"Thank you for cleaning up that comic pile. I was hoping to not have to kick him out at closing time."
Tukson had finally found some time from helping customers find books and checking them out to walk over and check on the blond that had entered a few hours earlier, and was extremely surprised to see one of his regulars weighed down with dozens of his comics, none of which looked to be heading anywhere near the checkout.
"You are quite welcome. I was not going to leave someone as out of it as this man sit there in silence." He taps Jaune with his left arm, who barely smiles in return.
"That's a great quality for a huntsman like you to have out here in this world. Take this." He offers Yatsu a special coupon, entitling him to 50% off his entire next order of books. Not a second later it is gently pushed off, moved back toward Tukson's side of the desk.
"No, that will be fine. Thank you."
"Well, see you around."
"I look forward to it." Yatsu turns around and exits the store. Jaune, still contending with some gloomy thoughts, follows him closely behind.
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Jaune doesn't know where Yatsu wants to take him, but he isn't about to abandon someone who helped him out so quickly. Seeing some new scenery begins to pick him up, and before long he is walking in lockstep with this new face. Said face simply smiles as they both continue down Vale's streets. What is there to worry about anyway? With that getup, he's gotta be someone at Beacon. They're just going to peacefully walk back toward the academy, and then Jaune can finally get around to maybe- wait, why is he...
Yatsu suddenly turns for a hotel Jaune has never even heard of, called by two words: Luxottica Hotel. He looks up at the nameplate, which reflects proudly in silver. Jaune stops for a moment, a cornucopia of competing thoughts rushing in and out of his head.
Who is this guy?
Am I about to be robbed?
How is he so tall?
Why did I just follow him all the way down here?
Jaune is locked in indecision for a moment, stuck right in the middle of the sidewalk. Yatsu barely moves two steps before turning back around, immediately noticing his lack of movement. His smile dims slightly as he moves back toward Jaune, merely standing next to him this time around.
"Come into the hotel, please."
"Uhhh… I don't really need-"
"No no, I insist. I want to do this favor for you." Yatsu turns toward the hotel. Jaune's going in there. He just doesn't believe it yet.
"...heh… you've already done way mo-"
"Nonsense." Yatsu makes sure to stop that dismissal dead before he can try to wriggle his way out of this.
"I want you to come in here so we can get to know each other. It would be cruel of me to help someone out and not learn at least a little bit about them as a person. Especially since you look like somebody that would be very interesting to talk to."
The sudden compliment causes Jaune's face to involuntarily brighten up a little. That colors his thoughts in a positive direction, and before he knows it his legs are off, following Yatsu into the hotel.
I guess I'm going with him… Jesus this place is fancy…
The pair quickly make it to the front lobby, with Yatsu leading the pack once again. The front desk receptionist quickly catches Yatsu's tall frame and moves to check him in. He gazes behind to see Jaune just a few inches behind, with only a tiny frown on his face. The receptionist's look is a little questioning, but he works hard to not let it show as he begins to check them in.
"You want a two-person room I assume?"
"Yes."
"Alright, the total will be 450 Lien for one stay."
Yatsuhashi pulls out a single Lien card, skating it across the desk.
"Thank you. You two enjoy your stay. Your room number is 148." The receptionist hands Yatsu the room key, which is quickly snatched with his left hand.
"We most certainly will."
The two make their way down the halls, passing by a wide range of similar, occupied rooms. The numbers are put on in a prominent black patterning, clearly marking this hotel as a slightly higher-end establishment. This doesn't seem to phase the taller huntsman, however, as he quickly finds the room, fourth from the end of the hallway.
Yatsu puts the key in and opens the door, the overhead lighting automatically flickering on before he even gets a chance to properly enter. He decides to let Jaune go in first, and slides toward the door to let him in.
"You go first."
Jaune doesn't say a word, and after a quick study of his face, decides that Yatsu must be trustworthy enough and steps inside the room.
He follows right behind Jaune, closing the door and almost immediately starting off toward the small kitchen. The many grocery bags, which have been swinging in Yatsu's arms this entire time, are finally stopped from their air ride, being placed on the counter for sorting.
Yatsu immediately scans the entire load, trying to work out the best combination to cook something with. That was the main reason for bringing Jaune in here in the first place, to make him something good to eat.
And he'll be dammed if he's not going to cook something special. Luckily, today is the day that almost everything was to be restocked, so he's got a plethora of meats, spices, and other fixings to choose from. But what to fix? Yatsu takes a stare at him for a bit. Let's see… blond hair… pretty noodly… definitely not the high-class type… really needs to-
"What?"
It takes a moment for Yatsu to register that- oh. He was staring right into his face.
