"When I was a kid, I asked God for a bike, but I know he don't work that way. So I stole a bike, and asked for his forgiveness." ~ Frank Costello.
"Are you absolutely sure about this Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked me as I spoke to him the next day over the burner phone I had hidden in the electrical outlet.
"Perhaps if I had been told this a couple months ago I would have had my doubts," I explained to him sitting in my little apartment pouring myself a glass of Glengoolie. I was determined to finish the bottle before I had to leave all of this behind. Booze and tobacco would probably be better left behind instead of following me back to Beacon so I might as well enjoy it while I could. "But after everything I have done sir I believe him, if Toshi was told to stay away from dust then that means he's staying away from dust."
"Are you certain that this rule applies to all of Junior's captains and their soldiers?" He asked me, clearly disappointed to learn that everything we had been working towards had been for nothing. He wasn't willing to just let it go.
"Even if that was true and Junior was secretly running dust then there's no way they'd let an associate like myself in on the secret," I explained to him. "I don't really think that I can get closer and learn more from where I am."
Ozpin sighed over the line clearly seeing my point. I had risen as far as I possibly could within the Clan and there was no way that I could get closer with my standing. "I was sure that the Clan was somehow involved… those thugs that Ruby fought the night I met her certainly belonged to the Clan."
"I'm telling you that was an isolated incident," I assured him. "After those guys got pinched Junior didn't want to have anything to do with dust."
Ozpin was very quiet after that. I could practically hear him thinking over his mug of coffee over the phone. I didn't know what there really was to think about, he miscalculated and my mission was a bust. It wasn't my fault, I felt like I had done everything he had wanted me to do and much more, but he put me in the wrong place. You win some and you lose some, that should have been the end of this.
"So what's the plan for me to get out of here?" I asked him, deciding that we should talk about my next move before he came up with another hair brained scheme to spy on the city's organized crime syndicates.
"What do you mean?" Ozpin asked me, confused by my question.
"My mission is over," I told him. "Since the Clan is who you sent me to investigate and they have nothing to do with the spike in dust robberies I figured there should be no reason for me to stick around, and I was thinking you could also help me get team CRDL out of here as well, since I am their boss and disappearing wouldn't look very good for them."
"Mr. Arc... you have come too far to throw in the towel now," Ozpin told me plainly.
I felt my heart drop and I almost choked on my whiskey. "You can't be serious!?" I coughed into the scroll. "Did you not hear what I've been telling you Professor? Junior isn't in the dust business, he's forbidden it. I can't very well change that."
"Mr. Arc, you have performed exemplary in this mission I have assigned you. I had hoped that just by behaving as a criminal you could have found your way into assisting the robberies but you have done far more than that. You have made a name for yourself with the Clan and you have developed numerous criminal connections, it would be a waste to throw that all away right now." He explained to me.
Flattered as I was by his praise I still had no idea what he could have wanted me to do. "So what? I'm not going to be able to convince Junior to change his mind."
"No," Ozpin agreed. "But you might be able to make your own way into the dust heists. If you could start stealing and selling dust yourself you could begin learning the connections yourself and inform me what you learn."
"Are you fucking crazy!?" I asked him louder than I should have. "What part of forbidden don't you understand!? If I start stealing dust and sell it then my ass is going to be on the line! Junior will kill me!"
"Please Mr. Arc there's no need for vulgarities," Ozpin said dismissively, he always hated it when I cursed. "I know I am asking you to take a risk here but I have confidence that you can do this. You have already outperformed my expectations. Huntsmen take risks and face dangers every day and this is no different."
"I am not a huntsman," I told him. The words had a strange but bitter truth to them.
"No, but you have the makings of one Mr. Arc and you are in a position to help me and this city immensely. Whatever that dust is being stolen for it cannot be for any good, it's dangerous and I need to know what all of it is for."
I sighed. This was what I wanted, wasn't it? I came to this city, to Beacon Academy, because I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors and make a difference. I wanted to become tough and brave and I felt like running away would have betrayed all of that. And I had gone a lot further than I had even expected, I could maybe take it to another level.
"Russel knows a couple of unaffiliated fences around town," I told him trying to think about what I could possibly do if I had found myself with dust. "If I got some dust I could maybe sell it off to them and see if they can play middle man for selling it off to Roman's guys."
"That's good thinking Mr. Arc," Ozpin praised. "If they're acquainted with Russel then you could use him and the rest of Team CRDL to play in between and keep your hands clean of this. If Junior and the Clan get any idea on what is happening then they can seem like the responsible party."
"You want me to use CRDL as patsys?" I asked him, surprised that he was suggesting that I try something so devious and underhanded.
