Understand the Concept of Love
Chap 7
"ZERO BEAT!" I shouted shocked at seeing the clone look alike of Beat created by Rokkaku Goji.
"Hey kid." He said while smirking. At least, I think he was as he had no mouth only eyes on his head. And maybe ears so he can listen. Which also brought up the question of how he can talk. But that was for later. Now, we had to deal with the Rokkaku, Golden Rhinos and Atlas.
"Jaune, you know this... guy?" Weiss asked unsure of what she was seeing.
"Questions later. Let's show these guys the soul of the street." Zero Beat said while taking out a spray can.
"Couldn't agree more." I said while taking out my spray can.
"We're finally gonna get you." Hayashi declared while aiming his gun at us. As soon as he said this, Professor K played another song.
Four elements..
There's DJ'ing
There's Breakin'
There's Graffiti
And then there's the emcee
Top of the food chain, devourin' the competition
Abort mission cause it's the bomb like nuclear fission
To go against the awesomeness, now that's a bad decision
Cause listen they steady droppin' shit like a flock of pigeons
So listen as I paddle up your ear canals, torrential
Dashing forward, we crashed through Hayashi and the few remaining Golden Rhinos and Rokkaku police. They all fell down and we quickly tagged them before dashing away to avoid the attacks from both the helicopters and tanks. Quickly looking around, we spotted a way to get up high enough to be able to tag the helicopters. Skating towards a pole, we grinded up before grinding along the power lines gaining speed. Coming up on some billboards, we jumped off the power lines in time to avoid the attacks from the tanks. Grinding along the billboards, we jumped off toward the helicopters and tagged their rotors of the helicopters. Causing them to lose control before crashing to the ground as we also landed back on the ground.
"LOOK OUT!" Pyrrha shouted while pointing behind us.
Turning around, we saw that Hayashi had gotten back and was aiming his gun at us. Splitting up, we skated in opposite directions to make it harder to hit us. After missing all of his shots, Hayashi growled and attempted to reload but we didn't let him as we crashed into him sending him to the floor. Not missing a beat, we immediately tagged him as much as we could before he could get up. Luckily, this was enough as he collapsed to the ground defeated. Which meant that we still had one last thing to worry about. And that was the tanks moving up to engage us.
'Least they are not as bad as those special unit Golden Rhinos or Jets.' I thought as I shook my spray can and got readied to face off against the tanks.
Knowing that the tanks were slow to aim their turrets at us, we used this to our advantage. Splitting up, we went in opposite directions to make it harder to hit both of us. Skating as fast as we can while the tank operators struggled to keep us in their sights, we tagged each part of the tank. Rendering them useless and inoperable. Realizing this, the operators popped out with some machine guns but we quickly tagged them as well before they could fire off a single shot. Once they were taken care off, we looked around and saw that everyone else was defeated and could finally breath out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Zero Beat." I said turning to him.
"No problem." He replied while giving a little kick to the disabled tank.
"You know, I have to ask, but why did you help me? I thought you were on Goji's side?" I asked him. This caused him to sigh in annoyance. But before he could answer, I was sent to the ground by a worried and pissed Pyrrha. Yet, before I could say or do anything, she grabbed me by the front of my shirt and roughly pulled me to my feet.
"JAUNE! THAT WAS STUPIDLY DANGEROUS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" She shouted angrily.
"Um..." I began but was cut off by her again.
"WHAT AM I THINKING!? ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU STILL HURT!?" She asked. Her anger now replaced by full panic when she remembered I got shot by a Golden Rhino.
"I'm fine Pyrrha. I've gone through worse." I told her. Only to instantly regret it when her eyes widen in shock and worry.
"WORSE! JAUNE YOU BETTER-" She began but was cut off by Yang.
"Take it easy cereal girl. Jaune just said he was fine. Give him a moment and I'm sure he will explain everything." Yang said while helping me escape Pyrrha's iron grip. Once, free she took a deep breath to calm down. Yet, I could tell I was not out of the woods yet.
