Roman did his best to keep his eyes forward, and not nervously glancing back at his new recruit. The kid seemed to be back to his naive self, but there was no telling how long that would last.
It wasn't the boy's threat that had him so nervous, such threats were fairly common in his line of work after all. But the change in demeanor, going from this naive brat to cold hardened monster in an instant, didn't speak well for the boy's sanity.
Roman didn't normally hire people with semblances, let alone those with serious issues like this one seemed to have. People who could properly control their semblance were rare in his line of work, and the few that could were usually terrible at listening to orders.
The naivety made the boy seem gullible and easy to manipulate, the perfect person to have working for him. But the mental instability shown, it complicated things; making the boy something of a wildcard. Should he really be messing with such an unknown?
He looked over to Neo, who was happily skipping beside them, looking like the very picture of innocence. The image would have been perfect, if it wasn't for that predatory grin that slipped through whenever she glanced at the masked boy.
Whatever the feelings she might have under that expression, it suggested that she saw the boy as prey. That she was the dominant of the two. Could he trust her to be able to handle any betrayal that might come? She had never disappointed him before.
"There's a lot of negativity here…" Roman found his thoughts interrupted by the boy taking a deep breath from under his mask, just like he had been doing when they first found him.
That was strange, Roman thought the kid might have had a problem with crowds but there were barely any people around them anymore. Why did it sound like he was struggling?
"We're in the center of the city now, at the edge of the residential district, where the city throws its trash." He decided to explain, no point in having a complete idiot under his command.
"It's the cheapest place to live, even if you are more likely to find a knife between your ribs." It was perfect for staying under the radar, so long as you knew where the cops patrolled.
"The poor, injured or abused. Anyone who has a tendency to draw the Grimm usually find themselves being relocated here. "For the safety of all" as the council liked to put it." As if, such a stupid statement was almost enough to make him laugh!
The council didn't give a rat's ass about the less fortunate members of society. They only cared about maintaining their power and keeping grimm away from themselves. They would happily watch the general public devoured by Grimm if it meant keeping their power.
"Wouldn't that just cause more pain? Why don't the people leave such a horrible place?" Jaune sounded confused and Roman had to suppress the urge to sigh. Trying and failing to keep the annoyance from his voice, he explained.
"Of course they want to leave, but where are they supposed to go? They can't escape this man-made hell. Not without money.". The world revolved around money, and many of the refugees and immigrants struggled to find any work upon entering the already overcrowded city.
Jaune fell silent after that. It made Roman wonder, was he unsure how to react? Or was he just bored of that conversation? Why did it even matter? There was a hundred and one other things to worry about, to hell with the kid's problems.
Leading them inside an unassuming apartment, Roman passed by a few of his men while making his way down the main hallway. He nodded to them before continuing further into the building, heading towards his office just past the stairs.
Jaune followed quietly, his mask hiding any thoughts he might have as they came to a stop at the office doorway.
"I've got some plans that need adjusting now that you're here. You've got some free time, just try not to go too far from the apartment, alright? I'll be sending Neo to find you in the next couple hours."
"You… Don't mind if I leave?" Roman found himself raising an eyebrow at the strange question.
"I'm not your babysitter, kid. I don't give a damn what you do so long as it doesn't draw attention to us. I only recommend you mind your own business, fight to protect yourself ya know?" Jaune didn't respond but Roman couldn't find it in himself to care. He needed time to think and a quiet place to do it, the brat's issues weren't his problem.
"Just go do whatever you normally do, but expect Neo before morning." He opened the door and slipped inside with Neo close behind, the latter of which giving a sweet smile before the door closed.
\-/
Jaune wasn't sure what to think. Every answer Roman gave only brought up more questions. Was he supposed to avoid helping anyone just in case he accidentally hurt someone else? Were there really innocent people being forced to commit evil?
"Can we trust him…?" He asked Whitback quietly, hoping the sweet smell around them hadn't distracted it. He could smell it too, but it didn't affect him nearly as much as it used to. So long as he kept focus.
Whitback on the other hand…
I don't think so… But he isn't wrong either… It spoke slowly, and put just a bit too much emphasis on each syllable. It sounded like it was struggling to keep its train of thought on track, the negativity in the air was obviously affecting it.
