G.N. Chapter 32 (Patreon)

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Chapter 32 M.B.E

Hinata Kutsuki was an attractive woman; Arslan knew this the same way she knew the sky was blue and the grass was green. She had two functioning eyes, and even if she turned a blind eye to it, she could see it in the eyes of those who saw her master.

Hinata Kutsuki stood at a respectable 5’8 and had beautiful, smooth alabaster skin that gave her an enchanting visage. Her eyes are a warm burnt orange and glowed with life and energy, giving a glimpse of her exuberant nature. Her hair was a deep, deep shade of blue, so much so that you could mistake it at first glance, and she wore it free and wild, the length cascading down to her mid back like a wave of coloured ink.

Her body was that of a Huntress, beautiful and deadly. Her body was strength and speed, trained to move and kill to fight and survive. But despite this supposed harshness, she boasted a femininity that none could question. From her beautiful visage to her explosive curves, specifically her chest, none could doubt that Hinata Kutsuki was a mesmerising sight.

A fact made all the more apparent by her being in a bikini.

But despite her beauty, there was a strength to her that Arslan found far more captivating. For example, Hinata bore a couple of scars on her body, but the one everyone noticed first was drawn right across the bridge of her nose. A pale white slash across her delicate-looking skin that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of her features. It never failed to capture the eye as soon as you saw it.

Arslan knew a facial scar would put some off.

Hinata Kutsuki wore it like a beauty mark, and from Arslan’s observation, it did little to nothing to dissuade her many admirers. Though sometimes Arslan wished it would if only to spare her the many questions she was showered with nearly every day.

Teenagers suck.

Just as Arslan recognised the attractiveness of her own master, she could also not deny that her sister was easily a match for her.

Hellebore Arc was as stunning as her sister; Arslan was honestly beginning to feel slightly irritated that all the Kutsuki could be so damn attractive. Even Himiko, despite her age, was still considered by most to be a natural beauty, the elder Kutsuki not even having the common courtesy to look her age.

But where Hinata and Himiko shared a scarily similar physical resemblance, Hellebore was another matter altogether.

Hinata was not a short woman and was quite a bit taller than her mother, who was a more mundane 5’4. Hellebore Arc was 6’2 and made even some of the men she walked near appear short in comparison.

Hellebore was not bulky; she was like the numerous statues that decorated western Mistral. The word that Arslan thought fit her the best was sculpted, her body a masterpiece that any Huntress should aspire to. She also sported more scars than her master, the warm, tawny tan nature of her skin making the pale raised flesh easily stand out. Arslan saw scars originating from stabs, cuts, bullet holes and even beastly scratches that painted a picture of a woman who knew how to endure.

Then there was her appeal as a woman, and Arslan was made to pity whatever poor women had to compete with Hellebore Arc. The woman’s tall frame was matched by equally impressive curves that had Arslan wondering if she would ever be comparable. Hinata may have had the larger chest, but Hellebore’s hourglass figure was alluring without even trying.

Her long black hair was much like her mother’s, but Arslan noted that while they were of similar length and colour, Hellebore had longer bangs that framed her face, while Himiko kept her bangs short and instead tended to rest two lengths over her shoulders.

Arslan wondered if this was because of her greying hair.

Just thinking of the elder Kutsuki had Arslan remembering the cool stares that had been present at this morning's exhibition. Arslan hated the awkward lunch she had been dragged into and would notlike a repeat performance. A glance at her master showed that her worries were her own as Hinata happily marched across the sand.

“Um, master?” Arslan spoke up.

“Yeah,” Hinata spoke, not breaking her stride.

“Are you sure that your sister is going to want us around? She seemed unhappy this morning,” Arslan asked, doing her best to be delicate.

“No idea,” was Hinata’s swift response as she continued to approach the Arcs.

“Ah, shouldn’t we maybe ask then?”

“Good idea.”

“I me- wait, really?” Arslan startled.

“Yep, in fact, I will do it right now,” Hinata informed her student, stopping at the edge of the island of towels that was the Arcs. It was like a rainbow had thrown up on the beach with towels of all colours strewn over each other, forming a colourful section removed from the sand.

Hellebore was already standing at the edge of it facing them.

Arslan tried hard not to flinch but failed; she discovered that Hellebore Arc was just as capable of giving a cutting look as her mother.

“Heya, sis,” Hinata greeted cheerfully, “Hey Cloud!” She waved at the giant of a man who was currently lying at the opposite end of the towel island, his two youngest daughters in front of him.

“Hey there, Hinata,” Cloud greeted pleasantly, holding a bucket for his daughters to shovel sand into. “Decided to ditch work?”

“Hardly it’s a half day, but the morning was blocked out for your son’s match, so it’s a free day,” Hinata explained quietly, waving at the baby twins, one of whom was looking at them curiously. Arslan looked up at her master with surprise as this was news to her. She just figured Hinata was doing whatever she wanted again.

“Oh nice,” Cloud nodded.

“Why are you here, sister,” Hella finally spoke up, her calm tone demanding attention.

Hinata met her sister's gaze, her smile shifting to something gentle as she replied, “To spend time with my family, of course.”

“Oh… no alternative motives then,” Hellebore drawled her tone, gaining a sarcastic quirk.

Hinata shook her head, “Hardly nee-chan; I am being quite up front that I want to learn more about my nephew and nieces.”

“He’s on vacation Hinata; he didn’t come here to be harangued by you and mother, dammit,” Hella whispered fiercely.

Arslan was ready to bolt at this point. She sure as hell wasn’t getting pulled into the middle of this drama a second time.

“Hey,” another voice piped up, Arslan’s head turning to face the oldest Arc girls. “Jaune is more than capable of telling someone to bugger off, you know.”

“Scarlett-“

“Plus, you’re frightening Aunties tag along again. Haven’t we traumatised her enough yet?” the topless girl asked, giving Arslan a warm smile. “Hey, I know we’ve already met and whatnot, but for the sake of moving forward, you wanna start fresh?”

Arslan had never been so grateful. ‘I could kiss this woman,’ Arslan thought, overwhelmed with relief to the point that she had to resist jumping for joy.

“Yes, please,” Arslan practically begged, her whole body slumping as her tension was yanked away.

“Great!” The older girl celebrated quickly, putting her top back on properly before hopping off her towel. She extended a finely manicured hand with a welcoming smile, “Well, I am Scarlett, the eldest, and these two are Lapis and Lazuli.”

Arslan happily accepted the hand, giving it a polite shake, grateful for an ordinary greeting, “Hello, I’m Arslan Altan; it is nice to meet you… all of you,” Arslan finished waving at the two tiny twins, one of whom got shy and the other who clenched and unclenched her hand to wave back.

