Hey! RGQC here, and we are back with the second chapter for this story, and yea, I don't have much to say, but it is time we continue off after addressing a small comment first.

R41N S3NSE1: No te preocupes, tengo la intención de ampliar la relación tanto como pueda antes de que las cosas cambien, como Blake participando en los mítines de su padre.

And we are done. As with all my other stories, I do not own RWBY, only my OCs in this story. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.

"No, we are not putting our son through that!"

Jade winced slightly as he sat on the couch. It had been an hour since his mother had returned home after her work, and his father talked to her about his wish to learn how to defend himself. Well, it was less of a talk and more of a discussion that got hotter by the second.

Jade's mother was always the one to would pamper him and was known to be overprotective at times over the smallest of injuries.

The thing is, he can't blame his mother for it, but learning some skills on self-defence would ensure that at least he could protect himself from someone wishing to hurt him. Unfortunately, however, it appears that his mother sees it differently.

"Honey, you know that our son is different from the others. In addition, we can't always be there to hide and protect him. You know this, don't you?" Melo points out while, at the same time, his wife's fox ears flicked slightly as she sighed loudly.

"I know… But our son is still a growing boy. And I wish to give him a chance to have a normal childhood. Going to school, making friends, learning, that kind of thing." Amranth could only start at the table. "Not going through what you went through and learning the hardships of life and the cost of it. I do not wish for him to endure it this early."

Both husband and wife were quite momentary as Jade steadily got off the couch and shuffled towards his mother. "Mummy." Jade hugged his mother as Amranth looked down on her son, hugging her.

"I know you don't want me to fight, but shouldn't I be able to defend myself against bad people?" Jade asked as he looked up at his mother. "I'll be careful when Daddy's teaching me. I promise." Jade held up his pinkie finger while during that time, Amranth could only giggle at her son as she picked him up and placed him on her lap.

"You are this determined to learn to protect yourself, are you?" Amranth could only admire her son's resolve; he must have gotten that from his father. Indeed, this was one of the aspects that made her fall in love with her would-be husband. And seeing that same resolve in her son's green eyes brought comfort that it would go well.

"Yes! I promise I'll be fine, mummy! Pinky promise!" Jade smiled at his mother as he held up his pinkie before his Amranth brought hers up and wrapped it around her son's pinkie.

"Very well. Just promise me you will do your best to avoid getting injured, and soon you'll have to attend some class at the local school." Amranth asked her son as he nodded his head excitedly while his ears twitched again.

"Ok! Mummy!" Jade gave a childish smile as Amranth hugged her son before turning her attention to her husband, silently watching them.

"Promise me you will take responsibility for our son, dear. I don't want to see a single scratch on him." Amranth continued as Melo chuckled at his wife's request. Her demand is technically impossible, but when did that stop him from trying to do the impossible?

"I'll do my best."

"Yay!"

Jade POV

Another year passed, and much has happened since that day. Firstly, my father has been drilling me what he knew in hand-to-hand combat, but nothing too strenuous or severe thanks to my still-growing body and Mom's request to go easy on me. So mainly, it was training my body with basic activities like morning jogs etc.

But I still couldn't keep up with my Father before I followed him towards where he trained everyone to fight. Watching how my father organised everyone and trained them to fight with swords, shields, or spears was fascinating. Unfortunately, though, my presence attracted much-unwanted attention as those trainees would occasionally coo at my attempt to copy what they were doing.

I did learn a bit but couldn't do much until I was older due to my relatively young age.

It was also during the year that my friend Blake had gotten more engrossed with what her father was doing overseas, and I was getting worried that her interest in her father's responsibility of managing the White Fang outside of Menagerie was becoming an obsession. Still, I never mentioned it because it's not for me to question what my friend wishes to focus her attention on.

Though, she did get curious about my sudden change in schedule since I visited her less often than usual.

And because of it, I had to explain to my friend that I was away learning how to defend myself from my father since he was a Huntsmen, and I grew to admire the stories and adventures he went through outside our home continent.

Blake accepted it, and it moved on to things children dread to face in their lives.

School.

And I soon found myself outside the local school with my mother holding my hand and wearing what I usually wear at home since there's no such thing as school uniforms here. But I also had a simple green cloth tied around my arm since I was a baby.

Unfortunately, to my surprise, Blake will not attend any of them, as she will receive private lessons from her mother directly. Which was disappointing for me as I had hoped we would go to the same place to study. But I guess I'm asking for too much.

"Is my little kitten ready for school?" I hear my mother calling me as I look up at her. Right. Occasionally she calls me kitten instead of my name. I suppose that makes sense in a way, but it feels weird, but there are cases in which I would snuggle myself against her or my father.

