CHAPTER SEVEN
Readability brought to you by the illustrious Cr00cy
Just a heads up since I've gotten some questions about it. The end sections are just me riffing on the nature of writing and fandom. You can take them or leave them and the main story remains the same.
Fight Knight
Growth is a weird thing.
Like, you ever get really close to someone, and I mean really get to know them on that deep, real level, then miss out on part of their life?
Sometimes they're not the same person that you remember. Sometimes, they keep pushing forward without you. And even if it's a good thing, like they're improving themselves or something...you still feel like you got kinda left out. You feel a little jealous.
I don't know. I'm definitely rambling now.
I guess what I'm saying is, Pyrrha, if by some miracle you get this...thanks and I'm sorry.
Gods, but that part hurt.
The next week passed pretty much like any 'normal' week of working at Junior's, which meant swindling drunk rich people out of their money and teaching dumb drunk rich people why trying to slap my ass was a bad idea. Junior was actually surprisingly supportive of that last part. I guess raising two girls had given him a different perspective than I was used to club owners having.
More importantly, 'The Club,' and therefore the casino, were prepping for some kind of big to-do that night, which meant that I had the day off. I had resolved to spend it with my favorite pastime, sitting at the bar and filling Junior in on all the juicy gossip he craved while he cleaned.
"He just keeps talking about this red bitch." I complained.
He picked up a glass and started wiping it down. "Em, how many times and how many ways do I have to tell you? I don't give a damn."
Junior likes to pretend that he doesn't care. You know, to keep up appearances for the boys. I, understanding his dilemma, decide to tell him anyway so he doesn't miss out. I'm just a good person like that.
"It's fucking non-stop! Pyrrha this, Pyrrha that. Pyrrha can take on an entire team single handedly."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "No shit?"
"You're missing the point!" I groaned.
He let out a heavy sigh as he set the glass down. "That's because there is no point. There's never a fucking point. It's just you bitching about this girl over and over again."
I let him finish his little rant. He was certainly putting on quite a show for the boys today.
"Big Cat?" I asked.
He ran a hand down his face and rested his elbows on the bar. "Yeah, Em?"
"You raised two girls, right?"
"They're alive and not pregnant, so close enough I guess."
"Then at any point did you really believe you telling me that you didn't want to hear about this would stop me from telling you about it?"
"Wow, you're right, I am being the unreasonable one." He deadpanned.
"Great! Glad we're on the same page. Now, where was I?"
He began rubbing his temples. "You were talking about this red-haired chick, I think."
"Yeah, Pyrrha. She's a bitch."
He scowled. "Wait, I thought you liked this one?"
I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Junior isn't the best active listener. "You're thinking of Nora, she's cool."
"Gods, but there's too many of you." He grumbled. "Ok, what did Pyrrha do?"
"What hasn't she done?" I said, glad Junior was finally on my level. "She's constantly badgering him! Jaune, eat this. Jaune, train with me. Jaune, it's time to study. She's trying to insert herself into every aspect of his life!"
"Yeah, that does sound pretty fucking crazy. Can't imagine what it'd be like to know a person like that." He answered in a tone that I wasn't entirely in love with. I narrowed my eyes and gave him my most intimidating glare. He wasn't impressed.
"That's entirely different." I shot back.
"Yeah, she sounds like she's trying to improve his life." He quipped. Asshole.
"Yeah? I wonder why?" I asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
He sighed again. "Because she likes him, Em. It's not that complicated."
"Exactly!" I shouted, poking a finger into the big guy's chest. "She's got ulterior motives!"
"Wow, big word for you."
"Go fuck yourself, Junior." I suggested kindly.
He rolled his eyes. "Why do you care? You're not dating the guy, right?"
"No." I answered for about the hundredth time in a growl.
"Great!" He said, clapping his hands together. "Then we agree that your friend is dating a hottie that is helping him improve. One that I probably should have looked into recruiting if that 'entire team' thing is true."
"They're not dating, and you're missing the point again!" I shouted.
"I'm pretty sure that's you." He grumbled.
"What was that?" I snapped.
Junior took a slow, deep breath and let it out. "Look, if I make you a drink, will you shut up long enough for me to get ready for tonight?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Is it going to be good?"
He leaned against the bar and stuck a finger in my face. "I don't make bad drinks."
Big Cat is touchy about weird things.
"Fiiiinnnee." I said with my best exasperated sigh. "What am I having?"
"Hopefully a heart attack." He muttered as he began pulling ingredients out from behind the bar. I spotted bourbon, decidedly not my favorite, as well as what looked like bitters, some syrup, and orange. The bourbon, bitters, and syrup went into the glass in portions that I don't really remember. What I do remember is the orange, which he peeled, then zested into the glass, before pulling out a lighter and lighting the peel on fire. He then dropped it into the concoction where it hissed and sizzled. The logical part of me thought that last bit was a bit excessive, but the pyro in me said otherwise. He slid the glass over and I picked it up hesitantly, slowly bringing it to my lips.
"Oh!" Was all I could manage before I took another, deeper sip. Junior's snort and smirk only somewhat dampened my enjoyment of the drink.
"You're fucking right, 'oh.'" He said, far too proud of himself. That being said, the drink was delicious.
"What is it?" I asked, ready to mentally mark it down.
"It's an Old Fashioned."
"Goddammit, Junior." I muttered, setting the glass down.
"Hey, I'll drink it if you won't." He offered, reaching for the glass. I snatched it back towards my chest protectively.
"Don't you have club stuff to do?"
He chuckled. "I'm guessing you like it then, huh?"
"Maybe." I allowed. "What are we doing tonight anyway?"
His visage darkened at that. "Fight night."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "That sounds cool."
