Chapter Ten: The Seamstress Part II

"From Shadows!"

Blake's stand charged forward, its user unwilling to give Coco even a split-second advantage. If I strike fast enough, I can knock her down and get out into the open—that way Jaune and the twins can help me—

Her eyes widened as Coco leaned back.

Her stands were fast—incredibly fast—spinning brown threads from their hands and forming a shield in front of her in seconds. Not only that, but almost fifty more flew behind From Shadows and formed a net behind it, no doubt planning to trap it.

Thankfully, From Shadows simply phased through the net, taking a defensive stance in front of Blake.

Coco, meanwhile, rubbed at her chin, tilting her head slightly. "Shadow stand, huh? Pretty fast if you can get out of Fabulous's net so easily. You wanna talk now, or—"

From Shadows dashed forward, eyes bright red.

Fabulous reacted, several dozen forming a far more tightly-woven net in front of Coco this time—the threads a deep-brown color. From Shadows tried a different tactic, dissipating its hand and attempting to phase through it.

Both it and Blake's eyes widened when it simply flowed off.

Dozens more formed similar nets around From Shadows, cocooning it as Blake felt the pressure on her arms and back. Coco only smirked. "I figured if light couldn't get through, neither could your shadows. Now—"

Blake dashed forward, hands gripped into fists.

She fell forward, her face slamming into the ground.

She looked back, eyes widening as she saw her legs slowly being encased in that same dark-brown thread, Coco's many Fabulous stands tying her up. She yelped as they pulled her up, suspending her with their wings as her arms were tied behind her back, placing her in a tight hog-tie as she hovered a good three feet off the ground.

Coco squatted in front of her, lowering her sunglasses to expose equally brown eyes. "Okay, now that your little tantrum is over—"

Blake spat at her.

Coco wiped away the spit, a disgusted look on her face as Blake felt a band of threads wrap around her mouth, gagging her. "Okay, obviously you've got some issues, so how about I talk and you actually listen this time? Sound good?"

Blake grunted into her gag.

Coco nodded, a faint smirk on her face as she took a seat—Fabulous flying over to her. "For the record, I didn't want to attack you. I don't know what your problem is, but leave me out of it. I want to do one thing, and one thing only to you—and that's to make you look: "

Coco pointed above her hand as some of the stands rearranged to form the word 'FABULOUS'.

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as they formed a defensive perimeter around her. "So, crazy shadow lady, I'm going to let you go now. You are not going to attack me again, and I'm going to make you the best damn clothes this side of Vale within your budget. Got that? Nod if you understand."

Blake slowly nodded.

Coco snapped her fingers.

Blake fell to the ground, From Shadows flying up from the ground and curling back around its user. Said user stood, staggering forward as Coco held up a hand, looking over her for a second. "I'm thinking something dark with amber accents—make your eyes pop a little. What do you usually wear?"

Blake blinked twice. "Whatever I can find."

Coco slowly nodded, scratching her chin. "Okay…well, do you prefer jeans, skirts, dresses—give me something to work with."

"Jeans, preferably."

Coco frowned, tilting her head as Fabulous adjusted her glasses. "You sure? I think you'd really pull off a goth-lolita look. Get you some nice eyeliner, a black dress with yellow trim, some heels—"

"I'm working as a waitress, heels aren't happening."

Coco nodded, tapping her chin as she looked around the room. "Hmm…in that case, hold still. And for the love of dust, don't flip out again. Okay?"

Blake slowly nodded. "What are you—"

Fabulous flitted around Blake, the girl freezing as they landed on her.

They crawled around like insects, threads emerging from their hands as they wove patterns above her skin, holding them upright for Coco to inspect. "Hmm…okay, I think I've got something. Let me get you some options."

Her stand emerged in force once more, grabbing threads from baskets all over the place and forming needles from their hands. Coco held out her hands, flowing through the air like she was conducting a symphony.

Within five minutes, three mannequins had clothes on them. Coco turned to Blake.

"Pick your favorite."

Blake walked over, eyes flicking over the first mannequin. On it was a strapless, black dress with yellow lace lining the frills and center. It was a yellow Blake knew well, given it was exactly the same color as her eyes. It poofed out near the bottom like a particularly wide skirt, stopping halfway down the mannequin's thigh.

The second one had a black crop top, along with a black skirt with purple and white polka dots covering it. It was a fair bit more conservative than the dress, coming down to the knee. Though, Blake honestly couldn't imagine herself wearing something like that.

The last one caught Blake's attention. It was a black t-shirt with a dark-purple emblem of a flame embroidered on the front, and a pair of jeans beneath it. Running through those jeans was a black belt, which Blake was fairly certain Coco hadn't made with her stand. "This one."

Coco nodded, letting out a disappointed sigh. "Guess it was too much to hope for a challenge. Alright, basic it is. Come on," she stood, gesturing at the door. "Let's grab your friend and start looking."

Blake looked back at the mannequin. "What about—"

The three mannequins were bare.

Coco looked over her shoulder, a faint smirk on her face. "What? You expected me to use real thread on test props when I can have Fabulous make it for nothing?"

The two made their way out into the store, Blake looking over to see Melanie, Miltia, Jaune, and Rogue standing not far from the dressing rooms—discussing something about sizes and fashion. Honestly, she didn't care enough about either of those things to listen.

