The heavy sound of boots on the floor filled Jaune's ears. It was the only thing he could hear as he ran down the hall toward the building's main staircase. His mind was racing almost as fast as his body was. There had been an explosion downstairs. That was the only explanation for the sound he had heard. For the shaking. For the vile acidic stench of spent dust and burning material that was already filling his nostrils. This was bad. This was very bad.
Jaune's long legs carried him down the stairs two at a time in his desperate dash to reach the first floor to see if Miltia was okay. Melanie too. Everyone who might have been in the building at the time. However there was only one girl at the forefront of his mind.
Only minutes ago they had been talking. They had been cuddling together in bed after a night of passion. Now his mind feared the worst. It went to the darkest places it could imagine. Her mangled body lying under a pile of debris. Lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. A corpse charred beyond recognition. Jaune shook his head to try and clear away the thoughts. No. That would not happen. It could not happen. Not now. Not after he had found some semblance of happiness. Not the day after he had found someone to share something special with.
He pushed open the staircase doors on the first floor and stepped into a waking nightmare. It was like the first time he had walked into the club all over again. It was in fact worse this time. Before there had been shattered glass and broken furniture. Now there was all of that and more. Small fires burned all around, some fuelled by the rows of alcohol which had once lined the wall behind the counter. The air was hazy with smoke. Jaune's eyes watered and his chest was racked with coughs in protest over the foul assault on his senses. He had to get out of there. He knew that. But not without the girls.
Knowing that every second mattered, Jaune wasted no time. "Miltia!" he shouted as loud as his smoke-choked throat could muster. "Melanie! Anyone! Where are you!"
Everything around him looked indistinct in its broken and smoke-obscured state. The only landmark in sight was the bar. That was as good a place as any to begin his search. Melanie loved to sit at the bar, and for her it was never too early in the morning to have something to drink.
Rushing over, Jaune closed his eyes and coughed once more as he inhaled a breathful of smoke. This could not go on for much longer. If he wasn't careful he was going to pass out from smoke inhalation and suffocate before he could locate the girls.
"Miltia!" he shouted again. "Melanie! Junior!"
Looking all around the bar he saw no one. No telltale sight of a white or red dress. Junior was missing as well. Panic gripped his heart. No, he had to stay calm. Panic would only make things worse. He had to use his brain.
The dresses. They would be two of the most colorful things in the mostly black room. Those were what he had to keep an eye out for. Jaune grabbed the fabric of his hoodie and brought it over his mouth and nose like it was some sort of makeshift mask and took a breath. It was better than taking in the unfiltered oxygen, but it would not solve the issue. He was running out of time. If the girls were alive they would be breathing in the same smoke and debris particles. They were running out of time as well.
Desperate eyes scanned all around for any sign of color. Anything that wasn't the black floor and furniture. He rushed past broken tables and chairs, looking under every nook and cranny he came across. All the while he had to keep clearing his eyes of the tears they were accumulating.
As he fell into a coughing fit once more he finally saw something. A blotch of red half covered by a black table. His heart skipped a beat. He blinked away tears as he dashed towards his target.
It was Miltia. And she wasn't moving.
His heart froze.
"Fuck," he whispered. "No no no no no..."
Time seemed to stand still, and in an instant he was there by her side. He could not even remember his legs moving to bring him over to where she lay. Miltia was lying prone on her stomach, and now that he was this close he could see that she was covering Melanie's body with her own. As if she had shielded her sister from the blast.
The sight of what she had shielded Melanie from was sickening.
The back of Miltia's familiar red dress was shredded. Her pale and creamy skin was black and red. Charred from the fire and heat. Bloody from shrapnel and debris. His worst fears were coming to pass. Images which had existed only in his mind's eye were becoming a reality. He only hoped that the worst of them would not come true.
Reaching underneath her stomach, Jaune pulled Miltia off of her sister and flipped her over. Her back lay in his arms now, and Jaune was thankful to not see a blank stare from dead eyes. Miltia's eyes were closed, and she was breathing. Barely.
A hand reached up to cup her cheek gently. "Miltia," he pleaded. "Miltia wake up. Please wake up."
There was no response. No reaction from her body to the smoke she was undoubtedly inhaling.
Jaune lightly shook her body. "Come on, Mil. We have to get out of here. Please wake up!"
There was still no reaction from the girl. There was, however, a sound from her sister. A soft and pained moan slipped through Melanie's lips as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
The blonde's eyes were torn away from his girlfriend for a moment to look at the other girl. "Melanie!" he shouted desperately.
"Jaune...?" her tired voice asked. She was out of it, and completely unaware of the danger she was in.
"Get up!" he ordered. "We have to get out now!"
The sense of urgency in his voice must have broken through Melanie's hazy mind, and she was soon sitting up under her own power. Her head moved around to take in the sights before her, and her eyes widened. They immediately fell on the girl who was cradled in Jaune's arms. "Miltia!"
Jaune was already in the process of standing up, and for not the first time he was happy the girl in his arms was so light and tiny. She lay there slumped in his arms and held protectively against his chest as he looked around to find the exit in the haze.
"Move!" he yelled as soon as Melanie was on her feet.
They wasted no time in dashing toward the building's main entrance. Melanie moved ahead of him, not weighed down by dead weight in her arms, and opened the door ahead of them. After a few more steps they were finally outside, and the fresh air was the sweetest thing Jaune had ever tasted. He took in huge gulps of air, and for the first time since stepping foot on the first floor of the club his eyes and lungs did not feel like they were on fire.