"No no no," Ozpin assured me, "I am simply saying that they can be useful to you in keeping your distance from these affairs that Junior has forbidden."
"I don't know," I said, feeling like he was still describing a patsy. For someone that isn't a mobster Ozpin could certainly think a lot like one when he wants to.
"Mr. Arc, it seems that you still think of Mr. Winchester and his friends as Beacon students. You even still refer to them by their team name CRDL. But remember, they were expelled from my academy for hurting a student, your former partner Miss Nikos to be more precise. And when they found themselves cast from Beacon they sought employment with criminals." He explained to me. "Do not confuse them with yourself Mr. Arc, they did not come here to fulfill a mission. They became criminals, and like any criminal you encounter in this mission they are either a potential threat to you or an asset to be utilized. Do you understand?"
"I understand," I told him, seeing his point but still not liking it. I was still more than a little tense with Cardin because of our history but I had begun to warm up to the rest of his team. They were almost like my crew. But I supposed using them to keep my distance was in fact the safe thing to do.
"So let's say I can use these guys Russel knows to move dust, I still need to get a hold of some dust, a lot of it to be honest," I said to him not knowing the first thing about stealing dust. "Should I just buy a ski mask and hold up a shop?" I asked realizing that if I wasn't careful I could rob a store that was under Roman's or Junior's protection.
"I was thinking you might need something a little more than a simple dust shop," Ozpin explained to me. "Many of the shops have already been robbed so I think it would be better if you stole it from the source itself."
"The source?" I asked him dubiously.
"The Schnee Dust Company is what I mean Mr. Arc, I know for a fact that many of their shipments have gone missing and I see no reason why you can't capitalize on the trend." He said to me. "I have my sources and can find out some specific information on the shipments being shipped out of the city."
"That could work, it would be a lot easier to ambush a truck on the highway than rob a store in the middle of the city," I mused aloud trying to work with the idea.
"Give me a day and I'll get some information on the trucks shipping out of the city." Ozpin promised me.
"Alright… but for the record I still have a really bad feeling about this," I told him, accepting that I still had a ways to go before this was truly over.
Ozpin chuckled and it didn't make me feel better. "You should know Mr. Arc, there is no record of what we're doing."
I hung up and went about the rest of my day with an uneasy feeling in my gut. I told CRDL that I was going to be getting a job lined up and gave Russel a grocery list of supplies for what we could need and the money to get it. I wanted to keep things non lethal so I asked him to get some shotguns for everyone and some rock salt shells. I told him not to go buy the weapons from Kaiu and that made him give me a funny look but he obeyed me all the same without any other questions.
Ozpin somehow managed to send me information on some scheduled SDC trucks leaving the city. I don't know how he got a hold of the information but it gave me everything from what roads they'd be traveling down to what kind of security they had with them. I knew to expect one driver and three Atlesian 130 model knights. I knew just how much dust to expect and what kind I would find. All I had to do was plan and execute getting it.
Several days later I drove out with a couple of vans and found a spot for the ambush. We hid the vans in the road and we waited in the woods. Sky climbed up and settled into a tree with Feather's Edge, it could function as a sniper rifle and while it certainly didn't pack the same kind of punch as Crescent Rose, Sky assured me that it would put a hole through the engine block all the same.
"So uh… what's with this job dude?" Cardin asked me as we watched and waited for the truck to arrive in the van.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, while I snubbed out another cigarette.
"I mean… why dust all of a sudden?" He asked me.
"It's hot stuff right now," I explained to him. "Have you not read the news? The prices for dust have been skyrocketing."
"Because other people have been stealing it," Cardin said, keeping his eye trained down the dark road. "I'm just a little worried that we could step on some toes and that we might be getting into something that we're not ready for."
"Just trust me," I told him. "If I'm going to go far then I'm gonna have to make some risky moves in this business, I can't play it completely safe."
"Nothing about this business is safe," Cardin told me. "It's risk on top of risk."
I sighed in frustration. I hated that of all people Cardin was the one that was voicing doubts I myself was having. It pissed me off to be honest.
"Do you want your fucking cut or not!?" I snapped at him. "Because if you think dust is too much for you then you can sit this out on the bench. I'm sure that me and the rest of your team can handle the driver and drones just fine, and I'm sure they'd appreciate me dividing your share between them."
"Woah... dude-." Cardin stammered at me , a little taken about by my outburst.
"Boss!" I corrected him like an asshole. I didn't feel very well like having Cardin get familiar with me. It was bad enough with our tense history, the fact that I was going to be setting him and his team up to take a fall for me if things went sour made me want to keep him and his team at arms length.
