Chapter 55: Indiamu
Contrary to people's expectations, I do not have the liberty of being able to update as frequently as I used to. I had a tumor removed and my PC decided to pass away, so there was an effort to write, but just no ability to. It kind of sucks, really.
Learning how to handle your physical therapy to regain the use of your legs was hard. Three days after he'd been able to move his legs, with a little more pain than anticipated, he definitely knew that there was nothing more embarrassing than having to walk yourself over to the next set of crutches by yourself, with your sisters carrying you. He was used to doing it himself, but ever since Eve had been the subject of Camellia trying to claw her eyes out, there was only the sisters that he had to keep him company during the sessions of therapy that he had to do.
'If I didn't thank the gods for having given me a set of functioning legs, I thank them now.'
The steps that he took were easier now than before, when he could barely bend his knees. Eve and Adam were still around, but there was a contingent of his sisters present now. Coral and Saphron were helping him, his Aura puffed up and blazing, his body carrying himself forward, as his fingers held on to his sisters.
"Baby steps, Jaune. You can talk to the pretty girls again later."
Ruby and her team had been by, after Yang had visited. It had been a very brief visit, and Whitley had been in the room with Ruby for a moment whilst Weiss had been flustered, saying something about making sure that he wouldn't be taken advantage of again.
"And what if I want to talk to hot milfs in my area, huh?"
Saphron gave an unmissed frown, as Coral let him sag a little.
"We're not doing that again, you stupid little goof. Camellia will be with you tonight and she's bringing her friend as well. The only hot milf that is in your area is me and I am not going to be posing sexily like in those stupid advertisements you get every time you open your Scrollweb."
That was a good thing, as he looked at the doctor, currently standing in a corner of the room. The glowing lights on the Scroll that had lit up were enough for the young man, whose fingers brushed over his chin.
"Mister Arc, please try to move on your own accord. We need more data."
The information for Mister 'Thompson, Hummus Jerome' was invaluable for the research into the medical aid that Willow's company was developing, Jaune feeling how his sisters let go. Coral looked at his face with her expression growing more worried than before, as he took a few steps. Red lights started to appear on his legs, the doctor or 'physical motion device therapist' as the man had introduced himself making a sound in the back of his throat, as Jaune set another step forward. The burning pain did not linger for very much longer, the sensation of pins and needles in his toes warning him that something wasn't fully alright. The sensors seemed to burn a little brighter before they seemed to stabilize.
"Try not flaring your Aura, Mister Arc. It is not usual for someone in physical therapy to have this much to work with due to the neural interface, but we must keep maintenance to the nodes at minimal levels."
He tried to take another step, his knees nearly buckling, the muscles having grown weaker thanks to the lack of motion, the lack of being able to get up. He hadn't even gotten time to go to the bathroom on his own, his sisters helping him with it, if Adam wasn't around.
'Yeah… It makes sense that Salmon would want to hide it.'
Camellia hadn't been briefed on the fact that Salmon and Adam were dating, the innocent looks and the occasional time when Adam received a message and went for the toilet, Salmon conspicuously absent as well. Eve looked at him with a look that clearly showed her interest, her words a lot more demure after Camellia had declared that he would not be with a Faunus if she could help it.
She wouldn't react well to the fact that he was dating the High Leader of the White Fang. She definitely would not react very well, and it would not be… great.
It wouldn't be great, and he remembered it, seeing the red in the water, the shaving razor of dad having been used to cut, one of the tragic suicides of the past, as he'd later learn from an off-hand comment that Camellia made when she'd come back from the trip.
'That wasn't fun.'
It wasn't fun being mistaken for his dad either, but he'd grown past that. He'd grown past that, knowing that they depended on him more than he'd want to be depended on.
"Jaune? You're there. You can stop now, you're about to hit the wall."
Coral drew him out of his thoughts, as he stopped at the spot that he'd been told to walk to, the doctor/therapist looking at him, the man's glasses reflective, the expressive face looking like it had just registered something interesting.
"Support seems to be working with the atrophied muscles and the lack of full motion, with increased yields when there are no issues to be reported. Do you feel serious discomfort when you move around, Mister Arc?"
The polite talk was to hide the interest, undoubtedly in his capabilities, the man's glasses glinting a little in the light of the ceiling lights as they looked him over, the doctor coming close and adjusting his posture a little.
"Now, does this hurt? Is there any discomfort at the spine?"
The small cord that had been implanted into his spine in a painless procedure for the technical input earlier today had been something that he'd wondered about, but there was no discomfort. It was to help others, even if Willow had clearly said that she demanded he walk into her office and lift her up.
"I'm feeling okay, eh… Yeah. No discomfort."
The doctor made a few notes, before the leds were pulled off and the 'cord' was pulled out, his skin healing up immediately, the doctor checking the readouts on the Scroll.
"Little loss of regulatory function, no chance of sudden destabilization, relatively high hormonal load. Ensure that your girlfriend takes care of that, Mister Arc. It is unhealthy for a young man not to have nocturnal emissions."
Coral looked at the doctor like she'd just heard that she'd won the lottery, as Jaune watched her perk up fully.
"Would you recommend eh… two or three times per day? Maybe four? Jaune is a stupid little fool sometimes, he's always been a pussy, so I'm-"
Saphron cleared her throat, shaking her head, looking like she wanted to give Coral a paddling.
