Chapter 18: Sins of the past
"Dialogue"
{Scroll}
[Yang Xiao Long]
Green eyes open, staring at the infirmary ceiling. Despite being confused, she tries to get up, but a throbbing pain in her head forces her to lie down again.
"Hold on, Pyrrha." I say to the bedridden girl. "The nurse said you shouldn't move too much."
She tries to move again, but the muscle pains made her effort in vain.
The Mistral champion looks to her right and gives me a lost stare.
Slowly, she attempts to get up for the third time, but everything spins around her, and she lies back down on the bed.
"Stay down Nikos. You're not in danger, but you still need to rest after that hit." I saidsay, trying to give her a friendly smile.
"What do you want?" Asks the redhead in an irritated tone.
Ish! The girl is still sour.
But it's not surprising, after all, she wasn't in a good mood when I interrupted her training, and after I knocked her out, I'm the first person she sees when waking up.
I guess it wasn't a good idea to ask Nora to leave us alone.
"I think I'll start by… apologizing."
"Huh?" Said Pyrrha, confused.
"It was wrong of me to tease you like that. I know you have a thing for your leader, and it wasn't cool of me to tease you." I say to her as I sat next to her on the bed. "And when we made the bet, I really wanted some answers, so I fought like Jaune."
"Like Jaune?" She repeats , parroting myself.
"Yeah… being smart and making your opponent make mistakes and taking advantage of them." I sigh, looking down before continuing. "But I guess it's not a good idea to play dirty with someone I want help from, right?" I chuckle awkwardly, realizing I should have thought better when I fought her in the gym.
Smiling serenely, the champion looked at the ceiling, processing what I said.
"From the start, I knew he was intelligent and that it was only a matter of time before he had a victory."
"He's quite a guy, huh?" I comment, relieved now that she calmed down thinking about her crush.
"Yes." Replies the redhead, closing her eyes.
A comfortable silence settled in the room as Pyrrha took deep breaths and tried to settle into her bed.
"Can we have our conversation now?" I ask, getting up from the bed and sitting back in the armchair beside it.
Nikos sighed wearily but she nodded to me.
"So…" I started without exactly knowing what to ask. "What do you think of Arc?
In response, the Mistral champion widened her eyes and regards me suspiciously.
"I think that's a bit broad for a question." The redhead replies questioning me. "What exactly do you want to know?"
Laughing nervously, I relaxed as much as possible in the hospital chair before rephrasing the question.
"At first, Jaune was just a random guy to me, a clueless idiot with zero training wanting to be a Hunter, it was even hilarious to see everyone wiping the floor with him in Goodwitch's fights."
"Hmm." Grumbles Nikos with a stern face.
Crap! It is important for me to remember what Blake told me, "Don't insult her husbando".
"Then out of nowhere, he starts improving like crazy! I know he had extra training with you and two professors, but it's still insane that he's already caught up to the rest of the class."
'In terms of fighting and experience, he still had a long way to go, but in physical aptitude, Aura quality, and density, he was already at the level of a Beacon applicant.' I thought to myself, staring at the redhead.
"Even before his victory against Cardin, it was a pain to defeat him, not just because of the shield, but his Aura is huge." Raising my voice dramatically, I sat on the edge of the armchair. "And that Semblance combined with his big head? He could dominate the world!"
Unable to control herself, Pyrrha burst into laughter instantly. In response, I crossed my arms and glared at the redhead, annoyed by her reaction.
"I'm serious." I affirm in a dry tone.
"That's why it's funny." Replies the redhead, laughing melodiously. "Jaune Arc, evil mastermind?"
I shrugged in response.
"The same Jaune Arc whose pants got burned when he forgot a fire Dust crystal in his pocket?"
I began to deflate in the armchair with each of her responses.
"He-he, I forgot about that."
"The same Jaune who scared off that dog that had chased Blake and then helped her out of the tree?"
"Well…"
"The same Jaune who broke curfew and accepted the punishment without complaining to buy medicine for Ruby's flu?"
"Hmm." I grumble, unable to counter her.
"The same Jaune who had every right in the world to send that creep Cardin Winchester to jail without anyone judging or questioning him, yet he chose to have a civil conversation with him?"