"I'm sorry... boss," Cardin said. "I just know how hot this kind of stuff is at the moment and I have a bad feeling."
That made two of us. But I didn't tell him that.
"But don't worry, my friends are in so I'm in," Cardin told me. "Besides I could really use the cash right now."
I still had no idea how Cardin managed to end up in debt. It was not something he was willing to explain to me but I worried that he could be getting himself indebted to a loan shark all over again. Cardin certainly wasn't using what money I paid him on nice suits or gold bling, and since he wasn't an associate he wasn't allowed to invest in the neighborhood like I was.
"What do you need the money for?" I asked him.
"It's personal," Cardin said as if that was enough.
"Personal how?" I asked him. If he did get into debt again then it could be bad for me. He had sold out Michail for a chance to settle his debts and the last thing I wanted was for anyone else to have any leverage over him.
"Just… personal," he said dissmissivly. "It's no big deal, besides it's my fucking money."
I opened my mouth so I could tell him to just spit it out. But my scroll buzzed on the dashboard in front of me and I saw a text from Sky.
I see the truck. It read simply.
Stop it! I texted back my order deciding that this little discussion with Cardin could wait. It was time to put everything in motion.
"Russel… it's time," Cardin said calling his other teammates who waited in the second van. Cardin and I both pulled down our ski masks and waited to see the truck come into view. I spotted it coming down the road illuminating the dark highway with its bright headlights.
I heard the crack of Feather's Edge above our heads as Dove fired. I couldn't see if anything hit from my position but I watched as the truck swerved awkwardly. I heard another shot and saw the driver hit the brakes and slow.
I put the van into gear and stepped on the gas to pull out right in front of the truck. Black oil bubbled out from two holes in the hood of the truck, Sky had aimed well. Russel drove the second van and flanked the truck by the rear. Cardin was the first to step out of the van with his shotgun raised. The driver stepped out with a submachine gun and opened fire on him. Cardin fired back with his shotgun but the rock salt stuck harmlessly against his aura.
The driver wasn't supposed to be armed, and he wasn't supposed to have aura. Already something had gone wrong.
I got out of the van grabbing a sword. I had Russell get me for this job. I was supposed to handle the Atlesian knight that was going to sit up front in the passenger seat but instead of a lifeless automaton it was another guy with a pistol.
Fuck! I drew a short straight bladed ninjatō from its scabbard and rushed for him as he opened fire. I may have been getting accustomed to using guns in this life but I was still used to using a blade and I didn't want to be shooting lead when the driver was supposed to be auraless and a civilian. I figured a sharp blade would have been enough against one Atlesian knight, but it wasn't a drone I charged with that sword.
I closed the distance as the gun fired right into my aura several times. I swung my blade at him and he tried to block me with his weapon. He grabbed my wrist and slammed me into the side of the truck before raising his handgun right to my face.
The weapon shattered into a thousand metal pieces and I heard the crack of Feather's Edge echo through the forest a second later. The guy was dumbstruck and I used the opening Sky gave me to push him off and deliver several quick slashes against his aura. He wasn't going to go down that easily, and accepting a strike managed to deliver a punch right to my chest. It knocked me back and I saw that this guy had a pair of brass knuckles clutched in his fists.
I raised my blade only for him to catch and shatter the cheap little blade with his weapons and deliver an uppercut right to me. I again fell against the truck as he gave me several more strikes that battered down my aura.
Then I watched as Executioner crashed into the guy and sent him flying as his aura shattered away into light.
"Are you alright?" Cardin asked me to offer me a hand up.
"I'm fine," I said, pulling myself up and ignoring his hand. "Did you take care of the other guy?" I asked him to look around.
"Yeah he;s down," Cardin said, moving to the back of the truck where Russel and Dove were. "He'll have a hell of a headache but he's alive."
"Boss?" Dove asked. "Didn't you tell us to expect some drones back here?"
"Because there's nothing back here but dust," Russel told me.
That was strange. Ozpin's information had said to expect three Knights but instead we got two guys with aura. This was starting to stink more and more but I wasn't going to wait around and ponder what was happening. "What, are you complaining that it's too easy?" I said harshly looking into the back so see the various crates and canisters of dust and crystals and ammunition. "Get this shit into the van now! Double time!"
We rushed as we got the crates of dust out and loaded into the two vans. Sky kept an eye on the road in case any cars tried showing up but thankfully we were able to get the vans loaded up in several minutes before we took off down the road taking a few back roads to get onto another highway going back into the city.
"I thought it was just supposed to be a simple driver and a few Knights," Cardin said, pulling off his ski mask.
