It's so hot here… argh…
Struggle to sleep in this heat.
Cover Art: Solace O'Autumn
Chapter 33
They called him the urchin prince.
It was a fancy title that Sun never really liked as much as all his friends and fellow street rats did, but it kept them happy and it kept people off their backs so he put up with it. Sun knew he was better than most of his friends at fighting, good enough that he'd even managed to pass some local tests and earn the chance to apply to Haven Academy in Mistral. The locals had expected him to pick Shade, but after a lifetime living on the streets and roaming the desert for old junk to sell, he'd wanted away from this accursed place.
So, yeah, he was good at fighting – better than an urchin like him should be, and that was usually enough to make sure their little gang stayed safe. It was enough that Sun hadn't worried too much when he attacked their latest muscle brought in by a rival gang, expecting the man to be just another muscled showboat ex-mercenary looking to earn some quick lien by roughing up a defenceless kid.
They always did say overconfidence came before a fall.
The bastard had aura – and worse yet, he knew how to use it. Sun did too, but that didn't matter much when he was only sixteen and not yet in an academy. If this guy had aura, he had some limited amount of training. Not huntsman, or he'd be screwed already, but probably plenty of experience as a bodyguard, merc, or roaming bandit. Enough to put Sun on the backfoot and threaten a few close calls.
Enough to make it clear he was on the losing edge of this engagement.
Damn it. Where did they find this guy? I can't lose here when I finally have a chance to escape Vacuo and make it to Haven!
Finally, he had a chance to make something of his life, to be something more than a forgotten rat born of parents who hadn't cared to keep him. All his life, all those struggles, to fail at the very last moment? That was bullshit. Sun skidded back, slamming his staff down to stop his retreat and buy him a quick second. His opponent granted it, making a show of flourishing his sword from one hand to the other to show off and mock Sun. He could afford to, being the stronger fighter here.
And Sun was on his own.
That was when he heard it.
The music.
Obviously, everyone in the alleyway heard when she began to play but it struck him harder than anyone else. Guitar Cutie's fingers struck each string and released a chord that vibrated in his very soul. Or so it felt. He'd watched her videos before – who on Remnant hadn't? – and always felt like she was playing solely to him, but to hear it here and now brought a tear to his eye. His hands shook.
His soul hummed.
Sun drew in a deep breath through his nostrils and faced his foe once more. He wasn't sure why he'd been so defeatist, why he'd been so sure of loss. A wild and reckless smile appeared on his face as he looked the man up and down, suddenly less afraid. He wasn't alone. He had his boys with him, and he had someone to protect as well. Someone that was relying on him to keep them safe from this damned brute.
"Like hell I can fail here!" he declared, grinning cockily and pointing his staff at the man. "Who do you think you're dealing with, eh? I'm the Urchin Prince!"
With a wild laugh, Sun lunged right into the sword's swing, watching the man's cruel smile spread across his face. At the last second when it looked as though his throat might be slit, Sun disconnected his staff into nunchakus, flipped one up and struck the man's wrist, deflecting the sword by mere inches. Sliding past the shocked man, Sun twisted and drove the other into the back of the man's knee, driving him down, then brought them back over and onto his skull with a meaty smack.
It wasn't enough to put someone with aura down, but it was enough to make them cry out in pain and slice back reflexively. What had seemed fast before now felt slow and clumsy, allowing Sun all the time in the world to block the strike, then loop one of his nunchaku around the offending wrist, trapping it between metal chains. He yanked down, forcing the man to either surrender the sword or suffer a broken wrist. Funnily enough, the idiot chose the latter, crying out in agony as his bones snapped like dry twigs.
And, through it all, Guitar Cutie kept playing, cheering him on almost! The fact she hadn't once spoken in a video or even now made it obvious she couldn't, so he knew she let her music do the talking – and right now she was telling him she believed in him, that she supported him, that she was shouting his name!
"Stay in your lane!" Sun roared, connecting his nunchaku and spinning the staff around at the man's head. The impact struck hard, throwing the man to the side and into the realm of unconsciousness in one blow. "And down in the dirt where creeps like you belong!"