"Okay!" I exclaim, hands raised in defeat. "The guy has a heart of gold! But that doesn't answer my question!"
Pyrrha's laughter gradually subsides, and she wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.
"From what I know about Jaune, he's very determined when he puts his mind to something. He is kind and a good leader, despite his initial lack of skills. He might not be the strongest, fastest, or most talented, but he is relentless and inspires those around him to do their best."
Sighing, I leaned back on the armchair, processing what she said.
"Is there something else you want to know?" The redhead asks, genuinely curious.
Closing my eyes and scratching my head, I contemplate asking what was really bugging me.
"What about you? How do you feel about him?"
Opening her eyes wide, Pyrrha blushes intensely, making me regret the question immediately.
"Why do you ask?" She inquires, her voice a bit higher than usual.
"Curiosity." I lie, trying not to make it weirder.
The atmosphere in the infirmary suddenly became tense, making me regret asking that question.
"Ahem!" I clear my throat, trying to change the subject. "When did you start training Jaune, and why?"
Realizing my attempt to divert the topic, Pyrrha relaxes a bit and sighed, focusing her gaze on her hands.
"It started after the incident with Cardin. Jaune was in a bad state, and I couldn't stand seeing him like that. So, I offered to help him improve. He's a good friend, and I wanted to support him," she explains, her voice softening.
"So, you two are close friends?" I ask, trying to keep my tone casual.
"Yes." Pyrrha replies, nodding slightly.
"I see." I mutter, falling into a brief silence before mustering the courage to ask another question. "Do you… have feelings for him?"
I immediately regret asking, but the words had already escaped my mouth.
The room fell into a heavy silence, and Pyrrha hesitates, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.
"I… I… That's…"
"Sorry, forget it." I quickly interject, not wanting to press further. "I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's okay." Pyrrha says softly. "It's just complicated. Jaune is a good friend, and I care about him a lot."
The tension in the room persists, and I feel a pang of guilt for bringing up such a sensitive topic.
"It's a bit awkward, isn't it?" I chuckled nervously, trying to ease the atmosphere.
Pyrrha managed a faint smile.
"It's alright. Sometimes things get a little uncomfortable, but that's life."
The awkwardness lingers, and I decide it was time to change the subject.
"Hey, Pyrrha, can I ask you something else?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Do you think he's… too good to be true?"
Pyrrha furrows her brow, pondering the question.
"What do you mean?"
"It's so weird." I comment, looking at my hands. "He's fun, intelligent, kind, sensitive, and to top it off, he became hot in just one month of training."
Pyrrha chuckles at me and asks.
"When he arrives, can't you help but smile at him?" Pyrrha asks, giving a sarcastic smile.
"Yes!" I reply, pointing at her.
"And when he smiles back, do you feel all happy and uneasy?"
"Exactly!" I nod with a shy smile. "It's like time stops for a moment and everything feels lighter."
"It seems like he has that effect on people. But I still don't understand what your problem is, Yang."
"It's just… everything seems too good to be true. Sometimes, I question if it's real or if I'm just idealizing. I mean, how can someone be so perfect?" I sigh, gazing into the void for a moment.
…
"I guess it's normal to feel that way when you have romantic feelings for someone."
"WHAT?" I shout, jumping up from the armchair.
I tried to take another step back, but I bump into the window blinds.
"Ja-Ja-Jaune's a ni-nice guy an all that." I stammer, avoiding eye contact. "But I don't have feelings or anything for the guy."
Me? Yang Xiao Long, into the weakest and least popular guy at Beacon?
That makes no sense at all, but my body seems to react weirdly to this idea. I feel a knot in my stomach, my hands start sweating, and my heart races for no apparent reason.
"Is something wrong, Yang?" Pyrrha asks, teasingly smiling at me. "You're pale and sweating a lot, girl."
I try to hide it, but my legs feel a bit shaky, and I get a chill down my spine whenever he's around. I find myself avoiding eye contact in fear that she'll notice how genuinely nervous I am.
"I'm just annoyed that you think I have feelings for that virgin…"
It's like my body's screaming at me to be cautious, but I just don't know what I'm protecting myself from.
"Humpf." Pyrrha grunts arrogantly. "And here I thought I was the coward."