"A fight night for some less than reputable people." He grumbled.
"Oh. Shit." I articulated.
"Pretty much." He said with a sigh. "So please, be on your best behavior."
"Aren't I always?"
"Better than your best behavior then." He amended. Asshole.
"Fine." I muttered. "I'll be good."
"Great. Now just sit here quietly and enjoy that. Chris will keep feeding you drinks if you stay here and be good."
"Can I watch the fights?" I asked.
"Depends."
"On?"
"Are you going to try to tune up any drunk that makes a pass at you?"
"Probably." I admitted.
"Then no, you can't watch." He decided.
"Fucking fine." I replied, taking another sip of my delicious drink. "Probably was going to be dumb anyway."
"Yes." He said, pointing at me and backing away. "Completely dumb. You should stay here. Stay." He commanded like I was a dog.
I just sighed and sipped on my drink as I watched the boys go to work. Great fighters they might not be, but they certainly knew how to run a bar. Tables were moved aside and chairs disappeared downstairs to the casino as they cleared out the bar. They erected giant projector screens around the sides of the newly opened space and set up a rope barrier leading down towards the casino, which - judging from the various pieces of padding and cage that they were carrying down, was where the actual fight would take place.
I watched this all unfold for a good long time, all the while Chris, who turned out to be the guy I couldn't remember the name of, refilled my drink. His wasn't as good as Junior's but it was still pretty damn good. Chris wasn't too hard on the eyes either, with his blond hair and dumb tall frame. Which for some reason, around drink three or four, had me about ready to dial Jaune before it happened.
It also happened to be blonde, but significantly less welcome in Junior's bar as it turned out. The one and only Yang Xiao Long kicked, and I do mean that literally, the doors of the bar open as she threw her arms out wide and exclaimed.
"How's it hanging, boys?"
I could tell she was less welcome, because Chris muttered some things about mothers and intercourse that don't really bear repeating in polite company. At least, I assume you're all polite company. You could be a bunch of degenerates for all I know. I decided that cute boys shouldn't panic so much and reassured Chris that I had the situation under control by pressing my finger against his lips, or maybe his nose - I'm pretty much a lightweight, and rising from my seat. Chris made a few noises of protest at my generosity that I politely ignored as I headed towards the blonde bombshell.
"Yang, how the fuck you been!?"
The girl blinked before recognizing me. "Em!"
"Yours truly." I exclaimed, wrapping her a hug that she may or may not have been ready for. "What brings you down to our neck of the woods?"
She squeaked before answering. "Just looking for a place to spend a slow Saturday."
I let her go and placed a finger against her lips, I get pretty touchy when the booze gets flowing, and asked in a hushed tone. "Hey, can you keep a secret?"
"Uh, sure?"
"We're kinda doing a thing tonight. Big fight night type thing. Super hush-hush." I could tell she was appreciative from the way her face lit up. Her surprisingly cute face.
"Oh, no way! I love fight nights!" She exclaimed, half doing the same - vibrate when excited - thing that Nora does. I felt bad breaking the news to her.
"Well, we're not allowed to watch the fights..." I lamented, watching her face fall and feeling the tension amongst the boys ratchet up to about an eleven out of ten. "But we can drink for free." I finished. And just like that, a crisis was averted. The boys said prayers of thanks to various gods and goddesses as I led Yang back towards the bar by the hand, which seems kinda unnecessary looking back. Eh, it's probably not a big deal.
I introduced Yang to my new favorite drink and my new favorite bartender, who was noticeably on edge as he mixed our drinks. Even burned himself with the lighter at one point. Apparently he and Yang had some kind of history, which I suspected was the same history that made the rest of the boys give us a gigantic ring of personal space and the twins stay mysteriously absent, but hey, a girl doesn't kiss and tell. At least, not until a few more drinks in.
Sadly, having the bar to ourselves didn't last, as the club steadily started to fill in with our 'special' clientele for the evening, which included a ton of faunus for some reason, and the open seating at the bar started to press us in. Yang looked around curiously with her big doe lilac eyes and asked.
"Wow, there's a lot of-" She bit her lip. "I mean, I'm just not used to seeing this many-"
"Junior is progressive like that." I lied, patting her on the back. "Just trying to make sure that everyone has a place to hang out."
She smiled at that. "Everyone, huh?"
"Well, maybe not you." I amended. "But I like you, so you're cool."
"Awww." She cooed, "glad to know I make the list."
I made finger guns at her, which is a move that I stole from Jaune and immediately regretted doing so, and said. "There's just something about ya."
She giggled, which I decided I liked. "Gee, wonder what it could be?"
I was about to offer a few suggestions when an asshole, who I still have never bothered to learn the name of, slid up to the bar and put a hand on Yang's back, making her still and stiffen.
"I've got a few ideas." He said, relaxed enough that I could tell this hadn't been the first time that he'd used that line. In his defense, it had probably worked for him once or twice. Said asshole was tall and lean, his black t-shirt tight enough that you could see the layers of muscle underneath. Unfortunately for him, Yang wasn't having it.
"You should probably keep those to yourself." She snipped as she forcibly removed his hand, which was steadily moving downwards, from her back.
"Aww, come on, Goldilocks, don't be like that." He soothed, starting to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "You'd like me if you got to know me."
"Yeah? Somehow I doubt that." She answered, bumping him off.
I thought about stepping in, I really did. Honest. But here's the thing, I was pretty tipsy at this point, and from the look in Yang's eye, I was about to get some free entertainment. Can't watch the fights my ass.
As it turned out, the guy was about as good at picking up on social cues as he was women, because he decided that what he should do was snatch up her arm and call her a bitch before grabbing at her ass again.
