Here we go
Cover Art: GWBrex
Chapter 12
.
Arrests made as protests turn violent
Atlas Times
.
Two die in Atlas following violent protests; Vale Council expresses concern for safety of Valean citizens living in Atlas
Vale Daily Tribune
.
Fresh investment in Mistral infrastructure sparked by plans to impress Arc, source says
The Mistral Review
.
BREAKING NEWS: Gunshots heard at Council building
Vacuo Today
.
White Fang volunteer at hospitals to show world Menagerie does not need racist healer
Kuo Kuana Express
.
The fight was much too fast and much too violent for him to keep track of. The two lines clashed and the Arc-Ops smashed through the treacherous Atlas pilots, then through the first of the unknown terrorists. Jaune thought that they looked just as surprised as he did before the bad guys were desperately fighting to protect their own lives. They were good, he supposed. Compared to him, these people were impossibly good, but the Arc-Ops had been handpicked by General Ironwood to protect him, and they were so obviously better.
Elm, who always seemed so easy-going and relaxed, slammed her fist into the face of a large man in green armour, backhanded his sword arm away and followed up with several bone shattering jabs to his chin and neck. Vine had two glowing arms whipping about to keep the enemies off balance and push the apparent leaders back, while Harriet flashed from one to the next, never really settling on one opponent but chipping in on all of them, punishing everyone who dared try and focus on a single target. Tortuga's laziness had evaporated and she moved with Clover, the two fighting in concert and ripping through everyone that dared get in their way.
It was enough to convince Jaune he would be safe but it was also enough to make him realise how utterly helpless he was. Without them, he would have been taken straight away and would already be in someone's basement. I should be able to protect myself, he thought. If I could fight then I wouldn't need to have everyone looking after me.
He felt his father's hand settle on his shoulder, though Nicholas continued to watch the fight and grip his sword with his other hand. "Steady," he said. "This is as under control as it can be. You'll be alright."
"But will they?"
"This is their job."
"They're in danger because of me."
"They would have some other dangerous mission if they were not protecting you." Councilman Sleet said, joining the conversation. He looked nervous and was gripping his suit jacket tightly, but he put on a brave face and that was more than Jaune would have expected of someone whose life was in the balance. "These terrorists may have come for you but they were terrorists before you unlocked your power, and Atlas' military is not for show. Such fine men and women would have equally dangerous and important tasks were you not here."
It was a mad melee now that Jaune could make neither head nor tail of. Everyone had split up into smaller groups aside from Harriet who continued to zip around and be active in every fight. The Atlas pilots were down along with most of the Vacuan security forces, but the huntsmen of the enemy group were still active even if they were being pushed back. The sound of heavy footsteps behind them had Jaune shrinking and Nicholas whirling with sword drawn.
"At ease." Ironwood came jogging up with a girl slung over his shoulder. Her hair was a dark orange and she was either dead or very much unconscious. "I've dealt with our pursuers," he said grimly, "but we must be away from Vacuo before this erupts into all-out war."
"Your Arc-Ops are holding themselves well." Sleet said. "But it appears you have traitors amongst your men."
"I'm not so sure. I personally vetted everyone on this mission and I find it far too suspicious these people were able to not only win them over, but the majority of Vacuo's own internal security forces. That's just too convenient." He shrugged his shoulder and made the girl bounce. "We'll have answers once this one has been interrogated, but that will happen in Atlas."
"I shall defer to you on that, General, but can you and your men pilot an airship?"
"Every member of the Arc-Ops is trained to pilot. I can as well."
Sleet all but fell in on himself in relief. "I'll personally champion you the next time someone argues we give too many taxpayer funds to the military."
"That's all well and good but let's make sure we get there. With me." He started moving toward the airship and Jaune, Nicholas and Sleet followed. Nicholas moved Jaune over so that he was on the opposite side of them from the still-raging battle, and Ironwood picked their path far around that, practically circling the docking area to approach the ship from the other side. He kept his gun drawn as he spoke the same code Clover had and brought down the ramp. It didn't go unnoticed.