“I like your swimsuit,” Scarlett complemented, “it looks terrific on you,” Scarlett continued, the girl leaning about to examine the attire on Arslan’s frame.

It was at this point that Arslan realised just how tall Scarlett was. She was nearly as tall as her mother, and now that Arslan was up close, she realised that put her at quite a disadvantage. She was only thirteen and, as such, still had a lot of growing to do (she hoped), but Scarlett was an adult woman of considerable height.

Not to mention, she took after her aunt with her choice of swimwear, the black two-piece not so small as to be immodest, but it definitely showed off a lot of the Arc girl's ‘charm’.

Charm that was being quite literally shoved in Arslan’s face.

“T-thanks, my mast- I mean, your aunt got it for me,” Arslan explained.

“Doesn’t she look awesome! I just had to get it for her when I found out she didn’t have anything to go swimming in,” Hinata jumped into the conversation, her excited energy back in full.

“I didn’t?”

“Nope, and I checked everywhere,” Hinata explained with a half shrug.

“Oh damn, I- … you went through my clothes again!” Arslan finally caught on whipping around to her master, her expression one of frustration.

“That’s beside the point; who doesn’t bring a swimsuit to an island surrounded by the sea,” Hinata admonished her student, “you got to think about these things, my student.”

“Master!”

“Alright, sister, enough teasing the poor girl,” Hellebore’s calm voice cut in as the tall woman stepped forward. Arslan was quickly presented with another hand as the Arc matriarch looked down to meet her gaze, “In the spirit of fresh starts, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Hellebore Arc, Scarlett’s mother and sister of your master.”

Arslan almost bowed on instinct before she caught herself and instead grasped the amazons hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Your sister is a good teacher.”

“Mm, is she now?” Hella pondered, her eyes dancing over to her sister.

“Oi don’t corrupt my student,” Hinata jumped in, though her expression was that of teasing.

Arslan took this chance to observe the mysterious Hellebore up close, her eyes darting to the woman’s swimsuit that was much like hers. While Arslan’s swimsuit was olive green, not unlike her eyes, Hellebore’s was a deep black akin to her hair. Where Arslan’s was decorated with gilded tiger stripes on her sides, Hella’s was accented by a deep maroon or perhaps burgundy, a colour that meshed well with the deep orange of her sarong.

‘Oh, a sarong, do I want a sarong?’ Arslan thought, looking down at her legs that were exposed. She didn’t mind the one piece; it was likely the lesser evil, considering the teasing nature of her master on her worst days, but she still felt a touch out of place.

Arslan was shaken from her thoughts as a tall shadow and a deep voice appeared beside her. Cloud quickly handed the twins to their mother, Hinata instantly staring at the two with wide eyes. “Hey there, I’m Cloud, your master’s brother-in-law and… sorry about lunch the other day; you didn’t deserve to get pulled into all that mess.”

“O-oh! Right, no bother, sir!” Arslan startled, having to step back to meet the man's eye, quickly grabbing his hand but noting that his own engulfed hers entirely. “It, um-“

“You don’t gotta be nice about. If I were in your place, I would be pissed,” Cloud explained, giving a half-cocked smile, his blue eyes exuding earnest energy.

“Ah… yeah, it wasn’t the best,” Arslan admitted, taking her hand from the large man's grasp.

Cloud nodded, “You handled it well; for what it's worth, you are good under pressure.”

“Thank you,” Arslan accepted the compliment.

“Oh, this is great! My precious little student is getting along with my sis and her brood.”

“Brood?” Hella mumbled, her voice tinged by offence.

“Look at their little ‘fingies’,” Hinata cooed, quickly changing the subject as she fussed over the adorable baby Arcs not meeting her sister's gaze.

“Hm.”

Arslan stifled a smile at the affronted look that had crossed Hellebore’s face at her family being referred to as a brood.

“Hey, hey… what’s up over here?” A new voice jumped into the mix as another Arc daughter walked over.

“Aunty and her student are joining us for our beach day,” Scarlett explained quickly to the only Arc, who was normal-sized.

For that reason alone, Arslan already liked this particular Arc girl.

“Oh, cool! Hey, I’m Saphron,” the older girl quickly greeted, offering her hand.

“It's nice to meet you; I’m Arslan.”

“Cool, know how to play volleyball?” Saphron asked, nodding back to gesture at a rectangle she had been making in the sand with sticks she had been gathering.

Arslan’s eye widened as she had been curious about what Saphron had been doing since, even before her master roped her in. “Oh, that’s a court… um, I guess I know like a little bit,” Arslan uttered, thinking back over what she knew of the sport.

Admittedly, not much.

“Eh, that’s okay; it will be nice just to have another person to play with,” Saphron encouraged, “we need more normal types to play with rather than Jaune and the Aura duo over here,” Saphron muttered, shooting a pointed look at her father.

“Saphy, it happened once, and it was years ago,” Cloud complained.

“It was my birthday, and it was my brand new ball, and you spiked that thing so hard it cracked the damn ground!” Saphron scolded her father.

“… was’n accident,” Cloud mumbled quietly, slumping a little.

Arslan watched Scarlett giggling and whispered something about ‘not being able to have nice things,’ which had the towering man slumping even lower. Arslan took the chance to examine Saphron more closely, comparing the girl to her sister.

Saphron was relatively short compared to the rest of her family, and it stood out a lot, but there were other differences as well. For one, Saphron seemed to prefer shorter hair, unlike her mother and older sister. Though, just like Scarlett, her hair was also wavy, unlike Hella’s, which was straight.

Then, there was the more… noticeable difference between the two besides their height. Scarlett had a figure reminiscent of her mother, and Arslan wasn’t referring to their near-equal height. The tall blonde was a curvy beauty that would undoubtedly draw many an eye; Arslan had already seen proof of the fact.

Saphron was nowhere near as curvy as her much taller sister, but Arslan did make sure to check out her butt like the boys from before did.

She wouldn’t consider herself an expert on the matter, but Saphron’s was certainly firmer, with the girl having muscular thighs and a tight stomach. It was a decent showing of physical fitness for someone who wasn’t a Huntsman in training.

Arslan also spared some thought for the older girl's swimsuit; hers was a two-piece set with a top that looked much more secure than Scarlett’s and shorts that hugged her thighs tightly. They were primarily orange but had white highlights resembling racing stripes.

‘Oh, shorts; I should wear a pair next time I wear this,’ Arslan thought happily, wondering if she could put the request in with her master since she already seemed so eager to buy her things to wear.

Scarlett turned to address Arslan again, “Since you’re going around doing the whole fresh start thing, we'd better grab the last two, huh.”

Arslan didn’t even have time to respond before Saphron had turned her head and hollered loud enough for the whole beach to hear. “Jaune! Grab the girls and get over here!”