Clearly chivalry isn't dead after all.
Look, I like to think that I can take care of myself. I'm fast, I'm accurate, and I can fold a person up if the situation calls for it. That being said, the next second and a half let me know that I should never, ever fuck with a Xiao Long that didn't want to be fucked with. She turned and hit the guy with a combination so fast that it took my brain a second to catch up with it. Honestly, I didn't fully process what had happened until the 'thud' of the guy hitting the floor shook me out of it. I just sat there for a minute, staring at the guy's motionless body, relax - she didn't kill him - before I did what seemed appropriate at the time.
I started laughing.
I laughed long and hard. Laughed like I hadn't laughed in a good, long time, bending at the waist so far over that I damn near fell off my bar stool. Yang snorting, whether at me or the guy I'm not sure, reminded me that congratulations were in order. I pulled myself together enough to sit up straight and give her a big high five, both of us grinning like loons, before deciding what this situation really called for was more alcohol. I turned back towards Chris to let him know that we'd be taking another round of whatever free drinks he was willing to pour us, and that's really when the night started to go sideways. Because Chris?
He looked fucking mortified.
He stared straight past us to the asshole who'd been bothering us and was currently enjoying a Yang induced rest. His mouth worked up and down a few times in that way that lets you know that something is really bad, before he found his voice and confirmed it.
"Junior!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, eyes still glued to tall, dark, and douchey.
You ever sober up instantly? And I don't mean like you had a couple cups of coffee and took a quick shower, I mean you go from tipsy, or slightly more than tipsy, to stone cold sober in a second. I would tell you that that's impossible, I certainly thought it was, but in that moment life decided to teach me a different lesson. Cause I suddenly felt sober as hell.
"You need to go." I told Yang with a clarity that I didn't know I had in me at the moment. She blinked at me, then pointed at the guy on the floor.
"But he-"
I grabbed her and shoved her towards the door, which in retrospect, probably wasn't the best idea given how it'd turned out for the last guy. "Yang, you can't fucking be here! Junior is going to flip his shit and your the last face he needs to see!" She bit her lip at that, gaze traveling back and forth between me and the guy she'd laid out she started to open her mouth to protest again and I cut her off. "I know it's not right, but you can be right later, now you need to be gone. We don't need this turning into another fight. Please, Yang." That last part always seems to work particularly well. I think it's because deep down, most people want to be good people and be helpful.
Less so me. I was being selfish. I was worried that if Junior banned Yang at this point, he'd ban all Beacon students, and I needed Jaune.
She finally nodded at that, rushing out, "Ok, call me if you need me!" before taking off towards the door, most of Junior's boys giving her a wide berth. Palov's dog and all that. The last bit of her golden mane had just cleared the door when Junior came thundering in.
"The hell is going on up here?" He demanded. Every hand in the room was suddenly pointing at me and the unconscious body at my feet. So much for honor among thieves. "Holy shit," he whispered.
I decided to use my patented Em charm to alleviate the situation. "Hey, Big Cat, I know-"
"Shut the fuck up!" He snapped, before pointing at Chris, who was half-hiding behind the bar. "You! What happened?"
Chris licked his lips and stuttered out, "T-the blonde girl came back."
"Which blonde girl? We have a ton of blonde girls-" Junior cut off as a look of horror crossed his face. "No," he whispered, before rounding on me. "You!" He growled.
"Junior, I-"
"You did this!" He accused, stuffing a fat finger in my face. "You invited that dumb bitch back in here!"
Minor note about me, I'm not a fan of yelling. I got right back in his face. "Don't call her a bitch! She was just sitting there minding her own goddamn business!"
"Sure doesn't look like it!" Junior roared back, gesturing towards the unconscious guy on the ground.
"He grabbed her ass!" I snapped.
"He grabbed her ass!?" He snorted. "Who the fuck cares!"
"I care!"
"Yeah? Well, I'm currently considering beating your ass." He informed me. "Do you know how many girls-"
"What if it was the twins?" I challenged. His mouth snapped shut and he looked away. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
"She's not the girls." He grumbled, the heat leaving his voice.
"Yeah? That make it any better?"
"Yes. No. I don't fucking know." He ran one of his giant ass paws down his face and groaned. "We're so fucked."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Cause she knocked out some random douche?"
"He wasn't some random douche, he was our douche." He explained, which earned him a blank stare on my part. He swore and took a seat at the bar. "Em, you know what tonight is?"
"Uh, fight night, right?"
"Yeah, but do you know who for?" He asked, snatched the bottle of bourbon that Chris had been using from the bar and taking a long pull.
"I don't know. Rich people? Assholes? Rich assholes most likely."
He snorted at that. "Well, you're half right. They're assholes alright, but they ain't rich. Damn animals probably don't have enough coin for a VIP booth between them." He said, taking another swig.
"If they're faunus, I'm pretty sure that's racist, just gonna throw that out there. You don't-"
"It's the Fang, Em. The fucking Fang is who the fight night is for." I'm not really up on the ethics of calling a terrorist a slur, so that shut me right up. Well, that and the fact that some very dangerous people were about to flood our bar. I searched for some intelligent question to ask and came up with-
"Fucking why!?"
"I'll give you three guesses." He muttered into his bottle. It took me all of a second to think about it before the light bulb went off.
"Is this a fucking Roman thing!?" I half-shouted.
"Look at that, got it in one." He deadpanned.
"Motherfucker!" I yelled as I pushed away from the bar and started pacing.
"That's what I said." Junior comforted.
I cursed again before stopping and pointing at the guy. "What does that have to do with this asshole?"
