It's a bank holiday here in the UK. Nice to not have to wake up at six.

I was playing a brutal boardgame on tabletop sim last night with some friends called "Kingdom death monster" and oh my god it is RUTHLESS. Two of our characters died on the prologue (tutorial) and then our first hunt had three more die and only I lived, then I was nominated to try for a baby to restock our list of survivors (your lives) and I (and the baby) died in childbirth.

Game is so damn brutal but also super fun. My new character has been cursed to wield a magical sword that starts off giga-awful (hits on 9's on a d10 and you get 1 attack and is so heavy that you can't even move and swing) but gets better and better the more I get exp in it, but I am now fated to face the previous wilder in exactly four more years (hunts). I am super doomed!

Cover Art: Kirire

Chapter 20

"You want me to what?" asked Jaune, in the kind of voice that implied he wasn't sure if he'd misheard her or not. To be fair, Blake was no less surprised by her own question, and she hadn't been able to think of a good or non-weird way to phrase it.

"I want you to come to Menagerie with me."

He blinked and tilted his head to the side. Timothy did too; the creature didn't understand but just wanting to be involved and was imitating Jaune. She had been trying her hardest to like him since his help with the anomaly, and she had managed a little. Just yesterday, she had fed him some locusts. Not from her hand, not with that grinding maw of human teeth, but she'd thrown him some like an elderly person might breadcrumbs for ducks, if said ducks were eldritch nightmare fuel and the elderly person had been hidden behind an upturned desk. It was a work in progress.

"Is this for moral support?" asked Jaune. "Do you really need moral support to talk to your own family?"

"Jaune, you need moral support to not be killed by yours. You don't get to criticise. And no," said Blake. "It's not for moral support." Not entirely. "There's no ARC Corp on Menagerie, is there?"

"It falls under the Burn Office's umbrella."

Blake shook her head. "I don't think that works. We're isolated and secretive over there, and news on the island rarely reaches mainland Mistral. I doubt your sisters would even hear of anything that happened."

"Is there an anomaly?" asked Jaune. "One you remember from your childhood?"

There was no way of remembering; the issue with most anomalies was that you didn't realise they were anomalous, and then you got used to them as normal – like aura, dust and even the concept of having a dream. "I don't know, but I'd feel a lot more confident if we could have a look around while we're there visiting my parents. Just to make sure there aren't any on the island preying on faunus and putting my mom and dad at risk. Maybe in the future a Menagerie branch of ARC Corp can be established."

"By you?"

Blake shrugged. "Maybe. Can non-family members become directors?"

"Yes and no. You have to accept being adopted into the family, or at least adopt the name."

And instantly have mom and dad thinking we're married, thought Blake. It was something for the future anyway, since she didn't really know enough to run an office. "Menagerie is small enough that it doesn't need one now; I just want to make sure my parents are safe. Plus, if I run into one without you then I'd be in trouble."

Jaune hummed. "True."

"And if you run into one without me then you're in trouble."

He chuckled this time. "Also true. I am also feeling a strong urge to stick a middle finger up to Ozpin and tell him to look after his own fucking city for a change. You know what, let's do it. Company holiday." He slammed a fist on the table, and Timothy reared up and slammed its forelegs on it as well, screeching happily. "Except you, Timothy. You can't come."

"Skreee…?"

"I'll ask Ruby to come spider-sit you."

"Skreee!?"

Timothy leapt off the table, scuttled for the door and stared steadfastly at it. He scraped his long legs against it, then looked back at them and then scraped his legs on it again. The hint was clear.

"I said I'd ask," stressed Jaune. "She isn't here right now." The spider looked so pathetic, in an horrific way, that Jaune caved and reached for his scroll. "Oh fine, I'll call her now. Quit with the puppy-dog eyes."

