Kintsugi also known as Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise

The pain was starting to overwhelm her. Once the adrenaline wore off and the shock had dissipated – everything started to hurt again. She knew it was bad, but no one really seemed to notice with all the chaos around her.

Blake didn't even know where they were going – anywhere but where they were. Somehow, even dozens of miles away from Beacon and surrounded by friends, teachers and armed security, Blake was still scared. Scared that he might burst through the top of this airship with his dark, red blade and mask-covered face and take her away.

That, or take away what mattered the most to her.

She watched Yang as she lay motionless on the board they'd strapped her to. An Atlesian military medic was hovered over her and from where Blake was laying she could see that the blood had seeped through Yang's bandages. She'd wanted to stay close, but they'd needed space and Doctor Oobleck convinced her to let them help.

Through it all, Blake managed to keep a hand on her side and hide her own wound. It was easy at first to cover up the pain – but now that things had slowed down, the fact that she'd been stabbed was suddenly the only thing she could focus on.

"Blake?" A familiar voice grabbed her attention and she turned to see Velvet kneeling down next to her. "Y—you're hurt?" Velvet looked every bit as scared as Blake felt. Her tall, soft ears were hanging down the back of her head as she reached out and touched Blake's hand. "You've been hurt." She repeated and Blake knew she couldn't hide it anymore. "Excuse me!" Velvet spoke up. Blake tried to stop her but her body was too tired to move. "She's got a very deep wound in her side here."

The medic came over and knelt down next to her. Blake glanced back to where he'd left Yang lying on the ground unattended – her arm still missing and her eyes still closed. She watched for a moment before she realized someone was talking to her.

"Can you hear me?" The voice said and she looked up at the medic and nodded. "I'm going to examine your wound." Again, she nodded, but the pain and exhaustion and fear were starting to overwhelm her. As she felt part of her top be moved aside, she ignored the blinding pain as best she could and looked back to Yang.

Someone was next to her, sitting with her and talking to her – Blake's vision was blurring so she couldn't tell who it was. All she saw was Yang's mass of blonde hair that she wanted to reach out and touch.

As her eyes started to feel heavy, Blake couldn't help but wonder if she was dying. It hurt so badly and she was so tired – it felt like it might be easier to give into the sleep that was consuming her.

Her mind wandered to thoughts of her team. Weiss and Ruby weren't here – they'd never come back from trying to find Jaune and Pyrrha before the airship arrived. She hoped they were okay. They were together, so she knew they'd take care of each other.

If she really was dying, guilt struck her that she might never get to see her parents again. She'd never get the chance to apologize to them for all the horrible things she'd said and done – even though they were just trying to protect her.

"Blake," Velvet said and when a soft hand touched her cheek she knew she was crying. The deeper she fell into the haze of darkness around her, the less and less the pain hurt. When she closed her eyes, she saw Yang's lifeless body floating above her. The blood in the air and the sound of Adam's blade as it cut through her.

Someone was calling her name, but she ignored it – far too content on the idea that maybe if she fell asleep, she'd wake up and this would all have been nothing more than a nightmare.

There weren't many things Blake hated more than the cold. Growing up in Menagerie, she was used to a much more tropical climate – that plus being so packed in with people on such a small island, it was almost expected to walk around in a bikini most days.

She missed the warm weather. In fact, there were a lot of things she missed about her old home. The weather, the food, the comfy beds and a roof over her head that wasn't a tent.

Those were the comforts of a person who didn't fight for the Faunus. At least, that's what she told herself to make it through the worst nights. That every hardship was just her earning a better future for her people.

That didn't make the chill of the air in the middle of the night any less biting - or the loneliness.

She'd been alone for the last two days. Adam was off on a mission – one she hadn't been allowed to accompany him on.

So here she sat, in his tent waiting for him to come back. It was a bit strange what life around the camp was like without him here. Mostly because nobody ever really approached her. Granted, she was the daughter of two former members who'd quit and their exit wasn't exactly peaceful.

Adam was the one who'd allowed her to come back – a point he was quick to remind her of whenever she pushed too hard.

