Prerequisites

The Games We Play​

Prerequisites​

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"Dad?" I asked with a raised voice, stepping into my house. "Dad, are you still home?"

"One sec!" I heard sounds of motion and then saw my dad coming down the stairs a moment before his hand was on my head, ruffling my hair, dropping a bag by the door.

"There you are!" He said, grinning widely. "How'd the date go, lady killer?"

"It wasn't a…" I shook my head. "You know what? Whatever."

I looked down at the bag, nudging it with the toe of my shoe.

"Leaving again already?" I asked.

He smiled apologetically.

"Duty calls. Sorry kid; your mom already went ahead to get our rid prepped, but she'll swing by before we have to leave. You can take care of yourself, right?"

"I always do," I said. "Can I talk to you about something before you go?"

"Is it girls?" He asked, wagging his eyebrows. "Because you're right; we should talk about that now. I know I'm usually busy, but—"

"It's important, Dad," I said, not letting myself get distracted even as I felt traces of heat rise in my cheeks.

"Ah," My father said, face becoming serious. Pursing his lips for a moment, he jerked his head towards the dining room and I followed him. When we were both seated, he looked at me with a steady expression. "What's wrong, Jaune?"

I lifted a hand to my lips, wondering where to even start. The beginning, I decided.

"I've been training a lot recently," I said. "Since a bit less than two weeks ago. I didn't really mean to keep it a secret, I just wanted to get a bit stronger before I told you because…"

I could help but look down. We both knew why.

"You've never had anything to prove, Jaune," My Dad said seriously. "Not to me or your mother."

"Yeah, but…I had to prove stuff to myself, you know?" I continued, looking down at my hands on the table. "Ever since…I failed to get into Signal again and again and the others all went off to combat school, but no matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough. And after you gave me Crocea Mors…but I still couldn't…"

I shook my head.

"I tried. You and mom told me I could be anything I wanted, do whatever I wanted, but what I wanted was to be like you and mom, like grandpa and the others. Everyone expected me to become a Hunter, but more than that, I expected it, wanted it. But…I wasn't good at it. At anything I tried. Until two weeks ago."

I tried to gather my thoughts and put them into words.

"I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but…I guess I found my Semblance," I shrugged, still not entirely sure what had happened. "I awakened the rest of my Aura a week or so later, after I figured out how to use it."

Dad's eyebrows went up at that, surprise on his face.

"After you found your Semblance?" He asked.

I nodded.

"After I went to the library, I found a book about it. I don't really know how to describe it without sounding strange but I can do stuff like that; I learn things fast, from books or otherwise, and I recover quickly when I get tired. Recently, I've been training or studying all through the night and I went out every day to train, and…"

I shrugged.

"I know," My father said after the silence lingered. At my look, he gave a half-smile. "Give me some credit, kid; I've known since…I guess it would be after you woke up the rest of your Aura. It's the type of thing that changes you and how you move and, well, you've been leaving it on all the time. Your mother and I had talked about it a few times, but we decided to let you come to us when you were ready. We were going to say something when we noticed you staying up all night, but you were always fine in the morning, so…"

He sighed, smile fading, and I had the feeling there had been more to these talks then he was letting on. Thinking about it, I wasn't even that surprised to hear that they knew, given who they were. I'd always just accepted that my mom knows all and sees all, but she usually didn't bring things up if I didn't want to talk about them unless she thinks she really has to or I do something bad. I hadn't even really been trying to hide it, I just didn't want to bother them about it.

"My Semblance has…well, it's just weird," I admitted. "But it's pretty awesome, too, and it can do all sorts of things. But…I'll tell you about that latter. What I wanted to do is ask you for some advice. About, well, I guess about what I should do about a problem I've been having."

Dad bobbed his head once.

"I, well, I have a friend," I said, before briefly debating with myself and just coming out with it. "Blake, the girl you heard about earlier—and please don't start, Dad, please—asked me for my help and I don't know if I should say yes or not. Because…Dad, have you ever had a friend who wanted to do something that was just stupid?"

He laughed in my face, like I'd just said something hilarious before suppressing it—only to lose control again when he saw my face. I stared at him oddly until he wound down, but even then there was a small smile on his face and mirth in his eyes.

"Sorry about that," He said. "You'll understand later, if you become a Huntsman. But I have some experience along those lines, yeah."

"I'll take your word for it," I said, figuring he was the one with experience—and if he and mom were anything to go by, well… "But Blake's idea, it's stupid. But…I think it may also be the right thing to do and I don't know if there are any better options. And if I don't help…she can't do this without me and other people will suffer if nothing is done."

Eyebrows furrowed, the Arc patriarch looked away, the beginnings of a frown on his lips. He stared at a few of the pictures on the walls, of his old team.

"I know a thing or two about that, too," He said, mirth gone. "Is it dangerous? Something you can go to a teacher or the police about?"

'Or me' went unsaid.

