(A/N) Oh cool. An update.
After a hectic couple of weeks, I have found the time to update all of my stories. After realizing that those hectic times are likely to return, however, I've decided that having shorter but more frequent updates would be preferable to longer chapter updates that make you question whether the story is dead or not.
The meat and potatoes of the story approach faster than you think.
Anyway, please enjoy and drop a review to let me know what you think. It goes a long way to help me improve as an author and to help keep this story on track. Actually that goes for all my stories. I'm just one guy, so it's hard to keep track of everything sometimes.
So... yeah. Have a nice... Wednesday?
Is updating on a Wednesday strange, or is it just me?
XX
"Hey, pipsqueak. Who's blondie number two?"
Jaune stared at the woman owlishly before realizing she was talking to him.
"Who, me?" he pointed to himself.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, you."
Mocha, standing between Jaune and Yang, pouted with a quiet huff. "Stop calling me pipsqueak Coco, I'm almost as tall as mom now! And this is my friend Jaune! Are you ready to go yet?"
When their break started, Mocha had sent both blondes a group message the very next morning asking if they wanted to hang out in the city. The trio had agreed to meet at a middle ground –Patch– in the afternoon, so that they could all make their way down together.
It was only once they met face to face that Mocha said that her older sister wanted to come with them and that she needed to "pick something up". Naturally, that meant that they had to stop by Mocha's house to get her.
Unfortunately, Mocha forgot to mention that Coco was… a little difficult.
"Hm? No, give me a sec. I need to get changed."
"What? Why? You have a coat on and everything!" whined her little sister. She had the opportunity to go out with her friends today, so she did not appreciate Coco leaving bad impressions.
Coco looked absolutely affronted. "You want me to go out in public wearing this? You know this jacket is from, like, last spring, right?"
The younger brunette buried her face in her hands. "Just… go. Hurry up."
The three soon-to-be second-years gathered in the Adel residence's foyer, awkwardly waiting for the elder sister to get changed so that they could leave.
"I'm sorry about her," apologized Mocha, catching Jaune a little off guard. It was usually someone else's job -notably Yang's– to be sorry about her, not the other way around.
"It's… fine?" answered the boy, admittedly a little caught off guard by the family's eccentricities.
Yang decided to fill him in on what was apparently common knowledge for the rest of them. "Coco is a bit of a fashion freak, so she always has to be on… 'fleek', as she calls it. I'm betting she wants to come with us because it lets her go shopping with the excuse that she's looking after us."
"Mom says Coco has too many clothes," added Mocha.
"I don't," denied the girl in question as she joined them in the room. "You kiddies ready to go?"
XX
As was expected, their day out was effectively turned into "Let's watch Coco buy new shoes day".
Well, more like clothes in general. It just so happened that there was a particular pair of boots she had her eyes on, so that was apparently what they would spend their day trying to do.
Trying to get the boots.
"I don't get it," spoke Jaune. "If you know you want them, why don't you just buy them? Why are we waiting in line?"
"Because," answered Coco slowly, as if talking to a child, "everyone here," she waved to the crowd, "wants the boots. The line is to buy them."
"Why don't you just come back later, then?"
The brunette looked to her sister and the blond girl, her face saying "can you believe this guy?"
"I can't come back later. It'll be sold out by then."
His jaw dropped. "That quickly!?"
Yang laughed. "You can't spell 'fashion craze' without 'crazy'."
"I mean, you can, but you've got the right idea."
The blonde gave Mocha the stink eye.
"So… Why do we have to be here?" Jaune finally made his point.
"'Cuz I'm looking after you. Duh."
None of them were impressed with the answer.
Yang walked away. "I'm leaving."
"Same."
"Peace."
"Wait!" the older Adel grabbed them all by the back of their shirts. "If you leave, I lose my alibi! I need these. How can I go out with my friends tomorrow if I'm not on top of my game? I'll make it up to you!"
None of them looked convinced.
"We came downtown to hang out, sis. Not to wait in line with you."
