Chapter Six: The Twins

Jaune was awakened by six knocks on his front door.

He groaned, rubbing his eyes before slowly pulling himself up. His eyes flicked to the nearby wall clock—just able to read it in the sunlight: Half past six.

Well, I knew I'd be waking up early anyway…just figured it'd be because of Rogue.

He sat up, pressing his hands into his back and letting out a low sigh—trying to wake himself up. He cracked his neck as he heard the person knocking again. "Coming! Just a second!"

He walked to the door, opening it without bothering to look through the peephole first.

On the other side he saw two familiar figures, both of them gazing at him with eyes that were somehow both judgemental and curious at the same time. Both had bright, cyan eyes, with dark hair stopping around their chins. Their faces were borderline identical, to the point Jaune could only differentiate them by their voices, their makeup, and their outfits.

He knew the one on the left was Miltia—her dark-red eyeshadow being the first obvious indicator of that. She wasn't clad in her normal dress, but rather a pair of blue jeans with several rips in them and a black crop-top with a skull and crossbones on the front. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against the doorway, her wrists covered by small, black bracelets with metal spikes on them.

The one on the right was Melanie—her cyan eyeshadow was a dead giveaway. She wore a pair of jeans with a fair few more rips in them than Miltia's, her torso covered by an old, black t-shirt with a logo so faded Jaune couldn't tell what it was originally supposed to be. She was leaning against the opposite side of the door, her forehead pressed against her left arm as it stretched up the wall, her right stretched out as she expertly twirled a pen in her hand.

Jaune blinked a few times, yawning before stepping out of the doorway. "Hey Miltia, hey Melanie. Come on in—did you want breakfast?"

The two looked at each other before walking inside, Miltia's eyes trailing over Jaune as Melanie walked over to the couch.

Miltia tilted her head slightly, cocking an eyebrow at him as she placed a hand on her hip. "Rough night?"

"How'd you guess?"

Melanie spoke up from behind him. "You answered the door in just your underwear, your clothes are in here so you probably crashed on the couch, and you didn't ask us why we just randomly showed up on a Sunday."

Jaune gave Melanie a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I'm more obvious than I thought."

He felt Miltia place a hand on his shoulder as she slipped past him, crossing her legs and leaning on the back of the couch. Melanie, meanwhile, sat on the side arm of the couch, still twirling her pen with one hand as her opposite elbow rested on the back.

Miltia's voice dropped a bit, expression darkening. "Tell us straight, Jaune: What did you do to Egat Winchester?"

Well, that was one way to wake him up.

Jaune stood a bit straighter, heart pumping a bit faster—as though trying to wake up his brain. His voice was surprisingly calm as he spoke. "I punched him through the brick wall of the building next to his restaurant."

Melanie's eyes widened. "And he survived that?"

Jaune nodded, walking to the fridge and grabbing out a few eggs and some bread from the nearby box. "I infused his body with durability as I punched him so he'd survive it. He should've been out cold for a few hours."

Miltia nodded, sharing a look with her twin before taking a breath. "Okay, Egat might have been a low-life piece of—wait, Rogue is asleep, right?"

Jaune nodded.

"—shit, but why'd you go and beat him up? The whole 'vigilante justice' thing? So not your style."

Jaune was very glad the two hadn't stopped him from making french toast as he talked. After all, it was far easier to remain calm and collected when most of his attention was focused on his cooking. "He attacked me and another stand user. Then he threatened to kill Rogue when I called him out on it."

He didn't need to turn around to sense the menacing aura from the twins.

Melanie stood, tossing her pen a few feet in the air before catching it. "Jaune, I don't blame you—but taking down Egat does have consequences."

Jaune stopped whisking, looking up without turning around. "What would those be?"

Miltia pushed herself off the couch, walking over to Melanie. "The Winchester wasn't just a restaurant. It was a front business for B.B. Laz—a front the cops are now investigating thanks to Egat's little pickpocketing scam. B.B. won't take this lying down."

Jaune turned around, eyes flicking between the two as they blankly stared at him. "So…what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Melanie tossed her pen before grabbing it in mid-air, returning to her twirling routine. "Lucky for you, Laz doesn't know it was you that took down Egat. As far as we know, he just knows that you were one of the customers there at the time. He'll probably send somebody to ask questions about it next time Curative Cuisine is open. Just deny everything and you should be fine."

Jaune nodded a few times, September's hands continuing to make breakfast as he stared at the twins. "Is that all you came to tell me?"

Miltia nodded, sniffing the air before giving him a faint smile. "Yeah…though, seeing as you're already making breakfast…"

Jaune gave her a faint smile, turning back to the food.

"GAH!"