"Apologies if I made you uncomfortable. I was just thinking about something."
"About what?"
He begins to pile some choice ingredients onto the stove before replying.
"A meal to cook you."
Jaune is left speechless for a bit as he tries to confirm what was just said. He
"Uhhhhh… I'm not really hungry for anything right now."
"You will be after you take in the pleasing aromas of this dish."
"After- -wait… who even are you? And what are you cooking?"
"A bowl of soup. With Chicken and Noodles to be precise."
"Okay, okay, but who are you?"
"Yatsuhashi Daichi. Who might you be?"
"ehh- Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, the ladies…" Like a small LED bulb that has run out of power, his voice gradually fades off into nothing.
Did I really just say that to him of all people? Now's he going to think I'm some kind of-
"Please continue with that. It was very interesting." Yatsu has to expend significant effort to hold in a laugh. This 'Jaune Arc' is very unique, that's for sure…
"I'll just… leave that in the past. So… yeah. I'm Jaune Arc. And you are…" Jaune puts in some extra effort into his pronunciation, really hoping not to make a mistake.
"- Yat-su-ha-shi Dai-chi."
"Correct."
Jaune cheers internally, but it doesn't mix in at all to the outside.
"Hi."
"Hi."
That was some pretty good conversation. There's nothing else for a few seconds as Yatsu throws all the noodles and chicken chunks into their respective pans and pots. He turns them both on and waits for the inevitable water boiling.
"So… uhh…. any reason you are cooking me soup?"
"You look like the kind of person who would enjoy such a meal."
"Uhhhh… how would you… know that?!"
"Your attire does not fit someone who would want a fancier meal. I chose soup because it would be something simple to both create and eat."
"Errr…. okay I guess." This guy is a bit… weird. His thoughts get reinforced when he pulls out another pot to pour chicken stock into.
"Are you… some chef?"
"No. I just enjoy the art of cooking. It is quite a relaxing hobby."
"So you brought me in this expensive room just to try some of your food?"
"Not exactly. It is more to give off the best possible impression. My mother always said that the best way to introduce oneself is to cook for them."
"Hmm…" Jaune's voice trails off as he thinks about that.
Pretty interesting way to impress someone. I can't say I don't particularly like the idea of food. It might even work better than… well...
Maybe the smells of the chicken, which are starting to get done by this point, had a little bit of 'guidance' in that regard.
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"I know it may seem a little eccentric, but trust me when I say that it is quite enjoyable."
"Oh… I'm sure you're right, Yatsu… I can call you that, right?"
"Of course." If he didn't allow people to call him that, he would never hear the end of it from his team. Luckily, Yatsu does not care one morsel. Speaking of morsel… the food is ready!
Yatsu pours everything together, using just a simple, ordinary spoon to stir it up into a perfect consistency. Reaching up above the stove for a bowl, he puts a satisfactory helping inside before walking into the main area, where Jaune is just lazing around with a scroll.
He notices Yatsu walking up with said bowl, and pushes the scroll off for the time being to look at the food. He takes the spoon, digs in for some chicken, and takes the spoon right in his mouth.
Damn! It's hot! The contents come right back out in an unfortunate spit take, sending chicken juice flying all over the place. Even though the soup was only touching his taste buds for less than a second, that is more than enough to get one thing straight in his mind; I have to have more.
Jaune dives in for another spoonful, already sending his spoon-laden arm diving back down when Yatsu interjects with a very helpful comment…
"It would be wise to cool that down before sticking it into your mouth."
While normally a comment like that in this situation would be about as helpful as a Magic 9-Ball, the target of this remark is currently just milliseconds away from making the same mistake twice in a row.
Jaune gets a 'deer in the headlights' look for a flash before doing the wise thing and blowing on the spoon a few times. Now that he can actually properly savor the exceptional flavors without setting fire to his tongue, he quickly realizes just how good this is, especially for being so simple. The food at Beacon is fine and all, but it's not even in the same universe as this stuff.
"It looks like you are enjoying it."
Jaune doesn't devote a single brain cell to trying to talk, instead just shaking his head emphatically up and down while eating yet more spoonfuls.
"Good. It is very rare that someone other than the rest of the team members try any of my creations, sadly…"
"Team members?" He just barely gets this out before taking another spoonful.
"Of course. Do you not know about Team CFVY?"
"Uhhh… I don't think I have seen any of your team…"
"Well, we are a quite interesting bunch, that is for sure. All of us are second-years at Beacon." After finishing that sentence, Yatsu has to take the bowl away from Jaune, lest he eat it all and get stuffed to the point of laziness.
