Alright everyone, after hours of working and reworking this chapter it's finally time for the final installment of the Parent's Day Arc! (And only one day later than when I planned to post it) So funny thing, next to Team RDCP, Team SPDN were the first bunch of families I starting thinking up when I had the ideas for these chapter and some Like Djack and Sinclair's parents I'd had ideas for even before I started on these chapters and just never had a chance to work them in. I really like how this one came out and was glad I also finally got to do a true old fashion my style action scene after what feels like forever(which considering it's been months it kind of has). So let's get this party started.
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth productions...if I owned it there would be far more shady families like the Scratchs
On any other day many would question the strange assortment of people gathered in Team SPDN's dorm room, but this wasn't any ordinary day at Beacon. It was Parent's day, and because of this the usually at odds team had decided to put their best foot forward in the hopes of impressing their collective parents…well all except for Jackie. And after several rather fruitless talks they came to the conclusion that the best way they could collectively put their best foot forwards was to simply stay out of each other's way and not let their parents talk to one another if at all possible. And somehow they managed to make it 10 minutes into the day and nothing had gone wrong.
Djack wasted little time in getting his father's attention and was buzzing around him doing a combination of doting and bragging. Djack's father, Djonas Scratch, was a tall well-built man with dark oiled hair dressed in an expensive tailored suit, dark overcoat, and a flowing white scarf with candle designs on the ends draped over his broad shoulders. He walked with a dangerous looking black cane and if any one looked at his face they could see where Djack got his predatory smirk from. "This place ain't too bad if you ask me." He said looking over the room.
"Ha, are you kidding me? It's barely bigger than the room they gave me back in Jouvie and I only had to share that one with one other guy." Djack complained.
"Heh, easy there Djack, it's this kind of stuff that builds character." Djonas chuckled earning him a pointed look from Jackie's dad as he stopped questioning his daughter about what happened to all the clothes her mother had packed for her when she left home.
"If you think a small room builds character maybe you'd be interested in the one I've been saving you in the state pen." And like that, the plan fell apart. Jackie visibly cringed at her dad's words while Sinclair and Perciva did their best not to let their own parents get distracted by whatever bad blood was brewing between their teammates' parents.
"Oh, is that you Jackson? Hardly recognized you outside of the courthouse." Djonas joked coyly making Jackie's father more irritated. "Hey, did the DA get those Griff Ball season tickets I sent him?"
Djack did his best not to laugh as Jackie's dad, Ian, tried to hold back his anger at his own father's goading. The Assistant District Attorney hadn't changed much since the last time Djack had seen him. He still tried to hide his receding hairline with a sloppy comb over and still had a penchant for cheap comfortable suits, today's being a blue suit with white pinstripes with a faded coffee stain on the lapel. Djack was more used to the older man glaring daggers at him from behind his thick lensed glasses, but it seemed like always his dad had a tendency to outshine him. "Yes, he did." Mr. Jackson managed to get out through gritted teeth. "He's taking the family next week."
"Great, there's nothing more important than family, isn't that right Bambino?" Djonas laughed placing a hand on his sons shoulder.
"That's right daddy." Djack grinned joining in his father's laughter further enraging Mr. Jackson.
On the other side of the room Perciva was glad her mother was more interested in the school's uniform than the train wreck unfolding mere feet away. "I can't believe they expect you girls to wear something like this." She tutted.
Perciva had to agree with her mom on this, she'd never been the type of girl to go in for dress and skirt, much less one as short as this one. She'd had to buy leggings just to feel comfortable wearing it past the first week. She'd much preferred something like her mom's fatigues or even her armor, but she never one to voice her complaints on something as dumb as clothing. "It's not so bad once you get used to the breeze." She joked to play off the fact she'd put off doing the laundry too long and had none of her usual legs to wear today.
Her mom just gave her one of those looks that told her she was just going to pretend she didn't hear what she just said. The look was quickly replaced by a proud smile. "Just look at you, all grown up. I wish your dad wasn't tied up with work, but he wanted me to tell you he wouldn't miss the Vytal festival."
"That's great!" Perciva squealed hugging her mom for the wonderful news.
Sinclair was, as with everything, far more subdued with his parents who his whole team had silently agreed were far less impressive than they first anticipated. The couple were both at least half a foot shorter than their son and both had a bright and cheerful smile that it was evident Sinclair had failed to inherit. His father was dressed like an old sitcom dad with his white hair crew cut, a sweater vest, and old wood pipe which he had yet to light while his mother had light faded blond hair and wore a simple yellow sundress. Both seemed to be so happy it was hard to believe that Sinclair could even be related. "We're so glad you made so many friends here at Beacon." His mother said making Sinclair tense up as his team all tried to hide their laughter at the thought.
