Pink Lemonade

Chapter 7

Gentlemanly threats

Jaune awoke with a pleasant breeze hitting his face, it was a cool one with just the right amount of force to not wake him unnaturally but could gently waft through his hair as he felt a smile come across his face.

The scent of the forest hung in the air, making him wonder if Ren had gone and used that air-freshener

He had, had the best day and night of his life yesterday!

He had awakened his semblance, which seemed to be some kind of Aura Amplifier and could heal intense wounds that would otherwise be fatal and, apparently, could also boost someone's semblance.

He and Weiss had made up and were actually looking like they could be great friends, if the way she hugged him last night and cried out hundreds of apologies in what seemed like seconds was anything to go by. She had then made it clear that she was going to treat him to a day of shopping with him and Neo to, and he was quoting here, 'Pay her debts and to improve his dreadful array of clothing if he was going to try and impress a woman of Neo's calibre'. He knew she was trying to be nice and make up for all her mean words, so he didn't take offence to her words about his taste in clothing… though he imagined if Weiss tried to get rid of his hoodie, which Neo had seemed oddly attached to when she was worn it, there would be blood.

Speaking of the girl, the best thing of the entire Millennium in his opinion, was Neo herself. She had agreed to be his girlfriend! His actual, as in liking him enough to want to hug him and go on dates with him and… kiss him… If he concentrated, he could put himself right back into the memory of their first, proper, kiss from last night… the taste of her lips, the way she held onto him and gasped when he held her tightly in return and the colour of her eyes… the beauty in her eyes as she looked at him in true, unadulterated happiness… that had been the greatest moment for him and brought the biggest smile to his face whenever he thought about it.

He made to bring his hands up to cover his face to stop the prying eyes of Nora possibly seeing his intense blush, only to find his arms wouldn't move.

In confusion, Jaune tried to move his arms with a little more force, only to get the same result.

In confusion, Jaune opened his eyes and immediately noticed three things.

One. He was not in his room. Instead he appeared to be very high up above a canyon somewhere in what appeared to be the emerald forest. He was very high up indeed if the fact he couldn't see the actual bottom of said canyon was anything to go by.

Two. He was currently tied up in his quilt, lashed tightly by rope and was perilously suspended from said rope above the afore mentioned canyon. The ropes were tight, but he could hear them straining to hold his weight up.

Three. Upon looking up, so as not to release what he knew would be a girly scream at the terrifying situation he found himself in, he found a rather furious looking man glaring at him with ginger hair, forest green eyes, a cigar in his mouth that he was furiously puffing on, a rather stylish looking suit consisting of whites, blacks and a black bowler hat with a red band… alongside what was most certainly a barrel of a gun, seemingly hidden inside a cane. And it was pointed directly at his head.

Said man was standing on the edge of the canyon with an old tree on his left, to which was attached the rope Jaune found himself tied up in, who's roots were poking out into the empty nothingness of the canyon.

So Jaune did the only sensible thing his brain could do at such a sight, especially since it was literally the first thing he had seen since waking up.

He screamed.

Roman Torchwick was not in a good mood.

In fact, he was in a terrible mood.

One so bad he had already gone through his daily allowance of Cigars that Neo allowed him.

Speaking of his darling niece… it had been quite the surprise to him when, upon coming to check up on the poor girl and to offer her some more ice-cream and a movie of her choice for them to watch together, only to find her fast asleep with a peaceful look on her face.

It had been heart-warming, he knew she was a tough little scrapper, but to know she wasn't sat up in bed with a worried and scared look on her face at the fact she had nearly died that day had made him proud to be her uncle.

With a smile, he'd set the ice-cream down and went to brush a stray hair out of her eyes, however, this led to him getting the fright of his life.

His niece, his dear, poor, possibly psychotic niece shattered before his very eyes. In fear he'd clutched at the slowly disappearing shards, begging her to come back... begging her to come back to him and be okay.

It had taken him much longer than he would have liked for his brain to realise the fact that what had just occurred wasn't his niece being destroyed by some alien being bent on 'saving the universe' by killing half of it by snapping their fingers while wearing a glove containing crystals of all the types of dust.

No. it was in truth the little shits' semblance being broken, shattering the illusion she had thrown up and revealing that she had decided to go out. in the dark. Without telling him. After she had been shot. And her attacker was still out there.

The bastard had been reported to have gotten loose mere minutes after being put in the police, prison van. Apparently he'd killed both guards and was believed to be somewhere in the seedier parts of Vale that made the area he and Neo lived in, look quaint.

The pot of ice-cream had been forgotten, left to melt into goop on her nightstand, while Roman went about the apartment in a furious, parental rage where he swore, he would ban her from anything with 'cream' in the title.

He had used quite a few colourful words in the time between him trying to calm down enough to message her and then do so. Many of these words would have made even his mother blush, and that was saying something.