Instead, Blake turned her eyes to Coco, placing a hand on her shoulder. "How long have you been a stand user?"

Coco turned her head back to her. "Since I was in high school. Stayed up three days straight working on a dress and woke up to see it finished. Not long after, I saw Fabulous show up for the first time. There was just one at the time, but—" Several stands emerged from her back, clinging to her shoulders. "The better I've gotten at sewing, the more of them show up. I'm up to 100 now."

Blake's eyes widened. "You have 100 stands?"

Coco shook her head, turning on her heel and walking backward as they talked. "Not really—they're all exactly the same. It's more like I have 100 copies of the same stand, and they respond to my thoughts and needs without me having to do too much. Kind of like yours—but smaller."

Blake shook her head. "That isn't what From Shadows does, it has a mind of its own. It just follows my orders when I need it to."

Coco's eyes widened. "Huh…remind me to introduce you to Velvet sometime."

Blake cocked an eyebrow at that.

Coco turned around as they reached the group, the fashionista clapping her hands. "Okay, so—" she sent out three Fabulous's, having them flutter in the center. "How many of you are like her?"

The four answered by staring at the three stands.

"All of you? Damn—"

"Language!"

Coco's eyes flicked to Jaune, seeing two white arms covering Rogue's ears, the little girl reaching up and patting the armored hands. "Oh, sorry. Anyway—"

She cleared her throat as her stand returned, gesturing back at Blake. "I can get some custom threads for her at the price we talked about, but I won't be able to get them to you until Tuesday. So, in the meantime, I'd recommend getting some clothes from here. She's a 22 in SDC brand, a 24 in Levee's jeans, and a 20 in Luma brand. She'll be a medium in most brands—but I'd recommend trying them on before you leave."

Coco spun on her heel, brushing her hair back in a flourish. "And with that, my work here is done."

She walked back to where she and Blake had come from, no doubt to start work on the custom wardrobe.

Jaune removed September's hands from Rogue's ears, looking back at Blake. "Uh…is that going to be a problem?"

Melanie groaned, rolling her eyes. "She's an annoying, stuck-up chick with an ego bigger than Beacon—but she doesn't work for B.B. Let's just get the kitten some clothes and get out before she wants anything else."

Blake nodded. "I'm with her on this one."

…

Stand Name: Fabulous

Stand User: Coco Adel

Stats:

Power: C

Speed: A

Range: C

Persistence: C

Precision: A

Potential: B

…

Jaune was thankful for his upper-arm strength as he walked back to his apartment.

Of course, while Blake was shopping for clothes she actually needed, the twins had decided to take the opportunity to look for things for themselves. Being the gentleman he was, Jaune offered to carry their items for them.

For once, he wished he'd been a jerk.

Blake was carrying three bags—several shirts, jeans, and pairs of panties and bras scattered within somewhat randomly. Jaune, meanwhile, was carrying over ten bags, the plastic rings digging into his arms as he had Rogue grab his key, opening the door for everyone.

He tossed the bags down, letting out a slow breath as the twins walked in—Miltia carrying two bags of her own as Melanie carried a brand-new purse. "Since when do you—" Jaune took a moment to catch his breath. "Even use purses?"

Melanie rolled her eyes, hopping on the counter as she looked through it. "What? A girl can't accessorize once in awhile? And don't deny it," she leaned her head back, smirking at him as she held up the purse. "This is a hot look for me."

Blake's brow furrowed. "Don't you look like this all the time?"

"Exactly."

Miltia rolled her eyes, sitting on the back of the couch as Rogue ran around it, hopping onto it and laying her head next to Miltia's leg. The older girl looked down, smiling and ruffling Rogue's hair. "I think the little Arc pulls off her look a bit better."

Rogue giggled, the sound getting everyone in the room to smile.

Melanie held up her hands, tossing the purse aside. "Yeah, well, I can't compete with Jaune's little angel, now can I?"

Rogue gave a toothy smile. "Nope!"

Blake turned to Jaune, seeing him smiling at his daughter. "Hey, Jaune—" he turned, nearly hitting Blake with one of the bags. "When do I start working, exactly?"

Jaune's expression grew quizzical as he scratched his chin. "Hmm…I'd say tomorrow, but I'd rather you had some training first."

Rogue shot up, eyes sparkling. "Oh! We can help train her! You can act like me, Melanie, and Miltia are customers!"

Jaune looked between his daughter, Blake, and the twins. "I mean, is everyone okay with that?"

The twins shared a glance before turning to Jaune, faint smirks on their faces. Miltia spoke for the two. "If you actually cook something for us? Consider it done."

Jaune nodded, feeling his stomach grumbling at the thought. "Guess it is getting close to dinner time, anyway."

He looked to Blake, seeing his fellow stand user looking between the four of them. "Blake? It's up to you."

After a few seconds, she nodded.

Rogue hopped off the couch, clapping as she grabbed one of Blake's bags, shoving it in her hands. "Perfect! Here, go change into one of your waitress outfits and we'll meet you downstairs! Miltia, Melanie, come on!"

The twins only smiled, not resisting as Rogue pulled them into the hallway.

Jaune nodded at Blake, giving her a faint smile before walking out as well—heading for the kitchen. His eyes immediately were drawn to Rogue's jacket, his smile growing wider as he saw the little skull-patch bobbing with her movements, the twins taking each hand and swinging her between them.

Wonder how this is going to work?