"Yang!" tried the fashion-inclined brunette. "You need a new transmission for your bike, don't you?"
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "That's pretty expensive."
"So are the shoes, hun. Trust."
Mocha narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Where are you getting all this money, anyway?"
"I just sold my old stuff. Resale value is a thing, you know."
"On used clothes?" asked Jaune incredulously. No one answered him, however, having been labeled a lost cause from the get-go. No point trying to bring him into the loop now.
"Fine." Yang caved.
"Yang!" Mocha didn't appreciate that Yang caved.
"Ha." Coco didn't give a rat's ass that Mocha didn't appreciate that Yang caved.
"Hm?" Jaune was lost. Were they leaving or not?
XX
Thankfully, they were able to make it to the front of the line before the hour was up. Unfortunately…
"Fuck!" Coco kicked the brick wall outside of the boutique. "What kind of dumbass– how did they run out of my size! Too large? Low stock? Bullshit! My feet are perfect!"
Despite her rage, Jaune picked up on something else. "Why did you still buy a pair you couldn't wear, then?"
The kicking stopped for a second in order to provide an answer. "Resale. Value. We've been over this."
"So… transmission?"
Yang didn't care as long as she got her loot.
"Fine. A deal is a deal, I guess. Let's go."
And so, to Jaune's infinite surprise, Coco actually followed through with her promise and brought them to a motorcycle shop. A high-end one, at that.
Yang, in her excitement, was the first to get to the door. She pulled–
"Huh?"
She pulled again.
"Why won't the doors open?"
Jaune tapped her on the shoulder, directing her attention to the paper taped to the storefront.
"Closed for the holidays, back next week? What holidays!? It's the first week of summer!"
Her eyes flashed red.
"Calm down, hotshot. How about I take you all out for lunch instead?" appeased Coco. "I can do that much, at least."
Yang grumbled, but didn't argue.
Mocha poked her sister. "Are we going to Velvet's, then?"
"You know it."
"Velvet?" asked Jaune, once again out of the loop.
"My friend from school. Her parents own a place a little further down. It's lowkey, but the food's great."
"Let's go, then!"
The four chattered amiably as they made their way through the streets of downtown Vale. Despite the wrench that Coco had originally thrown into their plans, she was easy to talk to– as long as she wasn't being antagonistic.
Something in the window of a nearby electronics store caught Jaune's attention. "Hold on..."
Without notice, he pulled away from the group. He pushed his way past the crowd gathered around the television displays, noting immediately that all of them were playing the same channel. It was some sort of sportscasting station, with a group of analysts talking at a broadcasting table.
"We've got some interesting updates on the upcoming MRT. Did you know that one of this year's competitors is the youngest to ever be nominated for the event?"
"Really?"
"Yep. The Nikos girl is only twelve years old."
Jaune's eyes widened. That name…
"Seriously? I mean, needless to say, her dad was something else back in the day. Still, even if it runs in the family, the girl's barely in her teens! Seems to me like they're just trying to get clout. The poor girl won't make it past the first round."
"I don't know, Jon. Check out some of her tapes."
The green screen behind them cut to a video of a familiar redhead sparring with men twice her age in some sort of training facility.
"I get it, she's good for her age, but don't forget that–"
"Jaune? What's up?"
He turned around, immediately feeling guilty for leaving the three behind.
"Nothing much. It's just that I know the girl they're talking about on TV."
Yang stretched her arms idly. "Who is she? Yer' celebrity crush or something?"
He blushed. "No, no. I mean she's actually someone I know."
Mocha took a glance at one of the screens. "Isn't this a Mistralian show, though? That's pretty far from here."
"Well, I… Um…" Jaune's eyes wandered awkwardly. While he was fine discussing how they met, he was less comfortable talking about the circumstances that lead to them meeting in the first place.
"Well? Spit it out." Coco was many things. Patient wasn't one of them.
"Because of certain… things… I was stuck in Mistral for a while. Pyrrha's mom helped me get home."
