A Loneliness of Shadows
Pt. II
She watched from afar, as she had done before. A dozen other eyes were watching as well, for the sight that stood before them was a masterpiece in living form. From her place in the rafters, high above the rest of them and hidden from prying eyes, Blake watched as other members of the Black Fang continued to gather and watch a sparring session that was growing in scale rapidly. Amber eyes watched everyone cheering as one of their own was effortlessly thrown to the ground by Yang Xiao Long, standing proudly as the victor.
From her place in the ceiling, Blake watched as Yang flexed her wrist, testing the range of motion in her prosthetic limb as her opponent from before got to his feet and turned back to face her. "Again?" the man asked. The blonde brawler just smiled and shook her head before pointing to people already dressed in work out clothing. The three selected people all looked at each other before stepping onto the mat and stretching their limbs to get ready for the fight that had just become a four on one.
With that signature smirk of hers, Yang brought her arms up and got ready in her own stance and waited for her opponents to make their moves. Slowly, each of them slipped around her, covering each direction she could turn and nervously looked at each other. Each of them knew what Yang could do, they all saw her lift weights like they were nothing to her, not to mention the large black dragon that was etched into her skin was on display for everyone to see, making her even more intimidating to face off against; even if the numbers were in their favour.
The first attack came from her left. Blake watched as Yang easily moved aside and smacked the flying fist out of her way as she countered it with a low shot to the gut, knocking the wind from his lungs and putting him on the ground. The next came from the front, easy blocks and a quick shot to the face brought her opponent down once again. Then, before anyone could attack her, she quickly jumped into the air and spun, bringing her leg down and kicking number three across the mat with a smirk.
The last thought he had the drop on her; with her back turned towards him, she could not see him coming, but Blake saw the smirk on the blonde's face and she knew who the victor was already. Just as the last person went for a swing at her head, Yang raised her arm to block the punch. Before he could pull away, she quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard, forcing him to follow the movements as Yang turned to face him, only to earn himself a hard fist to the face, marking the end to the spar.
A loud cheer erupted from everyone who was watching. Some light-hearted jabs went to those who Yang had effortlessly defeated, who were getting up off the ground with bruised egos. For someone like Yang, a person who had been training for years to hunt and kill the creatures of Grimm; beasts that were, at times, three times the size of a full grown man, four non-Aura trained people barely made her sweat. "Better luck next time, boys," Yang said with her brilliant smile and wink of her eye.
While everyone was standing around, few noticed when a new person walked onto the sparring mat to challenge Yang until she whistled a sweet little tune. All eyes turned to the newcomer to reveal the short woman clad in pink, brown and white, her torn pant leg revealing a long thigh high black sock and a suggestive amount of bare thigh. Her sleeves were rolled above her elbows and a pair of brown leather gloves graced her hands. A simple grey scarf wrapped around her neck and a black bowler hat sat on her head with a familiar red band wrapped around it. Her umbrella was in her hand, opened and spinning slowly as it rested on her shoulder.
The feline Faunus watched as the target of her affection turned to look at the smaller woman and a small grin formed on her face. Turning to face her new opponent, Yang tilted her head to loosen up as her chrome arm and dragon tattoo began to shift and change in colour, going from a reflective steel and pitch black to a brilliant, flaming yellow as her Aura was channelled more completely into her body. Fighting four ordinary people was one thing, but someone who has not only had their Aura unlocked, but also possessed the combat experience to rival master Hunstmen was something else entirely. The smaller woman just smirked and raised an eyebrow while she kept her mismatched eyes on her target.
Seeing that Yang had activated her Aura, the people who had gathered to watch the fights began to back away with large steps, giving the fighters a wide berth lest they get drawn into a fight between superhumans. Blake would be lying if she was not excited to see Neo get what she was coming to her, and from Yang no less. She knew that Yang would never hurt one of her friends, much less her lover, but accidents happen. Blake watched as Yang took up her stance, fists up and head lowered, ready to accept any strike that came her way. Neo, on the other hand, looked as casual as ever as she retracted the pink umbrella and tossed it to the side to be caught by someone.
From her perch above the fight, Blake watched as Neo smirked and gave Yang a wink before breaking off into a sprint towards her. With a jump and a flip, Yang blocked a kick that was coming from above. They began to exchange punches and kicks for blocks and counters, dancing around the arena that was given to them as everyone continued to shout. For one such as small as Neo, she had no problem reaching with her legs and acrobatic skills. For every punch and kick Yang had in her repertoire, Neo had a twist, twirl, and a flip to counter it.
Blake could see the frustration rising in Yang for every near miss and tactful dodge that Neo pulled during their fight. The shift from violet to crimson in the blonde's eyes with every attack she made was the first sign of this, the next was her increase in growling as more and more attacks just missed their marks. The smaller woman took advantage of this when she ducked under a strong punch and brought her leg up and kicked the back of Yang's knee, forcing her to go down.
