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To Thrive and be Victorious
CHAPTER 5
"Millions in the arena, witnessing the greatest battle yet. Ladies and gentlemen, the violence, speed, and momentum are just too much!"
At least that was what Nora was thinking with her wild imagination or with whatever was going on inside that whimsical mind of hers. Of course, what actually happened was less impressive than what she described it as.
It was an intermission day for the tournament where the participants could take a breather where they could practice and enjoy the festival before the next round. So obviously I wasn't in any sort of a serious match despite what Nora's babbling may tell you. In reality, we were in the academy's combat hall practicing for tomorrow's match by having a friendly spar while being spectated by a grand total of zero people. Not exactly something worthy of being called a grand, ultimate, climactic battle if you ask me.
The rooftop where we usually practiced hardly provided enough space to let us exercise our more ostentatious abilities to its fullest, and it was too open that it would be visible to everyone who was outside during the festival, which would have made it too distracting for us. Luckily, we managed to convince Miss Goodwitch to let us borrow the arena for a couple of hours so not only were we able to practice comfortably in a wide-open space, we were able to spar peacefully too. I don't know if this was part of the extra credit paying off or because it was too much to decline the offer from someone who was now overwhelmingly renowned. But regardless, I was glad that we were able to use it so the question never bothered me again.
It was me and Pyrrha versus Ren and Nora. The two were a shining example of what kind of duos we should expect. If we could beat them, then it means we have a good chance of beating whoever is pitted against us. I could notice them holding back slightly, but even then, they were still challenging foes nonetheless.
I parried away Ren's slashes with my sword, sliding my feet as I sprung back. I pulled out my pistol and opened fire. He stormed toward me as he maneuvered through the lasers, so I quickly holstered my gun back before expanding my shield and swinging my sword at him. I was able to overpower him enough to make him fall down the floor. He then aimed his guns toward me and fired as I blocked his bullets with my shield in time.
Like Yang, the best tactic against Ren was to drain his stamina. And since he was known to wear out the quickest among us, this should have been easy. Unfortunately, he was aware of this method and made sure no one would be able to take advantage of it by making sure all of his moves count. Looks like all the meditation he took paid off.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was dodging strikes from Nora's hammer. Nora then tried to swing her hammer upward only for Pyrrha to hop on it and sprung into the air. Pyrrha fired at Nora with her weapon's rifle mode as she descended to the ground, causing Nora to dart back when she landed. Since she mostly had to rely on her hammer, the lack of grenades thanks to the combat hall's rules made the spar easier. The downside to this is that I won't be as prepared to deal with explosives when the real thing comes.
I continued to clash blades with Ren as we moved around the stage until I got him standing right where I wanted him: behind Pyrrha as she was facing Nora. Nora charged at Pyrrha as she firmly gripped her hammer. With a single whistle to signal Pyrrha, she used her magnetism on Nora's hammer to swing it toward Ren as she got out of the way. Ren was sent flying to the arena until he hit the wall.
Needless to say, this made Nora go berserk. She aggressively twirled her hammer to hit both of us as we surrounded her. She turned back and used her weapon's momentum to swing it at me. I was able to block it with my shield, but the impact was strong enough to get me tumbling onto the floor as it creates a shockwave.
Pyrrha went on to strike at Nora, only for her to deflect her attacks in time. Nora then bounced on Pyrrha's shield doing a backflip before trying to clout me as she landed back onto the floor. I was able to dodge it by rolling to my side before it could hit me. Pyrrha threw her javelin at Nora before unfortunately missing. She then dived past her to retrieve her weapon and blocked another swing of Nora's hammer, slightly being pushed back.
Nora's back was open, so I took this opportunity to fire at her. The laser fire was just too fast that it was able to hit her the second she turned her head and noticed it. The shot took a significant amount of her aura. It was all over after Pyrrha swiped the floor with her spear as Nora fell to the ground.
"Alright guys, that's a wrap." I clapped my hands, turning the lights around the room back on before facing my teammates as Ren and Nora got up while they recovered their aura. "Good fighting, everyone. If we keep this up, I'd say this championship will be a walk in the park."
"You did great too, Jaune. You won't be having much trouble for the next round either." Pyrrha warmly remarked.
I couldn't help but smile back. "It was nothing. In fact, I think you're the one that's carrying the show."
She glanced down as she sheepishly blushed. "Well, if that's how you see it then." She looked back up. "Still, it doesn't make your performance less superb. With our skills combined and with your direction, we will be unmatched."
"Yeah," I muttered, internally struggling to repress my cynicism so I didn't have to think that she had low standards or was saying it because she had to.
"Feels good getting my butt kicked by you guys," Nora chirped as she cracked her back, "I can't wait to see you two fight tomorrow. You'll knock em' dead for sure."
"Heh. Not literally, of course." I snickered.
"Looks like you two don't have much to worry about then," Ren said.
"The only thing we had to worry about is who we would be facing," I stated. Just as before, the next bracket won't be revealed until tomorrow when the matches start. I mused on the prospect that Pyrrha and I could be matched by someone who may be able to ruin our victory streak but I was better off not thinking about it at the moment. "Aside from that, I think we're good."
