This story has been beta by TheMischieviousPuppyDog.
Jaune wiped off some sweat as he continued to scrub the floors. It was a Tuesday, meaning he had the day off. Pyrrha had gone back home to Argus to see her mother as well as talk with her agent about some upcoming events, leaving Jaune alone for the day. And it was this day that Jaune decided he needed to give his clinic and apartment a deep cleaning. Summer was here, and the Beacon students and staff had their two-week break. And already all of Beacon's teaching staff had booked appointments. Especially in the 'special hours' slot that he had only recently created. They were hour-long massages that would take place after hours at 8 at night, an hour and thirty minutes after closing time. He had barely posted the new 'Aura Massage' deal and found himself booked for a week straight. The pricing had been finalized with Roman's help, and Jaune was really hoping that the new massage idea would go well.
As the hours passed, Jaune had to take a small break to get something to eat. Checking the clock, he noted that it was already past 3.
"Time for something simple," muttered Jaune as he grabbed a frozen chicken pot pie and microwaved it. He wasn't in the mood for cooking after such a heavy-duty cleaning.
As Jaune sat down to rest and ready to eat, he heard someone knocking on his front door. Curious as just who that could be, he put down his spoon and stood up to open the door.
"Azul?" blinked Jaune in surprise.
"Hey kid, got a minute?" asked Azul, "Can I come in?"
"Er, yea sure. I just started eating, so I hope you don't mind if we eat and talk?" suggested Jaune.
"That'll be fine, I'll be the one talking the most anyways," nodded Azul as the two walked in and sat down, Jaune quickly taking a scoop of his chicken pot pie after giving Azul a cup of water.
"I noticed a strong scent of cleaner coming from the rooms. Did you hire a cleaner to deep clean the place?" asked Azul.
"Not today, I decided to do it myself," shrugged Jaune, "Lets me take inventory while I'm doing so."
"Interesting. You have experience with that?"
"I lived in a house with 7 sisters. Cleaning, cooking, and massages were mainly my duties. I picked up quite a few things."
"I see... well I'll get to the point then."
Azul pulled out two pieces of paper, or rather more specifically, contracts that had been made and finalized. Azul himself had read through the paper to make sure management hadn't tried sneaking in dirty or misleading clauses.
"As a representative for Mii Amo chain as well as the lead masseur for Spa Envy, we're interested in purchasing your practice," began Azul.
Jaune blinked as he dropped his spoon into his chicken pot pie, "Ah... that's not what I was expecting. Well, the answer is no. I still got payments I got to make for this building, and I'm pretty happy with my practice for now."
"I figured as much," shrugged Azul as he tossed one of the contracts away, "It was an offer, but we all agreed it was the most unlikely one. The other one might hold interest for you. Want me to explain to you or you want to just read it?"
"I'll read over it," replied Jaune as he took the contract.
As Jaune read the contract, his face took on a look of surprise. On it was a suggestion of a co-branding or a slight merger. Mii Amo would send in another masseur to help out, as well as supply Jaune with some spices and oils. In return, they would get a cut of the profits Jaune would make. The masseur in question would more or less someone with at least a year's worth of experience.
"I can guarantee you that the masseur in question has passed my personal inspection, and works well with both customers and co-workers," added Azul, "She has no problems with Faunus customers, as your customer base seemed to be comprised of both human and Faunus. The Huntsmen and Huntresses, though, might be too much for her. I volunteered to work with you first, but management disagreed. She may not be as experienced as you and me, but she's a quick learner."
"Wow... this is a lot to take in," blinked Jaune as he shuffled through the contract.
"I'd imagine so, it hasn't been really done before," nodded Azul, "That's why the contract will only last for 45 days as a trial basis for now. The company will pay for two months worth of supplies, though. As for the masseur's wage, Mii Amo will be covering that."
"Anything else I should be aware of?" asked Jaune as he scanned through the contract a bit more closely.