Arslan swallowed as a chill raced down her spine, her earlier excitement from this morning meshing with the nervousness of meeting the boy again. Then she remembered her last sight of him, his face bloodied by the one solitary hit that had landed on him as he held aloft a fourth year with a broken face.

Her last sight had been his eyes, cool and blue, looking down at the limp teen with complete disinterest.

Arslan quickly looked about, for what she didn’t know, but stopped when she spotted Hellebore Arc looking at her with a curious gaze. She didn’t squeak.

She didn’t.

The sound of sand crunching beneath someone’s feet alerted her to the approach of the tall boy currently rampaging through her thoughts. Arslan hurriedly turned around, not wanting to look weird. Her eyes quickly found the pale boy as he reached their small island of towels.

He had two of his sisters secured under each of his arms.

“I grabbed them,” Jaune said to his older sister as way of greeting.

“I can see that,” Saphron snorted.

“Can we get down now?”

“Jaune, she wasn’t being literal,” Jade admonished her older brother.

“Yes, I was; good job, Jaune,” Saphron quickly confirmed, undercutting her sister's argument entirely with a devilish grin.

“Ah, good,” Jaune smiled, lips turning upwards faintly.

“Jaune,” Hellebore called, getting everyone’s attention, not just her son, “my sister and her student will be joining us for the day… is that okay with you?”

“You can also put the girls down,” Cloud added after the fact.

Jaune quickly complied with his father’s words, placing Jade and Sky on the floor with ease. Arslan noted the two weighed nothing to him. When the boy stood back up, Arslan was once more the focus of his attention for a moment. She did her best to meet his eyes. They were the same shade as his siblings, but…

… But they weren’t at the same time.

Though she was only under his gaze for the briefest of moments, it felt far longer. When his eyes darted to his aunt, Arslan tried to hide her annoyance that her heart had sped up in her chest.

‘Weird,’ she thought, touching her chest to feel the thrumming beneath her fingers.

“Should there be a reason I would not be okay with it?” Jaune asked, his gaze finally hopping to his mother.

“No, Jaune, your mother is just trying to be considerate towards your feelings,” Hinata answered honestly.

“Oh,” the boy uttered softly. Then his smile reappeared, the slight upturn of his lips accompanied by a shrug, “then I think it’s great.”

Arslan could literally hear her master’s giddiness as she rushed forward, throwing herself against her nephew, who was considerably taller than her. But despite this, Hinata still knocked the boy over, clearly not regulating her strength.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she rapidly fired out while latched onto the poor boy. “You are my favourite nephew in the whole world.”

“He’s your only nephew,” Hella chimed in.

“Hush, let me have this!” Hinata shot back, still holding Jaune, who was trapped beneath her.

“Sister, let go of my child… now,” Hella ordered.

“Fine!” Hinata complained dramatically, hopping off the only Arc son with ease. Jaune remained laid out on his back, eyes wide as if stunned. “Oh, by the way, Jaune, you have kinda already met before, but apparently, we are doing a fresh start type thing, so allow me to do introductions!”

Next thing Arslan knew, she was pressed flush to her master's side, making direct eye contact with the lying Arc. “Jaune, my favourite nephew-“

“Only.”

“- this is my precious, darling student Arslan. Ain’t she cute!” Hinata cheered.

Arslan now understood the phrase ‘die of embarrassment’ but steeled her nerve as she wanted to make a good first impression. “Hi… umm, I like your shorts.”

Hearing her own words as they left her mouth, Arslan decided that first impressions were stupid, and she would have very much appreciated the world ending at that exact moment.

She would never have guessed that this was the exact right thing to say as Jaune’s smile, despite not changing size, now seemed to light up his whole face. “Thanks, my sister bought them for me.”

Arslan blinked, “O-oh… Um, they’re very, ah, pink! They’re very pink,” Arslan nodded.

Jaune sat up, looking at them, “Yes. Yes, they are,” Jaune nodded, rising back to his full height, his smile still present. Arslan smiled back, clueless about how she had stumbled through that greeting but glad that it had evidently been so successful.

Had Arslan looked over her shoulder, she would have seen the most absurd expression on her master’s face as Hinata looked at her with wide eyes filled to the brim with eager excitement while her lips spread into a plotting smirk.

Though Arslan missed her look, it was not missed by Jade, who gave her Aunt a knowing look before she stepped forward and offered her hand to Arslan. “I’m Jade, the daughter directly after Jaune,” Jade said as an introduction.

Arslan nodded appreciably, shaking her hand with a firm grip, noting the girl's nails had splashes of colour trapped under them. “Arslan.”

Jade was dressed similarly to Saphron; only her top was black, while her lower half was adorned in a pair of bright, white shorts that hung to her knees. At least, this is what Arslan assumed their colour to be, their original colour, that is.

They were covered in streaks, droplets and smears of paint in various colours, making the original colour challenging to ascertain.

“And I am Sky!” the last Arc girl cheered, latching onto Arslan’s side unexpectedly, the little girl giving her an earnest hug. “Wanna be friends?” the girl enquired, looking up with a beaming smile, looking particularly cute as she was dressed in a blue one-piece with frills and white polka dots.

“Umm,” Arslan panicked, looking around for help, but once more, getting caught up as she saw Jaune’s soft smile directed at the little girl latched to her side. “S-sure...” Arslan stuttered, her brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle out this strange feeling she was experiencing.

“Great!” Sky cheered, “Let’s go play,” the girl bellowed, running off but not before grabbing Jade by the hand and dragging her older sister behind her.

“Yeah… she’s the friendly sort,” Scarlett explained to Arslan with a shrug.

“Right, we have a whole beach here to enjoy; let's get to it!” Hellebore commanded, earning an extra enthusiastic cheer from Saphron, who hurried after Jade and Sky.

While sticking close to Hinata, Arslan watched as the Arcs enjoyed the beach with great interest. Saphron was making a pretty spot on Volleyball court, even going through the steps of levelling out the sand. Hella and Cloud watched over Lapis and Lazuli as the girls shuffled out into the surf for the first time, erupting into giggles as the water skirted over their feet.

Scarlett was doing exactly as she was before, though Arslan also noticed she was reading a book while she basked in the sun.

Jaune was the most curious to her; she wondered what a fighter as skilled as he was would do for fun on the beach.

Digging, Jaune was digging in the sand with his sisters, his bright pink shorts partially buried in the sand. Sky was running back and forth between the tide and the hole with a bucket gathering water, and Jade was barking orders like a worksite foreman.

This did a lot to confuse Arslan, as she couldn’t understand why someone as talented as Jaune would find such an act engaging.

“You should ask him,” Hinata said out of the blue.