Sheathing her blade, Blake sat it down on the crate she was using as a table and blew out the candle beside her. It was still fairly light outside with the full moon in the sky and the varying tents around her still lit up with people. She could hear crowds talking and laughing, the smell of freshly cooked food lingered in the air from the night's dinner. One of the grunts brought her a plate – it was overcooked and had way too much salt but she thanked him and smiled, only to be mostly ignored.

This wasn't the White Fang she'd grown up in, which was to be expected under new leadership. Still, it didn't feel like a group of people pushing towards a common goal, it felt like an army and one she had no real part in. She was Adam's…something – a place that hadn't been determined yet.

If these last few days were any indication, Blake knew she had no place here without him.

Suddenly, the tent flap opened and Blake turned to see Adam stepping inside. Immediately, she noticed the blood on his clothes and the cut in the sleeve of his shirt.

"Adam, you're back." She said, walking over to him and reaching out to his damaged clothes.

He jerked his arm away and stepped around her. "Don't, you'll get blood on you."

Blake stayed back and watched him move towards a small footlocker and open it. "Are you hurt?" She asked, taking only one step towards him.

"No," he stood up with a new shirt in hand and started to unbutton the one he was wearing. "It's not my blood."

That didn't really make her feel any better. "Trouble with the mission?"

As his shirt came off, Blake's eyes traced the faint scars across his back. Adam's rise through the White Fang was certainly had its share of resistance. Being such a close companion of Sienna Khan as she overthrew the old leadership was met with many detractors. Some of which thought they could handle a brash young Faunus with a hot head.

Every one of them underestimated him and every one of them met the same fate.

"The mission went off without a hitch – we just…picked up a stray and brought her to camp."

Taking a breath, Blake stepped up behind him and put her hand on his back. He froze, the new shirt he was putting on had barely made it past his shoulders. "Is this her blood?"

He looked back at her. "No, it's the blood of the humans who attacked her."

"You saved her?"

Adam turned around. "Of course I did. They were taunting her and belittling her. Treating her the way all humans treat us. So, we stepped in and helped her. She said she didn't have anywhere to go so we brought her here."

He could be so passionate about his fight. Blake admired how much he cared and how hard he fought for his people. She was here because she wanted to do what he did – to be a part of his work.

To be a part of his future.

"You're a hero to our people." She said and watched him smile a toothy grin and suddenly the shirt he was putting on was removed and dropped to the floor. "I—I want to be more involved in the things you do here. I want to help."

She let the words linger and wondered if he'd even listen to her. When she'd come back with him, she expected their partnership to continue as it had when both of them were just runners. Now that he was in a position of power, she'd been relegated to staying behind more often than not – but that wasn't enough for her.

"It's dangerous out there, Blake."

"I know," she said in a soft voice. As he turned around, her hand still lingered on his body. "I just want to help you."

Adam sighed and Blake felt his hand move up against her neck and his thumb started to stroke her jaw. "You don't have the field training that most of my squad does - so you must remember you listen to me at all times." He kept his voice so soft and calm. He tried to tilt her head up to look at him, she resisted a bit – mostly playful, but he added a bit more pressure.

His grip on her jaw was tight and tense, she stared up at him and into the mask he wore. It was intimidating, but he opened up to her more than anyone else. She trusted him.

He closed the short distance between them and placed his lips on her cheek before moving them to her ear. "I made you a promise when we left, that I'd keep you safe and I will. I will give you the world you want so badly, but none of this can be accomplished without me. Do you understand?"

She tried to turn away from him, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the sudden intimacy, but he wouldn't let her go. His hand slid down her jaw just a bit and he forced her head to the side to expose more of her neck to him.

"Adam," she tried, but he sighed against her skin and put his other hand on her back.

"I missed you," he whispered and Blake begged herself to let those words comfort her. She wanted this, she wanted him. She'd told herself that over and over again – she just imagined it'd be more comfortable than this.

It didn't help that his grip was so tight on her neck.

"Adam, hold on." She finally took a step back and tugged out of his grip. She could still feel the pressure where his hand had been on her. "I'm sorry."

