A/N:
I've never done this whole "Author's Notes" thing before, so I apologize if this is the wrong format or something. I know I rarely ever update, even to stories that I take seriously, (which I plan on fixing), but don't expect anything more than five chapters at the absolute most. I know that a Fanfiction is up to the fan ultimately, but stories should still have some hint of realism to make them better. I know I'm still amerature when it comes to that, but I try. It's almost always 'work before play' for me when it comes to stories, but this time I'm putting play first. So instead of being reasonable or rational, I'm just doing this for fun. But I still want to put good effort into this. So what I'm saying is: Don't expect much, but I hope you enjoy.
Fall in Vale were considered by many to be the worst. The plants were dead, people had to go shopping for new clothes they weren't gonna for the rest of the year, and it had none of the benefits that winter brought, like snow. But that was just a popular opinion. There was a whole town just along the outskirts of the main city that had it 'worse' than most of Vale.
It was cold year round to at least some degree, and luckily everybody who lived there learned to love the cold. But financially, it was in the gutters. Just about everybody is poor. Regardless of race, white, black, human, faunus, it didn't matter. Things were shitty for everyone, and that's how thing were.
Nobody liked it, but everybody has come to terms with it. Neighborhoods, streets and trailer parks were filled with people who had nothing but some clothes and a dream. They weren't on anyone's radar. Even the White Fang stopped caring about them. It wasn't Hell or anything, but there weren't many other places that felt like shit quite like this. Not like Detroit.
Jimmy 'B Rabbit' Smith had just as bad as anyone else. He had to move back in with his mom in a trailer, got a bad wrap from when he choke on stage, and his ex Janine won't give him back any of his stuff from when they were together.
Right now, him and his friends Future, Bob, Iz,and Sol were piled in a car on their way to get lunch. Rabbit was behind the wheel, silent, while his friends were all arguing about who they thought were the best rappers lyrically. He wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying, zoning off thinking about how he'll get his stuff back from Janine.
As they turned the corner Rabbit saw the Free World in a parking lot. Normally he would just be a little ticked off by the sight of them, but then he looked a little bit closer. Wink. He was doing deals with their 'rival' gang when he was supposed to be on his side.
Rabbit quickly pulled a sharp 180, and parallel parked on the street, surprising everyone else in the car. As soon as the car stopped, Rabbit got out, not even bothering to put the car in park. "What you doin' man?" Future asked in a concerned tone, followed by Bob saying "Rabbit!".
Everyone else began getting out to see what Rabbit needed to stop so urgently for. Future was the first to see where he was walking up to. "Oh shit…" Future mumbled upon seeing the Free World in the lot across the street, and Rabbit quickly approaching them. Out of instinct he and the rest of his friends hurried to catch up and support Rabbit, knowing he was going to need it.
"Don't you worry Rabbit, I got your back." Bob called out to him from a couple feet behind him. The five of them were closing in on the gang by the time they noticed, with Wink being the first to respond. "He-hey, what's up B." He said weakly, knowing that whatever was about to go down wouldn't end well for anyone.
Rabbit, for just now, was on a mission. That mission being beating the shit out of the Free World, as well as Wink. The gang was coming out from the back of their van to the side, gettin ready to drop Rabbit and the rest of his friends. "You want to fuck with us, bitch?" Papa Doc said in a display of bravado, aiming to scare the white boy away but failing. "Shut yo bitch ass up." Future said, backing Rabbit up.
Papa Doc strode up to Rabbit, only to have his face met with a mean right hook. In an instant everybody was at each other's throats. It was hard to tell what was going on. Everyone was either getting punched, shoved, ganged up on, or cussed on out of spite. That was until a gun went off, and everyone turned to see who popped off.
While things didn't quite feel serene, they did feel whole some, and in many regards complete. Torchwick was in prison, the Vytal festival was going on, and along with it was the tournament. Life for Blake was smooth sailing at this point. Even though she knew the White Fang was still out there, the thought didn't consume nor rule her. While she hadn't quite come to terms with herself completely, she would be lying if she said things didn't feel good from being able to take a break from it all.
Earlier that day, Blake had the day off. The Academies were on break for the festival, so she had complete freedom as for what she wanted to do. Weiss was spending the day with her older sister Winter, while Ruby and Yang were catching up with their uncle Qrow. She would have liked spending the day with her team, but she hardly wanted to interrupt any rare family time they might not have for who knows how long.