"Hopefully starting with this new figure." Weiss said referring to Zero Beat who had gotten bored and now was sitting on the edge of a tank while listening to Professor K's current track that was playing.
"This is Zero Beat. He was created by Rokkaku Goji after obtaining some blood from another rudie named Beat. And by that, I mean after a fight with Rokkaku police, Beat got cut and started to bleed. We didn't think much of it at the time as getting hurt comes with the territory and it was pretty minor. But to our surprise, Goji got his hands on the blood and used it to make a clone of Beat. Thus, Zero Beat was created." I explained.
"Talk about going above and beyond to get rid of someone. Wait, if he was created by the very man that wants to destroy rudies, why did he help you?" Blake asked.
"That's something I want to know as well since the last time I saw him, we were on opposing side." I answered before turning to Zero Beat who got up with a sigh.
"When Rokkaku Goji created me, he also unknowingly gave me free will and thought. But at first, I thought he was in the right and that rudies were threats to society. However, I soon learned what was really going and tried to break free. Unfortunately, he prevented this by threatening to kill my brothers. It was only until Jaune and the others defeated him that I was able to escape. And since then, I have been tracking Goji down to try and put him down permanently." He explained.
"Your... brothers?" Coco asked confused. Smirking, Zero Beat raised his arms and to everyone's surprise, two more exact look alike of him appeared.
"My brothers." Zero Beat said while giving a little dance before having the others go back in him.
"THAT'S SO COOL!" Ruby shouted amazed.
"Not really after a while. Anyway, reinforcements might be here soon since Atlas probably called this in. I'm going to spilt." He said before skating away before grinding up a pole. Then grinding along the powerlines and quickly disappearing. But as soon as he disappeared from sight, the sounds of police cars and possible Atlas personal greeted our ears. And judging by how loud they were, we knew they would be here soon.
"I think we should leave as well." Velvet said nervous.
"But where should we go?" Weiss asked.
"Maybe to where the rest of Jaune's friends are. And then he can finally explain everything." Pyrrha answered with a tone that basically dared anyone to try and argue with her. Knowing I can't possibly begin to try and change her mind I relented.
"Fine. Follow me and be quick." I said before turning around and skating towards the garage.
Half an Hour Later
'Gum is definitely going to kick my ass.' I thought as we finally reached the garage. It would have been faster but we had to take a few extra twists and turns to avoid more Rokkaku and Atlas personal. Not to mention, we were on the ground and not skating which would have made it easier and quicker.
"So, this is your place?" Coco asked looking around the place. "Not bad. Definitely can have some fun here."
"A lot of unnecessary stuff though." Weiss remarked thinking that all she was seeing was just clutter that could be thrown away.
"Well, I see lots of possible stuff to grind on." Velvet argued while eying the stairs and possibly thinking about all the tricks she could possibly pull off with it.
"Now you're thinking like a rudie." A familiar voice called out from above. Looking up, we saw a guy wearing a grey tank top and baggy pants sitting on a ufo decoration we had. He then jumped down and landed in front of us.
"Hey Garam." I said skating up to him.
"Hey Jaune." He replied as we shook hands. "We got your message."
"That's good." I said in relief that they got the message. "What are we going to do?"
"Corn is already out with Gum to round up the other rudies so we can meet up and plan our next step." He answered.
"And the others?" I asked curious as I didn't hear any skating or music nor Gum yelling at Beat.
"Out as well but for different reasons. They should be back soon." He answered before looking past me. "Who are they?"
"Friends, classmates and teammates from Beacon." I answered.
"You know Gum isn't going to like the fact that you showed them the garage." He warned.
"I know. But we needed a place to lay low since I was just attacked by Atlas, Golden Rhinos and the Rokkaku. Not to mention, when the first wave was defeated, we heard a lot more coming." I explained.
"Excuse me." Pyrrha said getting Garam's attention.
"Yeah?" He asked turning to her.