He had decided to go down to their little armoury in the basement where they, and all their criminal associates, kept all the good death dealing monstrosities of engineering and spent the time it took for her to get back going to town on anything and everything, he thought might be breakable. That had included no less than forty wooden boxes, a steel container, a mock up of a police barricade, a mock up body he had specially made to resemble his latest employer and, just because he knew it would hit his niece really hard for scaring him once more, her favourite tub of ice-cream she'd had specially delivered from Atlas… he knew he would have to replace it or face the wrath of her tears of despair for her treat, but it had felt good so meh.

When she finally returned, after he spotted her very awkwardly piloting what must have been a stolen bullhead without her piloting stilts so that she could reach the pedals with ease, he waited by the door for her. She'd madly rushed all the way through the building until coming to their front door. Then, with the gentle quietness of a church mouse, she'd opened the door with her best puppy dog eyes on full display.

The thing that caught his eye, however, was the fact that she had a blush on her face that worryingly didn't look from embarrassment.

Due to this, and the fact she'd nearly given him a heart attack, he had decided to do exactly what any sensible and caring uncle would do.

The previous night

Neo found herself in what looked like some form of police integration room, an over head lamp that hurt her eyes to look at, a steel table bare of any furnishings and even a camera in the corner focused directly on her.

While it did look like an interrogation room, Neo knew what this was.

It was her uncles personal meeting room for when he was meeting with a client. Buried beneath about twenty feet of concrete beneath their apartment complex, complete with a 10 inch thick, steel door and an uncountable array of deadly weapons built into the walls that were designed to defend both her uncle and any business associates he met with… or to deal with said business associate if it turned out they were there to try and kill him.

She knew, if she was here, then she was in trouble. big trouble.

The last time she'd found herself here, was when her uncle had caught her attempting to set fire to a bank that was being built because it had demolished her favourite ice-cream shop to open a new branch… he had explained that she couldn't just commit arson because she'd lost her poor, dear little slice of heaven. While she didn't get to burn it down, she had made certain that she and her uncle had driven that place into the ground by stealing all the Lien stored there when they had been a little strapped for cash.

Her night had been going so well, as well! She'd gotten to meet her hero, showed up some hot shot for embarrassing her with her tits, become friends with said hot shot and many others and… and she'd realised she had fallen for the same hero she had simply wanted to meet… the way his eyes reflected the pale moonlight as he smiled down at her, speaking those precious words that still made her heart flutter at the thought of them… she had a boyfriend!

When he'd kissed her, that had been the best part of the night. His strong hands holding her up as she took hold of his hair, his scent, his touch, his… everything… it had been one of the single greatest moments of her life…

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you, young lady…" came the growling voice of her uncle as he stalked into the room, the heavy door slamming shut and locking automatically, sitting down heavily in the chair opposite her with a cigar puffing in his mouth furiously.

She would have normally taken the thing and snapped it in half as he had very clearly been smoking more than his daily allotment… but she right now her uncle reminded her of a bomb ready to go off and she was the trigger….

He simply stared at her for a while, a glare in his eyes and a cloud of smoke slowly filling the room before the automatic extraction fan filtered it out. finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, he spoke. She kinda wished he hadn't though…

"You have no idea how much you scared me, Neo!" he shouted, evident fear and anger in his voice for her and what she'd done. Her head hanging in shame as he continued to shout. "Seriously! What could have been going through your mind!? What could have been so important that you risked going out into the streets at night, with the guy who tried to kill you still out there! Worse yet, why the hell did it seem important enough to try and trick me!?" he ranted, the cool and calm man he always presented himself as, vanishing as he cried out in anger. Tears forming in his eyes that he seemed to refuse to shed while his fists shook on the table top.

Feeling the guilt rise in her stomach, like acid burning away at her heart at the sight of her uncle's pain, Neo felt that familiar tingle in her eyes as they turned a deep shade of blue. Her lips turning down into a frown and her head hanging low.

She really hadn't thought, had she? Gods the worry and panic she must have put him through… while she would never regret going to see Jaune, she did realise there was probably a much better way she could have gone about leaving. Hell, even leaving a note saying where she was going and when she would be back would have been better…

She nearly flinched when the chair her uncle was sat on, suddenly moved back before she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder, soothingly rubbing it before she was pulled into a hug. It was warm, tender… and filled with relief.

Different than Jaune's but just as calming.

"Heh… you really worried me tonight, short stack…" he said quietly, moving his head back to look her right in the eyes, her uncle never saw her as a monster like most other people did. He had always been kind to her, and she loved him for it. While she did really like and care about Jaune, in a very different way to her uncle, the man hugging her had a place in her heart that could never be removed… and he proved it right now as he held her gently in his arms, all the anger and fear gone, replaced with a caring smile as he gently wiped away a small tear that had formed in her eye. "Look… You are in trouble. Don't start thinking you aren't because there's zilch chance of that" he said, prompting her to puff out her cheeks and nod her head in acceptance. "But… if you are honest and tell me everything I want to know, then I can make your grounding a lot shorter. We got a deal?" he questioned her, and she looked up at with a shy smile playing on her face, knowing her eyes were shining that warm yellow that showed off her happiness, and nodded before taking his and in a shake.

