What choice did Jaune have?
Well, he had plenty of choices if he was being completely honest. He could stay home and find some safe job like his mother wanted. But he just couldn't do that. He needed to; had to be a hero like his great-grandfather, grandfather, and so many Arcs before him were.
Like he was promised he could be.
There was only one way he was going to be able to follow his dreams. His destiny. So, when he saw an opportunity to fulfill that destiny, he decided to take it.
It was late in the day when Jaune came to the old heavy wooden door that led to the cellar. He pulled the door open, trying to do so as quietly as possible. The last thing he needed was one of his sisters to catch him going down, or worse yet if Scarlett was the one who found him.
Jaune would be an extra special type of dead if that happened.
Finally, Jaune got the door open enough for him to slip in. He was surrounded by darkness for a moment as he shut the heavy door behind him. Not feeling like putting his torch-making skills to the test today, Jaune used to light of his scroll to make his way down the stairs. He batted away cobwebs as the stairs creaked with each step he took.
As Jaune's foot met with the stone floor he turned to his right, where he thought the light switch should have been. His sisters and him were only very rarely let down here, and whenever they were their mom would always warn them to not explore too much. She didn't want to risk any of the children getting lost in any of the old tunnels that ran under the house. They were meant to help the family escape if they were ever attacked by grimm or whatever else, and there were plenty of boobytraps it wouldn't be fun to get caught in.
And Jaune knew how accident-prone he could be so it wasn't hard to guess who would be the first one to fall in one if they ever did go exploring the tunnels.
Jaune finally managed to find the light switch and not stick his hand into a very angry spider's web. Light filled the room, revealing the dozens of wine casks that had probably been sitting down there since the great war. The room Jaune was in was lined with stone. With no windows leading to the outside, and the smell of moist dirt hanging in the air.
Now that Jaune had made it down there he could officially start on step two of his foolproof, hopefully, plan to be a huntsman. He stepped forward, trying to remember the way his mother had taken him the last time he was down there. "Which way did mom take us?" Jaune muttered to himself as he walked through rooms filled with empty shelves before coming to a door. "I think I remember a door." Jaune pulled open the door and was once again met with darkness. He reached to turn on the light, revealing what had been lying inside for decades now.
The room was large and filled with boxes. Pieces of rusted-out armor sitting in the box nearest Jaune. In another box were old dust vials that still had a faint glow. Row upon rows of boxes filled with many relics of the Arc legacy.
"This is the place," Jaune said to himself as he walked through the rows. Straight toward the only thing in this room that really mattered to him. At the far end of the room, there was a painting on the wall, and next to it a podium.
Jaune stood before the painting that his mom had taken him to see years ago. Where she and Jaune's dad made a promise that neither of them would keep.
In this painting two men stood, both wearing suits of armor. The one on the left's hair had long grayed while the man on the right was in his early twenties with the same golden blond hair the Arc's had long been known for.
They were Jaune's great-grandfather and grandfather. That painting was one of the few that remained of either of them. It was the only one left of them together that his mom knew of. But that didn't mean it was left undamaged, as there were many parts around the edges of the painting that were burnt. With the left side receiving most of the damage. Obscuring parts of Jaune's great-grandfather's face.
It was one of the few things that they managed to save when the old Arc estate was burned during the Faunus Wars, and the few other things that survived were stored somewhere in this room.
Jaune stared up at his grandfather, who was smiling softly in the picture. Jaune had never known the man, he was dead decades before Jaune was born, but Jaune knew that he was a hero. He died for the good of Vale and all of Remnant after all. And the weapon that was on his hip for all those years he helped people was proudly displayed in the painting.
Jaune's grandfather held before him a shield with the Arc emblem proudly displayed on the front as the shield also served as the scabbard for the sword that had led Jaune's great-grandfather through the great war.
Crocea Mors.
