Welcome to ch 30 of TPA.
Yang grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.
Ruby peeked in, curious what was happening.
Pyrrha was smiling lightly.
Weiss raised a single eyebrow, an amused smirk on her face.
Sam stared at them all, doing her best impression of a deer caught in headlights.
Jaune blinked, yawned, then blinked again a few more times, only now fully waking up. He looked over the small crowd in the doors and raised an eyebrow.
"You guys know it's rude to just barge into someone else room like that, right? Especially without knocking."
"We did knock." Yang said, lowering her scroll. "But no one answered, and we got curious, because you know, Nora said you're a very light sleeper, and you usually wake up very early. But here we are, at almost seven, and you are nowhere to be seen." Her grin widened even further. "And when we go to pick you up - it turns out you're not in your room. Instead, we find you sharing a bed with your... childhood friend, with whom you just reunited."
Sam blushed fiercely and buried her face in Jaune's chest. The blond boy chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"Yeah, so what? You never slept together with Ruby?"
Yang shook her head.
"Sure I did, but we're sisters. It's different"
Jaune shrugged.
"Really?" He looked down at the girl he still held in his arms. "I mean… Sam is like little sister to me, so I don't see what the problem is."
Said girl stiffened.
"Like… a sister? I'm like a sister to you?" She whispered quietly.
"Well, yeah. Don't you remember that one time when we mistook wine for my mom's strawberry juice and got a little bit drunk? You said you would like to be part of my family, and I said you can be if you want. So… Sam?"
The red haired girl stared at him with a blank expression for a few moments,then sighed.
"What did I even expect…" she muttered.
"Wha.."
"Weiss?" She said, turning around to the white haired girl. "Would you mind helping me get to the kitchen? My legs are still weak."
"Of course." Both girls soon left the room. Jaune just stared in their direction.
"What's gotten into her?" He asked no one in particular.
Yang chuckled.
"Damn. You really are as dense as brick."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nevermind that." The blonde brawler turned around. "Anyway, we came to tell you breakfast is almost ready. "
Jaune nodded, and got up stretching. A quick shower and a change of clothes later, he was ready to begin another day.
Now, if only he knew what the hell was wrong with Sam, it would be great.
Samantha stared at her distorted reflection in cup of tea. Why was she so upset anyway? It was Jaune afterall.
It couldn't be that easy.
"Are you all right?"
She smiled, looking up at girl sitting next to her.
"Yes, thank you for asking." she sighed, and took sip of her drink.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected."
"That he will finally notice how you truly feel about him?" Weiss asked with a small smile.
Samantha chuckled.
"I guess. I think I was just so happy to see him again, and after everything that happened…" she shook her head. "I'm better now. And don't think I'm giving up. I'll just have to try harder."
"Maybe you shouldn't."
Samantha gasped, staring at older girl as if she just slapped her. Weiss remained silent, staring into her own cup as if it held all answers she needed.
"I'm not suggesting you should give up on him. But what he said, and the way he said it, got me thinking. You were together for a long time, and maybe he just got… used to looking at you as sister, not a woman. Maybe instead of staying close to him all the time, you should put some distance between you two? Do something that will force him to see you as a young maiden, not a sister."
Samantha just continued to stare.
Weiss coughed, and shifted nervously.
"I'm not suggesting to do anything scandalous, but from what I know, you two did almost everything together when you were younger, right?"
Sam nodded slowly.
"Even when he left with Leon, you still did everything to be close to him. If not in person, then in thought. Everything we talked about, every dream you told me about, was focused around him. So, maybe try to find something to do that doesn't involve him. Meet other people, make more friends. So far it's been you chasing him. Reversing roles might help." Weiss took another sip and smiled lightly. "Then again, I'm not most knowledgeable person when it comes to romance."
"No, it's ok. Thank you Weiss." Sam said with a small smile.
"Or you could always grab him by the collar, say what you feel, and kiss him hard enough to make him not even consider not dating you."
Samantha's face instantly turned red.
"Weiss!"
The older girl smirked. She wanted to help, she really did. But teasing her younger… friend? Somehow that didn't feel like right word. Anyway, teasing her was still fun.
And with how dense Jaune was, that might be what Sam had to do in the end.