Thirty minutes later Ruby appeared at the door with a loud "Oh Timothyyyy!" Rather than enter, she teased it by rapping her fist on the door, to which Timothy hissed and leapt up excitedly to try and bat its legs against the glass. When she did enter, it launched itself at her, the spider – larger than Ruby – bowling her down in one and pinning her to the floor under its hideous, monstrous abdomen.

In a clear sign of insanity, Ruby giggled and nuzzled her face into its.

"Awww." said Jaune. "Isn't that cute?"

"No." said Blake. "No, it's not."

Jaune explained their plan to Ruby, who, rather than be upset at them leaving, was now absolutely over the moon at the idea of her being the only member of ARC Corp (unofficially) in the city.

"I get the office?" she squeaked.

"In a manner of speaking…"

"I get to look after all the anomalies!?"

"In a manner of speaking…"

"So, I'm the temporary director!?"

Jaune winced. "In a… manner of speaking…"

"Squeeeeeeeee!" opined Ruby.

"Skreeeeeeeee!" echoed Timothy, excited just because Ruby was. They dragged it on for what felt like a full minute, during which Blake pressed her faunus ears flat to her hair, and Jaune banged his head on his desk.

"I've made a terrible mistake…" he said.

"No take-backsies!"

/-/

In her head Blake had imagined boarding a public flight to Mistral and then taking a ship to Menagerie; it was the way you reached Kuo Kuana, seeing as how it was an island nation with very little in the way of infrastructure. It was that which kept the White Fang safe and prevented Atlas just flying people in to look for them. ARC Corp would be held by the same constraints, or it should have been, but she'd forgotten that this was Jaune, and that common sense had been hunted, captured and killed as an anomaly long ago. In his case anyway.

"Why are we on a private jet?"

"Why would we not be on a private jet?" he asked.

"Environmentalism?"

"Dust is clean energy," said Jaune. "Aside from, you know, being anomalous."

"Isn't that a conflict of interest then?"

"The Schnee have dust. It's Reality Class now. There's not much point pretending otherwise or refusing to use it to spite them."

"We're giving them money."

"A drop in the ocean compared to their wealth. It really won't impact them one way or the other." He was reclined back in one of the two seats, which were obnoxiously plush with leather trim, massage functions and holographic televisions. "Just enjoy it for what it is. I'm awful on boats, so this will save you having to see me be seasick."

The flight took close to twelve hours, and they arrived on the morning of the following day, touching down not on a runway but in the desert outside the city. "What kind of private pilot knows how to do this?" asked Blake.

"Oh, he's ex-military and owes me a favour." Jaune stepped down the ramp and waved to the cockpit, where a grizzled man offered a thumbs up. "I helped him out with a problem back when I was doing temp-work with the Fist Office."

"What kind of help?"

"The kind that involves sentient trees that plant spores in your body that grow through your bloodstream, spread through veins and arteries and rupture out your extremities in search of sunlight. Usually the eyes. Then they make a macabre tree out of your body, while you're still alive, with your final, rattling death scream dispersing more spores."

Blake hated that she didn't for a second doubt that. "The usual, then?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"He knows about anomalies," said Blake, as the jet took off once more. There were people watching from the city's edge, curiosity and fear mixing. "Isn't that a risk?"

"He knows better than to talk. It's like Roman – we don't actually kill witnesses except in extremely rare circumstances. I mean people who are absolutely going to blab, and who have video evidence or who we can't frame as insane or conspiracy theorists. A lot of witnesses have been through some horrific stuff, so they tend to understand why we do what we do and not want to tell anyone. Like you."

Blake hummed, accepting the point; she had experienced the Welcoming House and its horrors, and hadn't felt any desire to reveal that kind of stuff to people. Maybe she needed to give the average person more credit.

"ARC Corp is actually pretty chill if you think about it," said Jaune.

"Chill is not a word I would use to describe your family."

"Are you still upset they tried to kill me?"

"Yes!" hissed Blake. "Yes, I am, and you should be too!"

