"There will be no next time...blondie," interjected Mercury as he flew towards Yang in a blur of motion. His voice callously sheared through her mind as she raised her arm in preparation for a downwards strike to stop the silver-haired man. As knuckle and knee connected, a shot was fired from her gauntlets, and following that, the horrifying sound of bone breaking could be heard. The razor sharp snap seemed to echo around her, and was amplified tenfold into a thunderous cacophony. Gripping her head in frustration, Yang let out a howl and opened her eyes to find herself sitting straight up in bed. Breathing heavily from the experience, she found herself drenched in perspiration.
Sunlight streamed through the window and warmed her moist cheeks, telling her that it was probably time for breakfast. Ruby and the others had gone down to the mess hall on this lovely Friday, it seems. Lovely? Not even, thought Yang as she winced at the vestiges of the nightmare. It had been a recurring dream since the tournament finals; that traumatic experience of having the crowd against you when you knew you did nothing wrong. For days afterwards the blonde wondered if she really had gone insane. Yang let out a depressed sigh as she put on her scarf and walked towards the door in preparation for another day of self-doubt and furtive glances cast her way.
Weiss was on her scroll, staring intently at a broadcast as the rest of her teammates were crowded around her. Apparently dust robbers had blitzed several households last night, leaving in their wake broken windows and broken families. The police were consoling a mother, who was weeping into the hair of her deceased daughter. "Is there…no justice in this world?" she sobbed as several befuddled policemen stared on. Of course not, whispered Yang as a niggling thought grew in her brain. She decided to address it later and sat down silently, much to the continued chagrin of her teammates. The usually ebullient blonde had been nothing like her usual self these few weeks; her friends had tried to console her, only to have a terse "I am fine" shot their way. "We have sparring today, Yang!" offered Ruby as she flapped her arms in excitement. Great, thought the girl as she gritted her teeth. Let's hope I don't break anything today.
Dragon narrowed her eyes as she bounced the idea she had thought of this morning through her head. She was spread out on the dorm rooftop, and the cool wind that was ruffling her golden tresses seemed to calm her down. That's right, nobody believes in words. You gotta prove it to them through actions. Justice isn't served just because someone calls for it. Someone has to grab it and go out there to show that justice still exists. With a determined scowl, Yang got up and begin to work out the details of her retribution.
The scroll told the rider of a yellow sports bike that a police report had just came in a few minutes ago, with the location being a few blocks away. Clad in a form-fitting black jumpsuit and her painted black helmet, nobody who saw the figure could tell that it was Yang. The rider revved the engine and raced towards the location, hoping that there was still time.
The young Faunus smirked as he hopped out the smashed window, throwing a sack over his shoulder. As he turned to make a break for it, the color drained from his face as his escape route was barred by a frightening figure. The figure closed the gap with remarkable speed and delivered a powerful uppercut, which stunned the robber. As he drifted into unconsciousness, he could swore he saw the burning eyes of the reaper staring back at him from under the visor of his assailant's helmet.
Yang had never felt so alive in weeks as she raced away from the crime scene amidst the wail of impending sirens. It's one of the things I can do to atone for the injustice in this world, rationed the girl as she reassured herself.
The next weeks passed in a blur as Yang sneaked out at night to carry out her one-man vigilante mission. Her grim determination must have leaked into her daily actions as her interactions with her friends brought on more concerned stares. They will understand, consoled Yang as the reports on a mysterious criminal-apprehending figure was broadcasted on the screen. The students shifted uncomfortably in their seats as the reporter told of the criminal's condition. Apparently the beatings had gotten more violent, with each one found in a worse state. Broken bones and fractured ribs were becoming more common. One was even found maliciously stabbed in the gut with pieces of glass. He deserved it! argued Dragon silently with the reporter as she turned and tramped back to her dorm room.
Yang Xiao Long stared into the mirror and saw not the cheerful adventurer that she used to be, but a driven vigilante with a twisted sense of justice. Her bloodshot eyes had a broken, fatigued look, as if they were tired of being mistaken for criminals, as if they just wanted to be filled with the violet enthusiasm that she once possessed. The blonde cried out in frustration and slammed her fists against the wall, staring at the glassy abyss once again with burning resolve. I have to do this, because no one else will, she thought as she put on her helmet once more.
The leaves whirled around in concentric circles as the wind chased them away from the impending storm clouds. A distant rumble of thunder could be heard as Yang made her way towards an alley. Sure enough, a man was stuffing something into a bag as distraught cries could be heard from a neighbouring window. Yang blazed towards the surprised robber and elbowed him into a wall, knocking the wind out of him. She picked him up by the collar and shook him. The man only grinned, which sent Dragon into a furious rage as she dropped and kicked him mercilessly. Seeing red, Yang picked up the crowbar the criminal had brought along and hit him again and again. She didn't care where it made contact as long as there was the sound of breaking bones.
Suddenly, she felt a gust on her back and the whirr and click of complex mechanisms working. Cold steel wrapped around her throat, and in the glistening moonlight she could see the distinctive curve of a red scythe. "Move, and you get it," said the assailant flatly. In response, Dragon flipped backwards and used the momentum to grip onto the handle and fling her boots into the assailant's face. The hooded figure avoided the attack in a scattering of rose petals and fired a shot from her weapon. Using the momentum, the scythe wielder rebounded off the wall and brought her scythe down onto Yang. Anticipating the move, Yang dodged and rounded the back of her fist into the attacker's left temple, which sent her crashing into a pile of garbage cans. Dragon rushed forwards as the attacker reacted and brought up the scythe, the blunt force of which knocked her helmet off. Yang stopped as her golden feathers cascaded down and reflected the moonlight.
"Y-Yang?" stammered Ruby uncertainly as she looked with misty, silver pools. The golden-haired figure, who was standing stock still, crashed down on her knees and begin to tremble. The sound of her sister's voice had shaken her out of her deranged fury. What have I done? I almost killed my sister, thought Yang as she started whimpering. Ruby got up and hugged her sister as the chasm opened up and started pouring forth rivers of agonizing tears. Yang looked into her sister's eyes as rivulets of rainwater ran down the sides of her face. She saw nothing but understanding and forgiveness.