"That asshole was supposed to be one of the fighters in the main event." Junior explained without turning around. "Our fighter in the main event."
"Oh shit."
"Yep."
I ran a hand down my face. "This is okay, we're still ok. So what if this guy was supposed to be in the main event? All we have to do is find another guy right?'
"Em-" Junior started.
"I mean, it can't be that hard, right?"
"Em-"
"Just gotta find another random douchebag that can't fight for shit. Gotta be a dime a dozen in this town. Hey, do you think any of the boys would be willing to take one for the-"
"Em!" Junior said, slamming the bottle he was nursing against the bar so hard it shattered. "Fuck," he hissed.
"Gods, Big Cat, overreact mu-"
"Shut up!" He snapped. "Making me waste good booze."
"I wouldn't call it good…"
"Shut up," he repeated. "Listen, we can't just replace the guy, ok?"
"Why not?"
"Because we're catering to a bunch of terrorists," he grumbled before running a hand down his face. "The guy he's fighting is supposed to be a monster, real wrath of the Dark God type fucker."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure he's-"
"He's got Aura, Em."
"Oh shit."
"Mmhmm," he hummed. "So, we need someone with Aura to fight him unless we want them to end up a smear along our floor." I opened up my mouth to offer up my brilliant idea, but he tossed a piece of glass at my head, so I decided to let him finish. "And we can't grab any of your dumbass Hunter student friends. People are betting on this fight, Em." He sighed and flicked a piece of glass off the bar. "Faunus supremacists are betting on this fight. They're not here to watch someone with a name and a competition record fight their boy, they're here to watch their boy crush a guy." He gestured to the unconscious douche. "So, yeah, that's why he's here...or wherever the fuck he is right now. Gods, but we're so fucked. They are going to murder us."
"Oh, so you just need a guy without a record at all but who somehow has Aura?"
He snorted. "Yeah, and while you're at it, find me a unicorn." His eyes widened when it hit him. "Em, don't you fucking dare!"
It was too late, my scroll was already ringing.
"Hey Jaune, I need a huge favor…"
"Why are we friends exactly?" Jaune asked, glaring at the hand that Junior was currently wrapping.
Junior tsked. "Cause one or both of you wants to fu-"
"Other to learn to fulfill their potential!" I finished for him, not at all in a hurry.
Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "Fulfill their potential?"
I grunted, "Listen, we're kind of screwed here, and it's kinda my fault."
"Whhaaaaa?" Jaune mocked.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, shocking, I know. I'm a real piece of shit. You should probably leave me on the street, you know, the place where your dad found-"
"Em," he cut me off, holding up a fully wrapped hand. "I'm in. Just...tell me about the guy again."
"You'll be fine, he's a-"
"Monster," Junior cut in, stopping and looking up at Jaune. "Kid, you sure you're ok with this?"
I tried not to look at Jaune like I was desperate for him to say yes. I feel like I was about half successful. He sighed and nodded. "Is it going to be worse if you tell me about him, or if you don't tell me about him?"
"If I don't tell you." Junior answered, finishing Jaune's right hand and reaching for his left. "You need to know what you're getting into. This guy is big, like stupid big."
"As big as you?" Jaune asked nervously as he gave Junior his other hand.
"Yeah, but not as pretty." The old crook joked before grunting again. "From what I've heard, he's big, but he's slow and sloppy. People get like that when they're used to being the bigger man. That's why we're going to stick and move. You got that, kid? Kid?" He looked up to see Jaune staring blankly ahead and grabbed him by the back of his head, locking eyes with him. "Kid, what are we going to do?" He asked slowly.
Jaune swallowed. "We're going to stick and move."
"That's right." Junior said, going back to wrapping. "And what are we going to do if he tries to push you back into the cage?"
"Circle out."
"Exactly. You do those two things and you'll be as good as gold." Junior comforted. I gotta admit, as gruff as Junior usually is, he can really switch on the supportive dad thing when the situation calls for it. Must because of the twins.
The crowd in the main room roared as the fight before ours ended in what I'm guessing was a particularly violent manner. Jaune shook his head. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Hey! Eyes here." Junior commanded, staring Jaune down. "You've got this. You want to know how I know you got this?" Jaune nodded dumbly. "Cause that one won't stop talking about how brave you are, how smart you are. Real goddamn genius to hear her tell it ," he said, nodding over to me. I tried, and probably failed spectacularly, not to blush when Jaune looked my way. Luckily, Junior slapped his hand as he finished wrapping it, drawing his attention back to the giant. "And here's the thing, kid, I don't even need you to be a genius. I need you to throw straight punches at this goon and move your feet. You think you can do that for me?"
Jaune cut a quick glance over in my direction before looking back at Junior. "Yeah, I can do that."
There was a knock at the door and a short man with a mustache cracked it open, nodding to Junior. The giant nodded back and squeezed Jaune's shoulder as he rose. "Fucking show me."
The crowd that filled the cleared out floor of the 'Red Room' may not have been the biggest I'd ever seen, but they sure as hell were competing to be the loudest. And the most handsy. As soon as we cleared the red curtain that separated the prep room to the main, a dozen hands were reaching out for Jaune, shouting some pretty creative anti-human slurs that I hadn't heard before. Luckily for us, Junior had a couple of the boys on crowd control. And by crowd control, I mean backhanding people a lot more aggressively than I probably would have suggested being in a room full of faunus terrorists. But hey, it kept them off Jaune, so I wasn't complaining. For his part, Junior was doing a miraculous job of somehow standing close enough to Jaune to calm him down without being close enough to look like he was protecting him, which he definitely was. The big softie.