"Say what?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean, Nikos?"
"I might not have confessed yet, but at least I'm not terrified of my feelings like you are."
My blood boiled instantly, and I scowl at the arrogant girl on the bed.
"I've said it before: I'm not into Jaune."
"Please, Yang." Replies Nikos in a proud tone. "Not only do you have a crush on him, but you're so scared of your feelings that you came to me looking for some dirt to forget about him once and for all."
"Listen here, Nikos!" I exclaim seriously, pointing my finger at her. "You stay on your pedestal all protected in your golden cage, but I live in the real world, and I know guys like Jaune who seem perfect are just waiting for a chance to use stupid and innocent girls."
Silent and wide-eyed, Nikos stares at me for a few seconds until she softened her face, looking at me with understanding and compassion.
"Did that happen to you?"
…
I looked down and hug myself as unease overwhelmed my mind.
"Yang?" Nikos calls my name, but I don't hear her.
It had been so long since I thought about it.
At that time, I was only 13, and he was almost graduating from Signal, but I still can't help feeling like a complete idiot. If Qrow hadn't found me by chance when he went to drink secretly.
That bastard used to say I was pretty, that he loved me. He made me feel special, but in reality… he just wanted to use me as a piece of meat to satisfy his desires.
"YANG!"
A shout snaps me out of my spiral of depression, and I look at the redhead staring at me, concerned. In response, I take a deep breath, covering my face with my hands.
"Nothing happened, but…" I swallow hard, trying to untie the knot in my throat and continue speaking. "Someone I liked tried to take advantage of me a long time ago."
A tense and uncomfortable silence settled in the room once again.
I think it's best to leave this conversation aside and get out of here. But as soon as I got up to try to leave, I felt something grab me and pull me by the hand. I turned, surprised to see Pyrrha pointing to the bed, asking me to sit next to her.
I sat without looking at her, staring at the wall, but the invincible girl didn't give up on comforting me. She placesa hand on my shoulder to calm me down.
"I don't know what you went through or how you felt, but know that I'm happy that you're fine and the person you are today, Yang."
I turn towards her, surprised by this mature and compassionate side of her.
"Even though I don't know what happened to you, my mom was tricked by someone who said he loved her. But when she became pregnant with me, the person disappeared." Pyrrha sighs and gathers her strength to continue speaking. "My grandparents wanted my mother to have an abortion, but she refused and was disowned."
"Wow."
Giving a slightly embarrassed smile at my reaction, she continued talking.
"It wasn't easy for her to raise me alone, but I'm grateful for everything she did for me. That's why I worked so hard to win the Mistral tournaments, to help her with the prize money."
"Wow! I thought you were-."
Before I could continue, I was interrupted by the beep from my Scroll.
"Who is it?" Pyrrha asked curiously.
"It's Ruby." I reply, opening the message.
{YANG! WE NEED HELP!}
Attached to the message was an image of Jaune lying unconscious on the ground, his body covered in golden flames.
[Image]
{JAUNE IS DYING!}
[Hei Xiong Junior]
[2 hours before the picture]
"Any problem, Mr. Arc." I ask the boy approaching the bar.
"None, to tell you the truth…" He whispered, sitting on the counter. "Everything went according to Keikaku."
"Hmm?"
"Don't worry about it, let's talk business."
I eye the alcohol-smelling boy with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
The kid finished a bottle of whiskey alone in less than twenty minutes, and then asked for another to keep drinking with his 'friend.' He might seem fine, but even with Aura, it's hard to hold it together.
"Yes." He says while drinking a green liquid from a glass jar he took out of his coat pocket. "Don't worry about me."
Shrugging, I stepped out from behind the counter and guided him to the real VIP room, where the 'real business' took place.
Miltia accompanies me, a new policy for my business. Never be alone with Huntsmen. Even trust fund babies that look like idiots and have more money than sense, like Jaune Arc.
When he made contact, I thought it was a joke. He wanted the two best escorts money could buy, not just beautiful, but experienced enough to fool that ginger tool.
Since he didn't complain, the girls must have convinced the boy.