"How long have you known Jaune?" She asked him and he instantly knew what she was getting at.
"Why not we hold off the questions until later when the others get back." He told her.
"What should we do until then?" Coco asked.
"Seeing as how you and the bunny have skates, you both can grind along to your hearts content. The rest can follow me to where they can sit." He answered. Coco and Velvet brightened up at this and immediately skated away to try and grind on whatever they could. I was about to join them but the firm grip on my arm from Pyrrha told me that was not an option. Sighing, I followed her over to where the others were while ignoring the smirk Garam threw my way.
One Hour Later
'They certainly could make good rudies.' I thought as Garam and I watched Coco and Velvet skate around the garage. It was a tense hour waiting for the other GG's to get back here. And in that hour, we watched Coco and Velvet skate around the garage while listening to some of Professors K's tracks. Though, I really couldn't enjoy it as I felt the burning glare of Pyrrha next to me.
"This place is fun." Velvet cheered as she and Coco skated towards us.
"Wait until you both learn how to do the more advanced tricks." Garam told them.
"That is, until after you tell us who you all are and what you are doing here." A new voice interjected surprising us. Looking up, Garam and I began to sweat when we saw Gum's pissed face.
"Who's this Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"This is Gum. A nickname before you ask." I answered while wincing when she popped her gum.
"Before you yell Gum, I only brought them here to- Um? Gum?" I asked confused as I tried to explain myself but became confused when she skated around us and headed to Coco and Velvet. They were about to say something but more familiar voices greeted my ears.
"Hey Jaune. We got your message and made sue the other gangs know about it as well." Corn said skating up to me. Freeing myself, I got up and skated up to him as well.
"Who are they Jaune?" Beat asked curious.
"Some friends from Beacon." I answered.
"Let me guess. Rokkaku attack and needed to lay low?" Cube asked.
"Pretty much. But Atlas and Golden Rhinos were there as well." I answered.
"Well, they can stay here for the moment until the heat dies down." Corn told us.
"Thanks." I said with a sigh of relief.
"Enough with the pleasantries. I still need answers Jaune." Pyrrha reminded. Sighing, I sat back down next to her. Though, I did become a bit surprised, pleasantly though, when she grabbed my hand gripped it reassuringly. Whether it was to tell that she was no longer mad or just concerned, I did not know but I wasn't complaining and gripped her hand back.
"Alright. So where should we begin?" I asked as the rest of the GG's grabbed some chairs and sat down around us.
"When did our fearless leader become a rudie?" Nora asked.
"Let's see. Nearing three years since we defeated Rokkaku Goji. Three. Three and a half years ago." Combo answered. "So, fifteen he was when he became a rudie."
"FIFTEEN!" The other shouted in surprise.
"Yeah. Became a rudie only a couple years ago." I confirmed.
"What did your family think of that Jaune? Weiss asked shocked and curious. But that was quickly replaced when she saw me frown while the air suddenly become tense.
"That is something we don't like to bring up. Best leave it for another time." Jazz explained. While they didn't say or show it, we knew they felt bad for bringing it up.
"So, Jaune has been a rudie for a long time. Has he ever been seriously hurt?" Pyrrha asked.
"Of course. Comes with the territory of being a rudie. But if you mean as in hurt so badly that he needed emergency treatment at a hospital than no." Boogie answered which caused Pyrrha to let out a sigh of relief.
"Here's something that has been on my mind. Why does this Rokkaku Goji want you guys dead?" Blake asked.
"Simple. He wants to be in total control of everything and make it known that he is the big man around. And he see's us as a threat to his plans for some reason." Cube answered.
"Seems kind of ridiculous reason." Yang stated.
"It is. But like Professor K said, it's just some selfish little punk's way of showing who's the big man." Combo said.
"Speaking of which, who is Professor K? We heard him on the radio earlier when he gave that warning before Jaune was attacked." Ren asked. Instantly, all the other GG's turned to me.
"You showed them?" Cube asked through narrow eyes.