"Stop them!" one of the men screeched. "Stop them!"
One of the women broke from the combat and came racing toward them, her dark hair flying behind her and her blue robes sparkling. Ironwood grunted and brought his gun up, firing twice. His shots didn't strike her but the ground in her path, exploding and churning up great clouds of dust that blasted into her along with debris and fire. The woman rushed into it and came stumbling out covering her face with her arms, blinding her to the blur that was Harriet appearing before her, sinking low and driving her metal knuckles into the woman's gut. She was launched back into the smoke, but instead of chasing Harriet hopped back a few steps toward them.
"Good work, Specialist Bree," Ironwood said.
"Sir. They're huntsman and huntress trained. I suspect former students of Shade Academy. There's something up, sir. The leader doesn't fight. He's surrounded himself with people loyal to him, including our own men. Sir, some of them would never-"
"I know. It must be some kind of command or voice-based Semblance. Have you felt anything?"
"Nothing but an overpowering urge to punch his face in, sir."
"Aura must protect from it – whatever it is. We'll know more later. Arc." He looked to Nicholas to make it clear which he meant. "Take your son to the passenger area and guard him. I will sweep the ship and make sure there aren't any surprises on board. Bree, inform Clover that we make ready to leave. Disposal of the enemies is a secondary concern."
"Sir, yes sir!"
Nicholas took Jaune's shoulder and drew him into the airship while Harriet sped away. Soon, he could only hear the fight outside and not see any of it. That didn't stop his heart racing or his legs feeling weak. If anything, it made things worse because he could no longer tell if they were winning or not. He didn't argue, though. Not if it might make things worse. He followed his father to the area they'd been brought to Vacuo in, then took a seat and strapped himself in beside Councilman Sleet while Nicholas radioed Ironwood and said, "We're seated. No one here to greet us."
"Noted. I've dealt with two in the cockpit."
A moment after he spoke, the engines began to whirr violently as the ship shuddered and came to life. Lights flickered on, illuminating the interior and casting beams outside. A moment later, he heard a second whirring and then the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire as the ship's anti-Grimm batteries swivelled and opened fire on the melee.
He wanted to rush to the windows and make sure they were okay, or ask Ironwood or go and check himself, but he also knew any of those things would only distract them and make it worse. Jaune clenched his eyes shut instead, forced himself to sit back and grasp the armrests so tightly his fingers turned white. Even if they did die, he could bring them back. He didn't have to be afraid for their sakes. It was morbid but it was true.
The machinegun fire continued and the ship rattled with every burst. Once it stopped, however, the world shifted as they began to rise up. They didn't take off but they hovered with the ramp still open, lurching in the air a little as Ironwood took them airborne. With a crackle, speakers outside flicked on and Ironwood's voice boomed out.
"RETREAT NOW OR WE SHALL FIRE MISSILES AT THE AREA AND RESURRECT OUR DEAD AFTER THE FACT! YOU SHALL NOT BE AMONG THEM!"
Jaune's eyes bulged. He was going to blow the whole place up!?
"That's one way to handle it." Sleet said with a nervous laugh. "I suppose it's fine if we can rely on you to bring the Arc-Ops back."
"Jaune has never tried bringing back ash and fragments of a body before." Nicholas warned him.
"Let us hope these terrorists aren't aware of the fact."
It turned out that they weren't. Jaune heard the rattle of boots on metal and then Clover came into the passenger area, followed swiftly by an exhausted Harriet and a wounded Tortuga. "I'm fine," she said on seeing his concern. "Barely nicked me."
"Elm and Vine?"
"Closing the ramp." Clover said. "Don't worry. They're fine." He touched his radio and said, "Sir, this is Ebi reporting. We're all on board and the ramp is closing. You have clearance to take us out of here immediately."