My team followed me as we left the combat hall and headed to the cafeteria to take our lunch. When we arrived, the girls were already there. Ruby waved at us as soon as she saw us entering the cafeteria while happily eating some strawberries. Weiss was sipping her tea, Blake was reading another book per the norm while eating tuna, and Yang was munching on her sandwich. I ordered some meatloaf while Pyrrha and Ren ordered an omelet and some ramen respectively. Nora, meanwhile, just bought a whole bucket of chicken for herself.
We sat and ate alongside the girls. I brought my tanna tea bags so I put them in my cup and drank it once it was ready. I made a refreshed exhale as I tasted the blissful flavor of my drink. Weiss stared at me for a moment. She was still unsure about the tanna since I introduced it to her when we had cake and tea the other day. She did tell me that she was interested in trying it, but she still wasn't sure if she could appreciate it as I do.
"Hey there, Blakey the Kitty. Whatcha reading?" Nora suddenly asked as she leaned forward from her seat, apparently not noticing the title on the book's front cover despite its large font.
"The Destiny of the World," she answered, her eyes never turning away from the book.
"So, is it any good?"
"No."
"Okay then," Nora said, sitting back down as her grin slowly faded.
"So, who would be representing you for tomorrow?" Pyrrha queried after swallowing a piece of her omelet.
"The ice queen and I would be doing the honors," Yang stood up and patted Weiss' head. "Her brains and my brawn mean a trophy for Team RWBY."
"Ohh! Fire and Ice. I like it!" Nora chirped.
Weiss did her best to repress her infuriation from Yang's antics. "We've been practicing together a lot recently. Hopefully, pairing me with someone as audacious as Yang won't be a mismatch."
"Don't worry, your highness. I won't let you down." Yang pinches both of Weiss's cheeks as the latter tries to maintain a straight face. "The only ones that need to worry are the unlucky shi—, I mean, schmucks who are going to get matched against us."
"You two will do great together, I'm sure of it!" Ruby chimed in, encouraging her teammates as a good leader/partner/sister would do.
"I hope you're not wrong," Weiss murmured before taking another sip of her tea.
As I was nearly done finishing my meal, I felt my scroll vibrate. I pulled it out and saw that I got a new message from Rouge, meaning that she and Rose had finally arrived in Vale. You can tell it was from her just by the way it was written.
'just got 2 vale, lil bro. b sure 2 c us if u hav time. well keep r location open 4 u. nor & blanc r gona b ther 2'
I have been familiar with Rouge's texting lingo for a while now so I was able to read all of that straight, even then it felt like it still cost a few of my brain cells to do so. I wished anyone good luck to all the innocents out there who are about to cross paths with them for more than ten seconds. Anyone familiar with them should know why.
Pyrrha gave me a look of concern. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's nothing. It's just that two of my sisters just arrived in Vale." I put the scroll back into my pocket and went back to finishing my lunch.
"Let me guess… Rose and Rouge." Ren reckoned correctly. I told my teammates about my sisters enough that they were able to identify which one I was talking about even if I didn't mention them directly.
"You got that right," I replied before taking another sip of my tanna leaf tea.
"That figures," he said. Ren and I tend to bond over the prominent female figures in our lives. Like I said a few times before, he is the closest thing I have to a brother.
A few minutes passed, and Sun and Neptune finally appeared in the cafeteria. "What is up, everybody!" Neptune greeted. I immediately picked up the scent of his recognizable men's body spray. It smelled like he still thought those things would win him some girls, but if anything it probably drove them away, especially if he keeps trying hard like he always does.
"Hey there, guys!" Ruby chirped. Everyone smiled and waved at them, except Weiss who looked away because of a certain someone. Neptune frowned when he noticed this. It appears as if it's officially over for them but it wasn't much of a concern for me. Funnily enough, I noticed that Blake let go of her book for a moment to flash a smile on Sun. It appeared as if the tables had turned for these two.
"How are you two lovebirds doing?" Yang quipped as the two boys approached our table.
"Oh please, Yang, you're starting to sound like our fangirls." Sun chuckled at her playful, if juvenile remark.
I was still surprised that those two even had fangirls, but I can sympathize with them with how some fans like to push me into a relationship with someone specific, regardless of how I felt about it. It's annoying but it's something you'll get used to.
Yang gave them a teasing, asymmetrical smile. "Are your fangirls at least attractive?"
"Well, we can't say they're ugly, that's for sure," he replied cheekily.
"Fair enough," Yang chuckled.
"Good afternoon, Sun," Blake warmly greeted, much to the contentment of her friends that she was finally happy to see someone.
"Afternoon to you too, Blake," Sun replied before turning to everyone. "Since we just ate, would you guys mind if we just sit down next to you?"
"Of course. Your company is always appreciated," Pyrrha replied.
Well, to most of us at least, I thought as I looked at an agitated Weiss who was still trying her hardest not to acknowledge one of their existence. I figured she was no longer one of Neptune's fangirls, to put it nicely.
The two delightfully sat down on a vacant seat that was next to me. "So are you ready for the thing?" Sun asked me as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
His mention of that 'thing' with the lack of explanation made me raise my brow in confusion, "What thing?"
"Yeah, what's this 'thing' you guys are talking about?" Yang leaned on the table with a curious grin.
"That thing," Neptune repeated, still not elaborating on what it was.
I remembered the favor these two asked for the previous day and I presumed that was what they were referring to. But I still don't know what it was exactly. Regardless of what I thought it was, I played along and humored them. "Oh, that thing."
