Another chapter I finished writing on a hangover. This is becoming a bad habit.
Jaune was very uncomfortable.
He was currently in Vale, and he wasn't sure he should enter the club.
The guard was glaring at him, for some reason.
"U-um..."
"It's fine. Just don't go crazy again." The guard grunted and let him through.
"Yes..." Jaune nodded gratefully and peaked inside.
No sign of the twins.
He cautiously made his way to the bar and took a seat next to Junior.
"Hey, Junior."
"Hi, Jaune." He grunted. "You came quickly."
"Sorry about last time. I got drunk."
"Bah. 'Sorry' doesn't matter. We won't give you alcohol again, that's all."
"I guess that's fair…" Jaune admitted, a bit sad that he wouldn't be able to come here to drink.
"That's not fair. That's me being lenient." Junior grunted, "I should throw you out."
"But you need me, right?" Jaune sighed, getting to the point. "What did you call me here for?"
"Calling in one of my favors." Junior groaned. "Remember, for unlocking your Aura?"
"Yeah." Jaune nodded warily. "Shoot."
"I have a client asking about the whereabouts of someone. That person is around the same age as you, so I need to check if he's is in Beacon."
Jaune narrowed his eyes. That sounded too familiar to be a coincidence. "Go on."
"So I need the list of students in Beacon." Junior requested.
Jaune hummed.
He said 'he' … Could it be, Junior's client was actually searching for Jaune?
Was it his father?
No, his father would have just called Ozpin if he was searching for someone in Beacon.
Plus, Junior may have lied about the gender. Or just given a name.
Blake could very well be a man's name.
Chances were, Junior's client could be White Fang member searching for Blake. Giving Junior the list of students along with the team compositions would confirm that Blake was in Beacon.
Could he afford to falsify the information? No, Junior was an expert, he would notice immediately.
"Sure." Jaune accepted reluctantly when Junior started showing suspicion. "I'll do it."
"That's one out of five favors then," Junior reminded him.
"Yes... and I happen to need information myself," Jaune declared.
"Oh? Then you'll need to exchange equivalent information, or pay enough Lien."
"I'll pay. I've got the Lien." Jaune said.
"All right then."
Jaune was about to ask his question when suddenly, out of nowhere, a pair of small hands covered his eyes.
"Um…?" Jaune hesitated, familiar with the situation. His sisters did the same with him sometimes. "Who is it?"
Manus did not like it, and he tried to grip one of the hands, but Jaune stopped him. Instead, he raised it to his ear.
"It's that girl… Neo." He hissed quietly.
"Neo?" Jaune repeated, cautious.
The hands came off, and he turned towards her. She smiled satisfactorily and took a seat next to him, waving to the bartender.
What did she want?
"How are you doing?" Jaune asked instead.
She shrugged and turned her hand back and forth.
Translation: 'Meh.'
"Jaune." Junior snapped his fingers in front of his face, bringing Jaune's attention back to him. It seemed he was not bothered by Neo's apparition. "I don't have much time. What piece of information do you need?"
"Well…" Jaune glanced at Neo warily. She tilted her head to the side, asking a silent question.
He actually wanted to ask Junior for information about Neo.
He wanted to learn if she truly was a criminal like they suspected. He was curious and was a bit uncomfortable with having that kind of relationship with a criminal who was used to kill people. So, for his own peace of mind, he wanted to check if she really was one.
"It's fine." Jaune waved Junior off. "I've changed my mind."
"Hmph. Damn brat. Remember, no alcohol." He grunted and left them alone.
"…"
"…"
"Soooo… You come here often?"
She nodded.
"I know it's none of my business, but a friend of mine think you're, uh, very strong and potentially dangerous, and he warned me about you. So, I have to ask you, are you a criminal or something like that?"
She froze, raising her eyebrows.
Smooth, Jaune. Very subtle.
But Jaune thought, since she was mute, he wouldn't waste time on awkward, one-sided conversation. He needed to get to the point.
Still, she considered his question, like she wasn't even sure herself. She shrugged and tended him something.
"A business card?" Jaune took it and read. "You're an… elite mercenary? So I can hire you if I want?"
She shook her head.
"No? Why not, you already have work?"
She shook her head.
"Not work?"
She made the same motion with her hand from before. 'Meh.'
"Not really work? You're just busy, huh."
She nodded.
Talking to her sure was challenging, always asking for confirmation.
"I see," Jaune nodded, even though he didn't see anything.
So she was not a criminal, but a mercenary?
He heard about them. Mercenaries were private soldiers one could hire to accomplish certain jobs. It was a bit like Huntsmen, actually, except they didn't have the same license.
To become a mercenary, you just needed to register as one. On the other hand, to become a Huntsman, you had to graduate at one of the four Huntsmen academies.
However, Jaune didn't know what differences there were between normal and elite mercenaries. Were there elite Huntsmen too? How interesting.
