Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
On a side note though, I will be taking the month of July off to give myself more time to plan and write without rushing a deadline.
Glynda huffed as she walked out of the Ozpin's office after greeting James Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy and general of the Atlesian army. She respected him for his ability to become a general and headmaster at his age, along with what he could bring into Ozpin's inner circle. As a person, however, she felt he was too bull headed. His primary response to any sort of situation was always overwhelming firepower. Need to travel to another continent? Solution: Bring half the Atlesian fleet for 'protection'. A small gathering of possible White Fang members? Solution: Bring a whole regiment to squash it without even verifying or sending a spy.
Glynda was aware that people from Atlas military tended to be more prone with overwhelming firepower as a solution, but that was no excuse for James to follow that trend. She preferred finesse, the ability to complete a task with the least amount of power and without collateral damage. It was just so….. inefficient. It didn't matter if she could repair any damages from the aftermath, she would prefer if the damages could've been avoided in the first place.
"Great, after meeting James, I'm going to be sore all over again," muttered Glynda before pulling up her scroll, "Luckily, I have an appointment already made for myself!"
Glynda smiled as she confirmed her appointment for an Aura massage for the coming Friday. She was going to enjoy that massage very much, and wondered if she could somehow convince him to cook dinner for her at the same time. She was very much willing to pay extra for another delicious home-cooked meal than the food from the cafeteria. It was sad to say, but she knew herself that she wasn't much of a cook.
Checking the rotation, Glynda noticed that it would be Sky and Dove's turn to watch over Jaune. Truth be told, she wouldn't have minded being Jaune's bodyguard for the small duration of time over the break if she hadn't been busy preparing for the incoming students as well as the Vytal Festival. Glynda had heard that Jaune would treat them to some snacks every now and then, and if they were anything close to what he made for dinner last time, they would be delicious.
"Glynda!" shouted a familiar voice that irritated Glynda as she walked out of her office, having finished finalizing some paperwork.
"Hello James," replied Glynda with a fake smile, "Did you finish up everything with Ozpin already?"
"Just a few minor details that can be easily remedied at a later time," reassured James, "I was hoping to catch up with you. It's been years since we've last talked."
"We talked to each other during the first semester in regards to transportation and the Vytal Festival," corrected Glynda.
"Over the CCT," rejected James, "But not in person. I have dinner reservations this Friday at a restaurant in uptown Vale where I've heard they serve the most delicious fish and wine."
"Oh you flatter," said Glynda with a slightly sarcastic tone, "But I already have an appointment this Friday night that I can't cancel."
'Or in this case, won't cancel,' added Glynda in her mind, valuing her massage.
"Oh, I see," nodded James, "Well then, I hope we can discuss this some other time then."
"Perhaps," concluded Glynda as she walked away before muttering under her breath, "But don't count on it."
While Glynda walked away, James frowned, wondering what Glynda had an appointment for. Though he tried to push it off, it gnawed at him.
James kept a careful eye over Glynda in the next few days. He could see her becoming more and more eager for Friday. He tried to slyly pry some details off Ozpin and the others, but they never gave anything away. All he saw was the small smirk or pout from the staff members of Beacon.
"Who knows? Perhaps there's a good reason why Glynda is eager for her appointment on Friday. Maybe she's seeing someone," hinted Ozpin when James tried to pester him once more about Glynda's business on Friday.
James failed to take the hint that Ozpin had been trolling him and completely took it as Glynda seeing someone privately.
Friday night
"This is Tango Alpha, do you have a visual of the target?" asked James as he hid behind a corner, pressing onto his earpiece.
"Tango Alpha, Bravo has a lock via security cameras on the street," replied Bravo, "Umm, General? May I ask a clarifying question?"
"What is it Bravo?" grunted James as he peeked over the corner, making sure he wasn't noticed.
"Why are we following the vice-headmistress of Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch? And why are we using our resources for this?" asked Bravo.
"Because I deemed it necessary, so stop chattering and focus up," replied James curtly.
"Alright, alright. She's walking up some steps into a building now. Looks like she's knocking on the door. Let me dig some information up on this place…. Looks like it's called Elysium Oasis. It's a massage clinic. Damn it's got some glowing reviews on here. I should make an appointment since I'm here."
James had stopped listening when he heard that Glynda was stopping in front of a building. Taking a good look under the light now, he could see Glynda knocking on the door. His eyes narrowed before he noticed Glynda wearing a rather different set of clothes. Compared to her usual style, this one seemed to allow her to take off her clothes easily.