It had faithfully served those two men for years before Jaune's grandfather's death. Jaune looked towards the podium that stood next to the painting. There, in a glass case, sat Crocea Mors. The glass was covered in dust as the sword had sat waiting for decades now. Jaune wiped away some of the dust and stared at the Arc emblem.
Could he really steal Crocea Mors?
It was one of the few things his mother had left from her father and grandfather, and if he failed it would be lost with him.
But what other choice did he have?
There were plenty of weapons in the armory, they were a family of huntsmen and huntresses after all, but his mom always kept those under lock and key. He also couldn't just go buy a weapon, even a crap one that would probably break after the first few uses would cut into the little money Jaune had. And he needed every cent for his plan to work. And showing up to a combat school without a weapon would probably get him caught by the teachers.
He needed a weapon. Jaune unlatched the door to the glass case, reaching inside he grabbed the sword by the hilt. Pulling it out of the sheath and the case.
Despite what the name Yellow Death led a lot to believe, the blade was a silver gray. With no touch of rust on the sword. With a golden cross guard and a blue wrap around the handle. 'I'll just sharpen it and it should be good to go' Jaune thought, before running his finger across the blade. Wincing when the sword cut his finger. "Okay, I guess you're still sharp." His aura quickly repaired the damage, despite Jaune never really bothering to work on his aura control.
He had his sword, now all he needed was his shield. Jaune tried his best to pull the shield out of the case without putting Crocea Mors down. The shield was heavier than any of the wooden training shields that his parents let him 'train with' when he was a kid. If you counted running into walls with a shield as training.
Most didn't.
But there was something special about this shield besides just being old. On the inside of the shield, there was a button you could use to collapse it into a more traditional scabbard. Making it easier to carry even if it didn't weigh any less. However, the original leather strap had long since become unusable. "Guess I'll have to find a replacement for that," Jaune said, taking off the last bits of leather still attached to the shield. "Maybe something with magnets? That would be cool."
For now, Jaune would just have to tie a bit of string or twine onto it and wear the shield on his belt. Maybe someone at Signal could help him update the shield. Jaune didn't really like the idea of fighting grimm without something he could use to block their attacks, even if aura would absorb most of the damage. "I guess some armor would help with that." Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors into the shield, before attempting to close it.
Click.
And nothing.
Jaune clicked the transform button a few more times. With the shield transforming about as much as it did the first time he pressed it. Which is to say, not at all. So, it looked like Jaune had a shield that he couldn't use as a shield for the moment, and a scabbard that was too bulky to be a scabbard. The gears, or whatever allowed the shield to shift, inside the shield had apparently decayed just as much as the leather straps had.
And Jaune had no idea how to fix that.
Mechanics and weapon crafting in general were not subjects that Jaune had any real knowledge of. Which, now that he thought of it, would probably have been a good thing to study up on before trying to sneak off to a combat school.
Jaune was now regretting every moment he spent doing nothing over the last few years.
But Jaune was nothing if not willing to think outside the box, and what do you do when most things stop working? You hit it a few times and hope that fixes it. He hoped the same thing would be true of the shield as he lifted it up over his head and slammed it down on the stone floor below.
…
It didn't work.
Jaune sighed "That probably just broke it more," Jaune lamented, not hearing the footsteps of a certain familiar blonde.
"Did you really come down here to throw family heirlooms around?" Saphron, the second oldest of the Arc sisters, said. Jaune responded with a startled, and very manly, squeak. "Because if you want to rebel, I can just show you where Mom keeps the good liquor."
"Very funny," Jaune said, picking Crocea Mors off the ground.
"I try. Now, what are you really doing down here?" Saphron said, crossing her arms and doing her best mom impression and failing miserably. Terra once again proves she wears the pants in their relationship without even being there.
But that didn't mean that Jaune had a good answer to Saph's question. "I was just looking around."
"Just looking around after you had another argument with mom?" Saphron said, before pointing at Crocea Mors, "And playing around with the only weapon that mom doesn't have locked up?"
