Chapter six: The twins
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the office a few feet ahead of us. Ren drove in without any trouble, then we both got out. I looked around, making sure there were no White Fang trucks heading towards us, about to rip us to shreds with their guns, and then turned to Ren. "I think we're in the clear, we better move fast." I said. He nodded, opening the backdoor as I opened the one on my side too. Neo was sitting in the middle, still huddled up in the center seat, her eyes focused on the floor. "Hey, Neo. It's okay, we're somewhere safe." I said in my most gentle voice, giving her a small smile as I held out a hand. She looked up at me, her eyes contemplative for a few seconds before she took my hand, her soft hand easily being swallowed up by my own.
I got her out as Ren shut the doors on his car, quickly locking it. The three of us walked towards the door, Ren opening it for me as I guided Neo through. When I got in, I noticed a few things different. Ton-Ton was nowhere to be seen, though that was normal, and Blake was downstairs. She was talking with Velvet, leaning in and speaking in frantic, hushed whispers. "Blake." I said, disrupting her. She turned around, her ears suddenly stiffening, as she'd opted to remove her bow. She changed clothes it seemed, into a simple black top with a long, purple skirt, black polka dots dotting it. Over said black top though, she was wearing what looked like a patched up denim jacket, the patches ranging from yellow, to red, to white.
She turned around, smiling at me as she tried, emphasis on tried, to act like nothing was happening. "Hello Jaune, Ren, what's going on?" she asked. I looked towards Ren, then Neo, raising my eyebrows at him in an unspoken question. He nodded, grabbing Neo's hand, "Come with me, I'll take you to your room." he said quietly, guiding her towards the stairs. Once they were gone I walked over to the two faunus, both of them staring after Ren. "Umm… who was the little girl?" Blake asked, looking back at me. I shrugged, glaring at her out of the corner of my eye as I kept my head facing forwards. "You know, I probably should've figured you'd known more about Yang than you were letting on." I said, facing her, leaning my head down so I was slightly looking up at her.
She looked towards Velvet, chuckling, "What're you talking about Jaune?" she asked. I smiled, leaning my head on my hand, my elbow resting on the desk as I sat down. "How 'bout you tell me Blake, Beacon operatives tend to keep tabs on each other, right?" I said. Her eyes widened as she jumped back, reaching for her hip, this time actually grabbing a gun. "How did you learn that name!?" she asked. I held up both hands, keeping that same smile on hand. "Cross-hares told me. Which brings me to my next question." I said, swivelling to face Velvet. She gulped, leaning back a bit in her chair. "Y-Yes?" she asked, giving me a nervous smile. I leaned in, enough that I was only a few inches from her face, "Why is there a gravestone with your name on it?" I asked.
She flinched back, then she looked down, slowly shaking her head. "I couldn't do it… I just couldn't…" she said, her lower lip trembling a bit as I felt her ears brush past my face. I stood, walking around behind the desk before I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Couldn't do what Velvet?" I asked. She sniffed, looking up at me with teary eyes. Then, she did something I hadn't expected. She stood, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in my shoulder. I could hear her start to cry as I hugged her, patting her back, "It's okay Velvet… whatever it is just… just tell me what happened…" I said. I heard her sniff a few times before she backed up, wiping at her eyes. "I… I was a White Fang informant, just like you Blake, " she said, looking towards said faunus, then she turned back to me, "I couldn't do it, I couldn't deal with the killing and the violence and the, the…" she took a shaky breath, "I couldn't deal with my daughter growing up in that. I wanted to help people but, I couldn't even help myself. I mean, look at me! I'm a 19 year old single mother that the world hates because she has rabbit ears!" she said, falling back in her chair as I saw her ears droop.
"I was out of options… so I called Coco. I asked… I begged her to get me out. She tried… god she tried… but it was too much, even for a heavy like her. I was captured again, and she almost died. Adam he… he…" she stopped, tears running down her face at this point as she started hiccuping. I got down on one knee, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to say more… I understand." I said, frowning at her. She looked up, nodding as she produced a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping away at the tears before she noisily blew her nose on it, tossing it in the trash. I felt a presence behind me, and I was suddenly very afraid. That presence felt angry, very, very, angry. Blake leaned over my shoulder, nearly growling towards Velvet, "That fucker…" she muttered, and I'll never forget that look in her eyes.