She was about to question things further, but Coco refrained from doing so when she saw how uncomfortable Jaune was with the conversation. She didn't know why, but it wasn't their place to pry. "Whatevs. Let's just go."
They soon found the place they were looking for. It was a small diner –as was expected– but it still held a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. It had a nice air about it, and the customers out on the patio seemed to enjoy their meals.
They were met at the entrance by a young faunus girl roughly their age. Her large rabbit ears held stout on top of her head.
"Hello, can I– oh! Coco!"
In a strange display of affection, Coco ran up to the girl and nearly squeezed the life out of her. "Bunny! Table for four, please."
"Of course. And you are?" asked the waitress, looking Jaune's way. If he was right, and this was Velvet, then he was likely the only one she didn't recognise.
"I'm Jaune," he smiled with a nod. He held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
She shook it. "The pleasure's mine. I'm Velvet, Coco's friend. This place is my parents', so I hope you enjoy the food!"
Coco scoffed. "The both of you have sticks up your asses or something. Always so damn polite."
"Hey!" the rabbit girl frowned but didn't say anything else on the matter. She led the group to a nice table. It wasn't surrounded by traffic, but it was still close enough to everything else to be part of the atmosphere.
They were barely off their feet before Yang decided she wasn't done with their conversation from earlier. "So you know that Pyrrha girl, right? Is she strong?"
Both Mocha and Coco looked at her pointedly, likely trying to convince her to drop it.
It wasn't an issue for him, however. Despite his unwillingness to share why he was in Mistral, he had no problem talking about Pyrrha or Thetis. "Pretty strong. Even stronger than me, maybe."
"Seriously?" Mocha didn't sound convinced. "You wreck shop in spars, though."
"Mhm. But back then, I couldn't even hit her."
Coco decided to give her two cents. "I don't doubt it if she's been selected to fight in the MRT. She's about your age, too. That means that Vel and I will have to watch out for Mistral's rep school in a few years."
It took Jaune a second to process what she said. "Hold on, you and Velvet are on the Pharos tournament team?"
Uncharacteristically, Coco blushed. "Well, not yet. We'll only be third years, but teach said that we're basically locks for it! We just need to make our weapons first, is all."
Mocha nodded. "Yeah, sis and Velvet are the pride of Vale's primary combat school. All the teachers think they're guaranteed a spot at Beacon when they graduate."
The Arc's eyes widened. He knew they were going to a combat school, but he automatically assumed Coco was like her younger sister and wasn't as focused on being a huntress. Evidently, he was wrong.
Actually, why did Mocha go to Signal? It wasn't as if she wanted to go to Beacon or anything.
His scroll rang.
"Sorry," spoke softly as he placed the device to his ear.
"…Oh! That's great. I can be right there, actually. I'm in Vale with my friends… Yeah, love you too, dad."
The others at the table looked at him strangely. Hanging up, he explained quickly, "Sorry about this, but I gotta go. My weapon's ready, so I gotta pick it up from the shop."
"Your what!?" all three yelled.
XX
Jaune sat near Muramasa's reception desk a little awkwardly, being sandwiched between Yang and Coco. Both of them had intense looks in their eyes. "You guys didn't have to come all the way here with me, you know."
Yang sneered. "Oh? We didn't have to? Don't worry, I'm more than willing to make the sacrifice if it means we get to see this weapon that you're getting two years before I can get one."
Despite his usual lack of awareness, he didn't miss the contempt in her voice.
"Yeah, Jaune. No biggie," added Coco just as spitefully. Though he didn't know her all that well, she wasn't at all shy about her feelings on the matter, either.
Mocha just shook her head, legs crossed comfortably. Unlike the other two, she chose to sit on the next bench over rather than invade the blond boy's personal space.
Soon after, a muscular red-haired man came out from the back room carrying a large package. "Ya here yet, kid?"
The blonde got up right away, eager to be free of the angry women. "I'm here, Mister Muramasa."
"Good." The package was unceremoniously thrown into his arms. "Your dad already came by to pay for the rest once we started detailing, so feel free to scamper off now."