"I just let them listen to some tracks. But I didn't show them how to tune or anything like that." I quickly explained. They nodded before turning back to answer.
"Professor K is the host/Dj of the underground pirate radio station known as Jet Set Radio. He plays some of the sickest tracks you will ever hear." Corn explained.
"So, he runs an illegal pirate radio station? Propaganda or no." Weiss asked suspiciously.
"Nope. Just music and some occasional news like the weather, events and if there is anything happing that involves the Rokkaku." I answered.
"Don't forget he hosts the tournaments." Beat added.
"Wait." Pyrrha interrupted while turning to me. "The tournament you said was invite only was actually a tournament hosted by this Professor K. What did you do?"
"Skating. Showing off tricks, racing and spraying graffiti." I answered which calmed her down.
"Least you didn't do anything too dangerous." She sighed before smiling.
"Wow. You're really protective of Jaune here." Jazz said with a smirk.
"Almost like you have a crush on him." Boogie added which caused Pyrrha and I to blush heavily.
"I…I…" She stuttered out but couldn't really say anything so she just hid her face in my shoulder.
'Do I like her like that?' I wondered as I recalled everything we have done together and felt my face heat up a bit. But I couldn't dwell on it too much as I felt a cold shiver go down my spine when Cube and Gum smirked at me.
"Don't forget Jaune about the drone that threw explosives at us at the end of the tournament" Gum said feigning innocence.
"And that we had to destroy it which caused a massive explosion that we were only a few feet from." Cube added also feigning innocence.
"Wait. You were the ones-" Velvet began but went quiet when we felt a deathly aura emanate from around us. I didn't need to guess what it was coming from when I felt Pyrrha's hard stare burn into the back of my head.
"We will have serious talk later Jaune." She told me with a tone that I couldn't even try to argue. Even Beat and some of the others didn't even try to laugh. Luckily, it was defused when Potts skated by us.
"YOU HAVE A SKATING DOG!" Ruby shouted in shock.
"Yo." Yoyo said before whistling to get Pot's attention. He then threw a doggy treat on top of the ufo. Pots backed before skating along the poles and powerlines while performing tricks to reach the bone. He then landed on the ufo and began to chew on the bone.
"COOL! HOW DID YOU TRAIN HIM TO DO THAT!?" Ruby shouted.
"No need to yell kid." Garam said with a chuckle.
"Actually, no one trained him. He... somehow just knows how to skate." I explained.
"Which reminds me. But how do you guys skate so well and do all those kinds of tricks?" Ren asked.
"Our skates have a magnetic function that allow us to easily grind along certain things like rails and powerlines. Though, it only helps us to stay on. The rest like balancing is up to us." Beat answered while showing his skates.
"Helpful. But that brings up another question I have and that is the sudden burst of speed that we saw Jaune and this Zero Beat do earlier?" Weiss asked.
"You saw Zero Beat earlier?" Rhyth asked surprised.
"Long story short but he apparently is good now, after Rokkaku Goji to potentially finish him off and helped me against the Rokkaku, Golden Rhinos and Atlas soldiers earlier." I answered.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about him and have a potential ally." Cube surmised.
"Wait. I thought Zero Beat was supposedly created to look like another of you guys. But none of you even resembles him." Coco asked.
"THANK YOU! Finally, someone else who knows we look nothing alike." Beat yelled relived.
"Are you sure about that Beat?" I asked which he just flipped me off.
"Um..." Blake silently asked for an explanation.
"It essentially became an inside joke between us since despite them looking nothing alike we would mess with him by 'confusing' him with Zero Beat." Boogie explained only to laugh her ass off when Beat flipped her off as well.
"Anyway, the sudden burst of speed is called the boost dash. Which is like you said just sudden burst of speed." I explained.
"Why don't you use it all the time?" Yang asked.
"Because it costs ten graffiti cans to use." Combo answered which confused the others.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked. Still glaring at me.
