My greetings!
Apologies for the late chapter, but I had to struggle with a depressive bout today.
And also pondering dropping out of university.
Good thing my family supports me near unconditionally, otherwise I would have cracked a long time ago.
I find writing to be a great tool for relaxation and a perfect weapon against depression.
I love this hobby.
Enjoy!
For want of a knight
Chapter 10: Little shit
Blake was struggling hard right now to keep up with this amount of fresh information.
There was just so much to unpack there! Not only did her and Jaune's fathers know each other, but the target of her affections was also descended from the Golden Lion himself?
If the situation had presented itself on its own, Blake would have had no problems to just charge off to where ever the knight could be. Unfortunately, she felt that her potential father-in-law was also pissed in Ghira's stead for her running away.
Which would lead to a spanking; the kind unruly children would get. The humiliating kind.
The not fun kind.
Or so she feared. Johnathan only mentioned that he knew her father. The question now was why he did so.
"I'm guessing that you fear a telling off from me in your parent's stead," the giant of a man piped up, breaking the silence. "Don't fear."
That made Blake skeptical. "Why? They have every right to be angry."
"Yes, they do. But I do not." His face turned serious. "Simply because I don't know you personally and I don't know your reasons for joining the White Fang. Those would be your own."
Blake breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good thing. If anybody would be allowed to have her ass, it would be…
No, no, no. Shelving it for later.
"You should still call them." Johnathan turned to her, face a grim expression, yet full of worry. "Oum knows my son is guilty of that, too. We are all worried sick."
The black cat, somehow inspired by this line of thinking to divert the attention from her to someone else for now, wanted to bring up a topic long discussed within the chatroom of 'Arc Legion'. Make no mistake, she would be phoning her parents.
Sometime.
Just not now.
Maybe with encouragement.
"About that." Blake set the query in motion. "Why didn't you train him?"
Johnathan whipped around to face her. Instead of anger or frustration, she saw surprise. Which in turn surprised her.
"You know," he whispered after a brief silence. "You know about the transcripts."
"We do. The school knows thanks to a leak." Said leak was promptly expelled for leaking sensitive information, jeopardizing school security and attempt to incite wide-spread negativity within Beacon. "Jaune doesn't know that we know."
"And what do you have to say to that?"
"We don't care." A sincere answer from someone who had no business judging him like that.
"You..." He laughed. A mighty bellow from the gut. Relief showed on the PatriArc's face. "That's good. That's great! That's..." He turned serious again. "Why are you doing that?"
Blake was flustered by this, if only briefly. "If he feels ready, feels like he can trust us with this, he should say it by himself." That was the reasoning everyone agreed on. No one liked the thought of their favorite knight beating himself up over this.
A small fanfare chimed. It was the sign.
The legion beckoned.
Blake opened her scroll to find a picture of Scarlet from Team SSSN with Jaune standing in a kitchen baking cake, grinning in the camera. In the background was Cardin, going nuts over an incredibly tasty looking mousse cake.
Yang named the redheaded male 'Butt Pirate' for a reason.
It was something that got a laugh from everyone; a rarity for the blonde puntress.
She had been so damn happy about it.
Back to the matter at hand. They had a lead now. Blake turned to her potential father-in-law.
"He's in one of the kitchens, probably the one closest to his dorm."
The vision of what Jaune would be given a few years of time grinned at that.
"Very well; lead the way."
/-/
In her career as a fighter in the arena, Pyrrha had to hold quite a few babies. They were usually given to her either by ecstatic parents or her agent who wanted to bolster her image even more for increased exposure and fame.
The experience was so very lacking in wonder. It could have been great, were it not for hundreds of shrieking fans, which helped to agitate the babies, turning them into crying messes.
Say what you will about Pyrrha Nikos, but she most certainly had not some magical ability to calm every baby she holds!
Adrian was different. The little bugger was given to her to accompany her, out of trust in her beloved's team.
Even better, the guy was Jaune's nephew! She wondered if Jaune, seeing her in her splendor, caring for his adorable nephew, he would only hold back until nightfall. Then he would tear off his clothes and hers and claim her, siring the first of their many children.
Ahem. Back on track.
Adrian babbled in his cutesy way all the way to the kitchens. Nora had the presence of mind to suggest that Jaune had gone to make breakfast. The bubbly bomber hoped for pancakes.
Because of course she would. Seriously, all it would take for Jaune and/or Ren to seduce her would be dumping a jar of syrup over their heads. Syrup Pyrrha would gladly lick off her leader's abs.
Where was she going with this?
Oh, right. Cutie in her arms, father-in-law hopefully impressed and looking for Jaune to flaunt her motherly skills.
A well-known fanfare chimed, mirrored twice.
"Oh, an update!" Nora fished the scroll out of her pocket, looking giddy. Her turquoise eyes lit up immediately. "Hell yeah! My hunch was right!"