"Should you… show me what it is?" he asked uncertainly.
The whole scenario wasn't as grandiose as he expected it to be.
"It's good, and it's what you asked for. Presentation over. Unless 'yer sayin' that ya don't trust me to do my job?"
Jaune panicked. "No, I, uh…"
The blacksmith laughed. "I'm messing with ya kid. Have fun with the girlies."
He walked right back into his workshop. It wasn't lost on any of them that he still didn't say what it was.
Yang's hand crept towards the wrapped object. "So… are you gonna open it, or am I gonna open it?"
The package was pulled away. "I don't think unwrapping a weapon in a store lobby is a good idea, Yang."
Coco crossed her arms, and let out a loud harrumph. "I hate to say it, but he's right. Why don't you all come back to my place and we can take a look at it there."
"Can't I unwrap it at home and show it to you all next time?"
"No," was the immediate shared response.
"How about Yang's house, then?" suggested Mocha. Patch is a bit of a middle ground between Vale and Orleans, and this way Ruby can see it too."
"Oh yeah, your sister is really into weapons, isn't she?" the boy asked his fellow blonde.
She nodded. "Yeah. I was trying to get her to come with us today, but… she'd not really a people-person, I guess."
He tilted his head. "She's like Coco, then?"
"Hey!"
Mocha laughed. "No, less snippy, more awkward."
"I'm not bad with people."
"She's a really nice girl," promised Yang. "I'm sure she'd be super happy if you stopped by with your new weapon– especially if it's as awesome as the blacksmith thinks it is."
Yang's argument became less about seeing the weapon now, and more about involving her socially inept little sister in any way she could.
Jaune nodded. "That's fine. I can't stay too long though since it's starting to get pretty late."
Yang smiled.
"I'm telling all of you, people love me."
Coco was ignored for a little while longer.
XX
"I brought friends!" yelled Yang as soon as we walked through the front door. It was the type of thing some of Jaune's sisters would do before getting chastised by their parents.
Taiyang came down the stairs with a short black-haired girl in tow. "Not so loud, Yang."
The girl behind him suddenly ran to hide behind his leg. Ah. So this was Ruby.
The younger Xiao Long pushed Jaune in front of her and patted the bundle in his arms. "Come out, Ruby. I have something cool to show you."
The little girl didn't look like she wanted to.
"We're unwrapping a shiny new weapon."
That did the trick. She ran past her father and stretched her hand out to Jaune with faked confidence. "M-my name is Ruby. Hi."
He smiled. She reminded him of his younger sisters.
"Nice to meet you, Ruby." He put down the package to shake her hand.
Taiyang stared at the package for a moment. "I don't mind you opening that thing out in the back. Just to let you know, though, this doesn't mean you don't have to make your own weapon in the Huntsman Gear Maintenance class. If not a weapon, you're gonna have to make something else."
The boy nodded in acceptance. That sounded fair to him.
Impatiently, Yang dragged him out to the yard, the others in tow. "Let's goooo."
He stumbled awkwardly but regained his footing. It was time, he supposed.
Thanks to Muramasa's convenient wrapping, all he needed to do was tug the cloth once and the weapon unfurled on its own.
It was a work of art.
It was a one-handed sword, but it was undeniably heavy. The most outstanding feature was the blade itself, which wouldn't look out of place at the end of a particularly ornamental spear. The crossguard was admittedly a little odd, seemingly made in parts rather than a single piece. Though he couldn't tell what it was made out of, it was plated a luxurious gold colour.
The handle and pommel were another oddity. The grip material was nothing he had ever seen before, almost resembling an intricately wrapped cloth. In fact, what he thought was a pattern might have been something else entirely.
The end of the cloth was tied down by a wire string that wrapped around the bottom of the sword, attaching to the pommel.
"What's this?" he mumbled to himself.
The way the pommel was connected to the base was unusual. Almost as if he was supposed to twist–
"Ah!"
Everyone jumped from surprise as the handle stretched out another six feet. As if on a swivel, the wire holding the cloth in place whirled around the extended rod and let its charge flow freely in the air. The strange grip was actually a flag that held the Arc family crest.