"Yes, it's been an interesting time here at Beacon." Sinclair tried to deflect.
"I hope you're keeping up with your studies." His father chipped in. "You have to make sure to keep that mind's as fit as your body you know." He chuckled patting his son on the arm.
"And you should really give Mr. Yuri a call sometime." His mother added bring up his old trainer from his tournament days. "He's such a nice man, always asking how you're doing whenever we see him."
"That's…good to hear." Sinclair said a little surprised the surly old trainer had kept in contact with his parents after he'd gone on to Beacon. "I will have to do that." He said before glancing at the clock. "Well we better be going for our conference."
"Kid over there is right Bambino, we don't want to make a bad impression." Djonas chuckled.
"I can assure you that you already have." Mr. Jackson all but spat as he began dragging a protesting Jackie with him to their first conference.
First Conference: Sergeant Rlee's combat Lectures….
"Well, well, Corporal Green. I didn't expect to see you here today." Rlee greeted with a grin as Perciva and mother entered the classroom.
"Sir!" The military woman said immediately saluting the man.
"At ease, I'm no more your CO than you're back in basic." He reassured offering them a seat. "It's good to see you, and my congrats on the promotion."
"Thank you sir, I didn't know you'd become a teacher." Perciva's mother said relaxing a bit as they took their seats.
"Hardly." Rlee grimaced. "I'm just here as a guest instructor, temporarily, very temporary." He stressed intensely making the both mother and daughter a little uncomfortable. "So where's your husband? I heard you and old Artie got married after basic." He asked with a small smile as he remember the once fresh-faced recruits he'd trained many years ago.
"Arthur's busy with work." She answered simply.
"I bet, I'd heard he was doing some private sector work for the SDC these days." Rlee said.
"Well in these times of peace you need more than a soldier's commission to pay the bills." Perciva's mother said knowingly.
"You don't have to tell me." Rlee laughed. "But let's get to why we're here. Perciva here is one of the best students in my combat class. She fights hard and trains even harder." Rlee explained. "She has a few bad habits, but I'm confident that with a little more time I can break her of them." He said with a grin that made both mother and daughter gulp. The rest of the conference went on for a couple of minute with Rlee talking about the areas Perciva exceled and needed improvement in. "Well that just about covers it." Rlee finished.
"Thank you sir." Mrs. Gawaine said shaking hands with the drill instructor. "It was good seeing you again sir."
"Same to you, maybe once you're done with all these conferences we can get a drink and catch up." Rlee offered with a warm smile that seemed rather out of character for the grizzled old man.
"I appreciate the invitations, but I plan on spending the day with my daughter." Mrs. Gawaine said.
"Well some other time, maybe we'll get a chance during the festival and get Artie to come along." Rlee said.
"We'd like that." Mrs. Gawaine smiled.
Second Conference: Combat Tactics and Effective Stratagems with Professor Arch…..
"I am proud to say Sinclair is a model student." Professor Arch began after exchanging brief and cordial greetings with the Windsors. "He is at the top of the class and exhibits remarkable comprehension of both traditional as well as unconventional combat strategies. In fact there is very little I can say needs improvement." He watched as Mr. and Mrs. Windsor's brilliant smiles grew even wider as they prepared to congratulate their son. "But there is something I would like to talk about with Sinclair." Arch's words caught the proud parents off guard and he couldn't help but feel a little bad for interrupting the family moment. "Sinclair you have great talent, a sharp mind, and the drive to utilizes these traits to their fullest. But you have become too reliant on these gifts, in fact you've become so reliant on your own skills you have hampered your ability to trust and work with others." Professor Arch took note of the surprised look in Sinclair's eyes. "I want you to think back to your loss at the hands of Mr. Cappson and Mr. Sigmund during our joint exam last month. Can you tell me what went wrong in that fight?"
It was not often Sinclair found himself so taken aback. In his entire academic career he'd experienced little more than the expectations for greatness and abundant praise, so the scrutinizing gaze of the young Professor waiting for his reply unnerved him somewhere deep don despite his usual cold demeanor. "Well sir, I believe the problem arose when Cappson engaged me, I became too focused on acclimating myself to his movement to consider his focus was on disarming me rather than truly meeting me head to head."
