Chapter 6 - Making Enemies is Hard

The door shut behind me unceremoniously as I struggled to plant my feet in a way that would assure that I didn't eat by floorboards. My whole body was a bruise, and simply breathing made my everything ache. Every step I took closer to my bed, a shudder of pain wracked my screaming muscles.

I had been expecting some decrease in abilities as I drove out of range of the parasitized Aura, but the sheer magnitude of which it did was something I was wholly unprepared for. Luckily, I was a good enough driver to not get into a crash as my body went into tremors of shock from the pain.

The ribs that I had broken not long ago were once again back in pieces. Blackened bruises dotted my sides along with cuts ranging from small annoyances to deep gashes that I was certain would scar. My inexperience had nearly gotten me killed, too, and a constant, agonizing sting next to my left eye clued me in on the fact that I nearly lost an eye tonight.

I nearly lost an eye…

That thought sobered me up to the horrors of just what had happened, and the lengths of which I went through to end it all. I desperately searched for a distraction to ward my mind off of the spiraling thoughts of terror that plagued me.

My clear blues looked up to find the ruin that was my apartment. Everything was still as broken and out of place as I left it, and I felt a threatening urge to just go and try to fix it. However, my body continued in its one-sided protest, as I eventually made my way to my bathroom that had remained relatively unscathed by the intense firefight a night prior.

Starting up a nice warm bath, I pulled on a nearby, comforting warmth that always was there.

[Liquid contact based accelerated healing. Minor micro-hydrokinesis.]

The familiar sensation of power and knowledge filled my head as I leaned into the bath. My wounds were itching as the power took hold, and the effects replicated themselves over my body. Most of the smallest scratches were already gone by the time that looked over them a second time.

The more painful and deadly wounds, like the large claw-shaped gash in my left arm, were slowly on their way to extensive scar tissue. I rotated my arm in an attempt to figure out if my wounds had hindered it in any way, but, other than the intense pain, there wasn't anything wrong with moving it.

A sigh of relief passed over me as I realized that all my injuries, despite how grisly they seemed, didn't appear to impair me. That, despite my horrible nights, I still would be able to continue to do exactly what brought me into this mess.

Many things were still swirling in the slush that was my thoughts. What exactly was Aura? There were definitely more people with it, but why do they keep it hidden? What other aspects to Aura are there? There was also the fact that nearly everyone who I fought, and had a power, also had Aura.

That meant that I needed to find a way to get this resource as well… And I was already planning on my next act of altruism by trying to get Aura...

"Oum," I bemoaned, feeling the healing waters wrap me in a comfortable embrace. "Why am I like this?"

I already had the answer, though. There was just the feeling of questioning myself outloud that felt natural to me, but, internally, I already knew that no matter how hard I thought about it: Jaune Arc was born to be a hero.

I wanted to do good. I wanted to be like those heroes on the story books. I wanted desperately to leave my mark on this world that was so stained in despair.

Most of all, though, I hoped my parents would be proud in their son.

-x-

Waking up in the morning was something I did purely out of habit. If I didn't get up early, then I would have to prepare my ears for the worry-filled rant that my mom would most assuredly spout. I would be lucky if that only lasted less than a few hours.

That being said, I was no stranger to waking up feeling like something that was close to passing out back to the land of dreams. In fact, I would have preferred to do just that if it wasn't for one particular worry.

There were two warmths in my apartment.

Two very familiar powers called out to me from my living room, and I was forced to wretch myself to some semblance of awareness as falling back asleep now wouldn't be productive for my health. I was in the process of locating both of my weapons when a small head of pink and brown hair poked into my doorway. Mismatched eyes met my own, and the owner gave me the most innocent of smiles before pointing over to my closet.

Sitting on the door was Vengeance, untouched and unmarred. My sword looked as perfect as the last memory of when I cleaned it for the night. Instantly I reached for Neo's power, knowing that this could full well be an illusion.

[Semi-physical glass based illusions. Illusion oriented spacial awareness.]

When nothing showed up in my vision, I admit, I blanked a bit. Here was someone who presumably was an assassin that was out for me. It didn't help anyone's case that the same man who she worked for was currently in my place as well.