"These." I answered while pulling out my spray can. "To be able to do a boost dash, we need ten of these. And we can only carry so much."
"That can't be cheap. Even if they cost only a single lien, the price would rack up substantially." Weiss remarked. Though, from the corner of our eyes, we saw Coco and Velvet looking around in slight confusion.
"Not to mention how they use it to spray others like Atlas. Which begs the question, how many do you carry and how do you get more so easily and quickly?" Blake added.
"It seems like they know." Gum said while pointing to Coco and Velvet.
"Everything okay?" Nora asked noticing their uneasy expressions.
"I'm not sure if a drink we had was spiked with something but we are seeing more of those spray cans blondie just showed us all around the place." Coco answered with Velvet nodding as well.
"I think someone did spike your drinks." Weiss said worried yet me and the rest of the GG's knew exactly what they were seeing.
"No, they're fine. In fact, it seems like we just discovered something about them." Gum said as I got up and skated towards the nearest railing.
"Like what?" Yang asked.
"That they have the soul of the streets in them." I said as I grabbed a spray can. Though, the others thought I just grabbed air.
"What was that about Jaune?" Blake asked confused.
"This." I said as I moved over to the side and sprayed a tag surprising the others.
"How you do that Jaune?" Nora asked surprised and shocked.
"And what did you grab?" Yang asked.
"The spay can you saw was just a decoy. Something we brought/made as we were getting tired of people looking at us weird when they saw us with nothing in our hands." Corn answered.
"Then how come only you guys can see it and not us?" Blake asked.
"That's because those spray cans represent the soul of the street. And only a select few can even see them much less use them. And it seems like we got some rudies on our hands." Gum explained.
"Okay. What's the difference between those 'souls of the street' against spray cans you get are hardware stores and the such?" Yang asked.
"Simple really. They spray cans anyone can get really don't have enough for anything aside from something really basic. Like writing a name or something along the lines." Garam began.
"But theirs is more along the lines of vandalism while ours is to spread our culture." Beat finished.
"Now, do you have any other questions?" Gum asked getting up.
"Not that we can think off at the moment." Weiss answered.
"Good." Gum said before turning and skating towards Coco and Velvet. "I saw how well you two skated. Not too shabby. And the fact that you can see the souls is a bonus."
"Not to mention, unlike your friend here, you both saw more things you can skate on that most wouldn't even think off." Garam added
"What are you two getting at?" Coco asked confused. Yet, it seems like she and Velvet knew what we were about to ask. Getting up, I skated over to them.
"Want to become rudies and possibly join the GG's?" I asked them.
"YES!" Velvet shouted surprising me slightly while Coco lowered her shades in shock.
"Awesome." I said smiling before turning around and nodding towards Beat who nodded back.
"Wait. Isn't there something they are supposed to do or an initiation?" Weiss asked confused.
"There is. But it really simple." I answered as Beat returned with some skates. "Put these on and we can start the test."
"What kind of test blondie?" Coco asked as she and Velvet put on the skates.
"Like I said. A simple one. But first some music. Can't forget the music." I answered before turning to Combo who nodded and turned his radio back on.
Look the future,
Shape the future.
Look the future,
Shape the future.
Look the future.
Shape the future.
Look the future.
Shape the future.
Look the-look, the-look
Shape the-look, the-shape
I know you gonna dig this.
"Now. Let's get this underway." Corn announced getting up.
One Hour Later
"Damn. They are true rudie material." Corn said as we watched Coco and Velvet race back to us.
While I did say earlier it was simple test, it was not an easy test as we made sure to push them to their limit. Yet, it paid off when we saw them skate along the powerlines and poles with relative ease. Just a bit more practice and they would be just as skilled as any other rudie. But that was just to make sure if they were actual rudie material. For them to join the GG's was another story all together. Yet, in the end they passed as well and even managed to impress Cube. But Gum was left indifferent as it's nearly impossible to impress her.
"How did we do?" Velvet asked panting.