Jaune didn't have an answer, at least not an answer that would satisfy Saphron. Who was currently looking at him like she just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar as he looked down at Crocea Mors and tried to think of something to say that would get him out of this situation.
He came up with exactly nothing. "Don't tell mom, please." Was all Jaune could muster in a pleading tone that only a younger sibling could manage.
"Tell me what you're doing and I'll think about it."
Jaune sighed, "I'm taking Crocea Mors so I can go to a combat school."
"Jaune, do you know how much trouble you'll be in if you're caught trying to sneak into a combat school?" Saphron said, "You'd be in prison for decades. And if they don't catch you…" Saphron paused, but Jaune was more than aware of what could happen to him if he failed. Anyone who grew up outside of the capitals knows at least a few people who have been taken by the grimm, and the Arcs were no exception to that.
"I know it's dangerous."
"Then why are you doing it?"
"Because mom and dad promised," Jaune yelled, Saphron's eyes widening in surprise. "They both promised to train me so I could be a huntsman, and Mom broke that promise. And I'm not just going to sit around here when I know I could help people if I just had the chance to."
Neither of the siblings spoke for what had to be a minute or two. Before Saphron's expression softened slightly and she spoke. "What do you plan to do once you get to the combat school?"
"I've been saving Lien for a year, I have enough to get to Vale and pay for a hotel for a few weeks," Jaune said, not realizing he told Saphron where he was going. "I can probably get a job and maybe look for an apartment while I'm there. If I can't I'll just camp out or something."
"You're planning to camp in the Grimm-infested forest around Vale? You barely survived camping in the backyard with Dad."
"That's because Dad snored like a bullhead engine." The Arc siblings snickered for a moment before the silence returned.
Saphron spoke first. "I won't tell Mom about this if you promise me a few things."
"I won't be around to do your chores, Saph."
"I'm serious Jaune," Saphron said, Jaune taking a moment to respond before nodding his head. "You're going to call me when you get where you're going, and on the first day of every month while you're away."
"Okay, I promise to call you on my honor as an Arc."
"And you have to promise to not do anything unnecessarily dangerous or stupid."
"I promise not to do anything stupid."
"Besides sneaking into a combat school."
"…Yeah."
"Okay then," Saphron said, putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Do you have everything you need ready to go?"
"I have some clothes packed," Jaune said, "But I wasn't planning on actually leaving until a few days before the school year started." He didn't want to use up all his lien before he got started training. What if Signal needed him to buy stuff? Then he'd be screwed.
"Well, it would probably be best if you left tonight. Mom said she wouldn't be back until later tonight and she probably won't check on you when she gets back. I don't think you've ever snuck out of the house." Saphron said, having snuck out more than a few times to hang out with her friends, mostly Terra, over the years. Jaune's friends weren't really the kind to sneak around after curfew. "That'll at least give you tonight to go off to wherever you're going. Mom might not even find out you're missing until you don't come down for dinner."
A day's head start would be nice. "I'll pack the rest of what I'll need tonight," Jaune said, looking down on his older sister. However, he did have one question for her. "Why are even helping me?"
Saphron let out a long sigh and then smirked at Jaune. "Because I know you, and if you aren't at least allowed to try, it's going to eat you up for the rest of your life. Besides, I think you'll be a great huntsman."
"Thank you Saph," Jaune said, thankful that she would not only help him but really believed in him. "I promise that I'll be the best huntsman that Remnant has ever seen!" That is what Jaune would've said if his shield hadn't decided to suddenly work in the middle of his sentence. Jaune let out a surprised gasp as it slammed shut and fell to the stone floor below. Saphron gave Jaune a knowing look as he quickly bent down a picked it up.
Jaune now having his sword and shield, and a deadline to leave, he and Saphron prepared to leave the cellar, but not before Jaune scrounged around in a few boxes. He found a chest piece and some rerebraces to protect his arms.