A small crowd of people were gathering across the street, undoubtedly drawn by the sound of the explosion and resulting fires. While the building itself was not burning or showing any visible signs of smoke, the stench emanating from the place was as strong as Jaune could imagine.
Falling to his knees, Jaune gently laid Miltia on the sidewalk across the street from the club. His hands never left her though, and he continued to prop her up in his arms.
"Come on, Miltia," he pleaded. "Wake up."
His words were desperate. Melanie's were equally so as she knelt down beside him. "Oh gods, she's barely breathing."
"Someone get help!" he screamed out to no one in particular. Someone in the gathered crowd must have called for aid by now. Something had to be coming. The fire department. An ambulance. Something. Anything.
He just didn't know if they would make it in time.
Despite being out of the smoke and in the clean air, Miltia's breathing was becoming more shallow. Jaune felt it as the heaves of her chest became weaker by the second. The girl in his arms was slowly slipping away.
"Somebody fucking do something!"
"Stay with me, Miltia!" he cried. He brought her up closed to his chest, and buried his face into her hair. "Stay with me. Please..."
More tears filled his eyes. This time they were tears of pain and sorrow rather than anything caused by the smoke. His red-stained hands held the girl's burned and bloody back tightly. He clung to her with everything he had. He couldn't lose her.
Miltia was more than just a friend now. She was more than even just a girlfriend or a lover. She had become his emotional rock. Someone to give him stability in life. She had always been there for him. Ever since the first night he had spent at the club, she had been looking out for him. It had been Miltia who had covered him up with a blanket the night Jaune had gotten drunk and passed out at the bar. It had been Miltia who had told him that the life they lived at the club was not for everything. She had attempted to shield him from the experiences that she undoubtedly knew he would encounter.
Miltia had always made sure he was okay following any sparring matches with both herself and Melanie. She had attempted to stop him from getting involved with Tukson the day they had interrogated him and gotten involved in the White Fang's business. She had begged him not to go with Ruby and her teammates down to the docks to confront the White Fang. She had then found him, and held him closely to her in his moment of grief much like he was doing to her now.
And then, only a night ago, she had shared her body with him for the first time. A special moment for both of them that could never be had with anyone else.
She had indeed always been there for him. Now he was about to lose her.
The distant sound of sirens seemed impossibly far away. The voices of other people were indecipherable as Jaune's face pressed up against his girlfriend. Even Melanie's own words were impossible to make out. He could have sworn he heard someone calling his name, but he could not be certain. For long seconds he just knelt there with Miltia in his arms. He did not know how long he held her. He did not know what anyone around him was saying. It took the loud gasp from Miltia to break him from his stupor.
"Jaune!"
Finally he knew for certain that someone was screaming his name. Lifting his head from Miltia's hair, he saw that she was glowing. Bright streaks of white were coursing over her body. His eyes widened at the sight.
"Jaune!" the voice repeated. He finally recognized it as Melanie's.
He looked over to the girl. "Huh?"
"What- what the fuck is happening?"
Jaune looked back down at Miltia. Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was open. She was taking in huge breaths of air now. Her chest rose and fell with far more force than before. All the while she continued to glow a brilliant white color.
"I... I don't know!" he said. His voice was frantic. On one hand she was breathing better. But on the other he had no idea what was happening to the girl. "What should I do?"
"I don't know, but you're doing something," Melanie said as she pointed to his hands. "Keep doing it!"
Jaune could not see his hands behind the girl in his arms, but he could see that the same white light that was covering Miltia was covering his arms as well. And it must have been on his hands too if Melanie was pointing at them. Was this coming from him? Was he doing this? What was he even doing? And how?
"She's- she's breathing more," he said, pointing out the obvious. "The light. Is it the light?"
"I don't fucking know! Just don't stop!"
Jaune nodded quickly. He wouldn't stop. He would never stop. Not if it meant that Miltia was getting better.
His mind began to focus more on the light. Now that he was aware of it, Jaune made a conscious effort to concentrate on whatever it was. It felt warm. Comforting. Safe. There was something about the light emanating from his body that felt familiar. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his own breathing. Yes. It did indeed feel familiar. With a clearer mind he began to recognize it for what it was.
Aura.
He could not put into words what was happening or what he was feeling inside of himself in that moment. The best way he could describe it was that his Aura was connecting with Miltia's somehow. Almost as if it was being transferred from his body into hers. In doing so it was somehow bolstering her own. And in turn Miltia's Aura was seemingly beginning to heal her own body.
Melanie knelt down beside them, and scooped up one of her sister's hands in her own. "Come on, Mil. Come on."
Ragged and hungry breaths were beginning to stabilize now. Miltia was no longer desperately sucking in air as she once had. Her face almost looked peaceful. Bathed in pure white light, it looked as beautiful as ever.
"It's working," Jaune said as he looked down once more to his arms. "Whatever's happening is working."
It was indeed. Miltia's face was no longer etched with pain. She was no longer struggling to breathe. It appeared as if she was only sleeping, once again in his arms. This wasn't how Jaune imaged he would be holding her when he awoke this morning, but if it meant that she would continue to live then he would do it for as long as it took. Seconds seemed to last an eternity, and Jaune had no idea for how long the light covered Miltia.
All of that uncertainty and anxiety dissipated when a pair of green eyes fluttered open and looked left and right. "Wha..."
"Miltia!" Melanie screamed as she wrapped her arms around the girl tighter than a coiled King Taijitu. Her next words were indistinct as her face was buried into her younger sister's chest.