Me? I was just trying to keep close to Jaune as the boys carved a path through the crowd towards the cage, standing tall on an elevated platform in the middle of the room, carrying the ice bucket Junior had handed to me before we stepped out. Well, that and answering the question of what it'd be like to have a mouthful of spiders for anyone that threw a beer at Jaune, which turned out to be about half the crowd. Soon enough though, we arrived at the edge of the cage where one of the boys started patting Jaune down and checking his wraps to make sure that we hadn't done anything to them. After what seemed like a far too brief inspection, he waved Jaune on and he climbed awkwardly up the stairs, pausing for a minute at the threshold before nodding to himself before walking in. Junior motion for me to follow him and led us around the edge of the cage to our corner.
"He's going to be ok, right?" I half-shouted above the crowd, the situation suddenly much more real as I watched Jaune walking around the cage.
Junior shot me a look. "I'm not in the business of making promises I can't keep, Em."
Oh fuck.
I snatched up his arm and spun him around. "What's that supposed to mean!?"
"It means that it's a fight, and a rough one at that! I can't tell you what's going to happen in there!" He snapped, making me flinch back.
"But Jaune's a Huntsman-"
"-In training." He finished for me before really twisting the knife. "And there are people out there that kill Hunters, Em. There's a reason why they train against each other as well as Grimm in that school of theirs."
I swallowed. "What do we do?"
He shrugged. "The best we can do in this situation. Keep calm, don't let the kid get worked up, and leave the technical details to me. Got it?"
I nodded numbly, to which Junior grunted and motioned Jaune over to us. He walked over awkwardly and leaned against the cage. "When's the other guy come out?" He asked nervously.
"In a minute, but don't worry about that," Junior answered.
Jaune scowled, "how am I not supposed to-"
"Kid, listen-" Junior cut him off. "The only thing you need to worry about is listening to the sound of my voice while you're in there. That guy is going to come out here all hyped up because he's in front of his crew. He's going to be wild and nervous."
"Yeah? Well, I'm terrified." Jaune shot back.
Big Cat just shook his head. "Everybody is scared, kid. They just lie about it later. But we got something that they don't."
Jaune stared at him through the fence like a man desperate to believe. "Yeah?"
Junior nodded sagely. "We're the unknown. They think they know who they're fighting, but they don't. We're going to use that. They're going to come in here expecting a tomato can, but they're going to get a hard ass fight." He said with an amount of conviction that even I didn't currently feel. "You stay calm and you listen to me, and we'll show this asshole what's up. You with me, kid?" He finished, eyes locked onto Jaune's.
Jaune nodded weakly, "Yeah."
Junior snorted and slapped the cage. "I asked if you were with me!" He snapped.
"Yeah!" Jaune barked back, louder this time.
"That's more like it!" Junior nodded in approval and pointed towards the entrance opposite the one we'd come in. "Now turn around and watch him when he comes in. Stare him down the entire time. Let him know you're not afraid of him." I waited until Jaune had turned around before elbowing Big Cat in the side.
"Holy shit, you're really good at this!"
He hummed. "Yeah, well, didn't always used to own a club."
My eyes widened. "You were a fighter?"
"Old man was," he said. "You pick things up being a part of his corner."
I winced. "That sounds like it gets uncomfortable."
"You're about to find out how uncomfortable." He said, nodding towards the other entrance. "Game face on, here he comes."
If I had thought that the place had been loud when Jaune walked in, then it was deafening when his opponent cleared the thick curtains that separated the back room from the main. I felt my heart sink when he stepped into the spotlights that they had trained on his entrance. To say that the guy was big would be a massive understatement. Come to think of it, massive fit pretty damn well. He had to have at least a foot on Jaune, which was saying something, and looked like he was about twice as wide. Bulging muscles seemed to cover the guy from head to toe and led up to a scarred face that sported a scowl. The guy flexed his big ass muscles and roared at the crowd, which I would have mocked if I wasn't so busy shitting my pants.
"What the fuck kind of faunus is he, a Goliath?" I hissed at Junior.
"That's not a-"
"Fuck you! You know what I meant." I snapped. "How's Jaune supposed to beat that monster!?" I demanded in a whisper.
"Oh wow." Jaune whispered in awe. "Guys, are you seeing this guy?"
"You're going to do great!" I encouraged loudly, glaring at Junior.
"Em, I think this guy is on all the steroids. All of them. There aren't any left for anyone else." Jaune said before shaking his head. "He's going to murder me!"
I snatched Junior by the collar and pulled him down to my level. "Fix this," I growled. He sighed and knocked my hand away before leaning against the cage.
"Kid, you listening to me?" He asked in a voice a lot calmer than I felt.
"Uh-huh." Jaune mumbled, eyes glued to the giant making his way to the ring.
"If you're listening to me, then tell me why I told you we were going to be ok?"
"Is it because we're going to run away?"
The big guy snorted. "Smartass. If you can joke, then you can think. Yeah he's big, but you want to know what that says to me? Guy is sloppy, used to bullying people around. That's just fine, cause we're not the type to get bullied are we, kid?"
I felt that now would be a terrible time to bring up the fact that Jaune has a long history of bully issues, but to my surprise, that seemed to set something off in Jaune, cause he set his jaw and shook his head.
"No, no we're not." He said quietly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders despite the monster approaching. Whatever bad things I had to say about Pyrrha, whatever talk she and Jaune had seemed to take root, and for that I am thankful.
And maybe slightly jealous. Full disclosure and all that.
"Hell no we're not." Junior agreed, tapping on the edge of the cage. "Now, remember to watch this guy the whole time he's getting in the cage. Oh, and try not to flinch when he tries to get in your face. His type always do that shit."