"Well, the sign in the front will have to change a little. More of an addition, really. Instead of Elysium Oasis, as you had before, you'll need to put Mii Amo in front. It doesn't have to be in huge fonts like the other one, but I'd say probably... a fourth of the font size? So it'll end up saying Mii Amo: Elysium Oasis. Your name will still be the biggest eye-catcher, the other words just let others know you're technically a branch of Mii Amo now, however temporary it is."
Azul gently placed his cup down on the table, having taken a sip to wet his throat, "Jaune. It's completely up to you on this. Nobody will force you to accept this, and we certainly won't strong-arm you or retaliate if you refuse. I've made it clear to management that they give you a fair offer, and not to take offense to anything said. Being the top masseur there have its perks for sure."
"Why would you do that?" inquired Jaune. He didn't exactly know the 'business' world, but he knew that despite its looks, it was rather cutthroat.
"Well, you being under Junior's protection is one thing," chuckled Azul, "You've also attracted quite a few big names. Pyrrha Nikos. The main staff of Beacon Academy. A loyal customer base that's spreading among the populace, especially the Faunus community. No, it would be suicide to try to use force at this point. Not to mention I am rather... partial to you, as much as I hate to admit. You are certainly skilled, and if you didn't own this practice, I would've poached you from your boss long ago."
"How long do I have for this?" asked Jaune curiously.
"Preferably within this week," responded Azul, "Take your time to think, though. It's a big choice. I'll leave you to your lunch."
Azul stood up and saw himself out while Jaune was stuck just staring at the contract on his table.
Jaune had been rather out of it the whole Wednesday while working. Luckily, even on auto-pilot, he was still an efficient worker as he worked out the kinks on his patients.
'Should I consider it? It would help with the business,' thought Jaune his as pressed down on a knot on his patient's back, 'I've been having quite a few people calling to see if I can fit them in the schedule. The hype from Pyrrha's statement has died down a bit, but with summer vacation incoming, my schedule just got flooded with requests once more.'
Jaune continued the rest of the day pondering about the decision.
"I can't believe that you drew the first draw," pouted Glynda as she and Peach walked down Vale towards Jaune's clinic.
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry," whistled Peach, "Besides, I informed you right after so you could grab the second appointment, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes, you did," grumbled Glynda.
It had been pure luck that Peach had stumbled across Jaune's latest addition to massage, the Aura massage. She had been going through Beacon's website to make sure everything was working when she noticed that the usual ad space for Jaune suddenly sported the words "Aura Massage! New!"
It took Peach less than 10 seconds to create an appointment for herself while sending Glynda a message about it.
Glynda had been overseeing finals for the third year students when she received the message. Glynda had been ready to ignore it, but her curiosity overrode her common sense.
Elysium Oasis has a new massage. Called Aura massage, just came out! Make Appointment!-Peach
One student, who had a question about one of the questions on the exam, stood up, ready to ask the professor about it when he saw Glynda frantically tapping through her Scroll with a focused gaze.
"Umm..," started the student, only to receive a frosty glare. The student decided to return back to his seat with haste. He could always figure it out himself, and even if he didn't, he had time to ask later. Might as well skip it and come back to it later. He did not want to get a big fat 0 for interrupting whatever Glynda was doing.
It was only after Glynda had made her appointment did Peach send the same message to the rest of the staff of Beacon. It didn't take long for the rest to book appointments. Even Peter Port, who wasn't a fan of massages, booked an appointment for himself. The Beacon Matron, Ivy, who had never gotten a massage from Jaune before, also booked one.
"Then there's nothing to complain about," grinned Peach, her mouse ears twitching in excitement at the massage as they arrived.
Peach politely knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long for Jaune to open the door and greet them.
"Welcome back," smiled Jaune as he opened the door to admit them in, "I believe you know the way already?"
"Yep," grinned Peach as she skipped towards the shower room.
"Curiously, why are you here?" asked Jaune to Glynda, "Your appointments not till tomorrow."
"Incidentally, I was actually curious about this 'Aura massage' that you came up with," coughed Glynda, "So I wanted to observe. Have you already done this to other people, and have there been side effects?"
