This story has been beta by TheMischieviousPuppyDog.
Enjoy!
"Azul! Big trouble!" wailed the manager of Spa Envy, charging into Azul's office.
"What?" groaned Azul as he put down the water he had been drinking.
"Look at this!" said the manager, pulling out a Scroll and quickly accessing Jaune's website before pointing out to a certain quote.
Azul quickly read through it before whistling at the said quote, impressed by it.
"Damn, that's a nice quote," admitted Azul.
"Now is not the time to admire a quote," snapped the manager, "We need to combat against this threat! We could lose customers to them! Hmmm, I know! They're a small company so we can crush them easily! We can box them out! Create bad reviews! Buy the surrounding area and create obstacles onto getting there! Ooh, ooh, I know, we can hire some thugs to hurt him and mak-"
Azul's eyebrows had been twitching when the manager began spouting out random ideas. However, that last idea drew the line, so Azul mercilessly crushed it with a head chop.
"Owww!" cried the manager, "What was that for?"
"Let's calmly go over this," sighed Azul, "First of all, have we had any cancellations? Have we had any that didn't show up to their appointment?"
"Well no, but-" started the manager, but Azul cut him off.
"Then I see no problem. Before you begin to spout out crap once more, let me explain it to you. Our customer base is meant for the wealthy, while this Elysium Oasis seems to be based more on the middle class. Weiss Schnee's quote has attracted a few eyes as well, and thanks to that, we have grabbed more customers. The Schnee family's sphere of influence is more towards the rich, something we target. Pyrrha Nikos, however, most likely has more influence towards the common folk. Meaning even with her quote, I doubt we'd get too much business as our prices are probably too exorbitant for them."
Azul took a deep breath before continuing, "As for other 'ideas', where is your sense of professionalism? Creating bad reviews? Making obstacles against a non-competitor? That's asking for trouble if the Vale police department investigates us. This isn't Atlas, fool, where the rich have more of a say. As for your last idea, do you not know who owns the area this Jaune boy operates?"
"Why would it matter?" asked the manager, "We have enough Lien to gain influence to-"
"Not in this case," growled Azul, "I asked around the locals a bit. That place is owned by Junior, and according to the word on the street, he's taking a liking to the kid."
"Ha, what type of gang has a boss named Junior?" laughed the manager, "I'm sure we can get somebody more powerful to-"
Azul once again chopped him on the head, "Idiot. Junior and his men are the most influential and powerful gang on the street. The reason why there are no other gang wars in Vale is because of him. He is the only gang here. And he's almost untouchable because he's also an information broker. Nobody in the Vale Council wants to deal with him if they can."
Azul slowly put his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose, "In short, he's protected from underground tactics, and I will not work with a company that'll attempt such attacks. I have my sense of professionalism here."
"Then what do we do?" asked the manager in confusion, "We gotta capitalize on that!"
"We don't have to do anything," sighed Azul, "It'll past soon enough. I took a look at the place already. They only have one masseur, so he's not going to be able to handle all that workload. That'll peel off the customers... unless... Hmm, that could work."
"What could work?" asked the manager with curiosity.
"Well... I doubt the owner is interested in a merger," suggested Azul, "Least not now. Too risky since we don't know his actual skill. Instead, I'd say... an alliance. A co-branding, so to speak. We can supply some masseurs and/or masseuse, along with some spices or stuff, and he gives us a cut of the profit. As for how much... we'll have to see just how much he rakes in and discuss the terms of the alliance with him."
"Yes... yes, and we can reap in most of the profits!" giggled the manager, "I'll have our lawyers put so many loopholes that by the end of it, he'll end up losing money!"
'Not if I can stop that,' thought Azul. Though he was only a masseur, he was the damn best in the area. He had some voice in the company, enough to stop the manager from doing some stupid shit.
He was mentally assigning just who would go. As he thought about it longer, he frowned as he began eliminating choices. Based on Pyrrha's words, the masseur at Elysium Oasis had to be damn good to get a quote. That meant sending the newbies or those in training wasn't an option. As he left to grab something stronger to drink, he came up with an idea. Perhaps he would volunteer to go himself! He was a bit hurt that Pyrrha didn't give that quote despite his best efforts, but he was more intrigued at this new masseur. Perhaps some special massage technique? One that wasn't circulated in the common practices? He could take the chance to learn it himself! And perhaps take the other masseur in as his apprentice. Both of them teaching each other. He did have an appointment for Thursday already.