"Got it." Jaune agreed, dutifully watching as the giant faunus got checked over at cage side. He yelled like a jackass again when he pushed the door of the cage open and immediately stomped over to Jaune, getting right in his face and yelling yet again.
Jaune did a lot better job than I would have at not flinching. It almost worked. Junior just rolled his eyes and mumbled. "What an asshole."
Junior is an ok guy in my book. Minus this whole not clarifying that Jaune was going to be fighting a Goliath business.
The ref apparently had had enough, because he came over and pulled the giant back to his side of the cage, or at least, made a spirited attempt till the big guy got bored and walked back there himself. Once he was there, a guy in a very sparkly suit climbed into the ring with a mic and started playing up the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for a brawl!? For blood!? For WAARRRRR!" He screamed into the mic. I raised an eyebrow at Junior, who just shrugged.
"People like this shit."
"It's lame. You're lame." I informed him.
"In this corner!" The sparkly man continued, spinning around theatrically to face the giant. "The pride of the faunus! The Colossus of Menagerie! The one, the only...BANESAAWWWW!"
As serious as the situation was. As worried as I was for Jaune, I couldn't help it. I fucking burst out laughing. To my relief, I heard Jaune snort and watched Junior smirk.
"Holy shit!" I snorted. "Really!?"
"I know right?" Junior chuckled, clearly glad that Jaune was getting loose. He looked down at me. "Wait, what did you put down as the kid's name?"
I froze. "Don't be mad," I pleaded.
"Em..." He growled.
"And in this corner!" The announcer sang as he spun. "The man brave enough to laugh in the face of the Colossus! A first timer under our roof! The mysterious JONNN XIONNNGGG!"
"Goddammit, Em!" Big Cat shouted.
"I had like five minutes to think of a name!" I argued.
"So you thought making him my illegitimate son was the way to go!?"
"Um, guys?" Jaune started.
"There are lots of Xiongs!"
"Guys?" Jaune said again.
"Name three!"
"Guys!" Jaune shouted.
"What!?" Junior and I shouted at the same time.
"I think we're about to start." Jaune answered, nodding towards the cage door being shut and the ref taking center stage.
"Shit." I offered helpfully. Junior was a bit more constructive.
"Ok, I want you to keep off the cage. Don't let yourself get pinned against the fence and throw straight punches. We've got this." He comforted again. "We're calm. We stay calm."
"Yeah." Jaune agreed quietly.
Then the bell rang. Ole Banesaw shot across the ring like he'd been fired out of a damn cannon, slamming into Jaune and throwing him back into the cage. He immediately started throwing giant hooks into Jaune's sides that sent his Aura flaring.
"Fuck!" Junior articulated, throwing himself against the cage. "Hands up, kid! Hands up! You just gotta hang in there."
That didn't seem like particularly complex or enlightening advice to me, but considering that I had even less to offer, I sat quietly with my thumb up my ass, watching my best friend take the beating of a lifetime. Jaune shelled up and pulled his elbows close to his head, getting rocked back and forth with each blow.
"Get off the cage!" Junior shouted. "Kid, you've got to move!"
If Jaune could hear him, then he didn't give any indication, staying balled up against the cage until a particularly fierce hook sent him stumbling and his Aura crackled. My heart raced as I started looking around for a towel to throw. That was a thing, I was almost sure.
"Circle! Hands up and circle!" Junior yelled at a deer legged Jaune, slamming his hands into the cage. "Get your feet back under you!"
Jaune tried his best to follow Junior's instructions, stumbling towards the center of the cage before fully righting himself. The giant lumbered after him, hands down by his side without any fear of anything coming back his way. He made a show of rotating his arm as he closed, staring a hole through Jaune and preparing to deliver the final blow.
I had fucking had enough.
I let my Semblance take hold and focused on the giant. When he roared and uncorked his big right hand, it sailed a full foot to the right of Jaune's head, leaving Banesaw confused and off balance.
"Now, kid! Hit him!" Junior shouted through the mesh of the cage. Light seemed to spark back in Jaune's for the first time since that monster had started wailing on him. He lunged forward with a right hand of his own that would have made Papa Arc proud, spinning Banesaw's head around and sending the titan stumbling backwards.
"Don't let up! Stay on him!" Junior demanded, sending a still shaky Jaune stumbling after the giant. The kick that he threw next would have made Papa Arc considerably less proud. I know because he wasn't a fan when I taught it to Jaune. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I'm not exactly up to date on underground fighting rules, Jaune's foot missed Banesaw's groin and slammed into the inside of his thigh, knocking that leg out from under him. The jab that Jaune caught him with after that landed pretty clean though.
The giant roared in frustration and started throwing back with big, winging punches that missed as often as they landed in a dumb fit of rage and bravado. Jaune, apparently not willing to be out dumbed, planted his head firmly in the center of the monster's chest and yelled as he continuously threw body shots into his sides, sending both their Auras into a sparkling light display.
It was ugly, it was not at all what either Papa Arc or I had taught him, but it kept him off the cage and away from the beating he'd been catching there, so I'd take it. They stood there for what felt like an eternity, banging on each other till the bell finally, mercifully, rang. Even then, it took the ref and more than a few of the boys to split them up as their Auras crackled and popped.
The crowd ate that shit up.
As one of the boys led a shaky Jaune back to our corner, I felt a giant hand grab my shoulder and spin me around.
"What was that shit!?" Junior hissed.
"What are you talking-"
"Don't fuck with me, Em, I saw that shit!" He snapped, putting a finger in my face. People really need to stop doing that. I tsked and knocked his hand away.
"So? We in the business of playing fair all of the sudden? Jaune needed help." I shot back.
