Nori said with a smirk.
"That's because my eyes are bad," Verde said. "I was cleaning my damn lenses, pipsqueak."
Nori hmphed before doing her high society lady laugh, and ending with a sharp, "Pleb."
Yang ruffled Verde's hair. "She most likely used her semblance before receiving Sphene's attack, and then used herself as a fulcrum to counter with." She shot Jaune a sly look. "Isn't that right, 'Mister hit the pretty lady with the butt of my sword'?"
"I make no motion to deny that," Jaune said. "But it almost worked, didn't it?"
"I see," Verde said. "Damn, you lot are crazy."
Nori stuck her tongue out at him.
"Damn it still hurt, you know," she said with a pout.
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "I'll buy you lunch as an apology?"
"Deal." But Yang's smile softened the small blow to his wallet, and besides, he was sure she burned through more energy than him with how she was made to use her semblance.
Mr. Branwen ended the class then to get Ms. Yamahashi's help repairing the arena they all tore up, and Verde waived goodbye to their group with Euclase to go to Sphene and Auri for lunch. Nori and Vida also excused themselves to go with their aunt since they had food at home. So, it was him and Yang together for lunch.
And Ruby, Yang's little sister.
"Hi Jaune," Ruby said, her sing-song voice carrying easily in the not so crowded cafeteria.
Jaune was standing in line with Yang when he heard the greeting. He turned and saw a familiar pair of silver eyes, with her red hood and cape trailing behind her. It was the one most iconic piece he'd never seen the girl without. Signal was a small school so it didn't require a uniform, though they try to hide it by saying they're championing individuality instead. Posturing was a massive thing to Remnant's continuing sanity, and it was practically all they had going given how much more of the world was locked off to them.
"Hi Ruby," Jaune said, while Yang moved in to coddle her baby sister.
"Hey baby sister," the blonde cooed.
"Ugh, Yang." Ruby pushed off the blonde with a half-hearted effort, and the other fighting back with a fit of giggles and nuzzles. They eventually settled for Yang perching her chin on Ruby's head.
Jaune laughed at the two and Ruby's cheeks bloomed to a slight pink. "Not eating with your dad today?"
Yang was poking her sister's cheeks, who swatted her hands away with less enthusiasm than earlier. "Dad's out shopping for the party later," she said.
"More alcohol for your uncle?" Jaune put on a sheepish grin.
Ruby shrugged before rolling her eyes. "The day he'll say enough is enough is the day teacher Dimi gets a boyfriend."
"That was harsh sis," Yang said. "But I can't deny that."
Another thing with the life of a Huntsman or Huntress was that it was a lot harder for them to settle down, for… several reasons. Some just never found the time, and some—for all the strength they had—were just too afraid, at least, those were the usual stories.
"She's not a Meitnerium for nothing," Jaune said. Nori and Vida, together with their aunt hailed from the Meitnerium-Fluorite family, kind of like the Schnees except with weapons manufacturing instead of Dust in general. They aren't as well-known with the regular citizens, but every Huntsman or Huntress worth their salt knows that if you need something dead from way over there, it's Fabrique Mistral you want and nothing else.
"And who knows," Jaune continued, "she just might end up with your uncle for all we know."
Yang visibly shuddered. "Please no," she said. "Just thinking of those two together gives me the heebie-jeebies for some reason."
"Eh?" Ruby tilted her head at her sister. "Do you mean that in a together together way? Like, together?" She dragged out the e's in that last word for as long as she could and added inflections Jaune knew shouldn't ever be used in that context.
"Hush Ruby," Yang said, "we do not speak of this again. And we're up."
The last person in front of him moved off the queue, and it was their turn next to order. He saw a giant of a man wearing a black tank top that emphasized his chiseled physique, his tanned skin contrasting against a platinum blonde head of cropped hair and the rugged chin with a just as pale stubble along the square jaw.
"Hey Jaune," Buff said with a booming bass. "Yang, Ruby." He nodded at the other two before turning back to the blond. "Please don't say the usual."
"Hi Buff," he said with a wry grin. "I'll have the usual." Buff Delmonico was the eldest instructor in Signal right after the principal and served as the physical trainer and nutritionist of the school. Though the unnecessary exposure was something everyone could do without.
"As much as I agree with your eating habits, I'd still rather have you be a cheeky brat." Jaune came to him before to whip up the simplest, and healthiest meal he could keep eating without having to think about things, and the man delivered. "But at least you're eating right." Buff huffed. "Eh, just feel free to cheat every now then, yeah?"
Buff set in front of him a tray with a sandwich loaded with lots of veggies and some thick slices of ham, a carton of milk, and a light soup. Yang went up next and got a bowl of beef noodles and a steamed bun, while Ruby got a plate of bread and jams and scrambled eggs plus a side of cookies and milk.
They got their trays and Jaune swiped his Scroll over the terminal to pay for all their food, since Enciel really spoils him with his allowance, then took their seats near the windows overlooking the courtyard. Ruby attacked her meal with a fervor soon after and Yang excused herself from Jaune to have a date with Mr. Beef Brisket.
