Troll in Reviews
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Cover Art: Jack Wayne
Chapter 97
Jaune wasn't sure what to expect when he filed into class with the rest of his team. They took their seats on the left and in the middle. Jaune sat next to Sun with Yang on his other side and Emerald beyond. For once, that felt more like a casual thing and not her trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Sun nudged his side, whispered some cringey joke and the two shared a laugh while the rest of class filed in and the teacher entered.
Only then did he become silent. Mrs Rose walked past his spot in the audience without once looking his way, which wasn't itself unusual, but felt stilted given what happened the other night. Jaune sunk a little lower in his seat, trying not to draw too much attention.
"We're going to be talking about mission priorities today," Mrs Rose announced. "This'll all be theoretical on what you need to do on a mission in various circumstances, like saving a village or hunting Grimm or even escorting survivors back to a population centre. Too many people get it in their heads that being a huntsman or huntress is just running around killing Grimm and using flashy weapons. It's more than that."
"Let's imagine a scenario." Summer drew a circle representing a village, then a host of X's around it to represent Grimm. Next to one, she wrote x100. "You're badly outnumbered and the village cannot be defended. The survivors are split between two groups, one waiting by the entrance for you to bring them to safety, but a small number at the wall closest to the Grimm, who are naturally in the most danger. What do you do? Yes, Miss Valkyrie?"
"Go to those in the most danger first," Nora answered.
"Okay. Why?"
"Because the ones by the gate will be okay for now and you can bring the others back to them once you rescue them, then leave as a full group."
"That's the most ideal scenario, yes." Summer drew a line from their starting position into the city, looping around the interior and then leaving out the main gate again. "Given enough time, you would want to get everyone out and evacuate – but do you think the Grimm will patiently wait and allow this to happen? No."
Lines from the X's were drawn down and around, flanking and surrounding the town.
"Even if Grimm take the most direct route due to their mindless aggression, they are still drawn to negativity, and having a concentration of that at the gate will mean they're drawn to your only escape point, cutting you off."
"Then we take the people into the village and secure a central point to defend," Cardin said.
"Possible," Summer accepted. "Of course, you're then trapped in there with them and you're risking everyone's lives on your ability to hold out. One might say you're letting ego dictate who lives and who dies. Because you also have no idea just how many Grimm might be drawn here while you're fighting, there's no guarantee of survival. There's a good chance you and everyone you came to defend will die."
The class became silent. Mrs Rose was always good at that. Port and Oobleck's lessons were boring and theoretical. You either slept through Port's or struggled through Oobleck's. Miss Goodwitch's were action packed, but it was combat, so you lost yourself to that. Practical was always more fun.
Yang's mom had a special way of making people listen to her. It wasn't discipline or fun, but the clear weight of what she talked about. There was never any wasted concepts or long-winded explanations, only life and death scenarios where their choices mattered. Everyone listened, even the laziest of students. One thing she'd always made clear was that there was never a right or wrong answer in her class. Only different consequences.
The consequences of this one seemed like death whichever way you swung it.
"You save those at the gate and leave the others to die."
Jaune winced. Of all the people to say that, he was both alarmed and unsurprised that it was Emerald. Her face didn't register distaste or shock at her answer, more a calm acceptance. A certainty.
Summer drew the line. "You enter, take those at the gate and leave." The line travelled back out the village, while the Grimm X's closed in. "Everyone you abandon dies." A large X was drawn over the village. "Why did you choose that path, E – Miss Ashari?"
Anyone else would have quailed under all the dirty looks being sent her way. There wasn't a person here who didn't dream of being a hero strong enough to save everyone, and Emerald's casual pragmatism stung. He wasn't sure how she didn't stammer.
"It helps the most people and is the most certain plan," she said. "Anything else would mean either risking the lives of the people at the gate or of the team – and if the team dies, then everyone else dies anyway."
"That's correct." Summer turned to face the class. "Though no one likes to say it, the life of a huntsman is worth more than that of a civilian. I'm not talking about economic weight, classism or anything like that. Morally, they're equal. In terms of potential, they're not. A single huntsman or huntress may save two to three hundred people in their lifetime. If you make a decision that gets yourself killed early on, you're condemning hundreds more to death."