Still, maybe she had worked for criminals before. That would make her a criminal.
In the end, he couldn't conclude anything. Perhaps she was not a criminal.
She poked him on the shoulder, so he focused his attention back on her.
Neo was tending him a drink.
"Um… no..." Jaune refused, scratching his head. "I can't drink. You saw what happened last time, right? I'd go crazy."
She nodded happily, grinning as she was seemingly remembering the scene.
"You… you want it to happen again?" Jaune gaped, suddenly very scared of this small girl. Maybe she wasn't a criminal, but something was definitely wrong with her.
She forced the drink in his hand and raised her own to toast, winking.
"No, I can't drink!" Jaune insisted and noticed Junior watching the scene warily. He pushed the drink away. "Really, no, I can't…!"
She rolled her eyes and tried to dunk the drink forcefully into his mouth.
Couldn't she take no for an answer?!
"I said NO, dammit!" Jaune snapped. He caught her hand with a brutal grip and shoved it away with a burst of strength, sending the girl flying in the air.
She spun in the air with a grace similar to Weiss and landed elegantly on the ground.
Neo smirked excitedly as she looked back at him, rubbing her hand.
This girl… It was like she enjoyed watching him lose his temper and getting angry.
Ironically, it made him even more furious. He dropped his hand off his sword's grip, trying to slow his breathing. He hadn't even realized, he was ready to draw Crocea Mors to fight any moment.
Was it why she wanted him to drink again? So that he went berserk once more, and she could watch the show from the sidelines?
"I'm done here," Jaune groaned irritatingly and walked past her, heading towards the exit. He didn't dare look back, feeling Neo's amused eyes on his back.
However, just before he reached the exit...
"Hey, Jaune!"
"How it going?"
The Malachite twins magically appeared by his side.
"What?" He asked aggressively. "I lost control again, I know. Big deal. But I didn't drink. And I'm sorry for last time, too. I'm not in the best of moods right now."
"Relax, dude." Melanie chuckled. "It's fine."
"We were the one to come up with the idea anyway. It was fun."
Jaune looked at them as if they had grown a second head. "Fun? From what Yang told me, I was like some kind of beast."
"Oh yeah you were~"
"Not like she'd know~"
For some reason, Jaune didn't even blush at their comments.
The Jaune from before would have surely become a stuttering and babbling mess, but he was far beyond that now.
No, he was just too mad to flirt with anyone right now.
"Can I know what we are?" Jaune groaned, trying to calm his breath. "You know, since we…"
"Don't kid yourself." Melanie immediately shot him down. "We're still just friends."
"Friends with benefits," Militia added.
"Who do you think you are?" Melanie continued. "You think the likes of you is enough to satisfy one of us, let alone both? You're still just an annoying dork."
"Dork with benefits," Militia added.
"Shut up, sis."
"Fuck you, bitch."
"Pfft. Seriously, look at yourself." Melanie mercilessly continued, ignoring her sister. "There's no way either of us would consider you as an option, like, ever. Now, you can't drink here anymore, but we can take you to another bar and make you forget about that rejection. You need a drink."
"…" Jaune's eye twitched, his rage slowly rising again. He released an explosive sigh of annoyance, struggling to stay calm. Not only the twins - well, just Melanie - kept insulting him for no good reason, but they also wanted him to get drunk.
"Yeah, I know a place." Militia nodded, linking her arm in his.
"Come on. It'll make you feel better." Melanie assured him, avoiding his eyes.
"No, I'll end up attacking random people again." Jaune pointed out, as he noticed Neo was listening on the conversation. She was probably waiting for him to snap again.
"Jaune." Melanie grabbed his arm. "Don't be a pussy. We'll help you…"
"No."
How many times did he have to say it?!
"Come on, where did the Jaune from last time go?"
These lines did it for Jaune, he saw red and reacted impulsively.
"You think going berserk and running around attacking people is funny?!" He shouted, towering over them, her eyes widening in surprise. "You think that side of myself is better?! I am trying to keep that part of me in check, it's a constant struggle, day after day after day after day, it's keeps growing worse! And you think I'd try drinking again just to let it out? You're not helping at all!"
"W-woa!" Militia's eyes widened, "C-calm down, we didn't know it was that bad…!"
"Next time, maybe I'll pass my anger on you, how about that?" He shouted, and the twins took a step back. He wasn't done. "Maybe then you'll understand, when I'll have destroyed the whole freaking place and started a killing spree, that it was, maybe, not such a good idea to make little old dorky Jaune drink!"
"Hey! Calm down!" Melanie raised her voice, defending her sister. "You're exaggerating things. We just wanted to help you… break out of your shell!"
"Exaggerating?! I wish I was! I need my shell to remain strong and intact, thank you very much!" Jaune raised his arms in the air sarcastically.
"If that's true, you can't keep going like this, Jaune," Militia stated, "You need to let go once in a while, or you'll explode."
