Chapter 2: I don’t want to!

The battle at the port has been… quite a close call for Blake.

There wasn’t another way to properly describe the mix of external dangers and internal struggles that had characterized that specific night.

The black-haired girl couldn’t still make her mind over what she had seen there, what she had been forced to do just for the sake of survival. The White Fang, men and women from the Vale Branch that the young Belladonna had once known on a friendly basis, had been ruthless and lacking any of the hesitation freezing her at first when they engaged for the fight.

With the odds of two Hunters-in-training against a large contingent of militia-level armed people, Sun had been quite correct to swear foully at how things had gone to hell so quickly. It had been his words, when he had almost begged her to not jump out of their cover and not to blow up their surprise element.

Yet she had gone up to mess things up by trying to force answers out of Torchwick, the Criminal Boss gleefully asserting his crass command over the grunts dispatched on the first wave. People that were clearly irritated by the attitude taken by their supposed leader, deciding to stray away from the very essence that even Adam had been keen to abide to.

Do not trust criminals, nor try to even be on friendly terms with the scum.

It had been a golden rule during her father’s leadership and Sienna had been more than happy to respect it, quite adamant in denying the chances of seeking out alliances with shady groups, fearful that one of those senseless thugs would have easily besmirched their reputation for the sake of avoiding too many years in jail.

The policy was logical and, knowing Adam’s declination of the Fang’s purity, Blake could hardly make head of what had happened on that very night before this blatant unity between the two distinct parties.

Torchwick in particular wasn’t someone that could be trusted, many of their groups having been slaughtered by the man’s men and… his assassin. Not many knew the identity of the close guard of the ‘classy’ scumbag, but the fact none had survived to tell the tale, people that weren’t certainly pushovers by all means, was enough to deter the leadership to fish more info about the ‘slayer’.

Her mind shifted back to the numerous questions regarding the Fang’s current alliance with the criminal boss, baffled by the fact this was actually an official mission from the leaders of the branch. Maybe it had been a rebellious branch, someone that had grown disgruntled of Sienna’s rule and went to offer their services to lesser associations in Vale.

It was a possibility, her vivid imagination agreed wholeheartedly, but what if something a little worse had happened after her unexpected departure?

Dark thoughts reigned for most of the fight, even diluting the surprise rising from the sudden appearance of her team and other familiar students.

What if… he had died? Something that made her skip her beat just for a moment, shock grasping in quite the unforgiving manner at her chest, inner whispers calling her a cause of problem, the reason why the White Fang had fallen so low.

The man had shown interest in her, pointing out in a half-subtle manner that she represented the light from not falling in the madness of emotions. Adam wasn’t a monster, no matter how much people depicted him as such, but he wasn’t never going to be a saint for her.

Blood stained both his hands and his blade, some were from self-defense while others were easily caused by the active role he had in the missions. Death was forgivable only when extreme resistance was met during their tasks, only when they were attacked with lethal force first.

The Bull Faunus’ concept of self-defense was a loose thing in his mind already, the fact that Sienna had been so foolish to give him so much political power within the hierarchy had been more than enough to increase the stress perceived by the man.

Adam was strong, always coming on top of any trouble or challenge, but he was also mortal. No matter how much he trained, how much he said that he would have got control over his raging thoughts, Blake knew it would have been a matter of time before he did something too much stupid and… perished in action.

But no, her logical side had corrected with a cold but incredibly relaxing certainty, if Adam had been killed recently, something of a procession would have been planned for the occasion. He was one of the ‘valiant heroes’ of the Fang and there was no way in Hell that Sienna would have passed the opportunity to milk the moral high ground from the ‘martyrdom’ itself.

The girl’s focus was quickly restored to the battlefield, a little confidence reasserting more energy in her actions and then… she realized that things were far from peachy even with the fight seemingly won.

The Fang was close to retreat from the sound beating they were receiving, Torchwick had ditched the group for a safe evacuation, and her team was slowly starting to have time to reach out for her.

Sun’s words drilled deep in her consciousness, drawing guilt and hesitation in avoiding the group she had lied to until now, yet her thoughts about what had just happened to the Fang was more than enough to create a stalemate.

Weiss was looking particularly angry, the heiress not even sparing a glance at her and the Belladonna didn’t need anyone to tell her that it was a bad omen. Their discussion still fresh in her mind, the hurtful words repeating in a sickening pattern as the dust started to settle in the now ‘conquered’ port.