Before the pair left Jaune turned to look at the portrait and into his grandfather's gray eyes. He was a hero, and with any luck, Jaune would be too.
There were many things said about Sebastian Arc since his death. Some say that he was a hero of Vale, just like his father before him. Others say that he was a traitor to not only his kingdom but his people.
To Ignatia Arc, he was her father, and if he ever found her in a place like this he would've died on the spot. But she was a seasoned huntress and she'd been to seedier bars than this one.
Cigarette smoke hung in the air as Ignatia entered the bar. Though the room was relatively quiet, you could still hear someone speak at a normal volume though maybe with some effort, as a match from some tournament played on the TV over the bar. The bartender served one of the usual patrons with whatever rotgut they preferred. With nobody seeming to really notice her, she made her way through to find her contact.
No one paying attention to her being exactly the point. With her dressing down, at least compared to the average huntress, which was saying very little. Ignatia wearing the gambeson that she would normally wear under her armor under a navy blue jacket. Which would've been torture during the summer, but thankfully it was the fall and temperatures had dropped to something more reasonable.
Ignatia made her way to the back of the bar. She saw a man that she hadn't in what must have been over a decade and sat down at his table. Which was covered in what must have been a dozen now empty shot glasses, with one full one that he downed as she sat. "I was startin' to wonder if you'd show up, Iggy." He said setting the glass down.
"Don't call me Iggy, Qrow," Ignatia said, not particularly happy about having to talk with either of the Branwen twins again. Though she'll admit Qrow was always the more pleasant of the two for what little that counted for. "I didn't like that nickname when we were at Beacon, and it's hardly fitting now."
"Well, if I had a name like that, I'd want it to be shorter," Qrow said, funny as he'd always been. "Do you want a drink, or do you want to get down to business?" And it seemed he didn't invite her out for a reunion either.
This was the first time either of them had seen each other since she'd left Ozpin's inner circle. However, neither of their teams were particularly close when they did work together. Ignatia's team, ICBG/Iceberg, was in its fourth year when STRQ was formed. It was clear that STRQ was Ozpin's new favorite team about a month into their time at Beacon. Even if they were a complete trainwreck for their first year. With the mission, the STRQ shadowed ICBG on ending in complete disaster.
It wasn't a surprise when Ozpin invited them into the inner circle, even if some of the current members were less than happy at their inclusion. Ignatia hated the decision at the time as well. Mostly due to Raven. Tai and Summer were pleasant enough, and Qrow's 'woe is me' attitude was more annoying than anything. Looking at the man now, it's clear that attitude hadn't changed much. Though one change she would have to applaud him for.
He got rid of the mullet.
"I've never been much of a drinker," Ignatia said, lying through her teeth. "So, we'll have to settle for business. Assuming what you said in your letter was true."
Ignatia was more than surprised when one morning she found a letter sitting on her bed. A letter that Qrow must have hand-delivered with that shapeshifting ability of his. Her bedroom was on the third story.
And the contents of said letter were more than shocking.
"Considering where I got the information from," Qrow said, "It's 'bout as accurate as we'll get."
"You'll have to forgive me, but I'm not sure I can trust any of Ozpin's sources."
"Oz isn't involved in this," Qrow said, signaling a waitress for another drink. "This is a personal job."
"Then I have to ask why you're targeting this specific branch," Ignatia said, as the waitress sat another shot down. "Are they targeting Summer?" Qrow wincing at the mention of Summer's name. "If I remember correctly, she has silver eyes. Though if that's the case, I question why you aren't working with your team on this."
"You've really been that far out of the loop?"
"I'm a mother of eight, you're lucky I had enough free time to meet you."
Qrow downed another shot. "Summer's dead, Raven left, and Tai retired," Qrow said rather matter-of-factly, almost like he'd been asked about his team's absence before.
"It seems fate has been rather cruel to the both of us," Ignatia said, "My condolences. Summer was a wonderful huntress."
