The change was so subtle he didn't notice it. Things continued as they usually did, with the same gangsters coming twice a day for coffee, and a few other regulars making their rounds in the mornings and at lunch. It wasn't an obvious thing, at least not at first. It wasn't until he'd come to deliver some cakes to a pair of young men that he realised things were changing at all.
"Thank you, kind sir," the large man said in a voice that was almost paradoxically soft. "I had heard about this venue from some friends of mine, and I'm glad to see they spoke the truth as to its quality."
"No problem," Jaune replied politely. He'd have always been polite to a man who looked to be seven feet tall and built of muscle, but in this case it honestly felt like it would have been a sin to be rude - almost like kicking a friendly dog. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves. And here's your cake, sir."
The dark-skinned male nodded and took the mug, then sipped it and paused before nodding again, this time with a tiny smile.
"We ought to bring Coco and Velvet here," the large man said. "What do you say, Fox?"
Fox, or at least the guy Jaune presumed was named such, nodded again and hummed something under his breath. It wasn't really an answer but it seemed enough for his friend, who relaxed into a seat far too small for him with a contented sigh.
"I have to go and serve some others. Feel free to grab my attention if you need anything."
"We shall. Thank you."
It wasn't anything about the two of them which tipped him off, and in fact, it was actually something he noticed as he left their table. To be honest, it probably should have been noticeable from the start.
After all, it wasn't exactly easy to miss the huge sword leaning against the table.
Not huge in the sense of a conventional two-handed weapon, but huge in the way that meant it was ridiculously over-sized for any purpose at all. Also, it was bright orange, which was equal parts pointless and bizarre. It made him pause and look around, and he started to notice that the other tables had signs of weapons by them, too.
There was the one in the corner where two girls were chatting animatedly. They looked only a little older than him, and quite pretty, but it was the handgun laid casually next to a menu that drew the eye. The other girl had a knife at her waist as well, and not a single person in the diner seemed put off by it. Not even an awkward glance towards the dangerously armed people filling his diner.
And why should they, when almost everyone else there was also armed to the teeth?
It was at that point he realised what had happened, even if he wasn't sure when or how.
He'd become a haunt for huntsmen.
Huh… fancy that.
It wasn't just students either, even if he was fairly sure those two guys from before were just that. There was a middle-aged man on his scroll by the window, sat atop one of the stools with a steaming mug of coffee before him. There was a collapsible spear propped up beside him. There was also a chatting group of four around a table who were almost certainly somewhere between twenty and thirty years old. Being near a wall, they'd leaned their weapons up against it – which really should have made him feel a little nervous, but somehow didn't.
Who was he to tell them how to look after their equipment? They knew it better than he did!
I'm not imagining this though, am I? There are so many more huntsmen and huntresses here, and now that I think about it, I've lost a lot of my regulars. The thought shocked him, and he looked around again just to be sure. There were one or two normal people, and they were easy to spot because they didn't look nearly as relaxed as the huntsmen. Still, it was nothing compared to the numbers he'd normally have at this time, and even though he'd gained ten or so new customers, it looked to have cost him ten old ones.
The diner was about as busy as it always was, but with different people to usual. It could have been a coincidence, but he doubted it… mostly because there were a few faces who dropped by every single morning without fail. Or they had, now that he thought about it, up until a day or two ago… which was about the time Team RWBY became regular customers. They must have spread the news about his diner. He smiled and made a note to thank Ruby for that.
Still, had that driven his old custom away? Why was that?
On a side note, maybe he should invest in a weapons rack or something. If he was going to have customers armed to the death, then he could at least take steps to accommodate them. Then again, given how expensive most huntsmen weapons were, maybe that would be too risky. He might have to get insurance for it, and he reallycouldn't afford to start messing around with stuff like that. Better to just stomach the awkwardness and move on.
The bell rang again as a new customer entered, or a set of customers this time. There were four in total, and these ones were definitely not students – two of them even having greying hair. As had happened the last few times the bell rang, every huntsmen in the diner looked to the door and touched their weapons, and as had happened every time before, they relaxed once it was safe and went back to their conversations.
Jaune let out a short sigh. I feel like some kind of person visiting a zoo. He laughed to himself and imagined a posh narrator's voice in his head. And here we have a wild herd of huntsmen in their natural habitat. See how even when at rest, they are painfully alert, and take the time to inspect any new members of the herd before relaxing. This is to ward off predators.
Though he wasn't sure what they'd count as predators in the middle of Vale. He shook his head and dispelled the thought, picking up four menus and carrying them out to the people as they settled around a table by the front window. It was a good spot with a commanding view of the street, and even though he probably could have fit another table and four chairs in there, he knew his customers liked having the extra space to stretch their legs and get comfortable.
"Here you go," he said, handing the menus to the three men and one woman. "If you know what you'd like, I'll be happy to take your order, or I can come back in a few moments if you'd prefer."
"Are you the owner here?" the woman asked. She was stern-faced with blonde hair and green eyes. She immediately made him think of a teacher, and also that he'd forgotten to do his homework.
"I-I am," he said, and then cringed at his stutter. "Is there a problem I can help with?"
"No, of course not…" She looked down to her menu. "I was simply curious."
"Please forgive my colleague. She's had a busy day." It was the white-haired man who apologised with a charismatic smile. He wore a green suit and had an odd set of glasses over his eyes. "I will have a cup of coffee, please."
Jaune blinked.