"You think I don't know that? You think exploding in a bar is a good idea?" Jaune scoffed and noticed Neo giving him a knowing smirk from the bar, her eyes lit with interest as she listened to their fight.
Yeah, that girl was crazy, Jaune decided. "Damn this place." On these words, he turned to the exit.
"Jaune!" Militia called after him.
He ignored her and left the club, fully intending to never go back again.
A few days later
Forever Fall.
Such a beautiful forest.
Today, the school had planned a trip to the place.
The goal was to recover the precious sap of the trees.
A relatively easy task for any student.
Unfortunately…
"Come on Jaune! Drink that!"
"I-I'm allergic to this stuff!" Jaune protested to Nora who was trying to feed him the sap.
Seriously, there was a pattern here somewhere.
He ended up grabbing the bottle and throwing it away, and it crashed in numerous pieces.
At least it was better than doing the same with Nora.
"Noooo!" Nora went back to Ren and snatched another bottle from him when he wasn't looking. "Here, another one!"
"Nora!" Ren exclaimed in exasperation.
"I can't eat that, I could have a bad reaction, Nora." Jaune explained patiently.
"You're already having a bad reaction! To my challenge! Weak disciple!"
And with that, she went back to Ren, pouting, and proceeded to sulk. Ren sent him a silent apologizing gaze.
"Bah, she'll get over it." Jaune shrugged to himself.
He had fully calmed down since last time he went to Junior's club. However, he still thought it was best not to go back there, he needed to stay away from alcohol, and he didn't want to cause another scene. Yang had been a bit sad to lose a drinking buddy, but she understood that alcohol was bad for him.
Though the main reason was to avoid Neo, who seemed decided on making him angry, but no one needed to know that.
Now, though, he was on a happy trip with his friends and enjoyed the sunny weather.
He hummed a tune under his breath as he poured sap into the final bottle. "Aaaand, done." He turned to his team. "How is it going for you?"
"I'm done," Blake said.
"Me too." Weiss nodded.
"Uh, just wait for this one," Yang said, still pouring some sap.
All of a sudden, Jaune's arm moved on his own. Manus reached rapidly to tend towards something behind him, but Jaune's body was badly positioned.
Manus ended up knocking something away from Jaune instead of catching it in mid-air.
It crashed on Yang.
"Gaaaaaaaah!" She screamed in horror, sap all over her body.
What the, what happened?
"Jauuuune..." Yang groaned slowly.
"H-hey, I don't know what happened, let's not make any hasty decisions!"
"What do you mean?" Blake frowned. "You clearly knocked that bottle of sap towards Yang."
Yang's demonic growl increased in intensity.
"That was a mistake! I was just… defending myself, someone threw that jar at me in the first place!" Jaune turned to the hill, in time to see a familiar head duck back in a bush. "Russel! See? It's Russel." Jaune pointed at the guy, happily throwing the responsibility at someone else.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
"… What's that sound?" Weiss wondered.
A swarm of flying insects with big stings suddenly appeared from where Russel was and flied rapidly towards Yang.
"Rapier Wasps!" Blake warned, "Yang! Maybe you should-"
A wave of fire unexpectedly surged up and disintegrated the wasps.
"You were saying?" Weiss smirked, ready to shoot another burst of flames with her rapier.
"Nevermind."
"Those bastards!" Yang dashed angrily towards them, making her way behind the small hill, out of their sight.
"Don't kill them!" Jaune called after her.
Soon after, some yells and shouts came from behind the hill, before it transformed into screams of terror and cries of pain and agony.
Jaune, Weiss, and Blake glanced at each other uncomfortably.
Soon after, Yang walked back to them covered in bloo-… Um, covered in sap.
"You're lowering yourself to their level." Weiss lectured as soon as Yang reached them. "Did you really have to do that? You're unbelievable."
"They deserved it." Yang protested.
"But, Yang, it was just a prank!" Jaune, of course, couldn't miss a chance to tease Yang.
"…" Yang turned her red eyes towards him. She was still covered in sap. "Come to think of it… Jaune. You knocked that bottle towards me, too."
"H-hey now." Jaune took a step back. "Let's not… Let's calm down a little. I didn't intend to do that... You're, uh..." He struggled to think of something to say that could save him as Yang took a threatening step towards him. he looked her up and down, she was completely covered in sap. "You're much… better that way?" He tried his hardest not to grin.
Blake snickered a little, hiding it into a cough.
"Idiot," Weiss face-palmed.
"Why… Thank you very much for the compliment, Jaune." She smirked ominously, making Jaune take another step back. "As thanks… Let me give you a big fat hug~!"
She dashed towards him.
"N-no! Stay awaaaay!" Jaune, allergic to the sap, was naturally fearing for his life, and tried to run away. "Stay away from me! I'm allergic, remember?"
