"Your name?" Blake's father asked. More like demanded. He could picture his younger self cowering beneath this man's gaze. Now though, there was a whole slew of rampaging emotions.

"Jaune Arc. And my daughter's name is Vanessa." The man's eyes sharpened briefly.

"Vanessa... That's a beautiful name. So, Mr. Arc. How did you two come to agree to that name?" His gaze softened. "Sorry, I just have quite a few questions for you, young man. And I believe it'd be best for me to ask them rather than my wife."

"Just Jaune is fine, sir."

"Ghira. We may practically be strangers, but we do have this inherent connection considering your past relationship with my daughter." The man sighed. "It's no secret that I'm quite disappointed in her. She runs off with this reckless fool in pursuit of something by the wrong means, then she brings home some new man I dislike immensely."

Jaune saw Sun shrink in his seat a bit.

"And after another few years she finally contacts her father only to tell him he's a grandfather. And has been for 17 years, no less." The man sniffed and wiped his eyes a bit. "I'm a grandfather... I know this is bizarre for you, young man. We've not met in person, and yet you have this significant role in my daughter's and my apparent granddaughter's life. I've always wanted a grandchild... Under these circumstances though? The news broke me."

"I..." Jaune wasn't sure what to say. "We named Vanessa after my favorite character in this book we read together. It was how we first interacted, just the two of us. Our teams back in Beacon interacted often, but I was closer to her leader back then. We didn't interact much until the end of our first year."

"Ah, so you're a huntsman?"

"No. I gave up my place in Beacon to raise Vanessa."

Ghira coughed. "You... raised her by yourself?"

Jaune eyed Blake. Just how much had she mentioned earlier? Not much by the sounds of it. She imply nodded her head.

"I did. Blake transferred out of Beacon shortly after Vanessa was born."

"Transferred...? And you live in Vale?"

"For 18 years now."

Ghira's expression darkened.

"I had help raising Vanessa though. My old team visited often, a colleague from work always stopped by... And Blake's former teammate helped a lot as well." He smiled a bit, reminiscing about the earlier years. "Vanessa aspires to be a huntress herself. She's quite the mischievous girl. I blame some of her aunts for that. Just the other day she managed to convince her classmates that aliens existed."

Ghira let out a light chuckle. That had to be the first moment he cracked a smile.

"Thank you for raising her, Jaune. My wife and I, if you'd let us, would love to meet her. I know this is an unfair request given the circumstances..."

"We'd be delighted to have you. Vanessa has always wanted to learn more about her mother's family. And I'd love to make a proper acquaintance with you and your wife as well."

"Then why don't we arrange something? We live in Menagerie. Quite the vacation spot these days..."


"You realize Blake said all of that because Jaune couldn't bring himself to, right?" Reverie asked. Yang sent a glare her way. Reverie stood her ground, never impressed by Yang's look. "I don't particularly like Blake. And this isn't enough to redeem her in my eyes, if there is anything left she can do, that is. But that doesn't deny the fact she saved Jaune some of the trouble."

"It was still awful of her. To say such things to her," Yang rebuked. "She's avoiding the underlying issue!"

"And now Vanessa hates her. Just like you wanted."

"I don't-"

"I've noticed how you've been quite on edge. This isn't like the time that one lady got a little too friendly with Jaune. Or when Vanessa was bullied back in primary school. This is more than just anger. Your eyes hide something much deeper."

"I've told you my story before. You earned it. Blake was no different compared to my mother. It was the ultimate act of betrayal. I trusted her with that story and she goes ahead and abandons her family like that."

"Do not mistaken my small defense for Blake as condemning her for her mistakes. I'm just... concerned for you, Yang."

"For me?"

"You love Vanessa just as much as I do, if not more. No amount of time I spend fruitlessly calculating that amount of love will bring me closure, but... I cannot deny you've done just as much as I have. So seeing you like this... it doesn't sit right. What is it you want, Yang?"

"What're you going on about? This is about Vanessa, not me. Our daughter is at her rock bottom right now. It's only natural for us to be concerned for her."

Our daughter...

Reverie shook her head. "Perhaps I'm just being paranoid... Perhaps I'm just freaking out about how Vanessa doesn't wish to see either of us right now? I wonder, you know? Is she thinking that we'd abandon her too?"

"We'd never-"

"She knows. But the fear is still there. We may never voluntarily leave, but that right can be robbed from us at any point." Reverie adjusted her blouse, revealing a scar along her waist. "Remember this? I honestly thought I was a goner when I was grazed by that bullet. Just a few inches... Had Jaune not been there, I could be in a far worse state right now. Dead even."

"Reverie..."

"And there's your own feelings towards Blake, Yang. I really think you should address them. Not the feelings pertaining to everything going on with Vanessa, but your own. You think I haven't noticed?" Reverie lightly chuckled with a bitter smile.

"Blake abandoned all of that years ago. I did too. That's all there is to that certain issue."