Blake had no idea where she was going. While that would normally be cause for great concern of someone of her caliber. Not to say she was a professional of any sort, but she would freely boast her above average combat capabilities and general street smarts. She had a good head on her shoulders and she knew it.

So when she realized she was utterly lost in the streets of Vale, Blake was seriously starting to question her sanity. A forest was one thing, the addition of grimm was another. But being lost in the middle of the city was unheard of for her.

But, thinking about it logically, it made sense. Vale was a large place and the city was no slouch either. Sticking to main roads almost guaranteed not getting lost but taking a few turns off without paying much attention could easily get people lost as the architecture stayed the same, but the state of the area and demographic were very, very different.

The streets were sun-bleached. Miniature cracks littered the pavement, some of them with tiny specks of greenery peeking out. Instead of the usual smooth sidewalks, it had uneven leveling, from years of tectonic shifting. Tiny ruptures of concrete pushing together just enough that it could trip someone if they stepped on it wrong.

All in all, it looked similar to the center of Vale, but much more run down. As if the city hadn't gotten around to its annual cleanup for several years in a row, instead opting to skip an area like this. Cynical as she was, she figured it had something to do with the general demographic of this area. Faunus of all kinds could be seen relaxing around the area, sitting on benches and other various places to rest. Humans also were seen among those out and about.

To call it cohabitation or even cooperation between human and faunus would be a bit much. Blake was happy to see that there didn't seem to be any real animosity between the two groups that loitered the streets, but there was still very clearly a divide between the two. It was difficult for Blake to describe with only an afternoon's observations to base her opinion off of, but it was more like mutual acknowledgement rather than a genuine ease between the groups. It was a work in progress, much more than could be said for other kingdoms.

Despite that. It still had similar flaws that came with run-down neighborhoods such as the one she was currently in.

Thugs and crooks.

Was she being a bit stereotypical? Of course. Blake would freely admit that, on some level there was a tiny tinge of guilt for stereotyping neighborhoods with low socio-economic status. Especially with who she was and what she fought for.

But of course, on the other hand, being followed for the last 10 minutes by a group of rowdy thugs who thought they were being subtle was something that rather annoyed her. To make matters worse, it was a mixture of both faunus and humans. The only time they worked together was for crime!

She had no doubt that she could probably take them on and come out unscathed, but she didn't want to cause a scene. The people that lived here didn't need that extra burden on their shoulders just because a group of thugs picked a fight with the wrong person.

Gambol Shroud being left at the Fang's camp and her scroll being out of battery had nothing to do with her reluctance, it just made things a bit more inconvenient.

Blake sighed. It really wasn't her day.

She turned a corner and slipped into her semblance for a second, letting shadows envelop her and cover her tracks as she pushed aura into her legs and jumped up onto a balcony one story above. Her clone was below, still on the ground as she willed it to start sprinting away, the group of thugs turning the corner at just the right time to see her shadow clone dashing around a corner.

"Get her!" Said one of the thugs.

Blake didn't bother taking extra precautions up on the balcony. She was hidden well with shadows from the overhang obscuring her. If any of them even bothered to look up in the first place, the only thing they would see is the darkness cast by the setting sun.

She huffed in amusement as she saw the ragtag mixed group of faunus and humans chase after her shadow clone. It reminded her vaguely of that old cat and mouse show, no pun intended, that used to air when she was younger. When the last of them had vanished from her sight, and the ruffling of shoes on concrete faded, Blake whirled around to the sliding glass door that was next to her. It was the door to an apartment that led to the balcony she was currently loitering on.

Peeking inside, Blake took note of the empty room and turned off lights and figured there probably wasn't anyone home. She reached for her hair and took off a tiny clip accessory she kept on her, and unfolded it.

It was a lock-pick she always kept around… for reasons.

It only took a minute of scant fiddling around with the lock for her to get it open. It was old fashioned, and newer security measures had obviously not been installed. Something she wasn't really surprised about considering the location. She could have done it even faster than a minute, but she didn't want to damage the lock for the poor person who lived here.

Blake stepped inside and surveyed the apartment. She wasn't looking to steal from the place, she was just looking to charge her scroll. Most people in Vale had a scroll so it would make sense for her to find a charger laying around an apartment right? She was well aware that she was tip toeing a fine line between 'borrowing' a charger, burglary, and breaking and entering.