"Seriously, what are you boys up to?" Yang asked. It was a question I couldn't answer myself because I didn't know either.
"Oh, nothing, just some stuff between us boys," Neptune replied with a vague answer.
"Sure…" She skeptically narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, just do what you gotta do. I ain't gonna stop you."
"Thank you, Yang," Neptune then turned toward me. "So, you coming or what?"
I contemplated for a couple of seconds before deciding to accompany them with whatever they were up to, especially since I had more or less accepted it the previous day. Even if I wasn't interested, it was too late to say 'no'. "Well, I was planning on going to Vale later, so I might as well come with you guys."
The duo beamed. "Great!" Sun exclaimed, "We'll make it worth your time."
I sure do hope so, I thought. I still wasn't sure why I was even agreeing to this. If anything, I was gambling with what I was putting myself into that I was starting to regret it.
"Is this okay with you?" I asked Pyrrha for some reason, probably out of compulsive habit, mostly because I usually turn to her for questions.
She gave me a confused look. "Why did you have to ask me? It's not like I exist to keep you away from other people," she answered. With that answer, it made me wonder why I even asked. While she would make a pretty decent big sister (who just happened to have red hair… among other things), it's not like she's my mother or something.
"So does that mean if Jaune dates another girl, you wouldn't interfere?" Yang asked with a teasing grin, followed by a chuckle from Ruby while Blake curiously turned to her partner; Weiss made a faint blush as she looked away once again and continued sipping her tea. Adding to the awkwardness, I felt a little embarrassed by that question so I tried not to think about it.
"What?!" Pyrrha exclaimed as the color of her face became closer to that of her hair. "No! In fact, I'd be hap—"
"Not on my watch!" Nora stood up, with Ren putting a hand on his face. "I will not tolerate anyone who dares to get in the way of true love!"
Naturally, we all just ignored her; everyone already knows that there was no sense in trying to challenge her exceptional insanity. Maybe it was a good thing to leave her company for a bit.
"You mentioned that it's only between boys?" Ren suddenly asked. "If that's the case, can I come?"
"Never even thought of that. But you could if you want," Sun said.
Nora ate an entire chicken leg thigh with a single swallow and made a loud burp. It was then that Ren made his decision final. "I'm in!" He said as leaped out of his seat.
"Well, the more the merrier!" Neptune remarked. "Welcome to the crew."
I was glad that Ren would accompany us. I needed someone else I could trust while keeping my rear guarded just in case. Naturally, it made me more confident with whatever I was about to do for these two.
I patted his shoulder. "Good to have you with us buddy." He then smiled back at me.
"Aww, I wish I could tag along," Nora whined. "Oh well, I hope you guys have fun together, whatever you're up to."
Ren quietly cheered with a 'Yes!' as he faintly pumped his fist. Looks like I wasn't the only one happy about not having to babysit a chaotic redhead for a short time. Then again, I would still have to babysit two boneheads and a mischievous sister who was supposed to be older than me.
When Ren and I were done with our lunch we both stood up with Sun and Neptune and made our way out of the cafeteria. "Take care, guys!" Ruby waved before we left. We waved back at the girls as we left the building. I hope Team RWBY doesn't mind hanging out with Nora for a bit.
The campus was still fairly crowded with the ongoing festival. As we headed to the Bullhead docks, I finally decided to inquire about the situation as I'd been in the dark on this for long enough. "Alright, can you now tell me what this is all about?"
"Well, to start, let's just say it involves detective work. We still have our junior badges," Sun answered.
I remembered the two shadowing crime specialists back when everyone was taking their first mission, I thought this had something to do with that. Though, I was a little more curious about how they get to keep their badges when they should have expired by then. "You still have them?"
"Hey, we had a lot of fun then and they thought we did a good job, so they offered us some part-time work for a few weeks. We get to do more detective stuff and get paid for it," Neptune stated.
"And we kinda need your help with this one," Sun said.
So far, it didn't sound too bad. Helping out police investigations sounded pretty tame compared to most other jobs for Huntsmen [1]. The worst thing you could get into was to look at decaying corpses and get into brawls with some thugs (who usually use knives and bats, given that it was near impossible to get a hold of guns in Vale unless you're a licensed Huntsman). The more serious cases like serial killers and conspiracies are quite rare. And if there happens to be one, they are usually reserved for the more experienced detectives, something I doubt that these two Huntsmen-in-training are assigned with. "So, what's the case?"
"We were investigating a drug trafficking case that involves this gang, and… let's just say we're going to need some extra muscle," Neptune answered.
And that's where they lost me.
"Not to mention, extra brains," Sun added.
After hearing that, I was hoping that the gang they were referring to better be a bunch of criminally inept idiots trying to act tough and that my fears better be exaggerated. Otherwise, I should pinch myself for blindly accepting their favor yesterday. "Did you two get yourselves in trouble?"
"No…" Neptune muttered as Sun glared at him into admitting it. "Okay, maybe a little."
"I'm pretty sure we kinda pissed off their boss for digging too deep," Sun slightly grimaced.
"Couldn't have you asked for help from the police department?" Ren asked, stating the simplest solution at the time. "Especially if that gang is suspected of trafficking illegal goods."