"And, as Miss Ashari pointed out, in this scenario the survivors have no hope of getting out on their own. Should you die, you don't just lose those inside the village. You lose everyone. The safer choice to make is to take the available villagers to safety. Sure, you can delay a little and call out for others, maybe give it a minute or two, but going looking for more survivors is asking for death."
Summer's chalk clicked down on her desk in absolute silence.
"That's why I mentioned priorities before. Your first priority in any operation should be your own survival. That trumps everything, because nothing else can be achieved if you die. You might say `Oh, but I want to risk my life to save as many people as possible`, but the simple fact is that if you do and you die, then all those people are dead as well. What a lot of people fail to remember is that you're not just risking your life when you make that choice. You're risking everyone's. You're not gambling one person to save ten, but a hundred – maybe more – to save ten more lives."
"Is that fair?" she asked of them. "Is it fair for the two hundred people waiting at the gate that you tell them they have to stay there and risk death because you want to go looking for the twenty or thirty people who ignored the warnings and stayed in their homes?"
No. It wasn't. All those people would be desperate for help and relieved to see them, trusting them. If they said to wait, the people would wait, trusting the huntsmen knew best. If that then cost them their lives, then who else was there to blame?
"Being a huntsman means making difficult choices. In school, we'll try and prepare you for those, but I refuse to sugar-coat it. You can't save everyone. You can try, but never forget that you're not only risking your life in doing so, but everyone's. The correct decision, horrible as it may seem, is to take the survivors at the gate and get them out. If you have somewhere safe to take them like an exfiltration point, then you can drop them off and come back looking for more survivors."
"The Grimm would be distracted with the rest, too."
"Thank you, Miss Ashari," Summer said woodenly. "But we don't talk about using people as distractions. Suggest so again and I'll be talking to you after class."
Emerald remained silent.
"The purpose of this lecture is to impart the importance of making the secure choices first. Your priority must be your survival, because without you, no other objective can be completed. After that, saving the most lives comes into it, but even that can be broken into smaller goals. The most readily accessible lives. Saving those most able to escape. Knowing when to push and when to make the awful decision of accepting that some cannot be saved."
"Turn to page 152 of your textbooks," the huntress said sadly. "We'll be going through the scenarios within. Each of these is a mission that went wrong, all with catastrophic casualties. Doctor Oobleck often says we should learn from history, and today we'll be doing just that."
Books opened without anyone saying a word. Jaune swallowed, and thought he heard Sun sigh painfully from beside him. The chapter they'd turned to was quite literally labelled `Doomsday Scenarios`.
Mrs Rose's lessons were never easy.
/-/
"Jaune Arc. Can you stay behind for a quick word?"
Jaune flinched in the act of putting his book away, tensing as every set of eyes in class turned his way, some which sympathy but most with curiosity, wondering what he'd done wrong and enjoying the fact it was happening to someone else. His team gave him more pointed looks, though Emerald shouldn't have. Then again, it was Emerald. She might have forgotten or not even realised what it might be about.
"I have class with Miss Goodwitch…"
"I know. I'll provide you a note explaining why you're late, and I'm sure your team will warn Glynda about it." The dismissal was clear, and everyone began to file out, a few sending him sly looks as they did. Jaune swallowed, finished filling his pack and made his way nervously down.
Yang hadn't told on him, had she? How was he meant to explain going out to a crazy forest to be drawn on in the middle of the night? He made his way down and stood before Mrs Rose's desk, one hand hooked behind his back and feet scuffing the floor. His shoulder itched. It had been ever since he woke up, and that stupid tattoo was still there.
It took a minute for the class to empty.
"You, uh, wanted to see me, Mrs Rose?"
"Yes." Summer wrote something out on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "This is your excuse for Glynda. If she asks why, tell her to speak with me. I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other night."
Jaune winced. "Uh. What exactly?"