"What? You should be happier, Some people would pay to get a slimy girl covered in sap all over themselves!" She grinned as she closed the distance, using Ember Celica to propel herself towards him.
"N-nooooooo!" Jaune screamed as she tackled him to the ground and proceeded to spread the most sap possible all over him.
Oh crap, he was going to have a reaction, and then suffocate, and die here!
"…"
Hm?
Jaune blinked as Yang was pouring sap on his hair. He stared at his hands, covered in the slimy red liquid.
He flexed his fingers as if testing them. Where was the allergic reaction?
"Hm? Huh?" Jaune was confused, inspecting his skin. "What's this, where's the redness, the bumps, the itching?"
Why wasn't he having an allergic reaction?
Jaune paled as his imagination ran wild. Could it be, a side-effect of Grimm mutation?
… Or maybe it was just his Aura protecting him. Yeah, that was probably it.
"Would you two children stop already?" Weiss snapped. "This is a serious field trip! We're not here to joke around, now, just fill our bottles!"
Blake nodded from beside the heiress as she observed them weirdly, probably imagining something perverted in her mind.
Jaune and Yang stared at the two, then glanced at each other. Jaune, already reading Yang's mind, shook his head quickly. Not a good idea.
Ignoring him, Yang stood up with a smirk on her face, staggering like a zombie.
"S-stay where you are," Weiss ordered with an unusual stutter. "I swear, Xiao-Long, if you-"
Yang dashed towards Weiss.
"S-stay away, Xiao-hyaaaargh!" Weiss screamed in disgust and horror as Yang closed a giant hug on her.
Meanwhile, Jaune turned towards Blake. He might as well go along with it now that Yang started it.
"U-um…" Blake, sensing something was wrong, took a step back and flexed her legs, ready to jump away at any moment, her ears perking up in alert under her bow.
Jaune dashed towards her and reached to grab her arm, but she made a clone and escaped with her semblance.
He tried to catch her several times, but she was just too agile for him.
However, Yang and Weiss joined him to try and immobilize the cat-girl.
"I will not be the only one humiliated!" Weiss huffed angrily, covered in sap.
But even at three, Blake was dodging everyone. Truly, watching a cat was the hardest.
Until…
"Hey Blaaake~" Nora joined in and restrained her from behind by surprise. She tossed another bottle of sap to the three of them.
"N-no, please no!" Blake's eyes widened in fear as Yang opened the bottle with a smirk.
The wild cat-girl hissed and scratched and bit with everything she had, but against monsters of strength like Jaune, Yang, and Nora, it was useless.
Soon, she was lying on the ground covered in sap, defeated, while Nora – who was now also covered in sap, though it didn't seem to bother her – turned towards her team who had observed the scene with morbid fascination.
"Renny~" Nora called, and Ren started running away fearfully.
Naturally, Jaune was a good disciple and wanted to help his master, so he hid behind a tree and reached his foot out.
Poor Ren tripped comically, beautifully, and fell under Nora's mercy. He glanced at Jaune with a betrayed expression. "How could you?!"
"Nice one, Jaune!" Nora grinned and closed her arms on her prey. "Super sappy hug!"
And so, Ren also fell to the epidemic that was sap-hugging, with a resigned expression on his face.
"Rubyyyy~" Yang called, searching around. "Where are youuu~"
"Pyrrha! I won't stand to be the only team humiliated. Come here this instant!" Weiss smirked, making Pyrrha's eyes widen in surprise when a glyph appeared below her.
Soon, the sap-fight extended to their other classmates.
And so, the trip to Forever Fall ended with all the attending students fighting and hugging with sap.
Nothing abnormal there, Jaune nodded to himself as he observed the scene, while Manus could only wonder what made them all go crazy.
Later
"Unbelievable! You are expected to become symbols of hope, slayer of Grimms! I can understand such a thing coming from Miss Xiao-Long or Miss Valkyrie," the both of them winced, "But Miss Nykos and Miss Schnee?"
"We're very sorry." Weiss and Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment.
"And you, Mr. Arc, and Miss Rose!"
"Eep!" Ruby jumped in surprise while Jaune just scratched his head awkwardly.
"As leaders of your teams, you should have stopped them from doing this!"
"S-sorry." Ruby mumbled.
"That's not fair!" Jaune protested.
"What was that Mr. Arc?" Miss Goodwitch's eyes focused on him instantly, making him shrink on himself. "You are the leader of your team, Mr. Arc! It's about time you assume your position!"
"…Says you," Jaune grumbled angrily.
"Excuse me?!"
"Nothing." Jaune waved her off. "I was just clearing my throat. Cough cough cough."
He heard Yang snicker quietly behind him. Miss Goodwitch glared at him suspiciously for a moment before going back to her lecturing rant.
How did they expect the team leaders to order around people like Nora and Yang, when it was the teachers themselves who dumped the position on them, Jaune had no idea.
After all, in Jaune's opinion, that kind of position had to be earned, not... appointed by teachers.
