20

Today was just like any other day in the past few months. Wake up, eat, freshen up, exercise/train/spar, eat again, laze around or become a slave, eat again, then sleep. Repeat that for the next day and so on and so forth.

So, imagine my surprise when, during the laze around or become a slave part of my routine, Ruby approached me with a big smile on her face while holding a magazine that had some kind of mechashift weapon on the cover.

"… So, what doth the princess of cookies requires of mineself?" I gave the younger teen a bow, causing her to sputter for a moment. It made me grin, nothing like random bullshit to troll someone for the lulz.

Silence was my company for but a moment, before the young red reaper shook her head and the smile came back with a vengeance. "Jack! Wanna come with me to Vale?"

"Hm? Is this young maiden asking for mine hand for an evening stroll across the city proper? Perhaps it might even be date?" I didn't need to look to know Ruby had an atomic blush creeping across her face. For the record, if we did go on an outing, I would not count it as a date, even if Ruby is already an adult in Remnant standards.

Low population equals drastic measures, I guess.

"Jack! Stop being a meanie!" Ruby's pout was, as usual, near lethal. Chuckling, I got off my still-fat-but-not-as-much-as-before ass and gave the young girl a pat on the head. For some reason, she liked head pats. I don't know if it's anime logic bullshit, but hey, not gonna say no to patting the cute girl on the head.

"Alright, alright. So, why you wanna bring me along to Vale?" Ruby's eyes sparkled for a moment before she brought the magazine she held to my face.

"This! The newest issue for "Mechashift Extraordinaires" is out." Ruby giggled like a schoolgirl. Get it? Schoolgirl? I'll shut up now. "Also, dad asked me to bring you out into Vale. Said something about you not visiting Vale for months."

I winced and Ruby raised an eyebrow at my action.

"Yeah, haven't really been to Vale ever since I started living here." Ruby's jaw nearly touched the floor at my revelation. "Yeah, there were some… complications that happened that brought me here. At least Professor Ozpin was kind enough to ask Taiyang to let me stay here before the entrance exam for Beacon."

"Oh, right. You were also going to enroll at Beacon Academy." I raised an eyebrow when I saw Ruby visibly slump when she heard me say that. Huh, I guess she was sad that it won't be long now before the house gets lonely without Yang and I here.

Not like it'll happen. I'm pretty sure the starting timeline of the show was gonna happen any moment now. It's been nearly nine months, after all.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We'll still keep in touch, and hey, if Yang doesn't return your calls, know that I'll be there to hara- I mean, nudge her to call you, 'kay?" I rubbed her head, causing Ruby to swat my hand away as her hair turned into a mess.

"Hey! I know my hair doesn't take too long to fix but come on!" Ruby growled at me, and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"I know. It's why I like doing it." I laughed some more before I was tackled to the wall when Ruby pounced at me like a growling puppy. Then she began rubbing my hair and making a mess out of it like what I did to her.

"Ha! See! Not so fun, is it!?" Ruby skidded of the floor as she pointed at me with a triumphant grin. Patting my head, I notice that my hair was now all over the place, making me frown.

I conjured some water with my fingertips, making sure that only a few drops were made instead of a glass, then rubbed my palms together. I then ran my hands across my head, making sure the hair was nice and slick, before smoothing out any strand that got too unruly.

A few seconds and voila, my hair was back to how it looked like, albeit a bit wet. Looking at Ruby, she was pouting while she used a comb to force her unruly hair back into place. At least she had good genetics when it came to hair.

Not all people were blessed with silky, smooth hair.

"So, when we going?" I asked the young girl, to which she regained the pep in her step with a bright smile.

"In an hour. Yang's coming too, by the way." I hummed a bit when I heard that Yang was coming too. Was it just me, or was I getting a sense of deja vu?

"Alright. I'll just be getting ready." I waved my goodbyes and headed back to my room.

It didn't take long to head to the second floor and enter my room, and once inside, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my very own room. A desk, a nice gaming rig - Computers were a thing here and were beefy motherfuckers - a gaming chair, a few figurines of the characters from a popular comic series which I was enjoying, a comfy bed, and last but not the least, some training equipment situated around the corner.

The room itself was large - bigger than my old apartment back on Earth - so it was no surprise that most of the stuff I bought with the allowance Taiyang gave me during my stay fit inside.

That said, Taiyang has all but adopted me into the family, just without the documents and familial ties. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just a dude that's living with the family until I get shipped off to Beacon Academy where I'll be living for the next four years.

It was also no secret to the us teenagers/young adults that he vehemently shipped me and Yang, which caused little suffering on fiery brawler's side. Ruby also laughed her ass off the moment she heard that her dad shipped me and Yang, followed by grossing out when both Yang and I decided to tease her by playing the part of a bf and gf.