Jaune wanted to step away at this moment. To give the sisters their space. However he couldn't. Not while his hands continued to glow white. He was afraid that if he were to leave now then the work would be undone. That Miltia might succumb once more to her injuries. Jaune had no idea how or why he had done what he had, but he was not about to leave until he was certain that Miltia would be okay.
The girl in red brought her free hand up to gently push her sister off of her. "Melanie, please," she said softly. The older twin complied with the request, and backed off a couple feet. Her hand never left Miltia's though.
"Are you okay? How do you feel?"
Miltia blinked hard. "I... fine, I think?"
The girl in his arms sat upright, examining her body as she did so. When she did this Jaune got a clear look at her back, which only minutes ago had been a black and red ruin. Scorched and bloody beyond recognition.
Her wounds were completely healed.
Jaune smiled, and a relieved laugh slipped through his lips. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. However, he knew how to feel. Relief would be an understatement. As would joy. He was ecstatic.
The girl had been on death's door after being caught in that explosion. Now here she was seemingly as good as new. Flesh had been restored. Lungs had been healed. It was a shame the same could not be said about her favorite dress, but he couldn't care less right now about such a trivial thing. Miltia was okay. That was all that mattered.
He was broken from his thoughts at the sound of the girl's voice. "Jaune, as much as I love being in your arms, maybe you can let me up?"
Only now did Jaune realize that his arms were still wrapped around her waist and back. He had never let go of her after laying her down on the sidewalk. Even when she had sat up, his arms remained around her. Preventing her from leaving his grip and standing up.
Blue eyes darted over to her back once more before looking into her eyes. "Are you sure?"
There was a small shrug of her shoulders. "I think I'm fine?"
"Are you sure?" Melanie echoed.
Miltia rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, please don't make this a thing."
After a tiny amount of squirming on her part, Jaune finally relented. Miltia stood up, and Melanie with her, still clinging to her sister's hand. Finally Jaune rose from his knees to tower over both of them.
"See? I'm fine."
What happened next was the last thing he would have expected. A fist slammed down onto Miltia's chest, but Jaune could tell there was no malice behind the hit. There was barely even any force. Melanie struck her sister with as much power as a toddler might.
"Why!" Melanie screamed as she hit Miltia again. "Why did you do that!"
Tears began to drip down the normally strong and confident girl's face. Several more blows struck Miltia, each one weaker than the last.
Miltia's reaction, however, was exactly what Jaune had come to expect. She was the responsible one. The mature one. The protective one. The mother that both needed after they had tragically lost theirs.
She pulled her older sister into a tight hug, and Melanie's face buried itself into the other girl's shoulder. Painful sobs tore through her throat, and her back shook with every one of them.
"What the fuck would I do without you?" Her words were so soft that Jaune could barely hear them.
Miltia wrapped one arm around Melanie's back, while her other hand ran through long black hair. "It's okay though. I'm okay."
Melanie's head shook, and she pushed herself away from the sister she had nearly lost. "Don't you ever fucking do that again! You think I'd be happy knowing that you died so I could live?"
A chill ran down Jaune's spine. Was that what had happened? When he had found them, Miltia's body was indeed covering Melanie's. Her back had taken the brunt of the damage from the explosion, while Melanie had been almost completely unscathed. Once more it fit the image he had formed of his girlfriend. One who would protect the ones she loved by any means necessary.
"I'm sorry, Mel."
"Fuck you! I fucking hate you!" Melanie screamed before she once more gripped Miltia tightly. "I fucking love you..." she said far weaker, but far more genuinely.
"I love you too."
Now it did feel as if he was intruding on some sort of sisterly moment. Growing up with seven of them, Jaune knew all too well about the whirlwind of emotions that could strike without warning. His family had never experienced a traumatic moment like this, but he had been a spectator of love to hate to love again on more than his share of occasions.
He took few steps back to give them their space, and was about to go check in with the emergency vehicles that had arrived, but was stopped in his tracks by Melanie's harsh voice. "Stop." Melanie turned to face him, and she broke from her sister's embrace.
"I was just giving you some space," he offered up in explanation.
Melanie took a couple steps toward him. "You saved her."
He had. He still didn't know how exactly, but right now that didn't matter.
"Yeah, well, I mean..."
The girl glanced back at her sister. "Mil, I know he's yours and all. So... sorry, but not sorry."
As per usual with the girl, what happened next was the last thing he expected to happen.
Melanie grabbed hold of his face with both her hands and brought it down to meet hers. A pair of lips crashed against his, and they were quickly parted by the invading tongue of the older Malachite twin.
It wasn't a particularly long kiss, but what it lacked in duration it more than made up for in passion. Passion was about all it had going for it. There was no love or affection like the ones he had shared with Miltia. However it got the message across that Melanie was trying to convey.
She pulled back, and looked up at Jaune's stunned face with eyes still wet from her tears. "Thank you, you beautiful blonde bastard."
Jaune looked over to Miltia, who wore an equally stunned look on her face. He hoped that Melanie had only been caught up in the moment with her show of appreciation for him. The last thing he needed to do today was save the life of another Malachite sister.
Ruby did not consider herself to be any kind of "problem child". Sure, she may have goofed off in class from time to time. She may have unintentionally have been a thorn in her partner's side on occasion. However none of this was ever done with any sort of malice in mind. So the fact that she had once again been called to Miss Goodwitch's office was a little bit concerning for the girl. What might others in her class think? What might Yang think? The last thing she wanted was for any kind of negative stories to filter back to their dad.