"Though the fact that you contacted me specifically means that you've been keeping up to date on my family," Ignatia said, pausing, and as she waited for Qrow to deny the fact, he never did. "You must believe this branch is responsible for Summer's death, and you believe I'll assist you in hunting them down so we can both take our revenge. Is that your plan, Qrow?"
"Pretty much," Qrow said, "And it'd be nice to have someone watching my back again."
"I've been retired for nearly a decade now, disregarding the personal connection, I have to question why you would come to me for assistance."
"I thought about bringing Glynda, but she's never liked doing things my way."
"And you think I will?"
"With what these bastards did to you," Qrow said, with more than a little venom in his voice. Though Ignatia suspected it had little to do with her plight. "I don't think you'll mind a little blood being spilled."
"My family has never shied away from spilling blood for a just cause." Ignatia said, "And neither will I."
"Guess that means you're in then."
"I'll need to talk with Jaune and the girls," Ignatia said, her leaving would be on short notice, but she and their father had taken last-second missions before. "But yes, I accept your proposal."
And with that, those who had hunted the silver-eyed warriors to near extinction would be hunted themselves.
Jaune couldn't remember the last time he'd been on a train, but if he did, he would've remembered to bring something for his motion sickness.
Maybe it was just blind optimism that made him think a train wouldn't make him sick. He rarely was when traveling by car, and a train seemed like a way less rough ride than a bullhead. Which was the only reason he chose a train instead of flying. But seeing as Jaune was currently curled up in his seat with his eyes closed tightly, maybe taking the shorter bullhead ride would've been worth it.
It was too late for that though, as the woman sitting in the seat opposite of him gave him a side-eye. Not that Jaune saw it, though he wouldn't blame her if she did. Walking around covered in vomit didn't seem like a fun time, and Jaune knew all too well that it wasn't.
He remembered the incident at Funworld all too well.
Though if there was one benefit of Jaune's stomach doing flips, it was keeping his mind off the several felonies he was currently committing, and all the punishments that would come down on him if he was caught. Worst of all is what his mom would probably do to him if she caught up to him.
He did his best not to tell Saphron where he was going, but if there was one thing Ignatia Arc was known for, besides the usual large aura most Arcs had, it was her tracking abilities. Which she never bothered to teach Jaune, but he was a bit too busy to complain about that right now.
Jaune just needed to not throw up all over himself and he hoped that he would put enough distance between him and his mom for him to prove himself at Signal.
Maybe then she'd believe in him.
It was the first time in years that Ignatia had to leave for a mission, but the girls seemed to take the news well. Jaune, however, didn't even bother coming out of his room.
Which wasn't particularly surprising. Jaune was his father's son and tended to sulk when things didn't go his way. Just as much as he was his mother's son and wouldn't just drop his interest in something he couldn't have. Ignatia sighed as she stood in the kitchen and finished packing the last of her rations.
Maybe she should go talk to Jaune after what was said the previous morning. One never wanted to leave for a mission while being on anything less than good terms with one's loved ones. Dwelling on those problems tended to make you sloppy in the field, and one never wanted harsh words to be the last ones shared with someone you loved if things turned for the worse.
But Ignatia would be lying if she said she looked forward to that conversation, or more specifically the repeat of the conversation they'd had a thousand times at that point.
"Do you need any help packing, mom?" Saphron said, who must have walked into the kitchen while Ignatia was deep in thought.
"No, I'm nearly done," Ignatia said, looking up to her daughter. "And thank you again for agreeing to look after your younger siblings while I'm away."
"Well, it was either me or Scarlett and we both know she wouldn't have done it."
"No, she would not," Ignatia said, and while she certainly loved her eldest daughter, even she would admit she wasn't exactly the responsible type. "But I appreciate you doing so just the same."
Saphron nodded. "How long is this mission of yours really going to take anyway?" Saphron said, "I know you said that it would just be a few weeks, but I remember how often your or dad's missions would go longer than planned."
