Alright, sorry for the lack of updates but stuff came up and I had to attend to that first. With that out of the way, I don't own anything in this story as all properties used here belong to their respective owners.
High heels ran down the stone hallway as Neo made her way to the lower levels of the prison with several marine solders laid unconscious around her, her weapon's extended blade stained red as she held her umbrella in her hand. Her mismatched eyes scanned the area as she avoided the bullets of one of the few marines still on their feet. "What the hell… why can't we hit her?!" one of them shouted as Neo closed the distance and stabbed the man in the chest, twisting the blade and pulling it out before kicking him away into a wall, whether or not he lived or not wasn't her problem.
'Where the hell is he?' she thought as she scanned the cells of the prisoners cheering her on as she moved on. 'Damn bastard really had to make me deal with this… he could've just let me do this months ago but no~' she thought sarcastically as she began to grow impatient. She knew she didn't need to worry, she knew he could protect himself but she worried about that old coot.
Entering a doorway and swiftly running down the flight of stairs, she entered another room that was devoid of any prisoners with several upper levels with more empty cells around her. 'Not here either, and even more guards' she thought as she noticed more marines appear.
"Fire!" one of them said as three guards pointed riffles at her and shot at will, Neo leaped out of the way before twirling Hush in her hand and deploying it with a grin on her face, fine then. If they were so inclined to get in her way then so be it. Activating her semblance she created an illusion of herself while moving out of the way of the fired bullets. The illusion shattered to dust and Neo formed a gun of her own in her off hand and took aim. As she shot at one of the marines, two others fired as Neo used her aura and the opened umbrella or parasol as a shield, the bullets stopped by the weapon of choice as the marines stared.
That was the opening she desired as she pointed her gun and shot the remaining marines. Dispelling the gun she made her way onwards only to sense someone coming. Narrowing her eyes she was greeted with a sudden burst of purple smoke, Neo jumping back and creating a cube-like barrier to surround herself in with her powers. As the smoke covered the area, Neo placed an illusion on herself, making it so she disappeared, all while several marines in gas masks walked in with a more portly one scanning the areas.
As the smoke died down, several people eyed the area as she reached for her scarf and brought it up over her mouth and nose, the portly man wearing the gas mask grinning as he snapped his fingers with a small grin. "It's no use, kid. This smoke was made using a concentration of my Mahi-Mahi no Mi abilities. Even taking a breath of this will render you unable to move for five days" he taunted as Neo glared. "Do you know how much damage you caused us? If we have people like you thinking you can get away with anything you want then what does that say about us marines? You and that swordsman have caused us enough hassle. So instead of wasting my time, just surrender and maybe I'll let you see that damn bastard Ryos one last time" he taunted.
Neo glared with heated anger as she prepared a gun but before she could take the shot one of the marines shot a cannon ball at her. She noticed that several other marines followed suit as they were aiming blindly trying to draw her out. As her illusion broke and her barrier faltered, she felt the gas enter her personal space and jumped back. Now visible she aimed for Sludge but struck one of the marines instead.
"The hell?!" Sludge shouted as the marine next to him was shot with his head practically exploding from the aura enhanced bullet. Sludge cursed and ran, leaving the job to his underlings. It would be a matter of time before she inhaled some of the gas and fell to the marines. As the marines fired more rounds of cannon fire from their weapons, Neo leaped back and barely avoided the explosions.
'That bastard… he's trying to make me inhale this stuff' she thought as she threw up Hush in the air and formed two guns of her own, taking aim she decided to go after the marines first before she was forced to breath any of the smoke. Glaring at the marines she was feeling a bit more blood thirsty now, imagining the head of the lieutenant as she shot a few rounds at the marines. It would be a little while to deal with them but she would get passed them eventually and when she did it was open season on that fat ass.
"Take her down, now!" one of the standing marines ordered as two others fired. Neo grinned behind her mask as she ran to close the distance, evading the cannon fire and her guns swapped for two daggers. It was time to get nice and close to them.
Jaune stared at the sword that Buso held in minor shock, not expecting him to have something like that. The sword in question was currently ablaze as the blond swordsman was wondering just how the hell the captain even managed to do that. Swords didn't normally start on fire if it followed the rules of logic. Then again from what he saw he questioned what those rules were, hell in retrospect this was one of the more tame things he ever had to deal with.
"Heh, you seem kind of shocked their kid" Buso commented as he realized his opponent's expression with a chuckle. Jaune shrugged his shoulders as Buso held up his sword with pride. "You see this isn't a normal blade, its properties make it something special, a higher class than most other swords" he said as Jaune was curious.
'All it is is that it's on fire… not exactly that impressive' Jaune thought as he remembered the weapons back home. Heck he remembered Yang fighting a second-year student with a fire sword herself. But with that train of thought he had to ask something of the captain. "How exactly does that work?" Jaune asked as he only knew how to replicate it using dust; something he highly doubt was in this world.
"Heh, you really want to know?" he asked as Jaune once again shrugged. "Well I suppose I can tell you since this is your last few moments in this world" he said as he made it clear what his intentions were regarding the younger swordsman. "This blade is made of a special material known as Liquor Iron Ore. It is a very rare resource that very few people even know about" he said as Jaune sighed.
'Great, they have their own variation of dust in the form of that liquor-whatever ore' Jaune thought with a deadpanned expression. Buso held his blade in his hand before bringing it up and rushing at the other swordsman with a gleeful expression.
"Take a closer look, you bastard!" he shouted as Jaune brought up his own blade and channeled some aura into it, both swords clashed as Jaune felt the flames spread to Saints and begin coating it's metal. He felt the heat travel to the hilt but Jaune pushed through and swinging it upwards managed to slice Buso's own sword in half. As Buso froze in shock, Jaune cursed and threw Saints on the ground and jumped back and glare. Cocking his fist back, he closed the distance and delivered a strong punch to the marine captain.