"I'd have thought that was obvious…" Summer's eyes narrowed as she watched him squirm. "Or did something else…? It did, didn't it? Jau – Mr Arc, have you seen Raven again since I confronted her on the rooftop?"
"No."
Summer swore angrily. It was so uncharacteristic that he flinched. "You're a bad liar."
"I'm not. I haven't seen her."
"At least do me the courtesy of saying you won't answer instead of lying to my face!"
"I… I don't think I should answer."
"Great. Wonderful." Summer gripped her face with one hand, squeezing either side of her nose between finger and thumb. "I can't believe this. I'd intended to apologise for making you and Emerald watch such a display, but now it's happening again? Tell me what she said. Tell me what she did."
"I don't think I should answer."
"Mr Arc!" she said, voice rising. "I'm not asking you to tell me. I'm ordering you to."
"With all due respect, Mrs Rose, I…" He trailed off, frightened by her suddenly fearsome visage.
"You don't intend to? Or you don't think I deserve to know."
She'd read him from that alone. Not too hard, but he wondered what she would do. Technically, she was his teacher, so she could put him through whatever she wanted. Even if he said what Raven said to him was none of her business, the point remained that it happened in Beacon. Mrs Rose could argue Raven had infiltrated a school without permission. That wasn't far off the truth.
"I could talk to the headmaster, Jaune. I could have him here asking those questions. Do you want that?"
"No, Mrs Rose."
"Then you should answer me."
Jaune swallowed. "No, Mrs Rose." He felt the need to add a, "Sorry," on the end.
"You want me to call the headmaster, then?"
"No, Mrs Rose."
"Then tell me the truth."
"I can't. I'm sorry."
The headmaster was out of Beacon anyway, but she could have called Miss Goodwitch and they'd have both leaned on him. Was it reckless to refuse her? Probably. He just knew this wasn't something Raven would forgive him for, and as much as he wanted to stay at Beacon, he wanted even less to disappoint her.
Raven trained him. Believed in him. Helped him.
Mrs Rose was Yang and Ruby's mom, and maybe she'd been a better mother than Raven had – that, he wouldn't deny – but to him, she was a teacher. That was it. I don't think she could expel me for this, but even if she did, I could just go to another school. It would suck to lose his team when they were just starting to get along, but if he had to…
"You're just like him," Summer growled.
"Like who…?"
"Just go. You're dismissed."
"E-Eh?"
"Go!" Her hand snapped out toward the door, her other cupping her face. She wasn't crying; if anything, she looked angry. "If you're not going to take this seriously, then get out. Go. I'll talk to Ozpin when he returns. We'll see how your answer changes then."
That was bad. Real bad. "Okay. Um. Sorry I couldn't-"
"Leave!"
"Yes. Sorry." He gripped his bag and fled, too afraid to stay and have her yell at him. The second the door slammed shut behind him, he leaned on it and released a long breath. "That… Gah. I could have handled that better."
How, he wasn't sure, but it couldn't have gone much worse. Telling about the tattoo, though. There was nothing normal about it. If Raven and Emerald's dad hadn't made it clear from the whole secret meeting in the middle of nowhere, then the disguise and the book cinched it. He hadn't been told to keep it a secret, but it wasn't exactly difficult to read between the lines.
Times like this I wish I had Raven's number or something.
The easiest option was asking Emerald to talk to her dad, but he wasn't sure that'd go down well. He'd only just started making things up with her, and saying he'd gone off with her dad without alerting her first might piss her off. Emerald would have wanted to come with. Not that he'd known in advance Mr Ashari would be there or anything, but he doubted Emerald would care.
Jaune sprinted toward combat class, scratching over his shoulder with one hand.
/-/
"Any news from Oz?"
Qrow blearily dragged the covers he'd been hiding under down, glaring at the smug-ass bastard who could, at six in the morning, somehow be both awake and energetic. Just another reason to despise Ashari's existence.
"Dude. It's early…"
"Qrow. It's midday. Not even Emerald sleeps in this late."