"We could, but I don't think they'll be happy to hear that we kinda screwed up, which is why we asked for your help." Sun reasoned. "We thought you could help us sort this out. You guys were able to stop a train and got that friggin' Torchwick guy arrested on the same day for crying out loud. We could use some of that. We've been doing this for weeks now and it would be a good time to finish it once and for all so we can enjoy the festival without anything to worry about."
Well, I know how he feels with that one. I guess it's too late to bail now. I'd end up looking like a cowardly jerk if I refuse now. I really should have seen this coming and excused myself yesterday. And I thought that meeting Rose and Rouge again would be the most challenging task I had to take for the day.
Then I felt the coin drop. Thinking about my sisters made me realize that they could help us deal with this gang especially since this was a task befitting for trained and experienced Huntresses like them. If I was able to convince them to, then this should be as easy as pie, I thought. So I accepted the task. "Fine, I'm no miracle worker but I'll see what I can do, but just this once."
They both made a relieved sigh. "Thanks, man, we really owe you one," Neptune said.
"You kinda owe me a lot, if I'm honest," I said in a rather playfully snide way so it wouldn't sound like I was annoyed.
"Yeah, but we'll try to make sure that will be worth it," he reassured.
"Sorry if this bothers you." Sun apologized.
"I'm helping out my friends, I can't be mad at that," I sighed to myself with concealed agitation.
"Are you sure about this?" Ren asked me. To be honest, I wasn't. But if there were any reassurances, it wouldn't involve a cell from an international terrorist group or rogue scientists trying to empower Grimm. At worst, I'll be dealing with serious criminals that I could just shoot in the face and no one would care as vigilantism committed by a celebrity wasn't as looked down upon as police brutality or something. I didn't even think that Sun and Neptune were capable of putting themselves in situations worse than that.
"Let's just say I found another way to practice for tomorrow," I told him. Ren remained skeptical but was assured that his reliable leader would take care of everything.
I hoped this would work, it was probably the only reason why I haven't fully regretted agreeing to it. But at the same time, I felt like I would rather have Nora figure out what my semblance was using whatever death traps she could think of.
=o=
1. That is if you ignore more mundane jobs such as courier work in short distances; guarding laborers in an already secured area, or even gathering dust and herbs for an alchemist.
While the city streets of Vale were still bustling with the festival taking place, even then, it was still another average day for most people with jobs to fulfill. So most of the celebration took place in downtown central while other parts of the kingdom remained relatively quiet despite a huge party happening around the corner.
Unsurprisingly, thanks to my fame, it was much easier to count the pedestrians that didn't recognize me than the ones that did, especially with my face broadcasted on television the previous day, and partly because I didn't bother to wear anything other than my usual clothes and armor. I had to stop at least every two minutes just so I could be nice to my fans. I had to take pictures, sign autographs, and stuff like that. As annoying as it sounds—and trust me, it was for the first couple of days that I couldn't describe how exhausting it was—I have gotten used to my celebrity status ever since it stuck with me for the past few months that spending a few minutes dealing with them feels like another daily chore.
Sun and Neptune were noticeably jealous of the attention I was getting, especially if cute girls are involved, but it more or less reminded them that they have the Hero of Beacon in their company and that they were under the impression that they had nothing to worry about. Besides, at least they were able to get some recognition by having to encounter a few fans of their own, even if they were more focused on me. Ren, while far less recognizable to the public—not that he minded at all—was still able to his share of admirers. He was grateful for their support, but he didn't appear to feel anything beyond that. It must be because he couldn't imagine being with someone besides Nora, who was thankfully not there to drive away his fans. Ren deserved some appreciation from anyone outside his friends.
"You seem to be more awfully cheerful than usual," I told Ren after we left the last batch we took photos and signed autographs for. We've been on the same team for the past seven months and I still wasn't used to seeing Ren in a jovial mood.
"It just feels so gratifying to be away from Nora for once," He answered. "Don't get me wrong. She will always be someone important to me, but I still need a break from her every once in a while."
I gave him an understanding nod. Everybody needed some time from someone they're entangled with for the sake of their health and sanity after all. "I can definitely see that, buddy."
"Besides, I needed to spend some time with you and other boys," he added. Good thing we were there for that.
"So where are we heading first?" Sun asked me.
"We're going to meet up with my sisters. If there is anyone who could help us deal with a bunch of criminal tough guys, it's them," I stated, I remember that they were able to clear a ship full of Mistrali gangsters with only the help of a few marshals a few weeks after my fateful visit to Pucelle, so I thought this should be a cakewalk for them. I looked at my scroll map which had their location marked. "They're waiting at Diner 9." [1]
"Your sisters huh?" Neptune made a perverted grin before wiping his hair. Sun noticeably rolled his eyes over that. There was no stopping this guy from chasing women; if Weiss breaking up with him didn't cause him to knock that behavior off, I don't know what else will. If he doesn't grow out of this soon, I doubt he'd last long in a serious relationship.
"How did you and Weiss work out?" I asked Neptune. Even though Weiss' repulsion towards him earlier should have already answered it, I still wanted to hear his side of the story.
He sighed for a bit. "I told her that we're not exactly working out. To be honest, everything between us was just a stupid fling. Don't take this the wrong way, she is really that smart and pretty, it's just that I realized that she's not really my type. Besides, a girl like her deserves someone better."