"Soru: Kokoken/ Shave: Stiff Steel Fist!" he shouted as Buso was sent flying through a wall with Jaune grinning. Walking towards his sword he picked it up and channeled aura into it, ignoring the heat and extinguishing the flames with his aura discharging them in a pulse of energy. Swinging Saints and sheathing it after the flames were extinguished, he noticed Buso climb out of the hole his body made with a glare. Looking down at his sword, he stared dumbly seeing it completely sliced in two.
Jaune grinned at that with a bit of a mirthful tone. "Didn't you say it was a higher class than mine?" he asked tauntingly, using his own words against him as Buso glared at the blond.
"You damn little shit… alright then, let's try this" Buso said as he walked towards the wall to a sword hung up on it as a decoration before the captain pulled it out. Unsheathing it from its holder, Buso glared as he let it shine brightly. Jaune however could tell something was different about the blade in particular. The steel wasn't a normal gray, it was tinted in a faint black hue, and Jaune eyed the blade dangerously while he recalled something Miles mentioned.
"That's…" Jaune mouthed out as he remembered their conversation about haki and how it was used.
"Ugh… how the hell do wooden blades hurt so much?" Jaune asked as he rubbed his head with a glare while Miles sat in front of him with a bottle of rum in his hands. The kid had done well fighting him unarmed while he used a weapon, a little bit of extra unarmed training in case he lost his weapon at some point.
"Haki, kid… I already told you it was like that aura stuff you have. Besides you didn't seem that surprised when you mentioned that food fight of yours" he said as Jaune frowned at that. It was true, his team and Team RWBY managed to turn things like bread, sausages and from what he heard from Nora something like a mustard or ketchup into a weapon, it made him question if anything could be a weapon if used properly.
"Yeah, I got annihilated…" he muttered as he didn't exactly enjoy the fight after being thrown into a window and then taken out of the fight. All he managed to do was throw a single watermelon and Nora threw like five of them at once. Miles chuckled at that but hummed to himself.
"I told you haki wasn't a joke, I'm actually surprised you managed your way to learning the basics as fast as you did. Though, then again that training with your aura helped a lot" the older swordsman said as Jaune nodded. Looking at his hand, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate to amplify his own aura to its peak. Miles was curious on that. "Jaune, how much control do you have over that semblance of yours?" he asked as Jaune looked at him confused.
"My semblance?" he asked before frowning. "I mean, I still haven't fully mastered it but I can channel it a bit faster now, not to mention I can use my aura in larger quantities than before" he said as Miles nodded.
"Well if that's the case I might be able to teach you some of the more advanced stuff" he said as Jaune was confused.
"Advanced stuff? You mean like me predicting your movements better or-"
"Kid, you can already do that to some degree, even before I trained you in haki, I mean the actual hard stuff like Kenbunshoku Haki sight or Busoshoku Haki hardening" Miles clarified as he held out his wooden blade and channeled some haki into it. Jaune stared as the wooden blade was coated in a black hue with Mile's hand as well. "This is what I mean by the advanced stuff."
"Oh…" he said as he could feel the energy coating the man's weapon from his spot in front of it. 'Yeah… I don't think I can do that…' he thought as the control over even the basics of haki would have to be incredible as well as the sheer amount of it.
"This, Jaune is the more advanced form, Busoshoku Haki, or rather armament coating. It coats your weapon or body into a very powerful shell of sorts, nearly mistaken for your skin" he said as Jaune was interested. "Now before we try I think I should tell you that so far your Busoshoku Haki is by far your current strongest use of it, minus your aura and semblance" he said as Jaune nodded, he was more grounded and able to take hits over dodging and weaving like someone like Ruby, Ren or Blake, he was more like Yang, or Carden or even someone like Coco.
"I see" Jaune said amazed as he looked at his hand. "So I might be able to coat my sword and body in haki? What exactly makes that different than normal haki?" he asked as Miles gave him a flat look.
"Normal haki allows one to touch Logia users as well as increase your overall abilities by a few times your normal limits. Coating is a technique that increases that limit even more so, not only that but mastering this technique will help you grow stronger in fights, however it's a double-blade of sorts. If you use it too much or too long in a fight then you'll eventually run out of it. Think of it like a drink. If you take sips then it will slowly dwindle until you're out. If you chug it down then you drink more of it faster… speaking of which" he said as he took a swing of his rum until the last bit of it was down the hatch and he simply threw the bottle behind him.
"…So the more advance haki I use for Busoshoku Haki the more energy it takes up… meaning if I use it I'm going to have to get to that point of mastering my aura" he said, it was a task much harder said than done as that was nearly impossible for many huntsman and huntresses to accomplish unless they had an actual tutor to train them.
"More or less… still if you manage to master that then your strength will increase tremendously. Hell if you manage to perfect that then you might even make yourself a black blade" Miles said jokingly as Jaune looked at him.
"Yeah, I mean it can't be that hard, right?" he asked as Miles looked at him before laughing.
"Many masters of Busoshoku Haki have tried and failed to make a black blade, the closest they ever get is turning it black for a certain amount of time. Very rarely will it ever stay that way" he said as Jaune looked at him curious.
"But didn't you just make your sword black, or is there a difference?" he asked his teacher as Miles nodded.
"There is a big difference, Jaune" Miles said as he undid the coating to return his wooden weapon back to its original properties. "You see; when you make a black blade it remains black the haki in the steel mutates it or something, I'm not actually sure how it works but that's what we mostly think happens. Still I haven't been able to do it so who knows if you can?"
"That sounds cool" Jaune said as he imagined himself with a black sword with a black shield if he was capable of using the same logic as what Miles was telling him. "So, what do I need to know about that, how exactly do I make it-"
"Right now I don't know how, like I said I never actually made one before. Besides I don't think you'll be able to either at your current level. No offence, kid. You need to be a master at haki to have a chance at using a black blade" he said as Jaune frowned a little at that. "Still I think you should keep an eye out for them, if you see one don't confront it unless you can perfectly use even the most basics of armament hardening" Miles said seriously as Jaune seem confused as to why.
