Author's Notes

Amazingly, this website has not only immediately fixed its view counter issue but also managed to add in the missing views for the days it was broken. Well done, chap.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!


Chapter 13 – Stand Your Ground

Team Job Security's very existence is challenged by the man who inadvertently created it


"May I come in?" the headmaster asked, standing in the doorway of Jaune and Blake's apartment.

Blake's immediate instinct was to say no, to have nothing to do with this man who represented the cause of her worst moment in recent memory. However, he was also the only person in the city who was somehow aware of her past with the White Fang, meaning she couldn't turn him away and risk offending his delicate sensibilities.

Instead of saying anything, she just nodded. Speaking risked the loss of her temper, and Ozpin had shown a snappish side when she'd sassed him back at Beacon.

The elderly man hobbled into their apartment, cane in one hand and handkerchief in the other. Ozpin coughed a few times into the rag, then shoved it into his pocket.

"I'm pleased to see that you were able to find your feet after leaving Beacon."

Leaving Beacon – that was an interesting way of putting it. Blake hadn't so much left as she'd been blackmailed out of the school, and knowing what she knew about Jaune's history, he'd never even had a chance to go there in the first place.

Still, she refrained from speaking. If Ozpin wanted to compliment their accommodations, he could do so to his heart's content. Blake had a feeling that the most important huntsman in the city hadn't just come out here for pleasantries, though, not when Team Job Security had so recently shown up his own students.

When he tried to glance at the titles of the library books Blake had checked out and left strewn about on her chair, she decided it was too far and cleared her throat.

"May we help you?" she asked, doing her best to not sound argumentative.

"Yes, just a quick thing. I was – *cough* – I was hoping to – *cough cough* – to in…"

He fell into a fit of coughing and began to paw at his pocket, likely reaching for the handkerchief he kept in there. To spare the old man his dignity as he struggled to pull out the cloth, Blake quickly stepped into the bathroom, retrieved a hand towel, and gave it to Ozpin, taking care to avoid making direct eye contact.

"T-Tha– *cough* – tha…"

Blake just nodded.

Ozpin's wheezing eventually ran its course, and he looked down at the towel, then up to Blake.

"Just leave it in the sink," she said. "They have a cleaner who handles laundry."

Nodding, he dropped the soiled cloth and placed the back of his fist to his lips. "Now then. Where were we…? Ah, of course. My business with your 'enterprise.'"

Blake wasn't sure she liked the dismissive way he used the word 'enterprise.' It wasn't an insulting term, but the tone in which Ozpin said it made it sound like one, as thought their 'enterprise' was something of a joke thought up by a toddler or infant, one that was humored but never seriously considered.

"If possible, I would like to see your credentials."

Blake had known this was coming for a long time. Ever since their first mission using a hacked mission board, she'd been keenly aware of how severe the penalty for fraudulently claiming to be a hunter could be.

It was for that reason that Team Job Security had never advertised itself as hunters. They were a security firm who sent security consultants to ensure the security of a client's village, lake, mine, or other space. There was nothing illegal or fraudulent about that.

She'd covered her ass preemptively, in this case. The business licenses were in a file folder she kept under their shared bed, but she didn't exactly trust Ozpin with a set of documents that had cost her 1,000 lien, so she showed him some photocopies that were in the hotel's dresser drawer by the bed. She'd made them for this express purpose – when law enforcement of some sort came knocking and asking for proof of legitimacy.

Ozpin accepted the pages, clearing his throat as he did. For a moment, Blake wondered if he was going to be going through another hacking fit, but he got it under control. As he read the pages over, she glanced at Jaune to see how he was faring.

Damn it. He's just sitting there on the edge of his bed with that same glassy-eyed look from when we were forced to leave Beacon. I guess I'm handling this one solo.

"Thank you, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said, returning the photocopies to her. "But I'm afraid that is a business license, not a professional hunting license."

Blake nodded. "That is correct. However, as Jaune and I are not hunters, I fail to see what that has to do with our 'enterprise.'"

"I think you know what it means," Ozpin said. He moved his cane right in front of his legs and leaned on it with both hands.

"I'm afraid I don't, sir." Blake kept her arms down at her sides, resisting the temptation to fold them. If and when this came to a confrontation, she didn't want Ozpin to have any proof behind his claims that she was an instigator, even if it was solely through body language. "Would you please explain it to me?"

"It is illegally to falsely claim to be a huntsman or, in your case, huntress."

"I don't believe I claimed to be a huntress, Professor."

"You've certainly been acting in that capacity, from what I've heard."

"You must be mistaken. Mr. Arc and I are security consultants. We've been hired to assist villages with issues of private security, but that's covered by the scope of our business licenses."

"You killed Grimm."

Blake nodded. "When we were attacked."

"So you admit to presenting yourselves as hunters?"

"No, sir. We never did anything of the sort."

"Miss Belladonna, I know this may seem like a victimless crime to you, but there are very real consequences to actions such as yours. Huntsmen and huntresses are not only responsible for their own lives but the lives of those they protect. That is the reason we have such stringent requirements for who is allowed to become one."