“W-what?” Arslan startled, whipping about to stare wide-eyed at her master.

“To hang out, I mean,” Hinata continued with a smile that was all cunning.

“O-oh… um, ok, you sure?” Arslan double checked.

“Of course, nothing wrong with being friendly, plus it might be good for you to have at least one friend in your age group.”

“I have friends!”

“… Sure, ok, I believe you; now go play,” Hinata instructed, waving her hand dismissively.

Arslan wandered off, shooting her master a frown as she did so. ‘I have friends,’ she thought adamantly as she approached the blond boy in bright pink shorts.

Hinata just continued to smile broadly, the beginnings of a plan falling into place.

“You are playing a dangerous game there, aunty,” Scarlett spoke up from her place on her towel, shooting her aunt a half-lidded side-eye.

Hinata huffed, “Don’t know what you mean.”

“Mmhm,” Scarlett hummed, continuing to read her book but shooting her brother the occasional glace.

Hinata wondered what her niece meant by her warning. Her nephew seemed a bit socially awkward, and she knew that Arslan would rather train than hang out with people, so this seemed like a win-win.

Hinata shook off her doubt.

Arslan was growing up; it was about time she learned to be around others in her age group. And if something more happened… Hinata internally squealed at how cute that would be.

‘What could go wrong?’ she thought sarcastically, confident in her plan.

YVYVYVYVY

“So… why are we digging?” Arslan asked though she did not stray from the task at hand. Jaune looked up to glance at the girl, finding her olive-green eyes looking at him expectantly. However, it was Jade who answered.

“We want the better sand from down below for the structure, and the pit will help us mix in the water as the castle gets bigger,” the younger girl explained, already beginning to shape sand to her design.

“… Yes, but why?” Arslan questioned further, still perturbed.

“Because I want the castle to look good,” Jade shrugged.

“No, I meant, why are we building… a sandcastle?” Arslan finished feeling a little juvenile as she thought sandcastles were for kids.

“Well, for a few reasons, really,” Jade began, pausing as Sky skipped over, tipping a bucket of water into an indent next to their construction area.  “That’s good, Sky. One more bucket, then you need to mix it again,” Jade instructed.

“Ok!”

“Now, what was I saying… oh yeah, well, firstly because it's fun,” Jade stated as if digging holes and building sandcastles were the epitome of fun. “Secondly, because Sky wanted to,” this reason got a nod from Jaune.

He knew little about building sandcastles but would help where possible if that’s what his sister wanted.

“And lastly… well, I wanted to work on my sculpting; I’ve been doing a lot of drawing and design work lately, and I wanted a change of pace,” Jade reasoned.

“Sculpting…” Arslan mumbled, still digging but trying to make the connection between sandcastles and sculpting.

“Trust the process,” Jade encouraged the older girl.

“Jade is a talented artist,” Jaune spoke up finally, his words making Jade smile, “I have little doubt this will be an impressive sandcastle.”

Arslan glanced between the two siblings, her brow furrowing again. “Do… do you find this act fun?”

Jade paused in her shaping of the wet sand to look over her shoulder, “Oh yeah… I haven’t done this in a while. Brings back fond memories of Jaune escorting me around the park back home to gather materials for the sand pit.”

“Escort? Where you in danger?” Arslan wondered aloud.

“Oh no, but try telling this big lug that,” Jade teased, shoulder-bumping her brother.

Jaune let out a soft huff that Arslan concluded was likely his laughter, “I would be a poor big brother not to keep you safe, Jade.”

“Mum and Dad were like one shout away,” Jade scoffed, brushing her hands off and leaning back as Sky tipped more water into her area.

“Mm.”

Arslan watched as the dialogue came to a close before she spoke again, “Um, and you Jaune?”

“Pardon?”

“Do-… Do you find this fun?” Arslan enquired.

“… Yes,” Jaune answered after a brief moment to consider the question. “Though I do not find the actual act of building the sandcastle to be fun, it is rather the spending time with my sisters that I enjoy… I don’t mind the digging, though.”

“Ah, I see,” Arslan smiled, happy the polite young man answered her question.

Sky chose this moment to ask her own question, “What’s fun about digging a hole?” This earned a shrug from the tall blond boy who continued to dig, the hole now so deep that Arslan had to bend down to reach the bottom.

“That’s silly,” Sky declared, crawling over to look at the hole curiously. “It's deep!”

“Yes, careful,” Jaune cautioned.

Arslan looked at Sky; despite being a couple of years younger, the girl was the same size as Jade. Despite this, their age difference was noticeable; Jade had a bit more maturity about her, whereas Sky-“

“Whoa!”

Jaune’s arm whipped around to pluck the young girl away from the edge, the boy not even looking up from his work. “I warned you.”

“That’s not my fault! The sand crumbled,” Sky exclaimed, though she did sit a bit back from the hole when Jaune released her.

“Sky, come help me mix up the sand,” Jade directed her sister to the mushy, wet sand she was forming into different shapes atop an already sturdy-looking triangle base.

Arslan would admit it looked respectably solid.

“What are you building, sister?” Jaune asked, his voice genuinely curious as he paused in his digging.

“The Trisidium,” Jade announced her words, making Jaune let slip his soft laugh, though Arslan became confused as Jade seemed displeased with what she chose to build.

“What?”

Jade looked at her with a pitying glance, “The Trisidium was a famous fort from the great war; it was of great importance on the Vacuan front, and my nerdy brother decided I needed to be lectured on it!” Jade explained, whipping around to jab an accusing finger at Jaune.

“You asked me to,” Jaune defended himself.

“I asked you to help me write a history report on an important Vacuan landmark that wasn’t Shade Academy… Not to lecture me for hours on the history of the early stages of the eastern Vacuan front!” Jade ranted.

“The knowledge of why something is important tends to be desired on reports, no?” Jaune asked rhetorically, Arlsan wondering if there was some undercurrent of sarcasm she missed from the narrowing of Jade’s eyes.

“Hours,” the girl hissed.

Jaune chuckled softly again, “You also have your nomenclature wrong by the by.”

“What are you talking about?” Jade scoffed.

“We are building a sandcastle,” Jaune pointed out.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Jade shot back.

“This is not a castle,” Jaune spoke, gesturing to the triangle Jade was working on.

Jade glared at her brother, “It’s under construction.”

“No, you are building a fort.”

“…”

“A fort is not a castle… so it’s a ‘sandfort’…” Jaune lectured.

Jade turned to Arslan slowly, the sand grinding under her knees as she shifted. “Sorry to be a bother, but would you mind digging that hole a bit deeper?”

Arslan nodded, “yeah, no problem… how deep are you thinking?” asked uncertainly.

“Deep enough to bury him,” Jade finished, pointing at her brother.