"Coral… No."
He felt a little sick at the thought. This was his sister! Blood-related, to boot!
"But he's my little bunny-wunny, Saph! You've got no right to talk after what you did! He needs lots of love and affection and Eve said that she'd use her big mommy milkers to make him see heaven!"
That boded ill for his future prospects, if Sienna took offense. It wasn't like he disliked Eve, at least, she was someone who he felt obligated to, at least a little, because she'd been… well…
"See? He's pent up! Don't worry, Jaune, I'll make sure that my little bunny-wunny munny hunny is happy, I'll make sure to get something for that."
The doctor coughed.
"Priapism is something that may occur due to the nerve endings being tapped in with an electrical current, Mister Arc. Rest assured, it should recede after a few releases, or several hours pass."
Saphron was looking at him with a serious expression on her face, her eyes glinting with that hint of 'Don't you dare think that your sister will do anything with you, Jaune Arc'.
"You're a doctor, can't you just give him something for it?"
The man shrugged, clearly not as fussed by his case of a stiff… stick, there. Jaune wanted to kick the man, but the lack of interest in how his body reacted in this way compared to how his legs functioned.
Jaune had heard about overspecialization, the man noting a few things down, before he shrugged, looking at Saphron.
"A girlfriend, or perhaps a boyfriend? I'm a doctor, not some kind of person who would know about that. Surely a man with such good features and such fame would have a few people willing to solve the issue, right? Alright, I will put these data into the matrices and then formulate the winning formula, Mister Arc. You may rest safely aware of the fact that your body will show the world how to restore function to one's dysfunctional legs."
Coral cleared her throat, the doctor advancing on the terminal and starting to enter the data from the Scroll in his hands, as she got him his crutches. His legs ached as he moved.
"If you need a hand, I can ask… Well, there was Marsha, wasn't it? The girl you had a crush on?"
Saphron hissed angrily.
"Coral! You are not foisting him with that girl! She's bad news, remember what she did to Sable's hair when you were in the third grade?"
Jaune didn't really want to think too much about that, since Saphron mentioned it. That had been messy, and he'd only been into the girl for a few months. Maybe half a year. It's not like he hadn't kept thinking during his early teens when puberty had hit him in the face with a sledgehammer about how gorgeous that tight top had been.
That she had been a complete and utter bitch to some of his other sisters, except for Coral. 'Dress up Jaune' had been the favourite game.
'No, I don't think that it would be good.'
Sienna in her lingerie was a good idea, as he smiled at the thought, the little hard issue in his pants still continuing, as the discussion between Coral and Saphron continued.
"Now, don't go and making my little hunny-bunny not want to get some action, Saphron. He's seventeen, he'll be… He might be interested in girls. Like you and that huge big b-"
Saphron's expression darkened.
"No. You're not even supposed to kn- How do you even know?"
Coral shrugged.
"Eve said something about it. You should tell mom, she's not going to… well, doubt the money. Money doesn't stink, Sable said."
Coral was definitely treading on dangerous ground, and Jaune cleared his throat.
"Hello? Little brother here, needing assistance?"
Saphron helped him, her hands guiding him towards the room that he'd still kept to himself in the ward, a medical technician putting an IV in for him when he'd been returned to his room, the man saying something about 'Doctor Thompson's orders.'
"Jaune, dear? Did the therapy go well? It's such good news to hear that you're being given the best of service. I made Sable deliver something to Miss Schnee, just as a little thank-you for allowing you the opportunity to be of service to the company she works for. Sable is such a good daughter, and I've gotten you something."
'Oh no…'
The floral pattern on the vase looked nice and decorative, but the vase had cost money, and he was definitely sure that it was another sacrifice of money from the family account.
"Are you doing alright?"
His mother asked, and he noticed that she had been looking down, at his groin, watching his-
'Oh, boner.'
That was definitely a matter that he felt uncomfortable about to discuss with his mother. He didn't really like to draw attention to it, but Saphron cleared her throat.
"It's a result from the spinal jack, mom. The doctor said that it would go down after a while, or to let his girlfriend take care of it, if he has one."
He had one, but he doubted that the explosion of anger would be survived if Sienna came and just did her girlfriendly duties, as Coral had been alluding to. Coral had been… a little more awkward, now that he was tied to a bed. There was no hugs, no sudden 'hey Jaune, surprise headlock!' and then feeling how she pulled him into a headlock, or piggy-back rides.
"Oh dear. Will we get to meet your girlfriend soon, Jaune? I must be baking a cake, something to ensure that she has a good impression of us."
Eve's lips curled into a grin, slowly getting up, looking at his mother with a look.
"I'm pretty sure that his girlfriend would love to make your acquaintance, Misses Arc. After all, Jaune is such a man that he moo-ves me a lot."
Another motion of her upper body made her breasts wiggle, and Jaune had to suppress the groan of frustration as he imagined her naked. That was a problem, now that he had a very hard problem.
'This sucks…'
"Mom… Do you think you could get me a drink? We, eh… kind of went past the vending machines, Saphron and Coral were talking and I didn't quite let them know, I'm sorry, but-"
His mother was off immediately, given a task that was simple, direct, and his attention going right to his sister Coral, who looked uncomfortable.
"Coral? Vase. Explain."