"You're wrong Mr. Windsor." Professor Arch deadpanned. "Both you and Mr. Sigmund chose to charge into battle without entertaining even the idea with working with your partners. In fact Mr. Sigmund was counting on it, and you failed to disappoint. By doing this you left both yourself and Miss Shelia isolated from any form of help, Mr. Cappson saw this and capitalized on it for the victory." It was easy to see Sinclair was not very used to taking this kind of criticism, but Professor Arch continued hoping that his words would reach the young prodigy. "Sinclair you're a leader now, and this means you are now responsible for more than just yourself. You will need to learn to work with your team, to utilize their strengths and overcome their weaknesses if you ever wish to truly succeed here at Beacon. But if you can learn to do this, I have no doubt that Team SPDN will be one of the greatest teams this school has ever seen."
A tense silence settled over the room, the Windsors shifted uncomfortably as they waited for someone to break the silence. Finally Sinclair recollected his famous composure, crossing his arms and meeting the professor's eyes. "Thank you professor, you've given me much too consider."
"Think nothing of it, it's what I am here or." Professor Arch offered with his usual smile standing up from his desk and extending his hands to Sinclair's parents. "It really was a pleasure to make your acquaintances."
Somewhere in through the halls of Beacon….
Jackie startled yet another small family as she came careening around a corner in a mad dash. She had to find some place to hide and fast. Not moments earlier she'd decided she could only deal with her dad for so long and decided to ditch him after a rather painful conference about her grades with Professor Oobleck. "Okay Jackie think, where can you hide? The room? No, he'd look there. The library? No, too quiet. The cafeteria? That's perfect!" Jackie mentally congratulated herself on her quick thinking as she made a bee line for her new hiding place. When she got to the cafeteria she found the usually bustling eatery almost completely devoid of activity, only a few student sprinkled about the tables doing not much of anything. Her mood took a turn for the worse as she inwardly berated her choice of hiding spots until she spotted Eris sitting by herself and if there was anyone she knew who could relate to dysfunctional family problem it was her so Jackie trudged along and plopped down at the table finally taking a minute to catch her breath. "Yeesh, what's wrong with you?" Eris asked noticing her evident lack of energy.
"Ugh I just can't take it." Jackie groaned thinking back on her long slog through her conferences with her dad, each one getting progressively worse than the last.
"What, is Djack not giving you enough attention again?" Eris ventured a guess obviously trying to find out what had her friend so down.
"Ha! You don't know the half of it." Jackie laughed mirthlessly as she lifted her head from its comfortable refuge between her arms. "He's in full on daddy mode right now. I couldn't get him to pay attention to me if I lit myself on fire and gave him a hug." She sighed, she knew how weird Djack got around his dad and even after all the years they'd spent together she still couldn't figure out if he wanted his father's approval or wanted to show the old gangster up. "Combined with my dad being here, it's just too much."
"Ouch, and you said Djack's dad came too? You must be having a real shit day." Eris said immediately understanding Jackie's plight.
"You have no idea. I'm hiding from my dad now." Jackie explained glad to finally have someone to confide in today. Then something caught Jackie's eye, Eris looked just as down as she did. "Wait a sec." She said cautiously as her attention shifted from her own problems. "I know your folks wouldn't be caught dead here, so why do you look like someone shit in your cereal?" She asked.
It was Eris' turn to look put out now. "Ugh don't remind me, I'm waiting around to have lunch with my team and their parents."
"Oh, finally meeting the dwarves-in-laws?" Jackie laughed, she still didn't get what Eris saw in her short team leader, but that didn't mean she still couldn't poke fun at her friend's expense.
"Yeah, not funny." Eris said giving her a dirty look which Jackie brushed off. "But seriously they're all just so…normal, I have no clue how to act around them and I can only stand doing the whole polite Eristone girl bit for so long." Eris went on.
"Hey if you're looking for advice on how to deal with normal you're asking the wrong girl." Jackie pointed out unhelpfully. She felt bad for Eris though, she knew firsthand how annoying it was to act like the polite charming girl you know people expect you to be. Jackie might have spent a little longer thinking back on her and Eris' old days before she met Djack, but then she noticed a little girl with blueish green hair climb up on the bench next Eris while she was still lost in thought. "Hey who's the kid?" Jackie asked getting Eris' attention.
Eris turned and nearly jumped out of her seat. "You have funny hair." The girl blurted out simply making Jackie laugh knowing how much pride Eris put into her hairstyle.
