Jaune glanced at his scroll and smiled with content.
Man, I forgot how awesome it was to be rich.
He chuckled and moved up one place in line.
This much money with just one month of mining...I can see why the Schnees are so obsessed with the stuff.
He looked up from his scroll to see another patron walk past him out the door.
Though, I've still got a long way to go until I can compete with their wealth.
His cane clicked conspicuously on the white tile as he moved up one place.
My current wealth is pocket change compared to their coffers, even with their recent decline.
Jaune rolled his sore wrists as he moved up one.
They have quite the stockpile after a twenty-year head start.
Jaune sighed with relief as he made it to the front of the line.
"Welcome to Dustbucks, what can I get for you today?"
But, what's all the wealth in the world when compared to a good cup of coffee?
Jaune, large coffee in one hand and cane in the other, strode out of the local coffee chain with a spring in his step, or as much as his leg allowed.
He moved down the streets of Vale, marveling in how much could change within a decade or two.
No holographic light posts- seems the council wants to wait and see how this 'new-age' technology holds up under more scrutiny before renovating the city.
Jaune stopped at a crosswalk while gazing at a re-election poster for the Council.
Or the council is just being lazy and bureaucratic as usual. Now, that I think about it, that's probably what's happening.
Jaune sighed in annoyance. From his experience, a majority of the Council's thought process when it came to, well, anything really was whether or not it would help their re-election or boost their ratings.
The thought of trying to convince those idiots up in Atlas the importance of my work to the stability of the Kingdom will never cease to anger me.
Jaune tried to banish those thoughts from his mind as he rounded the corner to his destination.
A large modern-styled building separated from its peers stood in front of him. It was nothing special- in regards to the architecture at least. No, what made it stand out was the sign hanging in front of the doorway that led to the office.
"Arc Dust- Offices and Logistics"
Well, at least I still have some time to figure out a slogan that's not going to cause me a headache every time I read it. Thank you Grand Dust Emporium for that particular lesson. Hmm, I should speak to Jasmine and see if we can do anything about their situation.
Speaking of…
Jaune pulled out his scroll as he walked into the deserted lobby. He flipped through his sparse contacts list- something that reminded him of when he was just a gangly teenager with the dream of being a Hunter.
How time flies.
He pulled up one particular contact as he walked into his first-floor office- he didn't have enough capital to buy the entire building- and hit the 'Audio Only' call option.
Hopefully, she isn't too busy right now. I'd hate to call her while she's in the middle of an important-
The call connected and a familiar voice rang out.
"Mr. Arc?"
"Ah, thank you for answering Jasmine. I know you're busy at the exchange; I just wanted to go over a few things."
"Ha. Ha. Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, sir. So is poaching, if I may add."
Jaune smirked at her jab.
"Now, now Jasmine. I told you before to consider this a...side job to supplement your income."
"Sure it is," Jasmine drawled out. "A side job with a huge conflict of interest."
"Pssh, I don't think anyone really cares if there is a conflict of interest as long as the Kingdoms get their Dust."
"Point."
They shared a chuckle for a moment before Jaune spoke again.
"Well, that's enough laughs for now. Let's get down to business."
That caused Jasmine to sober up immediately.
"Of course, sir."
Jaune hummed into the speaker as he tapped a button on his desk that pulled up his holoscreen. He pressed a few keys, and several documents sprang up on the holographic display.
"First, how's our hiring process going? I have the documents for a few of the candidates, but it's not nearly enough for what we need."
Jasmine sighed over the scroll.
"My apologies, sir. The hiring process is...rather tedious right now. No one wants to work for a Dust company in the current economy- especially a relatively unknown one such as ourselves. No offense, sir."
"None taken, Jasmine. I understand it's rather difficult for now, but I promise once we start shipping out, people will be lining up out the door."
"If you say so, sir."
Jaune hummed as he looked at a few documents closely.
Nothing that stands out so far. Mostly seems to be people new to the labor force or people desperate for any kind of work.
Wait...people…
Jaune pulled up all of the documents and what he saw confirmed his suspicions.
"Jasmine, have you not included any Faunus candidates for these positions? Or any positions for that matter?"
Jaune could only hear the static from the scroll for a moment before Jasmine spoke up.
"My apologies, sir. I thought that-"
"-I didn't want any Faunus since the revolution just ended and they might not take too kindly to working under someone such as myself?"
"Yes, sir."
Jaune sighed and closed all the documents on his screen.
"Jasmine, we can't be biased like that if we're planning on making this company any better than the SDC. We need to have Faunus workers at all levels of the company- we need to show everyone that we don't care as long as the job gets done. I know you know this, so what's the issue?"
"I...I'm sorry, sir. I let my prejudices get in the way of your business. If you feel the need to let me-"
"Stop that right now. You made a mistake, one mistake- which you apologized for it. This isn't like you, Jasmine. So tell me, what's the issue?" Jaune said.
The static was back in full force as the clock-hand on the wall continued ticking on.
