GOMU GOMU NO!~ Got some nice fluff for you Fiona Thyme fans this chapter, and some Malachite madness for Jauney-boy as well.
Hawkins should arrive in Menagerie in the next chapter, and I've estimated the Menagerie arc should be 15-18 chapters. This number isn't final or anything, but it's the goal I'm hoping to achieve before doing the last time skip to where Jaune and Emerald can head off to Beacon.
There will also be another One-Piece character reveal soon, and I think you'll like him a lot as he didn't get enough screen time in both the anime and manga for my liking.
With that, cheers everyone and happy reading.
"So you went to another world and ended up with this devil fruit-rero?" Vito poked at the peculiar onion-shaped fruit on the table.
The dorms of the passengers were quiet this morning, as many of the Faunus and humans wished to see what the ships' services had to offer. Hawkins and Vito however, used this opportunity to contemplate the magician's odd condition.
"I don't know how something physical managed to manifest in the world of souls, but my cards predict a 99% chance that this is a devil fruit." Hawkins curled a brow and massaged his temples.
He spent the entire morning to ponder the qualities of this fruit and confirmed it was of the paramecia variety. The most gamble-like of the devil fruit classifications, Hawkins could only wonder what powers lay within this rot-tasting delectable.
"Do you want to eat it, Vito?" Hawkins asked.
Vito chuckled nervously and shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I want to keep my ability to swim. I can make do with my guns and sharpshooting skills-rero."
"Why don't you give it to Emerald-rero?" The gunslinger picked up the fruit and cupped his chin. His former captain had the powers of the castle-castle fruit, but it looked nothing like this one.
"Jaune told me what happened to him after he ate his fruit, and I don't want to risk having my daughter kill herself if her aura reacts in a similar way." Hawkins sighed.
He didn't like having such a powerful possession on him, but leaving it at home didn't feel right. Trifa didn't seem like a proper candidate, and Carla and Sam had no ambitions for power. Perhaps Fiona Thyme? No, she also had aura and a semblance to boot. Kuma was out due to his current possession of a fruit, and Jaune had his genie. Hawkins' expression soured as the number of candidates dwindled by the second. Vito knew this topic would take a long period to figure out, but his blonde friend already had enough stress for three men.
"Let's put this on hold Hawkins. When we get to Menagerie and relax our vexed minds and bodies, we'll come up with a clear answer." Vito grinned and gave the fruit back to Hawkins.
"How about some lunch? My stomach has been rumbling since we got dressed and I hear the seafood on this ship is a real catch-rero."
Vito made his way to the door and waved for Hawkins to join him, but the magician refused. He wanted to catch up on lost hours of sleep until he arrived in Menagerie. Also, he wanted to perform a few tarot draws for the possible conundrums to come.
"Vito? Where is Hawkins? I thought you said you'd be joining Carla and Sam at the seafood restaurant." The huntress met Vito a few paces away from Hawkins' dorm and the gunslinger rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hawkins hasn't been feeling well. Unlike the rest of us, he's been the most affected by the nightmares-rero."
"Nightmares?" Fiona tilted her head.
"A couple of days after Jaune's tenth birthday the whole Hawkins household has been under some sort of depressive spell. Hawkins has been researching the symptoms with the aid of his cards, Tukson's books, and his scroll but he hasn't narrowed the root cause of the problem. We even tried bringing his son to the hospital, but the doctors were stumped with Jaune's condition. They told Hawkins he needed to ease up his child's harsh training, and I think the lack of swordplay and family bonding is getting to him-rero." Vito explained.
Fiona's ears flapped and her lips curled downward. She urged Vito to head on to the restaurant and made her way to Hawkins' dorm.
"Hawkins? It's me, Fiona." The sheep Faunus knocked on the magician's door, but no reply came. Worried, Fiona leaned against the door and listened. With a Faunus' enhanced hearing trait, Fiona managed to hear loud rasps and mumbles.
She didn't want to intrude, but Vito's previous claims had her fidgeting. She swallowed a thick lump in her throat and pressed her hand against the door. With a meek and polite apology, Fiona turned the knob and let herself in. The room was dim and Fiona had to squint, but the sight she found shocked her.
Hawkins was a sweaty mess and his hair lay all around his pillow in a disordered manner. The lids of his eyes clamped shut, the blonde man's usually calm expression was replaced with one of agony. His ruffled cloak rested on the floor, along with his sash and blade. Fiona hurried to tidy the room and knelt on the side of Hawkins' bed. She placed a hand on Hawkins' forehead, and let out a sigh of relief when the magician's temperature was normal.