Jaune knew that, just like him, it had also improved its ability to stay lucid around negativity. The anger and fear that was prevalent within the White Fang Strongholds had helped them practice.
But neither of them had ever had to deal with so many crowds before, and Whitback seemed to be struggling worse than he was.
"Are you alright? Maybe coming here was a mistake…" What was he supposed to do? He wanted to help, but just how exactly was he supposed to do that? He had no idea!
Now they were surrounded by the smell that continued to worm its way into their head, no plan and no one to stop him should the worse happen. It was lucky that the scent wasn't strong enough to overtake their senses, but he still wished it was weak enough to simply ignore.
Don't be foolish. If you want to help people, this is the perfect place to be. Whitback seemed to snap back to reality. I'll be fine, just try not to scare anyone and we'll have nothing to worry about. Now let's go find someone to help. Jaune couldn't help but smile.
He knew Whitback didn't, or perhaps couldn't, care about others. It was only saying such things to help him feel better. It was sweet, in a way.
He responded with a nod, Whitback was right; the people around here obviously needed help. Just because he didn't quite know how to help didn't mean he couldn't try. At this point it didn't matter if Roman could be trusted, he would find that out eventually no matter what.
Instead of worrying, he would focus on helping whoever he could.
With a game-plan in mind, Jaune walked back down the hall and out of the building while doing his best to ignore the strange looks from Roman's guards.
"Where to start…" Jaune muttered to himself while looking around the darkening neighborhood as street lights started turning on.
Just walk around and listen. I refuse to believe no one is in trouble with so much negativity in the air. Jaune agreed and began moving at a brisk pace, a sense of urgency quickening his steps even if he had no destination in mind.
Periodically Jaune would have to pause and take a breath as the sweet scent remained thick in the air. It made him think about what Roman said, about the city forcing its more unfortunate citizens into one place. Such a place sounded like the perfect breeding ground for crime and misery. Why would such a thriving city take part in such a heartless practice?
How could people with the same authority as James be so cruel? Weren't leaders supposed to act better than the average person?
Something strange pulled his attention from his thoughts. It was a voice, barely above a whisper but clear as day to him.
"... Please, no… Stop..." It was weak and muffled, but the desperation was clear.
"Shut it! No one is coming to help an animal like you." a second voice hissed angrily.
Jaune took off at a sprint, the scent of fear and anger leading him to a dimly lit alleyway. Despite the poor lighting, he had no trouble seeing the large figure holding a knife against a struggling smaller figure.
Without thinking, Jaune desperately reached out. He needed to stop this, to help protect the person who was so desperate to escape the attacker. He didn't have a plan, nor did he know what he would do once he got a hold of the attacker.
He only knew that he needed to do something.
As if in response to his will he felt his outstretched hand tingle slightly, just before a tendril exploded from it. Before he could even understand what was happening, his new limb had already wrapped around the larger figure's neck.
Jaune could only watch, dumbfounded as the body was flung like a ragdoll against the opposing wall. There was no cry of terror or life or death struggle, there was simply no time.
One moment there was a person in front of him, and the next, a barely recognizable pile of flesh and bone was embedded in the alley-wall.
Before he could even think of feeling guilty, a fresh wave of negativity forced its way into his nose. The Faunus girl he had just saved, even without his enhanced senses he could tell exactly what she was thinking. Her terror was plastered across her entire being.
"...I-I'm sorry" He tried to apologize, but the girl didn't acknowledge the words. She let out a deafening shriek, just before reaching for the discard knife and swinging wildly towards him.
Whitback, already hazy from the sudden powerful wave of fear, immediately defended against the attack like it would any other.
The aggressor was impaled and devoured within moments.
Jaune wanted to tell Whitback to stop, but he could do nothing but stare in shock.
Why did she attack him? He had saved her, didn't he?
He turned numbly to the mangled corpse of the crushshed man that still lay embedded in the concrete wall. Had he really done that? He rarely saw so much blood and sinew, Whitback usually absorbed everything too quickly.
Are you okay Jaune…? Whitback asked after a long silence, its voice cautious.
"I guess I can control the material." He mumbled dully to himself while a strange numbness began spreading from his chest through his limbs. Without another word, he calmly made his way out of the alley
I'm sorry Jaune…
"It wasn't your fault. She attacked us after all." Did he really believe that? He couldn't stop thinking about the fearful look in that girl's eyes, just before she turned to black goo like countless White Fang before her. Was that better or worse than the unrecognizable mess he had turned the man into?