Jaune picked up his sandwich and bit into it, the salt cured meats melding with the fatty mayo and basil. It was a fragrant and nutritious dish that Buff gave to anyone looking for a quick fix. Access to most foods wasn't that big a problem for the bigger cities thanks to Dust enhanced crops and vertical farms, and prices also stayed within reason though remain on the high side due to transportation and the general cost of living within the cities.
To a Hunter doing regular missions though, the money was always more than enough. Still, protection comes at a premium in Remnant, and whoever can't pay moves outward instead to the frontier towns and villages.
And yet he'd lost his mother anyway.
Huntsmen and Huntresses get major concessions and benefits from the government with just about anything really. Premium healthcare, the lowest interest rates on anything and everything, scholarships, and the biggest being the ownership of land. However, it didn't take a genius to understand the cons with having all your eggs in one basket.
Training humanity's defenders doesn't come cheap, and their salaries are by extension afforded by the people they serve. Bounties for the Hunter mission boards are paid for by the people or villages or companies that commission them, and then part of that is shouldered by the kingdom that rules them. The treatise of Vytal ensured that all Huntsmen and Huntresses would forever be tied to the great cause, but it was also that duty that burdened them all.
Jaune breathed out and relaxed his jaws. Patch was a beautiful place: the people were all so nice, nature was everywhere, and the weather was great all year round. There were also barely any to no Grimm attacks all throughout the year. But it wasn't by some miracle that they ended up moving here.
All new Hunters who wish to settle down were mandated by the treatise to maintain residence within their kingdom's frontier villages for at least ten years save for extenuating circumstances—and losing his mother counted towards that. It was the price they paid to become heroes, though not everyone got charged the same.
"Thinking about someone?" Yang said. She was looking at him. Focused. Not in the diffuse way one would someone they had no regard for—even though she had a nice bowl of food in front of her.
Ruby stopped her ravenous feasting to stare for a second before eating at a slower and more mannered way.
"Oh," Jaune said, "you know, just the usual." He licked the mayonnaise that spilled over to his fingers and smiled at his friend.
Yang narrowed her eyes at him, nose crinkling just a tiny bit before she settled back into her seat. Her eyes darted left before she snorted and said, "Thinking about Vida?"
"That was out of left field," Jaune said.
"Thanks for the heads-up captain obvious. And you'd have told me otherwise anyway."
Jaune felt a tug at the corner of his lips, a half-smile he eased out by the blonde. She had a way with words to get people to trust her, and no one in the class had any bad blood with her despite the girl beating most of everyone with her fists most of the time. They were violent beatings, yes, but none were ever out of spite. Pride sometimes, but never out of contempt. She was their big ball of sunshine—or pair. Whatever.
"Hey, eyes up here Jauney," she said.
"Lewd," Ruby said.
"And your sister knows this how?" Jaune said,
"She's fourteen with access to the CCT network, what'd you expect?"
"Good point."
#
They finished their lunch and went back their separate ways, Jaune did as he always did: exercise while taking notes. While everyone else pretty much just lazed around, Vida and Auri picking up slack for their small class, and Verde and Sphene always dishing out more information than necessary once Aura Theory rolled along with Mr. Xiao Long.
After all that, sir Taiyang ended classes that day with a reminder about the coming end of term exams two weeks from now and graduation a week after. It was almost shocking to have him be reminded of that, how four years passed in a blur, all things considered. It was high time Jaune stepped up to the big leagues, and Beacon wasn't so far away now. Though of course, he still needed to pass the entrance exams.
Then, Yang's father also invited anyone interested over to her uncle Qrow's birthday party—which everyone already knew would be a bust somehow. Last year it ended with a small forest fire which Ms. Yamahashi thankfully put out with her semblance.
Jaune attended the party anyway despite his gut feeling telling him not to—more for Yang. But there was a small and morbidly curious part of him that wanted to see things how terrible things could get this time around.
And the party didn't disappoint.
There was underaged drinking involved, and a certain someone ended up punching another someone across the floor and starting a brawl which Mr. Branwen encouraged. Everyone had their auras unlocked—even their dog, Zwei—so no one really got hurt unless someone got serious. Nori then proceeded to wipe the floor with Sphene, and Jaune was reminded exactly why the girls in their class were the scariest. Auri wasn't there to be the voice of reason, and Verde was just as nasty as Yang with fanning the flames—so on the fight went until someone gave up.
There was a lot of fire and upturned earth before teacher Dimi broke up the fight. The last straw was when the smaller of the two threatened to break the other's ribs one by one with all the people there confident she could do so sober, inebriated though, no one wanted to find out. It was a peace he knew skirted over thin ice, but one everyone appreciated anyway.
He opened the door to their home, tired but happy—but instead of the usual empty house, there was his father waiting for him with the same lethargic regard. Enciel's Huntsman activities usually lasted until around seven in the evening, and six had been his earliest ever since. It wasn't ideal, but Jaune learned to take care of himself eventually, since no one else would.
"Hey dad," he said, pleasantly surprised. "You're early today." He took off his shoes and put them away by the racks.
"We have a guest," Enciel said. Jaune only now noticed the other pair of boots to by the side. "And, I'm sure you'll be real thrilled once you see who."
His father ushered him into the living room where he saw a silhouette he could only remember from half-forgotten dreams. The man turned, and he saw a smile that shone brighter than anything.
"Hello, Jaune," All Might said.