It was a look of rage, primal, deep, and true.
I'd never, ever seen someone look so angry. I stood, looking towards Blake, "I… think that's enough for one day. Velvet… you can go home early, be with Ton-Ton. I think… I think we're closing up shop for the day." I said. Velvet looked up, nodding towards me as she stood. "Thanks Jaune." she said, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. I patted her shoulder, giving her a smile, "Hey, don't mention it. Just… take care of yourself, okay?" I said. She nodded, giving me a small smile before she turned around, gathering her things. In the meantime, I grabbed Blake's hand, "We need to talk, now." I said, giving her the most serious glare I could muster. She saw the look in my eyes, and just nodded, walking towards my office as I struggled for a second to catch up with her.
I saw Ren stepping out of Neo's room, which was right next to Blake's, a moment later, and he raised an eyebrow at me, "Velvet?" "Long story." I replied, walking into my office and shutting the door. I walked back to my desk, smiling slightly as I felt the familiar chair beneath me. I turned to Blake, my smile dropping as I held my hands like always, steeples, and saw her sit back down, crossing her left leg over her right. She looked at me, Amber eyes meeting Blue ones, "What do you want to know Jaune?" she asked. I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose before I placed my hands back the way they were, "Listen, I met with Cross-hares or, well, Coco if you knew her personally, and she said I should be asking you about Yang. I want the truth Blake, that's all." I said.
Blake nodded, looking down at the ground before she took a breath, "I was part of Beacon, it's top informant." she said. I nodded, I knew that already, I just moved my hand in a circle, asking her for more. She complied, "I sent escapees with Yang or other escapists, then they went to the caretakers. Yang… asked me for a favor okay." she said, frowning at me. I nodded, "What was it Blake?" I asked. She took a breath, her eyes conflicted. On one hand, if she told me, she might see Yang again, but if she did, she'd be telling me what her friend had likely not wanted her to tell to anyone. Though, it seemed she made up her mind. "She wanted me to send her to Mistral." she said. I cocked an eyebrow, leaning in closer. "Why?" I asked. Now, I may be good at predicting my opponent's moves, at figuring out what's going to happen. But I never, ever, would've imagined what she said next.
"So her sister couldn't kill her."
The room went dead quiet, the only sound being the slow turning of the fan above my head. "Ruby Xiao Long… she's the reason?" I asked. Blake shook her head, giving me a small smile, "Ruby didn't tell you did she? That she didn't go by Xiao Long. No, her name's Ruby Rose. You might know her better as 'The Bloody Rose'." Blake said. I felt my eyes widen as I leaned back, feeling the implication of what she said dawning on me.
I'd been helping the most dangerous woman in Vale find her next victim.
"Why? Just… why does Ruby want Yang dead?" I asked. Blake shrugged, looking out the window behind me, "I don't know. Ruby's… unstable would be an understatement. I'm pretty sure she's completely crazy." she said. I nodded slowly, reaching into my pocket and grabbing out the money Ruby had given me. "How much of this was taken off of corpses?" I thought, my hand shaking a bit. It was so hard to believe, that adorable, awkward little girl, a serial killer? It just didn't make sense. "So… what now? I can't just drop the case, she'll get suspicious. If I find Yang, she's good as dead. God… I'm fucked aren't I?" I said, leaning back in my chair and looking at the ceiling, patting my coat pocket. "Damn, outta cigars." I muttered, standing up.