Azul began to nod at this new idea, liking it even more. If the boy was good enough, then maybe he could be persuaded to a merger.
Spa Envy wasn't the only one that was reacting to Pyrrha's quote besides the customers.
Pyrrha was contemplating on heading over to Jaune's when her Scroll started ringing. It was a ring tone she had set specifically for the said number, playing Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. It was her agent, Mark Er. She gingerly picked it up, debated about answering it, before deciding she had to do so.
"Hello," said Pyrrha with a fake smile and tone.
"Pyrrha! Hey hey, how you been, been doing well, great, listen I got to ask you something," said Mark, actually speaking for the length without stopping to breath.
"What did you need to ask?" asked Pyrrha, "Is it about the photoshoot that's coming next month?"
"Love the enthusiasm, but no, this is about something else. Something important. I'm afraid that someone's been using your name for their own personal gain," replied Mark.
"Oh, who?" asked Pyrrha. All she remembered was letting one person, and that was Jaune.
"Some massage place name Elysium Oasis. Says that you told him that he gave the best massages. I never gave permission for that quote to be released, nor do I remember even talking about the place. No worries, I got the PR department all over it, he'll be taking that quote down and it'll all pass."
"Mark, I gave him express permission," stated Pyrrha, "Call them off. What I said was the truth."
"Alright, alright, but as your agent, you gotta tell me these things. How was I supposed to know, especially since we're in two separate continents? You should've gone to Haven, would've been so much easier. You know, you can still transfer. I can pull up the paperwork pronto."
"Mark, I've told you, I'm happy attending Beacon. Stop bringing this up," sighed Pyrrha in a tired tone of voice. As if sensing that she would not change her mind, Mark decided to stop pushing for that and continue on with his earlier topic.
"Anyways about that quote. Did he pay for it at least with, like a year's worth of massage for free? Or perhaps some Lien? Or-"
"No Mark, I gave that quote to him after he really gave me one of the best massages, if not the best, of my life."
"... Why!? Do you know how valuable your quote is? I keep getting offers from restaurants and other cereal brands, food brands, Dust brands for you to show up to! Hell, I even got an offer from a car dealership and movies for you to appear in! All of them offering tens of thousands, if not hundreds, of Lien. I've refused most of them as per your request, but why would you just give your quote away!"
"Because he deserved it. Don't argue with me on this Mark, just recall your PR team."
"Fine. But we will need to talk about this in the future. Anyways, the photoshoot next month will be going as planned. After that, we'll be preparing for your big debut in the Vytal Festival Tournament! Four-time Mistral Regional Tournament champion, going on to show the world that she's not only the strongest at Mistral but the strongest in the world! We'll easily hit it even bigger there. You'll be an international star!... Not that you aren't. Vacuo and Atlas don't really buy into your stardom, especially Vacuo, but you'll show them why you're called the 'Invincible Girl'!"
Pyrrha winced at this statement. She had not told Mark that she wouldn't be competing in the Vytal Festival Tournament yet. Well, now was a good time as any.
"Mark, listen, about the Vtyal Festival Tournament..."
Pyrrha quickly explained her situation to her manager, who remained silent for the whole explanation.
"Mark? Mark Er, you still there?" asked Pyrrha when she heard no response from her manager.
"... Damn that headmaster! Don't worry Pyrrha, I'll make sure you get into the Vytal Festival Tournament! I'm sure I can pull some strings here and there! Doesn't he know this is the biggest event in your life? And he's denying you because of some stupid rule of not having a team of four? You can easily handle a team of four all by yourself! I can probably get your old partner Oreo back to Beacon and you'd have a team of four! I'm sure he'd understand if I-"
"No," said Pyrrha sternly and coldly, "I will not accept him on my team. He chose to betray not only my trust and my team, but also choose to harm me. I will never trust him to watch my back, not for a moment."
"We could just have him as a temporary member for the first round! I-"
"No."
"Fine. We'll find another way. You sure you don't want to think about transferring to Haven? I can get your other teammates over there! I'm sure Haven could get you one more team member, with your popularity! Then you could show that damn place you call an Academy why it was a shit idea to disqualify your participation! I-"
"Enough!" said Pyrrha, almost shouting now, "What's done is done! I will not have you bend rules just to get me in. I will have another chance at the next Vytal Festival. This is a good chance for me to have a break so I can focus solely on becoming a better Huntress."
