All was silent save for the far-off footfalls of volunteers elsewhere in the manor as Blake reached out and hesitantly laid a hand on the heavy iron ring attached to the door before her. She hesitated, her lip trembling slightly as she tried to decide whether or not to open it. Before she could make the call, another hand with painted black fingernails gently fell atop hers.
"…hey," Amaya called before waiting for Blake to look over at her. "Look, I might not know specifics, but I know body language, and I can feel your pulse hammering. Take it from me- there's no shame in taking a step back from things you're not ready to confront, just yet. Doing that might cause more harm than good. This room will be here when you feel up to it, and we'll be ready to come with you when you decide it's time."
Just as slowly, a second hand wrapped in a fingerless leather glove settled atop Amaya's from Blake's other side.
"And don't think we'll judge you if you do go in, and can't deal with what you see. We've all got our hang-ups and weaknesses. Based on what Sun told me about your old man, he was something special to everyone who knew him. That means he was probably even better than that, in your eyes, and seeing his office again might be… rough. We'll stay with you, whatever you decide."
Blake nodded, her mind swimming with possibilities as she looked down at the pair of hands atop her own.
"Neptune, you just wanted to touch my hand, didn't you?" Amaya accused.
"…maybe," the boy said with an unreadable expression as he looked around Blake and held the faunus' judgmental glare.
Blake couldn't help but smirk before heaving a sigh and shaking her head.
"Neptune, we've known each other for what feels like forever, now, even if we didn't really talk much back at school. Amaya, it's been less than a week, and I already feel like you're becoming someone I can trust with a side of myself that I don't normally show to others… so that's what I'm going to do," Blake resolved as she looked back up at the massive emblem painted upon the door. "I'm not the girl I was in the White Fang, or at Beacon. I'm done running from my problems, and saying I'll face them tomorrow. Even if it's unpleasant, I'm going to face this now."
Neptune and Amaya slipped their hands off of Blake's as she pulled hard upon the heavy door and took a deep breath. There just beyond the gigantic wooden portal was Ghira Belladonna's office, somehow untouched by the fire save for soot clinging to the large sliding window on the far left side of the room. A set of couches with velvety green cushions stood in the middle of the room with a familiar coffee table between them, and nearly every single wall was adorned with bookshelves filled to the brim with literature of all sorts. Off to Blake's right was Ghira's desk, the surface still piled with haphazardly strewn stacks of paperwork, never to be completed. On the wall behind the desk was a larger-than-life portrait of the man himself, looking out over the room with the stoic, unreadable gaze that Blake thought of every time her father came to mind.
"Whoa," Neptune commented softly as he followed Blake inside of the office. "This is… like something from a movie…"
The boy jumped slightly as he felt Amaya's hand grip his rear in a tight hold for a second, before she let him go and rested her elbow up onto his shoulder while leaning into him.
"Don't ruin the moment for her. You don't always have to say something. We've been over this."
Neptune gave Amaya a quiet nod and swallowed hard. He slowly and carefully raised a shaking hand and tried to lightly wrap it around Amaya's waist, but stopped himself an inch from her bare lower back. Before he could decide what to do, she walked forward and began to inspect the bookshelves, none the wiser of his intent.
"Dad… spent more time in here than with Mom, when I was growing up," Blake began as she looked up into the portrait's eyes. "I was always worried about what that might mean, even though he would always stop his work to make time for me, but… as I got older, I realized that Mom and Dad just had a thing that worked. I never really understood it, but I think… having Sun, and feeling just as close to him even when we're so far apart, I'm starting to get it. Some things just have to be done, before the opportunity slips away. That's something he tried to teach me as a kid, but it's something I'm still learning now."
Neptune slowly approached Blake and stood at her side, looking up at the man in the golden frame. In truth, he found the man intimidating, but he didn't let that stop him as he cleared his throat and tried to think of what to say. Finally, he settled upon the truth.
"…we're probably the two absolute worst people on this island to give you any kind of meaningful advice and reassure you in this situation, and I feel awful because of that. But uh… do you need a h-"
Neptune stopped talking as Blake wrapped him in a tight embrace. As he realized that the girl showed no signs of letting go, he gently placed his arms around her back and returned the gesture.
"…you spent a lot of time in here as a kid?" Amaya questioned as she carefully pulled down a leather-bound book and cracked it open.
"Some of my best and worst memories are in this room, yes," Blake admitted as she pulled back from Neptune and rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. A wet trail of mascara smudged onto her skin, and Neptune froze up as the faunus turned to face Amaya.
"He used to read to me whenever I would pull books down and bring them to him, even if he was in the middle of something important. If I didn't like it, he would stop working and take me to the shelves to find one I did like, before we would sit on the couch together and resume. If you look on the bottom two shelves on the opposite wall, they're all fairy tales, under rows and rows of historical records and books on economics. He always put them where I could reach them…"
"So that's where you got the love for books from?" Neptune asked, only for Blake to nod as she approached the shelf near Amaya. "That was… probably a dumb question," he added as the bat faunus narrowed her eyes at him. "Shutting up now."
