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Watts hummed as he was combing through the data leading up to the Vytal Festival as well as what Atlas was currently up to. He still had the backdoor in Mantle, as he had been the one to design the city's system.
'So foolish to never delete my credentials,' snickered Watts, 'Then again, Atlas never appreciated my genius.'
As of right now, he was the only one in Salem's castle. Tyrian would come and go, but Watts never really cared about him. The same could be said about the brats. In fact, Tyrian scored higher, if only because he was useful, though his sanity detracted points. Hazel was probably the only one under Salem's current service that he tolerated, if only for his stoic demeanor and silent attitude. He could at least work in peace if the two of them were on a mission together.
"Hmmm, now that I think about it, I should take a look at this Jaune character that's gotten everyone's attention," said Watts to himself out loud.
Watts liked to keep up with events abroad to keep himself informed and when the proper time was to strike. One such thing was the absolute destruction of the Winchester family. Making national news was one thing, but when being targeted by not only the citizens, but even terrorist groups and governments, both domestic and international, one could not expect to escape unscathed. The Winchester had to burn every favor to keep themselves afloat, but the majority of their fortune was gone. The family had to sell their mansion before moving away to somewhere nobody knew. What was interesting though was the damage done was more significant than Watts predicted.
'Then again, there were rumors about the heir being in a coma. Perhaps the boy did something foolish and the family was shaken down some more,' theorized Watts.
What was one thing that Watts knew was the boy Jaune Arc had something to do with it. Sure the media never pointed it out, but Watts knew how to read beneath the lines. Still, it wasn't something he focused too much on.
Watts found Jaune's website and server for his appointments and immediately decided to hack into it out of slight boredom. As Watts began rapidly typing in commands, his eyebrows quirked up slightly.
"The cyber security on this is better than I thought a typical business would have," hummed Watts. Though it wasn't a challenge for someone like him, in his opinion. It would just take slightly more effort, such as lifting his pinky a few times. Soon, Watts hacked his way inside, and was already pulling up the scheduling tab. With a few clicks, he was in, his hand hovering over Salem's appointment time.
Watts immediately formed an idea of deleting Salem's appointment. He could easily pin the blame on Jaune or Cinder and enjoy the show. Such irritation for Salem would surely make Cinder's value drop despite being the chosen candidate for the Fall Maiden. Was it petty? Yes, but he so enjoyed making sure Cinder knew her proper place, beneath him in value. She was just some orphan whom Salem decided to take pity on while he himself had been personally scouted by Salem.
Either way, he would be safe from the fall. So Watts raised his hand, ready to delete the appointment when he felt a chill crawl up his spine. Slowly looking back, he saw a Grimm Seer innocently hovering behind and above him.
Watts knew that Salem could use these Grimm Seer for communication as well as spy drones/security cameras. And one was conveniently pointed at his actions right now. Deciding on to act on discretion, Watts decided to just close that particular tab and do something more productive. It wasn't worth it if said annoyance was directed at him.
The Grimm Seer floated away, though its tentacles waived in the air to remind him of his place. Watts mentally hissed in indignation, but chose not to show were more productive tasks that he could be doing than pulling such a petty trick. Still, he wasn't one to let this slide. After pondering for a second, his frown slowly turned to a malevolent grin. Salem disliked when her people made petty squabbles with each other, but could care less what they did to others, so long as it did not interfere with her plans. So Watts would do just that.
"Tyrian, are you available? I believe I have something that might interest you," said Watts to his communicator, sending the message towards the insane assassin.
The man worshiped Salem as his goddess, and would do anything to please or, or in this case, violently kill those who were unworthy of touching Salem. So long as he gave a reasonable window, it would be fine. It wasn't as if the masseur would be protected forever.
Saturday
Jaune rolled his shoulder, getting ready for another day. Though it had been tiring, it had also given him a chance to reconnect with some old patients and friends. Not to mention since most of the customers had been civilians, it meant not having to use Aura massage as much. Munching on some cereal, Jaune began to get ready for his day.
The very first customer, however, confused him very much. Well, it wasn't so much the customer, but rather who accompanied her.
"Salutations!" greeted the visitor, "My partner Ciel Soleil here has an appointment with you for a massage!"
Jaune glanced to the side to see the named Ciel, a dark-skinned girl with a blue beret, looking down at her scroll before snapping it close to look up.
"I see," nodded Jaune, "Miss Soleil, would you like to freshen up first? The bathroom is just down this hall."
Ciel just nodded as she marched down the hall into the bathroom without a word, leaving Jaune alone with the visitor.
"So, you are…..," asked Jaune, trailing off to allow the stranger to introduce herself.
The girl in question looked at Jaune in confusion before realizing what was happening.