"My intel was bad," I said bitterly. I wondered for a second if maybe Ozpin had screwed me over but I quickly banished the thought. I couldn't see any logic in him giving me bad information. Besides he had given me a whole list of trucks for me to hijack and had no idea which one I was going to choose. But mistake or not none of this boded well. "Maybe the SDC changed the security arrangements at the last minute and hired a couple of huntsmen."
"I don't know about that," Sky interjected, he had climbed into my van. "Those guys may have had aura but their weapons and training certainly wasn't anything that would have gotten them through an academy."
"SDC security?" I suggested, seeing Sky's logic.
"They weren't wearing any uniforms," Cardin said. "And the back of that truck certainly had enough room for a couple of Knights."
"I don't know," I said, speaking honestly. "Whatever happened we have the dust now and we'll all get a hefty stack of lien."
"Are we doing this again?" Cardin asked me, lighting a cigarette.
"We will if I can figure out what the fuck went wrong," I assured him. I wasn't so keen on doing this again after things went wrong. "I'm not going to tolerate screw ups like this again."
"Speaking of how things went sour…" Cardin said carefully. "You really need to learn to fight better boss."
I looked over at Cardin as we traversed the dark and abandoned dirt roads. "I kicked your ass didn't I?" I reminded him, I was defensive towards Cardin. I didn't want him thinking that he was tough shit like back in Beacon.
"You did," Cardin agreed bitterly. "But only because you got the drop on me with a stun grenade and a shotgun full of fancy dust rounds."
"Not to mention those twins," Sky added in.
"Exactly… you can certainly fight boss... but you're not exactly better than you were at Beacon. You can fight dirty and that's good, but dirty tricks aren't always going to work, and there might be a time where you don't have your muscle with you or it's not going to be enough." Cardin said to me. "What I'm trying to say is… maybe you should try training again… maybe I can help."
"We already go to Kaiu's for some range practice once a week, adding in an hour or two of training time wouldn't be hard. Hell I'll help and I'm sure the rest of the team would be willing to lend a hand to you." Sky said to me.
I saw his point. So far I had been getting by with my limited combat experience with some tricks and the fact that so many of my opponents didn't even have aura to protect them from me. "I'll take it under advisement, maybe Dove can teach me a thing or two about wielding a sword."
"Cardin can certainly teach you a thing or two about hand to hand combat," Sky suggested. "You could certainly learn a thing or two about that."
I looked over at Cardin. I knew he could certainly deliver a punch but I had never thought of him as much of a hand to hand fighter. "I think I'll ask the twins to teach me hand to hand fighting," I suggested, I didn't really care much for the idea of having Cardin as a teacher, and even thought I was sure that Melanie and Miltia would demand an expensive date or something for the favor it was much more preferable to me than working with Cardin.
"If you want to learn a bunch of fancy Mistrali moves fine," Sky said. "But I've seen you throw a punch boss, you fight like a boxer and Cardin can work with what you already know, he used to-."
"Dude!" Cardin hissed to his teammate.
Sky bit his tongue and sat back into his seat. "Nevermind."
I had no idea what Cardin didn't want Sky to mention but I was more concerned with the road and with how things had already gone south tonight to try prying. Cardin had things he wanted to keep from me and as much as I didn't like that I knew that pressing him wouldn't give me any favors.
Most of the drive back was quiet as we only listened to the radio. It took us several hours to get back to the city and to the old industrial district full of abandoned factories and decrepit buildings. Russel thankfully had arranged to meet that fence of his tonight so we were able to stow the vans as Russel called his old contacts to show as arranged.
I stayed inside the old condemned building as Russel and the rest of CRDL waited with the vans to make the sale. Every minute I had that dust was a minute I wanted to be rid of the stuff. I was paranoid as all hell that I'd get caught with it or that Russel's contact would feed a tip to the cops or something. It was agony.
But sure enough I watched as a couple of cars drove up and got out. I watched as Russel and the others shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. I kept my hand on my gun in case these guys decided they didn't want to pay for the merchandise. But sure enough I watched as they handed over the cash and Russel handed over the keys to the vans.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief that it was over and went down so we could all go home. All of us piled into Cardin's car.
"Are you sure you don't want to meet Knuckles?" Russel asked me from the rear seat as we drove through the city streets.
"Not yet," I said to him, wanting nothing more than to go home and enjoy a shower and a stiff drink before bed. "I want to make sure I can trust him before I meet him and discuss future business. Why do they call him Knuckles anyways?"
"He's always popping his knuckles," Russel explained showing me how easy it was to get a nickname in this business. I felt lucky being called Gentleman. "And trust me he's cool, I used to boost cars with him back in the day."