Fiona noticed the trembling hands of Hawkins. His face twitched and contorted in a myriad of emotions, but the huntress was hesitant to wake him. If it was a normal nightmare Hawkins was experiencing, then she would have smacked him on the noggin without a second thought, but a stubborn feeling nagged in the back of her head told her not to.
"E-Everyone..." Hawkins groaned.
"Who?" Fiona asked.
"Please... I beg you... don't die on me..." He mumbled and subtle tears trickled from the corners of his eyes and down his pale cheeks. He lifted a trembling hand toward the ceiling, and the rasps in his throat grew hoarse.
Fiona gasped. She'd never seen the stoic Hawkins this vulnerable before. Carla did say he used to play the violin and sing when no one was around, but the songs he sang were filled with melancholic sorrow. The Faunus racked her mind for any idea that would aid her friend and decided to offer physical comfort for Hawkins' mental strife.
The huntress leaned forward and wrapped her hands around those of Hawkins and the comforting action eased some of his stress. His eyebrows broke from their wrinkled state and slowly his calm demeanor returned. This tender moment lasted a few seconds but was swiftly replaced by a hot sensation for Fiona when Hawkins suddenly yanked her and brought her closer to his chest.
Now on the bed and atop Hawkins' muscular and sweaty body, Fiona squeaked as her face flushed to bright cherry. Her ears flapped a thousand miles a minute, and her voice abandoned her from shock. She tried to free herself from Hawkins' grasp, but the magician's physical strength had grown considerably stronger since the last time she saw him and outmatched her own power easily. The gears in her mind spun like those on a speeding dust train, her body went limp from sheer embarrassment.
Or perhaps the huntress was too busy ogling the defined features of the once in a lifetime display that her eyes had been blessed with? N-No, that wasn't it! Not even close! Fiona didn't enjoy being wrapped in Hawkins' strong, but oddly cuddling embrace. A-And he was sweaty too! But he didn't smell bad or anything. Fiona's nose picked up a light and pleasant scent of cologne. It wasn't overbearing and its mellow walnut aroma suited Hawkins quite nicely. Perhaps Fiona should try some exotic perfumes to boost her own appearance?
H-Hold on a minute! Now is not the time to be thinking such things! Hawkins was invading her personal space, and the whole situation transpired because Hawkins was having a nightmare. It didn't feel right to take advantage of him like this.
"H-Hawkins, you're c-crushing me!" This wasn't true, but it was the only thing Fiona's mouth was able to sputter with her mind baffled beyond belief.
"Hm..." Hawkins mumbled and slipped a hand from Fiona's fingers and moved it toward her scalp.
Fiona squeaked a second time as the magician's ardent touch weaved through her short white locks. This level of gentleness was something a cold and rude man like Hawkins should never be able to achieve, yet here he was giving Fiona the softest head pats she'd ever received.
Hawkins' left hand followed his right and freed itself to wrap around Fiona's waist and pulled her further up his stomach. Her face now snuggled between the magician's arms and chiseled pectorals, steam fumed through Fiona's flapping ears as she scrambled to free herself from her embarrassing predicament.
"Hm... Ms. Thyme?" The lids of his crimson eyes slowly lifted and Hawkins awoke to an aghast sheep Faunus who looked like her entire world had been flipped upside down.
His mind still weary, the magician failed to realize the seemingly intimate position he and Fiona were in. A passive breeze drifted along the face of Hawkins, he focused his attention on two fluttering sheep ears along with pinkened cheeks, and wide olive eyes.
"You're cute when you flap your ears." Hawkins didn't know where that came from, but it happened so there was nothing he could do about it now.
Meanwhile, Fiona was enduring a complete mind shut down. Where had this sweet side of Hawkins been hiding?! Why couldn't he be like this everyday around her?!
Before the scene could develop to the point of no regret, Fiona's body jolted into action and she fumbled off of Hawkins and she rolled on the floor to the other side of the room. The blonde magician curled a brow and sat himself up. A migraine thundered in his mind, he veered his attention to the befuddled Faunus across from him. Her hair disheveled and chest rising and falling, Hawkins curled a brow as Fiona's entire face was covered in a burning blush.
"Ms. Thyme?" Hawkins staggered to his feet and approached to aid the fallen huntress.
His footsteps tapped against the floor and each thud caused a twitch in Fiona's sheep ears. His presence growing nearer, Fiona jumped to her feet and waved her hands in front of her.