Coral looked away, as she always did when he was trying to get answers out of her. It was probably just as well that Sable wasn't here, because Sable had some kind of talent for giving a tongue-lashing.
"Miss Schnee?"
The silence was disturbed by the Arc sister entering her office, as Willow pushed some of the papers to the side, readily accepting the interruption for what it was, looking up from her work and glancing at the young woman who had entered, smelling some kind of baked good, raising her eyebrows as she saw the foil-wrapped… thing, in the woman's hands.
"Miss Arc, I wasn't aware that I had ordered lunch."
She checked the cloth, aware that the time was only ten in the morning. Maybe a coffee break, but nothing more than that. A brief humour came to her mind about this being an assassination attempt, but dismissed immediately. It wouldn't make too much sense.
"N-no, Miss Schnee. I swear, I am not trying to- My mother, she has baked a cake for you, and I tried to stop her, but she-"
Willow motioned for the cake to be brought, a hand motioning the young woman to come closer, as she checked the schedule for the other five interns that had been given the trial of faith for their managerial skills.
"A cake is a cake. Lien speaks more than cake and goodwill, Miss Arc."
Her lips curled into a smile, as Sable Arc looked at her, before Willow took some pity on the girl.
"You will taste-test."
A blink, as Sable Arc's face looked surprised.
"Miss Schnee, I-"
Willow's lips pressed together, as she debated whether she should let the girl in on some of the protocols for the rich and famous. Since the girl would be a member of the family upon her marriage to Jaune, it wouldn't be wrong to prepare her a little.
"Poison, Miss Arc, is easily delivered. You will taste test, and remain here in my office until I am satisfied that this is not some ploy."
The girl looked uneasy, but she should be aware of things like this. Jaune had been ambushed and nearly killed by some Faunus girl that had wanted to be with another Faunus girl, due to some Faunus superstition or something, which was of course utterly ludicrous.
"Miss Schnee, I promise-"
Willow frowned at the girl.
"Put it on the desk and I will fetch a knife. You will taste-test. It is important for your future career, Miss Arc. In a world-spanning business, there will never be a moment where you can truly be safe."
The girl would need to learn that, becoming a member of the family that included the Schnee Dust Company as an inheritance. Willow didn't turn to the young woman, as she got one of the knives for cake and other such refreshments, an office never being without one. Her bodyguard knew well where to put things, as the man stood there to guard her door and her person.
The dark layer around the cake pulled her attention, as she watched how Sable Arc cut into the cake, the dark goopy chocolate within the depths of the cake hinting at the core being made of chocolate paste, with a hint of cherry jam.
'Ah… Kirsch-torte.'
The Atlesian recipe for cherry cake, she guessed, as Sable Arc put a slice onto the dish that Willow had put next to the cake, Willow's eyes looking at the woman.
"I will fetch the bodyguard. Some coffee might go well with the food."
She could at least share the cake with her bodyguard. She was a generous individual, as her bodyguard knew well.
'Surely the effort must be rewarded.'
"How about we visit your brother, to let your mother know how much I appreciate an unannounced cake slice with my coffee?"
The girl looked serious, and Willow checked her schedule. A meeting at eleven.
"After the meeting with the members of the Vacuan Exploratory Board."
Sable cleared her throat.
"I'll… I'll make sure that she is there, Miss Schnee. You don't have to worry about that."
That was another problem, Willow knew. A good financial investigator would be needed for the Arc family finances. The woman had a spending problem, which wouldn't do for the finances, if the woman was allowed any access to a credit card.
"Do so, Miss Arc. I wish to ask her about some of her habits. It would not be… optimal, to see a woman become destitute due to excessive expense."
She had to get her bodyguard in, she supposed.
"There's cake. Miss Arc's mother made some Kirsch-torte for us, so I figured that we would give our major headache's mother some credit for her food. Do get in, Olav."
The man lumbered into the office and Miss Arc seemed to be shrinking back a little.
'It's not going to be a very great image if you shy away from your future sister-in-law, Miss Arc.'
She might be forgetting something, but for the life, she couldn't quite imagine what that would be.
"Jaune Arc!"
Sable's voice made him look up, his mother sat at the bedside whilst Saphron and Coral were busy with getting something done, the plate on his lap kept there, hiding his erection from sight. It was still not going down, and it was something that made Eve crack a few jokes once every hour or so about being the hottest slice of beef in the room, to Adam's groaning at the jokes.
"Hi Sable."
The finger that pointed at him, the serious look on her face never flinching.
"You will be polite and you will be respectful, Jaune. Miss Schnee, my boss is coming to thank mother for the cake. You will not be a stupid little bastard and ruin my chances for promotion, or anything! Thanks to the cows on the chair, that horrible Khan woman's guards are in the way, and Miss Schnee will be here, and I will not tolerate you insulting her! My work here pays."
The finger tapped against his chest, her eyes blazing.
"Not a peep. She'll be here at one, and if I catch as much as a whisper outside of propriety, anything that can get me fired, I will make sure that you are a permanent invalid."
'She's entirely too high-strung.'
Sable was passionate, as her finger poked against his chest.
"No shenanigans, no stuff that can be interpreted badly! You will be polite, proper and without flaw! She's been- Mom!"
Sable turned to their mother, who jerked a little at being addressed by her daughter so suddenly, Saphron looking up, as she'd tuned out Sable's rant.