They should leave a couple of months for the teams to determine their leader or something like that.
Still, he supposed it was about time to work something out with his team. He didn't really do anything as a leader yet, contrary to Ruby who had organized spars and hangouts with her team.
Though he didn't really feel the need for more bonding time or better teamwork, honestly. Teamwork for what? They fought one versus one in combat class.
"… understood?" Miss Goodwitch demanded finally, having finished talking.
"Yes, madam." The eight of them nodded diligently.
"Now, you will all have detention for the rest of the week."
"Eeeeh?!" They gasped.
"Any objection?" She crossed her arms with a dangerous expression on her face.
"No, madam."
"Good."
"What about Russel?" Jaune raised his hand. "He was the one who started it all, not us."
"I cannot punish him." Miss Goodwitch shook her head. "He and his team were found unconscious in the forest and are resting in the infirmary."
Teams ABYS and RPNN all turned to stare at Yang.
She looked away at the ceiling, hands behind her head, humming a tune innocently.
After that week of detention, a semblance of stability finally began to settle in Jaune's life.
He decided to give the list of Beacon's students to one of Junior's henchmen, without falsifying it, because he couldn't find another solution. However, he still warned Blake to be careful.
"You think the White Fang knows I am in Beacon?"
"I'm not certain of anything, but it's best to be careful, okay?"
"Thanks for the warning."
Jaune felt like a scumbag, but he really had no choice but to give up the school's information. Junior would have found a way to get the information either way, so it was better to get rid of a favor.
If he didn't do as he was told, Junior could threaten to reveal his forged transcripts. That was the deal they made after Militia unlocked his Aura.
Anyway, after that, he tried to forget about it, and enjoyed his life as a student, even though he still studied diligently with Weiss to get good enough grades.
Manus didn't like that new schedule, the Grimm wanted to do something useful rather than spending time with friends or on video games.
But Jaune couldn't go back to a fourteen-hour training schedule. He knew he would crack under the pressure eventually, so he had to take it easy.
They quickly came to an agreement.
Basically, in order to relax and have fun, Jaune had to do things that Manus could find interesting and learn something from.
Such was Manus's demand.
For example, if Jaune wanted to play a video-game, it had to contain interesting elements for Manus, like Mistralian dragons.
Of course, Mistralian dragons were just silly fairy tales and didn't exist, but Manus didn't know that.
Unfortunately, Jaune really struggled to find such things that could both make him relax and benefit Manus in some way.
So Jaune asked his team for advice.
"You need a hobby."
"Definitely."
"Yep."
...was their answer.
All in all, it was true that besides becoming a Huntsman, Jaune had no other activity he could enjoy, and a hobby could be both relaxing for him and interesting for Manus.
"What could I do as a hobby?" Jaune wondered, and Manus hummed with him, equally interested in such a question.
So, Jaune began to look around him for inspiration.
Ren, for example, liked to cook and experiment with medicinal herbs. He supposed it could be useful, but Jaune wasn't really into cooking.
Nora enjoyed working out, and eating Ren's cooking.
But Jaune was training enough on his own every morning.
Pyrrha liked to fight strong people that could give her a challenge. Otherwise, she was happy just spending time with her team.
However, he could fight in combat class already, and Manus wouldn't find it interesting to spend more time with his team.
Ruby loved to build weapons. Other than that, she liked to read shojo manga, eat cookies, and playing video-games.
Crafting weapons was an interesting option, Jaune recognized, and it would let him build a distance weapon he could use along with Crocea Mors. Manus seemed very enthusiastic about such an idea, but when Jaune suggested taking lessons with Ruby, he suddenly calmed down and lost all interest.
Well, Jaune wasn't sure he would have enjoyed crafting weapons anyway.
Blake enjoyed reading books. But Jaune and Manus already read enough.
Yang loved to drive Bumblebee, and liked to take care of her hair.
On the other hand, Jaune didn't own a bike. He wished he had enough money to buy one and take driving lessons, but unfortunately it wasn't an option.
"Let's just build one," Manus suggested.
"You're too unreasonable." Jaune sighed. "Building a motorbike requires extensive knowledge of mechanics, dust chemistry, all that kind of stuff. We would have to study a lot first."
"Doesn't it interest you, Zone?"
"Yes, but I'm looking for something to relax, not work my brains hard."
"Lazy Zone." Manus groaned and went back to sleep mode in Jaune's arm.
Hmph. Stupid Grimm.
Who else? Weiss.
Weiss… studied?
What exactly did Weiss usually do to have fun, or as a hobby?
"I don't have such a thing." She answered when he asked.
"What?" Yang blinked. "How come?"
"So, what do you do in your spare time?" Blake asked. "You read a lot, don't you?"
"I train, I read a lot, I exercise my control on semblance and dust. I inform myself of what is going on in the world, and I enjoy history too. I also appreciate art, be it in a museum or as a singer."