"Maaaaaan I'm stuffed. I don't think I've ever eaten that much!" Yang leaned back into her seat of the Bullhead they caught in Little Frontier. She sighed contently and smiled at the blond boy sitting next to her. "I must say I was sceptical when you said you were a good cook, but that was good. You sure you wouldn't rather open up a restaurant or something? You would be rich in no time."
Jaune chuckled.
"No, thank you very much. I prefer being a Hunter. And it's not like I'm short on cash. " He paused, and looked over his friends. "hat reminds me, I still haven't give you your share for the last job. You want it in cash, or transferred on your bank accounts?"
"Well…" Pyrrha trialed off. "I don't think you have to pay us. I mean, it was a learning experience for us, so…"
Jaune shook his head.
"No can do. We took the job together, so we are splitting money between us. I know that for some of you it will be just small change." He smirked as both Pyrrha and Weiss blushed a little, "but it's about rules. If you work with someone, you make sure they get their cut of the reward. "
"Well, if you say so. How much did we get anyway?" Asked Yang with shrug.
"Five hundred lien each."
"Huh, not bad."
"Actually, it turned out a bit low, since it's split among eight people."
Yang nudged him. "Damn, you make this Witcher business look more and more appealing."
"If you ever need back up, you know who to call, eh?"
Jaune hummed.
"Funny you mention it. I actually had one job in mind, and I think I could use some backup..."
"Hmmm, sounds interesting." Yang leaned closer.
"And I'm going to stop you right here. It's middle of the week and we've got class today. We don't have to show up for Grimm Studies, but we have history class right after."
"Now, now, calm down Weiss, no one is saying we're going now. I just got a tip from an acquaintance that there is some trouble where he lives that might need a Witcher to solve."
"Oh? Tell us more, Ladykiller."
"I don't really know more. Guy who contacted me is a herbalist living in a small village about four hours by Bullhead form Vale. Me and Leon helped him once, and I often visited him to buy herbs when I was nearby. Yesterday Tob passed me a letter from him. No specifics, he just asked me to come over if I had time."
"I see, but give us call if you decide to go."
"Sure thing."
"Next, Miss Xiao Long, Mr. Arc. Please get ready to fight." Both blondes blinked and looked at each other, then grinned.
"Come to think about it, this is the first time the two of us fight each other in Miss Goodwitch class." said Yang, rolling her shoulders, as the two of them descended into the arena.
Jaune chuckled. It didn't take long for him and Yang to become rivals. They were exact opposites when it comes to fighting styles, with him focusing on defense and counters, while Yang preferred to rush in and overwhelm her opponent with an aggressive assault. Their fights were always very close, with a single mistake often deciding who won and who lost.
"You are right. I was starting to think she didn't put us against each other on purpose."
Yang grinned.
"Probably didn't wanted us to to scare the other students away. Remember what happened last time we spared? I think the training room is still out of commission." She glanced at him with a smirk. "So, what is the score anyway?"
"Twenty four to eighteen for me."
She blinked.
"Wait, what? When?! HOW?!"
Jaune smirked.
"One by one. Slowly, and by not rushing in without thinking."
Yang growled.
"Oh, now you done it Ladykiller. No more playing around. Today you are going down."
"Sure, sure."
It took them only a few moments to get ready. They stood in front of each other, each with an excited grin on their face.
"Ready?" Miss Goodwitch's hand rose in the air.
Jaune got into his stance, Yang doing the same.
"Fight!"
She was on him in an instant, a powerful right hook slamming into his shield. It was quickly followed by a middle kick. He blocked both attacks, and prepared to counter after next one, but to his surprise, his opponent backed off. He made to follow, but was stopped when she fired a few shots at him. He dodged three, the forth hitting him in the leg. He stumbled and ducked, covering behind his shield. A few more shots hit him, and then there was a pause.
Jaune jumped to his feet, and cursed when he saw Yang's leg coming down on him in an axe kick. His shield came up, but instead continuing her attack, Yang spun in the air, placed both feet on the metal surface, and jumped off, firing a few more shots at him.