"Welcome to the GG's." Corn answered/congratulated.
"YES!" They cheered.
"Congratulations you two." Yang cheered.
"Now all that's left is for you both to choose a tag." Gum said skating over.
"A tag?" Velvet asked confused.
"Think of it as your calling card. Something unique to only you and feels like it truly represents you." I explained while handing them their own spray cans.
"Can it be a combo tag?" Coco asked.
"Yes. But you still need your own." I answered.
"Do you have a tag Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes. This." I answered before skating to the side and spaying my own on the wall.
"Anarchy knights? I don't get it." Weiss said confused. But it seemed Nora did.
"OH! Our fearless leader is a knight. Now that we know he is a rudie. He is an Anarchy Knight." Nora explained.
"On the spot." I told her chuckling.
"We got it." Velvet said getting our attention.
"Then out it on the wall to complete the initiation." Corn told them.
They nodded and skated to over to the wall. They seemed unsure for a moment on how to actually make it at first. Yet, after a few seconds they grew confident and sprayed their tags. Coco's tag is a coffee cup that had steam coming out from the top. Behind it was the sun with shades and a smug smile. On the coffee cup was a logo in cursive that read 'fashion.' Velvet's tag is a bit simpler as it was a rabbit's foot with text underneath it. The text read 'maybe next time, you will get lucky' with the word lucky in cursive as well. And last was their combo tag which surprised me slightly. Velvet's part was the playboy logo but it was winking at us. It is Velvet blue with a black trim. As for Coco's part, it was a black beret on top of the bunny. And lastly, underneath it was some text that said 'Always Fashionably Hot.'
"Nice tags." Boogie complimented.
"Thanks." Coco replied with a smirk.
"Now. It's getting late. You all better head back to Beacon." I told them.
"You're not coming Jaune?" Pyrrha asked confused.
"Can't. The Atlas soldiers most likely already told Ironwoods and Ozpin about me being a rudie. They would probably arrest me on the spot." I explained.
"Oh." She said dejectedly.
"But before you all go back; we need a favor." Gum interjected.
"What kind of favor?" Yang asked.
"We need some eyes in Beacon as Ironwoods and Goji are there. Some people we can trust to keep us informed on what's happening." Cube answered.
"Alright. We'll keep an ear out and pass on anything we hear about." Ren said after a moment with the others agreeing.
"Thanks." Corn said.
"But before we go, can you tell us your names?" Blake asked.
"Alright, I'm Corn." He introduced before pointing to the others and giving their names. Starting with Beat all the way to Clutch.
"Before you ask, we all go by nicknames. Something we are more comfortable with." I explained before they could ask.
"Okay. Well, take care guys." Ruby said before they all left. But I grabbed Pyrrha before she could follow.
"Yes?" She asked.
"I need a favor Pyrrha." I told her.
"About what?" She asked.
"I trust most of them to keep this a secret. But I'm not sure about Ruby. Though, Yang will most likely keep her quiet. However, I do not trust Weiss with keeping this a secret. Can you keep an eye on her?" I asked.
"Of course, Jaune." She said smiling.
"Thanks, Pyr." I said also smiling. We stayed like that for moment but the silence was broken when she pulled me into a quick kiss.
"See you soon Jaune." She said blushing before running to catch up with the others. Yet, I stayed frozen in the spot and only snapped back to focus when Boogie and Jazz began to tease me.
"Do you think they will actually keep this a secret?" Corn asked.
"All except Weiss. The snow haired girl. While I don't think she will directly tell Ironwoods, she might tell her sister who will then tell Ironwoods. And then it would reach Goji." I answered.
"Well, all we can do now is rest and prepare for what's to come." He said before skating back to the couch. I just nodded in agreement as the future was uncertain now. All we knew is that it was going to be full of challenges.
Note:
Should Jaune have a nickname as everyone else has a nickname? And if so, should it be similar like the other GG's? (As in relating in some way to music like Jazz and Boogie.) Or something else?