Shout out to GamerJay, SwapAUAnon, and Gladsome Praetorian for being this chapter's Beta Readers.
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Chapter 12: A BRNNy Day at the Book Shop
Makoto and her teammates were walking down the streets of Vale early in the afternoon. Makoto walked directly behind Blake with her hands on the back of her head as she thought about her time at Beacon so far. It had been a couple days since their first day at Beacon Academy, and so far, things had been rather uneventful.
Classes were either too hard or just plain boring, mostly because Professor Port was too much of a snooze to listen to (and kind of full of himself in Makoto's eyes) and Professor Oobleck talked so fast that she barely understood a word he said. The only fun classes she had so far being combat classes with Professor Goodwitch since she got to punch things and fight. While she hadn't gotten the chance just yet, she was hoping to fight either Ragna or that Cardin asshole and kick them to the curb at some point. The former's dickheaded attitude and the latter's bullying and racism were getting on her last nerve.
Though if she had to be fair to the former, at least Ragna was making an attempt to try and be nicer with his teammates, which included Noel, so at least that was there. He still acted the same with damn near everyone else though, but progress was progress. Cardin, on the other hand...
One punch. All I need is one punch to that fucker's face and I'm good. Makoto thought with a smile as she fantasized a one-sided brawl with that asshole.
"So fearless leader." Nora's voice interrupted Makoto's thoughts, "Where are we going again?"
At her question, Blake sighed and turned to face the energetic orange-haired girl, "I told you back at Beacon where we were going. Why didn't you ask before we left?"
"I forgot. Think I was distracted when you told me the first time. And I didn't want to be rude when we were walking out." She replied.
Makoto thought back to when Blake scheduled a trip to a small book shop, saying that she had some history books for Oobleck's class to pick up. She also remembered Ren coming out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist and gathering his clothes before returning to the bathroom to change. Nora seemed to have her eyes on Ren's bare chest that entire time. Not that Makoto could blame her in that case, given that Ren without his shirt was very attrac-distracting.
"Nora, we're going to a book store." Ren said, reminding his friend.
"Aw, but books are so boring. Can't we go to an arcade? Or maybe see a movie? There's a Spruce Willis film in theaters that I want to check out at some point." Nora whined.
"Sorry Blakey, but I gotta agree with Nora. Not exactly the most bookish kind of gal here." Makoto threw her two cents into the ring.
Blake looked to both of them, placing a hand on her hip and saying, "Well, Tukson has more than just old history books. He's also got some comics that I think you can look into. His motto is "Home to every book under the sun" after all."
"You sound like you know him well, Blake." Ren said.
Blake went silent as she turned and continued walking ahead, "We have some history with each other. I guess you could say that he's...an old family friend of mine."
Blake's tone became somber for a second, which Makoto was able to pick up on. Considering that she called Tukson an old friend, it was likely that he knew that she was a Faunus. She decided not to pry on this, especially in front of Ren and Nora.
The quartet continued walking and Blake eventually stopped in front of a store, prompting Makoto and the others to look up at the sign that said "Tukson's Book Trade". Blake entered first, and the rest of them followed suit.
The store was rather small, with many books lining the shelves neatly. At the front desk sat a man looking through what appeared to be a catalog of sorts. He was a rather muscular man with black hair that ended in side-burns on his face, as well as hazel eyes. He wore a dark red-ish purple shirt with a white undershirt. The man proceeded to greet them without looking up from his catalog.
"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every boo-" as he spoke, he started to look up and saw who had entered, causing him to stop, "Oh, Blake. Haven't seen you in a few weeks. Good to see you again." He said, smiling as he did so.
"Good to see you to, Tuk." Blake said with a smile.
The man, who Makoto now knew was Tukson, looked at the rest of them and said, "So, Blake, who are your friends?"
Blake gestured to them and replied, "These are my teammates, Makoto, Nora, and Ren."
She pointed out each of them as they were introduced with all of them waving to the book owner.
"Teammates? Oh, so you got into Beacon!" Tukson said before smiling again, "Congratulations Blake. Probably wasn't easy."