But no one was getting hurt, and she was getting increasingly suspicious that no one even lived here. No dishes left out, no television, no random little trinkets laying around. It was devoid of life.

So on the bright side she wasn't breaking and entering anyone's home. On the downside, she probably wasn't going to find anything to charge her scroll with.

Blake took one last look around the living room area, opening a few cupboards for good measure. There were a few plates and cups stashed away but a quick swipe of her finger revealed a hint of dust, definitely unused then. It helped her make up her mind. She hadn't explored the bedroom or whatever other rooms the small apartment hosted, but she sincerely doubted she would find anything different.

She got ready to leave when she heard it.

The sound of a door opening.

It wasn't from the entrance to the apartment, rather it was from the hall. Light flooded the room and blinded Blake for a moment as her eyes had to adjust to the brightness. It took her only a moment to acclimatize, but what she saw stunned her.

Abs.

She saw abs.

It wasn't anything overly muscular like a six pack, but it was still clearly toned. A lithe stature that showed off enough of that flat stomach, definitively male in nature. A towel was wrapped around the hips, not necessarily dipping low but just enough to draw her eyes.

Blake couldn't help but swallow in an attempt to whet her suddenly dry mouth. She swore she just read a situation like this in one of her recent books. Which one was it? The name was blanking on her as her mind was currently preoccupied with not staring at the sudden appearance nicely toned piece of-

"Blake?"

The bow wearing girl halted her thoughts. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Who called her name? She turned around to make sure no one was behind. Then turned towards the balcony. No one was there either.

She turned back to the abs. Perhaps it was them? She struggled a tiny bit to bring her eyes up, but up she went. Traveling her gaze up and take great notice of how tiny rivulets of water steamed down the strangers body, all the way up to his neck and-

Oh gods it was the bookstore guy.

"Makoto?" She squeaked out, a new feeling of impending doom closing in on her.

"Yes…?"

"Why are you here…?" She couldn't help but ask. Her brain had short circuited the second she realized exactly who she was talking to.

"I live here."

"Ah." That made a lot of sense.

Blake wanted to scream. She wanted to shrivel up and die. She wanted to hop into a box, get shipped to the uninhabited farlands, curl up into a ball denser than a neutron star until she spontaneously combusted and exploded into a thousand pieces. She then wanted those thousand pieces to ignite on fire and burn away into ashes that would be scattered into the wind and never be seen again.

Of course it was someone she knew. Of course she broke into someone's house that she knew and it was someone who was actually nice to her. Some god up there was most certainly laughing at her expense because there is absolutely no way she coincidentally happened to break into the house of someone she ran into thrice before on the same day.

"Are you… robbing me?" The blue haired boy asked her.

…What? Why would he ask…

Oh gods it totally looked like she was robbing him.

"No! No. Look I know this is weird but I swear this is one big messed up coincidence!" She denied vehemently. She did not want to perpetuate any misunderstandings she had already caused.

Not to someone she might even consider… whatever the in-between a friend and acquaintance was. If there even was a word for that. A friendly acquaintance perhaps. It wasn't the time to muse such idle thoughts however, she knew her mind wandered in such situations to avoid thinking about whatever inevitable consequence was about to happen because there was absolutely no chance in remnant any normal person would just accept someone who was basically a stranger showing up randomly inside their house and she knew for a fact she wouldn't and rambling was the only way for her not to outwardly freak out and-

"Alright."

Blake paused her inner monologue. Taking a few seconds to digest the situation.

She, Blake Belladonna, a faunus(in hiding) broke into someone's apartment. That someone turned out to be her friend(ly) acquaintance whom she met around a month ago. That same someone who, in response to seeing her being inside their apartment unsolicited, was completely fine when she said it was all just a big coincidence. Without any further explanation.

Was she the idiot for breaking in or was he for being so trusting?

"What… Do you mean 'alright'?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I'll take your word for it." He explained.

"Are… you sane? You're not even a little bit suspicious that I happened to be inside your apartment?" She questioned the blue haired boy.

Makoto raised an eyebrow in response to Blake's words. "Should I be?"

"No! I just mean I could be someone bad. I-I could be trying to steal from you or hurt you!"

Blake watched as Makoto actually stopped to adopt a different expression from his neutral one that he had this entire time. His brow furrowed for a few seconds as he stared at her.

"Are you?" He asked after a few moments.

