Playing For Keeps - Ch 51 (Adv) - A Fate I Don’t Deserve (Patreon)

[Oath bound! Bind Oath has increased by 11!]

[Bind Oath (Active) LV 12 EXP: 36.81% MP: 880][A skill for providing the magical power necessary to witness and assist another in undertaking a geas.][Depending on the strength of the subject's conviction, allows the subject's soul to enforce the strictures of an oath, binding, or taboo. Stronger conviction (or binding a stronger soul) results in a stronger binding.]

Holy hell, that was a big EXP jump even accounting for [Enlightened]… So is that because of the level gap between us, or should I take it as a sign of the strength of his conviction?

“It’s done, Professor Lionheart,” I said, probably unnecessarily.

“At this point, I think you have the right to call me Leonardo,” he murmured, his tufted tail flicking as he stared at his own hand in amazement. “That was… I haven’t felt anything like that since the day my Aura was unlocked. Not that it was remotely similar, but–”

“I know what you mean,” I mused. “The binding of an oath is surprisingly… let’s go with ‘low-key’ for something that you can feel is going to shape the rest of your life.”

Blinking, Leonardo focused back on me. “Yes… Ozpin spoke of your Oath. I remember thinking that it suited you; that it reflected well on someone aspiring to be the greatest Huntsman he could be.” His head and tail drooped. “…I also remember being certain you would condemn me if you ever learned what I had done. I don’t know how you can even stand to look at me, much less extend a hand of forgiveness. Not that it’s likely to matter, once the others find out…”

“I can see where your fears would whisper that,” I said gently. “But in this case I’m glad to have disappointed you, because now you can atone for what you’ve done… and nobody else needs to know.”

Shock crossed his face. “You’re going to conceal my shame from the others? How can you say that; how can that fit under your Oath?”

Popping [Eagle’s Splendor], I fixed him with a stare that had all of my CHA behind it. “It fits every part of my Oath. To the hilt.”

He still didn't look convinced, so I took a moment to marshal my thoughts. I think it’s about time I start actively fulfilling the part of my oath about setting an example. Doing good myself is the most important part, but boosting other people up matters too.

“Look… part of my Oath is to not spend life without cause. Condemning you, turning you over to the Guardians, might mean not only your own death or exile. At the very least, the Guardians would understandably be less likely to share information with you, and that would lead to other preventable deaths. Can we at least agree on that much?”

Leonardo nodded reluctantly.

“Goodness means helping people,” I went on. “That includes people in bad situations, who might have done bad things. It includes you, because this is when you need it most. I’m offering you the mercy and understanding that I would hope to receive myself, in your situation. Moreover, I think that cycles of hatred are one reason why the Grimm have gotten this bad.”

“But to let me go unpunished–?”

“Is there anything I could do that’s worse than what you’re doing to yourself?” I interrupted gently. Tellingly he didn’t answer, so I continued, “Justice means stopping injustice; making sure the injustice doesn’t happen again… and I just made sure that you can’t recidivate. You know you did wrong, you already feel like shit, and now you’re making up for it. I don’t feel Justice would be served by the others cutting you out of the loop or killing you. If you don’t think that’s good enough, then by all means you can confess, but I’m not going to make that decision for you. You’re bound to your oath, and that means my Oath is satisfied.”

Leonardo shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t consider myself worthy of this mercy, but I won’t squander this second chance, Jaune. You have my word on that.”

“And unlike before, your word has weight,” I gave him an encouraging smile.

Sensing Qrow’s Aura enter my detection range, I turned to look at the window just in time for a crow to land on the sill. We stared at each other for a moment before he tapped his beak against the glass impatiently.

I opened it and said, “Shoo, I’m not feeding you.”

Qrow pecked at my fingers, beak sparking off my Aura, before hopping inside.

“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven.”

The bird raised one wing toward me, and with a flicker of magic transformed into Qrow with one finger raised. “I’m a crow, not a raven. You’re not as funny as you think, Punk.”

“Your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what makes you laugh,” I shot back. “You and Yang both have terrible senses of humor.”

