Here we go
Chapter 29
It was not a comfortable awakening and for all the wrong reasons. His back ached from sleeping on the floor, his neck was crooked from the pillows he'd borrowed being different to his own, and Coco was furtively trying to slip his hand into the bed of one of her teammates. She froze, caught with wide eyes and a guilty, if entirely unapologetic, expression.
"Really?" Jaune asked tiredly. "Haven't you teased Velvet enough?"
"Yes," she agreed. "Which is why it was Yatsu's turn."
Blinking sleep away, Jaune realised that Coco had not in fact been trying to have him feel up Velvet in her sleep. Not unless Velvet had gained several feet in height and three times her body mass. Yatsuhashi slumbered on, peacefully unaware of his team leader's machinations. Jaune drew his hand away to stifle a yawn, ignored Coco's upset pout and sat up. "What time is it?"
"Early. Six in the morning early."
Too early. Jaune didn't think he'd even seen six am for the last few months. He normally slept until around noon, getting home at three or four in the morning. This whole debacle with the assassin had thrown his clock out of whack and he knew there'd be consequences when he had to get back to work. This being the consequences of nearly dying isn't so bad. Why am I so calm about it? Oh right, because he'd just woken up and his brain wasn't working.
Team CFVY had kept him up late and that was probably the best thing they could do. Uncomfortable as he was now, he didn't feel quite so physically and mentally drained as he had the day before. Maybe it was because he'd gone to sleep without regrets, having told his parents about the attack and gotten all the stuff he'd have otherwise been worrying about off his shoulders. It helped him sleep peacefully for once.
The night hadn't even been all that bad. After several rounds of truth or dare, they'd stopped to watch a comedy movie, then played some boardgames before breaking out some ice-cream, gorging themselves and collapsing. Fox had offered Jaune his bed, but it didn't feel right to take it. Instead, everyone had contributed a pillow and some blankets, and he'd made his own bunk on the floor.
It had all felt… nice. Not exciting, but he'd had enough excitement to last a lifetime. A nice, peaceful evening of chatting, games and a movie. It had been exactly as Velvet promised, which meant no nasty surprises or life shattering revelations. This is what Beacon will be like, he thought. Freedom from the gangs and worrying about everything going on there. And having money to pay rent. For some reason, that irritated him. He wasn't sure why.
"Want to grab first shower and go for breakfast after?" Coco asked. "Or do you want to share a shower with me, hm?"
Jaune managed not to blush. It really felt like something that would have gotten to him before, but Miltia and Melanie were far cruder than Coco could ever be. "I think I'll take one on my own, thanks. Breakfast sounds good, though."
The warm shower helped wash the lingering aches and pains in his cramped muscles away. By the time he came out, after having borrowed some of Coco's shampoo, he felt more awake than he had for days. Hungry, too. It was an impatient time spent waiting for Coco to finish and saunter out in her school uniform. He hadn't even realised it was a weekday for them, and that they'd stayed up so late with school in the morning.
"Should we wake them up?" he asked her.
"Nah. They'll sleep like the dead." Coco sauntered to the door and nodded her head. "Come on. The best food is gone if you get to the cafeteria late. There's always a race for the first batch."
Coco's warning proved prophetic. Despite the fact that lessons wouldn't start until nine, the cafeteria had a sizeable queue outside it at six-thirty in the morning. The smell wafting through the doors was enough to make him salivate, and he certainly wasn't the only one. When the doors were finally unlocked, students piled through, some claiming tables and others going straight for the serving station.
Bacon, egg, sausages, hash browns, baked beans, mushrooms, steamed fish, freshly baked bread and more brands of cereal than you could shake a fist at. Jaune followed Coco in filling a plate with toast, egg and as much meat as could realistically be piled on. He was honestly a little amazed at just how much she was planning to eat, especially after the pizza last night. Coco caught him staring, flushed and set her tray down on one of the long benches, letting him sit opposite her.