'Because a black blade is the strongest grade there is… how the hell does this guy even have one?' Jaune asked himself as he eyed the blade nervously. At first he thought about using Saints but stopped that train of thought as his eyes wandered to where Buso's last sword laid in pieces. Buso himself grinned.
"What's wrong, you were cocky about matching me in blades, don't tell me you gotten cold feet?" he taunted as Jaune frowned, that was exactly what happened to some extent.
'Alright so using Saints is out of the question… time for Plan B then…' he thought as he took a stand, channeling aura into his body and repairing to use Kenbunshoku Haki to avoid whatever attacks the swordsman had.
"Heh, if you aren't going to challenge me head on then I'll just cleave you in half" Buso said as he rushed at the Arc who sensed the movements the best he could. When Buso was upon him he brought down his black blade in a diagonal swing, causing Jaune to side-step it the best he could. The power from the black blade was felt as the area in front of the swing was pushed aside by the force behind the blade.
Seeing his chance however, Jaune gripped the man's wrist with his hand, causing Buso to look at him confused. Jaune channeled that Kenbunshoku Haki into Busoshoku Haki, not giving the swordsman time to break free. "Shigan: Tsume/ Finger Pistol: Claws" he said as the fingers in the hand that clenched onto the marine captain's wrist.
Buso shouted in agony, dropping the blade in question as his wrist was crushed by the blonde's grip as he stumbled back enraged. Jaune however capitalized on that as he used his other hand to take a few hits in, perhaps it wasn't enhanced with haki but aura was another story. "Shigan Oren: Finger Pistol: Yellow Lotus" Jaune said as he extended his index finger and delivered several stab wounds into the man's torso. Buso winced slightly as he curled up slightly from the pain. The last thing he saw was a fist once again sending him flying into another wall.
Jaune said nothing as he let his aura rest and his haki dissipate; he was feeling a little winded from the fighting now and looked down at the blade in question. Picking it up he sensed its energy stored in the blade, it was rather amazing even holding it. 'This is incredible… so this is a black blade?' Jaune thought to himself before he noticed something off about it. The blade seemed heavier than normal; he hand began to shake slightly as if the sword resisted him. Looking at the discarded case, Jaune picked it up and sheathed the rare sword before looking at it. '…This sword... it's almost like it's fighting against me' he thought as he frowned.
Even holding it felt off, he wondered if that was how all black blades were, 'If that's the case maybe I shouldn't use a black sword until I actually mastered haki first' Jaune thought to himself, seemingly pacifying the blade in a strange way after noticing something by him. The hilt and the broken edge of the fire sword used previously by Buso were both still on the ground, Jaune silently walked over and picked up the hilt before wondering something. 'Buso said this stuff was rare… maybe I can sell it for something, no that won't work, I need to find a blacksmith who could fix it up first, but that's going to be hard to do' he lamented slightly.
Besides he was on a time table, he had to get to Neo Panda Island and he had a few good weeks to do it by. Looking around he looked back at Buso who looked out of it. With a small smile, Jaune nodded as he was proud of his work. He beat Buso and did it without aiming for any vital origins or other main injuries. With that he made his way out of the area they fought in as he heard the sounds of Rally still fighting her opponent.
Rally glared at the older woman as she held her sword in her hand, her body showing signs of fatigue as the woman in question smirked with her own blade up. Running at the younger woman, Kalina swung her blade only for Rally to block it, growling, Rally countered with her own swing, causing the marine to back up.
"Not bad, such a shame I have to take you down, you would've made one hell of a marine" she lamented in a false sense as Rally frowned.
"Yeah, but I already decided I'm going to be like my mom, I'm being a pirate and setting out to sea!" she declared as their blades crossed once more, Rally grinning as Kalina frowned. pushing the now-declared pirate back Kalina rushed at her, Rally sidestepping the blade and going in for a hit, Kalina avoided the strike herself but forced Rally to block another strike.
"Do you really think you can make it with your skills, from what I know it was that friend of yours and that pink-haired girl that seemed to be the interesting ones. So far you seem kind of weak in comparison" she said as Rally frowned. Yeah, but that was because Jaune and Neo were some kind of super powered aliens, god it was amazing how well that made sense to her in the long run. Breaking their struggle, Rally jumped away as she wanted to get some distance, to Jaune it was interesting seeing Rally fight like this, it reminded him of how Pyrrha fought when they spared. Seeing them go into another attack, Jaune paid attention for any incoming marines that wanted to interrupt their duel.
"Even so… I'm still going to be a pirate… I'm taking back what was taken from us, I'm going to make my mom proud" she said as she crossed blades again. "I'm not going to go back on my promise, either. Once I deal with the Panda Family bullshit I'll get a crew and set sail!" she said as she was forced to side-step a stab from Kalina's blade.
"Ha, you're going after the Panda Family, how naïve you are" Kalina mocked as Rally frowned. Not like she had too much of a choice in that one… "If you're so intent on throwing your life away then just give up" she said as the marine brought her sword up and swung it down. Rally cursed as the strike had more power than she initially thought. Still, she remained undeterred and pushed her back. "What exactly do you have to gain from this?" Kalina asked annoyed.
"More than you know…" she replied coldly as she crossed blades with her opponent once again, they were both evenly matched and Rally frowned. 'After all… if Jaune is really from that world' she muttered recalling the stories her family told her. The witch from another world and the sailor, if Jaune was from that world…
Then she would help him out just like her family had done before them!
A younger Rally stared at her father in disbelief, he was just messing with her, and she knew it. "You're telling me that story is true?" she asked as she thought it was that, a story. The eight year-old, girl crossed her arms as her dad laughed at the moment.
"Believe it or not, that story is real" Forx said as he patted his daughter on the head. "Well at least it is on your mom's side" he chuckled as the woman shook her head amused.
"Mom, dad's teasing me…" Rally called out as she hugged her mom as she shook her head amused at her family's shenanigans.
"Maybe but he might be right. My great- great-grandfather did sail with a man named Shad D. Archer… and the tales they told were nearly unbelievable" she said as Rally stared in disbelief before excitement took over.