“We’ll discuss how wrong you are later,” he scoffed, though his lips were twitching. “Leo, good to see you on your feet, what the hell happened?”

“He underestimated Callows just like we did,” I sighed before Leonardo had to invent something on the spot. “Thought closing the bastard in his office would give enough of an advantage to take him out.”

“It should have worked…” Leonardo sighed. “He was just too fast. I’m sorry for… everything, Qrow.”

Qrow’s eyes softened. “You did what you could, Leo. I’m just glad you’re all right. We’ve gotta stick together now more than ever.”

Leonardo swallowed, looking stricken for a moment at Qrow’s unwavering support.

And that’s why you don’t need more punishment, I thought. You’re already punishing yourself. Aloud, I cut in, “Fortunately, we’re here now. We’ve got your back, and between us, we can definitely take him out. Sorry to say it, but with you healed we’ve pretty much got the perfect bait.”

Leonardo smiled humorlessly. “Yes, I daresay seeing me alive will make it quite easy to lure him into a trap.”

“The trick is making sure it actually closes on the slippery fucker,” I sighed, sitting down beside the headmaster.

Qrow dropped into the easy chair and took a swig from his flask. “That can wait until tomorrow. Callows doesn’t know where Leo is, but someone else does.”

“Right, them,” I grunted. Somehow they just didn’t seem as important… but hang on, weren’t they the ‘Grimm’ that the If I Only Had The Nerve quest referred to?

I pulled up my [Journal] with a thought.

Huh, I forgot it actually implies there’s a connection. “Leonardo, sir, do you know Fennec and Corsac Albain of the White Fang?”

“What?” Leonardo seemed to come out of a reverie. “Oh, yes. They’re some of the contacts I maintain with the group since Ghira Belladonna stepped down. Why do you ask?”

“They tried to buy your whereabouts from Spider an hour ago,” Qrow revealed.

Leonardo grimaced. “I know they meet with Spider when they visit as well, but we tend to… mutually avoid the subject.”

“From what it sounded like, Spider and the White Fang either have an agreement to help faunus relocate in and out of their respective kingdoms, and/or they’re each openly pushing spies into the other’s organization,” I said.

Leonardo nodded slowly. “Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Most likely it’s a proxy battle between Sienna and Melody… I probably shouldn’t have ignored it for so long. Perhaps I can suggest Ogodei look into that.”

“They didn’t seem to know Callows was around, or even who he was, although they could’ve been lying about that,” said Qrow. “But they were very interested in Jaune when they found out he recovered you.”

“It seems I’ve caused you yet more trouble,” Leonardo fretted.

I waved him off. “It would’ve happened regardless. The question is, why were they so concerned when they heard you were missing? They said it was about your political importance, but is that the whole story?”

Leonardo spread his hands in a shrug. “I couldn’t say for certain. I’m not a member of the White Fang, but at their root they stand for faunus equality, and I am the only faunus who is the headmaster of an Academy or has any particular sway in one of the Kingdoms’ governments. Even if it is nominal and at the pleasure of the Familias.”

“How’s that?” I asked, brow furrowed. “Don’t you have a Council seat as headmaster?”

Qrow scoffed. “Think, Punk; who do you think controls the appointment of a headmaster?”

“Ogodei sponsored me in the wake of the Faunus Rights Revolution, suggesting it would be a way to signal that Mistral was a progressive Kingdom and attract a larger workforce, and the others approved,” Leonardo nodded. “So yes, I am a political voice for faunus, both Hunters and otherwise, but in terms of actual power I have very little. It is the Familias who rule the Kingdom, and I can only try to influence their agendas.”

“The Congress of Vacuo has some faunus members, but they’re a paper tiger,” Qrow elaborated. “Shade and the Legion are the only real sources of law and order, and as you well know, both their leaders are human. The Council of Vale are all human as well. Oz is sympathetic to the faunus; hell, as far as I know, so are Theo and Bianca, but that’s not the same as actually having a faunus in a position of power.”