"It's combat training this afternoon," she said. "That means more calories."
"Do huntresses normally eat this much?"
"We have to. Average calorific intake for a woman is fifteen hundred to two thousand per day. That goes up drastically when you're an athlete, and even more when you're a huntress-in-training. We get lessons on it in prep schools," she said. "Back when half of us were worrying about our figures and going on diets for that TV model look. It's beaten into our heads early that dieting can be fatal for a huntress."
And presumably a huntsman as well. Jaune had never considered it before, and why would he? He knew his dad always had an appetite but had always assumed that was just dad being a big eater. Should he start easting more? No, probably not. He wasn't doing nearly as much training as they were. I'll ask Doctor Oobleck about it on my next lesson with him, he decided. For now, he'd carry on as normal.
"Is that why there's such a rush here in the morning?"
"No," Coco answered between bites of her food. "All the food is cooked in batch and then put on heated trays to keep it warm. It's fresh food if you get here early. Reheated food if you don't."
Ah. Just one of those secrets you learned to work around. Jaune would be the first to admit the food was good – soft bacon, softer sausages and crispy toast that let out a lovely crunch when he worked his knife down into it. He could easily imagine it being less impressive when it had been out for another two hours. It was still better than anything he could cook, though there was a certain pleasure to being able to eat what he wanted, when he wanted. And in being able to afford to eat out if he didn't want to cook at all. That was something he'd miss out on coming to Beacon. They'd provide his meals for him, which would be cheaper but a whole lot more rigid in when and what he could have. He was surprised how much the thought of that was a turn-off.
"So," Coco said. "You and Velvet…"
"There's nothing, and not likely to be anything if you keep teasing us."
Coco shrugged. "I'm more doing it for her benefit than yours. Velvet is a shy wallflower around people she doesn't know, but that's not who she really is. Getting her angry breaks the ice."
"Are you sure it doesn't upset her?"
"I know Velvet better than you do." There was a defensive note to Coco's voice and Jaune raised his hands in surrender. "Nice of you to defend her and all, but we've been teammates for two years. I know when enough is enough."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to say anything."
"You did." Coco huffed. "Whatever. Don't treat her like a damsel in distress. She acts it – I know she acts it – but it pisses her off. Velvet has fire. It's just buried between several layers of shyness."
"She hasn't opened up after two years of Beacon?"
"She's a faunus," Coco said offhandedly, as if that explained everything. "Beacon is open to that kind of thing. That doesn't mean everyone is, or that wherever she went to school before was."
"Faunus have it bad, huh?"
"Worse than you'd think. Worse than I used to think before I met her and got to see it first-hand. It's the minority who do it, but it doesn't feel that way. When two out of ten people will openly insult or abuse you and the other eight don't do anything at all, it doesn't feel like it's the minority. Even if most people don't treat you any differently, the loud minority have a way of making their presence felt." Coco grinned suddenly. "Something to keep in mind if you want to date her."
There it was again. Dating. Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat, then washed it down with some orange juice. He hesitated, dithered, and then decided to go for it anyway. "Are you serious on that or are you just teasing again?"
"The dating…?"
He nodded. "I know you like to tease, and I can't tell if you seriously think there is a chance or not."
"What do you think?"
"I don't know." Hence why he was asking. "I believed you in the club when you said it, but now I'm not sure. You tease a lot. How do I know if you're serious or just making fun of us?"
"I was no different in the club," she pointed out.
True. He wasn't sure why he felt that much more confident there and now so weak and frightened. Things had seemed a lot more under his control under the strobe lighting and with him in uniform. He'd felt gutsy enough to tease back, to admit that someone might be interested in him. Now, he felt limp and helpless. "I'm asking a serious question."
"Fine. Fine." Coco sighed. "I don't know. Happy? I was serious when I said you and Velvet should get to know one another. You're cute, I guess." He reminded himself that was more a compliment than the half-hearted way she said it sounded. Coco wasn't interested in men. "And you're nice, responsible and I kind of pegged you for an older guy at first."
