Chapter 11 - Unexpected Events Are Expectedly Nice

"... Keep in mind that the following videos are graphic in nature, and that viewer discretion is advised." My head throbbed, blotches of color pounded at the back of my eyes as I tried to sit up only to groan in pain.

"Taken by a passing concerned citizen, the videos all show the fight between three unregistered Huntsmen. Two of them, most of you would already know as they are members of the elusive criminal group unsuitably known as the Reds. For those of you not in the know, the Reds are a nomadic group of highly dangerous criminals that originated somewhere in the badlands of Anima, and have been sighted several times in the kingdoms of Mistral, Vacuo and, most recently, Vale. Each one of the seven known members has been known to easily take down a squad of graduates; with the notable mention of the man named Arie Carver who fought and defeated two recent Beacon graduate teams by himself."

Finally, my head stopped aching long enough for me to gather my sore body off the couch that I was laid on. My television buzzed nearby with the blurry images of some purple haired woman talking over an even blurrier video. Something was sizzling in the background, and the smells of oils and crackling fat lofted throughout the room.

"The Reds, though, are mostly known for their extremely violent and highly lethal attacks on many similar criminal elements in the cities that they have visited. They have also spared many Huntsmen on several occasions, and this has sparked controversy on whether or not their actions are for righteous cause. Still, even if they had good intentions, the damage they cause when they go about their random crusades is much greater than any other known criminal element."

My vision was slowly clearing from that annoying blur, and, while my body was most definitely a bruise, a quick bath of accelerated healing will start to fix that problem. Groaning as I finally sat up, I locked eyes with a pair of mismatched colors and could only pause.

My mind scrambled at the person who was standing next to the couch I lay on, an almost hungry expression plastered on her face. Neo, in all her terrifying yet small presence, was currently standing in the middle of my living room with a tight nurse outfit.

Well, tight might have not been as apt a way to say it. More like, the outfit was designed to be as thin and showy as possible with black stockings trailing up to a precariously short skirt. It was something out of those sites my mom had forbidden me from ever looking up, and I was sure Neo had to be wearing an illusion.

Naturally, I didn't pull on her power, keeping my eyes on her while knowing that she definitely had more appropriate clothes on underneath. There was no other motive other than that…

"...which led to the collapse of several territories outside of Mistral's borders, but that's enough about the Reds. If you want to know more, then there are several of our previous videos that have highlighted the criminal group's odd duality." My attention snapped away from Neo, focusing on the woman who I knew as Lisa Lavender. It was a good enough distraction if it wasn't for Neo bouncing to my side to peak at the screen as well.

"However, it seems the actions of the Reds have finally caught up to them. As was previously stated, a lone Huntsman was able to match both Arie Carver and Lilac Adelson in combat, managing to grievously wound the once thought invincible Arie."

The video cut out for a second, showing a brown cloaked figure being attacked by a one armed man and a woman who seemed to be throwing explosions. The figure would dart in between them, dancing dangerously around a few explosions, and clashing against Arie's sword arm.

The flying pieces of broken asphalt mixed with the occasional flower of bright, red flames and noise to create a sort of picturesque scene. Smoke billowed from the fires that leaped around the field, but the cloaked figure wouldn't spare a second to look at them and just seemed to pass right through the damage.

The cloaked person looked almost untouchable from how he fought off the two of them and they barely scraped him. However, what eluded them was the fact that that person was me. That untouchable dancer of destruction was all the product of the fact that any slight glance from them would have nearly killed me.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how the news was proclaiming me a highly dangerous individual. Half that fight was spent with me running away from their attacks!

"This individual has been reported to be wanted for the terrorist attacks on a local club on the Eastern parts of Vale. And his actions to fight against the Reds have sparked a fierce debate in the hearts of everyone. Who is this man? Is he a criminal like all the Reds hunt, or is he a Huntsman who decided to take the law into his own hands? Vale's own police chief, Bullain Vert, has given us a more in depth look at this indiv-"

"Hey, Neo, shut that thing off already!" A familiar voice echoed from my kitchen. I turned to find something equally confusing, and immensely terrifying.