“Atlas, I presume is barely worth mentioning,” I finished, and Qrow’s snort told me I was on the money. “In that case, I guess it makes sense for the White Fang to be concerned about you going dark. Maybe that’s all the Albains were after? Where did they go after talking to Spider?”

“They ditched the masks to blend in with the crowds, then went to grab dinner,” Qrow supplied. “I didn’t have a way to get close, but they weren’t meeting anyone so I came back to check on Leo.”

“How do you know they weren’t meeting someone if you couldn’t get inside?”

He smirked. “I did go inside. Sat down at the bar and had a drink. I only said I couldn’t get close, so I can’t tell you exactly what they were discussing. And I decided they weren’t meeting anyone there because they sat at a table that only had room for the two of them.”

“So odds are they’re also regrouping,” I surmised. “Still, they have to be here for a reason, don’t they?”

Qrow shrugged. “Can’t say for sure, we just need to keep them in mind as a factor. Remember, once they heard Leo was alive, they started asking about you.”

“My partner’s compiling a dossier; she’s recently started talking with her father again, so we’ll know soon if he’s aware they’re meeting the Mistrali Mob,” I said. “From what I understand, he’s not actively involved with the Fang, but I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t keep an ear to the ground.”

“Your partner?” Leonardo wondered.

“Ghira’s daughter Blake,” I clarified. “She’s not an active member anymore either, but Taurus’ chapter is active in Vale and that’s not something she can just let go. Considering he’s already tried to kill me once before, I’m kind of on the same page, but that’s a problem for Future Jaune when I get back to Vale.”

“Keep me informed about that,” said Qrow, eyes narrowed. “If the two of you are tangling with a splinter group of the White Fang, especially one that’s working with established criminals like Roman Torchwick, then Ruby’s going to insist on going along with you. You know that, right?”

“We are a team,” I agreed. “She’s been pretty insistent about being included where possible; they all have.”

“I know you well enough by now to be sure you’ll just ignore anyone telling you to stay out of it, but I want to be kept in the loop,” Qrow insisted.

“Just because I have a professional license doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore a resource that’s right in front of me,” I promised. “Still, let’s worry about that later. For tonight, it sounds like we’re probably in the clear, right? Spider knows Leonardo is with me. They know I’m with you, Qrow. And they know Callows is bad news. Lil’ Miss Malachite got what she wanted from me, so I suspect she’ll wash her hands of the situation. The Albains also know Leonardo’s with me, so we’ll have to look out for them to approach either one of us, but I’ve got dinner plans in an hour and something tells me they’re not gonna try barging into Grandma’s house.”

We all shared a laugh at that idea.

“We can work on a plan to draw one or both groups out tomorrow,” said Qrow. “I’ll shadow Jaune during dinner in case Callows tries anything tonight. Leo, you stay here and lay low; call if there’s trouble.”

“I’ve caused you enough trouble–” Leonardo began, but Qrow and I both overruled him.

“Don’t be an idiot, Leo.”

“I didn’t cut a deal with Spider to have you run off and get yourself killed,” I added. “Take it easy tonight; we’ll deal with tomorrow in the morning. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to shower before I meet a woman for dinner.”

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Name: Jaune ArcLevel: 61 (Next: 63.35%)Title: Academy StudentRace: HumanAge: 18Job: Journeyman HuntsmanClass: PaladinSemblance: The GamerHP: 8202/8202MP: 4456/4456STR: 223 (100)CON: 279 (102)DEX: 162 (54)INT: 136 (51)WIS: 110 (52)CHA: 152 (52)Points: 112Money: 1,008,990LStatus: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

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A/N: If you’re enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server at https://discord.gg/H6V854Fvbg

Been doing some reflecting on the nature of paragon characters in fiction (a category which paladins kinda fall into by default) and decided that I have perhaps left a little bit too much of Jaune’s reasoning unspoken. After all, the actions he takes already make sense to me. But on the other hand, when it comes to a situation like this with (imo) some actual moral complexity, it’s probably worth at least walking through his reasoning.It’s possible I’ll oversteer a bit as I try to incorporate a new lesson into my writing, but that’s how we learn.