"She's going to be here, my boss. Willow Schnee. The richest and most influential person on Remnant. This is important! If this gets messed up and she's offended, I am going to go and suffer personally! Under the previous boss, an insult could get you fired!"
Mom looked like she wanted to say something, keeping silent as she did, not willing to speak up too loudly in order to not rock the boat. When dad had been around, Sable wouldn't have dared to speak up like this to mom, but he couldn't help but hope that it happened more often. Mom bought stuff that she thought was 'cute' or 'fitting for the house' and just didn't concern herself with how to pay for things like that.
"I'll try, dear. I'm sure that she's a lovely woman. I just wanted to do something back for her kindness."
Sable didn't agree. Her Scroll went off and she raised it to her ear.
"Yes? I'm-"
Willow's smooth voice came from the phone, with an elegant case.
"Miss Arc, it seems that the meeting will stretch out a little longer, so I will no longer be able to congratulate your mother with the fine work that she has delivered for my coffee break."
Mom perked up, looking excited for the acknowledgment.
"It's no bother, Miss Schnee. I am happy that I could do a little thing so you would be repaid for your efforts in taking care of my son."
A chuckle that Willow definitely had mastered, as his sister's eyes seemed to blaze, meeting his eyes.
"Miss Khan has a vested interest in keeping him alive… And I have a vested interest in ensuring that the medical technology is another branch of the Schnee Dust Company. It is good publicity, with the Faunus being more… interested in the young man."
He just knew that Willow was going to tease him again. She was definitely something of a topic of thought.
Willow, the underwear that she'd worn that night.
"Miss Arc, if you would be so kind as to bring me the financial statements from the past year for the Vacuo Branch? I will require them present for the negotiations."
The business pulled Sable back to work, as she made a quick 'Yes Ma'am' as she hurried away, talking with Willow about which forms exactly she required to go with the statements, Jaune watching her depart, their mother looking worriedly at him.
"She's a good lady, Jaune. I hope she'd perhaps like some cookies. Saphron, do you want to bake cookies?"
He glanced at his older sister, who nodded, before she smiled and started to speak, trying to dissuade their mother from baking cookies.
'It's not easy when all you've got is the skills of being a mother, mom…'
He put the dish on the side-table, aware of the pain that shot through him at the motion, his eyes looking to his mother, who looked a little worriedly at him.
"Is that normal?"
Eve coughed, as she got up, placing herself on the bed with him, her hand rubbing over his side.
"I can help with that, Jaune."
She smelled good. She smelled very nice, as her eyes locked with his, her breast pressing against his shoulder.
"Moo."
She mooed at him, as a teasing smile appeared on her face. Camellia would have spat fire, if it came to this. His mother coughed.
"It will settle down, dear. Jaune has restraint, right? You wouldn't do anything to Miss Taurus, right?"
Saphron's face looked like it was about to go into serious mode again, as Eve rolled her shoulders, her breasts going up against him.
"Oh Miss Arc, I don't know… A good-looking guy like him, looking very spry and healthy… A woman has needs, and if he needs a hand…"
Disapproval on his mother's face showed clearly.
"Aren't you a little old for him?"
'Oh… That's going to go over really well when she meets Sienna.'
Eve's smile turned a little wooden at the comment.
"Just five years, Miss Arc."
His mother crossed her arms.
Saphron and Coral face-palmed.
"He should be with someone his own age! I know that you have your career in television, and I will find out in what soap you played later, but he is a young man, only seventeen. He's got his life ahead of him, whilst you are… and I don't mean to be rude, Miss Taurus, but you dress a little…"
Saphron cleared her throat sharply.
"Mom, let's not talk to her about her sense of dress. You know that Salmon has recently gotten something similar, and her brother has been wearing that for ages, right Jaune? Gloomy cloak, brooding eyes and red hair…"
Mom looked annoyed with that.
"And she should be a proper girl! I worry about you girls! Saphron is the only one that is married, all six of you still live at home… How are you going to attract a man if you act like one?"
Eve looked like she wanted to say something about that, but Jaune headed that off by speaking up.
"Mom, please… If Salmon wants to wear clothing like that and go for a certain look, it's not like you can stop her. Eve is my friend."
Eve pressed herself against him a little tighter, Jaune catching her smirk, as the fingers brush over his side.
"Oh, a good defender of my virtue too… my, don't let the big bad cow Faunus seduce you, Mister Arc… She's willing to assist, if you need a hand."
Jaune ignored the touching over his side, as he waited for his mother to respond, his expression still honestly peering at her, as his mother looked a little put out.
"No, I suppose I can't… Camellia's friend has been over a lot lately. That girl should be dating as well, but after what happened… It's so good that she has a close friend like that."
He didn't know much about the Liga and their whole friendship circle, but Camellia had apparently put a lot of trust in Mint's friendship, so that was that in his mind.
"I've got a few close friends too. Mostly girls though, but… well, that's what you get when you become a Huntsman."
Mom didn't seem to like that too much, her arms crossing, clearly not too happy with the thought of him being single. It was a hang-up with mom sometimes, though he loved her.
"Your sisters are getting older. Sable works hard, but I really wish that she'd settle down with a nice boy. We can manage with the money from your father's pension, I think."
Jaune didn't think so.
His father's pension, or rather, the money that was given to the family of Huntsmen who had been confirmed killed in the defense of Vale, wasn't something that would allow for such a large family to be kept in the black, fed and with reasonable standards of living.