She watched as he closed the distance between them again, this time removing his mask and showing her those eyes she rarely saw. He didn't touch her, but the space between them was nearly absent as she felt the back of her legs touch the table behind her. "Don't you trust me?"

"O—of course I do. I'm sorry, I was just…nervous."

"You know I'd never hurt you." Again, the spots on her neck where he'd touched her before burned a little. "I'll keep you safe, Blake. I'll give you everything. All I ask for in return is a little affection."

She wanted to tell him how happy she was to hear that, but the darkness and the isolation was getting to her. It was just the two of them and he knew everyone here and she had no one. He was all she had and that scared her a little.

Unfortunately, she wasn't as good at hiding emotions as he was.

"You're upset?" He said, with a hint of annoyance.

"No," she defended quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was irritate him. "Just a little tired I think – it's late and I was up waiting for you." She said with a soft laugh in the back of her throat. She wanted to tell him she was scared, but she didn't want to push anymore.

His hand was in her hair again, she closed her eyes and pleaded with her nerves to go away. He guided her head to the side and kissed where he'd grabbed her before. "Let's go to bed then, my darling."

When the darkness finally subsided, Blake opened her eyes as her body was being jostled around. She was on something soft, softer than the floor she'd passed out on – but the view above her was still the same.

They were still on the airship.

Reaching down to her wound, she felt something strange under her fingertips and lifted her head to look. It was covered in a bandage and hurt significantly less. Lying her head back down, she took a moment to recompose herself and try to remember everything that was going on.

"We've touched down!" A voice said and Blake sat up, feeling a jolt of pain in her side, and watched as Yang was the first one removed from the airship.

"You're awake?" Jumping at the sudden voice behind her, Blake looked to her right and saw Velvet sitting on the floor next to her.

She reached out, unable to control herself, and grabbed Velvet by the arm. "We have to go with her."

Velvet nodded. "Of course, but perhaps we should have someone check on you—"

"No, Yang is really hurt and I – we need to make sure she's okay."

"All right," Velvet stood up and slowly helped Blake up as well.

Her legs felt like jelly as she stood, but she managed to find her balance against Velvet. Blake couldn't imagine why Velvet was still here helping her – the rest of her team was already off the airship but she was still here.

Together, they stepped off and started following after the large group that had moved towards the hospital.

Blake picked up the pace as she remembered that Yang might not have anyone around her she knew. The airship was filled with faces she didn't recognize and with Weiss and her sister not around, it wouldn't be good for Yang to not see a familiar face given everything that had happened.

So, she ran and Velvet called for her to slow down but she couldn't. There were sounds of fear and cries of pain and relief all around her – but she blocked them out because none of those stories she passed was her own. She had to find Yang, she had to be by Yang's side because that was her job. Because she knew that if things were reversed, Yang would be there for her.

But wasn't that the difference?

She stopped in her tracks as she realized that if it were the other way around – this never would have happened. Yang didn't have a crazy egomaniac stalking her that ruined her life and promised to destroy everything she loved.

Yang hadn't made those same mistakes Blake did.

"Blake," Velvet had caught up with her as she stood, frozen in the middle of all the chaos around her. She turned around to see Velvet looking at her with worry. "Are you okay?"

"I…I have to go."

"Blake!" Another voice cried out her name and she turned as Sun was sprinting towards her. "Sorry," he pulled her into a hug. She tensed under his touch. None of the physical contact she'd had today was good so her body immediately expected this one to be bad as well. He must have noticed, because he let her go. "I lost you when we landed – I was helping Neptune get people off the ship."

"Blake," Velvet touched her arm softly and drew her attention. "I need to go find Coco and my team – make sure they're okay. Are you…going to be alright? Do you need me to stay?"

Velvet was such a sweetheart. Blake felt more tears coming as she shook her head. "No, you go. Thank you, Velvet."

With a nod and a smile, Velvet squeezed Blake's arm before turning and racing off to find her own team. As Blake watched her go, she realized how much everyone at Beacon saw their teams as their family.