She saw her team approaching, Sun was quite near to where she was and… her mind was instantly planning out her escape.

Nervousness and general unwillingness to resume what had been quite an aching development for her new cover drove her to move away from hoping for some redemption at her lies, to actually buy some time out of the golden opportunity presented by the current lack of enemies.

The Monkey Faunus let out a quick ‘eep’ as her shadow clone slammed into him and made him trip backwards before disappearing in thin air, disabling temporarily the closest concern. Ruby was the furthest of the bunch and she looked quite winded by the previous fight, the chances of her using the semblance to catch up to her rather slim.

The rest of the people weren’t as fast as she was… if she didn’t hold anything back for the chase.

The Cat Faunus breathed in and then out. Her eyes settling for a small alley that led right out of the district and back to the main road.

Blake bolted with all the strength left in her body without hesitation, ignoring the girls calling her name, her attention and legs giving more importance to the need of getting out from some unwanted encounter.

The girl managed to get inside the alley without any issue and she also managed to reach the roofs while retreating several buildings away from the docks and back to the industrial district of Vale. She could feel her breathing itching and then… her pacing slowed down to a full stop.

Both pair of ears were twitching attentively as she waited for some telling noise that there was still an ongoing chase, that the pursuit was still persisting or not, and she carefully turned around to find nobody behind her.

Relief washed over the Faunus’ mind as her sore body was hit by the cool breeze of the nightly wind. Eyes narrowing tiredly, the girl realized in that exact moment that, despite having indeed dodged the bullet with that run, she also remained homeless and without any shelters to make use of.

She had nowhere to rest and recover from the fight, her Aura running a little low and her body was aching for some rest. It was late, her attention span had quickly reached the lowest degree possible after the eventful day and then... her nose picked a familiar but intriguing smell.

Her body tensed up and her eyes shot wide open as she felt a new purpose renewing her strengths. The scent was strong, terribly strong and also terribly familiar.

Blake could still remember perfectly the first time she actually discovered catnip and… the dangers about it. It had been back at fifth grade, she had been very surprised to learn that the teacher was going to teach a lesson about the ‘drug-like’ plant for Cat Faunus, but from there she learned about why this was borderline addictive.

The plant itself caused little issue, it was the pheromones released from it that caused some unfunny effects on feline-kind of Faunus. Nothing dangerous to the body, nothing that would actually cause any damage to it, yet it was frowned upon for… the effects caused on the mind of those around it.

A single sniff would deprive the Feline Faunus of any perception of pain, tiredness and put them in a euphoric state that could lead to some accidents or… worse.

The Belladonna didn’t have the luxury of having her mind fully there as her senses were invaded by the ‘fragrance’ and she found herself driven to pursue the origin of this delightful scent. It was… beneath her?

There were balconies and thus the girl slowly studied every single one of them, being careful to not cause any noise and… she found the right flat. A small opening gave the Faunus a chance to enter… yet it was small and her frame unable to pass through during her first attempts.

If she had been conscious of the situation, she would have planned it a little better, but the desire of finding the intriguing smell was stronger than her already-tiny common sense. Gambol Shroud tore a larger gap on the roof and… she passed through.

Glee filled her mind as she entered inside what looked to be a dark living room and, as she recovered from the quick fall to enter the room, she noticed much to her grand dismay the smell was gone. Shock surged, her eyes widening as she was deprived of this primal task and… returned to her tired self.

There was no sound, nor noise that could have hinted to anyone being around and…

Her eyes fixed with little focus at the couch.

Mind screaming to not go through with this stupid idea, Blake succumbed to her body’s cravings for the long-deserved rest for the night and, after removing her boots and her vest, she slumped on the attractive sofa.

Her reaction to the soft texture, to the extremely comfy pillow and the overall warmth coming off from it was… to close her eyes in relief at the good luck of having found possibly the best furniture to sleep on.

If only she had known how things would have turned the next morning…

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I was sitting by the couch while I continued to listen the ‘explanation’ afforded by this girl, Blake Belladonna, with an emotionless look plastered on my face as my attention failed to properly understand some of the context missing.

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Why running away from her team? And Weiss Schnee? She was in the same group as the daughter of the richest man in Remnant?

Knowing that she wasn’t going anywhere, I was able to quickly go through my bathroom morning routine before truly tackling the issue at hand, part of me begging the Gods to make this something not as infuriating as the one that had happened just the day before.