James could see the door opening from the corner he was hiding, the noise of some small talk along with Glynda giggling before she entered. Just before the door closed, James rushed out to the street to get a better look just in time to see some teenage boy with blonde hair closing the door.
'Is Glynda seeing someone? Does she prefer them so….. young?' thought James before shaking his head, 'Maybe you're reading this too seriously, James. Thnk, there has to be another reason.'
James looked around to see if there were context clues about the location. He noticed Jaune's shop name on the window. He remembered how Bravo had mentioned she was heading to a massage clinic before realizing that Glynda had come to get a massage. Breathing out a mental sigh of relief, James had been ready to leave when he saw the hours posted on the window. Taking a quick scan, he noticed something was off.
"It says here that he should be closed," murmured James, "In that case….. Is this visit really a date!?"
His mind flashed back to Ozpin's words about how eager Glynda was for this appointment.
If James was his rational self, then he would've done proper research and reconnaissance to discover that Jaune did offer after-hour massages. However, due to him getting the stink eye from Ozpin and a few others for bringing half the Atlesian fleet to the Vytal Festival, handling the logistics of it, and a few other secrets along with the lack of sleep due to the fact he kept wondering what Glynda had planned, as well as being trolled, he was in his less than rational self.
James had been just about to wander away when his eyes caught onto something. Three familiar claw marks that Atlas intelligence had noticed when observing the White Fang. It was a symbol and guide to any White Fang secret hideouts. But why was it here?
James' eyes tracked back to Jaune's place, just in time to see a Faunus come out of the said place.
Arvo had been working an extra hour after the usual closing time due to the fact he had arrived an hour late to work that morning due to a family situation. Jaune had waived it off, saying it was fine, but Arvo insisted on working the full shift. So the extra hour was used to help clean up the stations and manage the stocks while Jaune took the time to cook up dinner and relax.
"Man, it was nice to get some extra time to check the stocks without any interruptions," groaned Arvo as he stretched his arms out, "Who knew that this place would be such a hidden gem for this sort of business."
As Arvo whistled while walking away, James' eyes 'cleared' up. That was to say with his limited mindset, he assumed incorrectly that Jaune's place was really a hidden White Fang base, that Glynda had been tricked and lured due to her position in Beacon. Possibly by a White Fang sympathizer no less! With his trusty revolver in his left hand, James stomped forward towards the clinic.
Back at the rooftop, Sky glanced over at Dove, who did the same.
"Uhh, I wasn't seeing things was I?" asked Sky, pointing over to James marching towards Jaune's place.
"No, I'm seeing James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of the Atlesian force, marching towards Jaune's place, clearly with intent of breaking and entering," replied Dove as they witnessed him kick down the door.
"So….. what do we do?" asked Sky.
"Intervene I guess?" shrugged Dove, "Then again, it's not a criminal that's breaking in this time. Unless it's a disguise?"
"Pretty good disguise if you ask me," frowned Sky, pulling up his Scroll, "Luckily, professor Goodwitch is already in there. I doubt whoever just entered will get out unharmed…. if not alive."
"Let's go in just to make sure," ordered Dove as he pulled out his weapon.
"Yea, sending a message to the professors right now," nodded Sky, pulling out his lance after finishing the message.
The two boys vaulted over the rooftop and landed on the streets, quickly chasing after James.
At the street corner, an old man grumbled as he held a washcloth in his hand. With a single swipe, he erased the three 'claw marks' off the wall.
Usually, when the White Fang made those claw marks, they not only used a special chalk infused with Dust to make it so it wouldn't fade off easily, it was also engraved into the wall a bit.
James had forgotten to do a simple spit test to see if it would fade off, and instead assumed it was the White Fang.
In reality, they had been drawn by the old man so he would remember how many days he had parked his mobile ramen store at that location before moving onto the next location.
James kicked open the door, quickly scanning around for enemies. His face faltered when he saw a genuine office entrance, but quickly shook his head.
"It's just a trick to lure you into a false sense of security," lectured James to himself.
His sharp ears picked up music down the hall, and so he quickly followed it to the source. Without hesitation, James kicked the door open, pointing his gun forward.
"Don't move!" shouted James.
Jaune, who had been mixing some spices together, jumped back in shock and shrieked in a high pitch voice at the sight of a gun pointed at him while also dropping his mixture spice pot. He would, of course, deny shrieking so loudly, but nobody could really blame him for someone suddenly pointing a very heavily modified revolver at him.