However, as much as many people liked to believe, Yang included, Ruby was not naive. She knew why she was here. It was not for any action she had committed. No, it was for the same reason as the last time she found herself sitting alone in the office waiting for the older woman to enter. She was here because of Jaune.
The last time Ruby had sat in this seat, Glynda had spoken to her about the path Jaune was walking. About how he was on the road to his own destruction. About how someone needed to do something, and that Ruby was perhaps the only person who could help him. She had taken those words to heart. She had attempted to reach out to him earlier in the morning. She had been met with less than successful results.
The sight of a shirtless Jaune with a presumably shirtless girl draped across his chest was an image that would be forever burned into her mind. Just thinking about it caused her face to grow warm, and presumably turn a shade similar to that of her trademark cloak. She knew what was happening. What must have happened. She was indeed not the naive child that Yang still saw her as.
It was because of this knowledge that Ruby had decided to give Jaune and his girlfriend the time and space they deserved. It would not have been proper or appreciated for her to lecture him about his life choices when one of those life choices was asleep on his chest. That talk would have to wait for another day. Maybe even tonight. Maybe she would even do it in person to ensure that she did not catch Jaune... occupied once more.
Ruby nodded to herself, the plan firmly entrenched in her mind. That would work. Convince Yang to drive her over to the club where she could get a little one on one time with Jaune.
She cringed at her mind's choice in words. Not that kind of one on one time. Jaune already had a girl for that. One with shorter hair and who apparently wore black and red. Ruby shook her head, not wanting to continue down the path of thinking about the similarities between her and the girl who was intimate with Jaune.
Thankfully her wandering mind would have no more time to think about it, as Miss Goodwitch entered the room. The woman wore a familiar dour expression on her lips, and said nothing as she sat behind her desk across from Ruby.
A second later the woman cleared her throat and looked into Ruby's eyes. "Miss Rose. At this point I presume you know why I have called you here."
Ruby nodded. "It's uh, about Jaune, right?"
Glynda nodded back to her. "Yes. I'm going to cut straight to the point here. There has been an incident."
An ice-cold fist gripped Ruby's heart. An incident. The very word sounded like it carried a negative meaning behind it. The first thing that popped into her head was that perhaps there had been another incident like the one at the docks. Another fight. Another dead body. Maybe even Jaune's this time.
She was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know. "What kind of incident?"
"There was an explosion at the club Mr. Arc works at."
Her eyes widened, and that cold fist that held Ruby's heart squeezed. "What? Is he okay?"
Glynda nodded again. "I believe so. The most recent reports say that there were no fatalities, and that those involved only suffered minor injuries."
That was good. Very good. Ruby felt the tightness in her chest begin to lesson as a wave of relief washed over her.
"At this point the cause of the explosion is still under investigation," the woman continued. "However I believe the cause is quite clear. Experienced and, loathe as I am to admit it, intelligent men such as Hei Xiong do not let their properties accidentally explode. This was intentional. This was somebody sending a message."
Ruby got the woman's meaning loud and clear. There was only one possible culprit behind an intentional explosion. The White Fang.
"But Jaune's okay?" she asked again. "And the others?" she quickly added, knowing that he cared a great deal for the two girls.
"As I said, there are no reported fatalities. If you want to be certain, however, I would suggest trying to contact him yourself."
She would. She absolutely would. Catching Jaune at the right time was now off the table. Ruby had to get in touch with him as soon as possible. As soon as this meeting with Miss Goodwitch was over. She would drag Yang by her perfect blonde hair if she had to, and force her onto that motorcycle of hers under the threat of giving her the best haircut ever in her sleep.
"I told you this would happen, Miss Rose," Glynda said grimly. "That things would only get worse going forward. This is only the beginning."
Glynda's words came back and hit Ruby with the force of a speeding truck. She had indeed said that things would get worse. At the time Ruby thought like she would have more time. That she might be able to formulate some grand strategy in order to get Jaune away from a life working with criminals and fighting terrorists. Now that had all changed.
If the image from this morning was anything to go by, Jaune had a deep emotional connection with at least one of those girls. He would not abandon them easily, if at all. Whatever solution she came up with would have to involve all three of the teenagers. It was the only possible way Jaune would ever listen to her.
In addition, he was now firmly involved with the White Fang. Why was it that all of her friends were so determined to fight them? First him, and now Blake had deemed it necessary to make the White Fang her own personal issue as well. The poor girl was staying up all night attempting to research possible locations of their hideouts, as well as ways to thwart their plans. They were working with Roman Torchwick. There was some greater plan at work here. She just didn't know what.
"I'll talk to him," Ruby told her firmly. "Today. As soon as we're done here."
"Good. Hopefully having his new home and workplace destroyed will be enough to convince him to abandon this life he's chosen and to go back to his actual home."
Ruby hoped so too. If an explosion had torn through the club's building, then the place had to be uninhabitable right now. While she did not know the exact details of his living conditions, it made sense to the girl that he lived on one of the floors above the actual club. The place did look like an old apartment complex after all. And when she had spoken to him this morning, he had not been alone. He was living wherever the girls lived.
That meant that while Jaune had a place to go home, the girls did not. And if Jaune would not leave the girls like she thought, then this presented a problem.
Not wanting to try and explain the personal situation of Jaune to Miss Goodwitch, Ruby decided to leave the intimate details out of the proposal forming in her mind. "Miss Goodwitch, I just have a question."