"I can assure you, it was not." Blake said.
"I road an Ursa!" Nora yelled out in excitement.
"Just don't ever do it again." Ren said.
"No promises."
At Nora's reply, Ren simply raised his palm to his head. Makoto decided to start looking around to see if there was anything she'd like, since she sure wasn't going for the history or non-fictional stuff that Blake was looking for, she asked, "Got any comic books?"
"You'll find them on the front shelves." Tukson replied.
Makoto and Nora went to the front shelves and stated browsing the comics. Makoto saw and felt that "every book under the sun" was a good slogan for Tukson's shop. He had nearly everything. Every available issue of X-Ray and Vav, Camp Camp, the whole she-bang.
As she browsed, she saw Ren browse through what looked like a cook book section and held up a book that said "Yums and Nums" while Blake spoke with Tukson at the front desk, inquiring about history books, specifically those pertaining to the Great War. That made Makoto's mind jump back to Oobleck's class and internally groan. She really wasn't looking forward to that since history was already one of her dodgiest subjects.
She then heard Tukson say that he had some copies in the back and that his assistant was checking stock before he yelled out, "PENNY! Can you please bring out "World of Remnant: The Great War" Volumes 1-5, unabridged?"
At the loud, but kind request, Makoto looked up from her browsing position and saw someone walk out of the back carrying five heavy looking books in their left hand with little effort. This person was an orange-haired girl with green eyes who looked to be of similar age to all of them. Her hair was cut short and curly with a lock that stood out on top and a cute pink bow on the back of her head. She was wearing a light grey blouse that left her shoulders exposed under a dark grey skirt which had two green lines that went up to the middle of the dress. On her feet were black stockings that featured green lines running along the side with black shoes. She greeted all of them with a kind, exuberant smile while waving with her right hand.
"Salutations, shoppers!"
The four of them looked up to meet the new face. Nora was the first to greet her by rushing up to her in the blink of an eye. "Hi! Name's Nora. That's Ren, Blake, and Makoto. We're team BRNN, soon to be most awesome team at Beacon, hold your applause." Nora said rapidly as she introduced them all to her. "What's your name?"
"Well, as Tukson previously stated, my name is Penny Polendina. I have only started working here within the last two weeks as an assistant. Pleased to meet you all." Penny said with a chipper tone that matched Nora's. She then put the five books on the front desk with a loud thud before turning back to greet everyone. Nora reached out to shake her hand, and Penny did so with such gusto that Nora was comically shaken in an almost cartoon-life fashion. The Valkyrie girl even had to shake her own hand while wincing from pain when Penny retracted hers.
Penny clearly had a lot of strength to her if she could do that with Nora. Thankfully, Nora didn't seem miffed by the shaking or inadvertent pain. Instead, she went back to cheerfully trying to get to know the new girl in front of them.
As they all greeted each other, Makoto found herself paying most attention to Penny's facial features and how familiar they looked. The green eyes and face, aside from the freckles, were almost startlingly familiar. After a couple seconds, she put together what was so familiar about them.
Huh, just get the girl some blonde hair dye and extensions and Noel's got herself a twin sister. Makoto thought. Her mother did always say that everyone's got at least one look-alike somewhere out there in the world, but Makoto never expected to run into one for one of her friends in her lifetime.
"BRNN, huh? So I guess you're the leader, Blake?" Tukson asked, shaking Makoto out of her musings regarding Penny's appearance.
"O-oh, it's really nothing. Still not sure why I qualified anyway." Blake stuttered a bit as she looked away from the group.
"Blake, did you see how things went with the Death Stalker? You and Tsu just took charge at the drop of a hat, almost like it was second nature. If you ask me, I'd say you make a pretty good leader." Makoto encouraged her friend as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders and looked her partner in the eyes, Blake's cheeks turning a light shade of red at the praise.
Suddenly, faster than either of them could blink, Penny was standing directly in front of them staring intently at Blake with a large grin.