The next kick hit her back and forced Yang to bend over, making a wide-open target for Neo to bring her foot to her face with an artful flip, knocking the blonde flat on her back. As Neo landed, one hand holding the black hat in place on her head, Yang brought her legs back and flipped herself back onto her feet. Blake could see the anger on her face, her hair was slowly lifting itself from the heat rising from her body, threatening to combust. Blake expected her to blindly charge in with directionless aggression, instead, Yang took a deep breath and held it in as she closed her eyes.
The flames around her body died down as she centred herself. Finally, she brought her fists up and slammed her knuckles together to release her pent-up heat. She opened her red eyes and stared her opponent down, fully concentrating on the fight and nothing else. Blake had never seen her so focused and calm before. Even during their fight, Yang was nothing but rage made flesh, but now she was slowing things down and forming a plan inside her head.
With a careful approach, Neo took notice of Yang's calmer form an went for a series of kicks at her side, only be blocked by her leg and arms and a duck that flowed into a leg sweep. They danced around each other with martial skill, Yang having more power behind her attacks with her size compared to Neo and it was beginning to show. Neo tried again to come in close for a series of kicks, only for her ankle to be caught by a metal palm. The look of surprise on Neo's face was priceless as Yang pulled her leg and knocked her off balance.
Rather than be thrown to the ground, Neo jumped up with her other leg and tried to smash her heel against the blonde's head, only for it to be grabbed by her other hand. As a counter, Neo then leaned back and pulled Yang with her; that turned her capture into a platform to throw Yang across the mat. The brawler landed with a roll and was quick to get back on her feet and back to the fight, giving Neo no chance to breathe or to slow down.
Neo did her best to counter the offensive that Yang had unleashed, but Yang's new strategy to keep the multicoloured girl's legs down by pushing them down with each block was working. Her arms were much shorter compared to Yang's, so blocking the powerful punches without her umbrella to help seemed to be taking its toll on her. The smaller woman was caught off-guard by a sudden fist to her gut that was followed up by an uppercut which knocked her back and away from Yang. The audience all cried out in pain just watching the show of force, surprised by the sudden shift in momentum.
Blake leaned forward from her perch above everyone, gripping one of the steel rods that formed the rafters; she watched Yang smirk as she brought her fists back and bounced on her feet gently as Neo tested the tenderness of her jaw. "Slowing down just for me, babe? You shouldn't have," she teased with her signature smirk on her face as she readied for the next attack. Neo got to her feet, her hat laying on the ground nearby. With a smirk of her own, she took off to a dead sprint towards Yang, her arms pumping with effort.
Leaping at Yang, her metal fist shot out to connect with Neo, only for her to shatter into glass. Realising her mistake, Yang tried to spin around into a defensive pose, only for it to be too little too late. From somewhere Blake did not see, Neo shot out and grabbed Yang's yellow arm and throw herself towards her. Her legs wrapped around her head as she spun around with the momentum of her charge. In a blur of disorienting colour, Neo twisted and turned Yang until she grabbed her other arm and effortlessly threw her onto the mat below them with a loud thud as both bodies made contact.
Before Yang could get back up, Neo had mounted her and held her down by her neck with her other hand ready to strike. They stared at each other for a few moments before Yang finally relented and sighed heavily as all the tension in her body left and she flopped her head back onto the mat. Everyone cried out as Neo was declared the victor, in the excitement of everything, they all missed the touches each of them gave each other while staring into their eyes. But Blake saw.
She saw as Neo's fingers released their grip on Yang's neck, only to scrape down her skin and trail towards the exposed cleavage, making Yang's breath hitch as she bit her lip. The blonde's hands moved to Neo's legs and slowly ran up her thighs, making her smirk as she lowered herself closer, their faces just inches away. As Blake watched this, she could feel her knuckles whiten with pressure as she ground her teeth in frustration. Jealousy and fury boiled inside of her as she watched them make such blatant displays of affection towards each other.
Deep down, Blake wished that was her, so close to Yang. To peer into her lavender eyes and to feel the same warmth and affection be returned to her. Instead, Blake is forced to stand at a distance and stew in her emotions. The muscles in her jaw began to hurt from the amount of pressure she was putting on them when her attention, along with everyone else's, was pulled away from the couple when someone cleared their throat loudly. Velvet stood nearby with her arms folded, obviously looking uncomfortable at such public displays in front of everyone.
"Uh... What's up, boss?" Yang asked from her position, her face flush with embarrassment, "Need me for something?"
"No, I need the one who's sitting on your chest..." The rabbit Faunus refused to look in their general direction, instead she was looking at the row of currently unused weights. Upon hearing that she was the one that wanted to be talked to, Neo simply sat up and turned her head to look at the leader but remained seated on top of Yang. Finally, Velvet looked at them and cleared her throat again so she could converse with the mute. "Do you still have connections in Mistral?"
A single nod was her answer.