Roman Torchwick, master thief, was dressed in a frilly, white apron to cook breakfast. His eyes locked with mine for a second as I was about to voice my thoughts, and a silent conversation passed between us. Nodding, I wisely shut my mouth.

"Took you long enough, blondie." Roman grumbled, flipping something in the pan. Neo enthusiastically nodded her head beside me as if to emphasize Roman's words.

"Right, sorry to make you wait…" I frowned as I found the right words. "What are you two doing in my apartment, again?"

Roman shrugged, finally placing a sizzling piles of bacon on a plate. Another plate of scrambled eggs fluffily floated nearby, and before I could even blink, Neo had appeared beside bacon, stuffing several into her mouth at once.

The orange-haired thief didn't even shoot the small assassin a second glance as her cheeks swelled as she switched from bacon to eggs. I just watched on as Neo flailed about, waving her arms in front of the man as he poured a glass of orange juice and coffee. Then, to top all my previous confusion, he tossed the contents of the orange juice glass at Neo.

Instead of sticky fruit drink splattering onto my floors, and the assassin, Neo expertly weaved through the area, catching every drop of the juice in her ever expanding cheeks. Only then did she begin chewing.

"Um…" I think I forgot about my injuries as I stared at the pure bliss on the ice-cream themed girl's face.

"Neo and I needed a place to crash since everything's going to shit." Roman added, ignoring the finger I was pointing at Neo. "That's your fault, by the way."

My temples were throbbing now. Disregarding Neo for now, I turned my attention back to Roman. "Right, and you picked my apartment, because?"

"Because, the twins called Neo, and I couldn't leave you alone with her." He leaned in, very serious. "Trust me, blondie. There have been too many guys who have thought Neo was sweet and innocent, but they tend to catch on quick after they start losing bits."

"I…" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Thanks?"

Roman didn't even blink from my response, and passed me a plate of eggs and bacon. "Don't mention it -seriously, don't. Anyways, eat up. The doctor that actually came by said your Aura was all weird and wasn't healing you correctly -as in, 'you were coughing up smoke for a while' not correctly, so you need quite a bit of rest."

"Uh-huh," I hummed, pushing past the pain that swelled in my chest to ignore the food in front of me. "What do you want now?"

"Me?" Roman looked aghast, clutching his chest with one hand and the other moving to his forehead. "Why can't I worry for my dear friend for-" His eye that was unobscured by his hair caught my gaze before he dropped his act quickly. "Oh, alright, I need your help with the Reds."

"I refuse."

"Come on, blondie, this is only because you decided Junior needed to go. Doesn't your heroic bone tingle with, oh, I don't know, evil? No, does it tingle in the presence of evil?"

"Aren't you a criminal as well?"

"That's besides the point." Roman sat up, straightening his frilly apron. "What do you want exactly? Everyone's got a price, but you though? You don't seem to want anything; just want to keep playing around with the dreams of being some idiot."

"And insulting me will get me to help you?"

Roman sighed, aggravated. "No, but telling you that the entirety of Vale being used as a battleground might."

"What…" I blanked, comprehending a bit of what he was trying to say, but still unsure I heard him correctly.

"Oh, you heard that one alright, blondie." Roman smirked, finding some joy in putting me off balance. "The Reds are using your little usurpation of Junior's slice of Vale as an execution grounds. You may not have noticed, but they've been slowly pushing the Union's men, along with any other gang they can find, further and further into the short-staffed territory I'm trying to manage. I can't really stop them with all the people under me, and that only means that there is going to be more and more territory wars as the Reds tighten the noose around the cattle they have herded up."

"That's…" Inside my mind, I was already thinking about all the damage those gangs will cause if they suddenly all begin to fight. Sure, they were all evil villains, but what about all the potential innocents that get caught in the crossfire. "Can we contain it to just the territory you have?"

Roman looked me in the eye before sighing. "I wish… Look, blondie, there'll inevitably be those that manage to evade the clutches of the Reds, and they'll basically be going on a full panic as they try to escape the pursuit. They might try to lay low; though, if they're smart they'll know that the Reds can find you even if you hide. So, that means that they'll try to get as many civvies wrapped up in their getaway as possible. Despite their crude naming sense and normally violent actions, those guys are more like you when dealing with innocents."