"I-I'M FINE HAWKINS!" She screamed and bolted through the door then slammed it behind her. The clicking of her boots faded into the distance leaving a very confused magician.
"Gah! Out of my way Vito!" Fiona wailed.
A loud bang rung through the hallway and the door to Hawkins' dorm creaked open.
"Hawkins-rero?" Vito greeted and rested a weak hand against the doorframe. With a black footprint on his suit and orange cravat, the poor fellow was run down by a fleeting Fiona when he tried to get her attention in the hallway.
"What did I do to Ms. Thyme?" Hawkins looked to the gunslinger for an answer.
Vito blinked and his gaze shifted to Hawkins' tidy room then back to him. He was panting heavily, and his golden locks were frazzled. Vito wasn't a man who came to such conclusions quickly, but judging from the flustered state of Fiona and the sweaty and bewildered body of Hawkins, well, Vito's assumption was viable wasn't it?
"Nyororo! Hawkins, did you and Fiona get physically intimate-rero?" Vito asked with a cheeky smile.
"What?" Hawkins deadpanned.
"Er... You know what I'm asking Hawkins. Did you have a romantic moment under the sheets with the lovely Faunus-rero?" Vito wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner.
"No." Hawkins sighed and glared at Vito with an annoyed visage.
Vito scratched his cheek. Hawkins wasn't the type to be easily flustered, and he wouldn't speak falsehoods for the heck of it. Which meant, Vito had just made the situation very awkward.
"I see, sorry for jumping to conclusions." The gunslinger felt a bead of sweat drop down his forehead. Then a spectacular idea to save his skin appeared in the form of a girl with green hair.
"Uncle Vito, have you seen Jaune? Trifa and I have been searching for him for an hour already." Emerald appeared with a frantic spider Faunus behind her.
"Hm, I haven't seen him, but I'll gladly lend a hand-rero!" Vito chuckled and politely excused himself, the other children, and the door of Hawkins' dorm closed once more.
On the edges of the viewing platform, Jaune was in peril as he found himself under the oppressive heels of the two acquaintances he now called his friends.
"Aw, come on Jaune, why do you have to leave?" Miltiades pouted and tugged on the sleeve of the blonde boy.
"My sister and best friend are probably angry with me for leaving them in the restaurant. I want to make it back to my room before they have a chance to scold me." Jaune's posture slumped as the scenarios of Emerald and Trifa yelling at him played over in his mind.
"I think they'll understand when they see you with a pair of cute girls," Melanie smirked and her sister giggled in turn.
However, to their confusion, the face Jaune wore was one of defeat. Sure, Emerald would yap at him for a bit, but Trifa would spend the rest of the afternoon and night and lecture him about the importance of being where he needed to be and keeping promises.
"Please Ms. Malachite, I need to go." Jaune pleaded.
The faces of the twins soured and Jaune winced. He didn't like being the cause of other people's anger, yet here he was breaking everyone's expectations of him. He knew he was down in the dumps now, so he decided to perform a few tarot draws for the inconvenient circumstances to come.
Melanie and Miltiades stopped their teasing and tilted their heads as Jaune lowered himself to the ground and took out his deck of tarot cards from the pouch slung around his waist.
"87% chance Trifa and Emerald will be mad. 56% chance uncle Vito will help me." The blonde boy shuffled.
"Um, Jaune, what are you doing?" Miltiades positioned herself on his left and Melanie walked over to his right.
"I'm calculating how screwed I am." Jaune chuckled in a defeated tone.
"How can you read the percentages? All I see are colorful drawings, numbers, and letters." Melanie crossed her arms and curled a brow.
"It'll take me a long time to explain everything, but to keep things simple I play out certain scenarios and apply them to my cards which provide me with an accurate outcome. I'm sorry Ms. Malachite but I must bid you both adieu." Jaune gathered his cards and stood himself up.
"Hold on." Melanie stepped forward to block his path and Jaune was forced to remain still.
"Y-Yes?" The stern glare of Melanie's pale green eyes drilled into his ocean colored pupils.
"Can you do a reading for me, or does your only talent apply to you?" She huffed.
Why did that comment come off as a slight insult? Jaune's gaze dipped toward the floor, but he agreed to do as Melanie asked.
"Um, I don't think that I should answer this." Jaune Rubbed his neck at the answer his cards produced. His gaze flicked between Miltiades and Melanie for a brief moment.