"You know him Russ," I told him firmly. "I don't… I just want to be careful handling stuff as hot as dust at the moment."
"So you leave us to do that dirty work for you?" Dove asked me dryly.
"Dove!" Cardin growled.
"Hey, it's true! If there was something wrong with this guy It'd be the four of us on the line." He said ignoring Cardin's rebuke.
"That's what I pay you guys for!" I told him knowing full well that he was right about me directing the crosshairs to them. "And that's why all of you are getting an extra five percent for this job."
"We are?" Cardin asked, seeming to instantly sound a bit happier at the promise of a larger cut.
"You are," I assured him, "and Russel is getting an additional five on top of that for having a buyer to go to."
"Why are we going to an independent buyer?" Cardin asked. "I'm sure the Clan would help you sell this stuff at top dollar, hell I'm sure Kaiu would bid for a lot of these dust rounds we just sold off."
"I don't want to involve the Clan in this," I told them. "Dust is hot and I don't want to bring any heat to the Clan." It was almost the truth, it was certainly why Junior didn't want the Clan getting involved with Dust so I was going to keep it as far away from Junior as I possibly could.
"Wow thanks," Russel said. "You know if Knuckles isn't to your fancy I know a few guys from the old neighborhood who might be willing to offload some stolen goods for us. They're not as connected as Knuckles but I bet some scores like this one would certainly expand things."
"I'll keep that in mind," I told Russel.
I hated that this wasn't going to be a one night affair and that indeed I might have to make further connections. But this was how I was going to make my way into the racket, it was slow but hopefully safe. With a few more smooth sales I was hoping that I could indeed get acquainted and learn more about who they were selling the dust too. I knew that the Torchwick family was naturally stealing tons of dust themselves but I was hoping that I could make my own avenue to whoever they were selling it to.
I got home and slept uneasy before waking up and calling Ozpin to tell him that the details about the truck's security had been bogus, but he was just confused about that as I was. I was pretty pissed about the whole affair so I made him promise me that he would try to find out what went wrong and that he would get it right next time.
I spent the rest of my day trying to get rid of this bad feeling that stuck to me. And as I found out that night I was right to have that ominous feeling clinging to me like shit to a shovel.
As the sun was setting and I was getting ready to go out to a club with Toshi my scroll buzzed on my coffee table and I saw that Junior was calling me.
"Hello Junior," I greeted him.
"Jaune… come over to the club," Junior told me, his tone was serious.
I could tell that something was off just by the way he talked to me. "Is something wrong?" I asked him, trying to sound as calm and cool as I could.
"Just come over and I'll explain everything to you," Junior told me and hung up.
I finished dressing and texted Toshi to hit up the club without me. I drove to the Club feeling nothing but dread the entire drive over there. Part of me wanted to make a u-turn and drive right to the Bullhead station and go to Beacon. But running would only look bad and I knew that if I looked guilty then Junior could arrange for a whole mess of people to find me.
The club wasn't even open yet but they let me in easily enough and I headed right for Junior's office.
I stepped in and saw that a whole mess of people were already waiting there. Junior sat behind his desk sitting and in front of him was O-Ushi. But more surprisingly I saw that Neo was also there along with Roman Torchwick himself.
"Thank you for coming Mr. Arc," Junior said motioning to a chair so that I might sit.
"No problem," I said, moving to the chair and looking over at Roman who seemed quite relaxed in his seat. "What's this all about?" I asked, hesitant to sit down.
"Don Torchwick has an issue," Junior said motioning to him.
Roman laughed. "Junior my old friend, you don't need to sound so serious you're scaring him. I am sure this is nothing more than an unfortunate misunderstanding."
"I hope it is," Junior said motioning for me to sit down for a second time.
I did so and Roman offered me his hand to take. I looked from his hand and to Neo who sat quietly behind her boss. I shook his hand respectfully. "I am honored to officially meet you Don Torchwick."
Roman cracked a sly grin. "The honor is all mine Gentleman."
Releasing his hand I looked over to Junior. "So… what's the problem?"
"Last night a couple of my boys got jumped on the south highway," Roman explained, taking out a cigar and offering me one. I accepted already knowing what was wrong the second he mentioned the south highway.
I felt like I was having my last smoke as he lit my cigar.
"The cargo they had… procured was taken and they were left stranded in the woods. And earlier today, to my surprise I found that very plundered cargo with the same marked crates and everything being offered to me at a discount by some two bit street hood." Roman continued on with an amused chuckle.
I had stolen from Roman fucking Torchwick. I thought I was going to watch Neo draw her blade from Hush any minute. It took every bit of willpower I had to continue listening and smoke that cigar.