The cat faunus blinked as she processed the question. "No!" She repeated. "I'm just saying that-"

"Blake." He interrupted her. "I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character, and had it been just some random person in my apartment I would not be having a casual conversation with them. You aren't a random person. You're a good person, and I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt that you have an explanation for everything." Makoto explained in a serious tone.

Blake felt herself flush in a myriad of emotions. She was happy at the explicit trust she was being shown. It had been a long while since someone had been so frank with her regarding trust. At the same time it was confusing and came with a small amount of guilt. What did she do to deserve it? Was he simply naive? Or innocent? Or… sheltered? Did she deserve it? Would he still say the same things if he knew she was a part of the White Fang? Probably not. She knew that's where the guilt came from.

How would someone even respond to such a statement in her situation? Her reclusive nature seemed like it was working against her at this moment.

"Thanks…" She said lamely. Unable to come up with anything more.

It was tiny, but there was the faintest upturn of Makoto's lips. The tiniest of smiles. "Of course. Let's continue this conversation after I get dressed… if that's alright?"

Blake was forcefully reminded that yes, Makoto was standing there in nothing but a towel this entire time. It was something she had forgotten when her brain had short circuited earlier. Her traitorous eyes forcefully took another dip downward at the reminder and thatmade her cheeks feel warm for an entirely different reason than earlier.

"Yeah. Of course." She said, letting out a tiny mental cheer over the fact that she didn't stutter nor did she break eye contact once it was reestablished.

Blake watched Makoto head back into the hall, disappearing down another door that she assumed to be his bedroom. She let out a tiny sigh of relief in knowing that she hadn't completely ruined a possible friendship in the making. It would also suck to have to find another bookstore that stocked one of the harder to find series she was currently reading.

She took the time of his absence to take another look around Makoto's apartment. She didn't open any cupboards like before, but it really was bare and empty just as she observed previously. Did he actually live like this? There were just… zero signs of life. No personality to the room. Even her tent back at the Fang camp had more to it. She had books lying around and while she would hesitate to call it messy it certainly felt well-lived.

Perhaps he simply moved in recently? It would certainly make sense. People generally didn't unpack instantly. She would know. Despite the fact that she had little personal belongings, virtue of her… occupation, she still took her time to fully unpack each time the camp changed locations. A normal person with a normal occupation probably would take a much longer time.

Makoto returned a few moments later. Dressed in a casual outfit, his hair was still damp from what she assumed to be a shower that she interrupted. And he had that unreadable neutral expression back on his face.

Blake didn't fidget in place no matter how much she wanted to. It was just confusing. What was she supposed to start talking about? How she got angry at her social activist almost turned terrorist group and wanted no part of it so she stormed off without her weapon? How she got lost and her scroll died, only to get followed by a bunch of thugs?

How, in a moment of extreme brilliance by her. She thought of picking the lock of whatever random apartment she found and just borrowing a scroll charger?

She was sure that would go over well. It totally wouldn't make her look crazy as no normal person would just casually break into an apartment to charge their scroll.

But of course, it was a little too late for that. She'd already been caught. So with great reluctance, she began her story.

"I got lost." She started off with before immediately wincing. That sounded stupid and cheap even by her measures. "I-I was, well, got in an argument with…"

What would she even say here? Family? The White Fang might have at one point been her brothers and sisters, but each and every day she felt further and further away from what it once was. So… work it was then

"...my work that led me to wander off. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going and ended up in the neighborhood, only to be followed by a few… unruly people.

Makoto gave the tiniest of nods. "And you broke into my apartment to escape?"

Blake winced at the question. "Well… I used your balcony to lose them. But I…" She really did not want to say broke into, "...entered your apartment to look for a scroll charger." She finished.

Makoto was silent for a few moments. "I live on the second floor." He stated, glancing over at the half open balcony door.

The cat faunus was confused about that specific fact, before she quickly realized that most civilians didn't have aura to augment certain physical abilities. Such a feat was likely to cause a bit of a hang up with most people.

The blue haired boy was silent once again for a few moments. "I don't have a scroll charger to lend you. I'm sorry." He admitted to her.

The sudden swap in topic gave Blake pause before she inferred what he meant by that. "Oh. Yeah. No, it's no problem." She said,

She could hardly blame someone for being reluctant to lend out a charger to someone who broke into their house. She didn't hold it against him even if it did sting just a tiny bit.

Makoto must have sensed something wrong because he adopted a look of confusion before it changed to understanding.

"...No, Blake. You're misunderstanding. I don't have a charger because I don't have a scroll."

