A Knightshade in Menagerie

A RWBY Fic by AndrewJTalon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.

Jaune woke up to a warm body cuddled up against him. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around quickly, getting his bearings in the morning light streaming in through the windows. He looked around. Lots of artwork, posters of Faunus, and so many books...?

Wha... This isn't my room, where-?

He looked down. Blake was cuddled up against him, arms tight around his waist. Her face was buried in his chest, and she slept deeply. She looked... Content, which was a rare expression on her face.

They were both still clothed. Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. That was the last thing they needed to happen.

Now I just need to get out, get to my room...

He tried to pull away, but Blake's grip tightened. He grimaced.

Damnit... Come on Blake, let go! Let go before-!

"Good morning Jaune," murmured Kali. Jaune slowly looked to his right. Kali was standing next to the bed, smiling cheerfully while his heart stopped.

He paled.

Shit!

"I-Nothing-We didn't-!" He whispered. Kali pressed her finger to his lips and shook her head.

"I know," she whispered, "You were in no shape for that, emotionally."

Jaune nodded quickly. Kali smirked and winked.

"Not that I would mind," she said, "I would be happy to become a grandmother. Blonde kittens would be adorable."

His pale face turned bright red, as he squeaked against her finger. Kali withdrew her finger, still smiling at him, and then winked.

"I'm glad, honestly," she said quietly, "That she has such a good friend like you. One who would come all this way, and try to help her. To get her back."

Jaune slowly nodded, though an awkward look came over his face.

"Um... I mean... We didn't really... Talk much, before this," he whispered, "We barely exchanged a few words... She-She's more Ruby's friend than mine."

"Yet you're here," Kali said softly, "Why?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Someone had to," he murmured, "Someone... Someone had to pull everyone together. Someone had to get Yang out of her funk. Someone had to help Ruby recover, to keep Nora and Ren together..." He shook his head. "I'm... I'm the weakest. The most useless... So I did it."

Kali stared.

"Did what?"

He told her everything. About Pyrrha sacrificing herself for him, and how he failed her. How he tried to keep Nora and Ren together after Vale fell. How he went to Ruby and worked with her, to keep her spirits up. How he actually fought Yang, got knocked through a wall, to snap her out of her depression. And how he went out to try and bring back Blake, all because Ruby asked him to.

"She... She said she couldn't do anything, that she was a failure," Jaune murmured, "But I didn't believe her. Not for a second. It wasn't her fault. Me...? I can't do anything worthwhile. I'm not strong, or fast, or smart-"

"Stop that," Kali said, quiet but stern. He looked up at her in shock as she glared. "You kept everyone together in the face of loss, defeat, and adversity. Stupid leaders will sacrifice everything in a hopeless battle just to save face. Good leaders will retreat after a loss, pull their forces back together, and hit back harder."

She rested a hand against his cheek, her eyes locked onto his.

"You aren't defeated until you stop fighting," she said softly, "As long as you keep getting back up, keep fighting, and never lose hope? You haven't been beaten. Your companions may be stronger, faster, and better trained... But an army needs leadership to win. It needs hope. You offer it. Never think that you don't matter."

Jaune sniffled. He tried to hide it.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled, "I-I'm sorry-"

"It's all right," Kali said compassionately, kissing the top of his head, "It's all right. It's hard to be strong for everyone else, all the time. I won't judge you. Everyone has their limits... But that doesn't make you weak."

Jaune managed a nod, after sniffling. He wiped his tears, but Blake's weight on his arm kept him down. He looked up as Kali pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his cheeks. She smiled warmly.

"I'm so glad you came though. I'm glad she has a friend willing to come all this way out for her," she said quietly. "Why don't you stay for a bit, Jaune, Hm?"

"I... I need to get Blake to come back... I made a promise," he said. Kali nodded.

"I know. We'll see what we can do to help Vale. But Blake needs a friend... And we have some... Local troubles," she said. "We would appreciate your help."