"A few weeks is the goal, but I wouldn't be surprised if this turned into a few months-long affair," Ignatia said, deciding to be at least a little honest with Saphron.
"A few months to hunt down some bandits?" Saphron asked.
"Vale wouldn't call me in if they were easy to find," Ignatia responded. It was a simple enough lie and importantly was close enough to the truth to be plausible.
Saphron nodded. Soon a silence fell over the room, with only the sound of the TV faintly coming from the living room. But it wasn't hard to deduce what Saphron really wanted to talk about.
"You want me to talk to your brother, don't you?" Ignatia said. Saphron had always coddled her little brother.
"No, I talked with him last night," Saphron said, crossing her arms. "He's going to need a few days to recover from you crushing his dreams again."
"Don't start, Saphron."
"Why can't you just train him, or at least let him go to a combat school?"
"A combat school?" Ignatia laughed, "Do you really think a combat school is going to be able to prepare your brother to be a huntsman in a year?"
"They wouldn't have to do it a year if you just trained him like you promised you would."
"Maybe I would have trained him if he was serious about being a huntsman," Ignatia lied, "But I think we both know he would quit after a week if I did. What has Jaune done to prepare to be a huntsman? He's sat in his room wasting time most of his life."
"He's been going to every class any of us girls have ever done."
"I made him go."
"And he usually did better than any of us in no time."
Ignatia sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm not having this argument again." She grabbed her bags and prepared to leave. "Just tell your brother that not all dreams are meant to be."
"And sometimes you have to make the correct choice instead of the choice you want to make."
Jaune had finally made it to Patch, but not without losing his breakfast and probably last night's dinner too.
The ferry between Vale and Patch had managed to do what the train from the night before had been unable to do. Jaune managed to finally pull himself away from the trashcan that he'd been using. Quickly checking to make sure his backpack was still where he left it. Seeing that it was he grabbed his water and swished a bit of it around in his mouth.
It didn't do too much to settle what was left in his stomach, but at least it helped with the taste. 'I wonder if I'll have enough Lien left over to get some Dramamine?' Jaune thought to himself as he grabbed his bags and walked into Patch City. Though Jaune had to admit that it didn't seem like much of a city compared to Vale or his own hometown.
There didn't seem to be much activity as Jaune walked through the streets of Patch. With him only seeing a handful of people as he walked. Most of the buildings were older and built with red brick. Rarely being more than one story tall, with even two-story buildings being rare exceptions. If you didn't know any better, you never would've guessed the best combat school in Vale, and one of the better ones on Remnant, was in this little town.
But Jaune would have to admit that the town had a warm atmosphere, even this far into the fall. With the few people he had seen giving him a quick wave. 'Maybe staying here for a year won't be too bad' Jaune thought as he made his way north. The cheap motel Jaune planned on staying at was at the northern end of the town.
Jaune could have admittedly planned his trip a bit better, but he did do a little bit of research on the town. The motel he would hopefully be staying at, the Red Roof Inn, was plenty cheap and probably had a few murders in its past. But it would be a roof over his head, and it was only maybe a ten-minute walk from Signal. So, he wouldn't have to worry too much about getting up super early. Which was a problem back at his old high school, since that was on the other side of town from the Arc household and he'd have to get up at 5:00 AM to get ready in time for the bus.
Why they hadn't bothered to build another school was anyone's guess.
It wasn't long before Jaune was close to reaching his destination. The distance between buildings and the number of trees increased as he went. As he got closer to Signal Jaune did notice a few more huntsmen-centered stores. One for huntsmen apparel. This made since they weren't exactly known for having a normal fashion sense. As well as a store for general camping supplies. But what really caught Jaune's attention was some sort of weapon and armor store. It would be a good place to see about replacing Crocea Mors' old straps, but that wasn't the most interesting thing about it.
The help wanted sign was.