Sky gasped, “Jade, no! We can't bury Jaune; what if we lose him!”

Jaune, of course, chose to add his own two liens, “Logistically speaking, it would be quite laborious and unfair for you to force Arslan to do so.”

“Also, I feel like your mother might take exception to my doing so,” Arslan added, glancing over her shoulder, worried the woman might randomly appear.

“… You’re safe for now,” Jade growled at her brother, threatening him with sandy hands.

“Thank you for this mercy,” Jaune bowed to his sister. Arslan snorted at the interaction, amused by Jaune’s dry humour.

Jade just grumbled, “Whatever, keep digging. I need the stronger sand for the castle.”

“Fort.”

*Splash*

Arslan had no hope, her laughter rising out of her throat and spilling freely into the air as she witnessed Jaune’s startled expression at his sister having tossed water at him. Sky was quick to join, and after a moment, even Jade couldn’t hold her amusement back.

Jaune settled for a smile, his eyes alight with mirth.

‘This is pretty fun, after all,’ Arslan thought, pawing more sand out of the hole.

Arslan didn’t realise it then but later would reflect that her smile did not fade for the rest of the time they spent building Jade’s ‘sandfort’.

YVYVYVYVY

After Arslan helped finish Jade’s sand creation, she found that Jaune had not underplayed his sister’s talent whatsoever. The structure was sturdy and had a lot of detail, including windows, curtain walls, and interior structure. By the end, Arslan felt that she had a pretty good idea of what the building would look like in real life.

Cloud was gushing over it for a full five minutes, hugging Jade, saying something about having another history child. In the end, Jade had to be rescued by Hella, who had to pry her from her father’s arms as the man continued to sing her praises.

It was sweet, though Arslan could not imagine her father being so… emotional.

After the family's appraisal, Saphron quickly announced the completion of her court and wondered if anyone would like to play with her. Jade and Sky eagerly agreed to join, with Jaune getting dragged over by Sky tugging him along by his hand.

Even Scarlett showed up as she said she would, and the adults decided that the kids should have the first game to themselves. Hinata seemed put out by this as she wanted to play, too.

Then she was handed the twins, and the woman was immediately too wonderstruck to do anything more than coo and fuss over the tiny people in her arms.

Volleyball was pretty intuitive, and Saphron was a good teacher; Arslan found herself confident enough to play after a few practice rounds.

“Oh, if I could offer a suggestion,” Hinata called out from her place in the sand; the twins sat in front of her, with Hella and Cloud sitting at her side.

“Hm. What’s up, auntie?” Saphron called back.

“How are you guys gonna divvy up teams?” Hinata asked, gesturing to them all. “Three on three?”

Saphron caught on to her question quickly, “Ah, well… normally, we put Jaune by himself with the caveat that he can hit the ball twice to keep things fair.”

“Oh?”

“He’s a bit too quick, and it keeps the game fun,” Saphron explained with a shrug, the rest of the Arcs nodding as they had all seen it first-hand. Jaune was able to compete with Aura wielders; a couple of handicaps were expected when it came to playing sports.

Besides, it kept them fun.

“Ah, well then, if it's not too much trouble to keep things interesting, do you think you could put Arslan on his team since it's her first time… That should keep things relatively fair, right?” Hinata proposed, looking to make sure everyone agreed.

“Um, well-“ Saphron began thinking the matter over, only to stop when Scarlett whispered something in her ear. Saphron blinked a few times before turning to her older sister, “Really?”

Scarlett shrugged, “I did warn her.”

“Huh… well for aunties sake…” Saphron muttered, her eyes glancing at Jaune with an unreadable expression. “Sure, Jaune, Arslan, you guys are together against us four, ok?”

“Alright,” Arslan nodded, shooting an enquiring look at her master.

“Sounds good, Saphron,” Jaune agreed.

“Right, a slight change to rules for you, Jaune; since you’ve got a teammate, you can only hit the ball once,” Saphron declared, earning a singular nod in response from the quiet boy. “So Arslan, that means you can hit the ball twice, which hopefully should keep the game fun for everyone and give you ample chance to participate… sound good?”

“Yeah, I think I can handle that,” Arslan nodded, her competitive side already appearing.

“Awesome! Alright, we’ll serve first,” Saphron called out, the teams taking their places and then, with a resounding smack, the game began.

Arslan never really had a lot of opportunity to play growing up. She didn’t have siblings, and her chances to socialise young were few and far between. Coming to Shrine was the first time she had been presented with such ample opportunities, but her talent and skill meant she became the personal student of Hinata Kutsuki, and thus, things changed.

Her timetable was different; her lessons were not all the same, and she didn’t always even eat with everyone else. The only other kids at Shrine she saw with any regularity were her roommates, who were often too tired to socialise come the end of the day. The academy didn’t take things easy on you just because you were a first-year; if anything, it pushed you harder.

Unlocking Aura without assistance took discipline and willpower; these were traits Shrine would look for amongst their first years, and if you didn’t meet the criteria, you would be cut. First years were the ones subjected to an extra degree of scrutiny to preserve time and resources.

They were training to fight Grimm, and the school would rather be considered harsh than uncaring.

A first year was taught the extreme basics of being a Huntsman. Fighting and fitness. They had other classes that covered general knowledge, including language and arithmetic, but such classes were expected to continue into any Huntsman Academy. But first years, all had to keep one goal in their minds, ‘survive the cut.’

Arslan had another goal: to be among the first to unlock her Aura, even before reaching her second year.

This would solidify that she was worthy of Master Hinata’s attentions, and none would question her further. Not to mention, doing so would likely ensure her safety from being cut, at least for her first year and the majority of her second.

But this strict and admittedly stressful environment left Arslan with little time to play, so when that ball was served, she found herself struggling with some confusing feelings. Primarily was the sudden confusion of how to act and ‘play’ as she had never played with or against others… not for a long time.

“Mine,” Jaune breathed, his soft voice carrying all the same.

Arslan watched as the boy batted the ball up, its arc slow and directed right towards her, their eyes meeting as the boy nodded towards the net. It was then she realised that she could decipher her feelings later.

She would treat this as training, as she knew how to do that.

She slapped the ball over the net, noting that Jade was already under the ball, her arms ready. Arslan hadn’t even noticed, but all the girls, including Sky, were experienced as they watched the ball and had spread out to cover as much of the court as they could.

Arslan felt her heart pick up as she wondered what it would take to best better, more experienced opponents.

And like that, Arslan began to smile.

The game was challenging; Jaune was a great defender, but with the caveat that he could only hit the ball once, Arslan quickly realised just what a handicap that was. As the match continued, she realised they needed to alter their plans.