"Speak."
"Well, Jaune has a place to go," she explained. "If he goes home and all. But what about the girls?"
Ruby knew that Miss Goodwitch knew who she was talking about. The woman had spoken their names only a few days before. They were Junior's enforcers. Raised by him from a young age to be his special weapons. Or at least that was the picture that Miss Goodwitch had painted. The woman apparently held an incredible distaste for the very idea of it. Being a teacher, and someone responsible for shaping the lives and minds of young people, it was understandable. To take advantage of children and turn them into monsters must have been nothing short of abhorrent for the deputy headmistress.
She saw how a long breath slipped through Glynda's nostrils before speaking. "What about them?"
"They're Jaune's friends. He's not just going to abandon them. Especially not now."
The teacher's usually neutral expression turned into a frown. "And what would you suggest be done about that?"
She was open to ideas. That alone spoke volumes of how much Glynda must have actually cared, even if she did not show it outwardly.
"Well, uh, hear me out," Ruby said meekly. "But we have a lot of empty rooms, right? With the transfer students coming in for the Vytal Festival, we have to have places for them to stay."
The woman's frown deepened. Like she already knew what Ruby was going to suggest. To her credit, however, she urged Ruby to continue. "Go on."
"So... if the rooms can hold four people, what if we let them stay here until they were able to get back on their feet or something?"
It was a bold suggestion. One that was unlikely to work too. However, it was worth a shot. Anything to get Jaune away from the danger that he was very obviously in.
It was a shame that Glynda put up resistance to the idea mere seconds after it was uttered. "You expect me to let known criminals not only step foot on Beacon Academy ground, but allow them to stay in our dorms?"
When she put it like that, it sounded like a ridiculous idea. However, Ruby had an ace up her sleeve.
She knew Glynda's feelings about how Jaune was walking on the path to self-destruction. She knew that Glynda felt some responsibility for that fact, with her being the one who kicked him out of Beacon in the first place. The woman had made it equally clear about what she thought about those twins being picked up off the street and raised by Junior to be his lackeys. Brainwashed, as she had put it. Glynda hated it. She hated to see children suffer.
It was something Ruby could use to her advantage here.
"I mean, what better place for a couple criminals than Beacon?" she argued. "Where every person around them could put up a fight, and most of them could probably beat them? I know Yang already did."
Glynda's eyes narrowed on the girl. Clearly she had not been privy to the little incident that had occurred prior to them attending Beacon. Ruby decided that she would say no more on the subject.
Instead she continued on with her argument. "A-and, what if you could, I don't know, reform them? Getting all of them away from Junior would be a good thing, right? What if you were able to get them on the right track? And Jaune's a still a good guy. He'd help them too!"
The way that Glynda sat back in her seat and look down to her desk was a good sign. Her hand moving up to rub her chin was an even better one. Those were signs of someone deep in thought. Glynda was actually considering the idea.
Ruby pressed onward. "They don't have to even attend classes or anything either. You don't have to train them to be even better fighters if you don't want to. But... I don't know. Getting them off the streets and into a, uh, healthy environment would be a good thing, right?"
The redhead mentally patted herself on the back. She was an absolute genius. Her full intellectual prowess was on display here. She was making Miss Goodwitch an offer that the woman could not refuse. Both as a teacher and a huntress. The proposal not only meant trying to rehabilitate two young criminals who had been taken advantage of early in life, but it would also deprive their criminal boss of his best muscle. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
"And Jaune," Ruby said, knowing that this could be the final blow needed. "He'd be safe. Away from all the bad influences. In a place where he couldn't hurt himself anymore. Where the White Fang couldn't hurt him anymore. In a place where... maybe you could help him."
Ruby knew how to manipulate others. It had just never been on this scale before. When she had been younger, she knew how to use those wide silver eyes of hers to get an extra cookie out of her father. She had known how to use her sad, quivering lip to pout in order to get out of trouble with the man. What she was doing here, however, was on a totally different level. She was appealing to Miss Goodwitch's ideals. Her position as a teacher. As a huntress. She was appealing to the guilt which the woman may have unintentionally shared in a moment of private weakness.
She had no regrets about taking advantage of the woman, however. Not when a friend's life was on the line. She would have used every dirty trick in the book to help out a friend.
The verbal and emotional assault had been scathing, and for long and tense seconds she did not know if it had been enough to break the woman. Ruby was on the edge of her seat as Glynda finally responded to her argument.
"If," she began, letting the word hang in the air for a few moments before continuing. "I were to allow Mr. Arc and his friends to stay at Beacon, they would be your responsibility."
The way the woman said it made it sound as if they were Ruby's pets. That didn't matter though. She was more than just considering it now. She was setting terms.
"Mr. Arc and those girls would be bound by Beacon's rules and guidelines," she continued. "They would not be allowed to participate in some of the curriculum. Only what I deem necessary. They would not be students at this school. They would not be allowed in certain sensitive areas that only huntsmen in training may enter."
Ruby nodded along with all of the conditions. "I think I can convince them to do that."
"And I will repeat myself, since this is the most important of my conditions. They are your responsibility. Your team's as well. You are vouching for them. If they misbehave, you will be held responsible. Is that agreeable?"
More than agreeable. It was a little bit worrying, since the extent of Ruby's responsibilities up until now had been a small corgi. However it was a agreeable nonetheless. "Yup. I'll look after them and make sure they don't do anything wrong."