"Mmm… I'm just worried I won't be able to make friends… Why can't Blake join us?" I asked as my mother hummed to herself. It's not a lie. Due to my… particular circumstances, I doubt I would bond well with everyone here besides Blake, which I grew close to over the years since we were babies and our family's close ties.

My mother knelt at my level before she planted a kiss on my forehead. "Don't worry about that, dear. I'm sure everyone there will love to be your friends with how special you are." My mother's smile faded for a second. "But as for Blake… Her father wants her to be taught at home. I'm sorry she couldn't join you, dear."

I could only tilt my head before I nodded. "I… understand." I hugged my mother, and she reciprocated it. "Perhaps after school, I can visit her?" I then asked as my ears twitched as my mother giggled.

"I see no issue with that, Jade, and I'm confident Blake would enjoy that." My mother then gave a teasing smile that I came to hate. She always does that whenever it comes to my first friend. "Are you sure you're not crushing on Blake with how often you visit her?"

"No! It's nothing like that. I keep telling you!" My cheeks became warm as I immediately countered before breaking from my hug. "I'm going to go now! Bye!" I yelled out before running into the school while hearing my mother laughing at my reaction. Why do you keep teasing me like this, Mom? We're just friends!

And speaking of school, I was initially excited at the prospects of learning until I noticed that I knew much already, and everything became a simple breeze. Every test and exam were, at best, nothing to me and, worse, bothersome. However, it did make my parents delighted at how smart I was.

This did not come at a cost. Due to my intelligence, I became the smartest child in class, and pretty much everyone came to me when they had problems with their homework. I did try my best to help them out, but after a while, it got incredibly exhausting mentally for me that my teacher had to step in upon witnessing how I wasn't handling the crowd well.

Oh, how I hate being at the centre of attention of everyone.

Besides school, which was a breeze, I still visited Blake whenever I was not training by my father's side and helped her in her studies when I was around. Though I could tell Blake was envious of my intelligence despite her efforts to hide it from me. As a result, I put more effort into helping her catch up on whatever Mrs Kali taught her, which added more teasing fuel for our parents.

Oh, how I hate it so much!

But I can tell Blake appreciates my efforts to help her, which is good enough for me. During that time, I also learned more about my father's deeds as a huntsman, and he has these things called an Aura and a Semblance.

According to him, Aura is the manifestation of one's soul, and Huntsmans were trained to utilise their souls as a personal barrier or even increase their powers. However, he also mentions that Aura can be depleted by combat or heavy use of their Semblances, and once Aura runs out, they will be left defenceless or incapacitated.

It sounds like HP bars, now that I think about it.

What are HP bars anyways?

And that leads to Semblances. Father told me they are superpowers like those people in storybooks! Except they're real, and they use Aura to fuel their abilities! Semblances tend to vary from person to person, and Father's semblance is called Perfect Vigour, and it is classified under effects.

As the name suggests, it allows my father to spend a portion of his aura restoring his vigour and keeping going in any situation. No wonder I couldn't keep up with him! He was cheating with his semblance! No fair! Anyways, his semblance isn't an offensive type, but it does help him keep going. And no wonder he always looks so refreshed at the end of the day compared to mummy or me!

All of this was so interesting that I began reading up on the history of Huntsmans in Blake's family library since it is one of the few places with books readily available. The other is the school, but it is too noisy for my liking and makes me unable to focus on my reading. So, I mainly relied on what my father told me and whatever I could scrounge up in Blake's library.

And I learn much from them. For example, Huntsmen and Huntresses are like celebrities in Remnant. This makes sense since they are like heroes that fight monsters to protect the innocent. And they are trained in four Academies in each kingdom.

And they are Beacon, Haven, Atlas and Shade.

Father said he was from Haven before migrating to Menagerie with my Mother. And when I asked about his team… he didn't want to talk about them. I'm not sure what happened, but it must be severe that he doesn't want to talk about it. But enough about all the sad stuff.

Moving on, as I continued reading books on Huntsmans and their past in the Belladonna library, I heard footsteps approaching me. I glanced up to see Aunt Kali holding Blake's hand as they walked in. Mother and Father were busy again today, and it was the evening.

"Aunt Kali! Blake! Do you need something?" I ask with a smile as I close the book I was reading in my hands. I watched as Aunt Kali gently shook her head as she spoke.

"Nothing that you should worry about, little Jade. My little kitten and I were curious about where you ran off after teaching her how to do her homework." Kali laughed softly as Blake's cheeks reddened while her ears twitched. "Both of us have a suspicion you will be here. Care to tell us what you're reading?" Aunt Kali then asked as I held up the book for them to read.

"A book on Huntsmans?" Blake inquired as I nodded my head with a smile.

"Yea! Remember I told you that my daddy was a Huntsman Blake?" I asked as Blake slowly nodded her head. "I was curious about it, and I read about it. Do you know they have this thing called aura and superpowers like abilities called Semblances? Don't you think it is so cool that they exist to protect the innocent and weak?"