Jackie watched as Eris forced herself not to get angry with the girl. "That's not a very nice thing to say." She said in a threateningly placating tone.
"You've got a lot of rings in your ears, didn't that hurt?" The girl went on making Jackie a little sad she decided not to push anymore of Eris' buttons.
"The first few times, but you get used to it. I was actually thinking about getting my nose pierced soon." Eris said obviously deciding to humor the little girl.
"Ew, gross." The girl said making a face. "What would you do when had to sneeze?" At this point Jackie was doing everything she could not to burst out laughing while Eris obviously regretted even trying to talk with the girl.
"Shouldn't you be in daycare right now?" Uh oh, Jackie could tell Eris was reaching her limit. She was begin to debate letting things go on like this, no matter how entertaining it was.
"No!" The girl protested. "I'm here to see my brother."
Jackie was starting to get interested in this when the mousey girl from Team JASN came running up to them looking super worried. "Brunnhilde! There you are. You can't go running off like that." She managed to get out between gasps for breath. That's when she noticed Jackie and Eris and made that funny little scared noise she always made whenever they ran into each other around school. The sound always made Jackie laugh a little.
"So she's with you." Eris said letting her inner sadist show now that she had a more acceptable target for her anger.
"I'm s-so-sorry if she was bo-bothering you!" The mousey girl quickly apologized while grabbing the kid's hand. Jackie could never figure out if she had some kind of weird speech impediment or if she was really just that scared all the time.
"So who's the kid anyway?" Jackie decided to ask just because watching Eris toy with the scared girl would get old real fast.
"I'm Siggy's sister." Hilde said proudly. The name didn't ring any bells for Jackie, but given how little she paid attention to most of her classmates this wasn't exactly surprising, "Siggy, what a dumb name. Almost as stupid as old what's his name, Sig…" Once she put two and two together Jackie lost it along with Eris who seemed to have made the same connection. She couldn't wait to tell Djack.
"Well that explains her manners." Eris said once she managed to stop laughing which seemed to really anger the girl who puffed out her cheeks.
"C-c'mon Hilde, let's not bother the nice ladies." The mousey girl said obviously deciding to get out of dodge while Eris was in a better mood. It was then that the sound of the cafeteria doors swinging open caught Jackie's ears and she spied her dad just about stomping in.
"Crap Eris, my dad just walked in so I gotta ditch." She said trying to hide her face and crouch low enough that he wouldn't see her while she tried to make her escape. "Have fun with your little boy toy and his friends." She said getting one last dig in before hauling ass for the door at the opposite end of the room. She wasn't sure but she could have sworn she heard her dad yell at her just as she made it out.
Now she was out one hiding spot and in bad need of putting some serious distance between her and her dad. That is until she ran right into someone and fell flat on her ass. "Damnit! Watch where you're going!" Jackie yelled up at whoever knocked her down only to find an unperturbed Professor Ozpin gazing back down at her.
"I'm terribly sorry Miss Jackson, but I do believe this is why Professor Goodwitch insists on no running in the halls." He said dryly.
Jackie was about to come up with some excuse to get out of there when she heard a very loud and very angry "Stop right there young lady!" That's when she knew all hope was lost. "What did you think you were doing running off like that Nimble!?" She hated when he used her real name like that. Why couldn't she have a normal name or be named after a color like a regular kid, no she had to be named after an adjective. "Don't you know how much work I put off just to come here today?"
"Mr. Jackson, I'm glad you were able to come." Ozpin interrupted, seemingly unaffected Mr. Jackson's shouting.
"What?" Ian said finally noticing he and Jackie weren't alone. "Oh, Professor Ozpin, it's good to see you again." He greeted warmly, doing that professional switcheroo Jackie usually only saw whenever he met with clients.
"Yes, it's been a long time." Ozpin smiled behind his mug. "Not since the Schnee charity fundraiser last winter."
"I admit I've been rather busy with work." Ian said scratching the back of his head.
"Well I'm glad you could make it out." Ozpin said taking another sip of his coffee. "Though I hope this isn't a bad time."
If looks could kill Jackie would have already murdered the headmaster and then hit the ground herself when her dad turned to look at her. "I'm terribly sorry for my daughter's behavior professor." Her father apologized, probably alluding to her many detentions he'd heard about through their last few conferences.
"It's quite alright, in fact you'd be surprised to know how many young huntsmen and huntresses we've had here over the years have a knack for getting into trouble." Ozpin chuckled. "And while your daughter may need to work on her respect for authority, I believe she has the makings of a true huntress."