Spending money, so another guy could have good company to drink the best drinks in the house was already a big flag signaling that young Arc had money, but when he made a special order for Dust, that's when I understood this kid wasn't playing around.
We walk for a few minutes until we reach a large wooden door. I enter, opening the door, and gestured for the young man to come in.
"Thank you." Jaune replies in a sober tone.
He seemed more lucid than when he was at the bar. It must be the effect of that green liquid he drank.
The VIP room was a specially chosen area for 'more discreet' negotiations. It was a private area, completely separate from the noisy and disorganized atmosphere of the rest of the club. The environment exuded luxury and sophistication, with its walls made of dark wood, intelligent LED lamps hanging on the walls. The large wooden table in the center of the room was an imposing figure accompanied by elegant leather-finished chairs, yet comfortable.
Jaune sat at the table, and I closed the door and sat opposite him. Miltia, on the other hand, went to the safe to retrieve the merchandise.
"Are you aware that the prices of the girls and the whiskey are significantly cheaper than the costs of Dust?" Jaune asked.
Smiling confidently in my direction, the boy put his filthy feet on my Mistralian mahogany table.
"And you're not moving all this Dust because you're afraid of attracting Torchwick's attention, right?" The man replies.
"Humpf!" Miltia grunts as she places the merchandise on the table.
Miltia's bad mood was to be expected, but not because of the mention of Roman, it was because he knew about the difficulty I was having moving all this stuff.
"Do you think I'm afraid of Torchwick?" I ask, glaring at him.
"Of course not, the guy is a genius in the art of crime, but he's still a clown." Comments the young man, laughing at the situation as if it were a childish joke. "But his little associate who has the power to infiltrate anywhere is scary, you know…"
I had to agree, Neo was a true threat with that demeanor and willingness to kill anyone cold-blooded.
"But I must admit that his contractor is even scarier."
…
"H-h-how do you know?" I spoke, trying not to stutter.
The young man furrows his brow in response and gave me a feral smile.
"Can I evaluate the merchandise?"
I pushed both cases toward the boy, who then opened them and started examining the contents.
There were a total of 20 tubes of Dust in each case, each tube is enough for 10 ammunition clips.
In a few moments, the boy closed the cases and stared angrily in my direction.
"It's fake!" The boy exclaimed as he examined the last tube.
"What?" He had examined all 40 tubes in less than 3 minutes? "Don't fuck with me, kid. Even a Dust engineer would take hours to assess this amount of Dust."
Arc frowned and stared at me intensely, making a knot in my stomach.
"I'm paying for Grade 4 Dust, and this crap in front of me is 3."
How did this pampered prick figure it out?
"Listen here, kid-."
THUD!
"LISTEN HERE, YOU!" He shouts, hitting the table.
SHIIING!
Miltia drew her weapon as he got fired and moved toward him.
Smiling, I face the boy, who would learn in the worst way that you don't mess with Hei Xiong.
BAM!
At least… that's what I expected until Miltia fell flat on the floor.
"Urgh!" Groans Miltia.
I stood up, worried about what had happened to her, but what really caught my attention was Miltia's body being lifted from the ground by one of her legs.
"What the hell is this?" I ask, looking at the metal tentacle that was holding my workers' leg.
Following the arm of the strange metallic limb, I noticed that it was connected to Jaune Arc's back, from where… ANOTHER 3?!
The mechanical arms lifted Jaune while he stared at me intimidatingly. I hesitated for a second when I took a step back.
"No." Jaune ordereds as one of his tentacles flew in my direction.
I raise my arms to defend against the blow, but instead of hitting me, the mechanical limb coiled around my arm and pulls me forward.
BAM!
"Damn." I groan in pain, falling face-first onto the ground.
I tried to prop myself up with my free arm, but the third tentacle grabbed it while the fourth ties my legs, pulling me toward my assailant.
"Geez, Junior." Jaune comments in a sad, sarcastic tone. "I came here to help you get rid of all this stagnant Dust using an official Beacon account. You could probably deduct some of the value from your taxes."
That moron is a genius! How did I not think of that? With my Vacuon accounts, I could have made this operation look like a standard Dust supply purchase; I could have earned more than 30% of the value of this transaction.