He checked his scroll. Huh. He could have sworn it was 5:55 five minutes ago. Well, that explained the light coming in the window and all the noise outside. Yawning, he kicked the sheets off and rose, scratching his neck and yawning a second time into his hand. The life of a huntsman incentivised being able to catch naps at odd times, and he'd been up playing guard bird for the new maiden for the last few evenings.
Cracking his shoulders to work out the kinks, he picked up his scroll and checked for messages. There were a few, but none from Ozpin. "Afraid not. No news is good news, though. The old man will pull through. He always does."
"I wouldn't count Leonardo out yet. He'll dig his heels in."
You really don't trust him, do you? Something you know? It almost had to be a personal experience there, since as far as he could tell there was no reason Jaune should dislike the headmaster of Haven. As always, he never answered when asked.
Secretive bastard.
Qrow pulled on his clothes and sauntered into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and staggered out in time to catch a bottle of water pulled from the mini fridge. "I'm not made of money, you know," he said, unscrewing and taking a swig. "Not like you, anyway."
"I'll cover your bar bill, Qrow. Relax."
"And breakfast?" he asked hopefully.
Jaune laughed. "Sure. Why not."
Cheering lightly, the two made their way down to the bottom floor of the hotel Ozpin had them staying at. The buffet was open for lunch, but Jaune steered them to the more expensive restaurant. Qrow didn't complain.
Food back home consisted of whatever he could mooch off Summer, and otherwise instant and microwave meals. A fine sirloin steak with all the garnish was a welcome change and he took full advantage. The restaurant was also private enough to chat.
"The girl will be in Beacon soon. Hm. This is good. I wouldn't worry about Oz."
"I'm not worried about him at all. He can look after himself."
"The girl? Funny you say that after what you pulled."
"That wasn't a real attempt on her life. The next might be."
It was still an attempt, not to mention open gunfire in a house full of innocent people. Qrow chewed on the tender meat, using it to hide his consternation. It had been Ozpin's plan, so it wasn't like Jaune did anything wrong, but the whole affair didn't sit right with him. This had to be what he meant when he said Ozpin wanted him for his `different mindset`.
More like mercenary. What normal person agrees to storm a house in the dead of night and fake an assassination attempt? What would have happened if he'd been caught?
There was no way Oz could have explained it away. He didn't want to say Oz would abandon Jaune there, but that was kind of the point with those kinds of black ops missions, wasn't it? You had the ability to deny involvement if it went wrong. The fact Oz would allow such a thing bothered him. The fact Jaune, fully knowing what the consequences were, would not only accept but agree with the idea?
That was batshit insane.
He'd known Jaune was different when they'd first fought, but he'd assumed he'd figured that out now. Dirty fighting. Everything and anything to win. Dishonourable, sure, but undeniably effective. So much so he'd started incorporating it in his own style. This wasn't combat, though. This was convincing Leonardo to let a girl study at Beacon. That was something that should have been solved with words, not bloodshed.
Looks like that attitude of his applies to more than just fighting…
And frustratingly enough, Ozpin was quick to embrace it. Qrow scowled and stabbed a knife into his steak.
"You look upset."
Perceptive twat. "I don't like all this," he said honestly. "All this cloak and dagger stuff. I'm fine with information gathering and spying, sneaking around to avoid trouble too, but I draw the line at hurting people who don't deserve it, just because it helps speed things up."
"You're angry about what I did?"
"More that Oz asked you to. You were just the weapon. He pulled the trigger."
Though Jaune hadn't exactly hesitated in the slightest, and Qrow couldn't ignore that. It wouldn't stop them working together or even change his friendship with the guy. At most, it was a sour taste in his mouth. Something he couldn't ignore, but that wouldn't ruin anything.
"Just forget it," he said. "Something for me to sort out with Oz. Things I'm not comfortable with."
"Hmm. To be fair, I wasn't a massive fan of the plan either."
"You still did it…"
"I did."
"What would you have done if you'd been captured? Don't give me that nothing to lose crap either," he said, pointing the fork at Jaune. "You've got Emerald back home. You can't tell me you think she'd be okay with her old man being tossed in prison."
"I won't say that." Jaune wore an odd smile. Probably thinking of his little girl.