I smiled as Blake looked overwhelmed before I sheepishly chuckled as I held the book close to my chest. Yet Aunt Kali just giggled as she knelt before me. "Do you wish to become a Huntsman?" She asked sincerely as I remained unsure how to answer Aunt Kali's question.

"I… do not know," I mumbled as my ears sank, much to their surprise. "I mean… It does sound cool and awesome that there are heroes out there to save us, and it would be nice to help others in need, but… I do not know if I want to do that once I grow up." I explained my thoughts as Aunt Kali hummed.

"It is alright if you don't have an answer right now, Jade," Kali explained as I looked into her amber eyes. "You still have plenty of time to figure out what you will eventually want to do." I watched as Kali turned to face her daughter.

"What about you, Blake? Do you have something you want to do once you grow up?"

I turned my head to my best friend as she was lost in thought before she spoke up, her voice filled with determination. "Mm… I want to help Daddy with the White Fang!" Yet, Blake still retained her decision to follow in her father's footsteps.

I smiled as Kali giggled, hugged her daughter, and brushed her hair. "Oh, I'm so proud of my baby girl!" Kali cooed as I could only giggle at the sight of my friend's face turning red with embarrassment.

"Mommy! Not in front of Jade, please!" Blake cried out as I couldn't help myself but burst out laughing at my friend's awkward situation.

"Don't worry, my baby girl, I bought tuna for dinner, and Jade's family can join us!" Kali announced as both my friend and I could only gasp with joy. Fatty fishes like my favourite, salmon, and Blake's favourite, Tuna, can be rare to catch in Menagerie's waters.

But when they do, those fishes tend to be quite expensive and cost a lot of Lien per slab, and thus they tend to be quite luxurious. And thanks to Kali and Ghira, being the Chieftain and Chiefess of Menagerie, they can afford it. But they try not to indulge in them for the sake of costs.

Something I respected them for.

"Tuna!" Blake cheerfully replied as she snuggled up against her mother as I spoke.

"Aunt Kali, if we can have dinner at your place, I must tell mummy and daddy about it!" I point out as Kali giggles at my enthusiasm as I usually do regarding tasty fish. Although, I must admit that one time I stole the salmon. My Mother was planning to cook for dinner and eat it raw, only for her to catch me as I was devouring it.

She was furious, and I got grounded for it. In addition, because of what I did, we wouldn't eat any fish for months.

But it was so tasty and totally worth it! And it also turns out that feline Faunuses, like me, are specifically less likely to fall sick from eating raw fish compared to other Faunus types. Because of that discovery, I became more curious about our biology and tried to look it up recently.

Emphasis on 'tried.'

As a whole, It was a confusing mess that gave me a headache with no real explanation of how we are who we are. It was as if we suddenly appeared and existed out of nowhere. Then there's the fact we obtain our animal traits at random. Some Faunus with minor traits like ears and retractable claws can pass as Humans at first glance, while others are… less or unable to pass as humans.

I remember the first time I saw a fish Faunus with a full fishtail instead of legs like usual. I was so confused witnessing it that my Mother had to explain that they were rare Faunuses. I don't know how that happens, but it made it so that they can never walk on land and have to remain in the submerged part of Kuo Kuana where they can thrive.

It does make them exceptional swimmers and excellent fishermen because of their fishtail traits, though.

"Very well then, Jade. Just be sure to take care of yourself out there while alone." Kali giggled as I rushed to return the book I had borrowed from them before running out of their house to find Mum and Dad.

Another day or so passed, and Blake decided to play a game of hide and seek with her friend at her house. It was a simple game, and Blake knew where to hide, as she had recently found a good spot in the attic. Oh, she can't wait to use this place to her advantage.

"Blake? Are you here?" Jade called her out from below as Blake covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. She made a bet that if Jade couldn't find her in an hour, she wouldn't have to go through her studies for today. Jade accepted it in return that if he won, she would have to stick with him until she completed her homework by today.

And Blake doesn't want to do homework again! She had enough of it!"

Blake remained silent until the sound of the attic hatch opening up. She lay closer to the ground before hearing Jade's footsteps. Soon, Jade stuck his head through the hatch. "Blake? Huh… not here…" Jade muttered as his head swerved around before concluding that his friend was not there.

And so, he climbed back down the stairs and closed the hatch door before Blake let out a sigh of relief as she heard another sound of footsteps below.

"Hello, Jade. What are you doing here?" Blake heard her mom speaking to her friend as he released a startled yelp, much to her amusement. He was always so easy to scare and startle when he was distracted. There were times when Blake was bored, and she would sneak up on her friend before pouncing on him from behind.

Ah, the noises he sometimes makes will always make her giggle.