Please… Be honest. I can feel your unrest. I can only help if you talk to me.
"You can't help!" A smash accompanied Jaune's shout. Without thinking he stomped his foot down with unrestrained force, cracking concrete and shattering nearby windows. He felt his chest tighten at the sight of so much destruction that he so easily inflicted.
He ran into Roman's apartment, praying that no one had seen him.
"What the hell was that noise?!" The men standing guard just inside looked completely disheveled, but Jaune did his best to ignore them. He had to get somewhere quiet, he needed to calm down.
He could feel his mind slipping, but he couldn't quite remember how to stop it.
What had James said to do in this situation? Had he said anything at all? It was hard to think while that stomach churning scent kept his nerves on end, and it was only getting stronger.
"Hey I'm talking to you!" The man who spoke was clearly angry at being ignored and moved forward to stop Jaune from walking away.
"Move." He barely noticed how his voice reverberated, his head was pounding too hard for him to care. That sweet smell was the only thing he cared about. Where was it coming from? He knew he was supposed to block it out and focus on something else, he just couldn't remember why.
Why would he want to block out something that felt so… goood?
The man instinctively reached for his weapon, caught completely off guard by Jaune's voice. "What the he-!?" He was cut off as Jaune grabbed and crushed his sword arm with one motion.
The man let out a howl of pain, but Jaune couldn't hear it over the sound of blood rushing in his ears. The wave of pleasure that followed drowned out nearly everything else.
More.
The other guards had just enough time to draw their weapons as they witnessed one of their own dissolve into a shapeless black goo before Jaune greedily devoured it. Or had Whitback done that? He couldn't tell anymore, and he cared even less. In that moment, all he cared about was the smell that made his very skin feel alive.
"ehehehe-AHAHAHA! Who's next…?" The remaining guards sweatdropped as Jaune raised a hand towards them. None of them dared to move an inch
"No one…? Then allow me!" His fingertips sharpened suddenly before extending faster than the nameless henchmen could hope to react. All but one were broken down and consumed to satiate his ever-growing hunger.
The remaining man Jaune flung behind himself, down the hall towards several more henchmen who were making their way towards the commotion.
With yelps of surprise, the body hit the small crowd a second before Jaune followed. They smelled so delectable he just couldn't help himself, he needed to devour every single morsel!
More henchmen rushed in from upstairs, occupying his tendrils. That wouldn't do, there was so much delicious flesh laying around but his limbs were already busy. How was he supposed to devour the meal at his feet?
In response, he could feel his teeth sharpen as the urge to consume overtook him.
The splash of copper against his tongue sent chills through his body. So much pleasure all around him, he almost couldn't stand it. It was impossible to even think about stopping his feast until not even a drop of blood remained.
"No more…?" Jaune looked around the damaged hallway while his tendrils scoured the immediate area for any biomass that might have been missed.
"Wasn't there two with Aura…?" He twitched, "Doesn't matter… no one here now…" There was no one left in the building, but he knew where he could find more.
"Must find more... I need more…" But wait, that didn't make sense. Why did he need more? There was plenty here already, wasn't there?
"Always more… never enough…" Something was wrong, what was he saying? Never enough what? Why did his head hurt so much?
"I don't… know…" Jaune stared down at his hands, at his sharpened and elongated fingers.
"The scent! I need my sweet!" He roared at the ceiling. But that wasn't right either, he was supposed to avoid the scent, not look for it.
He shook his head as a tendril smashed into a nearby wall.
"I need itt!" More tendrils exploded from Jaune, thrashing around wildly and smashing the surrounding structure to bits.
He didn't need the scent or the flesh that produced it, it was wrong. The more he thought about it the more his head felt like it was splitting in two.
"I. need. I- aahh!" Jaune and Whitback howled in agony as they continued to demolish the building around them.
\-/
For the second time in less than half a week, James Ironwood stepped off a bullhead and into the city of Vale. If he was being honest with himself, the constant flying back and forth was starting to wear on his patience. At the very least, there was a good reason for it.
Something had happened with Jaune. Something that got him arrested before Ozpin or Qrow could get to him.