"And are you, in your capacity as a huntsman, arresting us?" Blake asked. She knew from experience that huntsmen had power equivalent to police officers, and that they could and would wield it with far less oversight.

"As I was the person who removed you from Beacon, I feel that it is my responsibility to –"

"No, sir," Blake cut in. "We aren't your responsibility. Unless you're here as a huntsman to arrest Jaune and me, I'm afraid we have no further business."

"I'm trying to work through this without getting two callow youths thrown into prison, Miss Belladonna. Just as I sheltered you when you forged your applications to Beacon, I'm trying to shelter you now. If you shut down this phony company of yours, I will consider the matter closed and not go to the police."

Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw Jaune move. He hadn't really been reacting so far, so she'd taken the duty of handling Ozpin on, but now that was apparently about to change.

Blake and Ozpin watched Jaune reach into his pocket and pull out his scroll. Opening it up and unlocking it, he typed in three numbers onto the call-keypad.

It rang only twice before being answered, but Jaune didn't speak into the device.

"I've called the police," Jaune said. "Their emergency line."

"Mr. Arc, there's no need –"

Jaune, still seated on the bed, held the scroll out to Ozpin. "Please report us, sir."

Okay, was this the second or third time Jaune had done his best to send Blake into a state of cardiac arrest? Because this was starting to become something of a theme at this point.

But he handled Team LTUC well enough, and I didn't understand that until he was through with his plan. I at least can trust him to have something up his sleeve here as well.

"I don't follow," Ozpin said.

"You said we committed a crime. I invite you to share your findings with the police, headmaster. After all, if we have done something illegal, it's your duty as a huntsman, a headmaster, and a concerned citizen of the kingdom to report it. So please, take my scroll and tell them how we broke the law."

The voice on the other side of the call, presumably the police (assuming Jaune hadn't actually faked them out by calling a random number or something) continued making faint noises that sounded a lot like questions. Ozpin just stared at the scroll that was being offered to him, making no motion to take it from Jaune's hands.

Jaune pulled it back and hung up the call. "I think that's that, then."

"Mr. Arc, just because I lack the evidence to prove that you have committed a crime does not mean you should continue to endanger yourself and others. The entire kingdom as a whole can feel the impact of a false huntsman's misdeeds. When you lie about your skill level and inevitably fail to complete the work asked of you, you erode the public's faith in hunting as a whole. Lives are at risk, young man. I would have thought an Arc, of all people, would understand the importance of sacrifice."

Jaune spoke the second Ozpin finished, suggesting that he had been waiting for the old man to finish. "How would you react if Beacon blew up, sir?"

"W-What?" Ozpin had to pull up his shirt as he began to cough. "Are you –"

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm merely asking how you would react in such a situation. The entire school exploded, I mean."

Ozpin paused, frowning at Jaune. Jaune was certainly toeing the line of what was acceptable here, having technically wasted police time and indirectly threatened an academy, but Blake was pretty sure now that he knew what he was doing.

"I think I would –"

"You would do whatever it takes to save your school, as would be expected of you," Jaune finished before the gray-haired man could even begin. He stood up from the bed, now towering over Ozpin. "Well, sir, that's how Blake and I feel about Team Job Security. To you, we probably seem like some sort of minor nuisance. An annoyance to be quashed with vague threats and unfounded accusations, which immediately get withdrawn the second they're put to the test. But I can assure you, sir, this is our life now. This company, this team we've made, it's all we have left in this world that's unwilling to give us anything, and we're prepared to go down swinging to protect it.

"So go ahead. Take us to court if you think you'll be successful. But I ask you this before you do – how far are you prepared to go to ruin us? How much are you willing to invest to stop Team Job? Because I can promise you from the bottom of my heart that no matter how important this is to you, my partner and I care about Team Job Security a lot more."

By this point, the grandfatherly act Ozpin had been pulling was now dropped, and he had an equal mixture of stoic calm and subtle disapproval on his face. He coughed a few more times, covering them up with his shirt again, as Jaune stared him down.

"I see that my efforts to save you from yourselves will not be appreciated here," Ozpin said, wiping some spit from his lip and stepping out the front door that he'd left open. "I bid you both a good day, and I advise you to seriously consider the choices you make. If you continue along this course, expect no further aid from Beacon. You shall most likely find yourself receiving the opposite."


Unlike every other time Jaune had tried his hand at bullshit, he didn't let out some pained sigh of relief the second the mark was out of sight. This time, he just watched the door shut with a mild glare and seethed.

I guess he's gotten over the whole catatonic at the first sign of Beacon thing, then.

"Sorry about that, but we had to stand our ground at some point," Jaune said, keeping his face to the door. "I figured it'd be better now, so that Ozpin might get the message and back off."

"I agree, Jaune, but maybe cool it a little bit on risking our entire futures every time something goes a little off the plan?" Blake bit her lip. "You sounded like you were threatening Beacon for a second there."