The crowd at the edge of the village had grown now. It wasn't every day – or any day – that a jet landed in the desert and two suspiciously suited individuals stepped off. It clearly wasn't an invasion, but they must have looked weird as all hell. If their suits were white then they might have been heckled already, but they didn't have the Schnee colours.

"Is this a welcoming party?" asked Jaune. "You're so popular."

"You idiot." Blake groaned into her hand. "This is people's normal reactions to grand displays of wealth and your general stupidity. I can only hope-"

"Blake!" shrieked a voice.

"Ah, thank goodness." Blake smiled and waved. "Hello Ilia."

The chameleon faunus came out from the group of people, who had finally recognised her now thanks to Ilia. It must have been hard, what with her White Fang uniform replaced for a crisp suit, but Ilia had always been good at picking her out of a crowd. Some of them dispersed, others hung around curiously, but there was no longer any real fear. Blake was the daughter of Kali and Ghira, and a known resident, so they didn't have so much to fear.

"Blake, what is-?" Ilia's eyes found Jaune and narrowed. "Who is this?"

"I'm Jaune." He stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Ilia didn't take it. "He's human!"

Oh right. It was Blake's turn to feel a little stupid – a rare occurrence with Jaune around – at having forgotten that rather key aspect. To be fair, she'd been through so much shit recently that old-fashioned discrimination had all but been forgotten. "He's the good kind," she said. "He's my boss and offered me a job in Vale. He even convinced me to get back in touch with my parents and come visit."

"But he's human," stressed Ilia.

Ugh. White Fang, thought Blake, grimacing. It wasn't that she'd not expected this to be an issue, but she had assumed him being with her would ease things over. "Leave it," she said firmly. "Jaune is my… He's my friend."

"Thanks for the hesitation," said Jaune.

Blake blushed. "Shut up, Jaune."

"You're blushing," said Ilia, sounding for some reason despairing. "Why are you blushing?"

"Because he's an idiot," said Blake. And you're being one too, Ilia, she thought. "Look, I really need to go see my parents. It's been years since I… Well, you know what happened. They don't deserve to be made to wait."

Ilia, thankfully, agreed. "Yeah. I…" Her eyes slid to Jaune again, and though she didn't shake his (still waiting) hand, she did nod. "I'll go inform Sienna and tell her about him. She might be able to warn people not to cause trouble. Or assume it."

"I'd appreciate that." said Blake. "We're just visiting."

Ilia nodded, said "It's good to see you again – we should hang out," then sprinted off before Blake could even muster up an answer. Jaune stood there, his hand still held out, still unshaken, and he was still smiling. He then took his hand with his other and shook it. Blake snorted.

"Friendly people," he said.

"You're human."

"So she said. Twice. Is that going to be a thing?"

"Seeing as you're the only human on Menagerie, yes. I'm sorry." She was, as well, since he'd come here at her behest, and she knew he didn't deserve any of it. "I'll try and keep an eye on you, but basic advice will be not to walk off with anyone you don't know or trust."

"Am I four years old now?"

"You have the common sense of a four year old."

"Harsh." He grinned her way, "You still admitted I'm a friend."

"I risked my life to save you."

"Yeah, but now you've admitted it." He sounded entirely too proud, then, in a move that completely ruined any effort to be angry at him, he said, "I've never had an actual friend before."

Blake winced. Fuck your family, Jaune. Fuck them so hard.

"You do now," she said gruffly. "And I'm sure Ruby feels the same way."

"Dad says it's not a good idea to befriend employees, or to have any feelings toward them at all. Easier not to make mistakes based on emotion or lose yourself when they get eaten by an anomaly."

That was, she supposed, a very real fear, but Blake didn't like hearing it any more than she did the last. "Your dad isn't here. You're the director of your own office, which means you make the rules. Friends help each other out, and they care for one another, so it doesn't matter what he says. We're friends."