"Naturally I wasn't going to pay for what was rightfully mine and proceeded to liberate my goods from these hoods and asked them where they had gotten it. They mentioned their sources and I managed to find them easily enough and asking around I learned that they work for you Mr. Arc." Roman said, actually sounding entertained with this little story.
"And that's why we are here right now Gentleman," Junior said, folding his hand on his desk.
"Where are my guys?" I asked him after taking a long puff of the cigar to contemplate my next words.
"They're here," Junior said to me, "Roman was gracious enough to hand them over and they'll be here any minute."
I nodded to that. At least they weren't dead.
Junior fixed me with a hard stare. "Jaune… you do understand how serious this is. I forbid anyone within the Clan to trade in dust, do you know that?"
"I do," I told Junior. Faking ignorance wouldn't do me any good. Toshi knew that I knew his stance on dust and asking him was all Junior would need to do to find out. I didn't expect Toshi to lie to Junior on my behalf, it would have been unfair to expect him to.
"And what's more this has interfered with Roman's business. This is a very serious matter, you understand?" Junior continued on.
I nodded and heard the doors open. I watched as a handful of Junior's wiseguys parraded CRDL inside. They were alive but it was clean that when Roman's guys took them they were not exactly gentle. All of them were bruised up from a beating.
I stood up and faced them as they were put onto their knees. "What now?" I asked Junior looking at all of them.
"Mr. Winchester here told me that the whole thing was his idea," Junior explained, standing up from his chair and moving to the tower beside me.
"Since they work for you I convinced Junior to let you decide how they should be punished." O-Ushi explained to me, speaking for the first time since I arrived.
I looked at Cardin. I hadn't expected him to try taking the fall for me. I had set them up so that they'd be the ones to get caught and if they squealed then it would be my word against theirs and my word meant a lot more to the Clan. I hadn't expected them all to stay tight lipped, or for Cardin to try to shoulder the blame.
I stepped forward and looked down at all of them. "I'm sorry," I said looking into their eyes.
I turned back to Junior and looked him square in the eyes. "Cardin isn't to blame here Junior, I am… I ordered them to rob that truck."
Junior's gaze hardened on me. I half expected him to storm my way and give me one hell of a beatdown, or just shoot me where I stood. Instead he just asked me one question.
"Why?" he said evenly.
I shrugged, "I was hoping to make some quick money," I lied. "I've been wanting to start my own legal business and I thought that dust would be a good way to make some fast cash to get it started."
I bowed low to Junior, prostrating myself to him and his authority. "I accept full punishment and responsibility for my actions," I told him, staring at the red carpet beneath me. "Just… don't look to put any punishment or blame on my crew, they had no idea you had forbidden the Clan in dealing in dust and they only were listening to me."
"Junior!" O-Ushi exclaimed only to have him raise his hand and silence her as I held my bow to him.
Roman chuckled a bit and stood up. "Well my old friend I think I should leave this for you to short out." He said moving and taking Junior's hand to shake in farewell. "And don't worry about this, I got my dust back and this matter has been kept quiet, so it's no harm."
Roman leaned forward and spoke low so that only Junior could hear him. I didn't know what was being said but I couldn't help but feel that it was about me.
Roman left and I looked over to see Neo giving me a look. She wore an amused smirk almost as if she found my predicament amusing like Roman did. But she also had a weary look in her eyes. It was strange how a simple look from her could be so split, like her eyes.
"Up!" Junior told me and I straightened immediately. Junior looked behind me to Cardin and the rest of my crew. "The four of you can leave, have some drinks on me."
"Yes sir," Cardin said, giving me a look before leaving with the rest of his team.
It was only after they were all gone and it was the three of us left that Junior sat back down behind his desk and told me to sit. I obeyed and returned to that leather chair.
"Shatei-Gashira!" O-Ushi said standing and giving Junior a bow. "Please allow me to take full responsibility for the actions of my associate! I assure you that he will be thoroughly punished for this transgression." She looked over at me with eyes full of anger and I felt my blood freeze under her gaze. "I see now that I have been far too encouraging and lenient with my associate, and I want to assure you that I will correct his attitude. And befitting my role in this I will accept any and all punishment you have for me as well."
I swallowed. O-Ushi was being held accountable for my actions. I felt like such an asshole for bringing her into this and dragging me down with me. O-Ushi had been nothing but good for me, and my damn mission had pulled her into trouble with the Clan. I hated myself for that.
"Junior!?" I started to protest but one angry look from Junior silenced me. Talking out of turn was very dangerous right now.
Junior looked back to O-Ushi. "I'll let you decide how you want to punish Mr. Arc," Junior said to her. "But what do you think should be done about your shortcomings O-Ushi?"