"You're a caretaker aren't you Jaune?" Blake asked, her eyes staring daggers at me. I nodded, sighing, "Yeah, as of an hour ago. Codename's Jaundice. Not exactly cool huh?" I said, giving a small smile towards her. She giggled, looking away from me, "Well, my codename's Little Kitty so… yeah, you aren't the only one with a bad codename." she said. I chuckled, giving her an incredulous look, "Really? Little Kitty? That's what they went with?" I asked. Blake shrugged, standing up. "Yep. Either way… I don't know where Yang is, just that she's not in Vale." she said, frowning at me. I cocked an eyebrow at her again, "Then where is she? How do you not know?" I asked. Blake shook her head, looking out the window, "Half the people in Vale… they're hiding away from someone. Same story with Mistral. Beacon works with other groups in the other kingdoms. Yang's got a new face, a new identity, everything. All I knew was… she said she wanted to 'look like mom', thing is, no one even knows what her mom looked like. She was… erased." she said. "Erased? What do you mean? I asked.
"Means Summer wiped my sister from existence."
I pulled Blake behind me as I drew my gun, aiming it at the door. In front of me was a tall man, his eyes bright red and his hair cut in a style that said he didn't care, but it seemed like he cared enough to make it look like he didn't care. He was dressed in a long, black cloak that was red on the inside, stretching down near his ankles and tattered in places. Beneath it he was wearing a dark gray t-shirt, his pants black and bleeding down into black boots, the kind I'd only seen on soldiers in the past. There was an obvious rifle draped over his back, though strangely, I couldn't see a scope on it. Around his neck I noticed a crooked cross necklace, strangely made to be pointing to the left. "Guy must not like religion." I thought as the man walked forwards, his footsteps resounding in the silent office. His eyes flicked behind me, "Been a while Blake." he said. Blake looked out from behind me for a few seconds, then she sighed. "You have got to stop doing that Qrow." she said.
I looked back at her, "You know this guy?" I asked. Blake nodded, smiling towards him, "This is Qrow Branwen, Yang's uncle. He's also one of Beacon's best heavies. Well… then again there are only three." she said. Qrow, apparently, chuckled, reaching into his cloak and grabbing what looked like a flask. He uncorked it and downed back a drink before setting it back, smiling towards us. "Yeah. Figured I'd come and see the new caretaker I got assigned to. Hadn't expected you already had two guests." he said, gesturing behind him, no doubt referring to Neo. "How did you get in here?" I asked. Qrow just laughed, walking over to me and leaning against my desk. "Kid, my job is to kill quietly and protect people. What kind of heavy would I be if I couldn't break into a building?" he asked. I opened my mouth to respond, but I thought better of it, relaxing a bit and putting my gun away.
"What do you mean Summer 'erased' your sister?" I asked. Qrow sighed, sitting down in the chair Blake was in a moment ago, the two of us standing next to him. He popped open another flask, taking a drink before he set it on the table. "I thought me and Summer were close. Almost family, all four of us were. Never… never have I been more afraid than when I saw Raven's body. I'll spare you the details but, if it weren't for Summer telling me… god I wouldn't have even known it was her. Summer fell for Taiyang, Raven already gave birth to Yang. Raven has her flaws, don't get me wrong. Hell, she lead a bandit clan in Mistral most of her later life. Still… did she deserve that?" he sighed, taking another drink of his flask before corking it, tossing it in the nearby trashcan. "Summer married Tai a few months later, had a kid… that kid turned out to be worse than her mother. Poor Tai… he was just a normal guy. He didn't deserve to get involved in this cloak and dagger shit…" he said, sighing as he looked out the window.
"So Summer killed Raven, married Taiyang, then had Ruby. Now Ruby wants to kill Yang for some odd reason?" I asked. Qrow chuckled, shaking his head. "It's not for some odd reason kid, Yang was a Beacon escapist. When her sister found out, she put a bullet through her stomach. Thankfully though, Yang's a tough kid. She got out, got her appearance changed, and got as far from this place as possible. I can tell you what she's doing now." he said, standing up and cracking his back. "What?" I asked. He smiled, grabbing his rifle out in front of him, in a way that told me he'd been wielding it a good portion of his life. "She's following in her mother's footsteps." he said cryptically. "What do you mean?" Blake asked as he walked away. He looked over his shoulder, smiling at us. "He's the detective, ask him." he said, pointing towards me before he walked away.