"I see." It was all that I could say at the moment. I couldn't exactly quip at that especially since he was being frank with me as well as making a self-deprecating remark to show that he was not proud of how he handled her. As obnoxious as Neptune's lady-chasing persona can be, you had to give him credit for his honesty, something which was one thing I lacked.
"You so you'd know, I'm not exactly comfortable talking about this, so let's change the subject a bit." He cleared his throat. "I looked up your laser pistol the other day."
That managed to capture my curiosity. "Oh?"
"Yeah, it's an Accatran Mark I Laser Pistol. It said that those things are prototypes for the Atlesian military with only a few of them reaching into the public's hands for now. Which makes me wonder, where did you get it?"
I gave him a conceited look. I wasn't able to show the gun at the moment because I left it on my rocket locker while I didn't need it yet, the same goes for Ren. Sun and Neptune, however, brought both of their weapons since their badges authorized them to carry them in public even if neither of them possessed an official Huntsman license. "Well, it's a trophy I got from one of my encounters with the White Fang," I answered. I was still curious about how I was still able to buy ammo for this gun in stores at a relatively cheap price when it was supposedly rare. [2]
"Nice. Just a suggestion, if you get the chance, you should try upgrading red lasers to blue. Because not only would they look cooler, they'll grow even more powerful too."
I lifted one of my brows in genuine curiosity. "How so?"
"Remember when science classes taught you that blue stars and flames are warmer than the red ones? Well, the same goes for lasers. It's because cooler colors like blue and purple possess the highest energy in the light spectrum. And the higher the energy the particles have, the more powerful they are."
That was surprisingly a very useful piece of genuine advice. With all the moments where he made a fool out of himself, I almost forgot how smart Neptune actually was. He wasn't really bragging when he calls himself 'intellectual'. "I'll consider that. Thanks for the idea. Thinking about it, doesn't your weapon fire blue energy particles too?"
"My weapon?" His brow raised. "The Tri-Hard?"
"Wait, what?" There was a brief pause afterward as I tried to contemplate what he just said. "You actually named your weapon 'Tri-Hard'?" A silly name for a weapon, but with all due respect to Neptune, it was actually quite a fitting name for someone like him if you asked me.
"Nah, technically it was me," Sun answered before Neptune could. "He thought it sounded cool and clever for a trident. He didn't realize it's because..."
"I'm a tryhard," Neptune groaned. "Har har, we all get it, Sun." He cleared his throat before going back to answering my question. "It technically does, but as you know, it uses magnetic beams; rather than lasers. Still, it packs a punch."
"Alright then," I said as I was slightly befuddled that someone as supposedly smart as Neptune never realizes what the name meant until after a period of time [3]. Not gonna lie though, that weapon comes in handy when used right, derogatory name or not. Yesterday's match made that clear. It would have been funny if he ended up getting matched against Nora at one point.
We continued to walk for a few more minutes as we got closer to our destination when Ren suddenly spoke. "So I've been thinking about our temporary team name while we're together; Team AWRN (Aquamarine)"
"Aquamarine?" I asked.
"Arc, Wukong, Ren, and Neptune," He clarified.
"Hey, that doesn't sound bad," Sun remarked. I'll have to second Sun on this, it's a very plausible name if we're grouped together. That, and I can't think of anything else better myself.
Neptune begs to differ, of course, because of what he's recently infamous for. "Dude, is there another name for us that isn't related to water?"
"It's the best one I could think of at the moment as far as having Jaune on the lead go," Ren explained.
Neptune groaned before taking a deep breath. "Okay. It's just a name. It's just a name. Don't think about water. Just don't think about water." He muttered to himself.
We all stared at him. For someone who is trying to be part of the cool kids, I don't think we'll see him at any pool parties soon.
"He'll be fine. He always goes through this," Sun reassured.
"By the way, who'll represent you two for tomorrow?" Ren asked.
"Sage and I got it. Neptune would have gone with me if he had stopped freaking out that he might be on another stage that has water on it," Sun answered as he glanced back at Neptune who was still trying his best not to think about water over our unofficial team name. "And the fact that Sage needs to make up for getting knocked out in the last match that quickly."
Neptune finally exhaled and snapped out of it before chiming in. "Yeah, he wasn't happy about that."
"I wish you guys luck then," I said to them.
"Thanks, we really appreciate it," Sun smiled.
We finally arrived at the diner. I could tell that my sisters were there because Rose's cruiser bike was parked in front of the building. The diner had a very classic style aesthetic, both inside and outside. Entering the diner, there were stools mounted on the checkered floor; in front of the counter where the waitress (who was said to be the owner's wife) was preparing food for the customer.
It only took half a second to find Rose and Rouge sitting at one of the tables. Noire and Blanche were there too; they were wearing clothes that concealed their recognizable appearances from the general public, something that I would sometimes do myself. Aside from them, the diner wasn't that crowded with the only other customer being an old lady on the other side of the diner.
"Yo, twerp!" Rouge immediately noticed me when she saw me and the boys enter. She waved at me, prompting the others to turn around now that I was there.
We walked over to them. I saw that Noire was wearing a black baseball cap and a coat of matching color while Blanche wore a white dress and a sunhat; they both had shades resting on the table.
Rose and Rouge, on the other hand, were still wearing their usual clothes. Rose's plate contained steak and some eggs while Rouge was eating some nachos. The twins meanwhile settled for a milkshake and chocolate cake respectively.