Jaune nodded his head slowly. It would take Ruby and the others time to get to Argus. He had some time.

"If I can... I'll try," he said. Kali beamed.

"Good," she nodded. "Now... Breakfast starts in an hour. You'd better get ready."

"R-Right," Jaune said. Kali then winked.

"Also? I meant what I said about grandkittens."

At his sputter, she vanished in a puff of smoke. Blake slowly woke up, blinked her eyes.

"Nnngh... Jaune? What... Why was my mother here?"

"Ah... Just telling me breakfast is in an hour," Jaune said quickly, bright red. Blake blinked again.

"Are you okay? Why are you so red-?"

"I'm fine!"

Breakfast was fairly quiet. Ghira wanted to take Jaune out to the Guard Barracks to test his combat skills. Jaune agreed. Blake had also wanted to go, but Kali held her back: She was nearly recovered from her injuries, but not quite to the point Kali wanted to let her resume her previous training routine. Kali wanted to work with Blake more on her Semblance anyway, and Blake reluctantly agreed.

They stood in the doorway to bid Ghira and Jaune goodbye. Kali kissed Ghira passionately, and he returned it-Much to the mortification of Blake and Jaune. They just stood there, awkwardly, as Kali and Ghira made out.

"Um... Have a... Good day?" Jaune managed, adjusting his bunny ears slightly. Blake nodded.

"You too, Jaune," she said softly. Her hands twitched, undecided on what to do. Jaune looked just as awkward, but managed a wave and smile when Ghira finished making out with his wife.

"We'll be back by dinner," Ghira said cheerfully, "I have to do some inspections anyway."

"Take care, darling," Kali said cheerfully. She beamed at Jaune. "You have a good day too, Jaune!"

"I-I will, Mrs. Belladonna-Er, Queen-Er-" Jaune stuttered. Kali giggled.

"Oh come now, Jaune. Call me Kali!"

"Er... Sure... Lady Kali," he managed. Kali hummed and smiled.

"Good enough for now! Off with you!"

Blake watched them go, the guards falling into line around them. She frowned deeply as she kept her eyes on Jaune, his fake bunny ears standing up out of his messy blond mane.

"He'll be fine," Kali said softly, "I made sure it was well secured. The cologne I gave him is better suited to rabbit faunus, too."

"Yes Mother," Blake said with a nod. She sighed softly. "I still can't believe he made it this far like that..."

Kali chuckled.

"In my own days in the White Fang? I got into high security areas in similar ways."

Blake stared at her in shock, and Kali smirked.

"Ninety percent of the time, if you look and act like you belong? Most people, human or Faunus, won't pay you a second glance."

"And the remaining ten percent?"

Kali's smirk gained teeth.

"That's when you bring out the claws."

As was typical of her mother, Blake's 'less physically demanding' exercises were still quite difficult, even in the warm Belladonna Dojo. She meditated, focusing on channeling her Aura into Shadow Clones and making them perform movements.

Teras puttered around outside the door, huffing a bit in disapproval, though over what Blake had never been able to figure out. The old turtle lady had always been that way, for as long as Blake could remember.

"Next one, jump up. Next one, jump down. Next one, roll right. Next one, roll left!"

Channeling Aura also helped her heal, but it was still challenging. She had her clones doing all sorts of things around her, sweat beading on her forehead, as her mother barked commands.

"Next one, look sexy for Jaune!"

Blake flushed, but obeyed instinctively. A Shadow Clone emerged wearing a sexy, come hither smile, toying with her kimono to tease its contents.

"M-MOTHER!" Blake cried. Kali lightly slapped the back of her head with a bokken. "OW!"

Kali hummed and looked the clone over.

"Not bad, but nowhere near seductive enough," she stated. Blake scowled up at her mother, rubbing the back of her head.

"That hardly seems suitable for training."

"No, but it does address something holding you back," Kali said softly. She looked Blake over. "You're usually much better at this, faster. You're distracted."

Blake closed her eyes.