The Faunus stopped her tale with a nervous look, her eyes hardly able to stay for too long on my face before moving away in embarrassment. She was fidgeting a little, her hands playing with the edges of her vest when I sighed and thought about what I just heard.

There was so much to think about the complicated case, about the fact her narration explained why she entered uninvited in my home and used the couch without permission the first time (because the motivation couldn’t certainly extend to why she returned once again), about the fact I was running late for work with this nonsense and… about the wind coming from the newly open roof of my flat.

There was nothing positive with her stubborn presence, the damage caused to my poor apartment still fresh on my mind and visible at the moment. I didn’t feel angry at first as I felt… determinedly sure of a simple thing about my state of mind.

I blinked with some perplexity, as I felt so calm in the fact there was no mercy in my mind and body about this situation.

“And you returned here. Why?” I asked with a frown, the girl blinking once before nodding.

“I… I wanted to repay you for the kindness-” She tried to appear apologetic, yet there was no promise of economic repairs for the damage caused by her mere presence.

“Yet you are here.” I interrupted without thinking twice about it, causing her to flinch for a moment and sigh.

“I know that it was wrong of me to enter your house, turn your sofa in my bed for a rest and then drink some of milk by the fridge, but it was all in the name of distress and-” She tried to appear appeasing, and maybe she expected to sugarcoat the costs I will have to spend to pay up the reparations, but as she mentioned the milk I had bought the day before, I felt a chill go down my spine.

It was something I had bought for the sake of preparing a cake. The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paars, were soon going to celebrate their 35th anniversary of marriage and I had offered to help them by bringing something to eat for the feast.

And now, the opportunity was once again lost because of Blake.

Goddammit.

“Wait, the milk-” I felt anger bubbling again. “You mean to tell me that you also stole food-”

“Beverage-”

“YOU STILL STOLE FROM ME!” I yelled back, causing her interjection to die on the spot at the volume I used against her. Her eyes widened, a little surprised by the outburst and… I wasn’t done with her.

“You came back, WHY?!” I repeated with a strained voice, I was starting to regret having not called Beacon at this point.

She blinked and… stared at the floor with some embarrassment.

“I might have… seen some of my team-members patrolling the district and… I hid in your roof,” A blink dignified a momentary pause.

“Then I decided to… return inside to not be caught by them.” She admitted with a tight tone, expecting the umpteenth outburst out of me.

A legitimate expectation, but one I didn’t go through as I merely stared at her in silence.

My eyes burning in fury at the fact that not only did she decide to ‘hide’ in my flat once again, but I was also thinking of the expenses that I would have to pay for her current presence.

I wasn’t doubting that the more I was around Blake, the more I would have to pay for the damage she was committing in my own house.

I was angry, but I was also smart enough to know how to solve this situation easily and without any issue.

I stood up from my couch with a somewhat calm and ‘defeated’ expression. “Fine.”

…

“W-What?” The Faunus asked with a soft and terribly confused tone, her eyes highlighting how much she had lost me with that sudden change of mood.

I truly didn’t want to waste anymore time, thus I went for a quick one.

I smiled. “Do whatever you want,” I said lightly. “Do you need to use the bathroom? Use it. Need to rest a little more? You may use the bed. Are you hungry? Mi fridge es tu fridge.” I finished with a bright smirk.

The girl blinked, hopes being lifted to an unexpected degree. She looked like a child that just received a gift ten times greater than the one she asked. What kind of monster would ruin her mood?!

“D-Do you mean it? Can I… Can I stay?” Her childish wonder was dripping in each of the words she used and I felt lifted by the lovely moment. Oh my, the hum- I mean, the Faunus-kind!

I sighed and, still smiling, pointed my finger at the door, waiting for her to turn at it with a half-confused frown.

“Get out of my fucking flat!” I replied in a jolly tone while sternly looking at her, making her tense up at the crud demand. I blinked and kept quiet for a while, waiting for a response for her. “So? Are you leaving?” I pressed on her and the girl seemed to be ready to concede but…

“N-No.” She shook her head. My irritation increasing at her resilience at my rightful demands. “I know it sounds childish and stupid but-”

“There is no but, Blake, you have been childish and stupid right now,” I pointed at the door again, my face hardening again. “Get out, stop harassing me this much and-”

“I-I want to help,” She blurted with a convinced tone, cat ears twitching with her voice. “I-I did some damage, I know that you said that you don’t want me to- but I can offer you help with your work- maybe do some house-chores or-”

“I don’t need that from you,” I said calmly but trembling in utter anger, my face was red now. “I thought that you had understood yesterday that I don’t want any of that and yet-” I huffed. “Get out of my home or I will call the cops-”

“And commit yourself to the same embarrassing scene of yesterday?” The Faunus shot back with some heat. “I bet you will end up getting yourself ridiculed like back then and obtain nothing from it.”