"Good to finally see yer face again, little brother," Rose greeted. It was nice hearing her homely accent in person again. "Friends of yours?"
"They sure are," I replied as I smiled at them, "Rose, Rouge, Noire, Blanche. I'd like you to meet Ren, Sun, and Neptune."
"Howdy," Rose tipped her hat at my friends.
"It's nice to meet you," Blanche greeted.
"How do you do?" Noire followed with a bright smile.
"What's up, dorks." Rouge greeted in her own Rouge-ish way as I expected of her.
Sun raised a brow, "Did your sister just call us dorks?" He turned to me and asked. I was only able to answer with a snicker.
"Yeah, I did," Rouge said candidly. "Got a fuckin' problem with that, monkey boy?" Sun was slightly flinched by her response that may or may not be racially offensive against primate faunus all while Neptune continues to ogle at them. Typical.
"Oh, don't you fellers worry 'bout her," Rose reassured. "That's just her way of greetin' new people."
"I'm still glad we have her to scare the press away for us," Noire quipped, causing me to share a laugh with her and our other sisters. I know how pesky those guys can be that they can make someone like Rouge look more bearable in comparison. Rouge seemingly took that as a compliment as she didn't appear to be offended in the slightest.
"Eh. You know what, I still think you're a bunch of dorks especially since you're hanging out with the biggest nerd I know. But because you're all pals with him, you're all fine with me for now," Rouge said and it's probably the nicest thing she said to strangers for a while now and the boys should be quite proud of that achievement.
Neptune made an impressed whistle at all four of my sisters. "Hello to all of you too,"
I narrowed my eyes at him, under the impression that he would try something funny. My sisters gave him some weird looks which was an expected outcome, but other than that they didn't react much to his transparent attempts at flirting.
"Our little hero here told us a lot about ya, Ren," Rose said to him, earning his smile. "Just so ya' know, any friend of Jaune is a friend of mine. Thanks for lookin' out for him for all these months."
"It was my pleasure," he nodded. "Rest assured I have his back when he needs it."
"Ya' just keep doin' that," Rose said. "It's nice to see we could count on folks like you. He always needed some friends, especially someone who could act as a brother to him. Glad he finally found that again."
"I haven't let Jaune down yet and I don't intend the same to you," Ren said as I smiled at him while patting his shoulder.
"That's what I like to hear," Rose said before going back to eating her steak.
"Hey, you two are Blanche and Noire Arc, right?" Sun queried. "The not-really-Huntresses-but-might-as-well-be popstar twins?"
"Correct," Noire nodded.
"Not to spoil the surprise, but expect us to be there for Jaune!" Blanche said.
"Nice. It's just that… I just wanted to say, I really like your songs." Sun complimented.
"Why thank you," Noire said.
"You're welcome."
Though I'm still not sure if it was necessary to do a concert at the tournament for my sake, I was happy to see the twins again, even if their stupid semblance motivated me into accepting my invitation to Beacon, as if the pressure I got from Dad's encouragements weren't bad enough. [3]
I went in to sit beside Noire and Blanc as Ren, Sun and Neptune sat on the red bar stools in front of the table. "I just realized, aren't the two of ya' fellers from the team that electrified those girls on the water yesterday?" Rose asked me.
"Yes, that would be us," Sun nodded.
"Boy, that was some fucking match," Rouge remarked. "I expected Team Igloo or whatever to kick your boyband-looking asses. But I gotta admit, I was really impressed to see you actually win when it looked like they were about to dom ya'."
"That's right. That victory wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for yours truly," Neptune bragged as he made a seductive grin to show off his pearly white teeth to my sisters.
"Right, and aren't you the one who was also freaked out over water?" Rouge snidely remarked.
"Uhh…" Neptune lost his cool as he made an embarrassed chuckle.
"Well, good job facing your fears to earn that victory at least," Rose said.
"Thanks, I really… risked myself back there." He cleared his throat. "For the team."
"Ya' sure did."
"So we've heard that you're the Hero of Beacon now, baby bro," Rouge said to me. "It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"I feel like 'The Least Insane Person in Beacon' sounds more appropriate," I deadpanned before turning back at the boys who I might have slightly offended with that remark. "You guys are okay though." Well, sorta but I did find them to be more tolerable compared to most of the hectic student body who we call the next generation of Huntsmen, which was why I was even hanging out with them.
"So, have you finally gotten laid yet?" she then asked, causing Sun and Neptune to lean in curiously while giving me perverted looks.
I sighed before answering. Here we go with her again. Oh Brothers, I couldn't imagine the girls meeting Pyrrha in person. "Still working on that."
"Huh. You literally have swarms of fangirls that are head over heels before you. I thought you'd be too nice and perverted enough to let them play with your sword," she teased.
"I'm not like that, Rouge," I glared at her. "Look, even if some of my fans are hot, I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of having my first time through my reputation. I'd have to be very careless."
That, and I didn't need some entitled bimbo or a group of them to take advantage of me once I entered that certain unwanted phase of my career all of a sudden even if I didn't do anything to my fans outside their consent. It'll be more likely to happen once my reputation goes down the drain as it's credited to carrots that they won't take kindly to learning that they slept with a fraud. They would surely repay me by making my already-miserable life a living hell. I'm going to have to help my own case by not doing anything raunchy to my fans. Giving them high fives and hugs was already risky for me.