"Mom, I'm…"
He sighed, aware that mom didn't want to take charity. He had some money, invested in things with the seed money that Willow had given him, probably enough to make sure that there wouldn't be a sudden loss of the home.
"Jaune, you need to get well. You're going to be a Huntsman. I'll have a talk with that man again, see whether we can get something worked out."
Saphron and Coral looked at their mother, whilst he looked to Eve for a moment, her hand having grabbed his thigh, a serious expression on her face, as she looked at his mother.
"If you need something to make ends meet, I can do a small loan. I owe your son my life. My brother too, he…"
Eve looked away from him, her cheeks turning a little pink. That didn't quite feel like normal, as her arm wrapped around him and the sweet smile that appeared on her face was just enough to bring a spark of happiness to his heart. Adam looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.
'This feels like a Faunus thing. Yes, definitely a Faunus thing.'
He was still having an erection, and he really hoped it'd go down sometime. It was starting to get less than comfortable with just how much Eve was in his direct vicinity.
"No, we don't need money. We're the Arc family, we do not lower our head."
His father's words, as his mother's face looked resolute. He glanced at Adam, before he looked at his mother. Saphron wouldn't speak up, he didn't seem to see the marks of her speaking up yet.
"Mom… We'll… I'll get back to full health and I'll see about getting you something to tide you over. I've been doing investments, and it's not a problem. I'm an Arc, I'm going to support my family."
They might lose the house. He definitely did not like the thought of that.
"You need to get better, Jaune. Just focus on that, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay."
He really didn't like that.
"I'll support you either way, mom."
Things you did for family were always worth it, in his mind.
An Arc was still unbroken.
Sienna Khan was annoyed as the screen remained black, her eyes checking the list out and making notes on her notepad, aware that there would be enough time for her to double-check things if it were needed, her fingers tapping on the desk, trying to find the proper order to things once more. Being an administrator and politician meant doing a lot of things yourself, she'd found out, but the contacts with Atlas were important.
"Sienna Khan, I didn't think I'd see your ugly mug again on the screen since you tore those bitches a new one! We heard about that in Atlas."
The voice of Michaela Penns came from the speaker, as the woman herself appeared on the screen, her grayish silver-brown hair looking like it had grown longer, the ears that grew on her head a dark grey colour, unchanged since the day they'd been in college together, the awareness of their rather opposing views on Faunus-Human relations.
"Well, I am the High Leader now, miss Booze and Blood. I've got standards to adhere to now, compared to your ragged trash can rumbling side. So, Ronald Triumph… or should I just call you Michaela Triumph?"
Sienna didn't quite know whether that was the case yet, as Michaela held up her hand, a finger with a ring on it visible.
"Michaela Melanie Triumph-Penns, at your fucking service, Sienna. Now, Ronnie? Ronnie?! Get your fat ass over here, pussy is on a call with the big honcho of the White Fang."
A man's voice that sounded rather shrill was loud in the air as he emerged into the view of the camera, wearing a simple shirt that was white, a tie that was red and hair that looked like it had been professionally styled.
"Pleasure to meet with you, Sienna. Mickey has told me a lot about you, and we've been waiting for your sign-off with labour incentives. Thanks a lot for being willing to extend your hand to help the poor people of Mantle and the Faunus as well. It's gonna be the greatest economy on the world, greatest economy of the world, I say."
The man didn't look very smart, but Sienna knew her friend, who nodded.
"I'd have never expected you to be like this, Sienna. You hated the humans and would've never signed off on this if it hadn't been a concentrated effort. Where did that 'Humans suck, Faunus rule' girl go, huh?"
Sienna's lips pressed together, as Michaela ran a hand over her husband's shoulder, grinning boldly.
"We're going to beat Joe Bitter like an old-school boxing match, Miss Khan."
Sienna was spared from answering, as Michaela held up the magazine, turning it to her.
"And someone beat you from your spot at the top, Sienna. This Jaune Arc fellow, he's the Primary now, isn't he? Cute, but nothing like my Ronnie. Now, he's got a big set of fingers to grab this pussycat right by her cooch and give her lots of loving, yeah."
The human looked a little uncomfortable with the bedroom talk happening from his wife, as Michaela bulldozered straight through the shame. Sienna remembered that small threesome that she'd caught Michaela in when they'd been living in the same dorm room, the two humans having received quite a scolding from the younger her.
"He's the Primary, yes. Diren de Rou is earned. We fucked up, Mick. Vale's Faunus are crowing with excitement for a shot, the guy seems to not even know the basic decency, I've got someone else trying to take him from me."
Sienna could see that Michaela looked puzzled for a moment, as Ronald, her husband, seemed to get what she was hinting at.
"Oh god, that's so sad, a guy being stolen away from you. Not good, not good at all, Miss Khan. Like Mick always says, you're a driven woman, but to hear that some guy is going to be stolen away from you, that's a shame, that's so sad, the saddest piece of sad I've heard in a long while, long while."
Michaela was more astute.
"It's not like that, Ronnie. She's bound by her office as the High Leader and the Primary is… hmm, how do I put it in terms like you understand… He's like, the most desirable, most wanted guy for a single Faunus woman to get."
Sienna guessed that it boiled down to that, but it was more than that.
"So, what's the problem? Aren't you Faunus willing to just go for it?"