Jaune cursed, and charged at her. She met him head on, in flurry of punches and kicks. Then she retreated, fired a few times, and jumped at him again. Jaune cursed. He knew what she was doing - changing her rhythm, keeping him from getting a good read on her. A small smirk appeared on his lips. Out of all his friends, she was the best at it. Well, not counting Pyrrha, but his partner was in a class of her own.
Yang figured out pretty fast that his fighting style revolved around reading his opponent's movements, slowly chipping away at their Aura, and then finishing them off with one quick combo.
While this tactic let him win against her the first time around, she'd quickly adapted, and started changing the rhythm in her fights. Of course, Jaune adapted too, and his advantage was that, if all else failed, he could just turtle up and wear her down. Well, in theory.
Yang hit like a truck, and even with his shield and armor, he felt like every bone in his body screamed in agony whenever her fist connected. And if she used her Semblance? He shuddered at the memory of the time when he failed to block a punch coming towards his face.
His shield caught her face, quickly followed by a slash across the stomach. Yang backpedaled, and then fired both of her gauntlets to put even more distance between them. Jaune charged in, just as Yang started reloading her gauntlets. She finished a split second before he reached her, backflipping to avoid the sword coming towards her chest.
Jaune continued his assault, slashing, stabbing, and punching with his shield, even throwing an occasional kick. Yang was able to avoid, or block most of his attacks, but that was fine. His main goal was to keep her on her back foot, to not let her get the initiative back. Any damage he managed to inflict was just a bonus.
But Yang wasn't an idiot, and quickly realized that he was pushing her towards the edge. With little option left, she fired from both her gauntlets - but not at her opponent, but the floor between them. Smoke and dust exploded in all directions, temporary robbing both of them of sight.
Jaune cursed, and rushed forward swinging wildly, but Yang had already retreated. They spent a few moments watching each other. Yang made the first move, shooting from both her gauntlets to give herself more momentum, she charged at her opponent.
Jaune steadied himself, raising his shield to take her charge. But, to his surprise, it wasn't Yang's fist that hit the metal surface, but rounds from her weapon. He cursed when he noticed a flash of yellow rushing past him. His block was clumsy, and even though he managed to protect his face, Yang's fist caught him in the shoulder. He answered with a stab towards her stomach, blocking punch to his face at the same time. Yang's kick made his leg buckle, but he held his ground, and managed to catch the follow up punch on his shield. He stepped back out of the way of the next kick aimed at his torso, slashing down at Yang's leg when it passed by him.
So, now she wants to keep me in melee. Push me back, and try to finish me off with her Semblance when my stance breaks.
It was a tactic Yang used often, and how she won most of her fights. She could take him out with a Semblance powered attack, but only if he didn't use his own to strengthen his defense. Unfortunately, he could only keep it up for a few seconds, so he had to time it right.
They jumped away from each other again, and Jaune spared a quick glance at the display screen. They were both below fifty percent, which meant this fight will end soon.
Ok, she will probably try to bring me a bit lower, and then counter one of my counters.
Jaune lowered his stance.
Yet again Yang was the one to restart their fight, charging in with a roar. He knew exactly how she would attack - a punch or kick towards the left side of his body to draw his shield away, followed by a low kick to stumble him and then a few body shots to try and break his stance and leave him open to a finishing attack with her Semblance. If he managed to harden his Aura, he would be able to outlast her and win. If not, she would probably pummel him into the ground before he could do anything.
Maybe it's time to try something new?
Jaune smirked, and instead of trying to block or dodge the blonde girl's charge, he moved to attack. A look of surprise on Yang face when her first attack wasn't blocked quickly turned into shock and fear when Jaune grabbed her arm before she could retreat. Another punch sailed towards his face, but he just lowered his head, and took it on the forehead. Yang cursed and threw a kick, but that was what he wanted. He wasn't good at hand to hand, but Leon always insisted he will learn at least the basics of grappling.
He pulled the arm he was still holding back, at the same time basically throwing himself at Yang. It was a clumsy takedown, but his mass and Yang's poor footing compensated for lack of skill. They both crashed on the floor, Jaune not wasting a second in pinning Yangs right arm under his knee.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same with other, and earned a punch in the gut. He ignored it, and slammed his shield into Yang's face. The she exploded, golden flames washing over him, blinding him for a moment.
Crap.