"Of course, he won't, Rouge," Rose chimed in. "Especially since he's savin' all of that for Pyrrha."
"Uh, no." I corrected, "Our relationship is nothing like that. At least not yet anyway."
All four of my sisters gave shocked expressions. "Wait, you two are still not dating?" Noire asked before I answered by shaking my head. It made me wonder if there was anyone who could perceive us as good friends for once.
"Well, that's a bummer," Rose remarked. "What the blazes are ya' waiting for, Jaune? Just go for it already!"
"Yeah, I'm still looking forward to Pumpkin Pete's Special Love Breakfast with you and Pyrrha on the box," Rouge jibed. [5]
"By the Gods, knock it off, I've been hearing this millions of times on the streets and especially on the web already," I grumbled. This reminded me of that one time when Rouge suggested that I bone Bleu's wife so she could have a baby that possesses Arc genes. Bleu wasn't fully opposed to the idea and I would have loved to get laid. But in the end, she ultimately rejects it and sticks with alternative methods to get a child. Besides, as much of a horny teenager I was, I still wasn't keen on the idea of fathering my eldest sister's child at that age and leaving him or her because I did what I only came for (no dirty pun intended). It was a line I didn't want to cross.
"Oh please, all of you, go easy on Jaune. He's just trying to wait for the right time." Blanche said before sipping on her sundae once again.
"Thank you, Blanche," I said.
"Jaune, if you don't man up and eat Pyrrha like you eat her cereal after the tournament ends, I'll show your friends pictures of you in ballet class," Rouge threatened. "Mark my godsdamn words."
"And what's your point? Haven't I already told you ballet isn't necessarily girly? How many times do I have to tell you that?! I willingly took those classes to exercise my flexibility!" I exclaimed. I would have been lying if I didn't say I wasn't embarrassed when I first took ballet class because it's usually treated as a girls' thing, but I began to appreciate it for what it is. It's one of the contributing factors to why I even got decent training and I would have been less agile without it. Dad knew what he was doing when he suggested that I take those classes and I knew he wasn't trying to embarrass me.
Rouge folded her arms skeptically. "Yeah, sure."
"Is it bad I kinda want to see those pictures?" Sun asked before I glared at him, making him look back at me awkwardly. "Sorry."
I turned back to Rouge. "Say what you want about it, at least I didn't have to wear a freaking tutu!"
"He's not wrong though, trust me," Ren said, backing me up. The implication that he also did ballet classes wasn't surprising. If anything, it explained why he was so nimble. "But let's not forget why we're here."
"Oh, yeah, right. As much as we're enjoying all this smalltalk. We're here so we could use your help for something," Sun said.
"With what?" Rose asked.
"We were doing some detective work and we could use an extra hand in dealing with some serious criminals," Sun answered.
"You must have pissed off some really serious criminals if you boys came here to ask for our help," Rouge stated.
"Pretty much," Neptune said. "All of our investigations on a drug trafficking case point toward the Silverlock Street Gang. This was confirmed by an informant and interrogations from arrested members. I think they want our heads now. I don't think the PD is going to give us the backup we need to take them on, so we could use all the help we could get right about now so we'll be able to solve this case and not get killed."
"Wait, the Silverlock Street Gang? Why does that name sound familiar?" Rouge rubbed her chin as she began to muse.
"Aren't they those Mistrali guys who wear hats and red shades, trying too hard to look like Weissenburg from Criminal Elements?" Rose inquired.
"Huaxians actually, but Huaxia is still a part of Mistral, so yeah, pretty much," Sun confirmed.
"Oh, those guys. So, we get to beat those fuckers up? Sounds good to me!" Rouge finally stopped slouching from her seat. Good, the more familiar they are with what we are about to face, the easier this is going to go. I knew I was making the right choice by approaching my sisters for help.
"Well, there aren't any interesting missions available right now, so count us in!" Rose said. "It's the least we can do to help out some of our lil' brother's friends."
I was put at ease knowing that the next few hours of my life would be made easier now that two of my more rowdy sisters have joined us in our mission to take down a crime organization.
Sun made a sigh of relief. "Thanks. We're really grateful for your help."
"Anythin' for my fellow enforcers of the law," Rose said.
"What about you two?" I asked Blanche and Noire, "I know you aren't Huntresses but you do know how to fight. Maybe you could just provide moral support if you don't feel like engaging in combat."
"Sorry, we're still busy with rehearsals for tomorrow," Blanche answered, "Good luck helping your friends clean the streets though."
"Just please don't get hurt enough that you might not be able to take the match," Noire added.
"Trust me, I'll be careful." I said, "Besides, you know me, I'm not going to let some city thugs beat me up that easily."
"You better be, little brother," Blanche said.
"Finally, we got something to do in this fancy town," Rouge remarked, giving a fire dust crystal a toss. "Looks like I don't have to wait for tomorrow to see something exciting."
"Rouge, if that drops into my coffee, Ah swear Ah'm goin' to make ya' drink it until you choke on it so hard, ya'll be pukin' flames like a sick dragon!" Rose said. With siblings like these, I'm still amazed that we were able to live with each other for the majority of our lives.
The diner's waitress then approached us. "Oh, you must be that Beacon lad from the tournament. Do you have something to order?"