Jaune's smile didn't drop for the rest of the day. It was embarrassing, especially with everyone staring at them as they walked into Kuo Kuana, but she took it as an inevitable consequence of having done the right thing. Sometimes I keep forgetting your family has messed you up in ways I don't even realise, thought Blake, watching him from the corner of one eye. There were times his common sense was lax, and she often teased him for that, but then there were things like this – which really went to show just how out of touch with what it meant to be a normal person he was.

Had his parents even been in love? Had they even been a family? The more she learnt, the more she wondered if his father marrying his mother and having so many children wasn't just a business move – a way of recruiting eight more members into the family business, with enough spare that half of them dying wouldn't impact operations.

Maybe he needed this holiday more than she did.

/-/

"Blake!"

Kali wrapped her up tight, and Ghira wrapped her and Kali up, picking them both up the floor and crushing them to his chest. Kali giggled and kicked her legs, while Blake smiled in an embarrassed and awkward way, enjoying the experience but not really enjoying it in front of Jaune. Her boss was smiling, genuinely happy for her, and she didn't know if the complete lack of jealousy for his family not being the same was a bad sign or not.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." said Blake. "I'm back."

"You didn't warn us you were coming!" said Ghira.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's a wonderful one!" gushed Kali, stroking Blake's hair back and kissing her forehead. "Ghira, darling, put us down!" she added, giggling. "Oh, I haven't prepared enough food for four-"

"I'll order takeout," said Ghira.

Jaune spoke up. "You don't need to worry about me, sir, I'll find a hotel and-"

"Nonsense!" Kali interrupted him and whooshed over, skirts billowing. "You will be staying right here with us. You've welcomed our daughter into your home and helped set her up; we'd be remiss not to do the same."

"Safer too," grunted Ghira. He came up and offered a hand, which Jaune gladly took. "Kuo Kuana won't be kind to a lone human. You're welcome here, and you'll be safe here. If we'd known you were coming we could have had a room made up for you…"

"He can take mine," said Blake. There were suddenly eyes locked on her, and she didn't understand why until she noticed her mother's lips spreading wider and wider. "I'll take the couch!" she blurted out. "Until we can get a guest room made up. We don't- We've never stayed in the same room."

"It's true, sir, ma'am," said Jaune. "Blake has her own apartment and I respect her boundaries."

"I brought Jaune because he needed a break as well," explained Blake, still embarrassed from the near slip. Jaune looked surprised, but she bulled on. "We just had a job which was really bad, and he almost died. It was toxic fumes from school textbooks. It had caused the printing house to be a den of poisoned fumes, and Jaune passed out inside and the Council thought it too dangerous to rescue him." Her voice grew heated. "They were going to leave him there!"

"Which I maintain was the correct decision," said Jaune, staring at her firmly.

"You dying is not the right choice!" she snapped back.

"Blake, let's not have this discussion in front of your family."

She stuck her jaw out. "Fine, but my mind won't change on it."

Kali and Ghira looked like they didn't know what to say, their heads bouncing back between them. Kali's was tilted, curious and introspective, and that was probably a very bad sign. "Sorry," said Blake, to them. "It's been a rough week as you can see."

"It seems it." said Kali. "I didn't realise government work was so dangerous. Well, if it's relaxation you want then Kuo Kuana is the place for it. We can go to the hot springs together and wash all those worries away. Ghira, why don't you show Jaune to his room and give him the tour?"

Ghira nodded, pet Blake's hair once more with a fatherly smile and then led Jaune away, talking quietly – and, to her relief, without any dislike – about Menagerie, the house and their work as leaders. She'd half-expected them to get all protective and give Jaune the third degree, but it looked like his role as her boss (and one that paid well) meant they were going easy on him. They probably didn't want to upset him and make life harder for her back in Vale – not that he would ever do that, but they didn't know that.

"So," said Kali. "He's nice. Romance?"

"No."

"A shame. I like him more than Adam."

"I was wrong. I know." Blake rolled her eyes. "Jaune is a friend and that… ugh…" She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. "He's a little messed up," she said.

Kali's eyes narrowed. "How so?"

