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Cover art by: Notgustiarp

Chapter 16


Blearily, he felt around for something to block out the harsh light blasting his eyelids. The familiar soft fabric of his cloak rubbed against sensitive skin as he tried to snuggle deeper into its soothing dark folds.

"Ten more minutes, Mom…."

Summer always was grumpy in the mornings when he wasn't up early. Gradually the ruffling of distant cloth and the clatter of junk being moved about slowly brought him back to reality.

Summer and Tai weren't here. He'd left yet still was in Vale, living with another homeless kid.

He was going to be caught soon.

That last thought gave him the kick to slowly disentangle himself from his crimson cocoon and drowsily peer around for that racket.

"S-Sun?" he rasped out.

Sparks of surprise jumped out, spawned alongside slight guilt, probably from waking him up. Rummaging around some more, the Faunus boy popped his head out from the junk heap sheepish smile worming its way onto his lips as he looked this way.

"My bad man, you just seemed so tired last night I didn't want to wake ya," scratching his head guiltily. "Yesterday must've been a rough day, huh? Guess our fight didn't help, sorry…."

Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes was a great way to hide his surprise. He learned last night that he wasn't the only one good at reading people, but he didn't think the boy would guess his mood that easily.

"Y-Yea, guess I was, thanks."

There was an uncomfortable silence as both boys didn't know what to say. At least it was awkward on his end. Oddly enough, Sun paid the broken down car behind him more attention than Jaune. The boy was even fidgeting around, almost like he was trying to hide something…

"Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure it is."

It wasn't.

He eyed the spot and then Sun, who was now clearly yet awkwardly trying to hide behind a fidgety smile and hunched shoulders. It was cute how bad the guy was at lying, but that begged the question.

"…what could you possibly have to hide?"

"Nothing," his eyes shifted, and his body physically trembled. "Just, uh mind turning around for a minute?"

"Oh, sure man."

He turned around.

A hint of joy and surprise leaped out with a total second passing. He turned around right as he heard Sun step away.

"Is that the food from yesterday?"

Caught mid step with a familiar burlap sack flung over his shoulder, the Faunus had been inching his way out of the hideout.

"Why are you hiding…that…"

Further behind Sun, in the corner of the alley, was yesterday's original sack of food. Its tattered look from being fought over showed that clearly. Which meant that the bag on the other boy's back was—

"Did you go scrounging around for more food?!"

"I-I can explain!"

"Well?"

"…but I really don't want to." He moaned.

Okay, now his head was starting to hurt and it wasn't a mystery as to why.

"Sun, when did you even have the time to get this? It's like nine in the morning, man." He droned, wiping the last remaining bits of sleep from his eyes.

"Oh, I didn't get much sleep last night. But that's fine!" he hurriedly added when seeing my glare. "I do this every couple of days, so I'm used to it," he remarked, posing with his arm flexed.

He did what every week? Asking got him a muted reaction.

"Look, I'm not letting you leave until you tell me why you admitted to being a serial stealer and not getting proper rest."

Tsune would've killed me, let alone—

He shook his head to stop that thought.

"Are you getting extorted or something?" he asked instead. Cuz this much food was way more than a single kid would need, let alone the fact he was about to sneak away with the stuff. Maybe he was bribing some local gang to let him live here or something. Didn't something like that happen in a comic book he read once?

At this point, the other boy's face turned red with how much the Faunus held back. Walking up and gently grabbing the guy's shoulder attracted Sun's eyes back onto him from their adventure in the morning sky.

"You can tell me, man. If you need help…" he hesitated.

Could he really be helpful to anyone right now?

"I'll try my best to be useful. I promise." Even he could manage that.

He hoped his sincere message would get through cause all it seemed to do was worsen Sun's constipation. Finally, the Faunus expression settled and a cautious look took over.

"…sure."

He couldn't stop the dumb smile from creeping up, nor could Sun it seemed. Now it was just two kids dumbly grinning at one another instead of that awkward tension.

"Hmm… how's about I just show you instead, though?"

"Wait, right now?"