"Oh, my name is Penny!" greeted Penny, "Penny Polendina! I'm just a curious friend who just wanted to come and am a real girl! Hic!"
Jaune paused at that sudden hiccup, but shrugged it off as he quickly offered Penny some water, to which she politely refused. Stretching his arms, Jaune walked towards the massage room before realizing that Penny was following him.
"Can I help you?" asked Jaune, "Are you the next patient? I didn't see your name on the schedule."
"Oh, I came to see my partner get her massage," clarified Penny, "I'm supposed to be with her."
"If you have permission from her, you can come in, otherwise you'll have to wait outside," warned Jaune.
"She can come in," said Ciel as she walked out of the bathroom in exactly 2 minutes, "Let us proceed with this Aura massage."
Jaune nodded as she let the two ladies in, noting they were most likely from Atlas. Out of all the patients he took while working at Beacon, Atlas students were far and few. Most of them had their own set schedule that they followed fervently. Though he did meet Neon from team FNKI, who swore she would bring her team in when she had the chance.
Ciel had only made the appointment under orders from Ironwood, otherwise she would've never done so. Such frivolous use of Aura was a waste of time, but her headmaster deemed otherwise, and since it was orders, she obeyed them. Apparently it was also to be an educational experience for her partner, Penny. Admittedly, Ciel didn't know much about Penny. She had came out of the blue one day and was introduced as Ciel's partner when her original partner quit midway through the first semester. Ciel had been prepared to go through the remaining year by herself when Penny was suddenly introduced as her new teammate. She had her doubts, of course, seeing how airheaded Penny was. Ciel pondered if Penny had gotten in by nepotism, and she would be responsible for her safety and education.
Ciel would find out she was half correct in that statement when she attended a demonstration of Penny's combat prowess.
"I'm combat ready!" declared Penny, making Ciel wonder if she really was.
The next second blew her and her other teammates away as Penny began destroying the mock simulation with ease, going through the difficulties as if it was a child's game. After obliterating a squadron of Atlesian-Knight 130 as well as the Atlesian spiderbots, she was convinced that Penny was indeed combat ready. Though it was easy to see that she was a prodigy in combat, she had no common sense when it came to everything else. Thus it was up to Ciel to make sure she disciplined Penny.
"Alright, got a choice of massage oils?" asked Jaune as warmed up his hands.
"Scentless," replied Ciel curtly as she laid down onto the massage bed, unraveling her towel, "Let's begin this session immediately."
Jaune was a little annoyed at Ciel's attitude, but pushed it aside to keep his sense of professionalism. Rolling his shoulders, Jaune began to slowly spread the massage oil on Ciel's back.
Ciel managed to not roll her eyes pondering when it was going to start when she heard Penny make a noise. Peeking over, she saw from the reflection in a mirror Jaune infusing his hands with Aura. Her eyes widened at the glow of Aura visible on his hands, and was about to question whether that was even necessary, or if he was going to attack her, when he pressed his hands down onto her back.
"MMMMMMMM!" groaned Ciel, making a noise she never thought she would ever do.
Ciel tried to regain focus, but Jaune made it impossible to do so. She was panting, groaning, moaning, doing everything she never thought she would do. It didn't take long before she forgot her mission, blanking out before falling asleep.
Penny, however, was recording the whole massage. Being an android, she had built in recording devices that she could upload to a private server later, using her eyes as lens. She was, however, hypnotized at what Jaune was doing. Penny kept staring at Jaune's work before glancing at her own hands.
'Wonder what it feels like?' questioned Penny to herself. She didn't have flesh and bone like humans did, but she did have Aura, thanks to her father and creator. She didn't get muscle cramps or aches like a normal girl did. Everything was synthetic, but she had own dreams that she would one day become real. Her own father hoped for the same as well.
"Thank you for the massage, Mr. Jaune Arc!" thanked Penny as she carried Ciel in her arms, who was still out of it.
"No worries," said Jaune as he collected payment from Penny, "Tell your partner that she needs to relax more. She was completely tense when I began to massage her. I know the military lifestyle is strict, but it wouldn't hurt to relax every now and then."
"I will let her know," nodded Penny, "I am confident after watching you massage as well as doing some research that I can replicate your technique! I'll be massage ready!"
"Ok…," trailed off Jaune at the awkward statement, "Just… be careful. Just putting strength into your hands isn't always the answer, especially if you're massaging someone. Don't want you breaking skin and bones."
"Affirmative!" smiled Penny before she left with Ciel.
Jaune stretched his limbs as he prepared for the last massage. Though tiring, he did have a cancellation, giving him some time to relax and recharge, as well as to eat some food that Melanie and Militia delivered.
Jaune glanced down to see the name of his last patient just in time for a huge hulking man to come in.
"Hello, are you a patient?" asked Jaune, slightly nervous at the sight of this man.