Families that Adam had tried to take away from people.

Starting with her .

Blake felt her feet moving backwards before she'd even made up her mind to run. "I have to go."

"What?" Sun was suddenly in front of her. "Go where?"

"Anywhere but here." She looked him in the eyes and saw the concern in them. "I can't be here. He'll come back and he'll…"

"Blake? Who will come back? What's going on?"

"Tell her I'm sorry," she could only imagine Yang's face when she realized Blake wasn't there – when she realized she was alone again. Blake could only hope Ruby and Weiss would show up and take care of her.

Blake had already been running by the time Sun reacted and reached out to try and stop her. He grabbed nothing but one of her shadows and by the time he realized it – she was already gone.

Adam would find her again. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she was safe and that she could move on with her life – he was always there to prove her wrong.

It took someone as wonderful as Yang to break her walls down and let her feel happy again but of course Adam found a way to ruin it. Now he knew who Yang was and he would use that against her – she couldn't hide how important Yang was from him anymore. Not after jumping in front of him to save her. Not after begging him not to hurt her.

Nobody exploited weaknesses better than Adam Taurus, and now he knew her biggest one.

Eventually, Blake found herself near the docking bay again, but far enough away that all the commotion of arriving refugees from Beacon could barely be heard.

Finally finding a little isolation, Blake found a wooden post to sit next to and slid down it to the hard, concrete floor beneath her. It all happened so fast. Just a few hours earlier she'd been sitting at a café with Weiss, ready to watch more of the tournament. Now her school was gone, her safety was taken from her and the team she'd grown to love so much was dismantled.

Then there was Yang. She couldn't stop seeing that vision of Yang toppling above her, arm missing and eyes closed. The way Yang had screamed when Adam hurt her – all red eyes and fire behind her.

Only to be cut down by that monster. A monster she'd brought into Yang's life.

As badly as she wanted to be with Yang, it would be safer if she was nowhere near her – or any of them. Adam had said it himself, he was going to take away everything she loved.

The tears continued to fall as another ship pulled into the port. Blake knew this was her escape – it didn't matter where she went, only that she was far enough away that they couldn't find her.

Standing up, Blake raced towards the airship as people were practically sprinting off of it. It was a rescue vessel so she imagined it'd be going back to pick up more people. That would take her back to Beacon, but she could manage from there and find way out of Vale and…to somewhere else. She could figure that out later.

As she shuffled through the crowd of unfamiliar faces running in the opposite direction, Blake eventually reached the platform to board the ship, but there was a man there with a guard uniform on who she knew wouldn't let her on.

After all, who tries to return to a place that was literally crumbling to the ground?

"I—I need on this ship."

He quirked a brow at her. "Not a chance, kid. We're evacuating people off Beacon. Go find someplace safe and wait to contact your family."

"No, you don't understand. I can't be here. I need on this ship. I have money," she started to dig through the pockets of her pants. "It's not much, but I just need to hide out and get off this—"

Something ended up in her hand that stopped her – stopped everything.

Pulling the item out of her pocket, she looked at the laser pointer she didn't even know was there and felt a rush of emotion wash over her. She'd already cried and screamed and suffered so much tonight but seeing this one simple thing was the most intense feeling of calm she'd ever experienced.

It was honestly one of the silliest gestures she'd ever been a part of, but that day Yang drew her into the library with this stupid laser pointer was the day Blake realized she'd found someone who actually cared. Not someone who wanted anything from her or expected her to return the favor – just someone who wanted her to be okay.

Yang didn't even know that Blake had kept this stupid laser pointer but she did – because that day mattered to her and she wanted something to remember it by.

Even though they were partners, Yang didn't have to do that. She didn't have to reach out and open up and try . That was what separated Yang so much from nearly everyone else in Blake's life. She tried, even when Blake aggressively told her not to.

That's what mattered to Blake. That's why she trusted Yang – because Yang earned it and deserved it and…

"I'm sorry," she said. Though she wasn't sure who she was talking to.

It didn't matter, because a second later she was turned around and sprinting back to where they'd taken Yang.