"Jaune coming here... Brought up a lot of emotions," she admitted. "Emotions I... I don't want to deal with."

Kali sat down next to her daughter.

"I know that dealing with them is difficult," Kali said, "But it has to be done."

"Can't I... Can't I just raise an army and go help?" Blake asked, looking plaintively at her mother, "Wouldn't that be enough to... To make up for all of it?"

Kali chuckled sadly.

"Were it that easy," she sighed. She shook her head. "You must give your troops a reason to follow you, Blake. Trading on your name and rank alone isn't enough. Not for the important battles. The only way to be that person is to confront your demons and conquer them first."

Blake looked away, staring at the far wall.

"There's just so much," Blake murmured. Kali nodded.

"I know," she said, "But we can take it, a battle at a time. So... What about Jaune?"

Blake shut her eyes.

"... He..." She hesitated.

"He what?" Kali asked quietly.

"... He told me, last night," Blake continued, "That he wished he had died instead of Pyrrha. That he... He was the expendable one. The useless one."

"You don't agree?" Kali asked. Blake shook her head furiously.

"Of course I don't agree! He-He stayed! He pulled Ruby and Yang out of their depression! He kept Nora and Ren with him! He figured out so much, did so much... He came all the way out here! I-I never thought that of him!"

Blake sighed quietly.

"I mean... I never really thought much of him at all," she admitted, "He was... He was Ruby's goofy blond friend. The one who got stuck in a tree in Initiation. The one who kept getting beat up, trounced and humiliated. The one who was dense as a doorknob... I just..."

She hesitated again. Her voice became thick with emotion.

"We... We made jokes about him. About how useless he was. How weak he was. Sometimes, we joked that he shouldn't even be there. I thought... I thought they were just jokes. Back and forth. I thought that's how he took them since he always... Always laughed it off."

She closed her eyes again.

"But he took it to heart, after Pyrrha... Pyrrha was killed," she murmured. "He genuinely thinks he's good for nothing. He's done so much more than I did... And he still thinks I'm better."

She sniffled. Fat tears began to roll out of her eyes, and down her cheeks.

"Me... The one who poisons everything I touch. Ruins everything. The one who always runs away, when my friends... My friends need me," she whispered. "Look at me... A princess, sitting in a palace, and... And someone I dismissed is the one who did... Who did what I should have done... He still thinks I'm a good person. And... And I'm not."

She bowed her head, her tears peppering the wooden floor beneath her knees.

"... He shouldn't have come," she whispered, "His friends... They... They don't need me. They need him... And he doesn't believe it... It's my fault, Mama... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"

Kali hugged her daughter tightly, as she sobbed. Blake tried to pull away, but Kali's grip was ironclad.

"It's all right, Blake, it's all right," Kali whispered, as her daughter wept.

The Home Guards were soldiers who split their time between guarding the city of Kuo Kuana and the Chieftain and members of the Council. They were well trained in melee combat, marksmanship, Dust use, and their Semblances. They drilled relentlessly, training whenever they didn't have anything else to do, led by some of Ghira's best commanders.

He had brought Jaune to the main training yard, and called up ten random guards. A mix of newcomers and seasoned veterans. They eyed Jaune with a mixture of trepidation, apathy, and curiosity.

"This is Lord Jaune, from a Northern Sanus Faunus city," Ghira stated, and the guards nodded, "He will fight you all at once, non-lethally. Let's see how our brothers on Sanus are training their warriors."

Ghira stepped back, smiling at Jaune's worried expression. He then gestured to one of his Sergeants, Torg, a lizard Faunus, who walked up to his Chieftain. Ghira bent down and whispered in his ear.

"Get the Aura Measuring Sensor, please."

"Of course, My Lord," Torg said, turning and heading out. Ghira turned his eyes back and watched. The ten guards spread out and surrounded the hidden human.

Jaune pulled his sword and shield, and took a sure-footed stance with a determined look on his face.