"D-does that mean I can go to that magic land, mom?" she asked as she coincidently forgotten that it was a land of magic and nightmares as the woman just laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm.
"Maybe one day, but for now I think it's time you took a bath" she said as Rally frowned at that. She looked down and huffed.
"I already took one yesterday" she wined as her mother nodded.
"And you will take one today, as well as tomorrow and the day after" she said as Rally moaned and made her way to the bathroom, all while her dad chuckled at her expense.
'Jerks' she thought as she shook her head and smiled, imagining what it must have been like. 'But still, magic is real? That story is true?' she asked herself as she became giddy. Who knew, maybe she would set out and see it for-
"And don't forget to get behind your ears, Rails" her mother called as Rally frowned.
"Yes, mom…" she said as she closed the bathroom door with a sigh.
By this point, she managed to get the marine on her last legs, both women exhausted as said marine glared at the swordswoman who defied them. 'I know that story is true… and if that's true… then…' she trailed off. Before she could think any more about it, both Rally and Kalina continued their battle until Rally grinned. Seeing that, made the marine confused as she noticed her looking at something in particular. As she turned to see what brought her in such a good mood, Kalina paled as she saw Jaune with two other swords in his hands and an interested look on his face.
"What the… how did… wait a second, that sword… isn't that?" Kalina asked in shock as she recognized that sword being Buso's her eyes widened as she barely hear someone approach her. Turning around she froze in shock as Rally was upon her.
"You're finished!" Rally shouted as she got a clear hit in from the distracted marine, Kalina dropped her sword and fell to the ground until Rally reeled back her fist and delivered a punch to the marine woman's face, sending her tumbling to the ground. Jaune said nothing at that, flinching at the strike but curious about the punch. It kind of reminded him of his own fight. Jumping down to the same level as Rally, he looked her over and smiled, she was a little banged up and bruised with a cut here or there but she seemed fine.
"…Good job" Jaune said as Rally nodded. Yeah, it was wasn't it? Placing her sword back she smiled before she stumbled a little and fell on her behind, sore as hell but smiling nonetheless.
Sludge was in trouble, he could tell as he tried to contact any of the marines in the base. Those that were outside of the building looking for Neo immediately turned back in to restrain her, only for her to run through them like tissue paper. The rest of the guards however made him worried, 'Where the hell are they, why aren't they picking up!' Sludge shouted as he looked at the cameras of a few placed den-den mushi used for surveillance. He hated to admit it but he knew when something was wrong.
Something was indeed wrong as all the cameras on the lower levels were out and no one responded. Before he could press the button again he heard screaming from the other side of the door and paled, running to the door and grabbing both his gun and pistol, he prepared himself to fight, believing that those under him at least managed to weaken her to some extent. Opening the door and turning to face the direction of the noise, he was confused when it sounded like it was coming from the other way from Neo. Did he give her the slip and she passed by without any of them noticing. His answer would however fill him with dread.
"Take down the marines!"
"Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!"
"Sludge's head is mine!"
"What is this?" Sludge shouted as he ran through the hall to reach the next main room only to be horrified at what he saw. Prisoners were out of their cells, armed with guns and swords and fighting off the marines. "What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted as he noticed someone looking at him smugly, Itohari Ryos simply looking up with his arms crossed while the fighting was happening around him. 'No, how did he'
"Oh, Slosh; get down here if you actually have the guts to join the fun!" Ryos challenged as the man shook in rage. Pointing his pistol at him, Sludge shot him several times, only for them to go through him without explanation. "…Or do you want me to come up there myself?" he asked as he leaped from the lower story and landed in front of him. "So, you want a head start or do you want to apologize?" he asked with a small grin as he pulled out a sword with a frown. "Because I'm more of a knife guy to be honest with you" he said as the man took a step back in horror.
"W-what are you… what the fucking hell are you?!" he demanded as he glared at the older man with as much hate as he could. As he did he felt another hand grip his shoulder that caused him to drop his weapons in dread, he didn't dare look back but Ryos confirmed his potential fear.
"Oh, hey there, Neo." He greeted calmly. "You come to join the party?" Ryos asked as Sludge froze before he felt numb and cold, the sound of flesh being ripped apart was heard as was a bit of red liquid floating in midair as Neo stood behind the man with a glare of her own, an invisible sword sticking out of the former marine as she twisted it and pulled it out as the man fell to his knees, grasping at his wound.
"H-how did you… what the hell are-" he muttered softly as he knew death was approaching. Ryos said nothing as he looked at Neo who glared at the man with a red-like tint in her multicolored eyes before she stabbed into him again, causing the older weapons expert to sigh.
"Are you done…?" Ryos asked annoyed as Neo turned to him and gave him a small frown. as she made her way over to him she side-stepped Sludge's corpse before kicking it to the level below, causing one of the marines to scream and silence the fighting momentarily. Ryos gave his employee a small smile as she merely walked over to him and delivered a punch to his face.
Ryos staggered back a little but smiled as Neo twitched before pointing down to the lower level, demanding an answer for what the hell was happening. "…Oh, right… I was breaking myself out and-"
'I fucking hate you, Ryos…' Neo thought calmly in her mind as she undid her abilities and gave the man a stern glare. 'I can't believe I actually worried about you' she thought as she ignored the explanation entirely.
"…Alright, so you're mad then… might as well buy you something from the bar when we get back" he said as he made his way out of the prison, Neo once again pointed at the crowd gathered under them. "…Oh, right…" he said as he smirked, gathering some of his haki before releasing a wave of it around the area. Everyone felt it as Neo subconsciously winced at it before the marines in the lower levels froze and finally collapsed unconsciously. As he left, he missed Neo's questioning glare as she wondered why the hell he didn't do that in the beginning.
When they got back she was going to try and kill him herself…
"So… that was a thing" Jaune said as Rally nodded, her body aching as Jaune used his semblance to try and heal her. "You did well, I'm shocked you didn't use that against the Panda Family back on Little-Moss" Jaune admitted as Rally frowned at that. Just because she didn't want to start shit with the Panda Family didn't mean she wasn't strong. Not like that mattered though since Jaune came by and kicked Zero's ass.