"Noted, Ebi. Report to the cockpit. I have prisoners and want you piloting this thing."
"On my way, sir." He waved and said, "Duty calls. Harriet, make sure Tortuga bandages herself before she falls asleep. I won't have her losing an arm due to laziness."
"I'm not so lazy I'd die." Tortuga complained. She slumped into the seat opposite Jaune and quickly started wrapping up her arm. It looked bad despite her claims, and Jaune couldn't help but feel even more useless. He could bring people back but not heal them, and he didn't even know the basics of first aid despite working in hospitals for months now.
It wasn't long before Elm and Vine appeared, neither of them injured but both tired and Elm looking oddly excited. She moved with a bounce, vibrating with pleasure and even giving Jaune a meaty punch on the arm as she took the seat to his left. "Now that was a workout, eh?" she quipped. "Damn, and here I thought this would be a boring trip."
How were they so relaxed? They'd been attacked and nearly killed because some people wanted to kidnap him. Jaune's hands gripped his trousers and he glared down between his legs, frustration at his own helplessness building into a thick miasma of resentment.
"Who were they?" Nicholas asked.
"No idea." Vine said. "Our Intel on Vacuo doesn't paint them as having any major terrorist groups but I've a feeling that's going to change. They might just have been opportunists or idiots who thought Vacuo deserved your son more than Atlas. There's also a chance they had family who they wanted bringing back and decided to take matters into their own hands. I've read the reports and that happened in Ansel, did it not?"
"More than a few times. They were a little more organised than what we faced, though."
"Huntsmen have their fair share of lost comrades." Vine offered a shrug. "But I'm guessing at this point. General Ironwood will submit a more thorough report to the Council once he's interrogated his prisoner and had time to corroborate with intelligence."
"I'll await that report." Sleet said. "But I've a feeling I'll be dealing with anger from Vacuo first."
"They failed to protect me son like they swore they would." Nicholas growled. "To hell with their complaints."
"Oh, from our angle surely." Sleet agreed. "They won't win any concessions after this. That doesn't mean the song and dance of politics can be ignored. We'll have to explain our side of the story, deal with them trying to claim this wasn't their fault and then face accusations of excessive force or even flaunting diplomatic immunity." He noticed their worry and said, "Or I will. You needn't worry about any of that. Let the Council handle this messy business. You should both carry on as normal."
/-/
Once the ship was in the air and safely on its way back, and after the Arc-Ops had done another sweep to be sure no one was hiding on board, they were allowed to roam about freely. Jaune took the first chance to do so, unable to deal with Sleet and his father acting like nothing had happened or that nothing should change. The airship wasn't large by any means but it was spacious and only had them inside it, so there were plenty of little corridors and rooms for him to walk up and down.
He felt tired but too jittery to be able to sleep; it didn't help that he'd been roused from sleep by the attack in the first place. Pacing about didn't help and only made his legs sore, and that only annoyed him further. Jaune stopped before a metal wall and placed his forehead against it, taking in the coolness of the metal and trying to catch his breath. A nearby door swished open and shut. "Arc…? Is everything okay?" General Ironwood. Jaune cursed his luck.
"Yes sir."
The man didn't believe it of course, he'd have had to be a fool to, but he didn't point out the obvious lie and Jaune was at least grateful for that. He knew how he felt and didn't need it saying out loud.
"I've just been putting our prisoner to rest," he said instead. "The door is locked. I'd advise not trying to enter for your own sake."
"Has she been interrogated yet?"
"No. That will happen in Atlas and by those more experienced than me. They won't go in blind, either. They'll perform a full background check long before they speak with her. As it is now, we don't even know her name."
"What will happen to her?"
"That will depend on how much she gives up and also what she has done before this. Not knowing her crimes other than attempted kidnapping, I can't say. If you're asking solely based on what they did. Prison. That's the most likely scenario. How long will depend on her past."
"Okay."