Pyrrha grinned at that. "Well done, Nora!" Her attention shifted to the bundle of joy in her arms, who looked quite uncaring about everything, much more interested in shoving his hand into his gullet instead.
"Do you hear this, Adrian?" She went full babyspeak on the nephew of her love. "We get to see your uncle Jaune soon! Are you excited to see Uncle Jaune?"
Adrian hopped up and down in her arms upon hearing the name. "Unca Jauney, Mbaba!"
'So precious!'
Their ultimate destination was designated by Cardin hastily leaving a room, holding a delicious looking chocolate cake.
'Definitely made by Jaune. Ooh, I hope he will make me one on my birthday!'
Skipping through the door, she merrily announced: "Hello, Uncle Jaune!"
"Unca Jauney, Mbaba!"
The knight had been merrily chatting with Scarlet up to that point; the chatter apparently over new fighting styles that could be suitable for him. However, once he heard the two voices calling out to him, he regarded his team with surprise.
"Pyrrha? Guys?" Upon noticing the fourth person, currently waving at him with both his hands, his expression morphed into one of terror.
"Adrian?!" One powerwalk forward and he stood before his nephew, disbelief and slowly mounting dread evident in his features. "What?! How?! Who?!"
Nora giggled at that, seemingly mistaking her leader's emotions as temporary hysterics. "Oh Fearless Leader, relax! He didn't come alone!" She skipped forward to poke him in the cheek, making the toddler giggle. "Your dad is here too!"
And just like that, Jaune seemed to crumple, fall apart before their very eyes.
"Dad is here?" It was a whisper, one mere whisper, but it was enough.
Pyrrha realized that this family reunion would be quite harsh on Jaune.
"My son! You in here?"
Ah, damn it.
A blonde vision of what was to to come barreled into the room with haste. Johnathan's timing could not have been better. Or worse, depending on perspective.
Her beloved froze like a deer in the headlights, mirroring his similarly stunned father. Pyrrha took the time to compare the two. Jaune had a boyish charm on him, endearing him to her even without speaking at first. His father, in comparison, was more grizzled and looked more mature. Perhaps it was the beard.
'Note to self, throw out Jaune's razors.'
Finally, the PatriArc straightened out his posture, cleared his throat and spke in a serious voice that booked no backtalk.
"Would you all please leave the room? I need to talk with my son."
/-/
This was a nightmare, Jaune had decided. He would soon wake up and this whole thing would have never happened.
What would his father say to him? He ran away from home to become a huntsman; untrained and idealistic. He was such a disappointment for his ancestors.
Jaune had stolen the family weapon, a fabled weapon wielded by Julius Magnus Arc, the Golden Lion, shielding many a faunus refugee from the fury of the bigoted.
Crocea Mors was fielded by Scipio Ruptor Arc, the Great Breaker, who led a fierce charge against Mantle during the great war and as the first one to do so married a faunus woman.
Then there was Guillaume Furorios Arc, the Stormbringer. According to family legend, he was a teddy bear surrounded by his family and turned into a horrifying beast on the battlefield, terrifying friend and foe alike.
Could Jaune ever hope to measure up to such a legacy? To the legacy of the fabled Joanna Arc, the Blazing Maiden?
Beacon had broken some of his idealism. Becoming a hero to live up to a legacy had proven so very difficult. Far too difficult for him alone to best the challenges before him.
Jaune felt that he failed his ancestors, his family, himself.
"Son."
His father's voice shook him out of his thoughts. Unbeknownst to him, Teams RWBY, NPR and CV alongside Scarlet were eavesdropping on the conversation, Adrian still seated in Pyrrha's arms, not having the foggiest as to why everyone was behaving like this.
"How is Beacon treating you?"
What?
Is this a joke? Some smalltalk? Johnathan Arc was not a man for smalltalk during a serious conversation! Still, his son decided to roll with it.
"It's good. Harder than I thought, but that was obvious, really."
"Hm."
Gaaaah, this was killing him!
"So you met my team? I like to think I got really lucky with all of them."
"Quite."
Oh for heaven's sake!
"Son. About you running away."
Oh boy, here it comes.
"You made your mother and sisters worry, young man. You didn't even call."
"I thought you would be mad at me. For, well, everything you just named."
"We were angry, yes. But we were also incredibly worried."
Huh?
"We were worried, because we thought we failed." Johnathan looking him square in the eye, remorse in his gaze. "We thought we failed as parents, because we ignored your wishes. We were scared, Jaune."
Johnathan stepped closer to his son, who didn't move an inch, dazed at the admission. "I lost so many of my comrades during the revolution. Our ancestors tended to die on the battlefield, leaving behind their loved ones. I didn't want that fate for you, my son. Not for any of my children."
Jaune was drawn into a hog by his father. "I am sorry, my son. I shouldn't have tried to shelter you. I," he hesitated. "I feared that you resented me."