The rival gang had legged it the second Sun got behind their champion, sensing how the fight was going and booking it before he could deal with them. Smart little cowards, though Sun would have liked the chance to throw a one-liner their way before they did. He'd have to track 'em down later, make sure they knew not to muscle in on his territory.
But first, he had a damsel in distress to deal with.
And the music had stopped, making him feel... not lost per se, but suddenly a whole lot less confident in himself. All of a sudden he wasn't the Urchin Prince, but Sun Wukong – poor, orphaned, and not really the right kind of person to be asking anything of a superstar like Guitar Cutie. Not for the first time, Sun felt inadequate. Though, absolutely for the first time, he let it get a hold of him and fill him with doubt.
Realistically, he should just suggest she go home and forget this ever happened. Let her leave, know he'd done the right thing, and look back on this as a moment meeting someone incredible. That was what he should probably do...
But he didn't want to.
Gulping, Sun turned back to look at her – she looked concerned, either for him or for herself, and both made his stomach flip. Sun quickly stashed his staff over his shoulder and onto his back, not wanting to come across threatening to her of all people. He had to say something smart, something witty, something intelligent.
Sun Wukong dropped to one knee before the beautiful girl and said, "You are safe now, my lady. Would you do this humble urchin the honour of dining with him?"
He stared at the floor after he said it, hoping a hole would open up and swallow him – maybe kill him too, so he wouldn't have to deal with the burning embarrassment rushing through his body. What the hell had that just been? Sun knew he wasn't suave by any means, but he could have just offered a grin and some friendly words. Sun clenched his eyes shut and resisted the urge to bang his head on the floor until he gave himself amnesia and forgot this ever happened. Worse yet, she hadn't answered – almost certainly creeped out by his weird flirting. Arghhh!
A gentle chord strummed out softly, making his eyes open and look up.
Guitar Cutie smiled weakly at him and gestured to her throat.
Oh, right.
She couldn't talk. And he'd had his eyes closed.
Sun gulped, suddenly lost in how utterly gorgeous she was, a literal angel with hair of spun gold, eyes deeper than the ocean and lips soft as cherries. It was enough to remind him of every callus and imperfection on his body, of his dirty clothes and the grime under his fingernails. It was comical to think she'd ever consider going anywhere with someone like him, especially after she'd just been threatened in an alleyway.
Threatened. Oh!
Sun scurried back and grabbed her scroll, which the thief had dropped – probably as a gesture of peace so Sun wouldn't feel the need to go after him. Hurrying back, he presented it to her, and Guitar Cutie took it with a look of utter relief on her face.
"I'm sorry about what happened," he said. "You shouldn't have to fear being robbed here, not in my territory. They didn't hurt you, did they?"
The beautiful girl shook her head quickly.
A line about how something so beautiful shouldn't be marred crossed his mind, but he stamped down the cringey one-liner before it could escape his lips. It'd make him sound like an absolute tool.
"That's good," he said instead, keeping it simple. "So, uh. Would you?" he asked.
Her eyebrows rose.
"Food," he said. "Are you hungry? We have a place nearby – and this area isn't entirely safe. Those losers might hang around looking to get at you again." Sun hoped she didn't take that as him trying to threaten her into staying around him. "But I can show you the way out if you want."
Guitar Cutie looked around, then looked at the defeated man on the floor and back at Sun.
With a nervous little smile, she nodded.
"Is... Is that a yes to eating with us...?"
The angel nodded once more.
And suddenly, all was good in the world.
/-/
This was a bad idea.
But, then again, there'd been a lot of bad ideas in the past hour or so, including setting his scroll down to record and not thinking someone would steal it. Agreeing to go with Sun when he knew next to nothing about him was an even worse idea, but the guy had saved his life! That brute had talked of "having fun" with him, and Jaune didn't know what would happen if the guy found out he was a cross-dressing man.
It might have ended with Jaune bleeding out in an alleyway. Hell, the fight could – and perhaps should – have ended with Sun doing the same, but for him stepping in to use Motivational Song to give Sun a buff. All that testing with Pyrrha had proven so very worth it, and the ability to target it at Sun alone meant he hadn't buffed both people at once, which would have been awkward.
