Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Finding the Clues - 03
Patch was a small island.
People all gathered in the same place to live. There was a town with a population that were no more than a thousand. It was where the islanders resided.
Even before the Grimm War, this fact had never changed. The appearance of the Grimm Nests, however, increased the numbers of stray monsters that wandered around the land. Because of theirs unusual high spawning rate, the town had been constantly under threats of being attacked.
But that was the story of some time ago.
"Ok, this makes it one less objective off the record." Jaune dusted-off his hands.
Crocea Mors blade pinned to the grass with the head of a Creep in between. He just completed a subjugation request.
"Bark!"
Zwei was there to assist. But the one who dealt the final blow was still him.
Jaune took out the scroll and wiped his finger. A mission profile lit up with a check mark and the interface turned green. Good thing they built an app that helped connect to the mission board in town.
The Creep's body eventually disintegrated once he returned Crocea Mors to the scabbard.
"Jaune, how are things on your side?" Summer called out from the distance.
"It's done, Ms. Rose! Mission completed!"
"Not yet."
Columns of smoke entered his view as soon as he turned to her. A deadly scythe spun clockwise, stopped at the throat of her target. Red orbs widened in horror at the gentle push of the sharp curve blade.
Summer made it look so easy as she sliced through that monster's neck like butter.
"Now it's done."
A horde of Grimm was no match for her. It was a one-sided battle. Jaune was not surprised. She was the Hero of Remnant after all.
"Thank you for accepting my request on such a short notice." The owner of a farm nearby expressed his gratitude. "Now I can stop worrying about those Creeps attack my family and the farm. It would be no good if this town lost one of its food supplies."
"I'm glad we could help."
"Here is my signature. And please tell that young man I said thank you for helping me fix the broken fences."
Summer received the envelope and returned to her car, Zippy. The young apprentice, who was waiting in the backseat, stopped tickling Zwei once he heard the door popped open.
"This one is yours, Jaune." She passed him the confirmation document.
"Huh? But you wiped out most of the horde, Ms. Rose. I only managed to bring down a couple of those things."
"I think you did good, sweetie. Effort means effort and you earned it."
Once the engine started, the wheels rolled toward the town.
"I'll stop by the office so you can submit the paper. Then we can begin the search."
"Awesome!"
Seek an audience with the Keeper of Flowers.
At first, hearing it might sound ambiguous. As it turned out, it was a simple puzzle.
"This is the place?" Jaune asked.
"Yup." Summer popped the p. She enjoyed this already. "I'm sure this is the right place."
There were a few flower shops on the whole island. But one of them was where Tai used to work as a part-time job aside from teaching at Signal.
"Summer Rose, I haven't seen you in a while." The old lady who was the owner of the shop greeted her guests. "I heard you wiped out the Nests on this island sometimes ago, yes. Thank you for being the Hero we need in these difficult times."
"I'm just doing my job as a huntress." Summer bowed lightly. "That title could belong to anyone. It could be his."
She teasingly gestured to Jaune. He had an awkward smile on his face upon hearing it.
"Uh, that would be an exaggeration for someone like me. Zwei? Wait, Zwei! Don't dig your head into those pots! You'll be stuck!"
He rushed to the family pet. Zwei didn't stop his sudden mischief. The corgin ran around the shop and picked on every flowerpot he could find, forcing Jaune to chase after him.
Meanwhile, the search progressed another step.
"Ah yes. The young man asked me to hold on to one specific item that he marked with these numbers. This is the one."
It was a pot, decorated by a group of fresh roses grew on the soil. She saw a crest of her last name, painted in bright red, embed on the body. A decade old sheet with the same numbers written on the front held by tapes.
"When one of his daughters visited this shop on a family's special occasion and gave me the numbers, I would deliver this to her, as told. But that was a long time ago. Neither of his children has showed up until you, his wife, came here."
"This one." Summer muttered. "This was for Ruby."
A present for her precious baby girl. All this time, undelivered.
But was that everything? Was this the end of it?
"Do you think there is something else on the back of that paper like the previous one?"
Jaune finally came back to her side. Dark spots and earth soils around his clothes.
"Please don't ask. It took a few dives to find this guy in the garden."
Zwei was in his arms. Jaune's vice grip enhanced by Aura left the corgi no chance to escape and cause further havoc to the flowers.
The corgi's head perked up, glittering puppy eyes staring straight into hardened sapphires. So much innocence was pouring out from those eyes. But Jaune Arc was not going to fall for that oldest trick.
He used his thumb to do a smooth swipe below the chin. Zwei's tail stood straight as if a shockwave went through his body. All feet went limp, his tongue stuck out in defeat. He dropped Zwei on the pavement and left the corgi bath in the sunlight while he dusted off his hands.
Divine retribution had been served.
Summer watched the silly antic with a soft giggle. It felt like those two had been getting along really well ever since they first met at Beacon.
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