"I just ate, but some blue lemonade would be nice," I nodded.
Sun checked the menu and gave his order. "I'll have some banana split." Judging by that I could tell he glanced at the desert section and ordered the first thing that had the word 'banana'.
"A couple of grilled cheese and some onion rings for me," Neptune ordered, followed by Ren whose expression remained the same.
"Just some water would be nice."
"Alright then, luvs. This shouldn't take long." The waitress wrote our orders on her notepad before leaving and returning with our orders a few minutes later.
We took a short break to enjoy our respective meals and let the girls finish theirs. The twins were the first to finish and decided to leave early to make the most out of their rehearsals. They left a generous tip on the table and put their shades back, getting to a taxi cab before someone was able to notice them.
After the waitress collected the tip and cleared the cups and plates from our table, the boys moved to my seat as they continued to eat whatever food they have left. We eventually went back to discussing the investigation against the Triad. We gave Rose and Rouge a quick rundown of what was happening and why Sun and Neptune could use the assistance of us Arcs.
"Sounds to me like ya' boys bit off more than ya' can chew," Rose remarked. "So what d'ya think we could do to help?"
Neptune was the one to fill them in. "We just need more manpower and security, that's all. We plan to meet their boss at a club they own, The Crimson Panda. I've actually been to that place before and I'm pretty sure they use that club to launder money and stuff. We just need to coerce the Triads to a confession so the VPD would be able to bust them. If they won't cooperate, we threaten to burn the place down to the ground. I heard it happened before, and we can make it happen again."
He was finally acting like the intellectual he always claimed to be even though I am not exactly keen on their idea of meeting a mobster in person just because of my stature. "So what do you think?" He said.
There was one thing that bothered me. "Wait, if you needed a lot of manpower, couldn't you have the rest of my team for help?"
"Well, we thought you'd be enough to intimidate the Triads and we didn't want to burden your team too much," Sun answered with a slight shrug.
Well, that figures. As I thought about it, maybe it was for the best that we don't get Pyrrha, Nora, or Team RWBY involved. While their help would be very much appreciated, we didn't need to overcomplicate things by dragging more of our friends into it and putting them into potential trouble in the middle of an ongoing tournament, especially when Team RWBY had to do service the last time they tried doing something they were not permitted to do.
"The Crimson Panda, eh? Good luck because I heard that shithole of a club is where all types of the lowest scum hang out: conmen, thieves, murderers, rapists, drug lords, politicians, social media pundits, you name it. It's no wonder why that place got blown up before," Rouge gave her input in a way in what she does best.
Yeah, that definitely made me feel better about having to visit the place after mentioning what kind of people that place attracts. It just made me want to have the place blown up again and be done with it, proper protocols be damned.
She continued, "Luckily, you have us at your back, so what's the plan?"
Sun was about to put it into the discussion until we heard the door open and more customers came and took a table beside us. We figured that a public diner wasn't exactly an ideal place to discuss a battle plan against some gangsters especially when other customers tend to be very chatty. "We'll have to discuss it later in a more secluded place," Neptune said.
"We can talk about it in the motel room; it's not really that far from here," Rouge said.
"Alright then," I nodded. "You two turn on your trackers and go on ahead. We'll follow you and meet you there."
We stood up, leaving tips of our own before exiting the diner. Rose and Rouge drove away on the former's bike. The motel room they were staying in was only a short walk away so we were able to catch up in no time.
"Man, you sure have pretty nice sistas, Jaune. Are any of them single?" Neptune asked after crossing the street to our destination.
There he goes again, I thought. I was considering letting him date one of them just to see if he'll be able to last more than a week with them. That'll actually be entertaining to watch. "Yeah, everyone you just talked to is single. Only two of my older sisters are taken." I told him.
He was delighted to hear that, "Nice! I'm going with the cowgirl and the punk chick first. I'll show them a good impression once we start facing the Triads."
"Good luck with that," I said to him, especially with Rouge. There's a good reason why her exes are making sure they live far away from her after breaking up, literally—in one case.
This is going to be yet another long night, my least favorite type of night, I thought.
=o=
1 The number 9 in the diner's name is pronounced 'Niner' as it is used in the military, making it 'Diner Niner'.
2. The dust cells the laser pistol used as ammunition are quite versatile and were usually used as batteries for different types of machinery. Hence why they are commonly sold despite laser weaponry being rare at the time.
3. I consider theoretical knowledge to be separate from wisdom. While Neptune indeed possesses an aptitude for technology and other technical subjects, I wouldn't exactly call him wise.
4. The Arc twins' shared semblance allows them to strengthen a person's positivity and willpower through their music as well as drawing out negative emotions that attract Grimm. The effect only applies to a live audience within a two-hundred-meter radius. Due to this, they are often in collaboration with charities and humanitarian organizations to bolster the morale of their clients.
5. Velveteen, the company behind Pumpkin Pete, actually proposed a limited edition variant for Marshmallow Crunch called 'The Arkos Special' featuring both Jaune and Pyrrha on the box, prior to the idea being dropped after a certain event. It was planned to have a primarily strawberry flavor, which supposedly alludes to the relationship between the two. The company planned to offer Jaune collaboration (and by extension, sponsorship) with Pyrrha after they confirmed that they were in a relationship before beginning production with the variant.