"So I take it Buso is down?" she asked as Jaune nodded. A small smile was her answer as he let his aura fade and continued walking back to the village. "And you really just took these swords?" she asked again as Jaune once more nodded silently. "You know I'm wondering if you're really trying to avoid being a pirate or not" she said flatly as Jaune sighed.
"I'm not going to use them, I can't use a broke sword and I can't use a sword that acts like it is going to openly resist me" he said, confusing Rally as she wondered just how a sword could resist someone at all. "I figured maybe Ryos could find a better use for that black sword than I could, he was a pirate and a friend of Miles so he might have a better use for it" he said as Rally nodded before looking at her own sword.
"You know" Jaune said as Rally looked at him, "You never did tell me what your sword's name was" he said as Rally thought about that before realizing she never did. Looking at it, she smiled.
"I call it Acier" she said as Jaune was curious. Acier? Didn't that mean steel or something? He didn't give it too much thought as Rally smiled. "Still I hope I at least get a bounty for this, I might not have a crew but t will be some good credit for when I do" she said as Jaune sweat dropped.
'And here I thought you were the more moral one between us' he thought as he saw the normally down-to-wherever he was girl now bragging about how she took down a marine base and how much of a reputation she'd get. 'She's like a completely different person when she talks about being a pirate…'
"Anyways, let's rest for the rest of the day and head out tomorrow" she said as Jaune seemed curious as to why they couldn't head out after they restocked some supplies. "I mean we might as well take the rest of the day off and see what we can get from the town, but tomorrow we head out, first thing" she said as Jaune nodded. They already spent two days here, a third one might be pushing it.
"Fine, besides I want to talk to Ryos about something else" he said while Rally looked at him before having an idea what he meant.
"It's about Neo, right?" she asked as Jaune let out a sigh. "How bad is she?" Rally asked as Jaune said nothing before crossing his arms while they walked.
"I'm not sure, I mean I know that she is a sociopathic and psychopathic hit woman that worked under a criminal like Torchwick, but if what Ryos said is true… I'm not really sure what to think by this point" he admitted as Rally sighed. And this was the woman Jaune was ready to let join them. "But I don't know… it's like I understand what she was going through" he said, almost as confused as Rally was.
"What do you mean?" she asked as Jaune thought about it before closing his eyes.
"I told you about my parents to some extent… but I guess I should tell you a bit more, not like I can shock you anymore than I already did" he muttered as Rally frowned, he was talking about Remnant, that other dimension. "I'm actually surprised you aren't still mad or even that shocked about it" he said as Rally looked down.
"…We all have our secrets… just… I didn't expect" she said softly as she tried to think of what to say before trying to change the subject. "S-sorry, what were you saying?" she asked as Jaune frowned, clearly seeing she was hiding something of her own.
"Well… back when I was with my parents I wanted to be a hero, you know. I thought that if I lived up to my father and my grandfather that maybe it would help me follow in their legacy. At the time my parents didn't believe in me, they said I was always welcomed home if I didn't pass. Honestly I think the only people who actually believed in me were my sister, Saffron, Pyrrha and Ruby. Pyrrha was the first one to really put her faith in me… looking back at it now…" he thought depressed as Rally could tell it was a touchy subject.
"…This Pyrrha girl" Rally started however, "you two were close, weren't you?" she asked despite it being something she knew he might not want to talk about. Jaune sighed as he stopped walking.
"Yeah… we were" he said softly as he closed his eyes. Pyrrha was the reason he was even here now. She was the one who saved him back in initiation and unlocked his aura, who supported him and the first to forgive him when he apologized about his transcripts, even after all of that she still saw him as a good friend, even more now that he thought about it. "The last time I ever saw her was when she marched to her death" he said as Rally froze.
"…What?" she asked horrified as Jaune gave a bitter laugh at that.
"Heh, yeah, and I still blame myself a little… she was my partner, she was my mentor, she trained me in the very basics and I just hindered her" he admitted with a sigh. He should've kept an eye on the door, he might've been able to stop Cinder from killing that woman in the machine, and he might've been able to stop Pyrrha from facing that mad woman in the first place.
"…Jaune?" Rally asked as Jaune closed his eyes and sighed.
"The last thing she did was to kiss me on the lips and then kicked me into a locker" he said with a small smile, a bittersweet one at that. Rally now gawked at the swordsman in disbelief. She did, and then she…
'They were that close?!' she thought as she looked at him in disbelief. Seeing him take one last deep breath, he frowned. "In the end, I couldn't protect her, the first person to ever believe in me… and what Ryos said about her and Torchwick…" he said as Rally nodded her head, seeing where he was coming from.
"She was grieving over him… like you were over Pyrrha" she said as Jaune nodded.
"And I can't be too made at her for going after Ruby if she blamed her for Torchwick's death. I mean she also blamed Cinder for it to… the bitch" he muttered as Rally recalled the name before remembering the burned scars on the blonde's neck. She felt bad for bringing it up; she looked down as they silently traveled together.
Eventually however, she spoke up again. "Jaune… I…" she started as he looked at her, "I'm sure you might find a way back… but even if you don't… you'll always have me with you… even if we aren't going to be on the same crew" she said as it was clear they both had their own ideas of setting sail. Jaune said nothing but thanked her with a small nod.
He appreciated that.
"…So, I spilled my guts, you want to spill yours" he asked as Rally looked at him nervously as he smiled. "What, I know you were hiding something, I told you my story…" he said with a teasing grin forming as Rally frowned.
"It's none of your business" she said as Jaune shook his head but didn't press for answers. Rally looked down however when she was sure Jaune wasn't paying attention. She wanted to tell him but didn't know how to. 'Yeah, what the hell am I suppose to say about this…?' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. "I'll… I'll tell you sometime soon… just… give me some time" she said as Jaune looked at her confused.