"My father...he fought in the Revolution...and didn't come home. I'm sorry, Mr. Arc for letting my personal-"
"I told you to stop with that nonsense. Now, let me apologize for bringing up bad memories. I know it doesn't mean much, but… I'm sorry. Let's drop this conversation for now and talk about the plans for the defense."
Jaune opened a batch of new documents as he pretended to not hear the sniff on the other end of the line.
"Thank you, sir."
"Anytime, Jasmine. Now, any change with the Atlas military?"
"No, sir. Captain Ironwood is trying to push our request through to the General, but our chances aren't looking too good."
"Hmm, that's fine- Atlas was a stretch anyway. Tell the good Captain to take his time and not to rush. Now, how about homegrown solutions?"
"Give me a moment, sir. I'm sending some files that might interest you."
Jaune hit a key and pulled up a second screen where he started sorting through some of their finances. A 'Ding' noise sounded from the holoscreen, and he grinned once he opened them.
"Oh, I like this. Jasmine, are you trying to butter up your boss for a nice promotion?"
Jaune could practically see her smirk from the other end of the scroll.
"No idea what you mean by that, sir. This is just a side job for me, remember?"
Jaune snorted and saved the documents. He'd have to go through them later more thoroughly, but if they were saying what he thought they were…
Oh, he's gonna be so pissed.
I can't wait.
"Alright, moving on, how's progress with setting up distribution rights with the local dust sellers and permission from the council?"
Jasmine was silent for a moment before she responded.
"The local sellers are generally cooperative, but a few of the major ones want to see some proof before they commit to any deals."
Jaune hummed.
"That's not too bad. We can start with the smaller ones and once they see how we do business, then-"
"I'm sorry, Jaune. I'm not sure we'll be able to do that."
Jaune paused his typing for a moment and devoted his full attention to the scroll in his left hand.
"What?"
Jasmine sighed from the other end.
"The Council is being...difficult, sir."
"How difficult?"
Jasmine paused.
Oh, Dust.
"They're refusing to even meet with me, sir."
"Did they give a reason?"
Jasmine paused again.
"They said, and I quote, 'Due to the recent damage Vale has sustained during the Faunus Rights Revolution, the Council has decided to devote its full attention to rebuilding both the city itself and the hearts and minds of the populace. Therefore, the Council will be suspending all meetings with private citizens or entities not actively contributing to the repair of the City effective immediately.'"
Jaune stood up.
Jasmine set down her scroll as a roar of anger came through the other end, thankfully not directed at her. She blushed a little at some of the language he was using.
If I didn't know any better, I would think he was a Specialist with a mouth like that.
Jaune sat back down in his chair.
"You still with me Jasmine?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Any ideas?"
Jasmine paused, yet again.
I'm not going to like this, aren't I?
"How good are you at bullshitting, sir?"
Jaune blinked.
"Um, I got you on my side, didn't I?"
Jasmine didn't respond for a moment.
"I'm not going to comment on that. Regardless, I hear Beacon is beautiful this time of year."
Jaune blinked and stood up.
Jasmine ignored the frustrated screams about 'Shitty wizards,' 'training hell' and 'farm boys.'
She blinked at that last comment.
I'm going to have to talk to him about that last one, that kind of scandal will ruin us.
Jaune sat back down.
"Jasmine?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Schedule an appointment with him as soon as possible, please. In the meantime, I'm going to vent my frustration on some Grimm. Oh, and find a therapist would you? I'll need one after this meeting."
"Yes, sir."
Jaune sighed as he hung up the connection.
I really didn't want to talk to him at such an early stage.
He leaned back into his chair as he looked at the ceiling fan spinning slowly above him.
Well, it's not all that bad, I guess. I'll have a foot in the door for Hunter-level fighters in case Jasmine's plan doesn't pan out. Plus, having the ear of the most powerful man in the world isn't too shabby.
Jaune looked to his left at the rose wilting underneath the sunlight.
I wonder how she's doing now?
Summer yawned as she rose to a sitting position on her bunk bed. She blinked as she eyed her teammates sleeping forms and let a mischievous smirk appear.
She jumped onto the floor as quietly as she could before tip-toeing over to her dresser and pulled out a particular object that would cause her team much ire.
She moved towards the center of the room before sucking in a deep breath and blowing into the silver object within her hands.
A loud whine emitted from the whistle as her team sprang into action. Raven grabbed a katana hidden under her pillow, Qrow jumped up and promptly banged his head against the bottom of the bunk he was resting in, and Tai rolled off the bottom bed and hit the ground ready to start punching.
"GOOD MORNING TEAM STRQ!"
There was silence for a moment before the room erupted in noise.
"Summer what the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Rose, give me a reason to not stick this sword straight up your-"
"Owww, I can't tell if this headache is from the bunk, my hangover, or that gods-damned whistle!"
The rest of the team turned to stare at Qrow, who was trying to nurse the bump on his head rather unsuccessfully.
"Probably all three, idiot," STR deadpanned.