"Tell me what it is Jaune or else Miltiades and I are going to throw you off the ship." Melanie scowled.
Jaune knew he could get himself out of a pinch if it required brute force, but he didn't want to hurt the twins he now called his friends. Miltiades on the other hand, was contemplating what her twin had whispered in the boy's ear. It had to be something serious if Melanie didn't want her to know about it.
"74% chance Miltiades ate all the sweets in your shared dorm," Jaune said.
Melanie's scornful visage darted toward her now sweating sibling who rubbed her arm and sheepishly turned away.
"I knew you were lying Miltiades!" Melanie lunged forward and pinched the cheeks of her sister.
"I-I'm sorry Melanie, but the bonbons tasted too good for me to resist!" Miltiades wept.
Jaune laughed at their antics and bid the two farewell, but to his ire, Melanie latched a grip on the back of his ruffled collar.
"Hold on, what dorm are you staying at?" Melanie asked as Miltiades rubbed her sore reddened cheeks in the background.
"Um... I don't know?" Jaune stammered.
"Come on Jaune, we're friends now aren't we? You said so yourself so we should hang out again tomorrow." Melanie pushed on.
The boy sighed. He wasn't great when dealing with pushy individuals, and Melanie was one of the pushiest he'd ever met.
"Come on Jaune, didn't you like the time you spent with us? We had a lot of fun when we played eye spy on the viewing platform." Miltiades added.
The contrast of cute and assertive crushed Jaune's will to decline. He swallowed a thick lump in his throat and gave up the information. The Malachite twins grinned and their pupils sparkled in victory. They allowed Jaune his freedom on the premise that they meet again tomorrow at the same spot on the viewing platform.
"Can I bring my sister and my best friend next time?" Jaune said with an awkward smile, but it fell when the twins shot him a pair of disappointed expressions.
"Mou, are you that bored of us Jaune?" Miltiades' head dipped downward as the joy in her eyes faded.
"Hmph, and here I was thinking that you weren't such a talentless loser." Melanie scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I-I promise to see you guys tomorrow then! And It'll just be me so you don't have to worry!" Jaune begged for forgiveness to the point he was on his knees with both hands clasped over his bowed head.
Jaune didn't see it, but the mischievous smirks of the Malachite twins were anything but sympathetic, they knew they had the blonde wrapped around their little fingers. They allowed Jaune their mercy, and the boy hopped to his feet with a goofy smile and moist eyes. Then he did something neither siblings expected. He dashed forward then wrapped his arms around their waists and hoisted them up for a tight hug. Jaune was shockingly strong for a boy his age, but his strength did drop a tad due to his recent decline in sleep and training.
Miltiades' entire face turned red again, but this wasn't from the pain of Melanie's prior pinches, it was from pure embarrassment. As for the snobbier of the sisters, Melanie was abashed by the unexpected and sudden contact as a thick blush wormed its way onto her stubborn features. When Jaune let the two down, they clung to each other for support while their legs wobbled. The oblivious blonde boy asked them what was wrong, but the girls refused to answer his questions.
Jaune waved, but before he left he delivered another sideswipe to the Malachite's emotions. "Ah, look at the time, I'll see you two later then! Bye Milliecakes! See ya Melmel!"
With that the goofy blonde lad rushed toward the interior of the ship to his dorm on the second floor.
"M-Milliecakes?" Miltiades face grew even hotter.
"M-Melmel?" Melanie stuttered in a flustered tone and did her best to pat down her blushing cheeks.
The twins would stand side by side in a muddled state until one of little Miss Malachites henchmen found them a few minutes later.
"Urk!" Jaune spun to the floor as an irritated Emerald and furious Trifa glared daggers at the poor boy.
Unfortunately, Vito was nowhere to be found as he had business with Hawkins, but went to fetch Kuma first for some reason. This left Jaune all on his own, and at the mercy of Emerald and Trifa.
"Where were you Jaune! We waited for you at the restaurant for an hour!" Emerald shouted.
"I even bought you your favorite seafood pizza with my allowance!" Trifa yelled.
Jaune shrunk under the duo's scrutinizing glares. He raised his hands and apologized, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the rage that burned in the bodies of his interrogators. Trifa stomped over to Jaune and leaned down with crossed arms. Jaune was sorry, but he was also a bit peeved. Trifa was becoming more overbearing by the day, but Jaune was too nice to say anything and he knew that he was in the wrong right now. He pushed his petty opinions to the back of his mind and permitted Emerald and Trifa to indulge in their scoldings centered around him. There were a few insults tossed into the mix which he did comment on, but other than that it was a one sided debate as to how he should be punished.