"I don't think the police could do much about this—or even the Hunters. And yeah, it's dangerous," I said. "That's why it's stupid. But I think…I can make it work, maybe. And if I do nothing, it won't stop being dangerous; it'll just be dangerous to other people instead of me. And the more I think about it…"

"The more the thought sickens you," He nodded. "You want to do something. Feel like you have to."

I thought about it and nodded firmly.

"Yeah," I said. "I want to help them. There's so much about it that scares me and makes me want to run away, but I want to help. And I keep thinking maybe, just maybe, I could actually win, if I went all out in my training and try my hardest."

Dad took a deep breath and looked around as if expecting some horrible monster to pop out of the shadows.

"Your mother is going to kill us both…" He sighed before looking back at me with steel in his eyes. "Promise me that if you think you might get hurt, you'll back out. You'll call for help, delay, whatever—but you won't get hurt."

"I intended to do that anyway," I said, even if I was becoming less and less sure about that as time went on. "And Blake and her friends will be there, too. They're strong. Stronger than me. I think if we tested her, she could get into Beacon right now."

"I…God, I don't want to say this, but it'd be hypocritical not to. I made my own father go through this, once, though I was a bit older…" He exhaled through his nose. "Jaune, listen to me. Sometimes, you have to fight even if it's dangerous because the alternative is worse or because you couldn't live with yourself if you didn't. I understand that, believe me—every Hunter understands that, accepts it the moment they really become one. It's a dangerous job but it's one we chose to do. So…I won't tell you not to, even if I want to. If you're doing this to help people, then put your all into it and help them. But there are three things you have to remember at all times, okay? The people who have your back, the home you have to come back to, and the things you need to stay alive to do. Promise me you won't forget those three things, no matter what."

I stared at my Dad's face for a long moment, noting how uncharacteristically solemn his expression was. He was taking this seriously.

So was I.

"I will," I said in the same tone. "I'm going to get everyone out safely and come home and then I'm going to become a Huntsman. I'll keep training hard and when the time comes I'll take the test and enter Beacon and I'm gonna graduate and I'm going to become the best Hunter in the whole world. I will."

"That's my boy," Jacques said, baring his teeth in a smile. "Do you need any help?"

I understood the offer for what it was and glanced back at the bag he'd left in the hall.

"Don't you need to be somewhere?" I asked.

"A murder of Giant Nevermore came in to roost near Mistral and they keep trying to abduct people to feed their young," He said with a shrug. "Your Mom and I are going in for a few weeks to serve as reinforcements, but…we can find someone else if you need."

It'd be a lie to say I wasn't tempted. Like, truly enormously tempted to just tell him 'Yes, Dad, please call off all your plans, including the ones to save countless lives and help me.' But…I hesitated. Part of it was because I knew that those people probably were in great danger and I knew my parents were some of the best equipped to save them. My dad made a flock of titanic Grimm sound like an everyday thing, but…

So part of it was the fact that, much as I wanted to, I couldn't place myself above others, even for something like this.

But, perhaps even more than that…I didn't want to bring my parents into this. If it was…if it was me getting into trouble or making sacrifices, that was one thing, but I couldn't ask that from them. I wasn't worried about them getting hurt, but there were other things that could be taken from them. If I asked them to come—and they would, if I asked them, I knew that much for sure—then if something went wrong, if someone noticed them or something about them…And they were famous, amazing Hunters, way better known than someone like me…

I could be asking them to give up the lives they made for themselves, what they'd worked so hard to create, and the names they made for themselves. I knew this was risky for me as well, but there were things I could do that others can't—and if I was caught, it would just be on me. I couldn't do that to them, even if I wanted their strength on my side. I didn't know if it was smart or wise or whatever, but I couldn't, I wouldn't.

"Ugh," I said. "You want me to bring my parents to a party? How old are you that you think that would be remotely cool?"

"Yeah, I guess I'd cramp your style, huh?" He smiled sadly. He lowered his head to look me in the eye. "I'll hurry home, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "But I'll be back before you."

I'd try to make sure it wasn't a lie.

"I have to get a few more bags," Dad said. "I'll leave you a few things while I'm up there, just in case."

"Thanks," I said, before stopping him as he turned away. "Dad. Just so you know…I'm gonna turn in my homework for the next few weeks tomorrow, because after that, I'll be missing school for a while. I just wanted you to know, so you didn't…"

He sighed.

"Your Mother is gonna kill us…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I'll handle it. When we both get back, will weather the storm together, okay? A man's gotta take responsibility for his actions."

"Deal," I answered. "Good hunting, Dad."

"You too, kiddo," He said. "And be good, okay?"

"I'll give it my best effort," I hedged, smiling as I watched him go.

When he was gone I let out a long, slow breath, closing my eyes for a minute before opening them once more. I'd decided and now I was resolved.

I accepted the quest and the window finally faded from my sight.

Just one more thing to do.

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