"You bring me this Grade 3 crap and expect me to pay for it as if it were Grade 4?" He asks, squeezing my arms and legs.
My Aura flared in response to the damage. I was probably still in the green, but I couldn't break free. In this soundproof room, I couldn't call for help, he had my life in his mechanical limbs.
"I'll give you a discount. But please, don't hurt us."
Miltia was upside-down, trying to free herself by cutting the tentacle. But as soon as Arc realized what she was trying to do, he started shaking her slowly in the air.
"Hum?" Miltia grumbled confused.
CRUNCH!
Arc slams her against the floor, as if she were a rat he wanted to kill for daring to invade his home.
"H-h-hic." Miltia whimpers as if she were about to cry, while Arc slowly brought her face close to his, upside down.
"Stay quiet." Arc says, almost whispering to her.
The poor girl almost broke her neck, nodding her head in response to the boy's threat.
"Let's do the following…" Jaune comments as he scratches his chin in thought. "I'll pay half the market value for all this Grade 3 dust. The girls' fees and the bar tab will be on the house, right?"
I nod, accepting the 50% discount hurt my ego, but it's not like I was in a position to negotiate. The money was still good, at least 50 million Lien. To me, that was huge, but for an institution like Beacon, it was a drop in the bucket.
He places us on the ground while holding a tube in his hands.
As soon as I stand up, I notice a strange golden mist emanating from the boy's body, it hovered in his hand until he touches one of the tubes.
"This is the annoying part." As soon as the boy complains, the mist engulfs the tube's contents.
Red veins appears on the boy's arm, like bright fire lines, the same color as the Dust he was holding.
"Damn!" The boy groans in pain, but within seconds, the veins disappear along with the golden mist. "One down, thirty-nine to go." He concluded, throwing the tube to Miltia.
Even caught off guard, she managed to hold it without dropping it.
"Empty?" She asked, wide-eyed.
What? Did he consume all that Dust with his Semblance?
As soon as he finished the second vial, he let it fall to the ground and moved on to the next.
CLUNK!
Only when I heard the noise of the second container hitting the ground did I understand what this madman wanted to do. He's going to consume all that Dust at once.
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!
Every time he absorbed one of the Dust containers, bright veins jumped on his arm in the same color. It was evident from his face the pain he was feeling, but he still quickened his pace, starting to absorb Dust with the other hand even before finishing the first. He ignored all the pain and discomfort, and in a few minutes, empty vials surrounded his feet.
"It's always difficult to go through all this pain…" He complains only to look at the void. "…but it's worth it."
I know lunatics who like to feel the pain of using Dust without an intermediary like weapons, but storing so much power without exploding is the first time I've seen it.
With a sadistic smile on his face, the young man walked towards me, staring at me seriously. This would be the moment when Miltia would step in front of me to defend me, but poor thing was still on the ground after being smashed against the floor.
Jaune raised his right hand, pointing his index and middle fingers at me.
"Boom."
"AAARGH!" I shouted, falling on my butt.
Young Arc laughs at my reaction.
"Don't worry, Junior, today you tried to pull a fast one on me, but it didn't work out for you." He finishes the sentence, offering his hand to help me up.
Relieved by the return of the boy's normal behavior, I accepted, but as soon as I stood up, he frowned again, staring at me.
"I'll come back in the near future to do business with you."
CLUNK! CLUNK!
Two tentacles dug into the ground in front of me, lifting the boy, while the others pushed me against the ceiling.
"I promise I won't forgive you a second time." His voice was cold and serious, as if he were making a vow rather than a threat.
The mechanical limbs pressed harder against my chest, draining even more of my Aura, squeezing me.
BEEP! BEEP!
Why is my scroll alert ringing? I glanced briefly at my waist where it hangs.
"Is my Aura in the red?"
THUD!
With a dry thud, I fell to the ground as the blonde psychopath let me go.
"Remember what we talked about, after all, an Arc never goes back on his word."
Slowly, the huntsman-in-training walks out of the VIP room, leaving me and Miltia behind.
It was surreal… Now he has enough Dust in his body to blow up a few buildings.
"He's a monster." Miltia whispers in a trembling and breathless voice.