"Heck yea, right now!" Swinging back the large sack of perishables, the Faunus caught himself from falling over as he sprinted to grab another two bags full of food from the broken down car, he'd been hiding in.

"What the—Sun, where'd you get these?!" he yelled as Sun leaped and bounded out of their shared home, giggling all the while.

"Eh? I'll tell ya later, c'mon. We're gonna be late!"

/-/

"Wait, these are the guys extorting you…?"

Peering down from their perch, he spied a group of rough young boys and girls milling about in an empty lot between two buildings.

"Huh, I guess you could phrase it like that." Sun shrugged. "I come here, drop off the goods, and they make off like little bandits."

"Sun, they're kids—"

"Won't be calling them that when you see how they eat, ugh." He said, miming himself retching.

"They're even younger than we are! I doubt they know what table manners are." And they likely wouldn't need to know out on the streets.

"All the more reason to help them out." He winked, taking no time to explain as he leaped from the rooftop to the field below.

Guess there wasn't much of a choice here but to help. Nor was an explanation essential as he could put two and two together to guess Sun delivered food to homeless kids now and then.

What's confusing is why he tried to hide it.

"Sun!"

"He's here, guys!"

"Yay!"

Following his lead and leaping down, had his thoughts drowned out by a torrent of happy squeals and giggles from the local kids. It was pretty cute up until—

"He's got food!"

"Get 'em!"

Oh, and now he's being dogpiled. Tackled to the ground in a mess of bodies and limbs, Sun desperately flung the food away, drawing only a few away.

"No please, I'm too pretty to die!"

But Sun doesn't have the food anymore…

"Quick, check if he's hiding any bread in his shorts!"

"Dibs on his shoes!"

"I wonder what ab's taste like..."

"Oh boy…" he palmed.

It took a bit of time, but eventually he pried off the more bloodthirsty ones before they—

"Ack! Jaune that one bit me!"

They watched in horror as the little girl scuttled away to join the rest of the 'kids' tearing apart the bags of food. They grabbed handfuls of bread rolls and potatoes, greedily shoving them down their gullets like dogs wolfing down vomit. A wave of unrestrained disgust made him realize he'd misread Sun's intent in being sneaky.

He wasn't trying to hide these kids, but me from these little monsters.

"…thanks, Sun."

And without further words, the Faunus nodded sagely. "No problem, man. Helping people is always worth it; even terrible beasts like these need a helping hand sometimes."

"Cause it's the right thing to do, huh…"

"Mhmm…" Sun mumbled, patting himself down.

Maybe helping that old chef wasn't a waste of time. How could helping people ever be, right?

"Mind helping me out, though?" the monkey Faunus asked sheepishly.

"Uh, sure what do you need?"

Sun watched with a plastered smile and lifeless eyes as the kids devolved into an all out brawl over the meager scraps they'd brought.

"…that little girl took my underwear."


Author's Notes:

First chapter of the year!

Yay.

More Sun and Jaune interactions with a more lighthearted tone than usual. That'll change, trust me.

Note:

I'll be changing the name of the 'Omakes' to 'Short Story' for previous and future chapters. Been using them to fill in the blanks of the time skip more so than comedy. I think that fits their more general tone, plus the more comedic ones will be coming much later into the story, and those ill label as 'Omakes.' TLDR—The name fits them better. Nuff said.


Short Story


Gods, her ribs ached.

Shuffling her cloak tighter hid the hand rubbing against her side. At least her Aura did its thing and mended the bones together, significantly amplifying the healing process.

If only it did anything for the pain, ugh.

A fresh ache rang through the hastily fused bones at the thought. But she wouldn't acknowledge the pain. It's what she deserves as a reminder for letting herself get so weak before that fight. Where this damage was allowed to happen—maybe even wanted.

"Admit it. You only went there to throw your life away, didn't you?"

Having successfully fended off Tsune's worried attempts to check up on her hadn't been easy. Especially since Summer insists on coming along to every one of Jaune's checkups.

Her eyes focused on the Faunus as she waited for the third checkup this week to conclude. Listening only halfheartedly to Tsune's timeline—one she'd already been made aware of. Her eyes often glanced at the boy as his head nodded absentmindedly, with the drugs taking effect almost immediately.