"Really?"
"I figured you were twenty. Maybe twenty-one. Not that being younger is a problem," she added quickly. "Just I was thinking maybe Velvet could use someone a little more experienced. A little less schoolboy," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You still fit that description."
Qrow had said much the same, and Jaune kind of felt it. He wasn't sure why, but he felt more the outsider in Beacon than just his records would have suggested. Even the fact Coco was in a school uniform felt weird to him, like he couldn't imagine having to wear one or go to lessons.
"Does Velvet feel the same way?"
"That, I don't know." Coco said. "I think she likes you, but I'm not sure if it's like or like." She stressed the last word. "Either is fine though, right? Part of the reason I'm teasing her so much is to figure out which it is."
"And what have you figured out?"
Coco shrugged. "She hasn't come to me in private and asked me to stop making misunderstandings or leading you on." She grinned. "I think that's telling."
"Doesn't help much…"
"What do you want?" Coco asked suddenly, and a little impatiently. "I don't have all the answers and never will. Guys ask girls out all the time, and it's not like they know if they'll get a yes or a no before they do. Have some guts." She leaned forward. "And since I've told you how Velvet feels, how about you tell me how you feel? Do you like her?"
/-/
"And…?" Qrow asked as the two of them walked down the streets of Vale together. It was midday and Beacon's lessons were on. They hadn't been asked to leave the school, but it was obvious they were supposed to be out the way and not cause any distractions. "What did you say?"
"I told her I wasn't sure. I think Velvet is pretty and she has a nice personality, but I've only known her a little bit."
"Simple question." Qrow rattled off. "That girl naked on a bed and crooking her finger at you. Would you?"
Blood rushed to Jaune's face, but he answered all the same. "Yes."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I'm not sure if a purely physical reaction is a good basis for a relationship."
"Holy shit," Qrow said loudly, earning them a few irritated looks from passers-by. "Okay, two things wrong with that line of thought. First of all, physical attraction is fine for a relationship. You can build the rest later. Secondly, are you seriously thinking anything that happens in school is a serious relationship? It's school. The whole point of it is to experiment, make mistakes and learn. You're seventeen. Fool around a little before looking for `the one`."
"I'm not saying it has to be true love. I just… I don't know. Okay? It just feels like the only reason I may like Velvet is because she may like me back. I'm not desperate to win her over. I don't feel this overwhelming urge to be around her. I'm just a little happy and a little excited that a girl might like me. If Coco hadn't put the idea in my head, I don't think I'd be looking twice at Velvet."
"You're interested but not into her, right?"
That sounded about right. Jaune nodded.
"I still don't see the issue. Date her, see if you feel anything more. If not, kindly let her down and explain your side of things. If you do feel something more, great! Problem solved."
Easy for Qrow to say. That would still mean he'd have to ask Velvet out, and he wasn't sure what she would say. Honestly, he wasn't sure if she was even interested. Yes, she blushed and stammered and kissed his cheek, but Coco had been teasing her relentlessly at the time. Jaune would have been much the same if one of his sisters had been teasing him about Qrow, and it didn't mean he wanted to hop in the man's pants.
"Does it get any easier when you grow older?" Jaune asked hopefully.
"Actually, yeah. A little." Qrow's answer surprised him. The man laughed. "Girls – no, women – play less games. A lot of them lose the idea it has to be the guy that asks them out, and they stop beating around the bush so much. Not sure if it's that they get more confident or they realise us men are idiots who can't take a hint. Either way, the whole `does she like me or doesn't she` thing dies off. Most women will let you know pretty quickly if they do or don't. Most," he added. "Not all. You should have seen it with my teammates. Summer spent four years dancing around her feelings for Taiyang, then not three out of Beacon she just lost it and pinned him to a wall."
"That sounds a lot easier."