"No, dad." The wayward son finally spoke. "I can't resent you for that. I never did."
Outside of the room, the friends of the blonde knight were satisfied with the outcome of the talk, withdrawing sneakily.
Up until Adrian spoke up.
"Mbaba!"
"He keeps saying that," noted Ren. "What does it mean?"
"Is it code?" chimed in Nora. "Tell us your secrets, Jaune-Jaune's nephew."
"That's his nephew?!" Scarlet was floored by that. "Well, damn. Cute little bugger, isn't he?"
Just as he tried cooing over the child alongside RWBY, Velvet and Coco, Pyrrha lashed out, snarling "MINE."
"Shit in me knickers, ya cunt! Easy on the fooking bite, ya rabid bitch!"
"Yeesh, easy on the language, Bun-Bun!" warned Coco. "Not in front of the kid!"
"Oh, it is okay," cooed Yang. "The little guy didn't understand you anyway. Isn't that right?"
"Shit!"
Everyone paled.
"Shit!" Adrian giggled, applauding.
Now they were panicking.
"Get him to stop!" Weiss demanded, tearing up a bit. She did not want Jaune angry at her.
"No, little guy! Bad word!"
"Shit!"
"No!" yelled Ruby. "You are being naughty! Stop being naughty!"
"Shit!"
"He doesn't stop!" Scarlet was hysterical.
Blake then had an idea. An idea so outlandish, so ridiculous, so utterly insane that it could work.
She presented her ears to the toddler, wiggling them. The excitable child lunged forward, capturing the kitty ears in his grabby hands.
Velvet looked at her in worry as Coco piped up. "Erm, aren't ears some nice zone for faunus?"
"Not like this," the cat whimpered. Right now, she couldn't care less about presenting her faunus heritage to them all. If Jaune's secret was out and most, if not all, accepted or at least tolerated him either way, then she could be brave enough to expose her ears.
And brave enough to call her parents?
One step at a time.
"Ow, ow, ow!" She winced with the pulling. "Yes, nice kitty ears. Nice kitty ears- ouch!"
Yang, Ruby and Velvet looked at their teammate and ally in their war of love in worry. She seemed in incredible pain, yet powered through for the sake of getting Adrian to stop saying profanity.
It seemed to work. The bugger was too distracted to repeat those damnable words. Even if it came at the cost of pure pain.
Faunus appendages that were receptive for sexual arousal tended to be vulnerable to pain and resulted in the agony Blake was living through.
All just to get a toddler to forget about a bad word.
At long last, all seemed to calm down. Adrian was giggling, Blake was holding her ears which were throbbing in pain and all breathed a sigh of relief.
That was when the Arcs came back out from their talk.
"Oh, sorry for the wait!" The PatriArc scratched his head, which was apparently a trait inherited by the son. The older man stretched his arms out to Adrian, who was reluctantly parted with by a sullen looking Pyrrha.
"Now there, little guy. Did you miss your Grandpa? Did you?"
"Shit!"
Oh goodness no.
Both grown men froze upon hearing the word from the mouth of the babe. Slowly, ever so slowly, their gaze shifted to the group of increasingly nervous students.
"Dad," Jaune finally spoke. He wore a smile so fake, it barely hid the terrible, terrible rage he felt upon hearing his dearest nephew utter a word that should not be learned at this age.
"You may leave them to me."
They wanted to run. They wanted to scream. More than a few wanted to point to Velvet. Velvet just wanted to hide.
Ultimately, all of them went into the kitchen, watched by a grim looking grandfather and a very angry uncle.
/-/
Neptune had a good morning jog today.
He had to stay in form somehow. The ladies appreciated that, seeing him fit, sometimes his face still glistening with sweat.
Nowadays, his attention was solely on a certain white knight. The guy proved to be a true bro when he told him to grow some courage and admit to his weakness in front of a pretty girl.
Shame the relationship didn't last due to Neptune not understanding what 'being in a relationship' meant at the time, leaving him to being busted while flirting with Team NDGO.
After that mildd debacle, he befriended the lovable knight and grew to have a crush on him. The guy was incredibly helpful, did not begrudge him for his phobia of water and even offered to help him overcome his greatest weakness.
It was why he liked him so damn much.
Neptune would need to come up with a strategy, though. Flirting would not work; the guy was a bit too dense to realize when he was flirted with. Perhaps Sun could offer some help and insight. The blue-haired boy would have asked Scarlet, but the guy had his own crush on the blonde outside their team.
Sun it was.
As Neptune opened the door, he came across a rather unusual sight.
Sun was laying on his side, naked save for the bedsheet to keep him modest. He was lovingly caressing…
a loaf of banana bread?
The monkey king finally noticed the stunned Sea King.
"Do you mind?"
Neptune shut the door.