"Nothing dangerous or bad; it's more that he'd very duty driven and didn't have the best childhood from what I've been able to piece together. Very little love outside his mom, who died early on, and pushed into business for the rest of it. I'm…" Blake crossed her arms, embarrassed. "I'm worried about him."

"This visit is really more for his sake than ours, isn't it?"

"It's both. I did want to come see you but I… I really didn't feel comfortable leaving him in Vale on his own." That was the crux of it. She had joked before, but she really was convinced that if she took a week off alone, that he might be dead when she returned. "He alternates between super competent and super incompetent. There's not many people better at what he does, but when it comes to being a normal person he's hopeless. I guarantee if Sienna Khan came up and invited him to her tent to play chess, he'd agree and not even suspect she might have ulterior motives aimed at the rich and vulnerable human."

"Sienna would not target him," said Kali, "but I see your point. There are many others who would. I'll have Ghira keep an eye on him. I assume he's fine with faunus."

"Literally doesn't see any difference between us and humans," said Blake. It was odd since they were anomalies according to Ozpin, but Jaune used dust freely and didn't care, and he adored Timothy, so maybe it wasn't too surprising. "That's the issue; he's not racist, and that's good, but he also won't suspect racism if faunus are cruel to him. He'll think he's done something to deserve it."

"Poor dear. We'll give him the family treatment." Kali decided with a nod. "Show him what it really means to be a loving family. I'm sure Ghira will agree – he's normally so iffy with you bringing home boys, but ever since this one literally brought you back to us Ghira has been singing his praises."

Blake smiled sadly. "I'm sorry it took this long, mom."

Kali enfolded her in a warm embrace. "What matters is that you're here now, my little kitten. Let's put all the bad things behind us."

Blake sniffled.

"Are you crying?"

"Shut up, Jaune."

"I'm not Jaune~" teased Kali, and Blake went bright red. "But it's nice to see your relationship isn't only a business one. He's paying you so well, too. Are you sure there isn't some interest on his end?"

"From Jaune?" Blake laughed. "I don't think he'd understand what the feelings even are."

"Maybe you could be his teacher."

"Mom, no!"

"Mom, yes!"

/-/

Dinner was an awkward affair no matter how much she would have wished otherwise; despite telling her they would try and include Jaune, her parents were understandably more interested in learning what she had been up to since they saw her last. Blake talked about her time in the White Fang, her reasons for leaving, but soon ran into trouble when talking about her time in Vale.

Oh, I fought a sentient man-eating house was something she could not say, nor was how she faced a hive mind of cannibalistic zombie worms, a metallic rust-plague or a briefcase that eroded at a person's reality until they were gone. The problem was giving excuses as anecdotes for each without talking herself into a corner, and it took a little help here and there from Jaune. He was good at making up stories, even if he was awful at flat-out lying.

The Welcoming House was explained away as a dangerously condemned building taken over by drug-fuelled squatters; the Blank Slate was just a regular pervert in Beacon; the Guardian Weaver was a release of venomous spiders from a pet store; their most recent hunt, named now as Fallen Teacher was simply given as the same excuse that Vale had – the toxic fumes. They were safe, sanitary, and they didn't put her parents at risk, but also helped show a little of how dangerous her work was.

"It sounds exciting," said Kali. "Dangerous, but then you never were the kind for a boring job. Were you?"

"Dangerous jobs pay better," said Blake.

"Yours certainly does," said Ghira. "What about you, Jaune? You're running an office of just two. Is the business secure like that?"

"Oh, we're a branch office of a larger organisation," said Jaune. "The Vale branch. We're completely secure in terms of funding, the kingdom can't really function without us, so it's not a problem."

"And it's a family business?"

"That's right. Very old-fashioned, founded long before I was born."

"And your siblings are all directors. Does that not seem a little nepotistic?"

"Dad," hissed Blake. This was her boss he was talking to. Jaune only laughed and told her it was fine.