"I didn't mean to. I just…I just…he was just another huntsman in that moment. Just like the ones who keep the primary combat schools as an inside secret. They have more power than us normal folks, and they do everything they can to lord it over us. He was trying to bully us into quitting by making it sound like he was about to turn us over to the police, but he had nothing. I know you, and I know you're smarter than leaving us in hot water like that, so I knew he had nothing, and…"

Jaune balled up a fist and made to punch it into the wall but stopped just short. Instead, he rapped it against the wall a few times instead, clenching his teeth.

"It felt really good. Maybe I was just being vindictive, but calling him out and showing him that his scare tactics had no power over us…it felt good."

That wasn't entirely true. Ozpin might not have been able to arrest them or have them arrested without cause, but he was a powerful man in his own right. Life could become very difficult for them if they pissed him off.

Jaune was right; they were only a minor nuisance, probably one of the many that he had to deal with at any given time. If they rose above that, Beacon might get more and more involved. Regardless of whether or not they did anything illegal, a small company of two people wouldn't stand a chance against the kind of pressure the strongest academy in the world could exert.

"We probably ought to take a non-Grimm related job next," Blake stated. "To take a little heat off and disprove Ozpin's allegations. Something where we're actually security."

Jaune nodded.

"We don't exactly choose what jobs we get, but is there any way you can advertise selectively to get us a mission like that?" Blake asked. "I get if you can't, but otherwise we'll have to start turning down jobs."

"I'll see what I can do," Jaune said with a grimace.

Even though it felt like Ozpin's arrival and departure had been the climax of their day, it was actually only early morning, and they had the whole day ahead of them.

While Jaune prepared some breakfast (mostly just heating up leftovers from last night in a pot on the stove), Blake did a quick sweep of their apartment for bugs. She didn't think Ozpin was going to venture to such extremes, not when he was an upstanding citizen with a reputation to uphold.

Still, the risk was too great. Checking the towel that he'd coughed into first, as it was the most obvious place, she continued to move along the walls and the furniture, taking particular care in the cracks, undersides, and tight spaces in which one could conceivably plant a listening device with no one coming across it. This was nothing new to her; she'd found plenty of bugs in the White Fang, and Blake wasn't referring to beetle Faunus.

She'd taken those precautions against nosy nobodies, licensing them up as a business and not a huntsman team, but she hadn't truly been expecting them to come into play so soon. Beacon having their eye on Team Job was not a good thing. Jaune had pointed out that they had more to lose here and were thus willing to put in far more of their effort, but it was still just the effort of two people maximum. If Beacon decided they wanted Team Job shut down, there would be little they could do.

Honestly, with how much money we have, it wouldn't be some huge surprise if we just went bankrupt eventually. Ozpin could just wait a few months and see if his problem takes care of itself.

Describing herself as a problem for Ozpin was wrong, though. This past mission to the Zaherite Mines was a fluke – Team Job had no intention of competing with real hunters. Blake would happily stay out of their way and only take the small, cheap missions that flew under their radar if it would keep them flying under the radar.

Ozpin was wrong about this being a crime, and he was the one who needs to learn about his actions not being victimless. If he shuts us down in order to keep up appearances, Jaune and I don't get to eat. He has so little to lose here besides a little pride, and we've got our entire careers on the line.

Without warning, Blake came to Jaune from the side and gave him a little hug. It felt awkward for her, and she imagined he was a little uncomfortable from the sudden display of affection, but she felt like she needed to let him know that his efforts were not unappreciated. He wasn't the only one to defend Team Job today, but he had been the one to frighten off Ozpin and keep their little company alive for one more day. Blake hadn't realized how proud she'd become of the life she'd built, but the fact of the matter was that it was hers. Not Adam's, not Ozpin's, not even Jaune's…hers.

"Thank you, Jaune. I'm glad we're partners. I'm glad we're…friends."

Jaune just returned the hug with one arm and went back to cooking. "Watch the stove, Blake. Don't want to get burned."

Blake just rolled her eyes at her silly pupil. Wiggling the fingers on one hand, she placed them directly on the burner and watched Arc's eyes widen.

"Did you forget you're a…ahem, security consultant, Jaune?"

"I…I…"

Taking her aura-protected and completely unburnt digits back, Blake nudged Jaune out of the way. "Leave the cooking to me for once. How about you get started on the new advertisements?"

"Will do, boss."

Her eyes flicked to the door.

Screw you, Ozpin. You might have gotten to take Beacon away from this Faunus, but in doing so you threw away any true power you had over her.


Coming Soon: To Consult and Protect

Jaune and Blake discover the dark side of not being able to hand pick their own missions when a new client solicits their services.


Author's Notes

And so they survive their first encounter with Beacon. Jaune pulls his weight at long last, sending Ozpin running like he was Ozbitch all along. Jaune's list of bitches grows longer with every passing day. For those of you who are worried Jaune's going to magically become OP or too powerful, though, fret not. The fic ends with Jaune deciding he can't live with himself anymore and diving straight into an active volcano and violently burning himself to death, leaving his half-Faunus son an orphan and his harem permanently unsatiated. And you know me - i'M rAtCRiMes aNd i'D nEVeR LiE.

Ozpin's all old and dying and shit in this one, by the way. I don't know why - I just felt like it fit the character. It doesn't affect that plot at all.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!