I sighed, wiping my hand through my hair, holding my hat in my other hand. "Looks like we've got some travelling to do…" I muttered. Blake looked at me oddly, "Huh?" she said. I gave her a tired smile, "We're heading for Mistral. Yang's following her mother's footsteps, meaning she's in Mistral, leading a bandit clan. If Qrow's meaning is taken both ways, it means Yang's also changed her appearance to look like her mother. We just have to figure out what Yang's mother looked like…" I muttered. Blake reached into my trenchcoat pocket, grabbing out a photo. "I'm pretty sure this is it." she said, holding out the photo. I took it, noticing a headshot of a woman. She had bare shoulders, long, black hair falling down her back. She had bright red eyes and pale white skin, with facial features that looked rather familiar. I walked over to my desk, grabbing out the picture of Yang Ruby had given me. I nodded, "Yep, they're related, facial features are almost an exact match." I said.
"Why did you have that picture?" Blake asked. I shook my head, "I didn't. Guess Qrow put it on me, mayb- He stole my wallet!" I said, looking in my coat pocket where the picture was. Blake shook her head, grabbing my hat, revealing my wallet to be taped to the top. "Oh… slipped my mind for a minute there…" I said, smiling slightly as I sheepishly closed my eyes. Blake looked at me as I put my hat back on. "Why… why?" she asked, her expression incredibly confused. I smiled, "Simple. I'll know if someone takes my hat. Messing around in my coat… that's a little harder." I said. She nodded, shrugging, "Well… that's one way to stop a pickpocket I guess…" she said. I nodded, setting Yang's photo back in the drawer, placing Raven's back where it came from. "Yeah, got tired of having my wallet stolen." I said. Blake raised an eyebrow, "How many times has that happened?" she asked. I shrugged, "Not sure, at least twelve." I said.
She looked towards the door, "Well, either way, I guess we need to head to Mistral now." she said. I looked at her oddly, "Wait, 'we'? You mean you wanna come with me and Ren?" I asked. Of course I was taking Ren with me, we always went on overseas jobs together. She nodded, "Yang won't recognize or trust you two. She knows me, she might listen to me. Though, out of curiousity, when you find her… what're you going to do?" she asked. I shrugged, absently patting my pockets until I remembered I was out of cigars. "Dunno. Try and get some answers I guess. Then I'm getting the hell out of Mistral as soon as possible." I said. Blake looked at me oddly, and asked the one question I hoped she wouldn't. "Why? You have something against Mistral?"
"Let's just say the locals don't look kindly on people that ask too many questions." I said cryptically. I'd rather not reveal my darkest secrets to Blake, or anyone for that matter, just yet. Blake nodded, understanding that it wasn't something I wanted to talk about just yet. "Okay then… when do we leave?" she asked, smiling at me. I smiled right back, walking towards the door, "I'll make the arrangements for so we can leave tomorrow. Need to find someone that can keep Neo safe until then." I said. "Maybe I can help with that." I heard a voice say. I jumped back, gripping at my chest as I tried to breath. "Dammit Ren! Don't do that. You'll give me a heart attack one of these days I swear." I said, getting over my partners reverse disappearing act. I stood back up, smoothing out my coat before I met Ren's eyes. "How do you mean?" I asked.
He smiled, "Nora." was all he said. I sighed, "Well, not like we have much choice in the matter…" I muttered, running a hand down my face. I had to admit, it was a solid idea. Nora could protect almost anyone, and she'd be the last person anyone would suspect to work with Beacon… of course, then there was her craziness to factor in. Nora Valkyrie was borderline insane, and would just as soon break your legs and feed you to her sloths than look at you. Yes, she kept killer, pet, sloths. Well… really they were just psychopaths dressed as sloths but hey, I wasn't about to correct her. I nodded at Ren, walking past him to get Neo. I rapped on the door, "Neo. We need to go." I said gently, thinking she might've still been in shock. She opened the door, nodding as she walked out. "Umm, are we gonna give her some pants or no?" Blake asked, referring to the fact that Neo's only current clothes were her underwear and her sweatshirt.