"Where-" started James with an order, only to be interrupted when Dove and Sky tackled him.
James grunted as he felt the impact of the two boys, but managed to quickly push off them, flipping onto his feet as he pointed his gun at them. Before he could snap a shot off, Sky managed to unfold his halberd and strike at the gun, pinning it to the wall.
Dove let out a shout as he tried to go for an overhead strike, only for James to catch the blade with his right hand without hesitation.
"You two are Huntsman-in-training, aren't you?" asked James with a sigh, "To think that White Fang sympathizers infiltrated the Academies, too. I told them they needed a stricter background check."
Without hesitation, James gripped Dove's sword hard, crumpling the metal before punching the shocked Dove in the face without even letting go of the sword. Sky tried to jump forward and kick James, only for him to fire his revolver. The recoil was enough to dislodge the halberd off, causing Sky to flail in midair at his attempt of a kick. James quickly flipped his gun around, using the butt end of the revolver to punch Sky in the stomach, sending him crumpling to the floor.
"You two are under arre-," started James, only to hear Jaune bellowing like a bull, charging at him with his arms crossed over his head.
James sighed as he quickly flipped his gun once more, changing his bullets into modified stun bullets. These bullets were non-lethal, but they could take out the average huntsman-in-training's Aura with a single bullet and paralyze them with a shock of electricity. James fired two bullets into Jaune's arms, thinking it would be enough.
He certainly was surprised when he saw Jaune tank the two shots without stopping, and even more shocked when his Aura didn't shatter.
'He has to be the mastermind!' thought James as he quickly readied himself, knowing he wouldn't be able to get another shot in. Instead, he braced himself while holding his right arm forward, knowing the technology behind his mechanical arm would be able to handle whatever the person had in mind.
Before Jaune could try to throw a punch at James, all four males suddenly found themselves suspended in the air.
"What is going on here!?" shouted Glynda, wearing a thick towel with her hair dripping wet from the shower as she wielded her crop. The towel just barely managed to cover her chest and go past down her thighs, but the image of her wet towel clinging on to her skin with water dripping down her wet skin was enough to cause all of them to give pause. She had come rushing out of the shower when she hear gunshots.
"Jaune, you first," ordered Glynda, seeing him recover the fastest.
"This maniac broke open the door and pointed his revolver at me. He was about to ask me something or shoot me before Dove and Sky intervened," responded Jaune quickly.
"We saw him blatantly break open the front door. We weren't too sure how to respond considering who it was," added Dove.
"We thought that he was probably disguising himself at General Ironwood to get in," nodded Sky, "Though we're not too sure about that now. We sent a message requesting backup."
"I-" started James, only to be silenced by Glynda's glare.
"Jaune, are you alright? Should I reschedule?" asked Glynda.
"No, no, I'll be fine. Just need to clean up the mess I made inside and grab a cup of water, but I can proceed," breathed out Jaune.
Glynda saw through that bluff. Jaune was clearly shocked, and based on what she knew about James, he had clearly shot him with non-lethal Aura erasing bullets.
"It's alright, I can always reschedule at a later day," smiled Glynda as she gently let Sky, Dove, and Jaune down.
"As for you, I'll speak to you after I clean up this mess you made," hissed Glynda towards James.
Before James could even defend himself, he was rocketed out of the clinic via Glynda's Semblance. With another wave of her crap, she fixed the bowl that Jaune had dropped, deposited the spices back to their original spots, and then fixed the doors that James had kicked in.
"Come on boys. You can return to your post," ordered Glynda, "Good call with your decisions. Although this scenario wasn't exactly normal, you performed admirably, especially against someone like James."
Sky and Dove thanked her, their eyes trying to look away from the half naked Glynda Goodwitch but finding it difficult to do so. Nonetheless, they managed to tear their eyes away to leave while Glynda went back to the shower to at least dry herself off and put her clothes back on.
"Of all the arrogant, bull-headed, stupid ideas you've had, this one takes the cake!" ranted Glynda as soon as she and James were back in Ozpin's office. She continued to rant while James tried to explain his thought process, but only to be shoved aside.
When Sky had called in reinforcements, all the Beacon staff had eagerly jumped onto the Bullhead to help, thinking Jaune's attackers had foolishly returned. Instead, they were rather amused to see Glynda dragging James by the ear to the docks instead.
So now they were at Ozpin's office, where most of the staff was eating popcorn while Glynda continued to go off on James.