"Are you alright?" Ironwood finally asked. "You look… troubled…"
"Everyone is acting like nothing happened!" Jaune spat. "They're acting like things are back to normal!"
Ironwood sighed and ran his human hand over his light stubble, rubbing his jaw. He worked it from side to side for a long moment before speaking. "Let us talk in private," he said, steering Jaune toward another cabin. Inside was a single bed bolted down along with some cabinets fixed to the walls. He sat on the bed and brought Jaune down next to him. "Who is saying things will stay the same? Tell me."
"E-Everyone. Elm, Sleet, Clover." He realised he was tattling on them to their boss and trailed off awkwardly, wondering if they'd get in trouble and whether that was his fault. "I'm not complaining. They saved me and got me out but… it's… they're laughing and…"
"I guarantee they're not happy about what happened, nor are they taking it lightly. Sleet is likely relieved to be alive and masking his fear by talking. The Arc-Ops are military. They're trained to be ready for situations like this, but all too often we can't train them on how to cope with the emotions afterwards. When the adrenaline is still rushing through you and victory has been had, it's hard to take things seriously. They're relieved they all came out of this alive. There was a good chance one or more of us might have fallen, and one way to hide your nerves and fear is to make light of the situation and joke around."
He felt even worse now. "I was so useless. I didn't do anything."
"There isn't a great answer I can give to that. We're here to protect you, so it would be strange if you were more capable than us. If you had to do something, that means we would have failed in our duty. If it's your own performance you're worried about then keep in mind Sleet was no more capable than yourself. You're a non-combatant."
"I was training to be a huntsman before."
"I know, and I know you've kept up with your training to some degree. With your girlfriend, I believe."
Jaune smiled weakly. "I spar with Weiss. She's better at it than I am."
"Better or not, what we faced here were true huntsmen. Miss Schnee would have been just as helpless as you. If this were Grimm or common thieves, I don't doubt you could have held your own, but you're an important young man and you're going to attract the more dangerous sorts of people. There's no shame in a boy your age not being able to stand up to five or more fully trained and qualified huntsmen." Ironwood chuckled and said, "If you could then we'd be in even more trouble. We'd have stolen away not only a boy who can bring back the dead, but the strongest and youngest huntsmen Remnant has ever seen."
It helped a little. Jaune tried not to but couldn't quite hold in his snort. Maybe he was overthinking things a little. "I still felt useless. I want to learn to fight. Better than what I'm currently getting. I know I have lessons but I want more."
"Are you sure? It'll eat into your already limited free time."
"Will people like that keep coming after me?"
"Almost inevitably."
"Then yes." Jaune nodded. "I want to be able to protect myself."
"That won't change you having a protection detail just to be clear. Even if you became the best huntsman in Atlas, you'll still have the Arc-Ops shadowing you."
"I know. That's fine." He'd grown used to them already and it wasn't their presence he was chafing at. "As long as I'm not a burden the next time this happens. I mean, I don't even know how to patch someone up if they get hurt. I could have at least helped look after Tortuga if I knew first aid, but all I could do was stand there."
"It's all Sleet did."
"I want to be better than Sleet."
Ironwood smiled and rubbed a metallic hand through his hair. "Not a bad goal. I'll see you have a tutor once we return. Give me a day or two to find the right kind of person. I can't handle it myself, too busy with the academy and the army, but I will find you someone who will do a good job. I promise."
/-/
Atlas was in uproar by the time they returned, and not only because of what happened in Vacuo. That had been televised – their fighting retreat and not the reasons – and people were throwing accusations left and right. A lot of the accusations were at Atlas, except of course here in Atlas where everyone refused to believe it was their fault and threw the blame back at Vacuo. They were right to do so, but Jaune doubted it was for the right reasons.
It turned out there had been issues while he was gone as well. People had taken his sudden absence from the hospitals poorly. Not as poorly as they had in Ansel, but bad enough that a peaceful protest turned violent and some people were trampled to death. Atlas stamped down on it hard and made arrests, even convictions, but it was obvious to everyone that it wouldn't calm down until he returned to his work.