"...Why?" She asked before realizing how utterly loaded the question was. Before she could apologize, Makoto answered the question as if she didn't say something that could have been incredibly offensive.

"Never saw the need. I don't talk to many people and any news updates I could just get at work."

"So you could buy one, you just haven't?"

Makoto nodded. "Yes."

Blake opened her mouth to respond but closed it as she thought about what she was going to say.

Was this… an opportunity?

For a new friend? One that was completely apart from her other life and could potentially talk about normal things like books?

Did she even deserve such a friend? She wasn't sure the answer to that, but at the very least she could try.

"Do you… want to get a scroll?" She asked hesitantly.

The only indication that he heard her was the tiniest furrowing of his brow and how his eyes seemed to pierce through her. Blake suddenly felt rather vulnerable, feeling as if he could immediately tell exactly how much she was anticipating his answer.

The silence stretched on for a few more moments than she was comfortable with for someone who was basically a stranger. She was beginning to get cold feet when he responded.

"Sure. I know a place nearby that can sell me one. We can buy you a scroll charger at the same time too." He said.

Blake did not jump in joy or yell happily, perhaps if she were a character from one of her generic romance novels she would have. But she did feel relieved that he had accepted. She felt the tiniest bit of warmth settle in her chest.

"Alright. Lead the way." She replied.

They were out of the door within a minute.

Horizon wireless offered a plethora of scrolls that left even Blake mind boggled. Hers was several years old at this point, and in those few years technology had obviously come leaps and bounds for scrolls.

Flip-scrolls. Foldable scrolls. Scrolls that bunched up and could fit into a wallet. Scrolls that doubled as hair accessories. It was honestly quite overwhelming.

How did they even do that last one anyways? She might consider upgrading to it if she could save up a little…

"I'll go with this one." Makoto told her, deciding upon a flip-scroll with a rather antique model.

It was small like all flip-scrolls, but uniquely had wider bezels around the screen and a dedicated section for typing. It certainly wasn't one Blake had considered, but strangely enough, fit Makoto nearly perfectly.

"It fits you." She told him.

Makoto gave a rare smile, shown only by the smallest quirk of the sides of his lips. "Thank you." He said genuinely.

When the both of them paid, Blake with her charger and Makoto with his new scroll. They mingled outside for a bit longer. Blake had moved to take out her scroll and add Makoto, but quickly remembered that the entire reason she was here in the first place was because her scroll had run out of battery.

Makoto, whether because he understood Blake's intentions or because they were on a similar thought process, instead took out his scroll and handed it over to Blake. She quickly maneuvered to the contacts tab and added herself. Sending herself a quick message of a cat emoji in the process.

"There. I added myself and sent myself a text so I can add you back." Blake said, handing him back his item.

Her blue haired friend just nodded. "Got it. I'll send you another message after I finish work tomorrow." He told her in his usual monotone.

Blake felt herself warm up at the prospect. To have someone normal she could talk to sounded quite nice. Much better than constant chatter about the White Fang.

"We're back in the main city, do you know how to get back to your place from here?" Makoto continued after a few moments of silence.

She nodded. She might not know exactly what street they were on, but she recognized enough landmarks to lead her in the right direction. She would have no problem getting back to camp.

"Yeah. I'll be alright."

"I'm going to head back then, it's getting late. I'll see you around, Blake."

"See you later, Makoto."

And with that, the two parted. Their outing together finished.

On the way back to the Fang's camp. Blake realized something important.

If she was close enough to the main part of the city that she could find her way back. Why did she buy a charger?

She nearly facepalmed at her oversight. It wasn't any amount of money for her to worry about, but it was the principle of the matter that annoyed her. Wasting money wasn't something she liked doing. Especially not with how sporadic her 'job' was.

Despite that, she found that such a small fact couldn't quite wipe away the smile that had been stuck on her face the entire way back.

It was nice to make a friend.

Start: September 4th. 2022.

End: October 10th. 2022.

Words: 3844

Chapter took a bit, kinda got side-tracked with FF14 and end of session exams and school and all that. Hope you enjoy it. Next chapter probably won't be so long as I had only planned for this to be around 2k words. Ended up being nearly double. Oops.

Don't think too much about the finer details. Just enjoy some fluff.

-FN.

EDIT: if you noticed a chapter 3 go out in the middle of the night then ignore it i uploaded an update to my other fic to this one on accident oopsies.