The man took a deep breath before replying with a deep tone, "Yes. Hazel Rainart."
That made Jaune feel a bit better as he knew it wasn't a random stranger walking into his temporary clinic, but still nervous. He had never seen such a giant man before, the closest one being Gray.
"This way to the showers," said Jaune quickly, "I have some robes, but I….. don't exactly have one your size. And the massage table I have may be uncomfortable for your size. Are you okay with the massage chair instead?"
Hazel merely grunted and nodded before making his way into the showers. Jaune had to wipe some sweat he hadn't even noticed falling down his forehead before getting ready.
"Keep calm, Jaune, maybe he's like a gentle giant," chanted Jaune to himself.
Hazel put a towel over his waist as he made his way out of the shower towards the room. Jaune had been right that the robes were too small, but Hazel didn't care. As long as there were some that were the correct size for Salem, it was fine. A towel would do just fine. Of course, Hazel made sure his skin was completely devoid of water to avoid leaving water stains as he walked down the hallway.
Hazel entered the room to see Jaune finishing extending the massage chair to its full length. He glanced at the massage bed pushed to the side, noting its size would be enough for Salem.
"Do you have a choice of massage oil in mind?" asked Jaune.
"... Evening Primrose," said Hazel as he eyed the choices available.
Jaune nodded, not even questioning why Hazel chose that one, as it was more popular for ladies worried about stretch marks. He would've recommended lavender instead, due to the scar marks he noticed on Hazel's arms, but chose not to mention anything.
Indeed, Hazel had chosen that because it was his younger sister's favorite flower. So he chose it out of nostalgia.
When Jaune began to stream Aura into his hands after finishing up preparation, Hazel eyed it for a moment. He could sense that a rather sizeable amount there. Out of Salem's faction, he had the most Aura besides Cinder, but that was only due to having the Fall Maiden's power. Without it, he had the biggest tank of them all. He could sense Jaune had Aura reserves matched his own at such a young age.
'No, that's not quite correct,' observed Hazel, 'It's not by much, it's slightly bigger than my own. And he's still a young man, meaning it could still grow.'
Hazel was curious as to why Cinder had not reported this part, but remembered that she probably did not learn how to sense a person's Aura, having focused mostly on fighting instead to overwhelm her enemies. Still, just having a large Aura didn't mean much if one didn't know how to use it in a fight. And considering Jaune was using it to massage others… well he wouldn't be much of a threat if it came down to it.
Jaune pressed down onto Hazel's back before beginning to massage, probing around the back to feel the knots, which to his surprise, were many.
"How have you not complained about this earlier?" mumbled Jaune to himself as he went to work, tackling each knot.
Hazel didn't reply, merely grunting as Jaune pushed hard onto his back. His own Semblance, Numbing Agent, made it so his body was insensitive to pain. It was a passive one that never turned off unless he willed it. That included aches and sores, which was part of the reason why he was so big. He just kept working out, his body ignoring muscle pains a person would get that would force them to take a break. Of course, he properly took breaks to let his body recover, but he could brute force through heavy workouts without trouble.
Still, something about Jaune's massage made Hazel slightly smile as Jaune kept working on his knots. He could feel it relaxing his body, pushing away some of the sores that his body had numbed. It reminded him of his younger sister, Gretchen, who used to try to give him massages when they were younger, naive, and happier.
Hazel swiftly pushed those memories away, focusing on the present. The past was the past, nothing could be changed. Instead of wasting time languishing, he would rather do something productive in the present for the future.
Jaune finally finished the massage, and Hazel appreciated that Jaune took the time to ensure he got the full body massage, even if it did involve changing the way he sat so Jaune could work on his legs.
Hazel went back to the bathroom to shower off the leftover oil before changing back to his regular clothes. Stretching, Hazel walked to the front, paying for his Aura massage. He would report back to Salem that there was no harm done to him, and that perhaps spare the boy, only if he wasn't in the way. If he was, then it would be up to fate.
Just as Hazel was about to leave, Jaune cleared his throat.
"Mr. Rainart?" asked Jaune, causing Hazel to pause, "Can I ask you a question?"
Hazel merely tilted his head towards Jaune, permitting him to ask.
"How did you get so big and strong?" asked Jaune.
Jaune had felt Hazel's muscles while he was massaging them, and could tell that the muscles were built not only for strength, which was obvious based on his size, but also endurance. The quality of the muscles were above most other Huntsmen and Huntresses that he massaged before.
Hazel remained silent for a second before opening the door. Jaune sighed, thinking that he wasn't going to get an answer when Hazel's deep voice surprised him.
"Intense training, enough to make anyone cry. But don't let such a small obstacle block your path if you want to become stronger," said Hazel as he left.
"... So intense and cool," whispered Jaune.
Next up... Salem's turn!