Nodding, he could see the town in the distance and wondered how Neo was doing on her end. However before he could think about that for much longer he noticed someone approaching them, turning around his eyes widened in disbelief. "You bastard…" a familiar voice said as Rally turned to see Buso clinging onto life and glaring at the two of them with a sword in hand. "Do you… really think I'm done… with you after this?" he asked in gasping breathes as Jaune narrowed his eyes.
"Jaune… I thought you beat him?" she said as Jaune frowned.
'I punched the guy through two walls and stabbed him with Shigan several times… not to mention crushed his wrist!' he thought in a minor panic, shocked as the guy still had the stamina to keep going. "What the hell are you doing here? I… we already kicked your ass, it's over" Jaune said as the man glared at him with hatred clearly visible.
"Yeah… you did… and I'm not going… to let that slide…" Buso said as he held a third sword in his hand. It wasn't a black blade and it wasn't some kind of special one either since Jaune and Rally fought several marines with the same sword. "Do you two have the slightest idea what you've done?!" he shouted as Jaune frowned.
"Just give it up… you're injured. Take your men and resign" he said as he thought to himself with a pit growing in his stomach. 'I don't think you can last much longer if you keep fighting' he thought as he really didn't want the man to die because he was too stubborn to take care of himself. Buso however growled.
"You think I care about this, you bastard?" Buso asked as he made his way towards them with his eyes set on Jaune specifically. "I am a marine, I would rather die than let you and your damn partners get away with what you've done" he growled out as Rally frowned.
"We didn't even try to kill you guys, if anything you started the fight and we had to defend ourselves… we just struck first" Rally said as she lied, seeing the man in his condition made her worried. 'We didn't even try to kill anyone, our strikes were all nonlethal' she thought to herself as Jaune could tell Buso was getting madder.
"You brats… attacked our base, disrupted our experiment… took down my men… and stolen my honor" Buso groaned as Jaune frowned. They stole his…
"I'm not going to fight you when you're a foot in the damn grave. Just get back to the base and find someone to treat you!" he shouted, knowing that there were probably some people left in the base that weren't knocked out from their fight. Even if the two of them did take down the entire base he was sure some of them were probably waking up sooner than later. Buso however glared.
"If you aren't going to fight… then just lie down and die!" he shouted before running at Jaune who looked at him calmly. As the man brought the blade down to slice into the swordsman, Jaune merely caught the blade in his hand with a frown on his face. Buso snarled at this and tried to take it back only for it to remain in the blonde's hand. 'D-damn it… you really are pissing me off…" Buso shouted as Jaune noticed several of the marines they defeated running after their leader. "Do you know who I am?!" he shouted.
"A corrupt captain who is imprisoning others whether they deserve it or not…" Jaune said as the blade began to crack in his hand. Buso tried to push it forward, hoping to slice the other swordsman with the blade he held effortlessly in his hand. It wouldn't budge an inch and Jaune glared at him.
"I am Buso… the revolutionary of the marines!" he shouted as Jaune looked at him taken back at the declaration. "I will lead this world, this era into a new age of Absolute Justice… an age where people like you are detained and dealt with, a place where criminals are punished severely and no one will be willing to defy us!" he shouted as he let go of the sword, finding no use in trying to move it while Jaune had it in his grasp.
'I will… make this world… a better place…' he thought as he felt something begin to build up in his eyes, his vision blurred as he glared at Jaune. 'I have to do it…' he thought as he remembered why he decided to become a marine in the first place.
"Damn it!" a younger Buso shouted as he slammed his fist against the door as he held tears in his eyes, a red bandage where his torso was as he ignored the pain and slammed the door again. "God Damn it!" he cried out as tears threatened to fall. Behind him was a man wearing a hat and a marine uniform that looked at the boy in pity. "Why did he kill him… why did… why did that bastard kill my brother?!" Buso shouted, tears falling as he couldn't bear to see the body of his brother laid in a bed as the man behind him glared.
"…Your brother was killed doing what he felt was right" the man said as the younger man turned to him with a glare, the man continued regardless. "He was a fine marine, one who followed the code of Absolute Justice with all his heart" the man said before looking down at the younger man with a frown. "You yourself are lucky to be alive… that man… is a monster who threatens to disrupt the balance" the marine finally said as the younger Buso stared.
"S-Sakazuki-San…" Buso asked as he looked at the Vice Admiral who closed his eyes.
"If you truly value your brother's legacy… then I see no reason for you to become a marine as well" the man said as Buso stared in shock. "If you truly want to protect the world your brother loved, the world he gave his life for… become a marine worthy of Absolute Justice" the man said as Buso cried out louder but nodded.
He would be a marine… he would protect the world his brother died to keep safe… even if he had to become a monster to do so… so no one would ever have to lose another person they loved. He would become a marine, he would become the marine.
"I'll do it… big brother I'll… I'll become a marine just like you! I'll become captain and then a vice admiral… I'll keep Palma Island safe, just like you did… Then one day… one day… I'll change the world and become… become…" he cried as he looked up at the ceiling, his vision blurring as he did.
"I made a promise!" Buso shouted as he was more than ready to lay his life on the line for his ambition. He would become an admiral and then one day leads the marines as fleet admiral. He would bring peace through Absolute Justice no matter the cost. 'Big brother… Akainu-San… I promise that this world will be peaceful again… no matter what monster I become to do it' he thought in acceptance as he reeled his own fist back.
Jaune said nothing as he looked down. Closing his eyes, Jaune took the hit as he buckled slightly but remained quiet. He felt another punch as he stood his ground as Rally and the marines stared in horror at the one-sided assault. After a few punches, Jaune dropped the blade and caught the man's fist. Buso froze as he saw Jaune glare at him before the blonde decided to end it. Reeling his other hand and forming a fist, he delivered one last blow to send the captain flying into a nearby rock, the man shouting as he crashed. The marines looked on with terror as some of them managed to run after the man.
Jaune said nothing as they ran back to the base, Jaune shaking his head before heading back towards the village. 'What the hell was that guy's problem?' he asked himself while Rally quietly followed him.