"... Alright, but if you're not participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament, then you have to sign up for one of these deals I've got on waiting. There's quite a few that I need to narrow down, but you have to choose one. Each one has a chance of you making a bigger impact in the world! Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about, so later!"
With a click, Pyrrha shut off her Scroll and sighed. Of course, her agent would have back up plans. And here, she just wanted to be herself, to become a Huntress, like she dreamed of. Maybe... it was time to put a stop to the whole thing.
Pyrrha quickly texted to Ren, asking how the clinic was. She got a reply back saying that it was completely packed and that her coming in might make the clinic overflow, and so he suggested for her to stay back for now. Pyrrha frowned but decided to agree, as it would allow the population of Vale to cool down after her brief appearance.
"Guess I'll head to the library today," sighed Pyrrha as she got out her homework assignments.
"Thank you for coming, and have a nice day," waved Jaune, Ren, and Clementine as the last of the patients left. After closing the store, all three of them collapsed onto soft chairs meant for the waiting patients, but since there was none, they took the spots.
"Is it always this busy?" asked Clementine meekly.
"No, today was abnormally busy," replied Jaune, "Guess Pyrrha's quote was more popular than I thought."
"Wait, Pyrrha? You mean the Pyrrha Nikos?" asked Clementine in shock.
"She came here to get a massage before we became friends," shrugged Jaune, "She was the one who referenced Ren to me, to which I'm happy for the help. He's her teammate at Beacon."
Ren replied with a small snore, signifying he had fallen asleep on the chair already.
"Well since the day's over, let's get something to eat. My treat," offered Jaune.
Clementine was about to refuse when her stomach growled in hunger.
"I'd offer to cook, but I'm a little tired from the workload today," said Jaune as he took a look at the schedule for tomorrow, "And I will probably be tired for the next few days. It's jammed pack to the brim. Might have to reopen my Thursday slot and hire one more worker to help out with the workload. Thanks for coming in on such short notice again Clementine."
"No problem," smiled Clementine as Jaune shook Ren up, telling him that he would be buying food for them.
True to his prediction, he was busy throughout the weekend. Every time slot had been occupied with an appointment to which, to his relief, the patients came on time or early. Each one of them left with a happier body, lighter wallets, and a promise to leave a positive review. As he began to close for Sunday, he took inventory before frowning. He had bought enough supplies that should have lasted him for two months, yet he had already gone through a quarter of it in just three days. He would need to purchase more if this trend continued. Luckily, he had made a good profit from the weekend, so he could afford to buy more supplies.
Jaune quickly went to his accounting book, doing a few calculations, checking his net profit and budget to see that he had enough in the budget to buy the supplies and hire a new employee.
"Roman was right," muttered Jaune as he began to put another job posting online, "At this rate, I might even have to hire a cleaning crew to do my cleaning if I'm this tired. Could I afford an expansion? Maybe, but I would need to hire another masseur or masseuse to even do so. Guess I'll think about it later."
With that, Jaune finished up balancing his budget before heading to the shower to clean up.
"Oh thank Oum it's Tuesday tomorrow," breathed Jaune as he laid on his bed. Monday without Ren had been even busier for poor Clementine. Luckily, he had several people who had already responded to his ad, and had set up several interviews for Tuesday.
It also didn't help that during the weekend, reporters began to ambush him to get an interview on why Pyrrha had given him the quote. Did he pay her? Did he really give good massages? Were they dating? It was only thanks to Junior, who had sent his men to save him from vultures disguised as reporters.
As Jaune laid on his bed, he pulled out his Scroll before going through the list of interviewees that he had selected. He had thrown out anyone below the age limit, though why he had such applicants confused him. A few calls to some of the references threw out a few more applicants. By the time he had finally narrowed down his list, he was left with four that could work right away. One was a male Faunus with scales on his face who had dropped out of high school, but had glowing commendations from all his references. Another human male who finished high school, but chose not to attend college. A female Faunus with panda ears who dropped out of college. And finally a human female with no references whatsoever, but said she could start right away.
It was up to him to decide whom he would choose after he finished the interviews.
And done! Sorry it's a bit shorter than usual, but I've been busy. Hope you guys enjoy the story so far. Next up, Interviews!
As for the timeline, it's slowly approaching ep 15 of vol 1. Maybe 3-4 more chapters.
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
Also, I have a kh3 one shot in the making. Anyone interested in helping me finish it up is welcomed, I've already gotten plot done and almost... 2/5th done? Just need to put it into words.