"Good" he smiled right back, sitting back in his seat in a much more relaxed fashion than before. "So. Where did you go?" he questioned, Neo more than happy to answer, she imagined he would be proud of her for going so far to repay a debt… even if it was also so that she could be near Mr abs and his chiselled stomach…

Well, you remember that guy I told you about? The one who saved my life? She questioned, in return he cocked an eyebrow and nodded at her, making a motion with his hand for her to carry on. I… I kind of stole his hoodie by accident once again she didn't feel like pointing out that Mr Abs had been shirtless in front of her to her uncle. So, I decided to return it, catching a ride to Beacon in the back of a Bullhead and… well… I wanted to know if I could feel that nice feeling again if I was around him… she couldn't help but blush at her 'words', that nice feeling had come back. And it had hit her like a truck full of romantic cement. Looking back at her uncle, he looked rather tense all over again, his hand on the table gripping it a little tighter and his smile seeming a little more strained… hurriedly, Neo carried on, knowing her uncle must be worried about her going to the place where people trained to take down people like them.

I kept hidden! I swear! No one spotted me, until I wanted them to! She said, seeing him relax the smallest fraction as she let out an internal 'phew'. Well, when I got to the door, I heard… Jaune, the name of the guy who saved me, talking about me. Trying to convince his friends that he had saved me and that I'd simply disappeared afterwards, which you already know about… but then he started to say really nice things about me when his weird friend asked him about me. The way he talked about me, the utter sincerity of his words just made me feel so special. I won't lie, I kinda lost control when I saw him and well, I kinda, maybe, possibly jumped on him and tricked his team into thinking I went out a window with him so we could be alone… heheh… she nervously looked around the room as she gave her retelling of the events of the night, noting a slightly murderous glint entering her uncles eye when she said the next part, listing out the events that took place before she made it to the part she'd been dreading -and well, he made me realise that the nice feeling was from the fact that I actually… well… ermm… she paused, looking up on her uncle who was actually looking quite calm as she spoke, which was in of itself a little unnerving, even as he smiled at her and inclined his head forward. Taking in a deep breath, Neo mustered up her courage and finally 'said' it. He made me realise that I had a crush on him, and that I- the terrible creak of metal, as her uncles hand dug a literal imprint into the table, stopped her in her tracks as she looked at him in shock. teeth bared and a little foam coming from his mouth, his eyes promise death and destruction to all who earned his ire.

But, with a shake of his head, her uncle seemed to come back to reality and looked down to the slightly ruined table.

"Oh, guess I don't know my own strength at times, huh kiddo?" he grinned, but it held no warmth this time. In fact, it looked like he was holding back the barely restrained rage and fury that had been threatening to come out mere seconds ago.

Are… are you okay? She questioned, to which he raised his hands and literally waved it off with a huge grin on his face.

"Yup, never better short stack" he said, Neo feeling relief that he wasn't mad at her for some reason. "So, why don't you tell your dear ol' uncle what this… Jaune was it? said to you?" he said, that glint in his eyes making her a little worried for Mr Abs but... well she'd promised her uncle to be honest with him… besides he wouldn't hurt Mr Abs, right? He hadn't done anything wrong after all.

But… better to make sure, right?

You… won't hurt him right? He means a lot to me and I won't forgive you if you lay a finger on him! she glared, though her uncle didn't even seem to notice her anger and once again gave her an easy grin.

"I, Roman Candela Torchwick, promise to not lay a finger on him in any way that could cause pain or suffering in any shape or form. That good enough for you, kiddo?" he asked, Neo nodding in reply. Her uncle never lied when it came to promises. That was a fact.

Okay… well… when he explained it, I got really excited and- she began to continue her tale once more, trying to force her blush down at the memories that were surfacing. -but then he said that didn't feel the same way… I got really sad for a moment… but then he said he'd be willing to give it a shot and would like to go on a date with me tomorrow!- She added with the biggest grin, not noticing that her uncle was busy trying to not crush Melodic Cudgel in his fist beneath the table. -Blondie kept acting like she had a chance against me, daring to threaten to bring harm to Jaune, so I did the only logical thing and jabbed her in her massive melons with the blunt end of Stabby Mc Murderson and sent her flying into the wall! He called me amazing when I did that… it made me feel really happy…- once again, Neo failed to notice that her uncle now had a visible, twitching vein on his forehead that seemed to get worse whenever she mentioned her heroes name. – scary bitch, aka Nikos, finally seemed to calm down and actually made it clear that she wouldn't stop me trying to be with him, though she mentioned not giving up until she heard bells, which was weird- that bit actually drew an incredulous look from her uncle, to which he simply replied that he was trying to decide if he should be jealous or not. That had confused her a little, but she pressed on, eager to get to bed to message Mr Abs. -The party was going really well! I met a nice, Faunus girl who was more than happy to talk books with me and even lent a signed, limited edition of a tragic romance called 'The Song Of Her Heart' to me! I also met a certain girl you may be familiar with. Does the name 'Ruby Rose' mean anything to you? she asked as she watched her uncle splutter in shock and pull of a pretty good interpretation of a gasping fish. Yup, turns out she's pretty nice when you aren't trying to kill her. That does mean she's off limits, buster. She waggled her finger threateningly, promising pain and suffering if her new friend was hurt. Uncle or not, Neo was loyal to those she considered a friend.