"You sure it was a wise idea to spare him, kid?" Ryos said as he sat down at the bar, the reunion was something that was interesting to say the least with the staff openly welcoming in open arms before glaring at the old man who laughed off the arrest. "I mean from what I can tell they're probably going to get revenge on you-"
"Yeah but I figured if people really stood their ground and tell the others what happened the marines won't be so keen on keeping up whatever project Buso wanted here" Jaune assumed as it made sense. Even now there were criminals and innocent people who fled the island in whatever way they could. He had to make sure his ship was still there when they left. "After all if people said the marines had a corrupt captain that tried to build a second Impel Down here, do you really think they would be open about it or just burry it under the rug" he asked as he used buried a little more literally. 'This is just another thing that Miles warned me about…' he thought sadly as Ryos laughed.
"I suppose, going to just assume that Miles told you about some of the darker aspects of the World Government?" he asked the younger man who nodded. Oh yeah, a lot of things. The damn old man even went into explicit details about his own missions he was sent on to drive a point across.
They were ruthless, immoral and something Tyrian or Cinder would get a kick out of if given the chance. The fact that Miles said those kinds of things so casually to him didn't really help out that matter either. Meanwhile he noticed Neo giving him a flat look as she crossed her arms with a large sundae before her, a treat or a bribe as Ryos said it was for "wasting her time worrying" as she put it.
'It would've been better if he killed that bastard' she thought as she didn't hold the idiots choice in sparing the captain in that high of a regard. Going back to her treat Ryos began to talk to the bleeding-heart again.
"So… about what I asked you… regarding my little mute lunatic" he said as Neo stopped eating and turned to them with the spoon in her mouth.
"I haven't asked her yet, I'm leaving it up to her" Jaune said as Ryos seemed interested as did Neo who pulled the spoon out with the frozen treat resting in her mouth before she swallowed it to give the swordsman her full attention. "Oh yeah… well… the thing is" Jaune started off nervously as Neo's question was proposed by not the blond swordsman but the old dumbass sitting next to him.
"Neo, you said you wanted to see the world, right?" he asked as Neo shook her head, no she didn't even if she could speak she didn't and wouldn't. "Oh, well you want to see the world, right?" he asked again as Neo gave him a small glare. Alright, just what the hell was he getting at here?
"Alright fine, I'll just come out and say it… after this we're probably going to get a bounty on our heads, right?" Jaune asked as she nodded. "And we're both from Remnant and could find a way back, right?" he asked as Neo shrugged somewhat uncaringly. If she did go back it wasn't like she had someone waiting for her. "…Well I need a crew to get to the New World…" he started as he saw Neo immediately glare at him before he realized what her response was going to be. Instead he swapped it up. "Ryos thought you might want to join us" he said as Neo looked at him intently before turning to Ryos who nodded.
"Nope, I said I want you to take her, I'm not giving you two a choice now" he said as both Neo and now Jaune turned to the man and stood up in disbelief. "What?"
"What do you mean we don't have a choice?!" Jaune shouted as Neo had a similar train of thought. Jaune pointed at Neo with a frown. "You asked me if I wanted to take her with me, you didn't say anything about me forcing her to join" he said as Neo nodded. She might not have had a reason to hate the blond idiot at the moment but they weren't buddy-buddy with one another either. Hell she would rather give up ice-cream for a month than be some kind of follower of his.
"Tough shit, you need the help you can get… and you need to move on with your life, Neo" he said as Neo glared at him, forming a knife in her hand and trying to stab the oldest in the room. "I mean it, Neo" he said as he caught the hand and lowered it. "You have potential and I'm not going to be around forever… my age is beginning to end and it's time for your generation to take over" he said but Neo wouldn't listen, pointing at Jaune in clear rejection to the idea.
"I actually agree with her, Ryos… I'm not forcing her to come if she doesn't want to. I can find a good enough crew" he said as Ryos nodded, sure enough that Jaune could. There was only one small problem with that.
"Do you have the time for that?" Ryos asked him as Jaune looked at the man confused, as did Neo to some extent. "Let's put it this way… the first thing you wound up doing was picking a fight with an underground organization like the Panda Family, and then you got into a fight with the marines soon after" he said as he gave Neo a deadpanned look. "Because someone had to make a scene with a customer" he said as Neo twitched but said nothing.
"Meanwhile, Neo" he began, "I know you wanted to find a place… I can see it in your eyes… you want to stay here and I'm not saying you can't" he said as Neo gave him a confused look before morphing into Jaune using her semblance with a just as confused look. "But the reason I'm telling you to go is because you'll grow from it" he said as Neo just gawked at the older man. "You kept trying to kill me whenever I brought anything up from your past, it's clear that you don't trust people outside of the Weasel… and now that you have a bounty do you really think the marines are just going to just leave you be?" he asked as Neo nodded.
She was sure the eventual pile of corpses she left would be all she needed to get that point across.
"…It's fine, trust me. I'm not going to force her to come-"
"Then how about making a deal?" Ryos asked as Jaune and Neo blinked at the man, not expecting that response to come out of his mouth. "Neo, how about you lend him a hand until he gets that Panda Family situation handled, set sail, spread your legs for a bit while things settle down around here. If you both still don't see eye to eye then you can always come back here" he said as Neo frowned slightly. But why was she supposed to go in the first place, a question Jaune asked himself.
"But why do you want her to travel with me… I mean if you really wanted her to go out on her own don't you think you could've just gave her a ship?" he asked confused as Ryos nodded.
"I could but then again that wouldn't help you out. Whether or not you really wanted to, you did attack a marine base and got a bounty by sticking tour neck out for us. Either way you're going to be listed as a pirate now" he said as Jaune sighed. "Not to mention from what I heard, that girl there with you is only helping you get to Neo Panda Island, she's not a member of your actual crew, isn't that right?" he asked as Jaune nodded.