"Then doesn't that make them the good guys?" I was frowning now. The conversation I had with that girl named Lily gave me a little insight on how they worked.

The Reds seemed like a group that targeted criminals to an unhealthy degree, and they dealt with any and all potential criminals with severe prejudice. I would have agreed with some of their methods. In fact, I still think they aren't that bad of people, but their actions are definitely not the type of hero I want to be.

'They're just murderers who try to justify their killings.' I thought angrily. 'I will never be-'

"Like hell those guys are goodie goodies like you, blondie!" Roman yelled over my thoughts. "I don't know what type of idiot you're trying to be, but I don't think your level of stupidity has a chance of civvies being harmed. And furthermore…" Roman paused in his rant, petering off as he noticed me to staring at him. "You already came to your decision without me telling you, huh?"

"Yes, but I felt like you liked to hear yourself speak."

"Cheeky little brat… So, does this mean you'll help?"

My face fell at his prompt. "Don't get me wrong, Roman, I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and watch as the gangs tear Vale apart, but that doesn't mean that I'm helping you. If anything, you're just another criminal being included in this madness."

I watched as Roman's face twisted up a bit, and apprehensively pulled on his Semblance just in case things went awry. My body wasn't anywhere near a level to be fighting in, however, if I was just going to run away, I think I could manage.

[Escape oriented path recognition. Enhanced dexterity.]

As knowledge settled in my head, I realized that Roman wasn't dealing with my denial too well. It wasn't to the point where he'd stop me from escaping altogether, but his Semblance was telling me that he might be very insistent on me not moving.

"Okay, okay, this is fine…" The orange-haired thief said to himself before glaring at me. "Fine, if you can't bring yourself to work with a criminal, then I can understand that. Respect it even. However, tell me this, Jaune, just what is your plan for dealing with this situation? Do you even have one, or are you going to be bumbling around like a headless chicken again?"

"I'm perfectly fine on my own." I defended, wincing as a sharp pain tore into my side from my broken ribs.

"Are you?" Roman challenged, easily catching that moment of weakness. "Do you even know what it is you're going to do? Run in again, blowing shit up like its the damn Vytal Festival in full swing and hope that you hit the right people? Maybe you'll grab a Semblance that really helps deal with a small pack of weaker idiots, and deal nothing more than a dent to the actual threat?"

"I… That's…"

Roman cut me off before I could even form another sentence. "The answer, Jaune, is that you're going to do both, and its going to get you killed. As in, poof. Dead. No second chances. This isn't a game, and I have been thinking you've been testing your luck too many times lately."

"Is this really any of your business?" I shot back hotly. His words struck me deeply, and, as much as I hated to admit, he was mostly right. All my recent wins had skirted a fine line between luck, a healthy amount of correct improvisation and an unhealthy amount of Dust explosions.

Sooner or later I realized that my luck was going to run out, and the wounds that there piling up on my body attested to that. However, I didn't want to quit. Especially now with so many innocent lives on the line.

Still, I didn't need Roman's help to aid people in need. I decided I wanted to be a hero, and, while nice for now, Roman was a criminal.

"I… Thank you for the food, Roman, but I'm not partnering up with you guys." I said after a brief moment of thought. "I'll also be careful."

"Blondie, no, Jaune." Roman stressed my name, falling eerily silent the next second. I panicked a bit as his power was basically screaming at me that no matter what I did, he wouldn't let me leave this room.

All of a sudden, I grew increasingly aware that Roman was quite a bit more muscular than his lanky body would make it seem. Neo, too, entered my vision, plodding over to us with unnaturally silent steps. My pilfered power was telling me that she would ensure that I wouldn't move from my spot on the couch.

Her eyes were shadowed by her long bangs as she sat down on the edge of the couch I hadn't taken up, grabbing my untouched plate of food. She took a large stab into the middle of all of it, making sure to get extra bits of crispy bacon and fluffy eggs.

However, she didn't eat it like I thought she would, and instead wavered the fork over to me. Tentatively, I looked over to her as she began bashing the fork of food into my pursed lips, trying to force feed me.