"It is. There's a lot I don't miss from school. Don't get me wrong, Beacon was the best four years of my life and all that. Most people look back on their school years and say that, but it's nostalgia for the most part. I would rather eat my own spine than have to go back to lessons, lectures and homework. That's basically unpaid labour."
"I kind of felt the same today."
Jaune paused at his once-apartment to unlock the door. There were no police out today and he'd received a message on his scroll that his apartment was no longer a crime scene and that he could come for any of his belongings. Qrow had agreed to come along just in case. There was a very real chance Kane and his gang were watching. They knew the first assassination had failed, and while they may not have hired another yet, they might be casing the joint to see if he came back. Jaune felt safer with Qrow there.
"How so?" Qrow asked as they rode the elevator up.
"It was come breakfast. I get it's free and all and that'd save me a lot of money, but I just felt annoyed at the idea of being told when I have to eat. Sounds stupid, right? Entitled."
"What's wrong with being entitled?" The elevator beeped and they stepped out together. Jaune fished his key into the lock and Qrow drew him back, nodding once and entering alone. There was a moment's pause before he called back, "It's clear."
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. The apartment looked untouched from how he'd left it, but unnaturally clean in other ways. It was an odd mix, since it was technically a mess after his near-death experience, but the blood splatters were gone and no dust had settled. The investigation teams had obviously been keeping it as clean as they could to track evidence.
"Anyway," Qrow continued, "Nothing wrong with a man wanting to eat when he wants to. What's entitled about that?"
"I don't know." Jaune said again. He rummaged through his wardrobe and took out his suitcase. It was brown and fake leather. Opening it up, he gently started laying some work uniforms inside. The suits were much too nice to leave hanging around. "I guess it just feels like I'm complaining about nothing, but it did bother me. It feels like a step backwards."
"That's because it is. You're independent. You work, you buy your own food, you cook your own food. That's called growing up and becoming a responsible adult. Going to Beacon after this is going to feel like a step back because it is a step back. You're going back to being a kid and having adults tell you what to do, what not to do and when you're allowed to do it."
Jaune frowned at the idea, folding one of his shirts up neatly and laying it down. Qrow made a good point about responsibility. Right now, he was responsible for his own life in every way that mattered. In a school, however, it would be the teachers who were responsible for him. He wouldn't have to worry about a lot of things, but that also meant he wouldn't have the freedom of choice. It did feel like a step backwards. Here he was working and earning and building a career. School was something you did before that.
"I want to become a huntsman…"
"Then you'll have to go to Beacon." Qrow said. "I didn't say you shouldn't, only that it'll feel bad at first. Nothing wrong with that. Some people go to universities in their thirties and forties. Think of this as the same."
"A shame I can't distance learn this…"
"Academies focus on teamwork. The life expectancy is short enough as it is without it. You have to be on a team to graduate. If your team dies, you're shuffled onto another."
Dark. Worrying. "Does that happen?"
"Never did in our year or the one above, but a year below us had a team that lost two members. You're fighting Grimm. Accidents happen. Injuries were a lot more common," he said. "Trust me, it's not a matter of if one of you gets badly hurt, but when. Aura does a lot though, and you get the best medical care money can buy." He grinned encouragingly. "I wouldn't worry about it. Seriously. Don't be turned off just because something could go wrong. Grimm could appear and mess you up in any job you take."
He was right. Jaune shook his head and continued packing his bags. Why was he so bothered about the idea of going to Beacon? It was his dream, his ambition, and what he was putting a whole lot of work and money towards. He'd also had a great night with another team and was looking forward to more of that. So what if there were a few little things he'd find annoying? There were always going to be things he did and didn't like about school. That was perfectly normal.
I need to stop worrying about it. Beacon will be fine. I'll love it there.
He placed his shiny black shoes atop his clothing in the case and zipped it shut, then, with one final lookover an apartment he'd come to love in some small way, he sighed. "I'm done."
"Back to Beacon then?"