"Excuse me!? Neo, she sent me packing and embarrassed me in front of fire bitch! You can't seriously expect me to just let her get away with it if I see her in the streets!?" he yelled, showing true anger for the briefest of moments before she gave him a look that silenced him. it was a look that said she had something to say that would make him regret ever opening his mouth.

I let you stop me from killing Mercury when he called me a midget in front of the entire Red Axe gang

"Ah!... okay you got me there- hang on! You're the one in trouble here young lady! Why should I even be willing to listen to any demand you make?" he retorted, only to get that same look she'd given him mere seconds before. Only this time she made sure to make it clear what she had to say held information she considered seriously important.

Because… they saw my eyes uncle. They weren't like Jaune, where he couldn't seem to take his eyes off them and called them beautiful… she couldn't help but let a small smile and a blush show as she thought of the way he'd looked at her when her eyes turned rosy red… but they just didn't act like they were weird or unnatural either. I felt them change at least a few times while I was there, and people definitely saw them, but no one even batted an eye! Hell, Blondie's eyes change just like mine when she's angry!... I'm not saying they're immediately my most trusted and loved allies… but they treated me like I was normal. You know how much that means to me… Re-Ruby… all she cared about was geeking out over my weapons and playing games with me… we're meeting up next week to make some modifications to my weapon… I can honestly say I'm really looking forward to it she finished with a true, warm smile.

For a long while, her uncle just stared at her, a look of both shock and disbelief on his face as he stared at her, taking in her words. Then, with a deep sigh, he spoke.

"… Dammit… fair enough… I'll leave her alone, so long as she doesn't try to attack me herself and even then, I won't hurt her unless I have to…" he admitted, sitting back in his seat and waiting quietly for her to continue.

Thank you she said with yellow eyes and a smile that brought a brief smile from her uncle. Then… well then Bitch showed up and started to talk crap about Jaune to me- she signed with an angry scowl on her face, framed by blackening eyes. -When he showed up, when he offered that hug… despite what I thought was me ruining the party, I just let my emotions out and ran up to him… I cried into his hoodie, uncle. I don't let myself cry in front of anyone, bar you, and yet I didn't mind in front of him. I… I felt like I could let it out and he would comfort me no matter what. You should have seen his face when he tried to say that I shouldn't care what Bitch said about him… he looked utterly confused and shocked when I got angry and told him off! You'd have been proud of my scolding skills! I let him hug me again once I was done, only to be interrupted when Blondie, Nikos and Bitch appeared. Bitch was in tears and begged for both mine and his forgiveness. Jaune was awesome enough to forgive her, even if I made it clear her trying to hug me would end in death, telling her he already had as she hugged him, burying her stupid little head into his chest! Probably feeling up his muscles!- while Neo was scowling in annoyance at a girl trying to muscle in on her man, her uncle's look of shock and disbelief was growing by the second. - later, after I got my revenge of Bitch, Blondie decided to watch a movie to end the night. Everyone soon disappeared to get changed into their pyjama's… but then I realised that I didn't have anything to change into… so… ermm… well… the fact she was clearly trying to buy time so as to explain just how she had decided wearing Mr Abs' hoodie and her underwear for pyjamas was something that could not be misinterpreted, was clearly noticed by her uncle as she could almost hear his blood pressure rising. Naturally this had been before she had realised, thanks to the massive blushes that had appeared on multiple occupants of the room and the fact Mr Abs had looked ready to set on fire from the sight of her, that her choice of attire may have been… a little risqué was the word she thought Melanie had used.

What the twins had told her, in terms of what went on when a boy and girl liked each other, was pretty much her entire knowledge of the subject meaning she trusted their words as law. They had also warned her to never tell her uncle if she and a guy she got with 'did the nasty' whatever that meant. Nothing about what had happened tonight had been nasty. In fact, it was, in the simplest of terms, nice. Nice, warm, fun and amazing… so that meant it was okay to tell her uncle about what happened after the movie, right? Obviously skipping the butt grabbing and hair gripping bits, but… it wouldn't be too bad to tell him she had a boyfriend… right?

If Roman hadn't studiously made sure that Neo was never exposed to anything he deemed too sexual or adult, minus what the twins had told her which was out of his hands to an extent, then Neo would have had her mind screaming at her to abort, run and grab Mr Abs along the way and move to western Vacuo or further.

But that was of course a what-if scenario. Instead Neo's innocent, in terms of romance, mind decided it would be okay. She had promised him to tell the truth after all. It was just a small, saving grace she didn't want to tell her uncle she'd been wearing, and subsequently engulfed, by her boyfriend's hoodie out of shear embarrassment and a little worry in case, for some weird reason, her uncle got mad about it.