He activated his Semblance on instinct alone, forming a wall of Aura in front of him, to protect him from the powerful blow.
That didn't come.
Double crap.
When he regained his sight, it was to see a grinning Yang, with her hand cooked back.
"Now, I know you might be desperate to get on top of me." She said, the blade of Crocea Mors held firmly in one hand. "But this is not the place, nor the time."
He sighed.
"You say that, but you seem quite desperate to get a hold of my sword."
She grinned. They moved at the same time.
Yang grunted when Jaune's shield slammed into her face. Jaune choked on his breath when Yang's fist slammed into his stomach. He clenched his teeth, and repeated the attack. It was swatted aside, and Yang's grin widened.
Well, there goes my winning streak.
Her fist hit him with the force of meteor, sending him flying back. He stopped only when he hit wall on the other side of the arena. He barely heard Miss Goodwitch announcing the end of fight, he was still stunned from impact. With a groan he pushed himself up.
A hand appeared in his vision, and he took it with a smile.
"Good fight." Yang said with a broad smile.
"Good fight." He agreed.
He looked up at the display screen. He had only around ten percent Aura left. Yang was slightly above thirty. Two or three more hits, and he would have won.
Oh, well. He thought, moving back to where rest of his friends sat. You win some...
"...you lose some." Said the cat faunus wearing a very distinctive white uniform and Grimm-like mask.
"Yeah, I know. But I still don't get why we have to work with human scum. Especially one like that." Said his companion, spinning in his chair. He was a middle aged man, with bat-like ears.
"No one likes it." Said first one. "But they have money and Dust, something we need if we want to hit the humans where it hurts. So just bear with it for now."
"Heh, I guess you are right. And besides that, we lucked out on the assignment. When I joined the White Fang, I didn't expect to become a technician. Or be happy about it. I mean - this is what I did for the last twenty years."
They both chuckled. And at the same moment one of the numerous screens filling the room they sat at flashed, and displayed an 'incoming call' message.
A quick check revealed that the call was coming from Atlas. Both faunus looked at each other, surprised. Why would someone from the Atlas branch contact them?
With a shrug, the cat faunus accepted the call.
There was some static, before a distorted voice could be heard.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"This is Vale Outpost, three-six-three coming over."
"Oh great. You guys are with Adam, right? Can you get him there?"
Both faunus looked at each other. Why would someone from Atlas want to talk with Adam Taurus? Each branch of the White Fang was largely independent.
"Sorry, no can do. Boss isn't here."
There were a few moments where only static could be heard.
"Oh, well, nevermind then. Listen, we heard you're planning something big, and you need a lot of supplies. Dust, weapons, that sort of stuff."
"Well, yeah. We will hit the humans where it really hurts!" Said the bat faunus with pride. His companion choose not to point out that neither of them would do any hitting, they would probably be sitting in this very room when attack went off.
"Heh, glad to hear it. So, the thing is, we recently hit an SDC convoy. We thought it was just regular supplies, but it was a much better haul than we thought. Dust, military grade weapons and armor, you name it. There is more of this stuff than we could ever use, or even safely store, so our branch leader thought we might share with our brothers and sisters in other branches. What do you say?"
"Well…" The cat faunus drawled out, looking at his companion, who just shrugged and nodded. "I don't think anyone here would complain about additional supplies. What exactly we are talking about?"
"I'll send you a list. But the thing is… the boss contacted other branches too. Everyone wants some extra firepower, but boss doesn't want it go to waste. So, he decided to send it to the one with the biggest operation going on, failing that, just give it to headquarters, and let Sienna distribute it. So, if you guys could tell me what this plan of yours is…"
Another exchange of glances, and another shrug. What could it hurt?
"We are going to hit the Vytal Festival."
There was a long pause at the other end, before the voice come back.
"That's… That's just… Ok, you know what? I think you are guaranteed to get this delivery. Atlas outpost six-nine out."
Both faunus looked at each other and smiled. Adam would be happy to hear about this.
Thousands of kilometers away, in some remote outpost, a White Fang grunt ended call and sighed.
"Thanks for the help buddy. I really appreciate this, you know." Said his companion. He just nodded, trying his best to no look anywhere but the monitors. They were mostly clean, but some of the blood had splashed on them too. If he looked hard enough, he could see the reflection of the room behind him.