"Oh, so you like to sing?" Jaune asked.
"Yes… However, I do not sing or play piano anymore. Even though I can appreciate such things, I decided to stop."
"Why, if you enjoyed it?"
"I have left that part of my life behind, you could say." Weiss smiled nostalgically. "I am just doing… I am doing what I feel is right, and that does not include wasting my time singing or playing an instrument.
"I have my family's legacy to uphold, as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, so I need to focus on that. I understand my father didn't exactly improve our reputation, and I intend to change that, to restore the true meaning of the Schnee name.
"And once I realized I was capable of fighting, I decided that I would do it as a Huntress. Like my grandfather did."
"…" Jaune gaped at her, impressed by her speech.
"Close your mouth, you dolt." Weiss sighed and actually closed his mouth herself.
"…You know," Jaune said, "If you need any help, you can just ask me - I mean, you can just ask us." Jaune rectified quickly. "We'll be there to support you."
"Yeah!" Yang grinned. "He's right, just ask."
Blake nodded quietly beside her.
"Thank you," Weiss beamed, and Jaune had to look away from her radiant expression, to prevent himself from getting a heart attack. "That's… That's very sweet of you."
"I-it's only natural," Jaune grumbled awkwardly.
"Yeah. That's what friends do." Yang nodded wisely.
Even Manus admitted, muttering in his ear: "So that's why you've taken an interest in her."
She too was focusing on self-improvement and perfection, not for more chances at survival, but to uphold the honor of her family.
Except she didn't crack under the pressure. He did.
How could she be so strong? Jaune barely lasted two months himself. And she was already looking so far in the future.
Jaune glanced at Blake.
If she still had any remnant of doubt about Weiss in her mind, that speech probably crushed it.
"She also loves teaching, but she won't say it." Yang teased with a little smirk.
"Yang!" Weiss protested.
"R-really?" Jaune blushed.
"I enjoy sharing my knowledge," Weiss explained carefully, narrowing her eyes at him. "and… watching someone improve so much because of my help feels very rewarding, especially considering you've grown so much. I mean, you are one of the top students of our year now, even though you didn't even attend a combat school." She huffed, crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm proud of our work."
"Oh."
'Our work', huh.
What was he thinking, imagining things? He had already decided he wouldn't try anything romantic with anyone until he was sure his Grimm characteristics weren't dangerous.
"You know no one else would put up with your lessons, right?" Yang mocked.
Weiss huffed, "You can't prove that!"
"I can, but it'd be too much of a bother." Yang retorted with a lazy grin.
Jaune tuned out their conversation, considering what Weiss said.
Teaching? Giving private lessons?
No, Manus would probably not like sharing knowledge with anyone but Jaune.
And a hobby had to be something Jaune could enjoy. What did he like to do, that could also interest Manus?
The guitar? Manus wouldn't be interested.
Jaune liked helping people… Manus preferred to kill people.
Jaune released an explosive sigh. This wasn't going anywhere.
Days after days, he was not able to find a suitable hobby that could interest both Manus and him.
Weeks later
The end of the semester was approaching fast, and with it, the exam period, along with new students from Shade, Haven, and Atlas, coming to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament.
All in all, Jaune had not decided if they were going to compete in the tournament, though Yang and Weiss seemed really enthusiastic about it. Blake didn't really care about the tournament, and it sounded like unecessarry attention to Jaune, who just wanted to focus on becoming a Huntsman as quickly and quietly as possible.
Jaune did not come back to Junior's club and stayed actually very calm, although he still had some spikes of anger here and there, it was nothing relevant. It was probably because he had nothing to get angry at, even if he still struggled with Manus when it came to relax and have fun.
Training wise, he was getting better with his sword pretty fast. That was all because of Manus, who helped him guide his movements, and Weiss, who taught him the basics of swordplay.
He kinda wanted to ask Pyrrha for tips on using a shield with a sword, but he preferred to spend time with Weiss and didn't want to upset her, so he didn't.
He also meditated a lot, and Weiss even said they could start learning Aura techniques and maybe even Dust techniques by the end of next semester.
He didn't know why, but meditating was incredibly easy for him, whereas it was a pain in the ass for people like Yang or Nora. He was so used to it, he could do it instead of sleeping, and feel perfectly fine the day after. He had a feeling it was due to Manus's influence on his body and brain, but he tried not to think about it too much, scared of the changes.
All of this, combined with his physical training, and his increasingly more strategic mindset that Manus praised him for, he began winning more and more matches in combat class. Miss Goodwitch praised him for his rapid progress, and as usual, he responded by saying it was all thanks to Weiss, his partner accepting it with pride.
Manus's knowledge continued to increase as he read something every time he could get away with it. It was becoming even more scary, as his reading speed also augmented, and the pool of various information stored in his mind was growing bigger and bigger.