Blondie lent me a shirt and shorts to wear and, when I was changed, I sat down and watched the movie with Jaune and his, well I guess our, friends she grinned, not noticing the fact that Melodic Cudgel now had a very noticeable crack in the handle as he asked her a question.

"Really? Well I'm so proud of you making such good friends!" he said cheerfully, a big grin on his face. "So… where was Jaune during all this? Was he sat at the opposite end of the room? Near you? Next to you?" he enquired, Neo shook her head at his question with a smile and a roll of her eyes. Didn't her uncle know what a girl who liked a guy was supposed to do to make it clear she wanted to be with him? Surely, he was old enough to have seen it, and possibly experience it when he'd been interested in women.

Of course not, silly! She laughed silently, waving her hand at him for, apparently, being so oblivious. I did what a girl who likes a boy is supposed to do! I sat in his lap of course!

Dead silence filled the room as she finished her sentence, the big grin on her face fading as she looked at her uncle. He was slightly hunched over, hair covering his eyes and dark aura seeming to grow from his body.

She gingerly reached her hand out, taking his in her own in fear and worry for what was going on with him… and also that she may have just thrown Mr Abs to the lions' den. That what she and Mr Abs had done had somehow made him angry with her boyfriend.

But, like a rocket, he suddenly shot up from his chair with what looked like a near manic grin on his face as he happily spread his arms and laughed. For a really long time. To the point where she wondered if he'd suddenly gone a little insane.

"Haha! Of course, you did! Oh, I bet he just loved it when you did that! Tell you what sport, I'll let you off of your punishment for tonight, so why don't you get upstairs and head to bed, maybe watch a really loud movie to fall asleep to" he grinned, Neo realising he was just being silly from happiness at how good her night had gone.

Standing up, Neo nodded her head before something occurred to her, a thought that brought a large frown to her face.

Hey! You said that the nice feeling didn't mean anything! You said I should try and ignore it! You could have cost me a boyfriend! she sign-yelled, her anger at her uncle for not realising what she was feeling stopping her from seeing her uncle stop dead still for the briefest of moments. Well, lucky for me that Jaune clearly knows more about relationships that you! Oh! I forgot to say! He asked me out after the movie and, after I naturally said yes, he kissed me! He kissed me! not the other way around this time!

"That's… great, sweetie! Now off to bed! Can't have you all tired and grumpy tomorrow!" he uncle said to her as she made to go out the door.

With a smile, Neo nodded her head and gave him a hug goodnight before dashing up the stairs to dreams filled with Mr Abs and all the kisses and hugs, she would be getting next time she saw him.

Roman remembered the look on his dear, innocent, little nieces face when she had talked about the piece of shit that was busy screaming in front of him.

The look of someone who'd been tricked into liking someone she was clearly too good for. She was too good for anyone. Hell! If the brothers came down to remnant just to ask for her hand, they wouldn't be good enough for her.

The very fact that the bastard had dared to defile her by taking her first kiss had given him reason enough to spend a good portion of last night smashing the crap out of every dummy he had at his disposal. He had added that little personal touch by painting blue eyes and blonde hair onto every single one. Ah… it had felt good to melt the eyes of the fiftieth one.

Unfortunately, his happy memoires were soon interrupted by the girly screaming going up a notch in volume and pitch.

Looking back at the little defiler, he soon found the reason to be that, during his little trip down memory lane, he'd pressed the barrel of melodic cudgel into his temple. Yes. He most definitely hadn't imagined blowing his perverted brains out… not at all…

"ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE SCREAMER! ENOUGH OF THE NOISE ALREADY!"

At this the kid went silent, thankfully, and looked at him before a look of dread crossed his face.

"I… I know you… oh gods!" he yelled, doing a great impression of a worm that Roman would have found funny at any other time. Instead it just really annoyed him, but at least the kid knew who he was, that made putting the fear of death so much easier to put in him.

"Yes, it is I! famous, thief! Roma-"

"YOU'RE BOBO! THE KILLER CLOWN!" he cried, stopping Roman in his tracks.

"What?" was the only word that came out of his mouth. Was this little shit mocking him!? "I'm not that half-baked serial killer, you moron!"

"Wh-what? B-but then you have to be the trickster! The mad jester of crime! I swear I don't know possum man!" he sobbed, pleas for his life and to not have a pencil put in his head becoming background noise as he tried to comprehend that he had been compared to that ass hat, rogue huntsman who went a little coo-coo after he got knocked into a vat of powdered dust by another asshat who went around fighting him while wearing a cowl in the shape and colour of the ugly little thing he named himself after.

Was… oh gods this little idiot had no idea who he was did he?

Roman tried to collect his thoughts, wondering as to how this kid of clearly low intelligence had managed to corrupt and manipulate his clever little niece. That girl had managed to out con the last big boss in Vale while Roman himself been busy stealing everything he owned. Meanwhile, moron as he had decided to call him, had been calling him more and more clown related villains to which he could feel his blood pressure rise with each and every wrong name said. Seriously. What the fuck about him made him look like a clown!?