"A few, and they all said they haven't felt anything wrong afterward. All said they really enjoyed it. However, I found out that it only works on people who have their Aura unlocked. I tried it on someone without Aura, and he told me it scared the crap out of him. So for now, Aura massage is tentatively open for only Huntsmen and Huntresses, whether they be in-training, active, or retired."
"Hmm, so the target audience is us," murmured Glynda, "Not much competition in that either, unlike Dust ammunition, though the SDC almost has a monopoly on that."
"I'm ready for my massage!" sang Peach as she danced out of the changing room with just a towel fluttering around her mid-thigh. If she moved at just the wrong angle, or right depending on the point of view, then Jaune would've seen a lot more.
"Peach!" hissed Glynda as she stormed over to halt her twirling, "Behave yourself!"
"Fine, fine," pouted Peach, "But I'm just so excited about this! C'mon, let's do this already!"
"Are you ready?" asked Jaune as Peach settled down onto the massage table.
"Yep! Go at it!" cheered Peach.
Jaune nodded as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he began to focus. Glynda gasped as she saw Aura surging through Jaune's hand like a torrent. Before she could even say anything, Jaune sunk his hands onto Peach's back.
"SQUEAK!"
Peach actually squeaked when Jaune pressed down onto her back, feeling the rush of Jaune's Aura flood through her body. She was barely cognizant of her surroundings as Jaune began to move his hands, kneading her muscles.
'I so needed this after all those Dust experiments and explosions from the students,' thought Peach as she dimly drifted off.
As Jaune continued his work, he almost jumped in shock when Glynda's hands cupped over his hands. Luckily, Glynda had chosen to stand across from Jaune when she did so, and not from behind Jaune. Otherwise, Jaune would've really been distracted from Glynda's soft hands as well as some... sizeable assets that would've pressed on his back.
"I can see that you're trying to control the amount of Aura going out, but it's still rather rough," stated Glynda as she poked Peach to wake her up, "Let us help you out a little. I don't want you running out your Aura reserves just for this."
"Like he's going to run out anytime soon at this rate," mumbled Peach, feeling Jaune's Aura reserve now that he was streaming it at such close proximity. It was roughly the same amount as Glynda had, and she had the biggest reserves in the teaching staff, Ozpin excluded. Peach wasn't ashamed to say that Jaune's reserves surpassed her own, but she did admit that Jaune had no control over the amount he was pouring. Big reserves did not necessarily mean stronger, especially if one didn't have control over it. Glynda had the reserves, control, and skills to use her Aura and Semblance to such detail, making her one of the strongest Huntresses despite choosing to stay at Beacon as Vice-Headmistress. Peach was sure that if she went to any other Academy, she would've been promoted to Headmistress immediately.
"Peach, tell me if you feel a difference while I teach Jaune how to control his Aura," ordered Glynda as she turned her head back to Jaune, "Breathe in Jaune, and try to synchronize your breathing with mine."
Jaune quickly obeyed, feeling the gentle touch of Glynda's Aura mixing with his, as if guiding him.
"Good, now we're going to lower the amount of Aura you're pouring in. Just have your Aura respond with mine and try to match the amount," guided Glynda, "Peach, you'll have to tell me when you feel a difference."
Jaune noticed the amount of Aura that Glynda had been pouring slowly reduced, and quickly tried to match it. Soon enough, he found it much easier to control the amount of Aura he had been pouring in.
"It takes some time to get used to fine-tuning your Aura," lectured Glynda, "It may seem easier right now, but that's because you're using my Aura as a guide."
"Ah, too low, the sensation's going away," whined Peach after a few seconds.
Jaune quickly raised up the amount of Aura by a bit with Glynda's help until Peach sighed in relief.
"Man, I feel like I can feel the difference in the amount for Aura I've been pouring in and the amount right now," grinned Jaune as he looked up to Glynda, who had let go while he kept massaging Peach, "I have to say I'm using like... 20-30% less Aura than I was using to keep the same effect."
"And what an effect," slurred Peach from below as Jaune was working on her legs, "I feel soooo relaxed."