"Oh for… Please don't tell me you're such an arrogant prick as to think it couldn't have gone wrong either."
"Hah? Oh no. Not that." Jaune laughed. "You never know in a fight, right? And if she has that much power now, she might have been able to knock me around herself."
Good. For a second there he'd honestly though Jaune's head was stuck up his own ass. "Then what?"
"I guess I assumed Raven would bail me out if it went wrong. There were risks, sure, but the biggest was Helena and I know how she does things. I had a plan for her. If Pyrrha… well…" His smile became even more mysterious. "Let's just say I had a fair idea of how she fights. Not enough to guarantee victory, but enough to know they'd both stop to protect the survivors rather than chase me."
That was fair. Not a great reason, but better than he expected. Enough for Qrow to nod and go back to his meal without feeling the urge to smack his dining partner across the head. "Risking yourself on faith, either of them or my sister, is still pretty stupid if you ask me."
"I wouldn't have done it with many other people. I was one hundred per cent sure how they would act, though. It was a unique situation. If it had been Yang as the target and you and Summer defending, I'd have `noped` out of there the moment Ozpin suggested it. You lot are way too unpredictable."
"Ha! Glad to hear it."
It didn't answer everything, but it put things in perspective. Jaune wasn't suicidal, which was frankly a relief. He'd been burned out enough when Summer almost died and couldn't imagine losing anyone else this soon after. Well, soon was a relevant term. It'd been years now. Still, it felt too close for comfort.
Maybe Summer would be a good person to talk to on it. Still allied with Ozpin, but mostly retired from doing any dangerous tasks. She might have some advice for what he was meant to do about the sudden shift in Oz's plans.
Ironic how I kept thinking Jaune would be good on our side, and now he's here I can't help but wish he wasn't.
Or that Oz had him doing more innocent tasks.
"Has Ozpin asked you to do anything else for him?" he asked, keeping the question casual. "Any jobs after this one?"
"Nothing yet. I guess he wants to see what Leonardo decides before bothering."
"Hmm." That was good. "Guess we're in the same boat, then. Playing defence in case those asshats make a play for her. You think they will?"
"Hard to say. Their greatest advantage is secrecy. I know why Ozpin enforces it, and I agree, but it helps her out as well."
"Oz knows that. It's the best of two bad choices."
"I know. Tell everyone and the world panics so hard the Grimm go mad. Tell no one, and Salem gets to operate from the shadows without being stopped." Jaune sipped some juice. "I think secrecy is the right choice, but I think it's the best for both. With that in mind, going after Pyrrha right after she just had an attempt on her life, is going to be the least subtle thing they could do."
"if she even cares. She could ride your coattails and send someone in pretending to be you."
"True. I bet Tyrian would jump at the chance. Still, they know I'm here. They know Ozpin is, too. It's a bad time to attack."
He wasn't wrong. "You think Callows would care?"
Jaune sighed. "And that's why we're still here."
/-/
Emerald noticed the message on her scroll while they were all getting changed after combat class. Her eyes widened and a happy gasp slipped out before she could stop herself. Instantly, Yang was there, grin as shit-eating as ever and a hand around her shoulder.
"Sooooo," she drawled. "Spicy text? Secret lover I don't know about?"
"With Emerald?" Weiss asked sarcastically. "Please. It'll be from her father."
Blake stiffened beside her partner, something Emerald didn't miss. While Weiss seemed alright around her, she never liked to be close to the girl unless she had to be. The changing rooms counted as a necessity. Those thoughts were stolen away as Yang made a grab for her scroll.
"It's from Dad." Emerald pulled it away but showed Yang the caller ID because honestly, if she didn't, then Yang would be insufferable.
Yang read it and groaned. "Ugh. Boring."
"It's Emerald. What do you expect?"
"I dunno. Maybe that when she gasps like that, it's not at a text from her old man. You don't hear me having a mini-orgasm when dad asks how school is going." A few of the other girls in the changing room laughed along.
Let them. Even if they thought she was weird for it, any chance to hear from her father meant the world to her. Emerald opened it up.
"Hey Em.