"Heh… of course you take it away… fine. Who is the rest of your team?" Jaune, despite a big part of his brain screaming at him to get the bowl back, successfully forces those thoughts down and lays the spoon on the desk.
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"The leader is Coco Adel. She really likes wearing clothes. After her is Velvet Scarlatina. She is a faunus. She has a small stature, but she is very, very adept. One must not underestimate her. After that is Fox Alistair. He is blind, but that doesn't mean he's not skilled at fighting. And, last of all, there is myself. I am very tall. Besides that, I use a large sword, called Fulcrum, as my main weapon. Oh, and I enjoy cooking."
He's already mentioned that… ah whatever. Jaune pushes that little quirk aside.
"That sounds like a very fun team…" Unfortunately for Jaune, those musings also spark a bit of dejection… But there is one name on that list that he remembers. He forces himself to latch on that, in a desperate attempt to prevent the gloom from rushing over him again.
"Velvet… I think I've heard about her. She's a bunny faunus right? With the long ears? Brown fur?"
"Yes. You have met her?"
"Only seen… I saw her get bullied by CRDL a while back…"
"It is quite a sad sight… I wish that I and the rest of the team could be there all the time, but that is unfortunately not possible. I do notice that it hasn't been happening recently, though. Hopefully it is a permanent respite."
That's certainly because of what happened with me and Cardin… That thought gives Jaune a boost, hints of a smile starting to break through on his face. Maybe the future won't be quite as bad if I can help out people like that...
"So, what about you? What is 'Jaune Arc' all about? You do not need to repeat that line from earlier, by the way." Jaune can see the smallest hints of a grin on Yatsu's face.
"Uhhhhh… well I…" The thoughts that run just slightly ahead of his mouth are like a high tide, rushing all throughout his brain and stopping his sentence for a brief moment. Yatsu notices this pause, but decides to let him at least finish what he was going to say.
"... I was part of Team JNPR, with me, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie… but I got kicked off of it by Ozpin. I have no clue why… *sigh*"
That particular sigh is the worst one since coming into this room.
"...Sorry for making it sad in here."
"No, it is quite alright. Might I suggest cooking something? Even if you have no real skill in the craft, it will most certainly get those feelings out of your system, at least for the time being. Just boiling some water is enough."
Jaune thinks about this for a few moments. It would be better than just sitting around again… that would not be good, that's for sure. Maybe something moving will be better than sitting in one place, trying to immerse into other realities to numb the pain…
"You know what? I'll do it. Probably won't lead to anything special, though…"
"Whether it does or not isn't that important. What is important is that you have something to do other than think. I'll even act as your sounding board." Yatsu waits for Jaune to get out some cooking supplies before continuing. He looks on in interest as
"So, why would you be kicked off from the team? It is quite odd to have that happen to someone, especially one like yourself."
A massive chunk of Jaune is gunning at the chance to spill out to someone, but the better part of his brain just barely catches it at the last moment.
Don't just spill everything like that! He might be a good person, but he's still just that! A person! No overwhelming him…
"... Alright."
Jaune flips the switch on the stove, and readies himself to start cooking… something. He really doesn't have a good grasp on what yet.
"I was on a team called JNPR. There was me, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, one of the most perfect people I have ever seen, Lie Ren, a guy that seems quiet, but is really good to hang around once you get to know him, and Nora Valkyrie. She's in love with pancakes, and she's always decked out in some bright pink clothing. Also has a cool hammer. I was the leader of that team, and it was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. There was no end to the fun, especially when Nora got caught up in something… A-anyway, that's how it was for a while, and then yesterday, I got called in to the office for something. I was assuming it was just going to be something about a test I didn't do well on, but… boy was I wrong. I went inside and he told me all about… this thing. How I have this special training to help me out and all that. But the kicker was that I was removed from the team, put in a new room and everything. Feels like one step forward, two steps back… *sigh* So I went back to move my stuff over to the new room, Pyrrha… packed. them. for. me..."
Saying that is like running over a rock. Now able to properly get the timeline straight, Jaune can not help but realize that something's… off with that particular event. Regardless, that's only in the far reaches of his mind for now.
"-and I took them over. I slept through the rest of that day and into the next because of how much it was. After I finally woke up, I ate some lunch, went to Tukson's to try to get my mind off things, and then you saw how that went…" Through all of that, Jaune didn't spare a single glance to what his hands were doing. The ending slam of some mostly-frozen veggies into the pan, causing both a crash and a plethora of sizzles, grabs Yatsu's attention, and he looks over his shoulder to see what Jaune's drawing up.
His eyebrows jump. Is that… stir fry? With all those veggies and everything? And- yep, there's the rice over there on the left. Hmmm…
"Go on."