Qrow winced and shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh well. By the by, anyone else not remember the last 12 hours or is it just me?"
They chose to promptly ignore him before Raven and Tai turned to their leader, devilish smirks on their faces.
"Oh, but that reminds me. Raven dearest, mind grabbing the feather while I hold down our dear leader. It looks like she needs a reminder on how waking the rest of us up on a weekend before the crack of dawn is a bad idea," Taiyang said with a slight edge to his voice.
Summer paled as they mentioned the feather.
I have severely miscalculated.
"Oh, as much as I would love to use the feather, I have a better idea Tai," Raven's smirk didn't give Summer a good feeling. "Didn't Professor Port say he caught some more of his pets, yesterday?"
Summer's complexion turned to match her cloak.
Gods-Dammit
Summer sprinted down the corridors of Beacon, her teammates by her side as they tried to stay ahead of the absolute monster chasing after them.
"W-Why the HELL does Port have that thing in one of the cages?!" Raven roared in fury as she tried to keep pace with the rest of the team, throwing fire Dust down the corridor to try and keep the creature off their heels.
"I don't know! Usually, he keeps a boartusk or two, not a fucking Beringel! Taiyang yelled to her right as he cocked his gauntlets and fired an explosive shell straight at the gorilla.
"AHHGGGG! How does something like this even happen?! What are the chances of us finding the one cage with a stupidly overpowered Grimm? Gods, it's almost as if we ran out...of...luck..." Summer said as she slowly turned to face Qrow, who was busy shooting down the corridor.
The rest of the team stopped for a moment to stare at Qrow, who started whistling innocently.
"Bird-Brain."
"Shitty-Swordsman."
"Dusty Crow."
"Will you three keep running damn it!" Qrow shouted as the roar of the creature chasing them echoed down the hallway.
Summer laughed and started running again, only to head a loud crash come from behind them. She turned and attempted to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. She didn't succeed.
Stood in the middle of the hallway was their newly appointed headmaster, cane in one hand and a coffee mug in the other- which he daintily took a sip of as the black smoke that signaled dead Grimm vanished around him.
All by himself…
"So strong," Raven whispered in both awe and fear.
The man turned to face them, an amused expression on his face as he approached.
This...This is a true Huntsman.
"As much as I love to see my students practicing their stamina, pray tell why you thought it would be a good idea to do so in the school itself?" The headmaster said.
There was a pause before Summer spoke.
"It wasn't on purpose, sir."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Err, not entirely on purpose, sir. We wanted to get some practice in fighting Grimm and found out about Professor Port's captures. We thought there would be only a single boartusk and not...whatever that was.
The headmaster's eyebrow remained raised as he took a sip from his mug.
"So, prank, dare, or revenge?"
"Oh, revenge since I woke up every-"
Summer choked on her words as she realized what she just said. The chorus of groans behind her didn't help matters.
The headmaster's expression remained amused as he took another sip of his coffee.
"Hmm, not bad. Personally, I would have gone with laxatives in the food, or perhaps a red sock in the laundry if I was feeling vindicated enough." He said.
Summer felt her brain short circuit as she tries to process what her idealized Hunter said, but all that came out was-
"Huh?"
"Nice one, Headmaster. I think you just broke her." Qrow drawled out.
"Yeah, she has a hero-complex of sorts- whenever she sees strong Hunters, she gets all, well, loopy," Taiyang said.
"She's just an idiot," Raven deadpanned.
They all laughed, and even the headmaster chuckled as Summer restarted her brain. Their laughter was stopped, however, by what the headmaster said next.
"Ha, how amusing. Now that you've had your fun, why don't you go ahead and see yourselves to my office so we can discuss your punishment."
They all froze momentarily before sighing in unison,
"Yes, Headmaster Ozpin."
Hello Everyone! Welcome back to Arc Dust. First off, I just want to thank everyone for all the support you have given to this story. It's rather unbelievable that this story has nearly caught up to my first story in regards to favorites and follows. (The story I posted in December)
Arc of the Phoenix- 189 Favorites, 285 Followers (8 Chapters)
Arc Dust- 174 Favorites, 258 Followers (Only 3 freakin' chapters!)
It's incredible and I'm generally floored by all the support for this story.
Speaking of Arc of the Phoenix, my apologies for not posting again this week. I have the next chapter planned out in my head, but actually getting it on the page to convey the proper emotion is rather difficult. I'm slowly working on it and I'll try to have it next week, but no promises.
Moving on- hopefully, people liked more Summer perspective this chapter. I'm enjoying writing her and plan for her to play a much larger role later on. Same thing with Jasmine- it's fun seeing the cracks in her little "professional" facade she has going on and how Jaune messes with her. Speaking of, hope you guys don't mind the time-skip. There will be quite a few of those since Jaune is so far back and he's doing rather...mundane work at this point. It will become more exciting once he actually has his company up and running.
Anyways, that's enough from me today.
Review, Favorite and Follow if you enjoyed!
See ya next time!