When next Saphron’s team scored a point, Scarlett having intercepted the ball as it was passing over the net using her superior height to spike it directly down, Arslan asked for a brief pause of play.

“We need to change our plans,” Arslan informed Jaune, her breathing a little harsher; she noticed that Jaune was hardly breathing at all, and many of the girls were still in top shape.

“I’m listening,” Jaune replied, his voice even as he met her eyes unblinkingly.

Arslan gulped, her master waving a water bottle at her, but she waved her off, “I need you to set us up so I will defend from now on; you just get the ball in a position for me to spike it.”

Jaune smiled at her, making Arslan wonder why she suddenly didn’t feel so tired.

“All right, though I should warn you, it might seem like a good idea to aim for Sky, but she is bait; one of the older girls will always be there to cover her.

Arslan’s eye widened at the info, not expecting such aid… ‘Which… was stupid; this is a game.’

Arslan shifted in the sand, her eyes turning back to the girls, seeing their smiling faces, though Scarlett did stick her tongue out and give her a ‘bring it on’ gesture.

Arslan smirked.

“We’re ready!” She alerted the Arc girls, hopping back into place, only this time she was behind Jaune.

From here, the game took a turn; she was not as good a defender as Jaune, but she managed it well enough, and Jaune was experienced. He always seemed to get the ball exactly where she needed it.

It was admittedly quite enjoyable, and she enjoyed a good burn when it ended… as well as a not-so-good burn.

‘Brother’s damn you, Master!’ Arslan thought angrily, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

She had been doing good; she was tired and had accepted that it was unlikely they would pull out a win for this game, but she didn’t let that keep her down. She was waiting for the serve, her eyes noting Jaune’s position so she could track where he was.

Locating him with those bright pink shorts and his pale complexion wasn't exactly difficult.

‘Huh, he has pretty narrow hips,’ Arslan blinked once again, surprised that someone so strong could be so thin.

“Well, would you look at that,” Hinata announced, her voice laced with a playful, teasing quality that made Arslan’s gut drop.

Then the ball landed next to her.

The rest of the game was basically a thrashing as Arslan was too distracted to put up a reasonable defence, and with Jaune only being able to touch the ball once, the Arc girls easily won. Jaune clearly took notice as he watched her curiously after the game, no doubt wondering what happened as, until then, they had been defending well.

Arslan gave up and tipped her water bottle over her face, hoping it would do something to rid her of the annoying warmth.

It didn’t.

“Hey,” Arslan whipped around to see Saphron smiling at her, instantly calming Arslan as she had worried it would be her master… or Jaune. “You did really well for your first time. Would have killed to have someone like you back when I played in high school.”

“T-thanks… we still lost, though,” Arslan muttered.

“Yeah, but so does Jaune normally. Doesn’t change that it's fun, right?” Saffron shrugged.

“Are those handicaps really necessary for him?” Arslan asked, curious about such severe restrictions.

“Oh yeah… after I stopped playing normally, I still got the urge to go a few rounds, but I had no one to play with… so I asked Jaune,” Saphron reminisced.

“Why did you stop playing? You clearly enjoy it?” Arslan asked, watching as the girl's expression shifted to something… dark.

“Personal stuff, don’t worry about it,” Saphron spoke quickly, shutting down that particular question. “The point is that when Jaune got the hang of the game, he began to run me ragged; he was playing with Jade, and I had Scarlett; I figured we would dominate him… He beat us soundly.”

“Then we made it three on one, and he still whopped our butts,” Scarlett joined the conversation, Jade nodding in agreement. “He even tried to let us win so we would cheer up, but we could easily tell her he was letting us.”

“Then we added sky to the mix and made the rule that he can only hit the ball twice,” Jade finished.

“This made things… fairish. It limited Jaune’s ability to spike, which gave us a chance at least, and the extra players made it difficult for him to slip one by us,” Saphron finished, shooting her younger brother a smirk.

“Eventually, me and Sky actually got to a level where we became pretty good, and then we started winning, with us passing and Scarlett and Saphron handling most of the defence and attacking… though I can cover some defence as well, it just… rattles my arms a little,” Jade admitted.

“That’s why we have special rules; Jaune, if he wanted to, could smack that ball with enough speed that none of us would stand a chance,” Scarlett shrugged.

“I am quite capable of regulating my strength,” Jaune said, passing the ball to Saphron.

“We know, bro. We are just saying that the handicaps exist for a reason,” Saphron nodded.

“Jaune is nice and keeps it fun,” Sky jumped in, grabbing her brother’s hand; Jaune quickly accepted her smaller one into his own.

“The only time Jaune is allowed to go all out is when we play mum and dad…” Saphron trailed off.

“Yeah, but then we need to fix up the court… and any collateral,” Jade sighed.

“And ourselves!” Sky added.

“Yeah… they kind of take a game and make it into a life-or-death struggle,” Scarlett grumbled.

“I enjoy it,” Jaune added.

“Hush you,” Jade groused, making Jaune shrug silently.

Arslan snorted at the exchange. She was beginning to see the appeal of a beach day; even if she would have to train her volleyball skills a bit more, these Arcs were tougher than they looked.

That went triple for Jaune.

YVYVYVYVY

“So Arslan… is there anything you want to do?” Jade spoke up between bites of her watermelon.

“Hm?” The girl in question grunted, her mouth currently full.

“Well, it's just you’ve been doing everything we want to do. Only fair to give you a turn, so what do you do for fun?”

Arslan swallowed her bite of melon and pondered the question. She wasn’t entirely sure what an acceptable answer would be, considering that what she usually did for fun was train with her master. She could say sparring, but would that be weird?

‘Come on, there has to be something… I know I’ve played before,’ Arslan thought worriedly, trying to recall the last time she had fun that wasn’t related to training.

Then she recalled how tiring volleyball was.

Group training was rare for Arslan as she didn’t attend all the regular classes, but it wasn’t something she could entirely hope to avoid. Nor did she want to, as group training was in many ways just as necessary as more solo-oriented practice.

But there was one that she recalled that often had all of the class excited.

“… Um… you guys ever play Bounty?” Arslan asked, annoyed that her voice sounded so hesitant.

“Huh?”

“What’s that?”

“Never heard of it.”

Arslan felt her face warm again, and a distinctly uncomfortable feeling squirmed in her chest. Then, before the feeling could worsen, she felt a pair of hands shake her shoulder; looking to her right, she saw Sky with her bright blue eyes looking at her eagerly.

“How do we play?” The girl asked excitedly, bouncing on the spot.

“W-what?” Arslan stuttered.

“I’ve never heard of Bounty; I wanna play!” Sky cheered, her body practically vibrating.

“O-oh um well… its-“

“It’s like tag,” Hinata swooped in rescuing Arslan.

