Chapter 11:

Luxury of life

A single golden iris stared at Yang it was shaking, fighting to stay conscious, Blake had nothing left though, she wanted to get up and talk to her partner, to tell her that it was alright if she died there but she was spent, it was only a few seconds before she faded back to black.

Yang's flames extinguished when she gazed at Blake, her own eye's started to well up with tears as she just let her partner watch her mercilessly murder two men. As Yang watched Blake's eye close and head fall to her chest, she moved towards her awkwardly, her legs were moving before she knew it, she stumbled as she exerted some desperate words. "Bluh-Blake... no no no shit."

Yang was at her side in seconds, kneeling next to her partner, she brushed her raven hair from her bruised face, Blake was making a noise similar to a groan, she was drooling from her mouth. "Oh Blake oh fuck Blake what did they do to you, what did they do to you oh fuc- oh god." Yang was shuddering and a few tears ran down her bloodstained cheeks. She used a utility knife she brought for camping to cut the rope restraining Blake. Finally she was free.

Blake slumped forward and Yang caught her, propping her back up, she rest her forehead on Blake and whispered to her. "It's ok, it's ok, it's ok I got you, they can't touch you anymore it's oh-shit oh god it's fine Blake." Yang's tears cleared some of the blood on her face away, but they would not stop, she didn't even realize she was crying. She held Blake gently and rocked her back and forth in an attempt to soothe her, she repeated. "It's ok Blake, it's ok, it's ok." She did this for a few minutes, then she realized it was high time to get back to Vale. Yang noticed Gambol shroud a few feet away and grabbed it, tucking it under her belt.

'Please don't die, please don't die.' These were only words that occupied her thoughts as Yang next picked up Blake with a single arm, it seemed impossible for a regular person but the amount of adrenaline running through Yang at that time should've probably killed her. She wasted no time in her return, opting for flight, she used every ounce of aura she could muster to not only power her boots, but to strengthen her arm and focus her mind to balance Blake over her shoulder.

The lengths she was going to, to get Blake to safety gave new meaning to the word strain. Yang was soon above the tree's with Blake in tow, it was going to be a long trip even in the air.

Yang was sweating from every pore she had, it didn't matter though, she had Blake, she beat the odds. She could actually hear her muscles tightening up, but the silver lining in all this was she could also feel Blake's heart beat, it was low but it was there, she was worried as the black haired woman's body felt cold on her arm as she sloppily jolted through the sky.

Periodically, Yang would falter and lower her altitude but she rekindled her strength each time with her thoughts. 'No.. don't fuh-fall... who do you have right now.' About ten kilometers out, Yang could see the front line and S6, she was close.

Yang made it to the edge of the woods and her vision was already blurry, now she was blacking out from exhaustion, she was less than half a click from S6 when her aura and strength finally failed. Yang gave out her last kick of air over a dozen feet from the ground, then it was free fall, she used her last bit of energy to shoot out a shot from Ember Celica in hopes some guards would hear it, she quickly turned herself around and held Blake against her chest, her own back was facing the ground.

Yang blacked out just before she hit the ground, and she hit it hard. Her efforts weren't in vain though, the guards heard, more so, they saw it happen.

An entire day passed by, both Yang and Blake remained unconscious, in the same room, side by side in bed's.

"I truly can't believe it... River, just look at her... have you read her diagnosis, my god where to begin... sh-she shouldn't be alive." A nurse stood beside River and the two girls beds. "I know... she's tenacious but... she may not survive even still, I'm trying my best." River sat down beside Yang's legs, looking to Blake.

"So try harder..." Yang felt his presence and woke up. She ached, her shoulders didn't feel right. "...Xiao Long, good afternoon please don't get up you have hairline fractures on your shoulder blades... and I am trying hard." Yang responded. "Just a reflex I guess, so what's goin- oh shit! Blake!?" Yang darted her head to her right to see her partner, alive but out cold, her heart monitor showed she was stable. "Yang we gotta' talk about what happened... out there."

Her attention turned to River. "I found her, I killed two Faunus to save her, what else matters... she's... here." Yang smiled at her success in finding Blake, completely ignoring her brutal murders. "I want to talk about Blake, her condition is about the worst I've seen in a person, she really shouldn't be alive right now." Yang frowned. "So what? she's alive right that's what counts." River rubbed the bridge of his nose as he got up off of Yang's bed, he now was sitting at a small desk in the room. "I'm gunna' read her diagnosis to you... that will be all Star..." The nurse, whom Yang didn't notice until now left the room, River continued.

"Ok... here we go... Ugh she's malnourished and underweight, not that bad but enough to be a problem... she has seven broken ribs, her left wrist was broken, it didn't heal right so we had to break it again... on the same wrist she has lacerations from whatever held her down, all five fingernails have been removed... both cheekbones have been cracked, her left eye socket is cracked, on the right arm she has several lacerations fashioned to spell 'Traitor'... she's.. not even awake so we can't gauge her mental status... I'm one hundred percent sure she's gunna' be mentally scarred from this, it's bad Yang." River ended his reading of Blake's diagnosis.

"Jesus... Blake, I'm so, so sorry..." Yang was crying due to the horrible news, her left arm covering her eye's as she wept. River spoke again. "We've got everything treated as best as we can, she's on fluids and it won't be long before she wake's up... we're hoping at least, as long as she remains stable she's gunna' make it."