He was a gentleman, a crook, a master thief and crime lord. But he was not a freaking clown.

"I'M ROMAN TORCHWICK YOU MORONIC, SIMPLE MINDED FOOL!"He bellowed, moron going quiet once more before that infuriating look of confusion took over his stupid little face once more.

No. don't you dare not kn-

"Ermmm… who?" the question held true confusion. The question literal and not holding any lie… how… how was someone this dense!? It was like someone not knowing who Pyrrha Nikos was!

It was with this knowledge that Roman lost his temper once more, his original objective to get moron to stay the hell away from his little niece forgotten as he used the hook on his cane to grip the back of the kids neck and pulled his face within inches of his own.

"ROMAN! TORCHWICK! Master criminal! I was in the news the other day for all those dust heists I pulled!"

"S-sorry… I… don't really read the news…" moron admitted, only building Roman's rage.

"I was a huntsman who went rogue and crippled the team of huntsman they sent to take me out!"

The confusion on morons face only grew and Roman forced himself to not simply cut the rope now and let the kid fall. He saved Neo, he saved Neo, he saved Neo this was Roman's personal mantra for the moment. He didn't have the foggiest how screamy magee had managed to save his little ball of ice-cream and sunshine, but he knew what he saw when he saw that scar on her stomach. That was pretty much the only reason Moron wasn't dead at the moment. He… he owed him… he owed him for saving the biggest part of his world. Even if his intentions had to be less than virtuous towards her, the fact remained she was alive because of him.

That was why Roman decided to once more try and explain to Moron just who he was.

"I GOT INTO A FIGHT WITH YOUR SQUEAKY VOICED FRIEND WITH THE SCYTHE BEFORE INITIATION!" he roared, his prayers seeming to finally be answered as morons' eyes widened in realisation and evident fear coming across his face.

"Oh… oh gods… look I don't have any money on me I swear! I mean look at me! do I look the kinda guy who carries a tonne of money on me!?" he cried, doing his best to wiggle free of Melodic Cudgel to no avail. Roman actually feeling a smirk come across his face as moron finally clicked to who he was and just how screwed he was. "I-I won't tell you anything about my friends or girlfriend-" oh, you're just trying to piss me off aren't you kid? "- So-so you can just forget a-about me giving up any… any information on them!" he said with a beautiful crack in his voice that was music to Roman's ears, that was until he once more realised that this guy had manged to trick and manipulate little Neo. Then he just got mad again.

"What the hell, Neo you are gonna get it when I get back, how did you let this little dumbass trick y-"

"Neo?" the word cut him off mid growl, thoughts about taking away her key to the emergency ice-cream stash put aside for later. It was not the fact that moron had said her name that had stopped him. No. It was more the fact the way the kids voice now carried such venom in it. Gone was the squeaky, nerdy voice that hurt his ears to listen to. Now it was dark and full of anger and hatred. Turning to him in shock, Roman was shocked even more at the sight before him.

Those eyes which were a stupid colour of blue and held a certain, special brand of stupid now looked dark and focused. Focused with what could pass as murderous intent and directed fully on him. He knew this kid had never killed anyone, he didn't have that look in those dark eyes of his that showed he had taken a life… but he would be a liar if he said the kid didn't look ready to become one as she stared at him.

"It was you. wasn't it?" the words were filled with a quiet fury. A rage that made it clear he would gladly attack him given half a chance.

It was during this moment of sheer confusion that Roman uttered the question "What do you mean?"

"You're the one who got those guys to attack her, aren't you!?" the kid roared, seemingly having forgotten the situation he was in. That he was at the mercy of someone who could and would kill him if given a good enough reason. "You stay the hell away from her! I swear, if I find out you went anywhere near her, I will hunt you down!" the rage was obvious, but the fact that the kids' aura seemed to flare up in a brilliant white glow gave Torchwick pause once more. Just what the hell was this kid thinking? Using his aura to try and intimidate him of all people while he was upside down and suspended from a rope above a freaking chasm of death. "What the hell did she do!? Tell me what the hell someone as amazing and incredible as her did to deserve this!? Because I swear if you plan on trying to attack her again, you'll have to get through me! You can do what you want to me! You can hurt me, break me, kill me but don't you think for a second that I will just stand by and let you hurt someone who means the world to me! Do you hear me!?" the screams were bordering on murderous, the ropes creaking and groaning more and more under the strain he was putting them under in his attempts to get free to attack Roman.

Recovering, Roman felt himself grow angry. How dare this little shit try and play the hero when he was the one who was just trying to use her. It was what every bastard that had ever tried to get close to her like that had been after. He had spared her from knowing what they had really been after. Blood on his hands but never on hers. Never on hers. He would not allow his sweet little girl to be sullied by this damn disgusting world and each and every one as the equally horrible people that lived in it already had. She had made the choice to become a thief, to stay close to him and be his back up when no one else would… But to kill… that was something he made sure Neo had never done. She made jokes about killing people like that punk, brat Mercury, but she would never follow through. That he knew for sure. He would not let his little girl become a monster. This kid was no different than them. There was no chance, even if that fury he saw in his eyes seemed oh so true.