A short car ride later and James stood in front of the Vale police station where he spotted Qrow, waiting outside with a flask in hand.
"Oz is waiting inside." The usual sarcasm was gone from his voice, replaced with an exhaustion that spoke volumes of the amount of sleep he had got in the past couple days.
"You look worse than I feel. Has Jaune really been that busy?" James hadn't heard much, just that Jaune had been arrested and Ozpin had changed his mind; observation wasn't an option.
Qrow shrugged "Don't know, he dropped off the map after patch and re-appeared suddenly in Vale yesterday." He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head.
"He hasn't said a word since we found him in the remains of a recently collapsed building. Ozpin is in the interrogation room with him now."
James frowned, they found him in a collapsed building? How could Jaune have gotten into so much trouble in such a short time? Even with Whitback's influence, he couldn't see the kid as a bad person. Confused and damaged yes, but still just a child doing what he thought was right.
Qrow led him through the station, drawing a few stray stares from the officers curious as to why the Atlesian general was in their station. James only glanced at them before continuing. Ozpin would have to answer any questions they might have.
They soon arrived at a basic interrogation room with two sections and a large pane of one-way glass separating them. Ozpin was on the side closer to the entrance, simply keeping an eye on Jaune who sat on the opposite side of the glass. A cloak James didn't recognize covered the boy's downcast face, probably made from Whitback's material if the color was anything to go by.
"Thank you for coming, James. I apologize for calling you so soon after you left but, as I said, I believe I made a mistake." Ozpin, much like Qrow, also had a worn out expression on his face. It wasn't as bad as the Huntsman's, but it was still enough to leave bags under the older man's eyes.
"Observation is no longer a viable route. After last night's events, rumors will no doubt begin to spread." Ozpin explained calmly before taking a sip from his mug.
"Would you be able to get him to speak? He hasn't said a word since being picked up, and I would rather avoid the use of force or any harsher methods."
James nodded, choosing not to dwell on what those harsher methods would be, and pushed open the door to stand in front of the young man. From his new angle he could see the lower half of Jaune's face was covered by a smooth mask.
He must have decided to cover his features. At least he understood the need for subtlety, if only vaguely.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" James asked a bit harshly. He didn't want to be such a hardass, but if Jaune insisted on acting like a petulant child running away from responsibility, he would need to be treated like one.
"You disobeyed me, went AWOL and now I'm told you're refusing to cooperate." Jaune raised his head but the mask kept James from seeing anything, so he pressed on.
"You lost control didn't you? That's why that building collapsed around you, isn't it?" The following silence was all the confirmation needed.
"Damnit Jaune, I told you that you weren't ready to go into cities! Do you understand now?! Is this enough for you to see?!" When he still didn't speak, James all but snapped.
"ANSWER ME!"
Jaune flinched, hard.
The movement caused blackened liquid to drip out from behind his mask. James wasn't sure what he was looking at, or why Jaune was shedding liquid material. It wasn't until the boy spoke that understanding finally dawned, along with a twist of his heart.
"I-I'm so... sorry…" The broken voice, barely above a whisper, only served to hammer the spike of guilt growing in him as the boy's mask slipped off.
There was a rather obvious increase in the number of blackened veins all around his face, but the only thing James could really notice were those glowing red eyes. Eyes that were streaming with blackened tears, drowning in sorrow.
"You were right… I-I…-!" James stepped forward before anything more could be said, wrapping his arms around the grief stricken boy.
"It's alright Jaune, I understand."
"I'm… sorry." James spoke quietly, almost softly.
Jaune's only response was to break down into a sobbing mess.
\~/
A (hopefully) emotional ending to a chaotic event. I'm not positive how believable or emotionally striking I made the interaction between James and Jaune but I'm hoping it was (at least a bit) a tug on the heart strings. I coudn't see Jaune being anything but devastated after realizing what he had done, and what it easily could have led to had it spread out passed Roman's "HQ". Hopefully the aftermath with James gave ya a bit of a kick in the feels. If not well, hopefully I can do better next time! Any advice or pointers (no matter how I might agree/disagree) will be taken into account, remembered and hopefully learned from! Hope you all have lovely mornings/evenings!
P. are gonna slow down some, since we've just about caught up to how much I've re-edited. Not a huge amount, but I admit I've had trouble finding motivation over the past year. career searching sucks the life out of ya.