As she was trying to feed me, and slightly succeeding as it was getting rather painful, Roman sighed heavily. "Let me tell you a story, Jaune. Once upon a stupid, happy time, there lived an idiot kid and his idiot father."

"Wash tha' yu?" I asked before Neo furiously forced another helping of food into my mouth. It was surprisingly good, all things considered, but the very determined expression on Neo's face as she fed me wasn't really helping.

"Shut up, I'm not gonna tell this again!" Roman snapped, coughing briefly into his hand a couple seconds later. "Anyways, the stupid kid -who was not me- wanted to become a Huntsman early in his life, pestering his idiot father all day long till the man caved. The idiot father wasn't the wealthiest of people -only being a chef at his very own bakery, and he always wanted his son to know how to cook. So, they hashed out a very stupid plan where the son would cook and learn how to be a 'protector of mankind' at the same time."

I frowned as Roman raised his fingers to quote himself while looking as sarcastic as possible. "However -and of course there's a damn tragedy; all good stories have to have a tragedy. Anyways, the lessons for being a Huntsman are pretty expensive in Vacuo, and those tutors really know how to squeeze someone dry if you're not careful. And that's exactly what they did; took damn near everything the idiot father owned with the exception of his store. All of this, without the stupid son not knowing a thing…"

"Anyways," Roman sped up, looking me in the eye so I could see his burning gaze. "Fast forwards a couple more years, the son's grown up to his last year at the academy, and just now learning about his father's business being run into the ground by another more successful shop nearby. Suddenly, the money that had been their lifeline was abruptly cut. The stupid son saw this and had the even better idea of getting a loan to help his father's business stay afloat long enough for him to make money with his job hunting the evils of the world. Of course, what they never tell you is that any deal in Vacuo is a shitty deal."

I wanted to make a comment on what exactly that meant, but Neo shoved a determined amount of food into my mouth before I could speak. She looked as happy as could be when I glared at her before chewing.

Roman merely continued his tragedy. "Since the stupid brat wasn't exactly of age yet, he forged his father's signature. As far as everything goes, the decision seemed to be fine. The idiot father was happy with the sudden influx of money, the stupid son was picking damn roses off the sidewalk with how happy he was and the loan was apparently going good. Well, turns out that the loan didn't work out -because its Vacuo, and the enforcers for the place ordered the idiot father to pay up or leave. And you know what happened to the idiot son in all this? It's pretty funny when you think about it, but I'll give you a chance to guess."

My lips were stretched into a firm line as I waited for the answer. Roman didn't really care if I answered or not, and I don't think he was waiting for one anyways. All he did was give a laugh that sounded the complete opposite of how the story was going.

"He wasn't told a thing." Roman finished between laughs. "His idiot father found out about the loan, was branded with a heavy debt that took his beloved bakery and only gave letters of encouragement and stupid, white lies to his gullible son, knowing full well it was the stupid son's fault. When the stupid son found out, he quit the academy and rushed to find his dad on the streets outside the bakery. He had believed everything would get better, and had done nothing throughout the ordeal so long as he continued with his daily life. Both of their lives were ruined that day."

"What happened to the boy?" I asked, looking at him now.

Roman just scoffed. "He died. Died, knowing that everything had a price."

Glancing over to Neo, I watched her warily as she prepared another forkful of food before looking at the strangely serious Roman. "And I remind you of yo- I mean, the boy. I remind you of the boy?"

"No, you remind me of the idiot father." Roman corrected. "Believing that something will change when you keep doing the same things over and over again."

"But I'm-"

"Yeah, don't finish that sentence." Roman interrupted as Neo shoved the prepared amount of food into my mouth. "Sure, you probably got stronger or maybe a little prepared for whatever, but can you honestly say that you can fight another one of the Reds without problem? Are you really ready for the big leagues? Can you tell me are you really changing anything beyond running out in a costume and hoping things work out?"

"I… I'm…" I stuttered as his words hit me. There were many things I had to think about after my fateful first meeting of the Reds, but I couldn't even lie about my odds in facing Arie again. The man was a monster that I barely could defend myself against. There was also the sinking suspicion that he was going easy on me.