His eyes darted to the side. That was a mistake. He caught a glimpse of blood and gore that covered the walls, and the corpse of one of his brothers in arms. Or at least what little was left of it.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes awaiting agony. But the monster behind him just patted his shoulder.
"I'm gonna call my boss, she will send someone to give us a ride out of this hellhole. And don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you. Say you were cooperative, and just misguided. You know, all that shit. Just don't go around throwing this White Fang propaganda, and I think you should end up with a light sentence. I made sure they know you are my prisoner, and I'm just letting them borrow you. It would upset me if they mistreated you, and believe me, they know better than to upset me."
He believed. Very much so. If he had any doubts, he just needed to look at room he was in. But he didn't. The image would haunt him for the rest of his days anyway.
"Yes, it's me." He heard the man talk through his scroll. He didn't dare to look around. "Yep, intel was spot on. Well, beside the numbers, there were like forty, or fifty here.
A short pause. He could almost hear the person on the other end of call.
"What? No, there were no casualties. Those guys you lend me are actually very good… Oh, you meant White Fang? Well, they resisted arrest, so we had to kill them"
Ok, now he could hear them clearly. It was a female voice, and by the sound of shouting, it wasn't pleased.
"Hey, wai... No… Listen… JUST LISTEN TO ME! Yeah, we didn't kill all of them. Only those with guns."
More shouting.
"No, not everyone. One guy was smart, he surrendered. Yeah, he's fine. Just a little shaken."
Another pause, this one longer.
"Yeah, sure. And Boss? Threat him well, ok? I mean, he's smart dude, and he said he joined the Fang only because he didn't really have a choice. He doesn't look like a psycho killer to me. And trust me, I can tell if someone is a psycho killer."
Because you are one? Was something he wanted to say, but did not. It looked like he might actually live through this. No need to do anything stupid.
He could hear his captor sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, say what you want. Guy is smart, and he will cooperate if you don't act like assholes. In fact, you could try and act less like assholes to Faunus in general. Who knows, that might make them hate you less."
He could hear the click signaling end of call, and the soft hum from death incarnate standing behind him.
"Ok pal, come on. Let's find somewhere cleaner to wait for our ride."
He followed without a question. Six men in Atlas Special Forces uniforms surrounded him, blocking any ways of escape.
As if he would try anything.
Winter Schnee shook her head, looking over small White Fang outpost. They confirmed at least thirty corpses, and reports of more being found kept coming. She noticed few of her soldiers being paler than usual. She couldn't blame them.
This whole place looked like it was a scene taken from some cheap horror movie.
Her eyes fell on the single survivor. An old dog faunus just sitting there, eyes empty. She didn't blame him. Honestly, it was miracle he lived. It was first time she heard of anyone from the 'bad guys' surviving an encounter with the man that took out this camp.
The soldier in front of her finished his report, and she sent him away. Apparently, this crazy bastard and his prisoner called a few other White Fang cells, and asked them about their plans. She would be mad if this reckless action had cost them the chance to gather some intel - except that he got something interesting out of it. She sighed, massaging her forehead.
"Vytal Festival, huh?" She sighed, and turned towards her private ship. General Ironwood needed to hear about this as quickly as possible.
The white haired man stared at his scroll, lost in thought. Around him, Atlas main airport was busy even at such a late hour. Some people stared at him, whispering. He wasn't sure if it was because of his swords, clothing that had obviously saw better days, or the grilled rabbit leg he was eating.
He didn't care either.
"Vytal festival, huh?" He grinned. "I guess I could pay my old pupil a visit."
And here we go. After some fluff, we are slowly getting back to the action.
I would like address one thing - some people seemed upset about Blake's behavior last chapter. It surprised me, because I didn't think she was coming off as rude. More of blunt honesty. She was concerned about the possibility of Jaune confessing to her because she is still hurt after Adam, and has too many things to figure out to add romance on top of that.
Besides, she did notice Sam's feelings toward Jaune. As did everyone else - expect Jaune of course. He sees her as a cute, clingy little sister. Can Sam break through dense wall separating her from the heart of her Onii-chan? Or will she falter along the way? Well, one of these options is much more likely than other.
See you all next week.
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