She took the first flight down to Vale from Beacon, not wanting to waste any time cooped up indoors. The festival spanned all across Vale, and she was looking forward to seeing what the city had to offer. The weather was chilly, so she brought Gamble Shroud and a black zip up jacket with her just in case; keeping it wrapped around her waist for the time being.
The flight there seemed to go by faster than usual, but she didn't question it.
As the exit from the bullhead lowered, they revealed the streets of Vale filled with people crossing, going to and from the stands that lined the sidewalk. It certainly was a time to celebrate, there was nothing denying that.
Blake checked out a couple of stands, such as ones that involved shooting a target with a toy gun, which she won every time, and stands that involved fish, although she did try to contain herself.
But for a long time Blake just walked down the streets of the city, leaving herself alone with her thoughts. Paying no attention to where she was going or how she would get back, she just walked until she felt like turning back.
Much of what she thought of involved the White Fang and how their attacks have only been getting worse and worse. Whatever they were, they weren't going to stop, regardless of if she helped delay them. Not until Adam and whoever was helping him strengthen the Fang were behind bars. There was something sinister going on, she could feel it. Or perhaps it was just her paranoia resurfacing and invading her mind. It was a shame of what has become of the White Fang. Going from peaceful protesters to straight up terrorists and thugs. She might be living a good life right now, but she remember where she comes from. The discrimination that she's been through. There couldn't have been that many people who have been through the same thing faunus have. Hated, discriminated, protested against with picket signs.
She had been walking for a couple hours now, and she was only just now realizing it. She looked around without a clue on where she was. But wherever it was, it was cold. Luckily she still had that jacket around her waist. She took it off and put it around her chest, zipping it up just a little above her breasts, but still left her neck and sternum exposed, and putting her hands in the pockets.
She must have been in a town on the outskirts of the city, and a pretty poor one at that. Many buildings were rundown, or so financially unstable she couldn't tell the difference. The stands for the festival stopped a long ways back, and so did the crowds. If it weren't for an occasional group of friends on a street corner or parking lots, she would have thought the whole town was deserted. A lot of them seemed to be speaking in rhyme, or were in some kind of friendly debate, but she didn't pay close attention to them. And neither did they to her.
Much of what this town reminded her of was her old life, before her father was the head of the White Fang, before she ran away. While she didn't take a close look at the locals, she didn't need to to know that they were in a tough place to live, and in more ways than one. She also knew that what she was wearing wasn't appropriate attire. Hookers couldn't be that uncommon around here, and her garter belt on her usual outfit could be pretty misleading.
Even though she had never been here her entire life, she was still taking a trip down memory lane, as she continued to journey this borderline rundown town.
She was coming to a corner when she saw a dark red car drive by, only to turn completely around out of nowhere and park just a little in front of her. The driver, who was just a little taller than herself got out of the car, and from his body language, he was pissed. A darker skinned male with long dreadlocks got out of the other front seat and asked "What you doin' man?" even though the driver was already somewhat far away.
"Rabbit!" said another person in the car, this time from the back seat. This 'Rabbit' must've been the driver, Blake assumed. The other three people exited the car and began hustling to catch up to 'Rabbit'. One was short and wore both a jacket and a pair of jeans that were clearly too big for him. Another was wearing glasses and had his hair pulled back. The last one was wearing a large puffed up navy blue jacket as well as being somewhat large himself.
They were all walking up to a group of people in a parking lot across the street. "Don't worry Rabbit, I got your back." The short one called out. As 'Rabbit' approached the people in the parking lot, Blake could overhear one of them say "You want to fuck with us, bitch?" out of malice. But 'Rabbit' didn't waver from the remark, and instead retaliated with a right punch.
The lot erupted into a small gang war, people punching and wrestling whoever was on the opposing side. Blake knew it wasn't going to take long for someone to get hurt and it was her duty to protect the citizens from violence, even as small as this. Blake reached for Gamble Shroud, which she was glad she didn't leave in her dorm. She wasn't in much of a hurry until she saw the short one reaching for a gun stashed in his belt.
Blake quickly drew Gamble shroud in gun form and fired a round in the air, silencing everyone in the lot as they turned to look at her.