Each weekend, he continued to work at Tukson's book trade, not because he needed the money, but because he liked the man, even though he was part of the White Fang. Manus approved, judging preferable to save money for later, and finding a constant source of new books very useful.
Today, he was going to work at Tukson's again, but when he arrived there, he noticed someone was already talking to his boss.
Wearing a white shirt with a black leather jacket and blue jeans, the woman had blonde hair and emerald eyes.
"What the… Ebony?" Jaune recognized, widening his eyes.
"What the… Jaune?" She echoed, equally stunned.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before his sister jumped into his arms.
"Jauuuune!" She hugged him happily, "What is good in the hooood!"
Equally happy, Jaune lifted his big sister in the air, making her laugh in surprise.
"It's so good to see you!" He grinned.
"Awww." She ruffled his hair. "Bro, We haven't seen each other since you left for Beacon! What a surprise, the world is really small."
"So you're working in the V.P.D.?"
He knew Ebony was a cop, but he hadn't thought she actually worked in the Vale Police Department.
"Yeah, I got a promotion last month actually." She grinned and showed him a golden badge.
"Holy crap," Jaune breathed, taking the badge and examining it. "That's… a golden shield? You're a sergeant?!"
"Fuck yeah I am!" She smirked, striking a pose in her outfit. "Youngest sergeant in history, babyyy!"
"Holy crap," Jaune repeated. "That's amazing!"
"Ahem." Tukson coughed.
"What?" Ebony glared at him in annoyance. "Can't you see we're having a family reunion? I could arrest your ass right now, so don't test me."
"Uh… That's my boss." Jaune informed her.
"Whaa…? No way, why would a White Fang member hire a human?"
Oooooh shit, she knew Tukson was White Fang, and she revealed Jaune was human.
Tukson sent him a questioning gaze, looking between the two worriedly.
Oooooh shit.
"U-um… Sis," Jaune took her arm, "Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone."
"Sure, why the fuck not." Ebony groaned, already narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
She walked to Tukson and handcuffed him to a radiator. "Is this really necessary?" he sighed.
"I know my job." She retorted, "You White Fangs just run away if given the chance. Come on, bro."
"Stay here," Jaune hissed to his boss, who appeared ready to fight with all his strength to escape the arrest. "Don't break your cuffs, I'll work it out."
He left Tukson and followed his boss through the back exit, Jaune closing the door behind them.
"Okay," Ebony crossed her arms. "Why the fuck do you work here? You know he's White Fang, right?"
"People think I'm a faunus," Jaune revealed.
"What?! How did that happen?"
Jaune hesitated. "It's... a long story. But I can't do anything about it, so I let people assume."
"Ah, shit." She frowned, and her face lit up as if she figured something out on her own. "It's those crappy fake transcripts, huh? Hmm..."
Sure, why not?
"Dad isn't going to be happy about it, so I guess that's fine with me. You don't have trouble with the White Fang, right?"
"No, not me, just Tukson. Because he doesn't hate humans." Jaune claimed, and pleaded, "He helped me, he gave me a place to sleep, and money to buy food, even though he didn't know me. He's not a bad guy! The White Fang is holding him close and he's trying to find a way out, he's forced to follow them!"
"Ah, yeah." Ebony, shook her head sadly. "That stuff happens a lot with the White Fang these days, though it seems to be specific to Vale only. I've asked Onyx about it, she told me their leader, Sianna Kohn, never pressured faunus to do anything in Mistral. Not officially anyway."
Onyx was another of Jaune's sisters, who chose to become an attorney in the city of Mistral.
Yes, she was another one who wanted to gain independence and live her own life.
"How is she?"
"Fine, fine. She's living her life, I guess." She waved it away. "Goddammit Jaune. What am I supposed to do now."
"Uh… Not arrest him?" Jaune tried.
"Dude, fuck you, bro."
"That's not a nooooo~" Jaune grinned.
"Damn you." She groaned, trying to hide her smile and failing badly. "Fine, have it your way. It's not like I don't have other White Fang thugs to catch."
"Thanks, sis!" Jaune hugged her again.
"Ah, I'm really too soft." Ebony sighed, shaking her head. "I do have one condition, bro."
"What is it?"
"I want information on the White Fang. You know Tukson's activities, right?"
"He merely goes to reunions and provides them information sometimes. That's all really."
He certainly hoped so at least.
"Yeah, well, get him to reveal more stuff to you. I need something, anything. You hand me the information, I arrest them, and I get another promotion. Wash, rinse and repeat!"
"And what do I get out of this?" Jaune frowned.
"Oooh, you're not just accepting a deal without questioning for once? Good, good!"
What was that supposed to mean?
"You get to keep your job." She smirked.
"Wow, such generosity."
"You also get my eternal gratitude."
"Your gratitude isn't worth anything." Jaune groaned.
She gripped her heart, a pained expression on her face.
"A-ah, my little bro is growing colder. What should I do?"