He had brought sixteen people back to life before he even got to see his mother.
By the time he was allowed out the hospital to be cheered on by the people who had come to watch just to make sure he wasn't shirking his duty, he was well and truly exhausted. His mother thankfully recognised that and spared him the hugs and interrogation, instead only giving him one quick hug, telling him she was glad he was alright and then shuttling him into a bed. He was unconscious before his head hit the pillow.
The next few days were life as usual. He rose, showered, ate with his family and then met the Arc-Ops to head down to Mantle and bring back those who had died in the night. After that, he was hustled past a small army of journalists and cameras asking for his turn on the events of Vacuo and shuttled back up to Atlas. It was on the third day since he'd gotten back that Weiss finally got permission from her father to come visit. She was delivered by Klein, who Jaune had gotten to meet once or twice and thought was a good man.
Weiss welcomed him back with an awkward but none-the-less wonderful hug, and he wrapped his arms around her back and held on until she started fidgeting. He let her go and they retreated to his room to talk. He'd have loved to just sit with one another peacefully but Weiss naturally wanted to talk about Vacuo. He couldn't complain about that, could he? If she'd been worried about him then he couldn't just tell her to stop. When he proved a poor conversationist on the topic, however, she couldn't believe it.
"What do you mean you haven't watched the news? It's about you!"
"That's why I don't watch it. It's weird. Haven't you been on the news before?"
"Of course I have." Weiss answered primly, almost indignantly, and he couldn't help but think her vaguely affronted expression was cute. He knew her well enough to know saying that was an awful idea, but Weiss' small and pretty face just didn't convey anger as much as she thought it did. Her pale cheeks would heat up and her bright blue eyes would narrow, but it always looked pouting to him. "I've been on the news plenty of times when my concerts are happening, and I've been on even more since we started d-dating."
"Why do you stammer at that bit?"
"Shut up!" Weiss threw one of his comic books at him, striking him square in the face. Jaune sniggered into the pages laid out over his eyes. "I can't believe you're not keeping abreast of current affairs. I bet you're not even aware of what Vacuo are saying."
"That I ran away and Atlas insulted them?"
"Actually, they are hunting down the ones responsible for attacking you."
"Already? Do they know who they were?"
"You would know if you watched the news!"
She had him there. It wasn't that he was completely unaware of things happening outside his immediate surroundings, it was just that so much of the news involved him that he didn't want to drag himself down looking at it. Most of it was probably positive toward him but what if it wasn't? What if Vacuo were saying horribly things, and what if Vale and Mistral agreed?
He wasn't sure where the fears came from, maybe from what happened back in Ansel, but his stomach just churned at the thought of checking what the public opinion was. If he just focused on his job and did what he was told, he could get by without having to know. He did his best to convey that to Weiss, but he wasn't sure he did a good job.
"What makes you assume it's bad news?" she asked. "You haven't done anything wrong. The people love you."
"They don't love me, Weiss. They love what I can do for them."
"Then that is reason enough for them not to upset you, isn't it?" Weiss came over and knelt next to him. It was an oddly formal pose with her feet beneath her and her hands on her knees, but he didn't think she meant it to seem that way. She just didn't know what else to do. "I know a lot of people only pretend to like me because of who my father is, so I know what it's like, but I'm perfectly able to get past that so you should be as well."
"You've lived with that all your life. This is my first year."
"That is an excuse to not handle it well," she countered. "Not an excuse to not try in the first place."
Shred as always. He knew she was right as well – he had to get used to this at some point and couldn't live in the dark forever. On the other hand, what if he got too hooked on it? It felt good being praised and respected and loved, but he didn't want to become dependant on that if it could be taken away. Vale hadn't yet come out and branded him a traitor but there was definitely a large portion of what they said that painted him as someone greedy and money-oriented, who had chosen Atlas because they offered him a greater salary.