Having to stay in Mistral a few days longer due to unforeseen events. Nothing dangerous so far, it's just business with Ozpin. Hope things are going well for you in Beacon. Let your team and Weiss, Whitley and Ruby know I said hello."
"He says hello," Emerald dutifully informed them.
"Slow my beating heart," Yang mourned, hand over her chest. "I am aflutter with desire."
"I wish your heart would slow," Emerald grumbled, going back to the message.
"There's something I need your help with. I want you to have a look at the photo attached and find out if anyone in Beacon has a tattoo that matches it. Focus on the girls. I'm specifically interested in whether Cinder Fall has such a tattoo, most likely on her back, between her shoulder blades or a little lower.
Don't put yourself in any risk for it.
P.s. Please check Blake Belladonna as well.
Love you. Thinking about you.
Dad."
Emerald felt a rush of heat at the final words, an almost uncharacteristic smile appearing on her face. She wiped it away before Yang could notice and focused on the rest. That her father had literally told her to peep on other girls in the changing rooms didn't matter to her. It was the detail. He wanted to know if they had a tattoo. It had to be something important. Not for an instant did it occur to her that it might be something else.
"Interesting news?" Weiss asked.
"Dad is staying in Mistral for a bit. The headmaster is there too."
"Ozpin? Huh. I wondered where he rushed off to. Did he say what for?"
"No. Only that he'd be there a few days." Emerald let her eyes naturally flit over Blake as she spoke, catching the faunus with her back turned, hooking her bra and clasping it shut. Her eyes roamed up and down the girl's figure.
No tattoo.
Even though he hadn't asked, she checked Weiss and Yang as well. Though, to be fair, if Yang got a tattoo then a) she would have told her and b) Summer and Taiyang would have flipped by now. Depending on where it was, anyway. Mr Taiyang had a nice one on his arm.
Still, no tattoo on Weiss or Yang, and only one that she could see in the whole changing room. That was another first year on a different team, and the tattoo was a dove with its wings spread on her thigh. The one in the attachment was a black symbol like two connected halves around a heart.
"Looking for something?" Yang asked.
Crap. Caught. Emerald shrugged, knowing that refusing it would be as good as telling Yang to dig deeper. "I just noticed her tattoo."
Yang took a look. "Ebony's? Yeah, it's pretty cool. Why, you thinking of getting one? What of?"
"I'm not. I was just curious."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I kinda want one myself."
"You?" Weiss asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Why sound so shocked? Do I strike you as the kind of girl not to have one?"
"No, actually. Now that I think of it, you seem perfect for one." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Likely some garish tribal abomination down your arm, up your shoulder and over half your face."
"The hell is that meant to mean!?"
"Ignore her." To Emerald's surprise it was Blake who spoke. "A Schnee couldn't be seen dead with body art. Too pure for such things."
"What's your issue, Blake? You don't have one either."
Her issue is that she just likes to go against whatever you say. Weiss either didn't realise that or was in denial, quite possibly the latter. Yang nudged her and made a circular motion around her ear, to which she responded with a nod. As bad as Jaune was on their team, she'd rather have him and Sun than Blake and Weiss.
"You know who does have a tattoo?" Yang said suddenly. "Vernal."
She was right. Emerald could remember seeing it numerous times, usually before a particularly nasty grapple when Vernal grabbed her by her shirt in training. It was a bird from what she remembered. Nothing like what her father was looking for, but big and ostentatious all the same. If Weiss seemed like the poster child for not having a tattoo, Vernal had to be the poster child for the opposite.
And she's partnered with Cinder. Maybe the best way to find out about it would be to ask her.
Ugh. Talking to Vernal. Emerald grimaced at the mere thought of it. Awkward wouldn't begin to describe it. Annoying and jealous bitch would be a better way. Still, dad had asked something of her, and while she had no requirement to follow through on it – it was just a request – she wasn't going to disappoint him.
"Would your dad be okay with you getting a tat?" Yang asked.
"I'm not thinking of getting one…" she replied. "But I don't think he'd care." He was the kind of person to say her body was her body, and as long as she was happy with something, it didn't matter what he or anyone else thought.