"To make up for what you did today Jaune you have to spend the entire day with me tomorrow!" Trifa announced.
Both Jaune and Emerald tilted their heads.
"How come I don't get to come along?" Emerald said in an irked tone.
"That's because you said we should wait in the restaurant after Jaune didn't come back. So we wasted an entire hour sitting at our table when the time could have been used to look for Jaune." Trifa huffed.
"Hmph, it's not my fault I have faith in my brother," Emerald grumbled under her breath.
"W-Wait, I'm busy tomorrow you guys," Jaune spoke up.
"Huh? With what Jaune?" Trifa's visage narrowed and a long frown bloomed on her lips.
His back against the wall, Jaune tried to come up with a fib but decided against it. Emerald was here after all, and she was perceptive without a doubt. Jaune could name countless instances that she caught him in a lie. With a heavy sigh, Jaune told his sister and best friend about the Malachite twins who he promised to see tomorrow.
Emerald seemed disappointed, but the face on Trifa was one Jaune had never seen before. It was a mix of annoyance, anger, defeat, and... desperation? Though the blonde couldn't determine what emotions he had stirred within Trifa, he wanted to eliminate that expression of her's as soon as possible.
"I promised to see the Malachite twins by myself tomorrow, but they're pretty friendly, so you guys should become friends no problem!" Jaune said in a feeble voice.
Trifa's mood lightened a tad, and she took him up on his offer immediately. Emerald on the other hand, chose not to join. She wasn't used to dealing with overly friendly people, and the way Jaune described the Malachite twins made them come off as such. Sure, Jaune was quirky and goofy in his own right, but he was Emerald's brother so he was the an exception.
"So it's set then, tomorrow Trifa you'll meet my new freinds and make some new ones for yourself!" Jaune grinned.
The door of the dorm swung open and a blue sneaker followed by a curvaceous and feminine figure entered the room.
"Ah, Vergo-san. Have you seen the list of names Doffy wants us to eliminate?" A woman with long frilly green hair entered the dorm. She wore a tank top that left her belly exposed with the word 'HAPPY' boldly written on it. In the grande-line and new world, she would have had her harpie wings and legs, but oddly in the world of Remnant, only the large light green feathers that made up her tail remained which left her with normal arms and legs.
"Yes Monet, Doffy wants us to target the current leader fo the white Fang, Ghira Belladonna before we arrive in Mantle. He's the leading figure in the growing White Fang faction, and his influence over the improvement of Faunus life in the other kingdoms is leading them away from joining Doffy's ranks." Vergo sat at his desk with a cup of hot coffee and a plate of biscuits next to a small stack of papers.
"Well, I don't know if we can fulfill the master's wishes this time around." Monet rested a finger on her chin.
"And why is that?" Vergo replied nonchalantly. Dressed in his trademark white trench coat, white pants, and brown gloves, he tapped at his scroll to see the recent news in Atlas.
"I took a stroll on the upper decks this morning, and would you believe me if I told you a warlord was on this ship?" The supposed bird Faunus slapped on a playful grin.
"Is it Crocodile? Why would he have any reason to stop us? I thought he was in Vale with Mr.1 anyway." Vergo grunted.
"It's not Croco-boy, but he is an animal. Bartholomew Kuma, a bear Faunus and former tyrant of the sea." Monet giggled.
Vergo's head turned to fully face his partner. With a half-eaten biscuit stuck to his left cheek, he adjusted his shades then rubbed his temples.
"We can't abort this mission, Monet. If we allow Ghira to roam freely, he'll continue to swing things out of Doffy's favor. Besides, if we stick to stealth and simple tactics of assassination, we shouldn't have any problems whatsoever. Kuma's reputation and power have also diminished. Didn't you see him when Carmel sold him off to Jacques? He was nothing more than a mindless puppet with no will of his own."
"That's true, but he's not alone. I happened to catch a glimpse of 'Phantom Gun Vito' a chameleon Faunus with two giant revolvers hanging off his belt. He doesn't look like much, but he could prove to be a thorn in our sides later down the line." Monet added.
"We will deal with the lesser annoyances once we've accomplished our main mission in Menagerie. Now is not the time to get distracted, as long as no other individual of considerable notoriety and power is there we should be done with our business by the end of the week."
"Very well Vergo-san." Monet moved to her bed and let out a long sigh and smirked.
"Menagerie is going to be a nice change of pace."