There was obvious conflict on Glynda's face. However it would seem that she could see that while this may have been a risk, it was also a golden opportunity. To not only help a pair of innocent girls reclaim their lives, but to also deprive a criminal of his best assets was not an opportunity that a huntress would pass up easily.
"Do not make me regret this decision, Miss Rose. Dismissed."
Ruby nodded emphatically. She stood up and rushed out of the room as quickly as her short legs would take her. All the while she dug into the pocket of her combat skirt to fish out her scroll.
She had a call to make. She had a meeting to set up.
Evening had come quickly for the three teenagers in Vale.
Jaune, Miltia and Melanie had spent the majority of their day either being interviewed by law enforcement officials, or being examined by medical professionals at a local hospital. They all had clean bills of health, save a few minor bruises for Melanie. After all, she had not benefitted from Jaune's healing touch. Miltia on the other hand they could find nothing wrong with. Despite the fact that the flesh on her back had been as black and red as her now ruined dress, they could find no injuries on the girl. Somehow, some way, Jaune had been responsible for that.
It blew his mind. He still had no idea how or why it had happened.
One of the next best pieces of news they had received was when Junior showed up. At the time Jaune had no idea if he had been inside the club at the time of the explosion or not. In the moment it didn't matter to the boy. After finding Miltia and Melanie in the state they were in, all thoughts of the club's owner vanished from his mind. Jaune's only goal had been getting himself and the girls out, and then doing whatever he could to aid Miltia. When it was revealed that Junior had been out that morning, a wave of relief washed over Jaune for a concern he had not even been aware of at the time.
His final surprise of the day occurred while he was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. Receiving another call from Ruby, and not in a compromising position this time, he readily answered his scroll. The girl revealed that she had heard about the incident, and was concerned for his safety. Much to her visible relief he told her that he was fine. Ruby did not waste a second asking to meet him in person later that day. For what exactly, she did not say. All he knew was that she was adamant on setting up the meeting.
So here he was now, seated in the booth of a small local diner next to Miltia. Melanie sat across from the girl, with Junior sitting at her side. Jaune briefly wondered if the older man suspected anything with the seating arrangement. Normally the twins would have sat together. The fact that Miltia had chosen to sit next to him spoke volumes of how close they had become in only the past day. How would Junior react to finding out that they were an item now? How would he react to learning that one of the girls he considered to be a daughter was now having intimate relations with a boy?
Melanie apparently already knew, if her words from earlier in the morning were anything to go by. Still, it hadn't stopped her from planting a huge kiss on his lips. Thankfully Miltia decided not to murder the girl for the act. She must have recognized the act for what it was, an emotional show of appreciation for the boy who had just saved her sister's life.
The irritated rapping of fingernails on the table clearly displayed how Melanie's mood had changed since then, however. Ever since learning that Jaune would be meeting with Ruby here tonight, both of the girls had insisted on coming along. It was obvious that both of them would rather be anywhere else, but at the same time, neither wanted to leave him alone with a girl who they viewed with such disdain.
"She's fucking late," Melanie spat as she looked down to her glass of water.
It was a rarity to see the girl drinking anything so healthy. Jaune was happy about that. The last thing they needed right now was Melanie's already sour attitude being amplified by alcohol.
Jaune looked up at the wall-mounted clock in the place. Ruby was indeed late for the time they had set up. By only a couple of minutes.
"Give her a little more time," he said softly.
He could not help but be slightly amused that the girl who possessed super speed as a Semblance could be late. How ironic was that?
Miltia turned to look at him. "Any idea what this is about?"
Jaune shook his head. "Nope. Just that she wanted to talk to me about something." He paused briefly before finishing his thought. "To all of us, actually."
The girl next to him nodded wordlessly. One of her hands casually slipped down to her side and underneath the table. A moment later Jaune felt it grab onto one of his own and give it a tight squeeze. He couldn't keep the small smile from slipping onto his face. Even here and now in the presence of both Melanie and Junior, the girl was doing small things to show her affection for him. And doing it in a way that was hidden from the two people who sat right across the table from her.
Miltia had been increasingly affectionate towards him since the explosion. In his mind Jaune could explain the sudden change in demeanor in any number of ways. He wondered which one, or which ones, were the truth.
"Whatever," Melanie sighed. "It had better be important. We still need to find a place to crash tonight."
Currently none of the four people at the table had a home. While the upper floor had not been affected by the explosion, Vale's emergency services had deemed the building unsafe to inhabit for the near future. Without a proper inspection and repairs, there was no telling if the building could come tumbling down as a result of the explosion. Jaune agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry. So that meant they needed a new place to live for the near future.
Junior was already getting on that. He had come along for the food, but the man had spent the better part of their stay at the diner on his scroll looking through potential motels to stay at tonight.
"Any luck, Hei?" Miltia asked the man.
Jaune noticed how she used his actual name. He noticed how neither one of them had a second thought about its utterance in his presence. He wondered what that meant. Did it mean he was considered a part of their "family" for lack of a better word? Did it mean Junior trusted Jaune with that kind of information? Or perhaps the man knew that the secret was already out, and there was no point in trying to hide it from him anymore.
Junior grunted softly. "A few. Decent prices in a good part of town."
The blonde didn't know how to feel about the last part of that. Good part of town or not, everyone here had the capability of stomping the life out of the usual criminals and gang members in Vale. A thug with a gun was no match for trained warriors with Aura and weapons of their own. Still, he appreciated the fact that Junior cared about such details like they. He was after all dealing with the safety of his girls. Safety, which after today's events, the man was taking far more seriously than before.