The three turned on their heels, Jaune's eyes widening as he saw a nightgown-clad Neo fly out of his bedroom—slamming against the wall. A split second later, From Shadows rushed out to meet her, pinning her to it by her wrists.

The twins lowered their stances, both ready for combat.

"From Shadows—Blake—put her down!"

From Shadows obeyed, Neo thudding to the floor.

Neo scrambled back, Parasol at the ready as Jaune dashed to her, standing in front of her. From Shadows's eyes were now large red orbs, burning as they gazed at the four stand users. He held up his hands, summoning September behind him as it did the same. "It's okay! She won't hurt you!"

His eyes flicked to the door, watching Blake slowly walk out as From Shadows wrapped back around her—casting shadows across her despite her standing directly in the sunlight. "Why was I in your bed? Why was she standing over top of me when I woke up? What the hell's going on?"

Jaune took a step back, holding a hand back toward the Malachite twins as the other remained facing Blake. "Let's calm down for a second, okay? We're all…well, not enemies at least. I'll explain everything over breakfast, okay?"

Blake's brow furrowed. "What?"

"I said—"

"I know what you said—why are you feeding me again?"

Now it was Jaune's brows that did the furrowing. He tilted his head a bit, recalling September back to him. "I mean, I'm already fixing breakfast and you're here. Why wouldn't I?"

Blake slowly nodded, at last recalling From Shadows back into her.

The twins didn't take their eyes off Blake as Jaune walked past them, heading back to cooking. Neo was giving the girl a faint glare, leaning against the wall as Blake stood in the far corner of the room—which was realistically as far away as she could get for everyone without jumping out the window.

Miltia turned to her. "You're the other stand user Egat attacked, right?"

"What's it to you?"

Melanie glared at her. "Cut the attitude, kitty. You're getting on my nerves."

Blake glowered at Melanie, the pen-twirling twin glaring right back. She gave a smug smirk as she threw her pen in the air, not breaking eye contact with Blake as she caught it with her other hand.

She flicked it up, tilting her head forward as it landed behind her ear. "Go ahead—make this fun for me."

Miltia placed a hand on Melanie's shoulder, getting the angrier of the two to look at her.

The two locked eyes for a moment before Melanie scoffed, grabbing her pen and flipping it around her fingers once more. "Fine, you deal with the crazy shadow cat."

Melanie walked over to Jaune, leaning against the counter.

Meanwhile, Miltia slowly walked around the couch, hands held up as she sat down. She gave Blake a faint smile. "Sorry about her. Melanie's easy to piss off before she eats."

"I AM NOT!"

Miltia gestured to her, a self-satisfied look on her face. "See?"

Blake didn't relax in the slightest, backing into the corner next to the window. Her back was flush with the wall, her shoulders tensed as she pulled herself back, unconsciously making herself look bigger. Her eyes were focused on Miltia, but flicked to even the slightest movement—as shown when Neo recalled Parasol.

Miltia leaned back on the couch, stretching out to try and make herself look as non-threatening as possible. "My name's Miltia Malachite. What's yours?"

Blake stared at her, giving no response.

Miltia didn't speak, awkwardly staring at Blake as beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Jeez, I was hoping being friendly might calm her down—but it seems like she's even more defensive! There has to be some way to get her to relax…

While her sister attempted to talk with Blake, Melanie turned her attention to Jaune. Her eyes flicked to his hands, watching him casually cooking french toast—the ingredients moving just a split second before his hands as he managed several skillets at once. "So, Jaune, how's the restaurant business treating you?"

Jaune turned, hands falling out of sync with September's as it dealt with two skillets, him dealing with the third. "Hmm? Oh, well, I can't complain too much. I'm still trying to figure out if I should be happy or upset that I'm always so busy."

Melanie hopped onto the counter, legs dangling off the edge. "Isn't that more money for you?"

Jaune sighed, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "I mean, yes, but when I infuse every dish I make, it makes it hard to keep that up for the entire day. I always end up exhausted at the end of it and crashing not long after. Then sometimes Rogue gets assignments from school she can't do without me and it kills me that I'm too tired to help her."

He sighed, lowering the temperature of the oven's burners. "It's a two-edged sword, I guess."

Jaune walked in front of Melanie, casually holding out his hand.

Melanie understood, opening the cabinet behind her and handing him several paper plates. She gave a faint smirk. "Not that I'm complaining, but do you plan on putting pants on any time today?"

Jaune blinked a few times before looking down at himself. "After I give Rogue a bath, I guess."

Melanie's brow furrowed. "You still do that? Isn't she, like, six now?"

Jaune gave her an incredulous look as he nodded. "Uh, yeah, she is. My parents didn't stop bathing me or my sisters until we were eight. When did your parents stop bathing you?"

"They never started."

It took Jaune a beat too long to realize what she meant. "Oh—oh, right…sorry."