"Do you have owed favours you can call in? White Fang raids are good, but each one attracts more attention towards us and they'll be on high alert after the last few." Neo looked up at the ceiling and tapped her chin with a single finger in thought before raising an eyebrow and nodding lightly as the conversation went on within her own head. Reaching a conclusion, Neo gave a more definite nod before leaning down and giving Yang a quick kiss and pushing herself up and off her lover.
She collected her umbrella from the Black Fang member she threw it to and casually spun it in her hand. With the tip of it, she picked up her hat and flipped it into the air where she caught it with her off hand, spun it around her finger and flipped it onto her head in an impressive display of dexterity; all while walking towards Velvet to help her out. With all the fighting done, the group began to disperse and wander off to whatever they were doing before. Yang gave a slight huff with a smile as she dragged herself to her feet and began to walk towards the area where she left her things.
With Neo distracted with Velvet and everyone leaving the area, Blake figured this was her chance to talk to Yang alone. Silently, she descended from the rafters and landed far enough away to not attract attention. Blake watched Yang as she used the towel to wipe the sweat from her forehead and neck. Her skin glistened under the bright lights above them as she hung the towel on her shoulder and reached for her jacket. With one last check to see if anyone was watching them, Blake began to walk towards the blonde brawler before stopping suddenly when someone approached Yang.
"Good fight," Arnab said as he extended a water bottle towards her, "Water?"
"Thanks, but I'm covered." Yang then proceeded to pull the flask she always drank from out from her jacket with a smile and popped open the top.
"Water is really better-" Arnab was interrupted by Yang raising a single finger at him as she continued to drain the alcoholic contents of her flask with a tilt of her head. "Wow..." he said in complete shock at what he was just witnessed. With a satisfied sigh, once enough of the contents were emptied to her preference, Yang capped the flask and slipped it back into her jacket before taking the water bottle from him and starting to down that as well. The man simply nodded awkwardly and left the blond alone. With no one else coming close, Blake made her approach.
"Hey," Blake spoke softly.
Yang turned around and for a split second, Blake saw the light in her eyes when she looked at her; but just as fast as it came, it left, replaced by a dim hurt in her lavender eyes. "Hey."
Blake could smell the sharp scent of booze on her breath, reminding her of everything she had failed to do for her partner. "How are you feeling?"
Yang smiled as she showed off her new arm, flexing the slim metallic fingers and turning her wrist to show off the movements. With no Aura channelling through her body, the tattoo and arm had returned to their original colours of coal black and shiny chrome. "Pretty good. I still get pains sometimes, but I manage to push through them." A small smirk formed on her full lips and Blake wished she could control her heart for just a few moments. "Thanks again for the arm, It's nice to feel even again." She put her arm down and stretched her shoulders by pushing her chest out and groaning lightly.
Blake had to look away while she did that, the signature small orange tank top only covered so much of her body, making it hard to think straight. After a few quiet moments, Blake spoke up. "Yang, back when we were fighting, I just want you to know that what I said was true..."
Yang had grown quiet and forced herself not to look at Blake. Instead, she was looking at the bench she was standing in front of that had her jacket hanging off of it. "I know..." she whispered back.
"I love you, Yang."
The blonde just closed her eyes and Blake saw her jaw tense up a few times before she whispered again, "I know, Blake..."
"Do you love me?"
"You know I'm with Neo,"
"That's not what I asked..."
Yang was silent for a long moment, her hand gripping her jacket as the silence stretched for what felt like hours. Neither woman moved and Blake held her breath, her heart hammering in her chest and drowned out any sound in her ears, her Faunus trait twitching nervously as she waited for her response. "I have to get ready for a mission..." was Yang's only reply as she pulled her jacket on and pulled her golden mane out with a slight flourish. Without looking at Blake, the blonde quickly walked away, leaving her alone without an answer.
With a sigh, Blake turned and began to walk away slowly, her feet dragging her away from the open area and towards one of the corridors that connected to the makeshift bedrooms. Tears stung her amber eyes as they threatened to spill over and her heart strained to stay in one piece in her chest. The more she thought about the exchange, the worse it got for her. She palmed her eyes, stopping the tears before they could fall, as she closed the door behind her before anyone could see her like this.
Why did she have to do that? She may have just ruined what little of their friendship they had repaired after so many years of it being broken. Why did she have to listen Noir, the crazy highlander from some Vacuo island that she had never heard of? Confront your problem?. What a joke, I should have just stayed quiet... The more she thought about it, the angrier she became towards the man who planted the idea in her head. Instead of going to the room, she was going to find him and punch him in his face for giving such terrible advice.
Stomping down the corridor, just as she was about to open the door to look for the Faunus, she felt a gentle vibration and the chime from her scroll, telling her she had gotten a notification. With a sigh, she pulled the device out and opened it, ready to delete another notification for some spam mail she had somehow signed up for. Instead, a single message was brought up on the small screen of her device.
"I warned you."
And then the world around Blake shattered.
A/N: HAHA! Cliffhangers! Why? I am actual, factual, human trash.
Big thanks to StreetAngelJ for proofreading, editing and idea bouncer.
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