It was with this mindset that Roman produced a blade and held it to the kids' throat, not that he seemed to notice if the glare he gave was anything to go off, he spat his next words.

"Don't go and try the white knight routine with me, you little prick. All you're after is to use her for whatever sick little thing you want. Bet it felt good when she jumped on you, or when you convinced her to sit in your lap. Makes me think you knew who she was when you found her, you just decided playing hero would help you sink your claws into her. Heh, you're just some sick little pr-" Roman was cut off by Moron, who lunged his head forward in an attempt to headbutt him, that glare now fully showing the bloodlust he felt towards Roman right now.

"How the hell do you know about what happened last night?" the question was quiet, but it was a loaded gun. One pull of the trigger and the kid would go off… Roman happily pulled that trigger.

"She told me. I questioned her when I found her. She told me everything." Apparently, him explaining that he had gotten his niece to talk was the wrong answer. The kid did think he was the one to send those other worthless sacks of human waste after her. They were also going to be getting a little visit from him soon enough.

Moron went still for the briefest of moments, before he seemed to gain a new life in him.

In rage, he thrashed and roared. A rope actually snapping and others soon following as Roman watched in actual shock as the kids aura flared repeatedly to counteract the damage he was doing to himself as he tore free of his bindings fully, his thrashing managing to land himself on solid ground.

The action in of itself was actually impressive.

From what he'd been able to glean off of Junior, Moron was actually one of the worst students in Beacon. The only reason he survived was because he had an aura reserve that put some professional huntsman to shame. The bindings he had been in were not the strongest, but they should have been able to hold someone like him in check.

Was… the way Neo had described his semblance made it seem like he had been pouring his aura into her. Was it possible his semblance wasn't to heal, but was actually something more? Something that gave a boost to either himself or whoever he used it on? It would explain why he was currently having to dodge an aura covered fist that was aimed straight for his face.

"Where is she!?" he roared, throwing more and more haymakers that Roman easily dodged and sidestepped. There was no technique here. No intelligence or strategy. Just plain and simple rage and adrenaline.

A quick flick of Melodic cudgel hit him square in the temple, seeing the kid go flying into the tree that had held him up mere moments ago.

He should have been surprised when the kid got up seconds after and charged at him, but when he saw that look in his eyes, he realised the rage in them looked more convincing than he was willing to admit… there was no way this kid actually cared about Neo… right?

A test. A test is needed I think was what Roman thought as he once more brought Melodic Cudgel down onto the back of the kid as he sidestepped the charge, yet he didn't give a moment to recover. Instead he swung down his weapon once more, then again and again onto him.

The kid spun around during his upswing and brought his arms up to protect himself, the savage crack of his weapon hitting the kid's bare arms sounding across the empty expanse of the chasm.

That look didn't fade however, making Roman's own blood begin to the boil once more. No one saw the girl behind those special eyes of hers. No one saw the amazing teenager who never got to have a normal life. No one saw past her body. No one ever treated her like she deserved. Not at all. It made him sick that this kid dared to pretend that he did.

His continued to hit him, his eyes going foggy with his own rage. So much so, that he didn't notice the kick aimed straight for his guts until it was too late.

He was thrown off the maggot with enough force that he landed on his back, feeling his aura take a minor hit before the stomping of feet cleared the fog enough to see himself being charged once more.

That was until he shot a screaming flare from the end of his cane that hit the maggot dead centre of his chest, he watched his aura finally give out as he smashed into the tree once more, the bark creaking and groaning under the immense force that had just hit it.

Roman stood slowly, not trusting the maggot to somehow get up and attack him once more.

He was right, the maggot did get up. But it was not quickly, not in the slightest.

Instead it seemed strained and pained, agonisingly so, for him to even move as he clearly forced his body to get up. His shirt was ruined, torn to shit and burned to fuck, it was little more than rags of cloth hanging off his slim frame. The skin itself was slightly charred and was bleeding slightly in area's where stones and clumps of dust must have dug in extra deep. His face was a mess of black muck, blood and bruises that were quickly forming across the skin. One eye was swollen shut and was streaming with tears. His left arm hung limply at his side, not broken but definitely numb, while the right was dragged up into a makeshift defensive stance.

The maggot looked ready to drop at a light tap, but still he stood. The one eye he could see, still seethed with rage, but now held a grim determination to it.