O-Ushi gave Junior a hard look. "I want this to be forgotten," she said seriously.
I watched as Junior's eyes widened at her proposal. "Are you serious O-Ushi?" He asked her in a grave tone.
"I have given you fifteen years of service to the Clan Junior and I never once have had a mark of shame, and I will not carry one now." She said, clearly determined to make Junior see how much she wanted to make this right.
Junior still held his serious rigid posture but I saw sympathy in his eyes. "You know what you're suggesting right?" He asked her.
"Yubitsume," O-Ushi said, showing that she understood exactly what she was asking for.
I was horrified. Yubitsume was finger shortening. I had already met a few wiseguys who had removed the digits of their pinky and ring fingers as a show of sincere apology. It was a brutal and ancient practice that was far older than the Kuroi Kuma Clan. It was practiced by Mistrali samurai, as they surrendered their digits their grip on their sword hilts became weaker and they became more and more dependent on their feudal lords. But as brutal as it was, it meant that whatever offense had been made it was forgotten. I couldn't believe that O-Ushi was going to do that, and all because I fucked up and broke the rules.
"No!" I protested. I knew I was already on thin ice and talking out of turn was far from smart but I couldn't let O-Ushi do this because of my mistake. She had done so much for me since I came here and I would be damned if I just sat back and let her do this. "Please Junior-."
"Silence!" O-Ushi roared at me.
I ignored her. If I quieted right now then this whole situation would slip out of my hands. "Don't hold O-Ushi responsible for my greed, she had nothing to do with this and she doesn't deserve to be punished. Let me-."
O-Ushi's fist came up in an uppercut. The blow sent me stumbling back and over the chair to the floor. My head was spinning and I saw stars in my vision and tasted blood in my mouth from biting the inside of my cheek. "Shut the fuck up!" O-Ushi growled dangerously to me.
I stood up and looked at Junior and swallowed the blood in my mouth. "Let me accept O-Ushi's punishment on her behalf," I finished.
O-Ushi raised her fist to deck me again. "Stop!" Junior ordered raising a hand.
She obeyed and restrained herself from knocking me across the room with that powerful fist of her's. But her gaze was hard and cold as it stayed trained on me.
I stared at Junior as he studied me standing before him. "Go on." he ordered me calmly.
I bowed to show that I was grateful to speak. "I was the one that was selfish and greedy and it would be an injustice to let O-Ushi accept any punishment."
"O-Ushi is responsible for you," Junior explained to me. "Your successes and failures are shared with her, and this is too serious to be forgiven without a price."
I could see that Junior had regret in his eyes as I stood before him. I could see that he hated seeing me like this. But Junior was tied with traditions that held the Clan together. And even though he might have hated those traditions at the moment it was what gave Junior and the Clan it's power. This wasn't something that could just be forgiven and forgotten.
I bowed. I wasn't going to ask him to ignore the rules, just bend them. "I know that, which is why I want to see this transgression erased. Please let me accept O-Ushi's punishment, let me perform yubitsume in her place." I begged him. I was terrified to ask for this, but I wouldn't just let this happen for me. I couldn't.
Junior looked to me and then to O-Ushi who seemed stunned at my suggestion. It was highly irregular to say the least but I could see Junior contemplating it. "Do you know what you are asking Mr. Arc?"
I held up my left hand and raised my pinky for him to see how serious I was. "This was my fuck up Junior, not Cardin's, not O-Ushi's, mine! And if that means I got to give you a finger or a pound of flesh then so be it. Because I'm not going to sit back and let others take responsibility for what I did."
I really wished I had Ozpin here to offer his own pinky in this deal. But no one was coming to take responsibility for his fuck up.
Junior stared at me for a very long time considering me and O-Ushi both. Eventually he reached into his desk and pulled out a tanto in an ornate lacquered scabbard which he laid out on his desk. He didn't need to say anything else.
"Shatei-Gashira!" O-Ushi said in protest.
"Sit down," Junior calmly ordered her. "He wants to make this right then and I am willing to let him. He could have laid the blame on his friends and let us give them a slap on the wrist. He says he wants to prove his sincerity and I believe him."
Junior looked back at me seriously. "Don't make a mess."
I stepped forward and pulled a pocket square from my breast pocket and set it on the table before picking up the blade and pulling it from the wooden scabbard. I stared at the waves on the steel before I set my pinky on the silk cloth and set the edge of the blade on the first digit of my finger.