"Get one with a pool," Melanie insisted.
"You actually grabbed your bathing suit when you packed?" Miltia asked.
"No. But I'll like, buy one." She shrugged, a sly smirk forming on her lips before looking to Jaune. "Or maybe not. Boy toy would like the show, wouldn't he, Mil?"
The hold Miltia had on one of his hands increased dramatically for a second at the sound of those words. It took all Jaune had not to wince in pain at the feel of the Aura-enhanced grip.
Junior on the other hand took the comment in stride. He must have been used to the teasing and banter between the twins. He had heard enough empty threats and crude remarks in his lifetime. The man did not even look up from his scroll.
That was, until he heard a labored sigh slip through the older twin's mouth. A cold scowl accompanied it. Eyes went from Melanie to the target of her hate-filled eyes.
Ruby and Yang had just entered the diner.
Jaune raised an arm to get their attention. A moment later they were on their way to their booth.
Mustering as warm a smile he could manage in this tense situation, he greeted his friend. "Hey, Ruby. Yang."
The redhead nodded nervously. "Hey, Jaune. Uh... how's everyone doing?"
Rather than let Melanie respond with some sort of sarcastic remark about what had happened to them earlier, Jaune took the initiative and replied before she even had a chance. "Fine," he said quickly. "I mean, as fine as we can be. All things considered."
Ruby nodded again. Silence overtook the group a moment later, and she stood awkwardly next to the table.
Thankfully it was Yang who picked things back up again. "So, Ruby needs to talk to you," she told her fellow blonde. "Maybe we can go to another table to sit?"
"Fuck that," Melanie said. "Whatever you have to say, you can tell all of us."
While not the most diplomatic of responses, Jaune did agree with Melanie's sentiment. "Ruby did say that she had something to talk to all of us about." His attention switched to the younger girl. "Right?"
"Yep," she agreed. "So..."
"You wanna sit down?"
Jaune scooted aside a little bit, offering a seat for the younger girl beside him. She eyed it before returning her focus to him. "Oh. Yeah. Sure."
She sat beside him, and it was obvious to Jaune that she was avoiding the death glare that Melanie was sending her way. Turning to get a glance at the other girl next to him, he saw that while Miltia wasn't looking at Ruby, she didn't exactly look thrilled to see her again.
Jaune looked back up to Yang, who remained standing with her arms crossed before her chest. "Yang?"
"I'll stand," she said flatly.
The boy nodded. Out of everyone here, Yang had the most reason not to be friendly towards the twins. She also had the most reason not to expect any courtesy from them. The tension in the air was palpable. However, he would put up with it. Ruby seemed adamant about meeting with him tonight. She was his friend. Nothing would ever change that.
The fact that Yang stood there with her shotgun gauntlets on her forearms made it apparent that she still did not trust those who she was meeting with. At least they were not deployed. Honestly, Jaune could not blame her. Yang and three of the four people she was meeting with did not have a good history at all. That they had been civil for this long was incredible.
Ruby looked down at the table as she spoke. "So... I heard about what happened," he told the group as a whole. Jaune already knew that she knew. "And I talked with a teacher at Beacon. We... came up with an idea."
An idea? Jaune was intrigued. If the truth turned out to be what Junior had hypothesized, this was payback from the White Fang. Or maybe even Roman Torchwick himself. It had taken up until the explosion for him to remember, but Jaune did recall the master thief saying that he was going to destroy Junior's operation back at the docks. Perhaps this was it. This was the first retaliatory strike.
Could those at Beacon have been contemplating getting involved themselves? Roman had to be on their radar now. With what had happened first at the dust shop when he ran into a huntress, and now the docks, he was causing a great amount of trouble in Vale. It would make sense for professional huntsmen to get involved.
"And..." Ruby continued. "We think it'd be a good idea if maybe Jaune stayed at Beacon for a while."
Jaune's heart skipped a beat. Beacon wanted him. It had been only a few months earlier that he had been kicked out for falsifying his transcripts. Now, suddenly, they wanted him back.
Why was life so cruel?
Before either Ruby could go on or Jaune could question her, the expected opposition spoke up. "Okay, fuck that," Melanie snarled. "You think I don't see your little plan to get Jaune arrested? Who the fuck do you think you're fooling?"
"Hey!" Yang snapped. Her eyes were narrowed on the elder Malachite, and for a brief moment Jaune could have sworn he saw them go red. "Don't talk to her like that."
Ruby shook her head softly. "Yang it's o-"
"What, you gonna trash this place too?" Melanie interrupted.
The question seemingly gave Yang pause, and Jaune saw how her fists clenched and unclenched before she took a deep breath. "Just watch it," was all she said in response. At least her voice was calmer this time.
"Let's all just calm down," Jaune said. He did not want another nightclub incident. He didn't want to see this diner turned into another warzone either, as Melanie had so spitefully alluded to. "Was that all, Ruby?"
She fidgeted beside him. "Well, I was gonna say... you two could come with," she said as she glanced up at Melanie. That glance quickly turned away to look at Miltia. Ruby was met with a much kinder reaction from her red-clad counterpart.
"Us?" Miltia asked. "Go to Beacon?"
"And I'll say it again," Melanie said. "Fuck. That."
Jaune was having trouble wrapping his head around this. Not only did someone at Beacon want him to return, but they wanted Miltia and Melanie to come along too? Something wasn't right. Either Ruby, or much more likely, whoever the teacher was that Ruby had spoken to, wasn't telling the whole story.