"Glynda, I do believe you should take a moment to breath now," suggested Ozpin, "Perhaps we should hear what our esteemed visiting headmaster has to say for himself."
Glynda only agreed as she was starting to run out of oxygen and things to say, and decided to use that time to restock on choice words and oxygen.
James coughed as he cleared his throat and adjusted his uniform, "I had reason to believe that the clinic was actually a White Fang secret hideout."
Before he could continue, though, he was met with a barrage of disbelief and laughter from the staff.
"Continue," breathed out Ozpin as he managed to control his laughter, waiving at the others to calm down.
They did so, though one could see their shoulders shaking as James blustered forward.
"If you've seen my reports, then you know about the claw marks the White Fang uses to indicate their hideouts. Although it may seem like random sketches, I believed the pattern to be too much to ignore," explained James.
"Did you do the spit test?" asked Port.
"Excuse me?" blinked James.
"Although crude, my colleague is spot on about that. The marks you're referring to can't be easily washed off, otherwise if it rained, then the marks would be pointless," remarked Oobleck.
"James, although your reports are rather long, we do do our best to read through all of it," commented Ozpin, "I regularly hold meetings after I read through it and summarize the key points and throw suggestions about what we can do to counter such problems."
"I-I-I see," stuttered James, thinking most of his reports were merely glanced at. The reason he had though about that was Atlas's own council did the same, as did the other headmasters at the other schools. Though he should've expected Glynda and Ozpin to actually do the proper reading.
"Anyways, I failed to do that test, though now that I think about it, I failed to properly gauge the situation. But I saw a Faunus coming out and mentioning about hidden inside the business, I concluded that it was a White Fang base, or even a place where those who sympathized with them and sheltered them. Not to mention two Huntsman-in-training suddenly appeared, most likely Beacon students. I recommend a background check on them immediately," ordered James.
"That won't be necessary," countermanded Ozpin, "Those two are actually students that we assigned to protect that area, especially the massage clinic. They are one of two teams that currently do not have a full team due to circumstances. I suppose it's understandable you're confused why we would assign our students such a mission."
Ozpin took a sip of his tea, having opted out of coffee due to how late it was, before continuing, "Recently, Mr. Jaune Arc, the owner of the massage clinic that you barged in, was attacked. Normally, getting the police involved would've been enough, but in this case, the attackers had their Aura unlocked. Mr. Arc was lucky to not only have his Aura unlocked, but also have a naturally high reservoir that can even match most of our staff here at such a young age. And before you think about it James, no you cannot force Jaune to join the military. He is a Vale citizen and not under your jurisdiction. Not to mention all of the staff here enjoy his massages, and would be very displeased if you took him away."
James had the decency to look away. He knew Jaune had more Aura than the average huntsman-in-training, considering he tanked two of his shots without having his Aura shattered, but he didn't realize just how much he had.
"Anyways, due to the nature of the crime, his request for protection was approved. Not to mention an old friend called in a favor, too," finished Ozpin, "You seem very stressed lately. Why don't you take the time to relax? There's still some time before training all the students officially starts, considering you're starting to jump on false leads and making mistakes that isn't like one of your stature."
James would've argued against that, but a glare from Glynda silenced him.
"Perhaps I will," said a slightly dazed James, "I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
As James walked away, Glynda turned towards Ozpin with a small glare.
"You should've punished him for that stunt," glowered Glynda, "Not only did he assume incorrectly and rush in like he always does, but he ruined my massage that I was looking forward to!"
"I will do that as soon as he has cleared up his mind," deflected Ozpin, "Right now, he needs to calm down and re-evaluate everything that has happened today."
'Not to mention I fear our taunting and trolling may have had James take the assumption in the wrong direction,' added Ozpin mentally in his mind.
James lied silently in his private bed on the ship, his mind reviewing over everything that had happened today. Did he perhaps overreact? He wanted to actively say no, that he had been taking the proper steps, but somewhere in his consciousness told him that he did.
"Glynda could easily take care of herself even if it was a trap. She's the vice-headmistress of Beacon academy for a reason, even though she could easily become the headmistress in the other Academies," muttered James to himself.
Fishing out his scroll, he began to pull any and all relevant data about Jaune's massage clinic. It was far past midnight before he finally came to a conclusion.
"I fucked up," groaned James, "Qrow will certainly hold this over my head if he finds out. But first…. I'll have to find some way to apologize to the boy."