"I wouldn't say nepotism is a thing, sir. The pay is high but so is the risk and having the job I do is more stressful than not. It's a duty and a responsibility, and I don't really get a choice about it."

Kali smiled and asked, "But surely if you or your siblings want to do something else with their lives then it's fine."

"No." Jaune's one-word answer didn't surprise Blake, but it did her parents, and the worst part was that he didn't even realise. Blake wished the table was smaller so she could kick his feet under it. "If you're born to the family then you have to join the company. That's just the way things are."

"But what if you don't want to?" asked Kali.

Jaune looked confused. Genuinely confused. "I don't understand."

"What if you wanted to be a painter, a singer or even a huntsman?"

"I wouldn't." said Jaune.

"But what if, in a hypothetical world, you did?"

"I wouldn't," he said, shrugging.

"Yes but-"

"He means he wouldn't be allowed to," interrupted Ghira. "Is that right?"

"Yes."

Jaune nodded, smiling, and not even noticing the anguished expression on Kali's face, nor the contemplative and troubled one on Ghira's. This is what I was talking about, thought Blake, telepathically, to her mother. Kali's eyes met hers as if she could hear it. Blake wasn't sure if Kali felt angry or upset, or if it was at or for Jaune, but she was sure this would put a stop to the jokes about her and Jaune being a thing. The thought of subjecting a child of her own, or children, to such a lack of freedom and a sad upbringing was… well, it was something she wouldn't have allowed. Neither she nor Kali.

"Don't you think that's a little cruel?" Ghira asked Jaune.

"Is it?" replied Jaune. "I mean, I have a favourable life compared to a lot of people. I have family, security, safety and food and shelter and good education. There are a lot of people in worse situations than me, so it doesn't feel right or fair to complain."

Jaune's arms, from his hands to his shoulders, were burned to a husk and constantly weeping, either partially devoured or under the influence of an anomaly. He had no childhood, had been forced to kill a child on an anomaly hunt gone wrong, had lost his mother and nearly been killed by his own sister. All that, and he called people who were born orphans or who were just poor worse off. It was hard to tell if he believed that or was just reciting something he'd been told. Or indoctrinated to believe, thought Blake.

"Well, let's put thoughts of work aside for now, hm?" offered Kali, desperate to change the subject. "How long are you staying here for?"

"A week," said Blake. "That's about all we could manage without Vale falling to pieces."

"A week is good – and we can always come visit you sometime, right?" Blake nodded, and Kali smiled happily. "Great. We should make the most of it then. I say we go to the hot springs tomorrow, all four of us, and show you both a nice, relaxing experience. We can get the full spa treatment and work out some of the stress that last job of yours caused. How does that sound?"

"Honestly, it sounds great," said Blake. "It's been ages…"

"I've neve been to a spa," said Jaune. "Or had a massage. I'd like that."

"You've never-?" Blake groaned. "Jaune, what is the point of being filthy rich if you're not going to indulge just a little? How have you never had a massage before? You could afford a hundred massages with the amount you spent on one of my suits."

"Suits are necessary for work," he said. "Massages aren't."

"Ah, ah, ah." Kali waved her finger at him. "No work talk, remember? You're relaxing now. You're resting. I won't hear any more talk of difficult jobs. You will be pampered; you will be rested, and you will have the stress massaged out of you. That goes for the both of you."

That didn't sound so bad. And really, it wasn't like she actually expected there to be any anomalies on Menagerie.

Really, what were the odds?

Notice: Due to an awards ceremony that I have to organise, foot questions over and chair in September, I'm going to be taking the week starting Monday 12th – Sunday 18th September off. I'll be back Monday 19th. I'd definitely rather be writing fanfiction than doing this as it's always so painful and I hate – well, it's less the public speaking and more the stress of the organisation. People call you at all hours with questions; prize winners say they suddenly can't make it; stuff goes wrong with parking; inevitable errors on Eventbrite. The usual. It's just a long, long week of stressful work so I won't have time to write.

Next Chapter: 5th September

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