Jaune put a hand up to try and stop Melanie from instigating yet another argument. She complied, perhaps still grateful for his actions earlier in the day. "Why though?" he asked the young huntress next to him. "Why let me back into Beacon after I got kicked out?"
He wasn't about to explain the exact circumstances of just why he got kicked out to Ruby. This was a delicate situation, and he didn't know how she would react to it. Right now the simple question was enough.
"Uh, well you see, it wouldn't exactly be you coming back to attend classes again and become a huntsman..."
A frown formed on his face. Of course that wouldn't be the case. There was no way they would suddenly want him back now. Especially after he had killed a man.
Maybe Melanie was right. Maybe they were trying to lure him there to make him confess. To arrest him. Glynda had come down to the club on her own, after all. This time he would be on her turf. He would have to play by her rules.
"After what happened today, we figured you wouldn't have a place to stay," Ruby continued. "And since we have plenty of space, and thought that you might be in some kind of danger... well, it seemed like it made sense."
It did make sense. After a suspected bombing and Miltia nearly dying, they would most certainly be safe at Beacon Academy. Jaune couldn't think of a safer place in the world. It may as well have been a fortress manned by actual soldiers.
She was right in them not having a place to stay either. The club was a mess. Uninhabitable. Junior was looking for a place to stay tonight. However, that would cost lien. This night and every other night. Beacon on the other hand would be free.
Or did they want something in return?
"Is there a catch?" he asked.
Ruby shook her head. "No. Not at all. We just want... what's best for you."
He believed that. He believed her. Ruby was perhaps the kindest and most pure-hearted girl he had ever met. Had he the chance to actually attend Beacon Academy with her, he would have trusted her with his life in the field. In fact, he would still trust her with his life.
He would trust her now.
"Yeah, sure you do," Melanie said sardonically. "We're not going."
"Yes you are."
All eyes turned to the man who had not taken part in the conversation. Until now.
"H- Junior!" Melanie said incredulously.
"It's a good idea," he told her. "The best one we've got."
Blue eyes darted between the two of them, waiting for something to blow up between them. Surprisingly, nothing did.
"But..."
"This isn't up for discussion, Melanie. After what happened today, we have targets on our backs. You, have targets on your backs," he said as he pointed to both Melanie and Miltia. "And until we can get our shit together, I'm not taking any chances with you girls. You'll be safe at Beacon."
Jaune's earlier thought about the twins being like Junior's daughters was only further reinforced. Junior clearly had no love for the authorities, based on what he did for a living. It had been made apparent that he had no love for Glynda Goodwitch either, and that the feeling was mutual. If he was willing to put his girls up at Beacon Academy of all places, a place crawling with combatants and those who sought out justice, he must have been worried for Miltia and Melanie's safety. After nearly losing Miltia, Jaune couldn't blame him.
"It could be fun..." Ruby said softly. Her hopeful eyes darted back over to Jaune. "Right?"
Jaune smiled, and was about to confirm her beliefs before Melanie stopped him before he could even start. "Oh yeah, totally," she said sarcastically. "No liquor. Curfews. Homework. Soooo fun." She scoffed. "As if I'm gonna do any of that shit."
Jaune had no idea if they would even be required to do anything like that. As Ruby had said, they would not be students. They were just going to sort of be there. What they would do and how they would spend their days, he had no idea. However he was willing to give it a shot. After all, they could easily be attacked again in a random motel. But Beacon Academy would never come under attack. Right?
"Maybe it won't be so bad," Jaune told her. "Maybe we could give it a chance?"
"Oh yeah. Easy for you to say that when you're getting some."
Jaune's blood ran cold. He really hoped that Junior did not pick up on the meaning of that statement. Glancing around he saw how Miltia's face had darkened as she looked away. Ruby had much the same reaction. Yang remained ever watchful over the group like a hawk, and Junior... was just Junior. As stone-faced as ever.
"This is for the best," Junior said with a sense of finality. If he did understand the implications of Melanie's words, he had ignored them entirely. "It gives me a chance to run some errands. Ones that I do not want the three of you involved in."
Jaune had no idea what those errands might be. He did not want to know either. If they were so important, or so bad that the man did not even want the twins involved, Jaune shuddered to think what they might entail.
"Great!" Ruby said with as much hopefulness as she could muster in this strange and tense situation. "It'll... it'll be fun," she said again. It almost sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of it as much as them.
Jaune hoped that she would be right.
Author's Note: After the reveal of Jaune's Semblance in volume 5, who didn't see that coming? To be honest, this explosion thing was going to happen regardless of Jaune's ability. It just would have been treated in a different way. I'm actually excited about the possibilities his Aura amplification thing can do. It's so much more than just healing. I intend to exploit that.
I have a lot of fun ideas for this little Beacon arc coming up. Like I said in the story, they aren't going to become proper students in the school. At least I don't plan on that happening. But a change of scenery will be nice, and will tie into the end game of this story. After all, Jaune and the twins aren't the only ones involved with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick in the volume 2 timeline.
As always I want to thank everyone who cares about this story. As of publishing this chapter, it will surpass 200,000 words. I don't know how, but I've written 200,000 words for a story about the Malachite twins. The fact that so many of you seem to enjoy it blows my mind. I can't thank you all enough for the support that you've given me over the course of this story. It really does mean so much to me.
Also, since posting the last chapter I published a couple one shots. One is even a Jaune x Melanie story. Maybe you should check them out, if you're into that sort of thing.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.