It was a flag spear.
"Is that a gichang? No… maybe not. Regardless, now I get why you use polearms in my class so often," mused Taiyang.
"That's so cool!" screeched Ruby, running over to see the weapon. She ran her hands up and down its length admiringly, though he did his best to keep the bladed end away from her.
"Woah," was all Mocha could say. She didn't know all that much about huntsman weapons –beyond what was taught in class, at least– but could at least appreciate the obvious display of elite craftsmanship.
"Huh."
"It's cool, I guess."
Yang and Coco were jealous.
Probably.
Jaune stepped back and took a few experimental swings– away from everyone, of course.
Whoosh
A rush of… something coursed through Ruby's body at that moment. As close as she stood to him, every time the blonde moved his new weapon, the purposeful strikes sent funnels of wind blowing past her face, caressing her cheeks.
She was in a trance. She was in awe; in admiration.
Was this strength?
Her dad was probably stronger, she knew, but this felt different. It was powerful in a different way.
If she wasn't sure before, then she definitely knew now.
I want to be a huntress.
"Well then!" the boy stopped abruptly, holding the weapon out to his side. "Thanks for letting me use your yard, Mr. Tai, but I have to head home before it gets too dark out."
Coco checked her scroll. "Huh. Yeah, us too. Let's go, short-stuff."
Mocha pouted. "Not short."
Ruby panicked. "Wait, no!"
They all looked to her with visible confusion. Her ears reddened at having the attention drawn to herself, but she persevered. Even for another second– an instant… she wanted to see that weapon one more time!
"Jaune can stay with us tonight, right dad?"
None of them missed how she singled out the blonde without any mention of Mocha or Coco.
"Yang blushed furiously. "No! Absolutely not!"
Their father coughed. "Well, I mean, I don't think…"
Jaune smiled. "Sorry Ruby, but I really do have to head on home. I promised my dad I would show him my new weapon the second I got it. I stayed longer than I should have already."
The elder Xiao Long nodded, happy that he didn't have to deny the kid. "Come again at any time. And don't forget to give some thought to what you want to make for your major project in fourth year! It's not any time soon, but you'll need to find a good replacement if you want to get a passing grade."
Jaune bowed. "Thank you for your company. I'll see you all soon."
He left to catch the ferry, The Adel siblings doing the same, though in the opposite direction. Thankfully, it would be running for another few hours.
XX
"Ey yo! That's dope!" exclaimed an ever-expressive Garnet as she stared at the new Luminosité Éternelle.
She wasn't the only one admiring it, as his other sisters gathered around the huntsman weapon as well.
Jade, one of his younger sisters, stood nearby with stars in her eyes. She was a little shy, but it was always obvious to him what she had on her mind.
Come to think of it, Ruby was a lot like her, wasn't she?
"Senji did a great job, as always," commented Jacques. "Do you find that it works well?"
Jaune grinned. "Yeah! Actually, would you mind if we sparred for a bit? I want to get used to it."
Jacques returned the smile. "Certainly! Let's–"
Both of them were smacked over the head by an angry Isabelle. "Not now. Have you seen the time? You can 'spar' all you want in the morning. For now, get to bed. All of you."
She got a few grumbles and moans from her younger children, though Jaune and his father complied easily with a tilt of the head. She crossed her arms and smirked.
At the very least, Jaune picked up some of his father's good habits.
XX
Jaune was the only one up, having gotten out of bed to get himself a glass of water. He opened the fridge, but winced as the light bounced off of an object behind him and shone in his eye.
He turned to look for the offending object, but his mood instantly dropped once he found it. It was an old and burnt headpiece hanging from the wall; the only reason that its deteriorated metal body could shine at all was that his father spent every free hour polishing it.
It was Jeanne's headpiece.
Refrigerator door left open for visibility, he approached the hanging piece. He traced it with his fingers longingly.
Taiyang's words came back to him.
"A replacement project, huh?"