"What?" Jackie and her dad said in unison.
"It's true that she does need to take her studies far more seriously, but it's not often we get a girl willing to take on a full grown Nevermore single handedly in their first year."
Ian looked to his daughter with a look of disbelief. "Is that…true Nimble?"
"Well yeah, kinda?" Jackie said surprised. She definitely never thought any talk between her dad and the headmaster would go this well.
"Ian, you're daughter has an indomitable sense of courage and rough but tenacious sense of battle. I believe if she applies herself she'll make a fine huntress one day." Ozpin said sending a knowing smile to Jackie before checking. "It seems I'm running late so if you'll excuse me." And with that the headmaster strolled of down the hall leaving Jackie more than a little dumbfounded, she was way more used to teachers yelling at her than giving words of encouragement, much less actual principals.
"Nimble." Her father began, his anger seeming to have evaporated. "I'm sorry I got so mad earlier." His usual confidence seemed to fail him. "I know we don't always see eye to eye these days, and I'll be the first to admit I never expected you'd want to become a huntress of all things, but… well I guess what I'm trying to say is, let's start over okay. I'll try to take whatever your teachers say with a grain of salt if you promise me you'll try harder from now on."
Jackie hadn't seen this side of her father in a long time, it actually caught her more than a little off guard. "Um, sure. I guess that I can do that." She said, it didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.
"Good." Ian said smiling at his daughter as they began heading to their next conference. "You know it's not every day Ozpin endorses a student, and it was my daughter of all people." He chuckled proudly making Jackie feel almost as uncomfortable as when he was yelling at her.
Fifth Conference: General Overview with Professor Goodwitch…..
Djack didn't need his semblance to tell him something was up with this particular conference. Maybe it was because he didn't remember signing up or this conference in particular or maybe it was just because the way Goodwitch was eyeing him reminded him of a few of the times he was brought in for police questioning. But Djack had practice keeping his cool and with his dad there giving off his usual aura of pure confidence it was hard not to just sit back a wait for whatever the blond taskmistress had in store. "Mr. Scratch I 'm glad you could make it today." She began, opening with general pleasantries.
"Are you kidding me, I always make time for my little Bambino." Djonas said wrapping an arm around Djack's shoulder and pulling him in close.
"That's good to hear." Glynda said, her harsh gaze betraying her agenda. "Then perhaps as a concerned parent you'd be interested in discussing your son's behavior in depth."
"I'm not sure I follow ma'am." Djonas' tone was cool, obviously interested in what exactly Glynda had up her sleeve.
"Well while we've yet to catch Djack getting himself into any kind of trouble, there's certain oddities we'd like to address." Djack had to hand it to Professor Goodwitch, she knew he was working an angle even if she couldn't prove it.
"I'm sure it's nothing. You know what they say, boys will be boys." Djonas joked earning a pointed glance from Glynda which didn't seem to faze him.
"Mr. Scratch I can assure you we take matters such as this very seriously." Glynda deadpanned. "Among several questionable reports we've had, your son often disappears for hours on end to the point that we can't seem to find even on our school's surveillance feeds. This combined with his until recently almost nightly excursions off campus after curfew lead us to believe your son is up to something."
"Excuse me professor." Djonas interrupted, his eyes taking on a serious expression. "I understand my boy has in the past made some rather questionable decisions." He shot a disapproving glance at Djack who would have been worried by the look if he couldn't tell when his dad was putting on an act. "It sounds to me some of these accusations are rather circumstantial." Djack could almost feel the anger radiate off of Glynda as his dad got into his usual swing. "And I would hope that a school as prestigious as this would act on evidence rather than hearsay."
To her credit Goodwitch seemed to being managing her anger quite well despite Djack's father telling her as politely as possible "You don't know shit." "Then perhaps your son should take this meeting as a warning and assume any future misconduct will not be tolerated and the consequences will be severe." Glynda rebutted abandoning all but the simplest sense of polite pretenses.
"That sounds fair, doesn't that sound fair Djack?" Djonas smiled at his son.
"Sure does daddy." Djack said in his most conscientious voice. It was obvious Glynda found the whole display infuriating, but kept quiet for the most part.
"Well I'm glad we had this talk professor and I can assure you Djack will be on his best behavior." Djonas said getting up from his seat and extending a hand to Glynda who took it begrudgingly. "It really was lovely to meet you.
As they made their way outside Djack couldn't hide his grin. He loved watching his dad in action. "Well she seems nice." Djonas said offhandedly. "But sounds like you're getting sloppy, I mean come on, I taught you better than that Bambino?"