Never gonna happen again, though. Just imagining the amount of blackmail Taiyang and Qrow got on us was enough to make me shiver.

Speaking of which, Qrow Branwen, in Ruby's words, her kick-ass uncle, also warmed up to me the more we met.

As for how much of it was because of my natural charm and Ozpin's orders, that I didn't know, but at least he wasn't gunning for my death with that scythe of his.

Anyway, a bit of a tangent, I think it's time I got ready for this outing… I swear I'm having some sort of deja vu…

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I stepped of the ramp of the bullhead and my feet touched concrete. Looking around, I saw a lot, and I meant a LOT of people disembarking or embarking on other bullheads. I count at least a dozen bullheads and even more airships standing by for their flights.

I guess with Dust, their airlines are completely different to what I was used to. Not that I didn't expect it, but it was still jaw-dropping seeing this many air vehicles used by customers to travel that aren't airplanes.

I heard a thump behind me, and I turned to look, only to see Yang already getting her bike - Bumblebee, if I recall correctly - ready.

"Yo, big guy. Catch." The blond brawler tossed a helmet to me that I easily caught out of the air. "I'll be dropping you and my sis in downtown where you can do… whatever you two wanna do."

"What about you? Where are you going?" Yang just smirked and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Eh, just some me time." Yang looked at her sister, who was busy staring at the magazine in her hands like it was some work of the Gods. "I love my sis, but sometimes, I just need to get some time to myself, you feel me?"

"Not really, but hey, you do you." I shrugged and tapped on Ruby's shoulder, bringing her out of her worship of the magazine that had more weapon images in it. "Hey, we're about to ride off. Come on."

"Oh, oops. Sorry." Ruby smiled sheepishly and accepted another helmet Yang brought. "Just got a bit distracted."

Nodding, I spot Yang hop on her bike and I followed suit. Grabbing her waist, I still can't believe how soft and supple her skin was even with all the rigorous training she put herself through.

Damned aura, thanks for doing the same to me.

Following me was Ruby, whose tiny arms clung around my waist, and she held on for dear life. I mimicked her and made sure I was securely holding Yang's waist and stuck close.

I know the sight might've been like I was trying to perv on her by sticking close, but that couldn't be far from the truth, because the next moment, the engine roared and the three of us were rushing down the roads so fast, it was a wonder why I didn't scream my ears off.

Oh wait, I was used to it already. Damn you Yang!

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"I really, REALLY don't know why you don't go slow." I relished the feeling of my feet touching the cold, hard ground while Ruby was practically worshiping it like it was the deity amongst deities. "My knees are still shaking!"

"Eh, get used to it, scrub." Yang grinned and I gulped down the urge to sock the brawler in the face. Can't fight now, we're in public. "Anyway, gonna go do my thing now. I'll see you two later tonight. Ruby, be good to your boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" I blinked. Ruby was up from the ground the moment the comment left Yang's mouth. She was also a blushing mess, which kinda made her more adorable.

Yang's only response was to cackle before she zoomed off in a hurry with her bike. Once she was out of sight, Ruby sighed and looked sheepishly at me. "I swear, Yang likes teasing me so much."

"It's because your reactions are funny." Ruby looked unamused with my comment, which further drove in my point. "See? Your face says it all."

"Shut up." Ruby pouted and walked ahead. "Anyway, the shop is nearby. Still can't believe Yang didn't drop me off at the shop."

I followed her while I marveled at the bustling city. This was no massive urban city, but it really felt like one. People just minding their own business, some of the Faunus, while dozens of shops hung their open signs, each of them selling their products.

Cars passed by on the roads, a bunch of them honking horns whenever traffic became an issue. Hell, there was a bus that nearly crashed into a car because said car suddenly stopped in the road.

A bunch of honking was the result. And some insults over open windows, but otherwise, normal city stuff.

It didn't take too long before we finally arrived at our destination, and I had to stop my jaw from dislodging itself from my face as I spot the name of the goddamn store.

From Dust Till Dawn.

Well, shit… High chance today's the day canon begins. Time to meet one of the most beloved characters in the franchise that was thankfully (not really, he dies) saved from the utter dogshit that happens in the future.

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Shameless Plugs:

patreon.com/IAmGuavaFruitFictionHub (no early access chap yet)

discord.gg/v9f5kjsfVv (You should've picked Mercy!)

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Shameless Plugs:

patreon.com/IAmGuavaFruitFictionHub (If you want to read 5 chaps ahead, head on over.)

discord.gg/v9f5kjsfVv (You should've picked Mercy!)