Michaela sighed, shaking her head.
"It's something you'd find silly, Ronnie. Don't worry, I'm going to go and make sure that everything is smoothed over. Sienna, have you tried explaining to him why it's important that he is open about him being in a relationship?"
That was kind of the problem! Jaune just didn't act like he should, and when he did, she definitely wasn't paying attention to anything else.
"Of course! He's being stolen away from me by my best friends!"
Eve and Willow were definitely ahead of her, and that was one of the slights to Sienna's pride that she didn't allow to stand.
A small nod.
"Menagerian wedding terms?"
Sienna grimaced.
"I haven't introduced myself to his family yet, despite making them Diren. One of them was harmed by the Faunus."
A concerned sound from Sienna's old friend, as she crossed her arms. Sienna made the gesture for the situation, Michaela wincing.
"Ouch… Fuck, that's so messed up, the poor girl. Sienna, you didn't… did you? I know you, you beast."
Of course she had! Everything was dealt with properly, with the laws applied. She wasn't some kind of murderous brute!
"Of course! The problem is that he's not getting the care he needs and Amitola decided to go and cut his head off with her whip-sword. His family is going to really hate us, and I don't want that!"
Ronald seemed to be wanting to speak, his face glowing a little as Michaela took the lead.
"Damn, I never thought I'd see the day about Sienna Khan admitting that. Oh how the mighty have fallen…"
Sienna felt annoyance go through her at the insinuation, as she hissed at the other Faunus to keep her lips shut, something cat-like that Michaela could understand.
"Fuck you, you sleazy bitch. We may not have agreed, and Eve went into porn and did those kinds of things, but we're still friends, somewhat. Now, do you need support for the Make Atlas Great Again campaign or not? I'm willing to endorse your husband."
The man looked a little more pleased, the smile making his cheeks glow and his face look a bit better. Sienna preferred Jaune's face though, as Michaela nodded.
"Thanks, Sienna. I- Oh what is it, Ronnie?"
The man looked to the screen, serious and rather gubernatorial, if one had to give one's opinion on the expression that he wore.
"Miss Khan, I wish you well in your love life. Ever since I met Michaela, my life's been filled with blessings. Many blessings, and I hope that the young man and you will be very happy in life. Very happy, indeed."
It was a charming point, but Sienna wouldn't really admit to appreciating it. She could see why Michaela had gone for the man, as he seemed well-meaning.
"If you need that Bitter guy taken out, I know a guy who's got dirt on his sun, Huntsman Bitter."
The smile and the thumbs-up, as Michaela grinned.
"We'd love to accept it, Sienna. Come on, Ronnie. You're going straight to the bedroom with me. I'm in the mood and I'm not waiting for the next baby to be made after the election! Oh, Sienna? You should get knocked up, regardless of who the Primary is and what's happening with the whole bash. Fuck Menagerie and the rules, you're Sienna Khan, the bad-ass who brought a rocket launcher to the college sermon on human rights and declared that it was going to be Faunus Rights. Don't listen to what others think, it's all going to be okay if you just grab the guy by the balls, look him in the eyes and go 'You're basting my ovaries with your dick-slime, you bast-' Oh, he does have a big dick, doesn't he?"
Sienna looked at her former roommate, sighing.
"Shush. And yes, for the record. Big."
Michaela nodded.
"To the bedroom, Ronnie! I'll get the butt plug tail and you can get this alley cat bred some more with your big ol' dick! Come on, time's wasting and I'm up for a good shag!"
The man disappeared, the shirt in the process of being untucked. Sienna sighed, aware of the hypersexuality that Michaela had been suffering from as a part of her birth's circumstances. Some guy had been trying to hurt Faunus by sterilizing them and Michaela had been a birth during those times, but who cared about that, if the woman was happy, that meant she was happy.
"Seriously, Sienna… It's good to hear that you've found yourself a dude that's good-looking and ready to be the guy who can tame the tiger a bit. Dancing with tigers isn't easy, especially for the Primary, but he's going to be one hell of a man to make you consider a human partner."
Sienna knew that he was one hell of a man, indeed.
"Miss Khan, I wish you good luck. I know what it's like to be a human who loves a wonderful Faunus woman, and I hope that you know that I've got much admiration for you, real much admiration, biggest of the Atlas socialites, I swear."
The man looked rather Councilman-like, even as he pulled off his shirt, Michaela smiling. Sienna remembered that she liked her men a little portlier and older than her, and bore with it.
"Thank you, Mister Triumph."
The man smiled.
"Call me Ronald. Any friend of my wife's is a friend of mine."
Sienna amended it immediately.
"Ronald. Let's hope that you make Atlas great again."
The call shut down, and Sienna looked at the material in front of her again. Enough blackmail on Councilman-elect Bitter's family, mainly involving the Huntsman son with an illegal mining enterprise under the management of Jacques Schnee.
'Yeah… You're fucked, dude.'
She owed Mickey a few bits, and Sienna did not forget to repay the favour for that which was owed.
She looked at the image on-screen, looking at the woman who would be her future mother-in-law. Willow had been very generous in sharing the information with her.
'I'm going to have to do something…'
It's not like the man on the picture that'd been sent her way would have anything good to do with her future mother-in-law, given the Docks incident and that unfortunate affair with Cinder Fall.