"Lucky." Yang puffed her cheeks out. "My dad is such a worrier. He'd freak if I got one without talking to him first, even when he has one himself!"
"That's nothing," Weiss complained. "I'd be dragged in for a meeting with the Board and given a lecture on how my reckless choices have endangered the reputation of the family. About the only one I'd be able to get would be the Schnee snowflake."
Blake's locker slammed shut. Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, she marched out, face set in stone.
"What's her problem?" Yang asked.
"Dunno."
/-/
"Dude, when did you get inked!?"
Jaune groaned. He'd done his best to hide it, but the changing rooms weren't exactly the best place for that. Sun had a huge grin on his face as he turned Jaune around by his shoulder, holding him still so he could inspect it.
"Did I miss this? I could have sworn you didn't have something like this last week. Doesn't look sore, though. When the hell did you sneak off for this and why wasn't I invited?"
"I didn't sneak off."
"What? Is it biro?" Sun rubbed at it. "Doesn't feel like pen."
"It's complicated." Jaune pulled his shoulder back and dragged his school shirt on. "And can you not tell anyone about it?"
"Team is going to see."
"I'll explain it to them tonight." As best he could, anyway. "I just don't want anyone else seeing it, okay? Our little secret."
Sun clearly couldn't see why it was meant to be a secret and Jaune couldn't explain it. Still, his teammate accepted it with a nod, no doubt expecting a better explanation later. He'd have to give it. Their room was too small for him to spend the next few years refusing to take his shirt off in front of them. He'd have to speak with Emerald first, though. Get in touch with her father and find out what he could say.
"Do you think I'd look good with a tattoo?" Sun asked.
Surprised, Jaune looked his friend up and down. It wasn't a fun experience. Every inch of Sun's body was an affront to his ego, every chiselled ab a blow to his pride. He'd honestly have thought the question a boast on Sun's part, but for the genuine curiosity.
"I think you'd look great with one," he said honestly.
Sun could make wearing a onesie look good. Stupid, overly muscular, super-fit bastard. Jaune grumbled as he strangled himself with his tie, then grumbled harder when Sun laughed, loosened and tied it for him. Was it not enough that he was so good looking? Did he have to be so nice on top?
"I was always kinda interested," Sun said. "You know, maybe some barbed wire on my arm of a sun on my chest. Tie in with the name, you know? Something right here." He pointed to his left pec. "A black circle with wavy lines coming out of it."
"Like a target?"
"Eh. Okay, maybe stick with the barbed wire."
Laughing, Jaune collected his gear and headed outside, now covered and with the school blazer on to make sure there was no chance of seeing anything. He arrived in time to dodge Blake's angry face, and then to catch Emerald on her way out. She saw him and frowned.
Welp. No choice for it.
"Hey Em. Can I ask a favour?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Kind of important. Can we talk in private?" If it were possible, she looked even more untrusting. "It's about what happened the other day on the roof." Yikes. Even more suspicious. "I need your old man's scroll number."
Her hand fell to her waist in search of a weapon.
"I-I can explain. Just… This isn't coming out right. Can we talk? I think I need your help."
"I'm going to go see Vernal. Can it wait until after?"
Vernal? Why was- Oh, that was a good idea. Vernal was trained by Raven, so maybe she'd know a way to get in touch with her if Emerald refused. Worth a shot. "Sure. I'll come with you."
"I didn't ask you to…"
"I know. I'm looking for Vernal as well. It's a coincidence."
"You literally just-" Emerald sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. I give up." She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him away to somewhere they could have a little privacy. "If it's that important, we can talk."
She found them a quiet spot in the opposite direction of the cafeteria, which was naturally deserted at this hour. Everyone else was off for dinner.
"Talk. And just give me the basics. I'm busy."
Quick? He could do that.
"The magical spell your dad cast on me worked better than he thinks it did."
Emerald stared long and hard at him. "What?"
"You said to only give you the basics…"
Is this the birth of revolutionary detective duo, Emerald and Smol-Jaune?
Next Chapter: 7th March
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