"It's -I just don't understand why Ozpin had to do it that way. He wants me to improve quickly and all that, which I totally want too, but instead of just letting my team help me out with that, keep me in a good mood, he just rips them away. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Because right now it feels like he's almost trying to get me as confused as possible. And it's definitely working…"
Jaune's hands continue to stir with the wooden flipper for a while before finally coming to a stop.
"I can not say that I empathize, but I can at least see where you are coming from. It's certain that Ozpin has his reasons. He is the headmaster, after all… Might I ask how you became good at cooking things? I couldn't help but notice you were making a perfect stir fry on that stove."
"What do-"
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Only now does Jaune look down at his creation. Yep, that's definitely a stir fry. Jaune can't really say anything else about it because he doesn't remember a single bit about cooking the thing.
"Honestly… I can't tell you. I had to help cook meals like this for years because of my seven sisters…" Jaune finally drains the rice off, setting the pot down and looking around for some bowls.
"Where'd you get that bowl from earlier at?"
"On the top set of cabinets."
"Thanks."
He grabs a bowl, this time waiting for a while before dipping his spoon in.
Wow… I can cook this good? I mean, it has been a while, but this is amazing!
"Why don't you let me try a portion?"
"Of course, Yatsu! Take some."
He comes up behind him much faster than expected, quickly causing Jaune to shuffle out of the way. He's still not quite used to his towering 7' figure.
Yatsu grabs his own bowl and takes a smaller portion for himself. Even he, a much more experienced connoisseur, can not help but be impressed at the result.
"This is surprisingly well made. You must have learned a lot from your parents."
"Yeah… I had no real choice…"
"I can imagine. Who are your seven sisters, anyway? That's quite a lot for one person to be stuck with."
Yatsu sets the bowls down for both of them on the main table, carefully watching Jaune as he sits down on the opposite side. His eyes are already much more vibrant than they were when he found him sitting earlier.
"Well… they're pretty crazy to be around, that's for sure." He shuffles around in his left pocket before pulling out a wallet. Besides the relatively meager amount of Lien contained within, there is also a picture of his entire family, parents included.
"Here they all are. That one's Felicity on the left, then there's Taylor, Lily, Violet, Lexi, Saphron's the one hugging me to death, and finally Talia on the right. Mom and Dad are Lisa and Gary."
"They are all..."
"Blonde?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, it just kinda worked out that way…" Jaune can not hide the small grin on his face anymore. "Really wish they could be here with me..."
"Why not just call them?"
"I can't. Forgot about getting their scroll numbers before I left for Beacon." The grin is slowly melting away as he prepares to continue along that track of memories. Yatsu quickly notices.
"Unfortunate. You don't have to talk about it right now if it makes you feel unhappy. Where did you get the idea to wear two belts from? Coco will have a field day the instant she sees you wearing that."
"Well… uhhhh… It was a few years ago, all my sisters got together and decided to pull a massive prank on me, and the thing they tried to do is..."
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The rest of the evening is spent talking about all manner of things, mostly related to Jaune's life or his sisters. There's never enough stories with his sisters. Even Grimm Wars 2 finally got to be opened, with Yatsu watching only few seconds of Jaune's awesome gameplay. It's too bad he looked away so early, because he missed by far the best part…
"Yes! Finally got it!" On the sixth try, Jaune finally executed a very cool trick, that being rolling a grenade in the perfect spot to fling a barrel straight into the cliff, forcing a rock down the cliffside and right into the path of dozens of Grimm.
"That was some good work." Yatsu says without looking. Not the kind of thing he enjoys, but whatever.
Both of them continue on for a while longer before finally getting around to sleep near midnight. The sun is gonna rise faster than ever tomorrow...
I say to myself I'm not good at writing filler, and then I write 3k words about two huntsmen getting to know one another in a hotel room. Duality of (literary) man, I suppose.
No one can hold things in forever. Especially not when it's something so life-changing. Jaune gets to let it out to someone who is there to listen.
Jaune can cook. Why? Because I thought it would be cool to give him some personality by making him good at that. And I also love food. Really, that might be the actual reason…
I was going to try to make Jaune more stand-offish, but that never really happened. Maybe it's better because of 'pacing' or some other literary thing I'm too uncultured to understand. But for now I'll go with the peon answer: It didn't feel right.
Next chapter will have Jaune and his 'enemies' in Beacon together! Oh how joyous. I've already written the scene where Jaune spins up a circular saw to 190,000 RPM and cuts all their heads off with it while screaming "You deserve to be turned into dog chow!" and feeding their corpses to Zwei. I'll even call the chapter "The True Pacifist Ending".
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Wait, I probably shouldn't be joking around like that...