I nodded, rubbing my chin slightly, "Oh yeah, that could be a problem… ah!" I said, dashing towards the staircase. I walked up a floor higher than we were and dashed down the hall, pulling out my keys and opening one of the apartments. Mine. "Wait, you live here?" Blake asked. I nodded, "Yeah, I bought out a whole apartment building, did you think I was going to buy a house for myself too?" I asked, smirking slightly as I opened the door. Inside was what I expected, a bookshelf, mostly filled with comic books, on one side, and a large dresser on the other. I opened the bottom drawer of said dresser, grabbing out a small pair of sweatpants that were, obviously, too small for me. Though, they might just fit Neo. "Why do you even have those?" she asked. I smiled towards her as I tucked the pants under my arm. "When I first came to Vale three years ago I accidently packed a pair of my little sisters sweatpants, never got around to getting rid of them… seems good I didn't." I said.
I walked past Blake, locking my apartment of course, and heading down the stairs, Blake right behind me the entire time, silently watching. When I got downstairs I saw Neo standing in the hall, her head tilted slightly as, oddly enough, both her eyes turned white. I decided against bringing it up and instead just handed her the pants, "These should work for now, I'll see if I can't find anything else later." I said. She smiled at me and nodded, quickly pulling the pants on. After a moment she walked over to me, wrapping her arms around my chest. I chuckled, rubbing her head with one hand, "Don't mention it Neo. Come on, we better use the back entrance though. Ren!" I said. He appeared around the corner, appropriate his codename was ninja, and nodded. "Yes?" he asked. I looked towards the front lot, "Pull your car around the back, lock the front door and hang the closed sign behind you. We're closing up for the day." I said.
He nodded, walking away as I took a breath, letting it go a moment later as I turned around, heading for the staircase and, by extension, the back entrance. "What's the deal with Nora anyway?" Blake asked, falling in step beside me as Neo walked on the other side, lightly holding onto my arm. "She's Ren's girlfriend, and the leader of a streetgang. You heard of the 'Sugar Sloths'?" I asked. She giggled, but nodded, "Yeah, fierce gang but man that name's awful." she said. I chuckled, nodding along with her, even Neo letting out a few quiet giggles. "Well, the woman that named the gang was one Nora Valkyrie, the girl Ren's been dating for… I don't know, a year now?" I said. I lost track of when the two went from being friends to lovers. It was rather… hard to say. Of course, Nora feeding Ren's addiction wasn't exactly helpful. Thank god we got that handled.
The three of us walked downstairs into the back alley behind the office a few minutes later, waiting for Ren. "Say, is Ren… you know, a part of that gang?" she asked. I shook my head, seeing said man driving down the road towards us. "Not anymore. After I busted him a few years back for a crime he left the gang to be my partner. He and Nora… didn't get along so well after that. They started dating more recently and, well, I haven't seen Nora in a few months anyway. Let's just say she really doesn't like me." I said, smiling slightly. Turning her boyfriend off of the stuff she basically lived off of wasn't really helping my relationship with Nora. Granted, if it kept Ren clean and alive, I was willing to be hated by her. Ren pulled up next to us as I opened the back door, "Ladies first." I said, gesturing the two women inside. Blake smiled at me before she rolled her eyes, "Such a gentleman." she said, getting in the car.
I shut the door behind her and got in, nodding to Ren as I buckled up. He got the message, backing out of the alley and driving towards the southern side of Vale. "Last I heard Nora and her crew were hold up in the redlight district, that about right Ren?" I asked, looking towards my stoic partner. He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yeah. The Rose family finally caught up with Nora and forced her back into a corner as it were. They can't touch her on her own turf, they're not that dumb… Nora's planning something, something big." Ren said. I looked at him oddly, this was the first I was hearing about some big scheme cooked up by his girlfriend. "What is it?" Blake asked, leaning in closer, her hand on my shoulder. Ren sighed, "Not sure yet, all I know is it involves the Rose family, and the Schnee's. If Nora gets away with this, those families will be hurting for more than just money." he said.