"Actually, can we make one more stop first?" Jaune smiled. "There will be alcohol involved."
/-/
"I know we told you this is a legal front place," Melanie whispered over the bar to Jaune. "But I didn't mean you should bring your huntsmen friends here! Or any of them at all!"
"He looks tough." Miltia said quietly. "The way he moves. Who is he?"
"His name's Qrow."
"Branwen!?" Miltia hissed. "Qrow Branwen!?"
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"
"I know of him. Most everyone in the information business does." Miltia looked again, eyes wide. Qrow noticed and winked, making her flush and turn back. "You fucking idiot," she hissed to Jaune. "He's the most dangerous huntsman in Vale."
"Qrow is?"
"Bar none! He isn't one of. He is the most dangerous."
"He's not here to cause trouble." Jaune said. Honestly, Qrow was happy to be having a drink and had kicked his feet up onto the table while Jaune went to talk with his co-workers. Qrow saw nothing wrong with that. "Neither am I. I'm here to let you know I've arranged a dinner meeting with Bon-Hwa of the East Dragon Company."
Miltia spat out the drink she had tipped back, coating the bar in booze and spit.
"You did what!?" Melanie whispered, eyes wide. "W-What? Why?"
"He showed signs of being against the Ravagers at the cartel. I want to make contact with him and see if he'll help us against them now. Is that a problem?"
"Wha, but-?"
"It wouldn't be if Hei were the one doing it!" Melanie said quietly. And quickly. She leaned forward, gripping his collar and yanking his face close. "Hei was known for his diplomacy. You're not. The East Dragon Company are one of the biggest and most successful gangs in Vale, not least of all because Bon-Hwa is the one in charge."
"He'll eat you up and spit you out." Miltia said. "Spit us out. We might have been able to compete before, but we're small fry now. He isn't going to ally with a small clan like ours."
"Then I won't ask for an alliance." Jaune said. "I just want the Ravagers gone."
"As do we all," Melanie said, "But this is a dangerous way to do it."
"He wants them gone as well."
"Who? Bon-Hwa?"
"Yes." Jaune closed his eyes. Recalled. "If he's as clever as you say he is then it was no accident he talked to me after the cartel meeting. He probably wants this as much as we do. That's the problem with bigger gangs, isn't it? They have bigger costs. If we'll be hit bad by the cartel collapsing, the East Dragon Company will be hit three times as hard."
"That's true. They're linked with several big families in Mistral but it's even worse back there. If he fails here, they won't be forgiving. But if he wanted Kane dead, Kane would be dead. The EDC has resources aplenty."
"But if they act out, it'll stir the pot." Jaune said. "Because the Ravagers aren't stupid enough to go and give the EDC reason to put them down. Not until it's too late. So, if Bon-Hwa knows it's going to happen but can't act, then he needs to find another way to strike at them."
That could be funding the Xiong Clan or providing support in some other way. The specifics were something Jaune didn't know enough about yet, but the meeting had been accepted. If Bon-Hwa weren't interested then he wouldn't have accepted it being set up. He wouldn't be inviting Jaune and the Xiong Clan into his territory to speak personally with him.
"I need someone to go as my date. Both to be bodyguard and to let me know if I'm saying anything I shouldn't."
"Melanie." Miltia said quickly. "I… I can't control my temper well." It was a rare day in hell that Miltia would admit to that, and a clear sign of just how much upsetting the EDC worried her. "Melanie is better at this kind of thing. You'll go with him, right?"
"I'll have to." Melanie said. "Damn it, Jaune, I wish you'd thought to talk with us about this before arranging it, but we can't afford to insult them by not showing now." She placed a hand against her forehead. "Meeting directly with the dragon. Talk about punching above our weight."
Jaune couldn't and wouldn't apologise. Someone had tried to murder him. He wasn't about to let that go or take it with anything other than the utmost seriousness. If his life was on the line, he wanted the ones responsible dealt with. Permanently.