"Hey you heard her back there." Djack defended as his Scroll began to chirp. "They can't prove anything. Hell I don't think they even figured out I hacked their security feeds on like my second day here." He bragged as he checked a message. "Hey you mind taking a quick detail, I need to check in with my boy about some business."
Djonas grinned down at his boy. "Look at you, always working. Does my heart good." He chuckled patting Djack on the back before he led them through the halls.
It wasn't long before they found Vincent standing by a drinking fountain with nothing better to do. "Hey Vincey, how you doing?" Djack greeted his hired muscle putting on more of a show for his father's sake. "How's your folks?"
"They're good. Couldn't make it out of Menagerie for the whole parents day thing." The spikey haired upperclassmen said simply.
"Well maybe next time. So what you got for me today?" Djack asked getting right down to business.
"Well we got plenty of customers looking to put in and pick up orders, some looking to come by as soon as the first batch of airship leaves." Vincent explained while handing Djack his Scroll to show him the notes he'd taken. "Then there's the poker game tonight with those seniors, and I think a few of them want to talk with you about the buy in."
"Hmm, that's quite a line up. Okay, I want you to handle the deliveries for now." Djack said highlighting a few names on the list. "Then I want you to tell the rest to meet me at the usual spot around six, I want to enjoy time with my dad while I can, you get me?"
"Sure thing boss, you want I should call you if anything comes up?" Vincent asked.
"I'm sure you can handle whatever comes up, just make sure you stay out of the way of any teachers. Heats on a little high today if you catch my drift." Djack warned. Vincent nodded and hurried off to his appointed task.
"Got quite the little racket going here, don'tcha?" Djonas remarked with a smirk.
"What are you talking about dad?" Djack asked innocently. "I'm just providing an honest service to my fellow students as an extracurricular activity."
"That's my boy, but speaking of extracurriculars, you found yourself a nice little dame yet?" Djonas teased playfully nudging Djack with his elbow.
"Well I won't say there haven't been a few flings here and there, but it isn't exactly easy when you share a room with three other people, and one of them happens to be Jackie." Djack admitted as they made their way through the halls.
"Aw c'mon, I know you have to have a few fillies in mind." Djonas went on.
Djack was about to say something when he noticed a familiar pair of cat ears leading an elderly man into Professor Peach's lab. "Well, there is one girl, but she's playing hard to get." Djack said, his mind elsewhere. His train of thought was interrupted by a loud cry.
"Hey boss!" Jackie cried running up to Djack with her father following behind with a sour look already forming as his eyes met Djonas'. Djack had almost no time to react before another familiar voice caught his attention.
"Oh great, I mean, look the gang's all here." Perciva tried to cover up with a jovial tone as she and Sinclair came down the hall leading their parents on a tour of the school.
"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise." Djonas said smiling the same smile Djack made when he was up to something. "I do believe we never got a formal introduction." He said waltzing up to the Windsors. "I'm Djonas Scratch." He said with a big smile and an outstretched hand.
"Charles Windsor, and this is my wife Elizabeth." Sinclair's father introduced blissfully unaware of the dubious aura everyone else seemed to sense from Djonas.
"It's a pleasure, you know my boy tells me your son is something of a celebrity." Djonas went on making Charles beam with pride and his wife blush.
"Well not to brag, but he has won quite a few tournaments." Charles boasted making Sinclair feel uncomfortable.
"So I've heard, you know when my little Bambino told me he wanted to become a hunter I told him he should enter some of those tournaments, but he just wouldn't listen." Djonas' familiar tone was becoming unsettling, but due to a collective curiosity and Jackie's silent pleading with her father not to make another scene they decided to at least see where he was going with this whole charade. "Sometimes I wonder who would have won if they ever had a match."
Charles' features slowly morphed from their usual happy smile to one of confident bravado. "That sounds an awful lot like a challenge."
"Oh, no, I would never suggest such a thing, I mean, they are teammates after all." Djonas' was toying with them at this point, but none of them could see what would come next.
"I'd be fine with a match." Sinclair stated plainly getting everyone's attention. "I think it would be…enlightening."
"Well, there you have it." Djonas clapped his hands before turning to Djack expectantly. "What do you say Djack?"
If it had been anyone else who'd asked him, Djack would have blown the whole thing off in favor keeping his team in the dark about what he could really do, but when it came to his dad he knew there was only one option. "Well you know how I hate to disappoint." He grinned.