"My point exactly. So, are you finally willing to join the dark side, blondie?"

I was frowning again, but not as hard as before. "I thought I had already told you I was fine on my-"

The door to my apartment opened as two more warmths of Aura entered. Craning my neck over the edge of the couch, I found myself blinking at a set of twins carrying several vials of colorful Dust in all sorts of combinations.

Melanie looked at me, well, more like she glared at me hotly before frowning. "What? Don't tell me you chickened out?"

"Not yet, blondie here thinks its safe to go alone." Roman answered without even looking at who entered.

Idly, I knew it was possible that the twins knew him from their past occupations, but I didn't particularly like the connotations that they were on good terms with a current criminal. While I had already agreed to help them, that didn't mean I wanted to thrust them back into the life of crime without a second thought.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked quickly.

"Do we need your permission to do what we want?" Melanie shot back, scowling at me some more.

Miltia just walked over to me, locking eyes with Neo, who was still trying to feed me, and smiled. "We're glad you're okay. Melanie was actually really worried when you came back bloodied and fainted in front of us."

"Speak for yourself, Mil!" Melanie screeched, angrily eyeing me. "They started play those videos of you fighting the Reds of all people, and I had assumed they had finally got you… It would have been pretty shitty if you died after promising us some work, too."

"I… Wait, you guys are not working for Roman?" I asked as something in Melanie's words didn't really click.

Melanie looked annoyed for a second as Miltia took over. "No, he offered us a job, but we refused. Though, he did give us a rather… interesting proposal that we're considering."

I turned back to the man in question, meeting a fork of food along the way. Chewing furiously before Neo could assault me with more eggs again, I glared at Roman. "Why are you trying to drag them back into crime? They have a pretty good out right now, and I'm fairly sure I can find them work."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, I bet you could, blondie." Roman chuckled despite my face falling. "However, I'm merely going to be paying them. You're the one that's going to be leading them."

My brain short-circuited for a second. "Come again."

"If you're going to refuse to join me, then I'm gonna make sure that the odds are stacked in my favor. Namely, paying for a group of vigilantes to fight off crime, and add a little bit of chaos the Reds aren't expecting."

"That's…" I blinked as I looked at the man. "You can't be serious? You don't care if we go after you?"

"Please, the only one of you four that scare me is Neo, and she isn't going to betray me anytime soon." Roman laughed, pausing to look the multicolored girl for a second. "You're not going to do that, right?"

Neo flipped her hand from side to side in a gesture that could mean anything.

"Fair enough." Roman grunted. "Back to you guys-"

"Hold on, I haven't agreed to anything." I stated firmly, the pain from my movements at the back of my mind now. "I already said I'm not going to be working on your payroll."

Roman looked at me, looked at the twins and flinched as Neo threw a fork at him before locking eyes with me again. "That's why I'm paying them, not you. As in, they are your bodyguards as well as helpers for your little squad of do-gooders… minus Neo. She's definitely going to stab someone, maybe multiple times."

"Then… then what was with this entire conversation if you had already thought over it?" I asked, exasperated with the man already. No argument of me not wanting anyone to join me was getting through. Whether I liked it or not, three people had joined my ranks for reasons that weren't as noble as mine -if you would even call mine noble.

"Well, I am still a little mad about not getting you to not go after me, but I can settle with the controlled chaos you and your new group can do. If you were just by yourself, you definitely would have either ran into a situation that you couldn't win or escape from, or you would have not done enough to really change anything." Roman finished while getting up. He was suited up and happily left me with the sudden declaration that I now had bodyguards in the next moment.

Carefully sitting his bowler hat on his hair, he looked around at the three frankly attractive women that were now all crowded around me, then he shot me a wink. "Thank me later, blondie."

"I am not hap-" I glared over to Neo who was now silently freaking out over the plate being empty. Melanie and Miltia were laughing as they placed the Dust in my kitchen, and began moving around as if they had been well versed in everything in the apartment.

As I chew the frankly delicious food, I found myself slowly including the three tagalongs in my growing set of plans for Vale safety.

Of course, most included explosions. For peace, obviously…