"There's something more," Melanie said. She eyed Qrow again and lowered her voice. "Roman came around while you were gone."
Torchwick. Jaune bit back a scowl. "What did he want? More men?"
"Pretty much. We sorted him out and all but one of the boys came back. He's in a holding cell." Damn it. Damn Torchwick for being so useless. "We're working on getting him a lawyer. There's a bigger problem. Torchwick was asking why you were at Beacon. When we played cagey, he told us Cinder had ordered him to find out and that he didn't feel safe leaving without an answer."
Jaune's legs felt weak. He gripped the bar to keep himself up, took a deep breath and let it out shakily. Cinder was watching him. Or keeping tabs. That was the only explanation for how she knew so quickly. "What did you tell him?"
"We told him the truth. That you're there for a week and it wasn't your choice. We told him you'd be back after and finding a new place to stay."
There was no telling if the truth would be something Cinder would like or not. If she didn't, he might well die to an assassin far better trained. Jaune couldn't hate the twins for caving into Roman's demands, however. If they didn't, it would be they who died. They were all under Cinder's thumb right now. Even so, he wasn't sure how he would sleep tonight knowing that Cinder knew exactly where he was.
"Hopefully, I'll survive the week…"
"Hopefully." Melanie said. "Message me the time and date of this meeting. I'll need to do some shopping for us. We can't show up in anything less than our finest or it'll be seen as an insult."
"I will. Any news on the Ravagers?"
"A whole lot of drug production. They're pushing it through the roof, and from the batch one of our boys brought back, it's not looking like the best quality."
"Dangerous?"
"Potentially."
"Try and get some more." Jaune said, aware he was literally encouraging drug dealing, and in range of a huntsman no less. "Buy quite a bit, actually. If the cartel are working together to present a united front, they might not like hearing how low quality Kane's merchandise is. That's going to reflect on us as much as it is him."
This was the Vytal Festival after all. It wouldn't do for a batch of dangerous drugs to drive down custom. People weren't stupid. If they heard on the news how people were ending up in hospital due to these narcotics, they'd stop buying. That would be a problem for every drug-dealing gang in the city. Bon-Hwa might accept the insult of having to make a deal with Kane, he might even accept the idiot's swearing and ill-manners. One thing he wouldn't accept however, one thing he could not accept, was a hit to his bottom line. None of the gangs would.
"We'll get on it." Miltia said. "You get your pet huntsman out of here before he sniffs something is wrong and starts trouble."
"Qrow is fine."
"Qrow…" The twin laughed. "Imagine calling Branwen by his first name. Fuck. Maybe dealing with Bon-Hwa won't be an issue for you. You're already on a first name basis with the strongest fucker in Vale." She gave him a little push. "Get out of here. Leave us to our work."
"All done?" Qrow asked smugly when Jaune came back. He downed his drink and stood. "Twins, huh? Maybe there's another reason you're less focused on this Velvet girl, eh?"
Qrow Branwen. Dangerous, deadly and powerful. Jaune couldn't see it. He punched the man's arm and said, "Don't even joke about it. Those two are off-limits, and even if they weren't I think I'd need a death wish to want to date even one of them."
"As if you haven't thought about it."
"Thinking and doing are two different things. Miltia would flay me and wear my skin as a frock." Jaune stooped and picked up his suitcase. "Come on. Let's get back. I want to see if the police have anything, or if they've decided to let the case go."
"Not much of a case, is there? The psycho that tried to kill you is dead. It's over and done with."
He wished that were true.
Jaune adapting to working life. It was hard for me in university because I did a year in the middle of mine where I took a year off to work and earn money. It was a good idea as it gave me life experience and cash to spend in my last year, but god, it was hard going from independent living and earning a proper wage to subsiding on nothing and having to go to lectures and spend my day without being paid. Felt horrible as I'd gotten used to having my own freedom.
Next Chapter: 5th August
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