Poor thing, she usually doesn't accompany me in the more dangerous negotiations. Despite this kid's power, he still went easy on us after we tried to deceive him. I know guys with this kind of power who would have cut off a hand or two just for disrespecting them like that.
"Strong, well-connected, and rich…" She continues in a more intense tone.
"So?"
"Do you think he's single?" Asks the breathless girl with starry eyes.
"Go take a cold shower and then come back to the bar."
I'll keep a close eye on this boy, he has a lot of power for someone so young.
[Original point of view]
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
Why did that bald jerk try to double-cross me? I came to spend a shitload of money with him, and the asshole tried to deceive me. I could have died if it weren't for my Semblance and the training with Glynda.
During initiation, I spent more than 30% of my aura to create Stilt-man's armor. Today, I spent only 7% of my aura to make Doctor Octopus's arms.
Was I influenced by the tentacles and became more violent?
Yes!
Was it worth intimidating and putting Junior in his place?
Definitely!
Especially considering how many points I have now.
Multiverse Crafting System
What would you like to do?
Magic: 226,954 Points
Aura: 93.7%
I can't contain myself and start laughing like an idiot as I leave Junior's bar. I know I promised not to do anything scandalous to attract attention, but with this many points, I'm very tempted to create artificial intelligence. Maybe I'll make Jarvis with all the blueprints of the Arc reactors and armors that Tony Stark has ever created in the movies and comics.
But first, there's something I've wanted to do for a while.
Multiverse Crafting System
This will cost 1,000 Magic Points
Magic: 226,954 Points
Aura: 93.7%
"Cheaper than I thought… make its system in a language I understand and its hardware and software compatible with this world's technology."
Multiverse Crafting System
This will cost 1,500 Magic Points
Magic: 226,954 Points
Aura: 93.7%
As soon as I gave the command, the golden mist appeared in my hand, materializing the small device with a red lens that I had longed for.
[Image]
It was a Dragon Ball Scouter, with a red lens just like Vegeta's. I waste no time and put it on immediately.
As soon as the small yet powerful device was in position, I press the button.
BEEP! BEEP!
"Neat!"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Cool. Even the power level measurement sound is the same." I comment happily, fulfilling a childhood dream.
{→→→→→→}
"That's weird… it seems like there's someone strong nearby." The sound was identical to the series, which made me thrilled and unfortunately distracted.
When I turned in the arrow's direction, the scouter pointed out the Power Level of something emerging from the darkness.
{4,000}
Damn! As strong as Nappa?
Before I could see the owner of such power, something golden flew from the darkness toward me, wrapping around my right foot and pulling me forward.
THUD!
"Damn it." I complain, falling on my butt with some kind of chain tied to my foot.
"Watch your potty mouth, Jaune." Said a familiar voice coming from the darkness.
Heavy and slow footsteps walked in my direction, a figure in black armor with golden details approached me.
Instantly, my blood froze, and a knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I beheld my attacker.
Her armor made of black steel plates with golden details should have been more than enough to identify who had captured me, but it was her cold, cruel blue eyes and golden hair just like mine that sent chills down my spine.
"Hello, Jaune." Says the cold, feminine voice hiding internal fury.
My past had finally caught up with me.
"It's time to pay for your sins… little brother."
[Image]
—--------
E ai gurizada,
—daniel_rahn:
YESS your back!!! so good man i really missed this, also glad everything is better know, altough kinda sad the next chapter will take so long i understand your circunstances, Really loved yang VS Phyrra, altough can't wait to see more about blake since soon it would be her turn. lets just hope she doesnt corrupt ruby with filth xD. keep the good work
—Response= Ruby reading Blakes books…
—Mikhail Sharon:
Pyrrha actually got knocked out? By Yang of all people? But then again she was a bit too heated and was Foreman to Yang's Ali. Well done.
—Response= As you mentioned, Yang won because Pyrrha didn't keep her composure; in a rematch, I would bet on the cereal girl's victory.
If that were a "fair fight", Pyrrha would surely win despite Yang having more experience fighting unarmed than the Mistral Champion.
—AsynchronousTextureStreaming:
Nice chapter. cant wait to see how the SDC and dustless tech stuff works out.
—Response= I'm finishing the first Arc of this Story, in the interlude, I will write about that.
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