But what really calmed Jaune down about Sun was the other boy's bio.
It only said good things.
"This is our humble abode!" Sun said, sweeping back a reed curtain into a rather messy little home. It was a building with the bottom floor swept out and replaced with lots of rugs and temporary beds, and then some crates of belongings. It was obvious a lot of homeless people lived here. "It's not much, but it's ours – and having a place to belong in Vacuo is an amazing feeling. Our group, well I guess they call us a street gang, are all orphans, but we look after one another."
There were a few boys and girls who looked at her curiously, and some whispered and pointed in excitement. They were younger than ten in some cases, making her think Sun was running an orphanage as much as he was a gang.
"Guitar Cutie!" a little girl cried out. "It's Guitar Cutie!"
Jaune blushed bright red. But, given how excited and impoverished the girl was, he couldn't just ignore her. Jaune put on as warm a smile as he could and waved shyly back at the girl, making her squeak and hide behind some other boys, bright red in the face.
Sun laughed. "There's no need for that, Cynthia. Come on out. Everyone, this is our guest for the afternoon! Some scoundrels from the district over thought to rob her on our territory." Sun stood tall and thumped a fist against his chest. "But your glorious big brother put a stop to that and sent them packing!"
The children cheered and assaulted Sun, rushing him like a horde of little zombies asking for retellings instead of brains. They took his hands and dragged him toward what appeared to be his throne – a pile of cushions atop a chair draped in a bright rug with concentric patterns of gold cloth over a red background. He was pushed into it, and a little girl instantly claimed her position in his lap.
Jaune tilted his head, unsure if it was right to find the scene cute when it was also deeply sad. All these kids on their own, without parents, forcing a boy the same age as Jaune to step up and take care of them all.
"Okay, okay!" Sun laughed. "I'll tell you the story – but only a short one. I promised our guest some food and drink. So, there I was, having some fun along the wall, when I spied a humble traveller with a guitar looking to film themselves play a song. I decided to listen in, sitting on the edge of the wall to enjoy some good music..." He leaned forward. "When disaster struck!"
The kids gasped.
Feeling a little impish himself, Jaune brought out his guitar and strummed a few low chords. He didn't use Discordant Song to cause real fear but offered some worrying chords to enhance Sun's telling. The boy paused to look his way, as did a few of the kids, but Sun grinned and carried on with the story, exaggerating every bit of it to make it that much more exciting for the kids. Jaune played along with it, alternating between low chords and fast-paced strumming during the fight, not really playing any song but more acting out some backing music to Sun's story. Soon, the kids were fully into it, cheering and gasping and clapping their hand as Sun told the epic climax and Jaune brought his guitar to a rising crescendo.
The food came out once the story ended, and soon the children were busy devouring stew and soup and bread – meagre fair in all honesty, but it was the best they could afford. Jaune felt awful even accepting a bowl, but the kids all but forced it on him, and pulled him over to sit next to Sun on a chair beside his "throne". The tanned boy winked at him, still balancing a six-year old child on his lap as he made sure she ate her vegetables, spoon feeding her instead of himself.
"It's not much," he said, "but I hope you'll enjoy it. Some of the local businesses agree to give us leftovers and spare cuts from meat in exchange for us protecting them from thieves. A couple of grocers also give us vegetables, and they send us a lot more than might actually be waste." He smiled fondly. "We look after them in turn, paying back their charity by making sure they don't have to fear any violence."
"I'm Sun, by the way. Sun Wukong. I know I didn't properly introduce myself back there. Sorry about that." He laughed awkwardly, eyes crinkling. "And you've not exactly seen the best that Vacuo has to offer, have you? You need to be careful with your belongings here. Don't put your scroll down and step away from it ever."
Jaune nodded. He'd learned that lesson for sure, but he'd also be buying a second scroll to serve as Cutie's. That way, there'd be less danger of his identity getting out if it was stolen. He hadn't even posted the first video yet, so people still didn't know he was in Vacuo.
Actually...