“Oh, I can play that!” Sky nodded, still not letting go of Arslan’s arm. However, she found she didn’t mind the friendly antics of the younger girl.

“That’s good!” Hinata cheered, matching Sky’s energy, “But there are some slight differences, kay?”

“Okay,” Sky nodded, sitting her back and leaning on Arslan’s crossed leg. Jaune had also shifted. The taller boy had been laid out on a beach towel, watching over the twins before. Arslan had thought he had fallen asleep, but it seemed he was just that quiet.

Now he was opposite her, his bare shoulder right next to her as he moved closer to Sky and, therefore, herself.

“Well, it's like tag, except you are all it!” Hinata exclaimed, keeping the same high-energy vibe as she explained the rules to Sky. “You all have a ribbon on your person, and the goal is for you to try and get everyone else's.”

“Oh, so if someone gets your ribbon, you’re out?” Jade spoke up, showing that she was listening as well.

“Nope,” Hinata shook her head, “The goal is to try and get the largest bounty, so instead, if you lose your own, you better go steal someone else’s or get yours back.”

“Oh, cool,” Saphron perked up. “So how do you win or, well, when does the game end?”

“Well, traditionally, you can set a time. I always played it with the rule that the game doesn’t end until everyone surrenders,” Hinata smiled, a flash of something crossing her features.

“We only have time for one last game,” Hella spoke, stern but gently, “I suggest you play until you can't.”

“So surrender?” Jade asked, looking at her siblings.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Saphron agreed, looking pumped, the sporty girl jumping to her feet.

“We need bounties,” Jaune added.

“Got some here for you,” Hinata offered happily, pulling several lengths of cloth from between her cleavage, earning surprised looks from everyone present.

Except for Hella, who just facepalmed and groaned.

“Do you often keep random strips of fabric in your cleavage?” Scarlett wondered, arching her head up, trying to see if she could spot where her aunt was keeping those.

“Of course! Need backups in case the girls break free,” Hinata scoffed, handing out her backup breast bindings. She was hoping for a reaction from Jaune, but the boy took his completely uncaringly and just tucked the cloth into the side of his shorts.

‘Boring.’

“Or you could wear a more secure top,” Hella spoke, shooting her sister a dirt look.

“They tear as well, and you know it. My power just can be contained,” Hinata sighed dramatically, her sizeable chest heaving from the action as she feigned depression as if such was a tragic fate.

“I am so sorry about her,” Arslan bowed to the Arcs, her words sincere, her bow perfect.

“No, she is my relation. If anything, I should apologise to you,” Hella replied, giving just as courteous a bow back.

“Why are you so mean!” Hinata whined, looking at her sister and her student.

“So, are we going to play or not?” Scarlett asked, having tucked her bounty into her top.

“I’m ready,” Saphron nodded, copying Jaune with the short's idea, as did Jade.

“I don’t know where to put mine?” Sky spoke up, handing hers to Jaune.

“Hmm… how about around your head… like a crown,” Jaune smiled gently, tying the fabric so it would stay secure but could still be pulled off without hurting the younger Arc.

“Thank you,” Sky cheered, hopping back several paces, putting space between her and the others.

“Right… on my mark!” Cloud announced, lifting his hand.

All the kids and Scarlett immediately darted in different directions, but they stayed in a broken circle as they eyed each other’s bounties.

Arslan was the last to move as she hurriedly tucked her bounty near her chest under her right arm. A game this might be, but she wanted to win, and it would be easier to protect there. Just before she could move, a hand grabbed her shoulder, stalling her.

“Remember,” Hinata spoke softly, a kind smile spread across her features, “it's just a game; don’t play too rough, and if you can, avoid hitting, okay?”

“Right,” Arslan nodded, fully intending to do just that as she had no wish to ruin such an enjoyable day. While Bounty was usually a training exercise that resulted in quite a few trips to the medical wing, that was because it usually didn’t have many rules. Even in the first years, the restrictions were no excessive force or weapons allowed.

Once you got Aura, the rule became no permanent damage.

“Ready?” Cloud asked, giving Arslan a respectful nod, having overheard their conversation and appreciating her restraint.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Then… GO!”

YVYVYVYVY

“I… I think- I think I’m dying!” Scarlett wheezed, collapsing back on the Arc towel island wet, dirty and spent.

“You’re fine,” Hella comforted, handing her eldest a water bottle that Scarlett practically ripped the lid off. There was quiet as she chugged the water recklessly before she coughed, spitting a little as some water went down wrong.

As she cleared her throat, she looked at the still-going players and whined, “Where do they even get the energy?”

“Hm, seems you’ve been slacking a little as of late, my daughter,” Hella critiqued.

Scarlett, still gasping, shifted to look back at her mother with a glare, “I work in an office.”

“Doesn’t mean you need to slack on your training; Tami still works out daily,” Hella shrugged.

“Tami eats her weight in chocolate nearly every day. If she didn’t work out, she would die of cocoa poisoning or something!” Scarlett argued before chugging down more water.

“Hm.”

“Don’t you give me that ninja ‘hm’ crap; I am the second best shot of your kids; I do plenty of training,” Scarlett sulked.

“Shooting and endurance training are different things, sweetie,” Cloud said, comfortingly patting his daughter on the back.

“… But I don’t wanna,” Scarlett whined, rolling over to bury her face in her towel.

Cloud snorted, trying to stay straight-faced but failing, “That’s fine, darling, but… just don’t expect to keep up with your sisters.”

“Speaking of… Sky’s done,” Hella commented as the youngest of the players said something to her brother and then collapsed on her back.

“I’ll get her for you, nee-chan,” Hinata volunteered.

“Thank you, sister,” Hella nodded.

Using her Huntress speed, Hinata grabbed her niece and was back in moments, the little girl limp in her arms, her little face red, and her lungs heaving. “She did pretty well,” Hinata laughed, laying the younger Arc on a towel and fanning her.

“Thank… you…” Sky panted.

“Did you have fun?” Cloud asked Sky.

“Mhm…” Sky panted, giving a tired grin.

Then Lazuli waddled over and began patting her sister on the head.

“Sissy, okay?” She asked.

“Sissy, tired,” Sky replied.

“Sissy, sleep,” Lazuli nodded her wise words making those older few who were present chuckle.

“Mm,” Sky mumbled, already taking her young siblings' advice by the looks of it.

“Hey, Sky… what did you say to Jaune?” Scarlett asked out of the blue, the eldest still laid out, hugging her water bottle like a lifeline.

Sky mumbled something unintelligible.

“Wanna try that again, princess?” Cloud encouraged, nudging the small girl gently.

“I told him to win it for me,” Sky mumbled.

Scarlett, Cloud and Hella all went rigid.