Wait, what exactly was he even doing? I felt his power, and noted that it was primarily in my kitchen. However, my kitchen was a mess, and what exactly were those clinking noises every so often?

I didn't ignore Neo either. The dimunitive girl was still watching me from the door, too. A creepy smile was plastered on her face, and I had no idea what inane things could be going on in her head. However, as I got out of bed, I felt that I wanted to know just exactly why these two criminals were in my apartment.

Neo was silent as she happily, or at least as happy as she probably was, skipped out of my bedroom door to my living room, motioning for me to follow. Reluctantly, I left Vengeance back in my room as I noticed that Neo had hung up her weaponized umbrella on a coat rack that stood next to my door. There were also a coat and cane that hung limply on the article.

And my apartment was cleaned.

"What…" I gaped at the sight of what seemed like a completely new apartment.

A couple rugs matted the floor to hide what I knew were broken pieces and bullet holes. There was a new leather couch that took up what was once my lead laden pile of ripped up furniture. All the papers and various bits of destroyed material was gathered neatly into trash bags that sat next to the door, expecting someone to take them out. Even a new and huge television was playing something about a reckless driver in a police chase.

My kitchen was another shock that I could safely say woke me up completely. Shining new countertops replaced my destroyed ones, and my wooden cabinets were refurbished to near perfection from their once shattered remains fit with appliances that looked brand new. Even my once toppled fridge was righted and fixed.

If I didn't see the depressions of bullet holes in the walls, then I would have thought that I had suddenly moved. Still, the extreme makeover, while great, was slightly disconcerting in the fact that I had slept while people I didn't know had worked on my place without my knowledge.

There was also the fact that Roman Torchwick was currently making coffee in a professional looking machine currently sitting on my new counter.

The orange haired man, dressed in a pair of dark slacks and buttoned down shirt, turned my way from his place. His hair was swept away from his green eyes, and a bowler hat clung snugly to his head. He smiled wryly at me.

"Hey do you like your coffee, kid?" He asked, completely at ease inside my own home.

"What are you doing here?" I answered back. There wasn't really a fight that was about to happen, and I quite liked when my apartment wasn't used as a battle ground. As such, I decided that I needed to handle this diplomatically.

Or as diplomatic as you can get with a miniature assassin and a narcissistic kleptomaniac.

He didn't even flinch at my question, and just returned to the whirring coffee maker. "You seem to be a cappuccino guy, but I have been known to be wrong before. Specifically with you, kid. You've been nothing but surprises… And, quite frankly, I don't really like surprises."

I tensed at his words, anad nearly threw a punch as he set down a cup of steaming liquid in front of me. It was a cappuccino. Honestly, I was kind of thrown off out of everything that was going on as the master thief pulled up a chair and sat down, gesturing to a similar one nearby.

"Look, kid, no hard feelings about all this." Roman started, holding his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know Junior's boys through and through. They're wonderful henchmen when you just need some extra hands to carry your spoils, but when dealing with delicate procedures…" He waved a hand around my new apartment. "They can get a little… overzealous."

I frowned at his words. "You did this." I accused.

"I did." Roman nodded with a complacent smile. "It's the least I could do for a partner in crime."

"What?" I stumbled a bit as my brain tried to comprehend what I just heard. "No, um, what?"

Roman didn't seem to care much for my confusion, and just pulled out a remote before pointing it at the television and turning the volume up. "See that, kid." He pointed to the oddly familiar high speed chase being highlighted on the news. "That was gold right there. Impressive work for some do gooder like yourself, but that's not really why I'm here. Its why Neo's here, but don't bother with her."

I digested his words, turning to face the girl who had gotten bored and was now bouncing on the couch. She smiled my way, pointing at the cars on the television and making gestures for explosions. I really didn't want to know what she meant.

Turning my attention back to the thief in my apartment, I realized that he wanted something. From the time he tried to rope Junior into dragging me by force, and now where he placidly talked to me. All of his gestures were nonthreatening. That meant that he wanted me for something, but had only realized that I wouldn't be as easy to bend as he first thought.