Jaune fumbled out his scroll and looked inquisitively at Sun, gesturing to it and then the children around them. Sun took a moment to decipher it. "Are you asking if you can film us here?" Jaune nodded. "Sure! I don't have a problem with that. Though, hey, how about I get a selfie with you in exchange?"
That was fair. Jaune smiled and nodded, then let Sun scoot over. The child came with, and ended up pinned between them as Sun pressed his cheek to Jaune's, the two smiling at his scroll as he took a backwards picture.
The little girl stuck her head up and smiled, all gap-toothed, saying "CHEESE!" as the light went off. The final picture on Sun's scroll made it look like they were a married couple, which had them both blushing badly. Jaune cursed how pretty he – or she – looked in the picture as well. Damn his Charisma for working so hard! Why couldn't it make him look handsome when he was a guy, too? It wasn't like he had girls falling over themselves around him!
"Eheh. That's quite the picture. Am I okay to post this online? I won't if you don't want me to."
Jaune waved her hand and nodded happily. It'd only help him if Sun spread the image further, since it would sell the story of Guitar Cutie being in Vacuo. Sun even offered to have one of the older boys take Jaune's scroll and record some video, so she could be in the shot, and Jaune agreed. A boy around fourteen or fifteen took it with a shy blush and began filming her, Sun and the kids – which hadn't been Jaune's intention but would still work. Rather than a video of her playing by the spire, this could be a video of her playing for some orphans.
Heck, maybe she could even raise some money for them!
.
New Quest!: Queen of the Urchins
The impoverished and forgotten youth of Vacuo call out for a saviour, and their prince does what little he can. Help save them and grant them a better life.
Success: +EXP. +Rep Sun Wukong. +Rep Homeless
Failure: +Rep Sun Wukong. +Rep Homeless.
.
Jaune smiled, for once actually pleased with a quest he'd received – even if the fact that he'd benefit success or not made it seem so very sad. These people would appreciate the effort even if he should fail and let them down. It went to show how little they had. It was a good thing, then, that Jaune had no intention of failing this quest.
Bringing his guitar onto his lap, and knowing the camera was recording, Jaune began to play a local song he'd been learning, one about the enduring longevity of Vacuo in the face of the sands of time and the onslaught of the Grimm. It was a sad but hopeful little ballad that the locals loved according to Carmine. A tune that told of great loss, but also the enduring spirit of the Vacuan people to push on despite it.
And, since this was for a good cause, Jaune let a little of his Motivational Song creep out as he played. Not to sway them, but to sway the people who would ultimately watch this video. And besides, if anyone deserved to feel happier, it was these poor children. As he played, they watched in rapt awe, happy smiles on their faces, and happy tears from some of the older ones who more understood their precarious position. On the throne beside her, Sun Wukong closed his eyes and leaned back, a tear running down his own cheek as he stroked the hair of the girl in his lap.
They applauded and cheered when the song was over, with some wiping their eyes and sniffling as they did. The boy then handed back Jaune's scroll, and he quickly began typing a message out to Saphron and Terra – including typing out a message he wanted them to include on the video from Guitar Cutie's own mouth.
"Today I was playing in Vacuo when a dangerous thief threatened to take my money and even have his way with me. I was saved by this brave man, who shared what little food he has with me. Sun looks after all these children living on the generosity of a few local businesses that give him leftover meat and vegetables to feed these children. They saved my life and shared with me when they have so little, so I want to do something back! If you can give anything to help them, please donate at the following link!"
There was no link obviously, but that was for Saphron and Terra to make – and he included a message asking if they could give money from the next few videos to that link as well, to give it a bit of a kickstart. It was the least he could do. Literally. It was so little that he just knew he needed to do more, so maybe he could go around and buy some better food for them tomorrow and bring it to them to eat.
It'd mean spending even more time dressed as Guitar Cutie, but between the choice of making his own life easier or helping these children, how was he meant to choose the former? Guitar Cutie could help them. Jaune Arc could not.
It was a simple choice.
Sun was a chatterbox for the whole evening, telling him stories of how they earned money for the kids by going out to scavenge from old, ruined temples and bring back valuables to sell. Almost all the money from that went to buying food for the kids, as well as medicine and clothes. Again, a few local doctors and nurses helped them for free, giving up their own free time and some profits to treat the children and give them basic medical care. Similarly, the police chose to look the other way for smaller crimes like them loitering or entering certain areas without supervision.