"Sorry about doing so many checkups. I don't get many opportunities to work on non Aura patients these days. Works a lot slower now that I mainly issue out pain medication and reset the occasional bone on students." She spoke more to occupy herself as she worked on the now fully unconscious boy's cast.

"It's fine, Tsune. You said it should be healed in about three to four weeks, right?" Trying her best to sound disinterested, even though she was anything but.

From what she'd read, that timeline matched the average for a kid.

"Hmm? Oh yes, it shouldn't be more than a month. Kids heal up a lot quicker than adults," she noted happily. "It's healing up nicely too, all things considered. Preferably I'd have liked him to be checked up on by an actually licensed pediatrician, but it seems Ozpin thinks my level of care is adequate for now…" she mumbled off abashedly.

"He trusts you is what you mean." Sternly correcting her.

And it definitely was trust. At this young age, one didn't get to be the head of the medical wing of a Huntsman Academy for nothing. Let alone one as prestigious as Beacon.

She trusted her too. Having known her for years before all this. She'd even personally requested her to deliver Ruby when that time came. That trust made her take Tsune at her word when she said Jaune didn't have an active Aura—as absurd a thought as that was. She trusted the Faunus wouldn't make such a colossal mistake.

"Okay! Now that that's been properly relayed, there shouldn't be anything else I need to check up on today. I'll finish up this draft and file it away in the morning. In the meantime, do you need help carrying him back—"

"You're not reporting any of this to Ozpin, right?"

Startled, Tsune hastily clarified patient confidentiality. Only a doctor and, in Jaune's case, a legal guardian were allowed to view his records.

They don't know about his powers…heck even I don't know what that really was.

Unless…

Was it magic he was using back then?

It was plausible, but…

No. I definitely felt raw Aura back then.

And with the way it was being flung around, how could she not have? Which means whatever that was had to be a Semblance of some kind. But using a Semblance without Aura—let alone not having it unlocked in the first place? Impossible.

Unlike the other way around, obviously.

I have time to figure this out. My story at least bought me time for that—plus, it seems Jaune still can't use that Semblance yet.

At least, she hoped so.

"Thanks Tsune, and no, I've got him. Besides…" She racked her brain for an excuse to divert the conversation.

Glancing around, she saw what time it was and thanked the gods for her luck.

"Actually, look at the time," thumbing at the clock, "don't you have somewhere to be right now?"

Hopefully, it didn't come off as rude to her friend. But thankfully, she didn't need to worry about that, as Tsune's face lit up in tale tell panic.

"O-Oh shoot, you're right! It's about that time now," hurriedly throwing off her doctor's coat, "I'm sorry Summer, but it's close to prayer time so I've got to meet with the others here soon."

Her friend's tail was thrashing around like it always did when flustered. Knowing how important a time it was for her, it felt warranted.

"No, don't worry about it. I know how important sunsets are for you guys. I've got him from here." Just thinking about carrying the boy out of the building—let alone back to the dorms, caused my bones to ache.

"I'll see you again next week. Same time?"

They set up the next appointment, and with one last genuinely grateful smile, she watched as Tsune hurriedly scrambled out the door accompanied by the few other Faunus staff working here with the odd human mixed in. When she was sure they wouldn't be back, she approached the still sleeping boy, thoughts swimming with memories of a much fiercer warrior than what lay before her.

It reminded her so much of herself when she was younger. Blessed with so much potential never asked for and thus a future curated by others.

Hesitantly brushing aside loose golden locks brought up forgotten instincts and made the thought of hiding his insane strength that much stronger.

Ruby and Yang never got to choose either. And now, because of their parents they were targeted and made to suffer.

Because of that fact, as long as she had to care for him, no one else would decide his future but the boy himself. With that last thought planted firmly in her head, she hauled him up bridal style. Carrying him out of Beacon's medical wing and toward what she staunchly refused to call home was a quiet affair.

Hopefully, it was a similar peace in the boy's dreams. She could only hope.


Date Published: 2023/05/07