It would be the perfect job for him to take! Well, perfect if Jaune had any experience in any kind of weapon maintenance beyond helping polish his dad's weapon once or twice. But if he could manage to get a job there, at least it would have something to do with huntsmen work, and if he could at least be around huntsmen maybe he could ask questions. At the very least he would get better with weapons.
So, Jaune took another chance and walked into the weapons shop.
It was a fairly small store, with a bell ringing as he came in. An old song was playing on a probably even older radio and the whole place smelled like oil. Shelves of various simple weapons lined the nearest wall, but Jaune could see shelves of ammo and whatever other products needed to maintain a weapon. There was even a small dust canister station sitting behind the cash register.
In fact, that was the only thing behind the cash register. There didn't seem to be another person in the store as Jaune walked up to the register. Jaune looked around again. Had he accidentally come in when they were closed? Then why wasn't the door locked? And why would a store be closed in the midafternoon? It didn't really make any sense why no one would be in the store.
Then Jaune heard a bit of noise coming from the back, and his mind immediately went to the least reasonable explanation. Clearly, he had just walked into a robbery. This was clearly the beginning of his character arc and he was going to have to fight his way out of this shop, guns blazing and-
"For the last time Ruby, your parts ain't in yet," said a man's gruff voice from the back room. He walked out holding a few boxes which he sat down on the counter. "I told you; I'll call your father when- Oh." The old man said when he realized Jaune was the one standing in front of him, and not whoever he was expecting. "I apologize for that, young man. How may I help you?"
The old man was probably old enough to be Jaune's grandfather, maybe even Jaune's great-grandfather, with his hair being snow white. What little hair he still had left that was. And his eyes were dark brown and he had a rather impressive mustache.
"Oh uhh, I was wondering if you could help update my shield?" Jaune said, undoing the bit of twine that he'd used to tie it onto his belt and placing his shield on the counter in front of him. "It also sticks a bit when you try to transform it."
"A hybridized scabbard and shield," The old man said, picking it up and inspecting it. "I haven't seen one of these in at least twenty years. Cain't even remember the last time I saw one in such good condition." The old man looked back up towards Jaune with suspicion in his eye. "Where on Remnant did you get this?"
"It was my grandpa's!" Jaune blurted it, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to think he stole it. Even if he technically did. "I mean, he let me have it before he died." Jaune rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
The old man stared at Jaune for a moment, before humming in what seemed to be approval and looking back down at Jaune's weapon. "Well, your grandpappy did a good job keeping this thing going. But father time will wear any parts down with enough use." He said, sitting it back down on the counter. "Whatcha looking to update on the old girl?"
Old girl? Well, Jaune guessed if car guys could have a weird relationship with their ride weapon guys could too. "The old straps rotted off. So, I was thinking about having them replaced, but with something a bit more…"
"Modern," The old man said, nodding his head and rubbing his chin. "Shouldn't be too hard to modify it and have it snap onto your belt, though I'll also need to make some modifications to your brace if you want it to snap onto that too. While I'm rooting around in there, I'll also see what I need to replace in the shifting mechanisms."
"Oh, great!" Jaune said before he realized that since leaving home, he had become something most people fear becoming. A broke student, and he wasn't even in college. Jaune slouched a bit. "But how much is that going to cost?"
"Well, these things had simple mechanisms, at least by modern standards, and adding a few attachment points should be easy. And I'm not gonna lie, I like that old girl. So, I'd do it for 300 Lien." The old man said, and Jaune immediately inhaled through his teeth. That was about 200 Lien out of his price range if he planned on eating while he was on Patch. "But since I'm guessin' you're a student, so I'll give you a discount and bring it down to 250."
That was still a decent bit out of Jaune's price range, but better. But getting his weapons upgraded wasn't the only thing he'd come in for. "How much would it be if I also had an employee discount?" Jaune said with a halfhearted smile.
The only man simply responded by raising an eyebrow, before chuckling "Well I'd bring it down to 200 if you worked for me," The old man said, "But I must admit. I was lookin' for someone who could work the weekdays during school hours and full time."