I was fuming, it’s been years since I had this much anger for someone,

“Out.” That was my limit. I wasn’t joking, I wasn’t amused by her tenacious attempt to latch like a leech at my sofa and I didn’t need her to linger any further.

“I wasn’t fi-”

“I said out, Blake!” I repeated angrily, my hand closed in a twichy fist. I wasn’t going to hit her, I wouldn’t hit a woman before she tried to hit me first, something of a gentleman rule. “You need to fucking leave my house, do you understand?!” I yelled one last time and… it seemed to truly work.

Once again silence but this time the girl nodded at my request much to my surprise. She stood up from the couch and slowly made her way to the door while I followed her behind and prepared myself for any trickery she might have planned for that occasion.

No strange tricks, nothing that could hint to any sudden reappearances any time soon and I hoped for the carpenter to start to work earnestly in the afternoon to see that hole completely fixed.

I closed the door behind, finalizing the end of that maddening situation that spanned from yesterday until now and… I sighed as I felt my fury simmering to a calm, my mind feeling fairly drained as was my body.

It wasn’t healthy to have this kind of messes so early in the day and I certainly wasn’t going to put more weight on it with the fact I had yet to even go out for work.

I nodded to myself, calmly going through some quick check-up of the rest of the rooms, looking for anything that might have been taken, or ruined, yet I found none much to my growing relief.

I spared a few moments to notice the state of the sofa, surprised by the fabric having been moved harshly around in what looked to be a proper battlefield of sheets and covers.

It was a sign of some agitated sleep, of someone that had some troublesome nightmares that-

No. I’m not going to show any kindness to Blake.

She could have asked if it had been a true emergency instead of sneaking inside without permission. It was deceitful and dishonest, something born from thought rather than true emotion and that was more than enough for me to silence any positive attempt to pardon what had just happened.

Feeling prepared for another day at the bar, I left my apartment with a guarded but mostly relaxed pace, looking all around in case the girl had decided to tag along… without my consent.

Paranoia, I tried to give it a logical name, yet the sensation of being watched and followed persisted for most of my walk. I stopped numerous times to look around for the Faunus, ready to get her to stop stalking me around and…

There was no sign of her. I blinked, feeling that I was actually giving weight to the matter even though I had planned to not do that. I was just a little tired and… I felt a smile forming on my face as I spotted the bar.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside and found myself greeting the owner of the establishment. Marcus Cobalt was a man in his early forties, already balding with his red-brown hair while proudly sporting a jolly beard and ‘stache. His frame showed some beer-belly but he was the healthiest possible.

“Good morning, sir,” I said with a relaxed tone, some of my stress dripping off my words and it was quickly caught by the man.

“Good morning, boy,” He nodded back with a concerned look. “By the way, something got you tired already? Is the shift too hard on you?” He asked kindly and I shook my head negatively.

“Some unexpected issues and nothing to worry about. All solved,” I waved back with a small smile.

“I see,” The owner nodded before turning away from me and… smiling. “Good morning, young lady. Are you perhaps friends with Sid or-”

“An acquaintance,” Blake muttered quietly, avoiding my face as I turned around to stare at her in shock. She had somehow followed me back to this place, even though I made sure of not being followed and… I grimaced.

When did she get inside? And why didn’t I hear her!?

“Yet you seem to be quite interested on him- and he seemed interest too.” Mustache winked at the mistaken situation, eyes teasingly darting from her to me before returning back to the girl. “Please, do take a seat as Sid prepares to help around.” Marcus gestured me to go and put on my uniform and… I sighed, unwilling to grace any further glances at Blake as I felt one step from truly exploding at the inanity of things.

The Faunus by the time I ventured inside the locker room, good enough for me as I started to prepare for what looked to be a very long day at work. A shift where I was going to hopefully endure the presence and possibly the damage this girl will cause around herself.

May it be some objects being cut or broken, or may it be my reputation being obliterated by innuendos or misunderstandings.

Yep, this was going to be the day…

Seriously, I don’t want to sounds racist or anything like that-

But did I just get some bad luck from a dark-haired Cat Faunus or what?!