"We can look through it together," Weiss said in that reasonable but firm way of hers. She didn't fear anything as far as he could tell. "A-And if you need comfort, t-then I am here…"
Except having to admit to anything. Jaune couldn't help but wish she hadn't looked away because the back of her neck was such a dark shade of pink that he knew she was blushing up a storm. It was probably a little mean of him to reach out, take her hand and say "Thank you, Weiss. I feel much stronger with you at my side."
A long hiss of air escaped her mouth. "O-Of course you do!" she practically snapped with embarrassment. "I wouldn't offer otherwise, would I? N-Now stop being stupid and open up an article!"
He had a feeling pushing her any further would get him shouted at and have her storming out, so he dialled back on his teasing and pulled out his scroll instead. Weiss settled herself against his side, one hand on his arm and her head leaning just above his shoulder to look at it with him. It was as close to cuddling as they'd realistically gotten, and even though he wished he had the bravery to suggest she sit in his lap, he couldn't deny he liked having her face so close to his.
One of the first articles they brought up was about Vacuo. It turned out that the terrorist group were former students of Shade Academy, and that they had formed their own group after leaving called "Crown". There was no real explanation yet as to what they were after or why they had attacked him, but their personal names and details had been given out by the Vacuo Council and Shade Academy had posted bounties for their arrest.
The people in Vacuo were of split minds about him and Atlas. Most of them accepted that something had gone wrong and that Atlas had a reason to take him away, but many among that number argued that they'd gone too far and too extreme. They could have holed up in Vacuo and let the authorities deal with it, or they could have landed after it was clear and continued the visit. There were people who had been slated to be resurrected the next day and now they were dead for good. There was an interview with someone mourning the fact and a picture of them holding their wife when she was alive.
Jaune gripped the scroll tightly.
Weiss' fingers gently pried his hand open, took his free one and brought it back to rest in her lap. She held it with both hands, then glared at him when he looked her way. "What?" she snapped. "I said I'd help you."
"Nothing. Nothing!"
"It's not your fault," she said. "Plus, that woman was dead anyway. If you never unlocked your Semblance then she wouldn't be any more alive than she is now."
"I could have brought her back if I stayed."
"Or you could have been kidnapped and forced to bring bad people back and she'd have remained dead."
He couldn't argue that and switched to a different article. This one was from Vale and was as critical as Atlas as they could be without resorting to insults. The worst part was that they'd brought up the attack on him in Vacuo as an example of why Atlas couldn't be trusted to look after him, conveniently ignoring that he'd faced just as much danger in Vale. The article itself hadn't come out with any angry words toward him, but as he scrolled down it wasn't hard to see a comment posted below with a lot of people clicking the button to agree with it.
"He's only in it for the money. Vale should revoke his citizenship."
Below that was a reply, equally liked, that read, "And for the Schnee pu55y." Jaune flicked the screen back up but it was too late for Weiss to have not seen it. "I'm sorry," he said.
"For what? The stupidity of other people?" Weiss squeezed his hand tighter. "Are you in Atlas solely for the chance to get under my skirt?"
"No!"
"Then ignore the people who are quite clearly wrong." Weiss said it casually, but he could feel from her hand in his how annoyed she was. Her fingers were gripping him tight. "They… They will make up their minds about things. They will say what they will. I'm only a successful singer because daddy pays people to like me; I'm only as smart as I am because I have better tutors than everyone else. It's bitter people taking their anger out on us because it's easy to hate people they believe have easier lives."
His life wasn't easy. It was harder now than it had ever been before, and the thought of someone thinking otherwise… It didn't anger him, but it did frustrate him. Let them come and spend a month in his shoes. Let them experience the nightmare of being trapped in your home as people beat on your windows like zombies at the apocalypse. Let them nearly be kidnapped by terrorists in Vacuo and forced into doing who knows what.
"This is why I hate reading the news, Weiss."