Fixing my apartment, making coffee, being nice and not carrying their weapons. All of this was a front for what he really wanted. I wasn't some kid anymore; these past few days had matured me enough to understand that there was some sort of power play at work here, and if I let him take control of the conversation, I might even lose out on what was even going on.

As such, I finally took my seat across from him, a countertop between us. "What do you want, Roman?" I asked as seriously as possible.

The change in my attitude seemed to strike a few generous cords with the man. His smile widened into something less mischievous and his eyes glinted within the lights. "There's the backbone I expected from you. Tell me, blondie -can I call you blondie?" I shook my head as a clear denial. "Alright well, Blondie, what do you think you're going to do with Junior's territory that you have just commandeered?"

I blinked, unsure. "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"Of course you didn't know." Roman laughed. "Look, say I just went and made one of the major gangs leave town, and did that in one night no less, what do you think everyone else would do? The very same gangs that have sunk their corruption into the once innocent councils of Vale. The very same people who have killed just to keep their purposeless thrones. Their greed and pride for holding their positions since the last great war eighty or so years ago has only stained them in stagnancy, and you have just uprooted one of linchpins that hold up Vale's criminal underworld. What would they do?"

Internally, I gulped heavily from the grandiose speech before me. I was thrown off foot from his words, and I felt that maybe I had done something that I wasn't supposed to. "Uh, wouldn't they fear you?" I asked apprehensively.

Roman nodded slightly. "Right, they would fear you, but they would also test you." Before I could ask, he already had an answer ready. "It'll start small. Minor inconveniences here and there to check if you will actually uphold any order on the territory you took. Then, when you don't act, they'll escalate. Soon it'll be robberies, drive-bys, pushing schemes where they send their grunts onto the free land and, before you know it, they'll just assimilate your territory as their own."

My features twisted with understanding. What he was saying was logical progression, but that only pertained to me if I wanted to be a gang. Even beginning to consider his words would just mean that I was trying to stake my own claim on the city of Vale.

I wasn't some two-bit criminal, too.

"I think you're mistaken, Roman." I applied emphasis to his name. He was making a power play by coming to my own living quarters; saying that they know who I am and where I live. While I didn't have the same leverage, I still had the threat of explosive escalation as evidenced by last night. Roman was here genially because he couldn't get to me otherwise. "I don't own Junior's territory, nor do I have any want for it. You said it yourself, he's done. I'm not going to play king of the hill with these criminals either, so you can find someone else to look into."

Roman pursed his lips in thought. My words definitely put him off his scheme to rope me in on whatever he planned, but I had no idea how he would respond. Instinctively, I reached to find Rouge's power somewhere in my range only to pale as I noticed that he was nowhere to be found within two kilometers of me.

This was… while not good, not as horrible as it could be. Fighting was out when I thought about it. These two, based on my own luck, probably had Aura, and the training to make those twins from last night look like chumps.

'Yeah,' I thought to myself. 'A nonviolent resolution is definitely the best option.'

Still, to be safe, I pulled on Roman's power just in case the situation turned bad.

[Escape oriented path recognition. Enhanced dexterity.]

I was beginning to recognize that most powers that had a mental aspect to it were rather powerful in their own right. Rouge's own precognition was something out of fantasy with how it utilized the opponent's own tells to plot their future actions in real time.

Roman's own power worked on similar wavelengths. It effectively brought all known information about the environment, enemies, allies and possible weapons, and put all that through a complex process of figuring out the best ways to run away. Like how it was currently telling me that I had a chance of running by simply saying that I wanted nothing to do with Neo or him.

It was as odd as Rouge's power as it simply told me what I needed to do to accomplish my desired goal so long as that goal pertained to a set limitation. All in all, it let me know that neither Roman nor Neo had any intention to stop me should I try to run.

So, out of all the bad ideas I've had these past hectic days, I decided to listen to a dangerous criminal against my better judgement.

Roman also picked the perfect time to respond as I had just gotten my thoughts together. "Right, I keep forgetting you're a goodie goodie." He scowled like those words were sour on his tongue. "Fine, fine, let's get down to it; you're not going to budge based on your weird moral agenda. I have a need for you as you have technically demolished my working partner."

"I refuse." I answered immediately.