"You have become the team leader? That is truly sensational! Congratulations Miss Belladonna!" And Penny proceeded to shake Blake's hand similar to how she shook Nora's earlier, with the effects being even more pronounced as Blake's form became an almost shaken blur. As soon as Penny let go, Blake awkwardly thanked her and proceeded to turn around, blowing on her red, almost swollen hand.
"So, in celebration of this momentous occasion, I would like to grant you all a 75% discount on all purchases today." Penny chimed with brightness in her voice, apparently unaware of her accidental crushing of Blake's hand. Though even Blake seemed to forget about the pain as she turned around wide-eyed at the mention of the discount.
However, before Makoto could beam at their good luck, Tukson interrupted, "Whoa, whoa, Penny, let's not get crazy here. I still got a business to run and you can't just go around giving people big discounts just because of some big event. Remember last time a few days ago? You tried to let that one kid get all his purchases for free because it was his birthday? We almost lost the whole graphic novel section."
Penny then looked back to Tukson, "So no discounts today?" She asked.
Tukson rubbed the back of his head and said, "Well, I didn't say 'no discounts' at all. Just don't go with those large pie in the sky numbers. Maybe a 50% at most is what I'm saying."
Penny then grinned again and faced them again, "In that case, you will receive a 50% discount on all purchases for today!"
Tukson sighed and said, "Alright, that'll do. 'sides, I guess I can let it slide for an old friend anyway."
Makoto could have sworn she heard a squee come out of Blake's mouth for a moment, though if she asked, she was pretty sure Blake would say it was her imagination.
In any case, Blake almost immediately rushed to the front desk and asked, "So, with that in mind, any chance you have the remaining 4 Volumes of..." She then turned to face her team as she leaned forward and whispered into Tukson's ear. Makoto couldn't make out what she asked for.
At that, Tukson gave an almost knowing smirk and said, "Okay, Penny, could you go to the back room and bring in the box that has 'Blake Belladonna' written on it?"
Penny then saluted and said, "Yes, Mr. Tukson!"
"We've been over this, you don't-" But before he could finish, Penny was already gone, "have to...call me...Mr."
"So," Ren said, finally deciding to speak up, "She's...out there."
"Ren!" Nora said in mock aghast.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing, Nora. You of all people should know that."
"I know. But she seems super fun!"
"She can be a bit of a handful," Tukson interjected, "But she's a good kid. Probably just hasn't had much time to socialize."
Makoto looked to the man at the desk while Blake asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is that while I don't know much on her background, from what she told me, her and her father have been travelling throughout the kingdoms for a while now. They only recently moved here for the Vytal Festival, something about wanting to get to watch the event up close. I figured that it's just been her and her old man for the better part of her life, so she doesn't really know how to interact well with others." Tukson informed the team.
Makes sense, Makoto thought to herself as she mused over Penny's quirks and eagerness in interacting with almost everyone. "Well, if you ask me, I'm glad you were willing to hire her. She looks like the kind of gal who could always use a friend."
Tukson chuckled and replied, "Hey, who am I to deny someone just because they're a little weird."
Close stepping indicated that Penny was close approaching. Sure enough, she came in carrying a small box with Blake's name written on it as she said with a smile, "Here you go Miss Belladonna! Volume's 4-8 of the Ninjas of Love series."
At that, Makoto looked back to Blake with a surprised expression while her partner turned a bright red and buried her face in her hands. Behind them, Nora made a loud "Huh?" noise while Ren eyes only slightly widened (at least Makoto thought so) as he looked at Blake. She had to admit, of all the things to learn about her partner, learning she was into a kinky erotica series was not one of them.
Then again, it's always the quiet ones. Makoto mused as her surprised look gave way to an amused smirk, Speaking of, wonder if Ren has a seductive side. If he does, then Nora'll be in for a treat later.
"Penny." Tukson said with his face buried in his hand in exasperation, "We really need to have a talk on customer-product confidentiality."
"Oh, I apologize Miss Belladonna. I did not intend to reveal anything, I promise." Penny apologized profusely as she bowed her head to the point where she was practically at a 90 degree angle.