'Well, there is always the option of just giving the order to hunt the guy down with all forces.'
Jaune watched as the door swung open, his mother having left, Coral looking like she wanted to say something, still a little antsy. Sable looked like she had a stick up her rear as she entered, holding the door open. Olav entered, giving him a small nod. Jaune definitely had to shift a little. Since he was under guard and there was the additional factor of his sisters being present, he hadn't had the time to take care of it, as the awkwardness of the situation hit full-force, as Willow swept into the room.
"Mister Arc… A pleasure to meet with you again. I trust that the therapy has been going… well?"
The blue business suit was worn by the woman, her hands holding a small folder in her hands, opened up, Sable looking at him with a look that could melt steel. He swallowed nervously.
'It's just acting normal, like she's a good friend. Sable threatened me with… well, bad stuff, but I've got to at least act cordial.'
He shifted a little, and Willow's smile turned a little bit more amused in her expression. He had only shifted a little to the side, and he caught Eve trying to suggest something.
"It's been going very well, Miss Schnee. I'm doing better already."
Sable looked murderous, and he could see Coral trying to silence her laughter, as he got up a little.
"Yes, I suppose it is indeed going better with your state, Mister Arc. I did tell you to get up… though it seems that a certain part of you has already gotten… up."
Sable's expression looked like she wanted to spit fire at him. He glanced down, noticing that he'd gotten most of his blanket taken off, and Willow was looking right at his groin.
"Ah… it's a natural reaction? I'm eh…"
How did he get himself out of this? Sienna would just have leapt onto him and he'd be eating pussy for the foreseeable future, but Willow was here in function as the Schnee Dust Company's CEO and his sister's superior.
"This is the first time in… say, fourteen years that I have had such a reaction from a strapping young man such as yourself, Mister Arc. Flattering, I will say. You are a very healthy young man."
Sable was making a gesture around her neck, as Coral piped up.
"He's the best little brother too, he's willing to help anyone who needs it, like a good little hunny-bunny goofball. We're very proud of him."
He definitely didn't think it was something to be proud of, as Willow turned to Sable.
"A very healthy younger brother, if the information I've received is well. You should be proud of having him, Miss Arc."
A look back at him over the shoulder, as Willow did a little turn away, showing very fine rear..
"Now, I will have to take my leave, but I wished to personally leave my regards for your mother's excellent baking. I enjoyed the cake."
Willow swept out of the room, with Sable following after her immediately.
"I'm sorry, he's my little brother, he can't help it, I'm not-"
The door slammed shut, as Coral hugged his side.
"Aww, my little brother looked at an older lady! Aren't you a dear hunny-wunny, Jaune? You need to be loved by an older woman, when you're thirty or something, because we wouldn't want to make things difficult for your career. Sable doesn't really date much either, but we've got to make some changes to your clothing, and… Oh, stop poking me, Jaune."
Then, she hit him in the groin with her elbow and he groaned, Coral whispering a quiet 'sorry!' as she backed away, leaving him to pain.
It wasn't going to be that easy, with how Willow had just shown up.
"I swear, he's not like that all the time, it was just a normal teenage boy thing, Miss Schnee, I am sorry, he's just my little brother, it won't impact the work, I'll make him apologize, he's going to be on his knees and begging for your forgiveness for showing you such an obscene sight."
It was rather flattering, Willow thought, to see that hint of arousal from him, even though the daily report that had landed on her desk had mentioned it as a side-effect of the spinal jack for the neural link to the assistance.
'It's certainly a good thought to keep in mind.'
"He's seventeen, Miss Arc. If a young man wishes to take a fancy to an old woman such as me, who am I to deny him his body's natural response?"
It was very flattering, at least to her. She hoped that it would soothe, swiftly. She might have to personally intervene… a little night-time visit, with the rather stern request for the Taurus twins to get the hell out of the room and ignore the circumstances.
"Of course, Miss Schnee. He's not a good brother at times, but I hope that you don't take offense, given the circumstances…"
The apologies were getting a little tiresome, as Willow sighed in frustration.
"The reports for the Vacuan meeting are on your desk, Miss Arc. Let us dismiss this issue for now. It would not be productive to speak about your brother's… issues."
She had a small date with her fingers later. Nobody said that she had to be all work and no play. A woman her age, fit and fine as she was right now, had to get some enjoyment.
"It won't happen again. He will be fully clothed, not doing something so, so-"
Willow laughed, shaking her head slowly.
"Oh, it was remarked upon in the folder. Priapism is dangerous when it gets left untreated, but it is a side-effect of the implants… but science will fine-tune the experience. No offense was taken, for it is our fault."
She pushed her office door open, turning to the young woman.
"Now… I wish you a good evening. I expect you to be at my desk in the morning, Miss Arc. There will be information about Vacuo in your mail. Have a good night."
She shut the door behind her, and she shrugged her jacket off. Sable Arc would know what to do, and she hadn't been too un-CEO-like with her mild flirtation. Jaune had looked better, more alive than before, and her eyes looked at the desktop terminal that stood before her.
A picture of the mother of the young man currently in her care, talking to a man with ginger-orange hair, smiling broadly with a cigar in his mouth and a bowler hat shifted slightly sideways.
'It is a good thing if you were to not engage with the mother of my man, Mister Torchwick… I've sicced the tiger on you.'