Glynda could only watch in envy as Jaune continued on with the massage, wishing she had gotten the first appointment. It looked so relaxing and considering that it had been quite some time since she last had one, she was anxious for her turn. Instead, she decided to focus on grading some papers that she had brought with her. Soon enough, but far too long for Glynda and far too short for Peach, the massage was finished.
"Whew, that was interesting," breathed Jaune as he stopped pouring Aura into his hands as he lifted his arms, "Hope you enjoyed it."
"Oh very much so," grinned Peach as she pushed herself up, quickly wrapping the towel around her body before Jaune's eyes could even register anything.
"Peach!" scolded Glynda.
"What!? It's not like he saw anything," smirked Peach.
"Just... go change," sighed Glynda as Peach glided out of the room.
"120 Lien for the Aura massage seems too cheap of the price at what you're doing," commented Peach as she paid the fee, "I'd consider upping the price."
"Well, I did just start it up," shrugged Jaune, "I haven't gotten the exact pricing down for this."
"Well, you do have a monopoly on this. I don't think I've heard of anyone using this same technique," advised Glynda, "Though be careful, you might tire yourself out. Especially since you're the only masseur working here."
"That might change if I agree to a contract with Mii Amo," shrugged Jaune.
"Contract?" asked both professors.
"Yea, they want to do a sort of a merger or co-branding," explained Jaune, "They offered to hire another masseur and supply my oils and spices for a cut of the profit, not too much mind you, as well as their logo/name in front of my clinic's name."
"That seems like too good of a deal," blinked Glynda, "Are you sure there's not some sort of line that you're missing in the contract, some sort of underlying detail?"
"Well, I somehow managed to impress their top masseur when he came in for a massage as a way to scout me," Jaune laughed sheepishly.
"That's quite lucky and impressive," commented Peach, "I would've thought they would try to drive you out of business. But what made them come to scout you?"
"I think it was Pyrrha's quote," hummed Jaune as he began to clean up, "Pyrrha told me that she had been invited by Weiss to Spa Envy, a branch of Mii Amo. They tried to get a quote from her, only for her to hesitate and then leave."
"Well that would do it," chuckled Peach, "A quote they couldn't get from a star, and instead she gives it to you? That would rile up their engines."
"It's very fortunate that Jaune impressed one of their top people, though I am slightly worried what the contract could entail," frowned Glynda.
"It's a temporary basis, 45 days at most. I figured I have nothing to lose really. Though I am going to bring the contract to a friend of mine. He specializes in finding out underhanded tricks," said Jaune, waving off the worry.
"That's good to hear," smiled Glynda, "However, if you ever find yourself in need protection, you can always hire students or even active Huntsmen and Huntresses to patrol your area at night."
"I can?" blinked Jaune.
Glynda nodded, "Being a Huntsmen or Huntress doesn't mean going out in the wild and slaying Grimm all the time. There are other jobs that involve protection. In fact, the local grade school sometimes puts out a job for someone to walk the kids to school and back. Quite different from what people would expect, but it is something."
"I'll think about it," nodded Jaune, shelving that in the back of his mind. It would be nice, but he was technically already under Junior's protection.
As soon as Glynda and Peach left, Jaune quickly picked up his scroll and dialed a number. A few minutes later, a familiar voice could be heard.
"Hello?" grumbled Roman, "What's up blondie? I'm a little tired and was trying to catch some zzzzs."
"I got a contract I need you to look over when you have the chance," stated Jaune quickly, "I might decide to go with the co-branding."
"Alright, just give me a day or two," yawned Roman, "I'll send Neo over to fetch it. I'm a bit busy at the moment with all this Dust inspection I gotta do."
"Alright, thanks," thanked Jaune as he hung up. Perhaps with the hire of a new masseur, he could expand the Aura massage to the mornings.
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
To accept the contract, or not to accept, that is the question! Hmmm.
Also next chapter may be a little slower to come out as I caught a stupid cold and spent two days hibernating in bed to fight it. Not fully back to 100% sadly.