"Don't let them win. If you hide away from it then they win. Don't reply to it either, though. They won't believe anything you say anyway, but the best thing you can do is ignore it. Be better than them and leave them to wallow in their bitterness."
"If they spent less time commenting angrily and more time working, maybe they'd have more money as well. Or be as smart as you."
"Of course." Her smile was dazzling. "But then why would they do that when they can just complain and say we have it easy? That sounds like too much hard work."
It helped to dig at the people heaping shit on him. Maybe that was petty as well, but it got him laughing and Weiss was smiling, so it wasn't too bad. They flicked back to Atlas local news after which was a lot more positive of him, even protective given what was being discovered about the events in Vacuo. Many more nationalist newspapers were calling for him to be kept to Atlas only, basically forced to stay within the city for his own protection and never shared with any other kingdom. Thankfully, more level heads were arguing against that and it looked like his trip to Mistral in a few months was still a go.
"Hopefully, Mistral will be better," he said.
"It'll definitely be. I'll be going with mother and father and Atlas will be sending its students as well for the tournament. There'll be more people than ever before, and Mistral will be desperate to make a better showing than Vacuo, so security will be even higher for that. We'll get to see Pyrrha again, too. She has her third championship fight next month."
"Already?"
Weiss shot him a sly smirk and said, "You'd know if you weren't a shut-in hiding away from every newspaper in the city."
"Alright. Alright. I get it. I've been a coward."
"Not a coward," she said. "Only too sensitive. Don't let the words of strangers get to you. There are too many people on Remnant to take what they say seriously. The faunus newspapers for instance," Weiss sneered the words out as if they were an affront to her senses, "have been portraying you as complicit in anti-faunus racism."
"What? Why!?"
"Because you're dating me and I'm directly responsible for faunus suffering."
"You're not."
"Of course I'm not!" she growled. "But that doesn't matter to them. You have to ignore those news sites," she told him. "They're not rags, Jaune, they're propaganda. They exist solely to serve the White Fang's purposes and will frame you – you and every human! – as racist. They do that on purpose because their goal is to drive more and more faunus to become terrorists."
Weiss' vitriol caught by surprise. She'd been annoyed at the prior newspapers and the comments but not this angry. It was his turn to squeeze her hand and offer what comfort he could, because she went into a full rant about the filthy White Fang, their monstrous actions and how they hated her for just being born.
Come to think of it, those faunus in the crowds that threw rocks at me thought I was prioritising human patients over faunus. He'd made sure to correct that and keep an even balance since, but it didn't seem to have changed much of anything. They believe what they're being told by these so-called reputable news sites when they're so clearly biased.
Being the subject of many of them, he could see how they were all biased. Atlas' were biased in his favour, Vale in theirs and so on and so on. They were all harping the benefits of their kingdom and making the others seem useless, so the faunus newspapers weren't alone in that respect. Weiss was losing her temper however, despite being the one to goad him into this, so he flicked off his scroll and sought to distract her.
"I want to get better at fighting after what happened in Vacuo. Do you think you can give me a few pointers if we spar?"
Her eyes lit up, as they always did when it came to her passion. Weiss practically yanked her hand from his and leapt to her feet. "Of course! I've even started learning how to use glyphs. You'll be amazed at the things they can do."
Typical Weiss always enjoying the chance to show off. It didn't feel as arrogant to him as it sounded, not when she'd worked so hard to earn those skills and wanted to share them with him. Being beaten up by her wasn't so bad either, especially when he could learn a thing or two and get to see her pleased smile on winning.
"Sure thing. Let me get my sword and shield. Don't go easy on me."
"Hmph. Do I ever?"
Not once.
Weiss being super supportive and Jaune wanting to improve and be more than just a healer. We'll get him a tutor for that, but we'll see how much time Atlas – or Remnant – wants to give him to try and achieve his dreams as opposed to being locked in a hospital using his Semblance.
Next Chapter: 16th August
Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