The guards attacked Jaune from all sides and stayed in pairs to cover one another, wielding swords and spears.

Five minutes later, Torg returned... To see all of the guards knocked out or down, with Jaune apologizing to them and Ghira. Torg nearly dropped the Aura Sensor, but he recovered and kept it focused on Jaune.

"I'm really, really sorry," Jaune said. Ghira laughed.

"It was nothing they can't walk off, son! Don't you worry!" He clapped Jaune's shoulder with a large hand, and grinned. "Why not tell them how you did that, hm?"

"Sure, no problem, sir," Jaune said with a quick nod. The guards, now looking much less skeptical, assembled in front of Jaune. Ghira walked over to Torg, who shook the Aura Sensor and frowned at the results.

"Well?" Ghira asked softly. Torg looked at his Chieftain with wide eyes.

"He's got more Aura than two squads combined, at least!" Torg gasped.

Ghira hummed, and walked up to Jaune's side. He smiled at Jaune.

"Tell us Jaune. How long have you been training?" He asked.

Jaune coughed, looking embarrassed.

"Er... About a year? Maybe two years?"

Dead silence. Jaune sighed.

"I know I'm not as good as I should be, but I'm trying as hard as I can," he said. He bowed his head. "If you have any suggestions or training that you think could help me? I would really appreciate it, sir. I want to help my friends and protect people."

"Two years?!" Torg grunted. "You gotta be having us on, lad!"

Jaune shook his head, his bunny ears shaking.

"No, really! Just two years. Sorry if I'm really sloppy. Again, I'm working as hard as I can."

Ghira let out another laugh and patted Jaune on the back.

"We'll happily train you, son! You're doing well, but it's good that you recognize you can always improve," he said with a nod. "Mistralian style, right?"

"Er, yeah," Jaune nodded, "Though I've been learning from some other friends, too, with different styles."

"Good, good," Ghira said with a nod. "Though, only two years? You entered a Hunter Academy with... No experience?"

Jaune nodded, looking ashamed.

"Yeah... My uh, my family didn't approve," he admitted. "Sorry. Again, working very hard to get better."

"Good, but really," Ghira said with a smile, "You're progressing very well. Go on. How about you join the men for the morning training?"

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Jaune said with a rapid nod. He followed the guards, who had not lost their sense of awe at the secret human. Ghira crossed his arms as he watched them go. Torg stood next to his chieftain, frowning in disbelief.

"Two years? That's all?" He gasped. "And that-that boy can take down a squad of our guards without so much as a scratch?!"

"The boy has potential. All of his friends do, apparently," Ghira chuckled.

"But... Is he stupid?"

"No," Ghira said, his eyes narrowed, "But I believe I will have words with his family at some point..."

Such potential could not be wasted. Especially not in these times.

Blake recovered, well enough to get some tea before lunch. She sat with her mother in the dining room, both around the low table. Blake sipped her tea, as Kali sat alongside her. She stayed in close contact with her, shoulder to shoulder: Just enough to let Blake feel her warmth, but not feel smothered.

Blake stared at her tea in between sips. She shook her head.

"Mom, I... I'm sorry-"

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Kali said. Blake looked at her, eyes filled with anguish.

"But I-!"

"There is a lot to work on, and a lot to make up for," Kali said softly, "But you aren't responsible for White Fang losing its way." She sighed. "Your father and I have our share in that, too."

"Mom, I-"

"If it was something we could solve on our own, we would have by now," Kali said firmly, "But we can't. It's... It's not as simple as yelling at a bunch of Faunus." She cupped her daughter's cheek. "It doesn't mean you're a failure, Blake. It just means... You need help. We founded an entire nation to try and make things right. It's hard, Blake. It's very hard. But just because it is... Doesn't mean you've failed."

Blake bowed her head. Kali hugged her daughter.

"It just means it's going to be a long road," she sighed, "But in the end? It will make the triumph all the sweeter."