"Cut it out." Jaune rolled his eyes.
"All right, fine." She sighed and took out something. "How about… this?"
Jaune took the object and examined it carefully. "A dust-taser?"
"Yep," Ebony smirked. "With only Crocea Mors, you still lack a mid-distance weapon, right? With this, you'll have something at least."
"I like her already," Manus commented in his ear.
"Wow, thanks." Jaune smiled gratefully, impressed by the gift. "That will be super useful..."
"And if you become the bestest bro ever, I could even get you an official .357 Magnum."
"Wha-?"
"Basically, a Trooper Mark III. It's a double-action revolver featuring a six-round cylinder, for .357 special dust cartridges."
"That sounds… cool." Jaune supposed.
"You have no idea what I'm talking about." She stated.
"No." Jaune ducked his head. "Sorry."
"You better inform yourself then." She gave him a flick on the forehead, making him wince. "How are you doing at Beacon? You got in, right?"
"Yeah. I got in with the best team possible, and I've learned so much with my partner's help. I'm actually one of the top students!"
"Wow, you're doing pretty well too, huh?" She smiled and winked, " Just like me! I'll have to thank your partner once I meet him then."
"Her." Jaune corrected.
"It's a girl? Hohohoooo~" She whistled.
Jaune sighed to himself. Like all of his sisters, every time he mentioned a girl he knew, they went crazy.
"Who is she? Is she pretty? How old, does she have-… Fuck, I'm getting too excited."
"It's Weiss Schnee." Jaune declared.
"Schnee? From the Schnee family? Holy sweet fuckballs, she's rich as fuck! Didn't Cherry listen to that chick's song?"
Cherry was another of Jaune's sisters. She was two years younger than him.
"I don't know," Jaune shrugged, honestly surprised. "Was she? Weiss does have an amazing voice."
"I see, I see. So she has an amazing voice, huh? I see, I see." She nodded, holding her chin thoughtfully as she grinned fondly at him.
Jaune rolled his eyes again at his sister's antics.
"You know, there's something different about you." Ebony remarked, looking him up and down. "I can't put my finger on it."
"Well… I've trained a lot at Beacon." Jaune said.
"No, there's something…else. Look at me."
Jaune did. "What?"
"Your eyes..." She mused, "They're different."
"… Are they?" Jaune frowned.
"Yeah…" Ebony leaned forward, her green eyes leaning closer to his. "No, they're still the same but… Dammit, I don't know how to explain it."
"That's your imagination, sis." Jaune took a step back and looked away. "Now… I'll get information from Tukson, I promise."
"Thanks, bro." She smiled and returned inside the bookstore, Jaune following after her. "All right, he's taking the day off." She said to Tukson as she freed him from his cuffs.
"Uh, okay," Tukson blinked and sent a silent grateful gaze to Jaune. He had probably been scared to be arrested and thrown in prison.
"Um, what?" Jaune protested, just now realizing what his sister said. "Why?"
"I've kicked you out of the house once already. That was hard to do, you know. Now that you have fully nurtured, I won't let you fucking go away again."
"But, what about your job?" Jaune asked, "Didn't you have things to do today?"
"Bah, I'll just take you with me. I can get you in as a consultant."
"What?!" He gasped. This was going too crazy fast. "You're joking, I'm underage!"
"Who fucking cares! You're turning eighteen in a fucking month, grow some balls, bro!"
"This is happening too fast! Give me some time to-" Jaune tried to protest again, but Ebony shoved him out of the bookstore.
"Come on, I needed a partner who can fight for my current case! You told me you're a top student, so fucking prove it! I'll show you how to solve a crime scene! It'll be fun, and you'll learn a shit ton of things; we'll do it as brother and sister, like old times!"
Just like she threw him outside in the real world a few months ago, now she was throwing him on her motorbike.
As expected of Ebony.
And… That was the true reason she offered him a dust-taser, wasn't it?
"No Magnum for you if you refuse!" She smirked happily as she started the engine.
"You say it like it's a toy!"
"I love this human… against my better judgment." Manus commented, excited at such a new development.
"This is insane." Jaune shook his head, though he couldn't help but grin in anticipation as he gripped his sister's coat.
"Let's fucking gooooooo!" She shouted cheerfully, and the motorbike shot forward like a rocket, probably breaking every speed limitations imaginable.
So, out of nowhere, Jaune became a civilian consultant to the Vale Police Department.
And it suddenly occurred to him: helping his sister would both be enjoyable for him and a learning experience for Manus. Maybe he found a hobby after all!
A lot happened in this chapter, it's kinda weird. We passed through the Forever Fall trip quickly cause there wasn't much to tell, except an absence of allergy.
I also chose to expend the world a little, adding mercenaries as a way to explain how Neo became a criminal. Hopefully, you guys don't mind that.
Thanks for reading.
Next chapter: sometime next week.
Edit: Delay of one week