Blake tried to calm the girl down and let her know that it was unneeded, but Penny seemed rather intent on apologizing continuously till the cows came home. Seeing as this would not end anytime soon. Makoto looked at Ren and the two silently agreed to make their purchases while Blake was busy with Penny.
Aside from the history books and Blake's smut novels, Makoto and Nora agreed to share the comics they decided on getting while Ren purchased the cook book he was browsing earlier, saying that it had some recipes he wanted to try his hand at. Makoto swore she saw drool coming out of Nora's mouth when he brought that up.
After the purchases were complete, Makoto looked and saw the whole "apologize-off" thing with Penny was still going. Deciding to put an end to it, she walked up and gave Blake a light tap on the shoulder.
"Blakey, we got everything, think we should get going?" Makoto said, interrupting what was going on.
Blake turned and stammered, "Oh, OH, definitely!" She then turned back to Penny and said, "It looks like my team and I have to go now, so you really don't need to apologize for anything anymore. It's fine, really."
And with that, she waved and said goodbye to Tukson while she damn near pushed the three of them out the door as fast as she could, with Ren carrying their purchases, all while Makoto could hear Tukson's stifled laughing coupled with Penny saying something along the lines of "Do not worry! I will make this up to you!" as they left.
As soon as they were around the corner, Blake stopped and the three of them turned to their leader, who was in the middle of catching her breath. As they stood their in silence while Blake collected herself, Nora raised her hand and breathed, but...
"Not. One. Word." Blake said with her finger raised and with a tone that clearly dared them to speak about what just happened.
"What, me? Pfft. I wasn't going to say nothing." Nora said as she innocently whistled.
Blake glared at her with flushed cheeks as she started walking ahead of the group, but before she could get very far...
"So any chance I could borrow one of your ninja books? Personal reasons if you catch my drift?" Nora voiced out her question, with Blake only groaning in response.
"I mean, if you're not gonna let her borrow it, you could always let me borrow it." Makoto said, causing Ren and Nora to look at her, "What? I also have needs you know."
"Just..." They all turned back to Blake, whose face was completely crimson, either from anger or embarrassment, "Let's just get back to Beacon."
And with that, she speed ran (or rather, speed stomped) ahead of them.
Makoto was admittedly starting to feel bad about all the teasing given Blake's reaction. As they walked to keep up with their leader, she said allowed, "Think we should apologize?"
"Well." Ren intoned as he held the bags containing their books in his hands, "After everything back there, I get the feeling that Blake doesn't want to hear anymore apologies for the day."
"Point."
"I told you guys, it's fine!" Blake yelled back, clearly being able to hear them. "Can we just get back to Beacon and not talk about this anymore, please!?"
"Alrighty then Blake! Just let us know when you need some alone time in the room." Nora joked. Makoto couldn't help but snicker a little.
"UUUGH!" Blake groaned out loud, but she did ultimately slow down enough for the rest of them to catch up.
Eh, I'll make it up to her later when she cools down, Makoto thought, For now, just let her vent a little.
Okay, first slice of life chapter. Kind of a basic premise really, just BRNN going to the book store. Now while there isn't any evidence of Blake having any familiarity with Tukson at all, it was something I saw a couple other fanfics do, so I figured I'd throw it in here as well.
Also, PENNY! Yup, Penny's here much earlier than expected. If you're wondering why Penny is here and not in Atlas at the moment. Well, let's just say this Penny is very different from how she was in canon backstory wise. If you're familiar with the lore for BlazBlue, you can probably already guess what that means. I did kinda drop the hint here and there, though I don't know if I did well on that being honest.
Not quite sure on the title for this chapter though. I mean, Briny is an actual term that means "relating to or resembling brine", but it still sounds kinda odd to me. What do you guys think?
Now, hopefully this question isn't too spoilery but it may well be, but what do you people think Atlas would be like with Watts as its top scientific mind rather than Pietro?
EDIT: Think I should clarify. Watts wouldn't be ruling Atlas. He's taken Pietro's place as its top scientific mind. Ironwood is still very much in charge.