Well, crap. Jaune may have been able to work full-time hours, but he knew he couldn't afford to skip any classes if he was going to catch up to his classmates. But he was going to need the weapons upgraded to have the best chance possible. It was an impossible decision. Though the old man apparently saw the indecision in Jaune.
"But I could always use more help in general." The old man said, stroking his mustache. "How much experience do you have with smithing and weapon maintenance?" Basically none, but Jaune wasn't dumb enough to not embellish a little bit when it came to getting a job, but he didn't have the opportunity to. "Eh, doesn't matter. I'll need to show you how I do things anyway."
"If you can come in for two hours after school on the weekdays, and five hours on the weekend, that'll be twenty hours. 10 Lien an hour sound reasonable to you?" Jaune nodded, it was more than he'd made at any of the odd jobs he did at home. "And at a 25% commission, you should be making a decent chunk of change before long. I'll even let you pay for your weapon upgrades in installments, 25 Lien a week with no interest. That work for you?" Jaune nodded again. It sounded a little too good to be true, but Jaune wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouse.
"Righty then, I'll get your contract written up and get a nametag for you. Though I didn't catch your name?"
"Oh, I'm Jaune Arc."
"Arc, eh?" The old man said, Jaune nodding once again. "Any relations to the King's old personal guard?" Maybe the old man was old enough to be his great-grandfather. The Arcs hadn't been known for protecting the King of Vale for a long time, and the last thing Jaune needed was someone to connect him with his family.
"Distantly. My great-grandad was his third cousin or something."
"That makes sense, my daddy used to joke about every Arc having an army of children. No wonder they were always charging off into battle with that many little ones around." The old man laughed and Jaune awkwardly chuckled along.
He wasn't even wrong. Jaune had too many cousins to count, let alone remember most of their names.
"Well Mr. Arc, I'm John Moses Russett, but you'll just be calling me Mr. Russett while you work here." Mr. Russett said, sticking his hand out for the traditional manly handshake. Jaune felt like he just grabbed decades-old dried-out leather when he shook the old man's hand, but at least Jaune still had feeling in his hand afterward.
And so, with a little bit of paperwork being done, Jaune had a job. With him leaving his armor, and Mr. Russett offering to do some maintenance on the rest of it for free, Jaune was set. Though it didn't seem like Mr. Russett or anyone else was particularly impressed with his Pumpkin Pete hoody, but at least no one laughed at him.
To his face at least.
It was a good start, but the challenge of starting at Signal was just two weeks away, and Jaune would need to find a way to get some sort of training in before then.
But as Jaune finally made it to his hotel room and laid down on his bed he decided that was all a problem for tomorrow.
Authors notes
Hello, and thank your for reading chapter one of my fic.
I do want to really quickly say that this isn't going to be a overpowered harem king Jaune fic. Jaune is going to earn every bit of power and skill he gets with hard work and struggle. And even then he's still going to be a bit behind. So you know, don't expect that. As for Jaune having his aura unlocked, I just didn't want to have to write a situation where he needed in unlocked.
I also don't really know how much like description I should do of established characters from the show. I'm not amazing with designs anyways, and I imagine you already know what they look like. I also think I might work on my showing vs. telling for next chapter, but that's besides that point.
What this fic is going to be is basically just me throwing a bunch of au ideas together and seeing what happens. I am planning for this to go through to the end of Volume 3 at least. Not sure after that. Though RNJR is my favorite team, so who knows.
Though some of you may have noticed there's no ship tagged at the posting of this chapter, but there will be ships eventually. It's just not going to be for a long while. I like my slow burn ships and we probably won't see even that start of a romance arc until... Beacon at the very earliest. Though obviously the premise of this fic would probably lead you to believe it'll be a lancaster or dragonslayer fic. Which it very well could be, but I don't have concrete plans on that front yet.
Not really sure how much I should ramble on about this, but I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you when I get the next chapter done. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.