"Ah! Hello Aunt Kali!" Blake could hear her friend greeting her mother as he continued. "I'm playing hide and seek with Blake. Do you know where she could have gone to?" Blake could only frown upon hearing her friend asking her mother where she could be hiding.

Cheater, that's what he is.

"Is that so?" Kali giggled. "Perhaps you should go higher up; my daughter loves to go to high places if you know what I mean." Blake's mother explained vaguely, as her daughter could only silently say bad words at her mother for ruining her chances to get away from the dreaded things known as homework.

"Higher up…" Jade hummed as he looked back at the attic hatch door. "I might need to double-check it again." Blake knew it wouldn't be long until her friend found her hiding spot unless she slipped away while he rechecked the attic. Yes… That might work out well if she can do it without alerting his attention.

Blake glanced around her surroundings at several boxes, ropes, sticks and other items her parents kept in storage in the attic. And an idea struck her mind as she grinned, oh she knows what to do now…

…

As Jade slowly made his way up the attic again in search of his friend Blake, his eyes blinked slowly as he carefully surveyed the attic, which he could see thanks to night vision. And every step in the attic made the wooden floor beneath him creak softly.

"Blake. Are you here?" Jade called out as he slowly began walking around in the dark and dusty attic when he noticed what looked like a shadow outline of his friend as he paused his movement.

"Blake?" Jade called out again as he closed the distance to have a good look as it turned out to be a mixture of ropes, sticks, a ball, and other stuff that made it look just like Blake's shadow.

But wait, if this is just a fake, that means…

"Wait a minute…" Jade murmured as he heard the sound of someone pulling the string before Jade only had a second to realise that it was a trap. And as soon as it came, Jade let out a yelp as he found himself suspended in the air with a rope snared around his leg! Then there was the sound of his friend giggling as she climbed the ladder away from the attic.

"Blake! Why did you do that? That's cheating!" Jade could only angrily call out his childhood friend as Blake retorted childishly as she did her best not to laugh at her trap's success!

So now she'll never have to finish her homework by today!

"But you ask my mom for help to find me! How is that not cheating?"

"Fair point! But can you let me down before we continue?" As Blake's voice echoed below, Jade changed the topic as he tried and failed to reach for the rope trap suspending him in the air.

"No! You're staying up there!"

"Huh?! What do you mean no?!" Jade called out again as he flailed around for a bit before trying and failing again to free himself from his friend's devious trap. He should have seen it coming, but Jade didn't believe his friend would plan this for him, and how did she even make a rope trap to begin with?

"Blake? Blake!? Don't leave me up here!" Jade could only panicky call out to his friend to get silence in return.

"Damn it! Now what?!" Jade proceeds to fold his arms with a pout on his face and wait for someone to get him out of this trap for minutes or perhaps even hours until the sound of the attic hatch door opening up catches his attention. And to his joy and surprise, it was Uncle Ghira!

The panther Faunus could be seen climbing up into the attic, and once he turned his head to the left, he was rewarded with the sight of the Grayson's only child stuck in suspense by a rope snare trap.

"Yo." Jade called out to the Belladonna patriarch with a V sign hand gesture as Ghira could only confusingly ask before he stepped towards the cat Faunus.

"Jade? How did you end up like this?"

"I was playing hide and seek with Blake. But I fell for her trap." Jade's tone was impassive as he explained to Blake's father. "Can you help me get down, please, Uncle Ghira? I'm getting dizzy over here from getting stuck like this for a while." Jade brought his hands together, and Ghira grunted as he found the rope holding Jade in the air before letting him down.

With Jade back on the ground, the little cat Faunus began to untie the rope from his leg and did a few stretches after standing back up as Ghira the young watched cat Faunus. "Thank you, Uncle Ghira, for freeing me! I didn't know what to do if I were stuck there for hours. Now pardon my leave, but I must find Blake before she can hide again!"

And with that, Jade ran off as Ghira let out an amused snort. Children.

In the end, Jade finds Blake hiding in her room and gets his revenge against Blake by giving her the tickles of death, as he calls it, but eventually, they decide to conclude the game as a tie since both sides technically cheated. Because of that, Blake still has to do her homework, but she only has to do half for today compared to the whole assignment.

And having Jade to help her with it made it more tolerable. Now if only she could convince him to join her to help the White Fang in their goals of racial equality…

And we are done with another small chapter! In this chapter, I wanted to expand more on Jade's childhood alongside Blake and how they interact with each other. I get it if the pacing's a bit slow, but that's how I wanted it to be at the start. Once the story progresses further, it will speed up.

But other than that, If you enjoy this story and wish to show your support for more in the future, do Follow and Favourite this story. And while you're at it, leave a review about what you think about it, as they will tell me that you wish to see more!

With that, I'll see you all in the next chapter!

RGQC out!