"Well this sounds like this will be fun to watch, I'll ref." Perciva said as the group soon began heading for one of the unoccupied training rooms. Mrs. Gawaine and Mr. Jackson brought up the rear, and it was evident Mrs. Gawaine didn't like where this was all going.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" She asked uneasily.
"Because Djonas Scratch is involved." Ian said flatly.
Later in the Training room…..
Jackie and the adults sat up in the stands as Djack and Sinclair took their places on either side of the combat stage with Perciva standing a ways away with her Scroll out to monitor the boys' aura. "Okay guys you know the rules, first one whose aura dips into the red loses." She announced.
"Y'know Sinclair, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to this." Djack said shifting into his combat stance with Candlestick held at the ready behind his back.
"Well then it seems I wasn't the only one then." Sinclair shot back drawing Redcoat. "Let's have a good clean fight."
"Yeah." Djack chuckled. "Sure."
"Begin!" Perciva called signaling the start of the match.
Djack switched on Candlestick and circled around Sinclair at top speed while dropping a few of his Djack bombs as he went. Sinclair quickly jumped back as the pumpkin painted balls rolled towards him and erupted in a hot cloud of smoke and computerized laughter. Switching Recoat into its whip mode Sinclair was able to clear away most of the smoke with a few broad swipes, finding Djack floating high above the stage laughing down at him. "Oh c'mon man, did you really expect me to come at you on your terms? Grimm and crooks aren't gonna play by your little tournament rules, so why should I?" Djack taunted lazily lobbing a couple more Djack bombs down at him. Sinclair evaded the bombs with ease, narrowing his eyes at Djack in a determined glare.
"You make a good point Djack, allow me to make a point of my own." Sincalir called up to him swinging Redcoat up and wrapping it around Candlestick. With one strong pull Sinclair yanked it right out from under Djack sending him crashing down to the ground and flinging Candlestick across the stage. "You always fly off above your opponent and try to attack safely out of their reach, but you never stop to think about what you'll do if your opponent can reach you." Sinclair lectured coldly as Djack pushed himself back to his feet.
"Well I guess that's my mistake, but since we're getting things off our chest here I have a few things to say." Djack droned on reaching back into his pouch and pulling few pumpkin colored disks. "One, not all of us are one trick ponies at this school." He pressed a button on top the disks before hurling them at Sinclair, causing each to deploy a sharp pair of blades as they whizzed through the air. Sinclair shifted Redcoat back into its bladed form and deflected the disks, giving Djack a chance to dash by and grab Candlestick from the other side of the stage. "And number two." He said switching his weapon into its dangerous pike mode. "Just because I don't like to fight up close like all the other chuckleheads around here, doesn't mean I can't." And letting loose with an uncharacteristic battle cry Djack charged in. Sinclair thought he was ready, but as Djack closed the distance he pivoted on his heel spinning himself as he swung his weapon, extending its reach. Sinclair dodged back to avoid the spinning blades at the base of the main pike's main blade but Djack thrust forward catching him off guard. Sinclair was barely able to parry the blow, feeling the intense heat of the flame enshrouding the blade as it came close to his face. Djack didn't let up, his attacks were swift and calculated, keeping Sinclair on the defensive as he tried his best to avoid each deadly aspect of Djack's weapon.
Watching from the stands the Windsors were becoming uneasy. "Maybe we should stop them, this is looking dangerous." Elizabeth said more than a little worried for her son.
"Ah, their fine." Djonas said with a dismissive wave. "Their training to fight monsters, next to that this nothing."
"I hate to say it, but he does have a point." Mrs. Gawaine said despite her own apprehensions about the match happening bellow.
"Don't worry, my little Bambino won't hurt him…too much." Djonas muttered the last part under his breath, but Ian could hear him and only tighten the scowl he'd been wearing since the start of the match when his daughter had begun her cheering.
"C'mon boss! Keep it up, you got him on the ropes!"
Back down in the fight Djack was becoming increasing confident with each blow. Finally he saw the perfect moment to strike as Sinclair blocked his last strike. Pressing the button on the handle Djack activated Candlesticks flamethrower, blasting a wave of flame at Sinclair's face. Sinclair managed to strengthen his aura in time, but was still taken off his feet by the shock of the attack forcing him to roll away. "See man, I'm just full of surprises. But I can't take all the credit, some of it has to go to my baby here." Djack said patting Candlestick while taking a minute to gloat as Sinclair pushed himself back to his feet. "Y'know I always wondered why you picked such weird weapon. I mean a shotel that's also a whip, c'mon, that's hardly the best of any kind of weapon."