I prepared my aura to dull the incoming pain and looked back up to Junior so I wouldn't have to watch as I applied pressure to the blade. Even with focusing my aura to help with the pain it hurt like nothing I had felt before. The sharp blade had cleaved the digit off easily enough in one single clean cut. Tears streamed down my eyes and I focused my aura to close the small wound on my pinky before folding the bit of silk up with my severed digit. Just looking at this piece of my bloody and severed pinky made me nauseous and want to throw up. But I presented it to Junior with both hands. He looked at it and accepted it and thus accepted my formal apology.
Junior looked almost heartbroken as he looked at the severed finger I had presented to him on a blood soaked pocket square. "Leave," he told us and both O-Ushi and I obeyed stepping out to leave his office. We walked across the main floor of the club and I looked over to the bar seeing Cardin and his friends drinking. As they watched me leaving they gulped down the rest of their drinks and followed the two of us.
The club was just starting to open and people were starting to trickle in and towards the bar and dance floor as we all left stepping out into the cool night where a long line of people waited to get inside. As soon as we were out O-Ushi turned to face me and cracked her fist across my face.
I went stumbling back and I heard a number of the people waiting in line gasp in surprise at the sudden violence only to have the bouncers tell them that there was nothing for them to see. I was on the ground looking up at this woman with her fist raised.
Cardin and Russel looked to be and then to O-Ushi and for a second I was worried that they'd raise their fists to her to defend me. "It's alright!" I told the four of them.
"Hey don't do that here!" One of the bouncers told her. "These people don't need to see this O-Ushi, it's bad for business, keep it out of sight."
"Alley!" O-Ushi said pointing to an alley and I obeyed, I picked myself up and walked to it knowing that I was about to get the beating of a lifetime. Cardin and the rest followed me to watch.
O-Ushi pulled her jacket off and handed it to Sky before rolling up her sleeves exposing her muscular tattooed arms. "Don't even think about activating your aura." She said before sending her fist right into my face breaking my nose.
I stumbled back but managed to keep myself standing as she sent another blow right into my stomach. I doubled over and she brought her elbow down on the back of my skull sending me down to the wet ground.
"You think this would just go away if you gave up a digit!?" O-Ushi roared at me as I groaned in pain upon the ground.
"No" I wheezed. "I just… I wanted to make this right."
"Then you shouldn't have fucked up!" She growled. "Get up!"
I pulled myself to my feet and looked right into her blue eyes. "I know… I should have known better than to break the rules."
A right hook sent me back down to the ground. "You think this is because you broke the rules!? That was what you gave a finger for! This is different!" She said, grabbing me by my jacket and ripping it as she slammed me against the wall. "This is because you need a lesson about keeping that fucking ambition of yours in check."
I took several more punches to my face before she let me collapse into a pile of garbage. "You got talent Jaune, you have only been here a handful of months and look at you. You can go far in this life Gent, but you're burning too bright and now you did something reckless. You're lucky that Junior and Roman like you, because if they didn't I'd be dropping you in the harbor with a pair of cement shoes right now."
She kicked me several times in my ribs. The pointed toes of her flats were particularly painful. She stopped and I looked up and into her eyes seeing regret and worry. "You can't afford to be reckless in this business Jaune!" She pointed out of the alley. "Those people out there working their simple nine to five jobs, they can afford to be reckless! We cannot!"
She looked truly sad looking down at me. "Kid," she said protectively, she hadn't called me kid since I got the nickname Gentleman, no one had called me kid since then. "I'm proud to see you burning bright but if you keep being reckless then you're going to get yourself killed, and I've seen plenty of talented wiseguys in my day end up dead. I've been to too many funerals, kid, if you're not careful then I'm going to be attending yours."
I nodded to her to show her that I understood.
"I expect to see every dime of that dust money on my desk tomorrow," she told me seriously.
"You'll have it," I promised her.
"Good… I'll see you tomorrow," she said, taking her jacket from Sky and looking to Cardin. "Take him home," she ordered him.
"Yes ma'am," Cardin said, moving to me and helping me stand.
"We'll get that money for you," Russel assured me, "I haven't spent a cent."
"No," I said to him, "I got enough money so I'll handle it myself," I assured him and the rest of them watching as O-Ushi walked away leaving my crew to take care of me and help me limp back to my car. Cardin helped me into the passenger seat and drove me home. I told him that with everything that had happened I was lucky, we all were.
The whole drive back I stared at the little nub that had once been the tip of my pinky finger. It still felt like it was still there, even those it wasn't.
I got back and slept, letting my aura heal me from the beating O-Ushi had given me. I gave her the money and I watched as she threw it into a burn can just to make a point to me. I continued on with the rest of my week and I didn't report anything back to Ozpin.
I hated the idea of speaking to him again. Just thinking about him made my blood boil.