Some local schools even donated old and worn textbooks, which Sun and the older children did their best to teach to the younger ones. At least one of the oldest girls had become something of a mom to them all, having to teach the youngest and take care of the girls while Sun tried to do the same for the boys.
It was as inspiring as it was tragic.
That's it. As soon as work is over tonight, I'm going to ask Meera where I can find some big food markets. These kids need to taste real food instead of gruel!
Eventually, it started getting late, and Jaune had work at the casino, so Guitar Cutie really couldn't afford to stay out late. Tugging on Sun's sleeve, Jaune pointed at his wrist as if to suggest a watch, and the boy's face fell. "Ah damn, you have to go?" A quick nod had him sighing. "Yeah, you stayed more than I expected. Thanks for that, the kids... this means a lot to them. And to me. They'll be talking about this for weeks!"
The kids were sad to see him go as well, some crying as they hugged him, and Jaune kneeling down to hug each one. And, to his embarrassment, to be asked to give kisses on the cheeks to many shy little boys. Jaune's face was bright red by the end of it, but he caved in because it was such a small request to make them happy.
Sun escorted her out from the poorer areas of the city and back to the wealthier area where the tourists frequented. He looked sad to see her go, and Jaune wished he could explain that he would be coming back tomorrow.
It'd be a surprise, though. That would make them just as happy.
"I guess I'll see you around?" Sun said, lamely.
Jaune's sly little smile must have looked a lot sexier than he meant it to, because Sun blushed and looked away, gaining a dreamy expression. The thief-slash-caretaker mumbled out something under his breath and jogged away, tugging his own headscarf down over his mighty blush. His Charisma might be an accursed thing, but with any luck it would do something good for once and help these kids.
Even if the fundraiser only made enough to feed them for a few months, it'd make a difference.
/-/
Far away in Vale, Miss Goodwitch confiscated a scroll from a student in class, and accidentally got a dose of a video released by an online celebrity. The sorrowful music made her freeze, and the text superimposed over it playing about children in Vacuo had her glasses misting up.
The scroll would not be returned until the weekend but, in that time, Glynda would share the footage with her fellow teachers in staffroom breaks and meetings, eventually showing it to Ozpin himself and asking if Beacon could do something.
Beacon's budgets were never what they could be, but one thing that couldn't be doubted was the will of its students, and they banded together excitedly under a school-led fundraiser event in which they were sponsored by excited locals in Vale to hold a school tournament broadcasted out to the citizens of Vale.
Given it was a year between Vytal Tournaments, the amateur charity tournament drew a lot more attention than it otherwise would have, making it onto the national news and even drawing some attention internationally as well.
All proceeds went to a good cause.
/-/
In Atlas, General Ironwood was not one to be outdone and, on hearing from Ozpin about the tournament and seeing the good press it was gaining Beacon, he quickly joined in with Atlas Academy doing the same – which proved to be just as popular in Atlas given they, too, wouldn't be seeing another Vytal Tournament until next year.
The Schnee family joined in, Jacques ever sensing an opportunity to boost his image and Willow having quite the passion for supporting music and arts initiatives lately, and they donated generously to the cause, as well as having Weiss Schnee do an impromptu concert in support of it.
Atlas would not be outdone.
/-/
Cinder Fall cursed as Mercury showed her the video he had "totally, accidentally" stumbled across online, and definitely not been alerted to nanoseconds after it went live. Cinder pretended she didn't see Emerald crying and rocking in a corner about how they were "just like her" and watched the video.
"She is in Vacuo, then. Not Argus. We'll have to head there and locate her."
"—and support her, right?" asked Mercury.
Cinder's glare was harsh.
"I mean, supporting her cause would be a good way of getting closer to her, right...?"
Cinder's glare wavered.
"Because if she's helping these poor orphans then we could help them as well, and that'd mean an increased chance of running into her."
Cinder's eye twitched.
"JUST LIKE ME!" Emerald wailed.
Damn Mercury for making sense for once in his horny little life.