“Oh… shit,” Scarlett summarised, earning a light smack from her mother, who silently pointed at Lapis and Lazuli. “Sorry.”

“Is something wrong?” Hinata asked, feeling left out of the loop.

“No… well, not really,” Cloud sighed.

“Jaune is a perfect brother. You can count on him to always have your back,” Scarlett began, fiddling with the water bottle in her grasp.

“That’s sweet,” Hinata smiled.

“It is… he doesn’t have an off switch, though…” Scarlett grimaced.

“Huh?”

“Jaune will happily do anything his sisters ask him to…” Hella spoke up.

“Anything,” Scarlett confirmed, a smile coming to her face as she recalled some rather… amusing previous examples.

“Which his sisters are not afraid to take advantage of,” Cloud added, eyeing his older child, knowing she was likely thinking of the many times she had taken advantage of her brother's kindness.

Not that Jaune minded.

“And he tends to come through for you… so if, for example, his adorable little sister asked him to win a game for her…” Scarlett trailed off.

“… This game is about to switch to hard mode then,” Hinata uttered, catching on.

“Try insanity mode,” Cloud laughed, watching as Jaune began to harry Saphron, the boy weaving about his sister's grasping hands as she backpedalled furiously.

“Welp… good luck, Arslan,” Hinata shrugged, intending to watch what was undoubtedly about to become a much more exciting competition.

YVYVYVYVY

Arslan’s entire body screamed at her as she rolled through the shallow tide again, her opponent a mere step behind her, his hand grazing across her bicep as he went for her bounty. She didn’t know what the switch was, but Jaune suddenly started trying, and after that, Arslan hadn’t known a moment of peace.

He had swiftly nicked Saphron’s bounty, and Jade had put up a decent fight, but with the change in their height, Jaune had cornered her in the deep water and nabbed her bounty while she was slowed.

Arslan was the only one who still had her bounty, and even with the two other girls making a truce with her and doing everything in their power to help… they still had to bow out, exhaustion besting Jade and Saphron surrendering after a wave washed her up on shore.

Arslan and Jaune were the last two left, and Arslan was beginning to get frustrated because Jaune didn’t even seem to be breathing heavily.

“Damn it!” Arslan barked, throwing herself under the water and kicking out, trying to snag a bounty with her foot, but Jaune was ready. He pivoted and hoped back the water not nearly as deep for him as it was for her.

He didn’t say anything, his face an unreadable mask, but she saw his eyes were locked solely on her bounty.

Arslan had only just got her feet under her when Jaune was on her again, his long reach forcing her to shunt his hands aside with everything she had. She didn’t know when it happened, but she fell back on her training at some point and began to bat, hit, parry and even kick his attempted grabs aside.

Jaune didn’t even mind, his attacks becoming more pressing as he picked up his pace.

She was waning.

His hand was getting closer and closer, a wet strip of cloth stuck to the fabric of her swimsuit, Jaune’s shaggy wet hair whipping about as he was forced to arch his body forward.

His multiple bounties hung from his side; Arslan had only been able to catch a few furtive glimpses at them as she had to keep nearly all her attention on his legs and arms.

She ducked under a particular grab and saw her chance; the bounties were right there!

‘No!’

Arslan listened to her instincts and dived under the water, surfacing in a flurry, wiping her eyes as she came out and twisted, seeing that she had been right to do so.

It had been a feint; Jaune was giving her an appraising look, surprised she had seen his attack coming.

Arslan wondered if that was respect she saw in his eyes.

Arslan felt her legs shake.

She was nearly out, her tank was empty, and even the fumes were about to be burned up.

Then she saw the water about them drop… and she had an idea that could be briefly summarised with words that were responsible for the greatest and worst moments in many a person's life.

‘Fuck it.’

Arslan rushed forward; Jaune was ready, his stance lowered, one hand hovering near his bounties, the other at the ready near his chest.

Arslan made it look like she was going for his bounties, her own left nearly entirely unguarded.

Jaune would think it an all-or-nothing or perhaps a feint like his own.

It was neither.

Just before she was within his reach, Arslan threw her whole body at the taller boy, her arms wrapping around his torso, her foot hooking against his hip, and her other about his stomach. She leaned, and Jaune shifted with her weight, his hand trying to reach her but stopped by her arm under his own, limiting his reach.

He was powerful.

Arslan didn’t even try to grab his bounties.

She just braced.

Then, the wave hit them.

Saltwater, sand, a flash of pink shorts, blond hair, and rough grating sand.

YVYVYVYVY

“Oh my…” Saphron commented, looking at the rather intriguing sight in front of her.

Hinata produced a long, drawn-out squeal that no one intended to stop as they beheld the sight before them.

Scarlett didn’t say anything. Her Scroll was already out as she snapped numerous pictures.

“Damn, aunty… you are devious,” Jade grunted, looking at the woman suspiciously.

“I’m a genius!” Hinata cheered.

YVYVYVYVY

Arslan spluttered, some salt water having got up her nose, as she quickly tried to get her bearings, her tired body fighting her every step of the way.

Then she felt the weight on her stomach.

Looking down, she saw a mop of blond hair as Jaune picked himself up, his head having been what was pushing down on her gut. The tall boy lay prone between her legs, his head resting on her lower abdomen.

Arslan’s brain shut down.

Then a pair of blue eyes looked up at her, wide and curious and… and so blue.

Then they darted to the right.

He moved.

The boy was now over her, his lithe frame above her own, his head equal to hers, his hand pressed next to her head. His blue eyes met her own, unreadable and far too close for comfort.

The seawater dripped from his frame and landed on her.

Then he smiled.

And held up her bounty.

Arslan should have probably felt frustrated that she lost or satisfied that she got to go up against Jaune, even if it wasn’t a spar.

But she didn’t, couldn’t actually.

She was too busy focusing on those bright blue eyes and his little quirked smile.

And the phantom feeling of his head on her stomach.

…

… She didn’t know how, but this was her master’s fault.

A.N.

Okay, so listen, I don’t write romance, never really have, so I ask for mercy in the comments.

So much so that if this Chapter gets the thumbs down, I have an alternative ending if the whole embarrassing awakening of feelings thing doesn’t fly.

But with that out of the way, this concludes the mandatory beach episode!

I hope it was fun getting to watch our awkward boy relax on the beach and unwittingly make a new friend.

Now I hope I captured the beach day feeling because I am kind of a sandcastle/dig a whole type, though I don’t mind chilling in the surf. Volleyball is fun to watch, and doubles games I have seen always look enjoyable, so I just went with it because I already said that’s what Saphron played in high school.

Alright, well, I hope we all enjoyed our beach episode, and I will see you all next time!

(Please remember to be merciful; young love is not so easy to write.)