"Then how about taking Neo with you. She worked for a criminal empire before so she has some specialties about it" he said as Jaune said nothing at that. That was actually a good point. "Not to mention the fact that you need all the help you can get. Neo is skilled enough to handle herself in a fight, we all know that" he said as Neo nodded at that with some pride. "Besides… you only have a few weeks to get to Neo Panda Island, kid. You don't have time to look high and low for people who would follow you into a battle like that. But at least with Neo you'd have someone to watch your back" he said as Neo still didn't like the idea.
"It would make things easier" Jaune admitted as Neo rolled her eyes. Unless she had a reason to stick her neck out for him then she failed to see why she would bother. It was Ryos who whispered into her ear that caused her to begin to change her mind however.
"He seems decent enough, almost too decent. Do you really think he can manage taking on the Panda Family… or any kind of enemy if it meant killing them first?" he asked as Neo frowned. No, she didn't. Jaune was too much of a good person; it was the equivalent of Red taking on Roman if she was the one fighting her. Red would be dead and Roman would just smoke a cigar and order some wine afterwards. She hated to admit it but his chances of surviving his encounter was honestly a snowball's chance in hell.
"Besides, even if you didn't want to come back you could just take it over yourself" Ryos offered as Neo looked at him while Jaune turned confused. "Criminal takeovers happen more than you think, Jaune. Why not let Neo have a try at it. You have a reason to get involved and you have a decent fighter on your side. Have at it" he said as Neo looked at him blankly as gears started to turn in her head.
'…I mean… he is right, Roman and I did overturn Vale's underground ourselves and I could probably do the same thing here. Jaune already has a grudge against them and is going off to fight, so why exactly can't I take a spot at the top myself?' she asked as slowly a grin began to form as Jaune looked at her warningly. 'If I pull this off then Jaune can get his stupid mistake taken care of and she would have a seat to the top of South Blue's underworld' she decided as she turned to the blond meal ticket and looked him over.
'But if I'm going to have an actual shot at this… he needs to better himself, he is strong but soft-hearted, I need to break him in a little more, oh well. I'll deal with that while we're on the road' she determined as Jaune now began regretting coming the Palma Island if the way she was looking at him like a dog would a squirrel was anything to go off of. Still she wanted something in return, this was less of an actual partnership and more of a contract… maybe an alliance?
No; not an alliance, Neopolitan Torchwick didn't do alliances after what happened with Cinder…
Cinder… the name still infuriated her as she recalled what that woman had done to her and Torchwick. Seeing Jaune's worried look, she could tell that he was a better contract than she was. Reaching into her coat pocket she pulled out a pen and grabbed a nearby napkin from the table. Writing something down, she smiled as she showed it to him. It was a few words that made him realize what she decided it took to have them travel together.
"I, dumbass Arc, hereby make a contract with one Neopolitan Torchwick, to eliminate the Panda Family in exchange for a sum of money or favor that will be discussed at a later time" Jaune read out with a flat tone as she nodded her head. Holding out her hand it was clear she expected some kind of down payment but before Jaune could react a small pouch of money was placed in her hand by Ryos himself.
Turning towards him, he smiled. "Well I'm the one asking for the favor, I'll pay this time around, you just have to do me a favor, alright, kid?" he asked Jaune who was confused but nodded.
"Sure… that is?" he said as Ryos smiled towards him.
"You take care of yourself, you remind me a lot of my captain… the dumbass" he said as Jaune and Neo were curious at that. Ryos never mentioned anything about his crew, just that he was a pirate. With a knowing grin he walked behind the bar with a laugh. "You two are interested, aren't you? Well since I'm probably going to see you two off as pirates I might as well show you what I accomplished in my life" he said as Jaune and Neo were both looking at one another.
"Alright then… I think that we should be good to go. The others really helped us out and… uh?" Rally asked as she walked into the room as she saw Ryos pull out a locked case from under the bar with a smile. Jaune and Rally both saw his hand phase through the case and pull out a few papers as well as a necklace of some sorts. Flipping through them, he smiled when he found the poster he was looking for and placed the others back. Putting the necklace on the table next to the case, he held up the wanted poster with a smile on his face.
"So, what do you think not bad, right?" he asked as the three of them looked at it. It showed a much younger Ryos back when he wore a pair of sunglasses and a black cloak with the hood down. Scanning at the information, the three of them all nearly freaked out to some degree, Jaune staring in shock Neo actually gawking at the bounty he was given and Rally having to do a second read to make sure she wasn't misreading it.
Phantom's Dagger: Ryos:
784,000,000 Belli:
Neo recomposed herself, staring at the posted in disbelief. The man on the picture was a younger Ryos, she knew that for a fact but seeing the bounty he had, 'Seven-hundred million…' her mind repeated on a loop for a moment as she thought back to what she even knew about pirates in general.
Jaune however realized something. This guy was a friend of Miles, and Miles was a member of CP0 back in the day, so it made sense that a pirate who knew the man as well as he did, enough to give him his captain's sword was someone who really on the higher-end of the food chain. That lead the question, just how strong was the others in his crew.
"Mister Ryos… what the hell?" was all Rally asked as the man laughed and put the paper away before looking at their expressions. It was great to be back at the bar…
And there we go. Now while the whole thing with Rally is a little out of nowhere, I did kind of write myself in a bit of a corner on why she took the whole inter-dimensional travel thing as well as she did. that was my way of trying to cover it a little. As I mentioned before that story is based off of The Girl who Fell and there is more than just three or so people to operate a ship like in the Witch and the Sailor. So hopefully that can kind of cover that since I do have some plans for Rally later on down the road.
As for Neo joining, I figured that she really didn't have a reason to join him, perhaps maybe not bothering at all, so with her going for her own goals in mind over going with Jaune out of friendship or compassion makes a lot more sense.
Finally is Ryos, I know that a bounty over 700,000,000 is high, near Yonko commander but it does set up the stage for what I plan on for Jaune and the others down the line. Safe to say we are going to be seeing a similarity between Jaune and Ryos in terms of crews.
Also as a bit of a spoiler, Ryos is actually based off of a nursery rhyme, props to those who can guess it, even if I did already spoil it.
And with that, I hope you have a good day or night.