"Fine."
/-/
"TYRIAN!" screamed the queen of all evil. "TYRIAN!"
"Yes, my Queen?"
"FIND THESE ORPHANS! FIND THEM!"
"And kill them?"
"No." Salem rose, shadows flashing across her face as her eyes blazed crimson. "You shall find them and you shall ensure they are loved! I care not how! Kidnap mothers if you must! Have Grimm adopt them!"
Tyrian faltered. "Uh..."
"THEIR PRECIOUS FACES MUST BE PROTECTED!"
"And am I the best person to do that?" Tyrian asked, in what was for once a rather sane and good question from the man. "I'm really more of the murder-everything servant of yours, my goddess."
"And who else would I send? Cinder? Watts!? They'd compete to traumatise them!"
"Hazel...?"
Salem pointed off to the side.
There, Hazel was rocking with his knees against his chest, weeping wildly. "Just like meee!" he cried.
Tyrian felt a bead of sweat run down his face. "Right..."
"Terrible as it is to admit," said Salem, "and I am aware of what it says about us, but you are currently the sanest and least useless member of your team when it comes to protecting a group of orphans."
"Wow," said Tyrian. "That is sad."
"Believe me. I know."
/-/
Cardin Winchester wept.
Lisa Lavender shouted out to the news.
Roman Torchwick stole and then donated diamonds.
Leonardo Lionheart followed odd orders from Salem to raise money.
Sienna Khan diverted funds from several sleeper cells.
Adam Taurus took prisoners and ransomed them back instead of killing them.
Blake Belladonna scowled as her boyfriend gushed over some hussy.
Yang Xiao Long was wrestled down from opening a kissing booth by her uncle, who agreed to pay a vast sum to not have her kiss random boys.
Ruby Rose embarrassed herself on the school stage with her poorly learnt guitar skills, and her adorably shyness earned her roaring applause. And donations.
Pyrrha Nikos released her own video in support and donated a sizable sum.
Ren emptied out his savings and stuck Sun Wukong's face to training dummies to shoot at.
Nora drummed her fingers together in her room. "All according to my master plan. Mwahahaha."
And in a server facility in Atlas, engineers ran around in blind panic screaming as they put out fires, brought in new servers, struggled under impossible loads and did their best to ensure the website they were hosting didn't implode under the sheer volume of traffic it was receiving. Sleepless nights were had, takeout was devoured whole, and several server units literally melted down to slag in their server farm.
Meanwhile, in Argus, Saphron and Terra woke up and checked the fundraiser.
"The fuck are we supposed to do with all this!?" Terra screamed.
/-/
"Did you hear the news?" asked Meera, when Jaune stumbled down for breakfast after another late night at the casino.
"Hngrl...?" he replied, not really all there.
It didn't help that he'd received ten freaking notifications of his Charisma increasing through the night.
TEN!
There'd barely been enough time to fall asleep.
Knowing he worked late, Meera ignored it. "Turns out Guitar Cutie is in Vacuo or something, and she did a video raising money for some poor local kids." Meera sighed dreamily, while Jaune poured himself some orange juice. "Isn't that sweet?"
"Yeah. It's real sweet. How's the fundraiser going?"
"Kinda crazy to be honest. I checked this morning and it's on six billion lien—"
There was a thud and a crash as Jaune fainted, head hitting the table on the way down.
"Jaune...? Jaune...? Jaune, no! Grandma is going to think this was my fault!"
An old head poked out of the kitchen. "What noise? What you do? You kill guest!"
"I haven't killed him, grandma. I just told him some news and he fainted."
"What news make man faint?" The old woman gasped, recoiling in shock. "YOU'RE PREGNANT!?"
"No, grandma—"
"I TOLD YOU THAT YOU NO KNOW! NOW YOU PREGNANT AND FATHER OF BABY FAINT! HOW HE SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT YOU IF CANNOT HANDLE NEWS OF BABY!?"
Sighing, Meera covered her face with both hands.
"I TELL YOU! DID I NOT TELL YOU!? GRANDMA KNOW BEST!"
"Kill me now..."
Next Chapter: 28th July
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