Sienna would probably get things done. Jaune didn't need to know about his mother borrowing nearly twenty-thousand Lien from a criminal through a dummy corporation.
There were benefits to being an economical superpower.
"I have never been so embarrassed as I was when you showed Willow Schnee that!"
Sable's murderous expression definitely made him shudder a little, aware that she was poking at him. Eve looked at him with an understanding pity in her eyes, not making any kind of motion, as Sable poked at him again, his chest pressed again by one of his strictest sister's fingers.
"No, you just had to whip that large thing right out, looking like a pervert, just going like 'let's show one of the most important people in your older sister's world my gigantic bulging groin' and then flirting with her! My boss is not some kind of floozy who's pulling more dicks than a fucking hot dog stand, Jaune Arc!"
Jaune didn't mention that Willow Schnee definitely had been in bed with him only a scant month before, asking him to sleep with her and make her forget about her husband, before he'd killed her husband.
"No, she's quite a nice woman, I know her daughters and her son, and-"
Another jab, as Sable's eyes turned into miniature blue-tinted pools of doom. Saphron could get heated sometimes, but Sable was very focused on her job.
"Nice woman? Nice woman? She is worth more than HALF of Vale, Jaune Arc. She is a woman who could get me fired with a snap of the fingers and the family blacklisted from every store, simply because you got that dick of yours whipped out, Coral's whole 'oh no, my Jauney' spiel aside, but do you understand how precarious our situation is? Do you understand that if I don't keep my job, not even Saphron's going to be able to help out, or Terry's whole generous Lien donations to the family funds?"
That wasn't good. He could make a call to Willow if he really needed money for something, he knew that she had a weakness for people in dire straits, not that she'd ever show it so boldly, but she donated quite a lot to people who needed it. The memories he still faintly recalled told of her father doing much the same, awareness of the people of Mantle and their needs a firm point.
"I didn't want this, Sable. I'm just glad that it's going down a little, it's no longer as hard as it was!"
It was seriously getting to ache a little, and Coral seemed to pick his side, like she usually did.
"Yeah! So what if he's getting all excited about something, huh? You should be glad he's able to have that! Don't worry, Jaune, it'll be okay. You need to get better soon, so Sable will stop being a bitch and you can go and be my big and cool brother again, right? Right?! Even if she doesn't love you anymore, I'll be your big sis no matter if we have to live in a box or something and I've got to work street corners or something or selling off my virginity to old men."
Sable didn't seem to have an answer prepared for that barrage of wild fantasies, and he definitely wasn't going to be making anything of that happen to his sisters.
"Hey! You're not going to be living in a box, I won't let you go and do that kind of thing as long as I'm capable of helping out. Dad said that I'd have to be the man of the family when he wasn't there, and I'm not going to be shirking that duty."
Mom might have her reservations, but it'd been a promise between men. His father had not always seen eye to eye with Jaune, but he'd been the only boy of the family and he'd tried to keep everyone together, even if Camellia had done… things to herself.
"That's not the point, Coral! He´s- If this costs me my job, we'll be forced to do something, mom's nearly twenty-thousand in debt! If I lose my job, we're not going to be able to make payments anymore-!"
'What?'
Coral had a similar look on her face, her jaw going slack in surprise, as Adam and Eve did simultaneous expressions of shock or at least, concern. That definitely was concern on Eve's face, as it was on Adam's.
"How the hell can we be twenty-thousand in debt?! Oh gods, why didn't we know about that?"
That was something he wanted to know too.
"Camellia's whole trip around the world wasn't free, as was the hospital costs, Coral. Mom wanted to keep things hush, but I'm the only one with stable employment as well as Vivian. Feeding six women isn't cheap, and mom's been buying stuff as well! We've all got to chip in, and our little brother may just have cost me my job by leering at Willow Schnee as if she's a fresh piece of meat out on parade!"
He didn't really think he had looked THAT desperate, but Willow cut a very pretty figure.
"Didn't Saphron pay for that?"
Sable pressed her lips together.
"Do you really think that Saphron could afford that? Sure, her own ticket, but that for Cam? She's not fabulously rich, Cory. She's married up, she's got some money but she's still sending us all Lien if we need some."
'This isn't good…'
He'd have to check his savings account. If mom needed money urgently, he wasn't going to be doing his duty as a son badly.
"Well, I've got some money… and so does Adam. How about we make a charitable donation?"
Sable crossed her arms.
"We don't need charity! We're the Arc family and we don't beg!"
Sable's pride might be an obstacle on the road.
His mother had debts, and that wasn't good.
First Camellia with her friends, now debts... He couldn't wait until he was able to move faster than an old man.
He wanted to help!
And now we come to the crux of several issues. The Arc family's got money issues, and there are some loans that definitely aren't going to be easily solved. Luckily the dude has women invested in him with actual power in this world of Remnant.
Any references and/or parodies of real life individuals are parodies. Triumph for Council 80 VY. I had to make a parody of some of the people who pop up in the current-day media, despite not really watching the news much.
When I referred to the whole 'six scenes' thing in the previous chapter, I meant that I've got six solid 'scenes' yet to finish in this story. That doesn't mean that it's six chapters left, it's just that there's six hard and solid scenes in my head left before the end credits can roll.
My PC has decided to die on me, so updates will be a bit sparser for the foreseeable future. Have a happy Halloween though!
Leave a review if you'd like to.