Melanie let out an irritated sigh, hopping off the counter and grabbing a paper plate. She pressed the edge into his chest, head tilted as she pouted. "Forget that—I want breakfast."

Jaune gave a faint chuckle, placing the finishing touches on the french toast before placing two slices onto Melanie's plate. "You take two, right?"

"Miltia takes two—I take three."

He placed another slice onto her plate, muttering an apology beneath his breath.

He turned around, not at all surprised to feel another plate pressed against his stomach. Looking down revealed Neo staring up at him, an innocent smile on her face and bright, white eyes gazing into his. "Two?"

Neo nodded.

Jaune placed two slices onto Neo's plate—suddenly very glad he'd made twelve of them. He prepared a plate with two slices for himself, and another plate with two for Miltia. Next, he grabbed the bottle of syrup from the fridge, walking into the living room and handing Miltia her plate—greeted by a quiet 'thank you'.

He placed his own plate and the syrup on the coffee table—Neo and Melanie scrambling to grab the bottle first as he walked back to the counter. He grabbed another plate, placing two slices on a plate and leaving the last one for when Rogue woke up.

He walked over to the corner, holding it toward Blake. "You can come to eat at the table with us if you want."

Blake slowly grabbed the plate, letting herself slide to the ground. From Shadows covered her back, casting shadows over her face as she looked down. "I'm fine right here."

Jaune nodded. "Okay, that's fine."

Jaune walked back to the couch, not even surprised at the sight.

Melanie was flat on the ground, her left hand holding the bottle of syrup away from the coffee table. Her right arm was wrapped around Neo's torso, pulling Neo flush against her as the shorter girl reached for the bottle—her legs trapped beneath Melanie's back.

The reason Neo was unable to reach the syrup was a bit more surprising.

Extending past Melanie's fingertips was a black, vaguely metallic hand. On the back of the hand, flowing from each of its knuckles, were two golden lines—meeting in a circle at the wrist. The rest of it was too faded for Jaune to make out, disappearing into Melanie's shoulder as she used her stand to extend her reach.

"Get off you little ice cream freak! I got it—"

Jaune casually plucked it from the stand's hand, giving it to Miltia.

"—first?"

Melanie and Neo scrambled upright as Miltia casually poured syrup over her slices, Jaune taking it after her. "Why do you two always fight when I get a new bottle of syrup? It's completely full—there's no way you'll use it all."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Because it's a brand new bottle! The first syrup from a new bottle always tastes the best—and you just gave it to Miltia!"

Neo sat up, giving an indignant nod and huffing at Jaune.

Jaune nearly placed the syrup back on the table, only to stand back up and walk over to Blake. "Just because you said that I'm giving Blake the syrup before—"

He looked down, seeing Blake's plate empty—crumbs dotting her cheeks.

"Uh… nevermind."

He grabbed Blake's empty plate, frowning as he walked away. He wondered just how long she'd been hungry to devour the toast that quickly without putting syrup on it—or even using silverware for that matter.

He handed Melanie the bottle—glad that Neo didn't try and snatch it from him. He sat down as the two calmly poured syrup on their toast, turning his attention to Neo. "Any new injuries today, Neo?"

Neo shook her head, plopping a bite into her mouth and practically melting into the floor.

Melanie, meanwhile, took a seat on Jaune's other side—eyes flicking to Blake every once in a while. "So, uh…is the crazy corner kitty staying or…?"

Jaune took a bite, looking at Blake for a moment before lowering his voice. "I mean, I don't want to just throw her back onto the street, but…based on how she's reacted so far, she won't just stay here, either."

Melanie tilted her head, staring at Blake for a moment before sitting upright. "Hey! Kitten! You want a job?"

Jaune turned, brow furrowing at Melanie. "What are you—"

Melanie held a finger to Jaune's lips, still looking at Blake. "You hear me, kitty? I'm offering you a job—say yes or no. Or nod. Or use sign language—I don't care, just do something."

Blake stared for a moment. "What is it?"

Melanie placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You help this guy clean up around the building, you get to stay. How's that sound?"

Jaune held out his hands. "Wait a second—"

"What? You said it yourself: You're exhausted at the end of each day. A little help should make you more rested, give you more time to spend with Rogue, and give her a job—that's three wins!"

Jaune shook his head, running a hand over his face. "The cleanup isn't a problem. I can finish the cleanup in fifteen minutes at most. What takes so much out of me is…"

Jaune's eyes widened as he had an idea.

He turned to Blake, standing and walking back over to her. "Actually, there is a job I can offer you."

Blake looked up. "What?"

"How'd you like to be a waitress?"

…

Stand Name: ?

Stand User: Melanie Malachite

Stats:

Power: C

Speed: B

Range: A

Persistence: C

Precision: B

Potential: C