"That's where you're wrong Djack." Sinclair had a smile on his face that for an instant, made Djack want to back away. Sinclair charged in with renewed vigor, swing powerful blows at the trickster forcing him to go on the defensive. "I chose the shotel because it's a weapon designed to overcome obstacles." Sinclair went on before switch up a blow at the last second to a heavy upward swing, using the curve of the blade to wrest Candlestick from Djack's hands. He followed up the attack with a vicious kick to Djacks solar plexus forcing him back. "And I chose the whip." Sinclair continued as he shifted Redcoat accordingly. "To punish my enemies!" He shouted as he began raining blows on Djack at incredible speeds.
There was nothing Djack could do, Sinclair had caught him off guard and now even with his semblance he could only evade every few strikes during the volley, he just couldn't keep up with the speed and the angle of the blows as they rained down on him, pummeling him through his aura. It wasn't long before Perciva began to shout. "And Djack hits the red! The match is over!"
Sinclair halted his attack and drew back his weapon shifting it back to its sword form. Djack collapsed to his hands and knees gasping for breath and silently cursing himself, not just for losing, but for losing in front of his dad. That's when he saw the familiar pair of shoes in front of him. He looked up to see Sinclair standing over him with an outstretched hand. "That was a good match, it exceeded my wildest expectations."
It wasn't hard for Djack to read the honesty in his words despite the same cold tone he used to deliver them and as much as he wanted to slap the hand away, he couldn't stand the idea of anyone lording him being a sore loser over him now that this was all over. "Yeah, well it's like I said." He said gruffly as he took the hand. "I hate to disappoint."
Later at the airship docks…..
Not long after the match it came time for the parents to say their goodbyes. Perciva and her mother exchanged watery eyed hug, Jackie and her dad exchanged small talk while they both hoped not to make the other mad or embarrassed, and Sinclair quietly nodded his head and listened to his parents tell him how proud they were along with what to do and what not to do for the rest of the year.
While this was going on Djack and his dad stood some ways away. Djonas began lighting up a cigar looking out at the evening sunset. "So you learn anything today?" He asked as he began to puff.
"I dunno, was I supposed to?" Djack asked, still a little bitter over his lose.
"Listen Djack, I remember back when you first came to me with this crazy idea to become a huntsman so you could be our man on the inside and protect the family business. I was against it at first, but then I thought about it and I realized it would be good for you." Djonas said thinking back.
"Yeah, and why's that?" Djack asked unable to read his dad at the moment.
"Because I know you're gunning for me son, you wanna be me, and that's all you want to be. But you're aiming to high from the get go." Djonas pointed over to Sinclair with his cigar. "See your leader over there, know what I see when I look in his eyes?"
"No, what?"
"Determination, him, he ain't like us. He isn't playing the long con, he ain't thinking about how to turn things to his favor, he's just thinking of winning, and if you're gonna get where you want to be Djack you got to be like that." Djonas said looking Djack in the eyes. "Now I'm not saying you have to be just like him, we both know you're smarter than that. But one day you're come face to face with a guy like him and there ain't gonna be no tricks, no cheats, no other way around but to just go right on through him." He paused to take another puff. "What I'm saying is, once you can get over that hill, then you'll be ready to take on the mountain." Djonas laughed as he gestured to himself. "You got me Bambino?"
"Yeah daddy, I got you." Djack said giving his dad his famous grin.
"That's my boy, now I gotta get back, you know business never quits right." Djonas laughed patting Djack on the shoulder before heading towards the airship with the rest of Team SPDN's parents.
"That's right." Djack said as he began messaging Vincent on his Scroll. "Business never quits."
Yeah, there you have it. Hope you liked it. If you couldn't tell I used this chapter to touch on a lot of things that I just could never get around to in the main story (which is kind of the whole point of Between Classes) like Jackie and Eris still being friends, Sinclair's struggles as a prodigy, and Jackie's backstory (Which I will touch on more soon).
There were also a lot of things I like playing around with in this, like Djack being a daddy's boy and how Djonas is basically an older version of Djack along with what it's like being in Jackies head and how after nearly a whole semester she still barely knows anyone's name.
Well next up is a chapter request for the guy who answered the mystery track question at the end of the last Year of the RDCP chapter, so by request of Camcake we'll be seeing more of everyone one's favorite spring-heeled goth, Jackie.
Til next time folks, don't forget to review.