"Yeah? Well we're all going to need help if anyone figures out your little magic trick and decides to tell the rest of this White Fang crowd that we're cheating," he growled.
"Shit." I allowed.
"Yeah, shit." He agreed. "What's done is done, but stow that shit before you get us all fucking killed," he finished, turning to open the cage door and catch Jaune as he made it back to us. "You did great out there, kid. Showed that asshole what was up." He encouraged.
"Yeah, really showed him how well my face blocks punches." Jaune snarked as he collapsed onto the stool Junior slid under him just in time.
"None of that talk." Big Cat commanded, grabbing the back of Jaune's head and pressing his forehead into his. "You hurt that bastard, that's why he stopped throwing so goddamn hard."
"Still felt hard to me." Jaune panted, but I could see the words hit home.
"That's because we stopped moving. What's the plan, kid?" Junior asked as he fished a cold piece of metal out of the ice bucket he brought with him and pressed it against Jaune's face, making him flinch.
Jaune took a deep breath and let it out. "Don't get pinned against the cage and throw straight punches."
"Ata boy." Junior said, tilting a water bottle up for Jaune to drink out of. "And that's what we're going to do. He knows that you have power now, so he's going to come in slower."
Jaune swallowed and gasped. "What if he puts me on the cage-"
"He's not."
"But if he does?" Jaune pleaded.
Junior sighed. "If he does, then I want you to shell up a listen for the sound of my voice, nothing else. When I say 'now,' I want you to throw a right hook as hard as you fucking can."
"A hook?"
Big Cat nodded. "Yeah, but only when I say so. Doesn't matter if you don't see it, I do." He squeezed Jaune's shoulder. "You're going to have to trust me. Do you trust me?"
Jaune hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah."
"Then get on your feet, kid. I want this guy to see that you've still got something left in the tank." Junior said as he helped pull Jaune to his feet. I stood there quiet and useless as Junior passed me the stool and pushed me back towards that cage door when the ref shouted for the corners to leave.
"Don't let him put your back to that cage, kid! Now bounce! Show him you're ready!" Junior commanded again as he pulled the cage door shut. Jaune nodded and started gently bouncing up and down in place, locking glares with the giant standing across the cage. The ref took the center of the cage again and asked both fighters if they were ready before stepping back and shouting.
"Fight!"
I wasn't fucking ready. My heart was still trapped firmly somewhere in my throat after watching the last round. Thankfully, Jaune was apparently in better shape than I was, taking the center of the cage like Junior instructed and throwing clumsy, but straight, punches that kept a more cautious Banesaw at range.
They continued like that for the first few minutes of the round, Jaune flicking out punches that would occasionally crack the big, dumb brute on his already crooked nose and the giant throwing wide hooks that would slam into Jaune's forearms and push him around the ring till he got his feet back under him.
"He's doing good!" I whispered excitedly, tugging on Junior's sleeve. Big Cat just grunted and shook his head.
"He's being too predictable, this guy is going to catch on sooner rather than later."
Sure enough, Jaune's next jab missed the monster, as did the cross that followed it. My stomach started to twist in a knot again, and I dug my fingers into Junior's arm.
"Tell him to do something else then!" I demanded.
Big Cat shook his head again. "That kid is barely holding on to what I told him already. I try to give him more to think about and- shit! Kid, lookout!" He shouted, snapping my eyes back to the cage just in time to see Banesaw slip to the side of one of Jaune's jabs and come back with a punch that looked like it could have put a Beowolf down. It sent Jaune flying backwards into the cage right in front of us. I felt my heart sink when something hot and wet splattered on my face. It froze when I wiped it and looked at my hand.
It was covered in blood.
"He's out of Aura!" I screamed at Junior.
"I know." He hissed.
"Then fucking stop the fight!" I screeched as Banesaw lunged onto Jaune, slamming his cinder block sized fists into his forearms, sending blood spraying every time a blow snuck through.
"Not that kind of fight, Em!" He shouted back before pressing his face into the cage right next to Jaune's ear. "Hold on, kid! Hold on! Hands up!"
Jaune's body rocked back and forth as Banesaw punches left giant, angry welts wherever they landed with sickening thuds. I was told after the fact that I apparently started trying to scale the cage. I don't really remember that part. What I do remember is starting to get into a fist fight with Mil and Mel when they wouldn't let go of me when I was trying to get to Jaune. They kept trying to put something over my eyes so I couldn't use my Semblance to give Banesaw a good look at his own entrails. I was about to give them the same treatment when Junior's voice cut through the air.
"Now!"
My eyes snapped up to see Banesaw rearing back for the haymaker to end all haymakers. Jaune uncoiled like a spring, putting all his weight and power into a tight, quick hook that slammed into the giant's jaw. It was the loudest single punch that I've heard. It sounded like someone had clapped two pieces of wood together.
Banesaw fell to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
The bell apparently rang right after, but I doubt anyone on our side of the cage could hear it over how goddamn loud I was screaming. The rest of the arena was dead fucking silent. Jaune collapsed to his hands and knees as the ref rushed over to check on Banesaw's motionless form. I didn't wait for them to call it before I leapt the cage, and this time the twins were smart enough to stay the fuck out of my way. I couldn't have been held responsible for what I would have done to get to Jaune in that moment.
I dove for Jaune and pulled his battered form against me, somehow not fully processing that the fight was over and trying to shield him from the rest of the world.
"What happened?" He asked groggily as I squeezed him against my chest.
"What the fuck do you mean, 'what happened!?' You fucking won, you dork!" I shouted over the growing boos of the crowd, tears streaming down my face. Jaune took a second to hazily look around the ring, where beer bottles and trash were already starting to hail down and Junior's boys were fighting to keep people off the cage.