"Look, kid, I get that you're a badass who can handle himself, but taking down Junior is much different than say taking down the Union." Roman countered like he knew exactly what I was going to say. "Neo and I here tracked you down easily, and so did Junior. Let it be said that he's not known for being the best at finding people despite his work as an informant. However, he found you, and easily, might I add. It barely took a few minutes to find you, and everything about you."

I really didn't like where he was going. "What are you getting at?" I asked, my voice now much quieter than I thought.

"I have taken the time and energy to get a guy I know encrypt your information on the CCT signals as a gesture of goodwill. An encryption that I can extend in the hopes that I can get your assistance in matters pertaining to the territory that you have suddenly acquired." Roman started, drawing up a series numbers on his Scroll. Most of them were in the six digits. "I'm not going to lie, you taking out Junior from the equation really didn't help me. Sending him half brutalized with him a supposed death threat to Vacuo, while amusing, only hurts my own image. So I have a proposition for you that I know will soothe your heroic bone."

I didn't really know what to say. The fact that Junior was traumatized from my visit was only second to the fact that he had somehow escaped, but that more important matter was that I was considering Roman's words. It might be because he took the time to protect my identity, but I resigned myself to listen to the rest of his offer as I waved for him to continue.

"Wonderful," the man cheered in monotone. "I want the territory you're most certainly not going to use, and I want a sort of truce between us. I can give you information on the whereabouts of certain gangs in the Vale that are as unsavory as they are unneeded. You get to nab the perps, and I get to finally take a piece of the cake for myself. A win-win, don't you think?"

"I…" I thought about it. The whole thing was a good offer, and I really needed to get more in the way of information other than looking us different news articles. However, doing this would inadvertently make it so that I was firmly tied to a villain. "Refuse." So I had no other choice than to continue on my own.

The master thief looked at me for a second before heaving a sigh. "I see." He said, standing up. I tensed as he moved, but relaxed as the older man made no move to attack. "I like to think of myself as a gentleman, so don't worry about me involving your family in anything. The rest of the gangs, however…" He didn't need to finish as he looked at me seriously. We both knew the unneeded answer. "With your showing of how you handle things, I am a little reluctant to not get a truce out of you, but I get that you're really not going to budge on the matter. Let me tell you this, kid, there are plenty of monsters out there that fighting alone will just be suicide."

He walked over to the coat rack next to the door, slung his white jacket on and hung the handle of his cane on his forearm. Tipping his hat he smiled again. "Try not to blow up my place, and I'll do the same for you, kid. As a criminal like myself, I'm also obligated to say that should I see you again I'll be trying to brain you with my cane."

I blanked at the nonchalant threat that he just included on his words, and paused as I found Neo staring at me from the doorway. Her umbrella was also laying placidly on her shoulder, and a Scroll was dancing in her hands. She fiddled with it for a few seconds before tossing it to me.

Fumbling with the tossed piece of technology, I finally stabilized it only to find the two of them shutting the door without another word. I looked down to the Scroll and noticed that it had a very familiar broken screen. A note's file was open with the words 'I like your driving.' and a number scrawled in it.

'Nope!' I instantly thought, closing the file, and realized that I just spent my morning talking with two dangerous criminals about whether I would join them.

I leaned back in my fancy repaired apartment, feeling the soreness from yesterday catch up with how exhausted I felt currently. My arm placed itself over my tired eyes as I sighed aloud.

"Great… can this get any weirder?" I asked, hoping that I didn't jinx myself.

When no one answered to my rhetorical question I stood up and stretched. I still needed to look into whatever Aura was, and maybe look into those lessons that Rouge had offered before.

Flipping through my phone I found the contacts of both Yatsuhashi and Velvet, the two Beacon prospects that I had met before. A thought came to me as I remembered getting out matched by those twins form before. It was a lightbulb moment as I realized that maybe they wouldn't be adverse to helping me out.

"But first." I said to my empty place, and carefully took the the now cold cappuccino in my hands. There was only a couple seconds of hesitation as to whether Roman would have poisoned it or not. Then I had down the delicious drink the next second.

The man may wear what I knew was eyeliner, but he makes a great drink.