"No, it's alright," Blake consoled as she read the spines of the tomes within the shelf at her eye level. She sniffled again, and her voice cracked slightly. "Sometimes, as I got a little older, he would intentionally read me some of these, because he knew I hated them. That was my punishment, when I got out of line… but honestly, I even enjoyed those times, at least somewhat, just because I got to hear him read to me…"
"Ha," Amaya mused as she closed the book in her hand. "My old man used to just beat my ass when I was being a little shit. I think that's why it's so nice now, honestly. He tenderized the damned thing."
"Mine never laid a hand on me," Blake admitted. "I almost feel like he should have. Maybe then, I wouldn't have stayed behind in the White Fang when he and Mom left…"
"Don't beat yourself up over it," Amaya suggested as she watched Neptune walk to the couch facing Ghira's portrait and sit, his eyes still on the painting. "You've got an opportunity to make up for that now, and I'm sure he'd be proud of you for doing what you're doing."
Blake frowned and held her arm as she looked down at the intricately patterned carpet.
"…I'm not," she said in a small voice.
The two others in the room simply looked at Blake as she paused to collect her thoughts. Amaya meandered her way to Neptune's couch and sat heavily beside him, before crossing her legs atop the cushion and waiting silently.
"I feel like… I feel like I'm just letting everyone else make the real changes, and big impacts that we need to move forward. Mom, Sun, Cinnamon, and… even Ruby and her team are all taking charge, while I'm just allowing myself to go along for the ride. I feel paralyzed right now, and even if I'm done running, I'm not ready to really step up when it matters just yet. Mom's done so much already, and to see her forced into the role of High Leader now just feels so wrong. She tried to warn him. She tried to warn all of us, before Sun and I made a move that ultimately brought Adam to the mansion and got him killed. It should be me shouldering that burden, to make up for all the suffering I've caused, both to Mom, and my friends. Otherwise, I… I feel like I'll never be worthy of the Belladonna name. I can never reach the heights he did," Blake finished with a tearful look at her father's painting.
"…I think… you're setting the bar too high for yourself," Neptune said slowly as he leaned forward and clasped his hands between his open legs. "You're thinking like you're obligated to one day earn your portrait up there, just as big as his is. Maybe you're not meant for that… but maybe you are. Sure, he led the White Fang for several years, and led Kuo Kuana after that, but those are things that will just end up in books like the ones all around us, right now. They'll be read to someone else long after we're all gone, and Ghira Belladonna will become an idea, rather than a person. To you… you're keeping him alive inside your mind as the man he was, not the authority figure, and based on everything I've heard… he was a man who cared about people. He took Sun in and changed his life, and he welcomed you back into his own with open arms after you disappointed him on a level so severe that you thought he'd never accept you again. That's the kind of thing you should aspire to, in order to make him proud. Impacting peoples' lives, even if it's just one or two. That's what would earn you the Belladonna name, and that's infinitely more doable than leading a revolution, or leading an entire village. Besides- I doubt he did all that by nineteen."
Blake finally managed to tear her eyes off the monolithic portrait and turned to face Neptune, looking somewhat stunned. One of Amaya's wings was draped lightly over his shoulder, and she wore a smug look as the boy beside her continued to speak.
"You've already made a huge difference in Sun, and trust me- I would know. Just be on the lookout for more opportunities to change peoples' lives, both here, and wherever we go moving forward. That's what Belladonnas are good at, Blake. Your mom's just doing it on a grander scale because she's mastered the art. Don't feel shame because you're not there yet. Feel grateful, because your parents are still leading the way, even now. I mean, really, Ghira just led me to that conclusion, from the look on his face up there alone."
Blake made her way over to the couch opposite her friends and sat down with a muted smile. She gave Neptune a nod of understanding, which he returned.
"…you're wrong. You're the best person that could be here with me, right now. Thank you, Neptune."
"Anytime," Neptune offered with a million-lien smile. He jumped slightly as Amaya's wing patted his shoulder, as though he hadn't noticed the leathery appendage until that very moment.
"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving," the woman said as she interlaced her fingers and cracked them high over her head in a stretch. "Want me to go grab us some food, and bring it back here? I'm sure you've got more you could tell us about your old man, and I'm willing to listen if you want to talk more."
"I… that would be great, actually," Blake admitted as she watched Amaya slip off the couch and stand. "Thank you."
"No problem. You'll be in good hands, while I'm away," the bat said nonchalantly before slipping out of the office and closing the door behind herself.
"…I think I'm going to sleep here tonight," Blake said as she kept her eyes on the door. "I need some time to just… be here. There's an energy to this room that I can't really describe."
"I get it," Neptune replied. "I'll stay, too, if you want. Or not, if you want to be alone. Either way is cool."
Blake hesitated, before finally locking eyes with Neptune once again.
"Honestly… I think I want you to stay. Could you do me a favor, though?"
"Yeah. Anything," Neptune offered as he leaned forward slightly more.
"…could you read me Sun's goodnight text for today?" Blake asked, her cheeks a bit rosy. "I feel kinda garbagy right now, and I could use it."
Neptune smirked as he leaned back into the couch cushions and took his scroll out of his pocket.
"Sure thing. Let's hope it's an extra cheesy one…"
Author's Note:
This has been a long time coming, and it is full of little hints at the future. All will become clear before the end of the Volume.
-RD