"I'm not saying this is racist, but...this feels kinda racist." He observed quietly.
I couldn't help it, I started laughing. It started as a snort, then turned into a giggle, then full on howling, wheezing laughter that didn't stop till long after the boys had cleared a path back to the locker rooms and drug us through the angry, violent Fang crowd.
A lot of people tried to grab at Jaune as we pushed through the crowd that night. A lot of people got to live out their worst nightmares.
Memory Lane
Training Jaune was a mission of mine from the instant that he told me he wanted to be a Hunter and Papa Arc told him no. Unfortunately, Papa Arc caught on pretty quick to what I was trying to do, and threatened to stop teaching me if I kept teaching Jaune in the backyard.
Which of course meant that we weren't stopping, but we were going to have to relocate. Luckily, Jaune, giant nerd that he is, was pretty good friends with the local comic shop owner, who was surprisingly ok with children beating the hell out of each other behind his shop.
Well, usually pretty one way beatings.
"No, you have to keep your hands up." I told Jaune for roughly the hundredth time in the past five minutes, only to watch him raise them a good six inches above his head, like he was about to start doing the world's least enthusiastic wave.
"Like this?" He asked hesitantly.
"Sure, you try that and let me know how it works out." I encouraged.
He sighed. "You know, you could just tell me if it's wrong."
"I feel like I have told you. A dozen different times. I'm about to start telling you using morse code on your face and see if that takes."
I might have had some room to grow as a trainer.
He rolled his eyes, which is not something I highly suggest doing when your life is in my hands, and spat on the ground. "Just come on already."
I shot forward, flicking a jab into Jaune's still open face that made him yelp and cover up.
"See? Now you're getting it!" I said cheerily as I continued to dance around him, continuously peppering his forearms with blows.
"Great, now I can be a punching bag!" He growled, before throwing a sloppy hook that I slipped and countered, causing both of us to wince. Jaune because of the bruise that it'd surely leave, and me because I'd have to explain said bruise to Mama Arc.
"You can worry about offense when you can actually stop me from hitting you." I shot back, causing him to shell up again and start blocking shots with his forearms. "There you go! That'll help you keep that average face intact!" I encouraged, "but remember…" I kicked his lead leg out from under him, sending him to the ground in a heap, "...go low, go often."
He groaned from his spot on the ground, tiredly raising a hand to give me a one finger salute.
"Yeah, love you too, Jaune."
"Hate you. Hate you a lot." He muttered as he pushed himself up. "I hope that you-" He stopped short before he could finish giving me his well wishes, eyes locked on something at the entrance of the alley behind me.
"Hey, look at that, boys. They already started the beating without us. How considerate of them." An annoyingly familiar voice called. I fought to keep from groaning as I spun around.
"Hey there, Navy! What's up?" I asked in my best fake excited voice, reaching out and helping Jaune to his feet. It apparently wasn't very convincing, because neither him or the two goons he'd brought with him were smiling.
"You know damn well what's up." He growled. "Where's my goddamn truck?"
I shrugged innocently. "I don't know. Why are you asking me anyway?" I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. "You know who you should ask? Crystal. Bet she probably has some ideas on where it might be." He hissed through his teeth and took what I assumed was supposed to be a menacing step forward. "What's the matter? You guys not talking so much anymore? Well, that tends happen when you fuck around on someone."
His nostrils flared as he motioned his two dumbass friends forward. "You know, it's a good thing the Arcs have so many fucking kids. They won't miss a couple."
"I'm petrified." I muttered, before glancing over at Jaune. "You still want to work on offense?"
He nodded, eyes locked on Navy. "Very much so."
"Good, just remember-"
"Go low, go often." He finished for me, before shooting towards the older boy.
Gods, but I love the Arcs.
Artillery
Thankfully, mercifully, our unit was pulled off the front line shortly after the horror that was our first battle. We were being moved back to support the artillery division that had been supporting us. I was shocked to find just how far away I could see those artillery pieces from. At first I'd assumed that they must have been closer to line than the crazed Captain Fan had told us. But then we kept marching, and marching, and marching.
And the artillery batteries kept growing larger, and larger, and larger, till they were towing over us like some kind of terrible titans that would cough out vile and heated vitriol at regular intervals, their giant muzzles pointed every which way. Crooc and I clapped our hands over our ears in vain as they roared once more.
"YOU KNOW WHAT THE REAL PROBLEM WITH BUMB-"
The sound trailed off as the shell started its terrible arc, going Gods know where. I shook my head to clear it and reached out a hand to grab Burk by the shoulder.
"Burk!" I shouted hoarsely. "What in the Gods name is-"
"EM AND MERC WOULD NEVER WORK BECAU-"
"What!?" He shouted back.
"What are they shooting at!?" I rushed out, before-
"IF YOU SUPPORT THAT SHIP, THEN YOU'RE PART OF THE-"
He shook his head. "They're not shooting at anything!"
"What!?"
"WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST ACCEPT-"
"They don't fire at anything in particular!" He yelled into my ear. "They just load them up and fire!"
I stared at him, dumbfounded. "But why!? Surely there's no point in just trying to prove others wrong! If they're not hurting us, why-"
"WHITE KNIGHT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING THAT THE SHOW-"
Burk opened his mouth to reply, but Captain Fan appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and pushed him aside, eyes wild.
"Because we have to let those dirty bastards know they're wrong, you fool! How else will they accept us as the true ship?"
"Sir, I don't think it works that-"
"I DON'T GET HOW PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND-"
The piece nearest to us spoke, the shockwave of it forcing my eyes closed and knocking me to the ground. By the time I'd open them again, Captain Fan was nowhere to be found.