Yang tried to get up, she was pushed down by the end of River's bat, Auntie Joy. "Now, now you gotta' stay down sweetie, you've done enough." River spoke coldly. "I have to help though, I can't just sit here damn it!" Yang replied. "When she's awake your probably gunna' be the first thing she wants to see, so stay here, keep an eye on her... you still gotta' heal those shoulders kid." River gave her a final nudge from the bat as he ended his sentence, Yang submitted to the pain in her body, laying back down. "Fine, how long till I'm good?" River got up to leave the pair. "You? bout' another day or so, your aura heals nicely... and her... god knows when she's coming back... get some rest." River exited the room and Yang was left with Blake.

Her shoulder hurt so bad that she couldn't roll to the side to see her partner, the woman she loved, but it was enough for her just to know she was in the same room as her, it hadn't really hit her yet, that Blake was here, and she could tell her how she felt, of course, it would come in time.

Yang's eyes became weary and she soon succumbed to sleep, her head danced with joy, knowing she accomplished her goal, her next was to bring Blake back mentally.

It was just past midnight when Blake's non swollen eye opened.

She kept her heart rate down, a skill she mastered long ago, it was quite dark but her cat features let her know others were in the room, she had an idea of where she was. She feigned sleep, but was found out when River spoke. "Agent Belladonna..." Blake opened her eye again to see River sitting at a desk near her, he was smoking and reading a book. "...Dr. River, you know... what you're doing is hypocritical right." River glanced to the smoke in his hand, he laughed. "Well I suppose so... how do you feel?" Blake sighed, feeling all of her wounds. "Eloquent... that was a stupid question... how did you know I was awake?"

"Your heart monitor gave off one slightly larger blip, not bad, you have excellent control over your heart... even in your current state, I take it you know where you are." River put his book down to continue talking. "Room B of the medical building..." River spoke again. "Call it home for awhile, you're not leaving anytime soon, you need a new bag of fluids... gimme' a sec'."

River got up and grabbed a new I.V. and fluid bag and walked towards Blake and pulled out her current I.V. connection, he was about to attach the new bag, Blake's hand caught his wrist in motion. "Don't!... I... don't want to be here anymore... I... I'm done, just let me go I can't face her." Blake moved her eye to Yang who was sleeping soundly across from her.

River sighed and began to educate Blake on his take on life. "Agent Belladonna... I never really have liked you, point of fact I haven't trusted you ever since you abandoned us, but that doesn't suggest I don't have some respect for you, dying in your sleep is a luxury of life few huntresses ever achieve, this needle is my gift of life... to you and to her too." Blake's grip on River's wrist loosened but not all the way, he wasn't done motivating her, Blake kept her eye on Yang.

"You would crush her life... again, she would probably kill me and every person here, then probably herself if you died tonight, and believe me, you will if you don't let me put this in your arm... think about her feelings, you're not dying tonight, you're not dying for a long time." River spoke truthfully and calmly, it was enough to make Blake change her mind and let him finish the connection.

Blake only said. "Thank you..."

River kept a close eye on Blake as she tried to fall back asleep, the young woman couldn't stop looking at Yang, she fidgeted with her bandages, trying to take her mind off of the friend she lost. It wasn't easy for her, to be near her due to the growing anxiety of how their first conversation would go. 'Hey my friend who turned into a psycho cut off your arm and I left you for pretty much dead... wanna' be friends again...' Blake cringed at the thought of talking to her, but yet she couldn't look away.

Blake wanted to run away again, to leave it all behind, but she could barely move around on her own there was no choice but to wait it out. "How do I talk to her... how do I do... this after what I did." Blake asked River. "Well, you probably won't do any talking for awhile, I think you should just listen... from the reports I read on you two about what happened at Beacon... you deserve a good verbal scolding... she's had some time to prepare one so you gotta' shut up and listen, but first try to heal up." Blake sighed heavily and grabbed her right side ribs in pain, she looked to the word on her arm.

"This really is what I am isn't it? A traitor..." She felt like crying, but her tears were held back by the guilty truth of it. "Don't think about the cuts, but you aren't exactly one for loyalty, you want even more wise advice?" River cracked a smug smile. Blake rolled her eye and said. "I suppose so." River responded. "You must be the change in this world that you wish to see, you have to become loyal, to who? doesn't matter... it's if you can do it or not, I know a certain blonde who's dying to see you be her friend again... figuratively and almost literally..."

Blake's head rested on her pillow when she heard those words, she chose not to speak again for the night, River didn't mind, they both knew she needed time to think, after a few dozen minutes Blake was asleep again.

Eight in the morning rolled around and Blake's eye once again opened to a rather peculiar sight, almost shocking. Yang was looking straight down at her from above, both eye's wide open and a wide grin, she held a plate of food. "Wakey! wakey! eggs and Blakey!" Blake immediately frowned and thought. 'The puns... did not miss them.' Blake spoke her first words to Yang. "That was not the first thing you just said to me." Yang giggled and sat beside her on the bed, her face was now closer to Blake's. "Ok how about, g'morning sunshine, I missed you so I made you breakfast in bed!" Blake smiled and said. "Thank you... I missed you as well."