"I just... I don't know how to make anything right," Blake said miserably. Kali tilted Blake's chin up with her finger, and smiled lovingly.

"Start with your friends," she said softly, "Start small."

"But-But that won't even-!"

"Remember when you started your training?" Kali asked softly, "Remember how hard you tried? How terrible you were at things at first? Those were small tasks, little training exercises. You had to start small. When you were ready? I moved you onto bigger exercises. Harder tasks. That's how it will work here, too."

Blake nodded slowly.

"And there's a friend here," Kali said quietly, "A friend of yours who despite everything? Still sees you as a good person, and someone to bring back to your other friends. You can start there."

Blake nodded, more quickly.

"You're right... Y-You're right, Mom," Blake said firmly. "I-I'm going... I'm going to make sure Jaune knows that-that I appreciate him! That I-I do care about him! That he isn't weak, or-or a failure!"

Kali beamed and hugged Blake tightly.

"It's the perfect place to start, my little kitten," Kali chuckled.

Small steps, she reminded herself. It wouldn't do to push Blake before she was ready.

It wasn't until the evening that Jaune and Ghira returned home. Saber Rodentia, the Head of the Guard, accompanied them, along with Sergeant Torg.

Kali and Blake greeted them, both in festive kimonos. Ghira grinned broadly when he saw his wife, and embraced her happily with a kiss.

"Mmm... What's the occasion?" Ghira asked with a grin.

"We have company, that's the perfect time to dress up a bit!" Kali said cheerfully. She smiled at Saber and Torg. "Saber! Torg! Will you join us for dinner?"

"Would love to, ma'am," Saber said, "But we're on watch tonight. Since someone snuck in." He turned a glare on Jaune.

Jaune coughed.

"Er, sorry? But now you know how to keep it from happening again?"

"Exactly, Saber," Ghira said. He shook his head. "His analysis of the holes in our defense is going to be used to ensure we don't have any such weaknesses in the future."

Saber grumbled a little, but nodded to his lord, and then Jaune.

"Yes sir. Come on Torg." The gerbil Faunus muttered under his breath about 'jumped up jack rabbits' as he and Torg stalked out to the manor grounds. Jaune stood awkwardly as he looked at Blake.

"Oh, uh, hey Blake," he said. He smiled and blushed a bit, his eyes sliding around her but not looking directly at her. "You uh, you look very pretty."

Blake managed a small smile, and nodded.

"Thank you," she said, "You look very, uh... Very good!"

Jaune raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, thanks," he said, "Been training all day. Probably smell terrible... Sorry-"

"No, no," Blake shook her head, "Uh... I always liked how you smelled. Back at Beacon."

Jaune and Blake stared at each other. She blushed a bit.

"Very earthy, like grass and sword oil and um... Yeah..."

Jaune nodded. "That's... Nice? I uh... You always had a nice smell too... N-Not that I was smelling you deliberately! Th-That would have been weird!"

"R-Right, totally weird!" Blake nodded back with a tiny, forced laugh.

"Not that I'm saying you're weird!" Jaune said quickly.

"I-I know," Blake said with a quick nod.

Awkward silence fell upon them once again. Jaune coughed.

"I uh... I'm gonna get a shower, uh, before dinner."

"G-Good!" Blake said. "Good. I-I'll see you there!"

"Cool! M-Me too! I mean, I-I'll see you there! Not-You know what I mean."

"Great!"

"Great!"

Jaune walked up to the door. Blake moved to the right, just as Jaune did.

"Uh, sorry-" Jaune tried. Blake shook her head rapidly.

"N-No, sorry!"

Blake finally moved out of the way enough for Jaune to move past. She watched him go. She then looked to her mother.

"So... Um... I've never... Done the supportive thing before," she said, "How am I doing?"

Kali managed a smile, even as Ghira covered up his mouth.

"It's a good start," Kali said with a nod.

Ghira coughed very hard into his palm.

Please review, and sorry about the email alerts being down. Stupid FF dot net can't manage their site properly.