"I… I won't l-let you hurt her… she's… suffered enough" he growled, spitting out a little blood. The words stopped Roman as he made his way to finish this brawl. What the hell? "Do… do you know that she hates her eyes?" the kid asked, Romans eyes widening in shock as the kid carried on, a smile forming on his face for some odd reason. "Well… I wouldn't say h-hate… more like she's afraid for people to see them… They can change colour with her mood… I imagine its' a part of her semblance… When they changed to that amazing, dazzling yellow… she got so scared when I pointed it out. Like I was going to make fun of her or something… she… she hasn't told me the reason, and I won't pry, but I know she's suffered because of it, enough to think I'd hate her on the spot for just seeing them. It was only when she was surrounded by people who just liked to talk to her… that I saw what those beautiful eyes of hers could do. Especially the cute little pink when she gets flustered… and that heart stopping, rosy red when I finally got the courage to ask her out… that happiness I saw in her eyes can make me smile even now… Someone as good as her, as kind and gentle and funny and just… incredible as her… doesn't deserve whatever sick little reason you have for attacking her… I don't know what she did… I don't care about your reasons… if I have to die to make sure that s-she gets to enjoy even a second more of life… I'll happily do it. So come on, otherwise my aura will begin to recharge, and I'll be able right as rain… attack me or are you too af… afraid? I always wanted to be a hero… well… dying to protect someone you care about seems pretty heroic to me…"

They stood in silence for a long while.

Neither moving nor breathing too loudly.

The scent of the boys' blood hung in the air, the dust from their scuffle settling in the time they stared at each other.

The only sound was the rustling of the wind through the branches of the suffering tree and the sway of the broken ropes as they brushed along the canyon walls.

Roman stood there for a while longer. His eyes focused on the boys one good eye with and intense stare. He was near dead on his feet, the savage beating he just gave to him would have been felt even with aura… and the effects of it now that it was gone… the boy must be in agony. Yet here he stood, now knowing who he was, knowing the danger he posed and clearly had the advantage in every way, shape and form… yet here he stood… ready to die for a girl he'd met yesterday… a girl who he'd asked to be his girlfriend, despite seeing what the world would refer to as flaws… a girl he clearly cared about more than his own well-being… a girl who, like himself, he was ready to give his life for.

He remembered her smile, that look of pure joy as she spoke of him, the happiness he had only ever seen directed at a couple people in her life… yet it held something more as well… an affection for the boy that went beyond friendship. He'd never known a smile like it to come from her.

It was a smile that said she'd found someone who cared about her as much as he did, her.

He'd spent so long convinced that she'd been tricked that he didn't stop to think that maybe… maybe she really hadn't been…

It was almost funny… he'd spent so long getting rid of all those that couldn't care less about her that he'd forgotten what someone who cared looked like…

"Heh… maybe you do deserve a chance…" he muttered, seemingly confusing the boy to which Roman smiled, before he dashed forward and jabbed a needle he'd grabbed from his coat pocket into the boys neck.

His eyes went wide, hand coming up in a weak punch that Roman allowed to hit, not even feeling a small amount of pain from it. He was quite proud of himself. He had kept his promise and not laid a finger on the kid in a manner which caused him any pain or suffering. Nope. Melodic Cudgel had instead. He did love little loopholes like that.

"It's okay kid. Just a little bit of memory eraser… can't have my darling niece finding out what I did to you" he smiled, the boy's eyes growing a little faded as the additional knockout effect of the chemicals in the needle, took hold. He still tried to fight, tiny kicks and twitches of his hands grasping at his coat that made his smile grow… he was still trying to protect her… that was enough for him to give him a chance… "You changed my mind today. You get the opportunity to impress me, you won't remember any of this but, in case this sticks with you, buy a nice shirt or something and some new jeans. I'll be dropping some hints to Neo about a little fair I know is going on near the docks in a couple days that I just know she'll be dragging you to… sweet dreams kid… and thank you for caring about her…"

Yep. Jaune managed to do the near impossible for a teenage guy. He impressed the father, or in this case uncle, of the house. All he had to do was get nearly beaten to death… heh… not really something I like the sound of myself… but I'm 21 so I can just act like an adult and it'll be believable XD

A few things I need to explain about Neo to people so that they can understand my version of her better.

1. She does know what sex is, which is why she got flustered when she mentioned Jaune 'covering her in his white stuff' as she spoke of his aura boosting. But she does not know… well she doesn't know the finer details and that some things she does can be taken as sexual as Roman tried to stop any and all forms of non-necessary information getting to her. He just didn't plan on the Malachite twins. Or that Neo would misinterpret what they meant as she didn't quite click to what their slang meant. Also, yes. They will be making an appearance and will actually play a bit a part in the overall flow of the story.

2. Neo has, obviously, literally no experience in romantic relationships and wasn't even interested in getting into one before she met Jaune. Those people Roman mentioned… well they're people that made her think they cared about her as friends, until Roman caught wind and dealt with them.

This does mean she can and will be easily influenced in it by those she deems to have greater knowledge of it than her, like the twins or Yang (oh, the teasing and practical jokes shall be legendary!) but… well it does mean, as you have all seen, that Neo can accidentally drop Jaune in deep doo-doo with her uncle.

3. To those clever few who took note of me mentioning something about Neo that wasn't about her eyes… well, let's just say that will also be resurfacing next chapter and will give more depth to something that will be an integral part of this story.

That's all from me, folks! See ya next time!