We rode the rest of the way in silence, Blake and me contemplating what Ren had said while Neo… well she just kinda stared out the window. Ten minutes later we were in Vale's infamous redlight district. Drugs, prostitutes, and gambling were almost all to be found here. Nora only dealt with the first one. "I mean sure, Nora's flirty and a risk taker, but she's no prostitute or gambler." I absently thought as Ren pulled into a parking spot, right in front of the rexford hotel. It was an old building, but it wasn't our destination, not even close. I got out, opening the door for Neo and Blake again. The moment Neo got out, she quickly gripped onto my hand, leaning closer to me. "Guess she can sense the bad aura this place gives off." I thought. For a kid, this wasn't a good place to be. Find a kid here, they're selling themselves or getting pricked by needles in brothels.
We walked down an alley, following Ren, between two buildings. He stopped right at the edge, in front of a large gate. "Hey!" a man said, pointing what looked like a tommy gun at us. Then, he saw Ren. He chuckled, coming down from his perch on top of the gate an opening it. "Come on in Ren, Nora's been wantin' to see ya for a while now." he said, smirking at Ren, revealing yellowed teeth. He was a smoker, like me, just alot older. Ren smiled at the man, walking right past him as me, Neo, and Blake did the same. We walked to the center of a large circle, made by makeshift gates blocking off alleyways, the only way in being the one we just came through… unless you planned on jumping down from the roof. "There you are~" I heard a familiar voice say. Ten feet away from us, two bodyguards at her sides, was Nora Valkyrie.
Her orange hair practically shined in the streetlamps light, her energetic eyes gazing at Ren hungrily. Yeah, I could tell where that would go later. Nora was dressed in what looked to be a tuxedo, a messy one at that, stained in places and unbuttoned down the front, exposing her pink bra and slender stomach. She was wearing similar pants, though they were just ripped in places, pink heels on her feet. She had a few scares on her face, her hands both wrapped up in bandages from her many brawls, and, most notably, she had a .357 magnum pointed right at us. She held it loosely, but I didn't doubt she could kill all of us before we could draw our guns without even blinking. Nora wasn't a serial killer, a psychopath, crazy, or insane. Nora… was Nora. I didn't think there was a word in our language which could describe the woman in front of me.
"Hello Nora." Ren said, smiling slightly at her, his eyes trailing down her outfit. I swore that girl had no shame, considering that's how she dressed everyday. She walked over, holstering her revolver and placing a hand on Ren's shoulder, pulling him closer to her. "Been too damn long, I haven't had a proper sleep in ages." she said, trailing a hand down his chest. Ren grabbed it, gesturing behind him. "Nora, I need a favor, then we can get to that." he said, smirking towards his shorter girlfriend. She nodded, glaring at me. "Jaune." she said, her voice betraying her disgust at me. I nodded, "Nora." I said simply. I didn't like her, she didn't like me, simple as that. Ren lightly twisted Nora's head so she was looking back at him. "Neo needs a place to stay, me and Jaune are taking a trip to Mistral on a case. Can you help us?" he asked. Nora looked at Neo, then at Blake, "Which one's Neo?" she asked. Neo stepped out from behind me, holding up a little hand.
Nora's face lit up, her dashing over to Neo and, quite impressively, picking her up and spinning her around. "Oh why didn't you tell me I'd be taking in this adorable widdle ice cream!~" she said, rubbing against Neo as I saw her two bodyguards looking at each other, both clearly confused. Me and Blake were the same way, just staring at Nora and Neo. Neo was just as shocked, still trying to understand what the heck was going on. "So… that mean you'll be fine watching her for a few days?" I asked. Nora looked over at me, the biggest smile I'd even seen on her face there, "Oh of course! I'll watch this little cutie as long as you need me too! Isn't that right?" she said, lightly tickling Neo's stomach. Neo seemed to be warming up to Nora, since she was smiling and starting to laugh… course that could just be a result of the tickling. I looked over at Blake, she looked at me, and I could tell at a glance we were thinking the same thing.
"What the heck just happened?"
