Chapter 59

Sorry, I really feel like I'm rushing the chapters recently because I'm really not meeting the schedules I set for myself.

Jaye pressed his lips to the cold metal, kissing her fingers gently. Yang watched the boy curiously, and he brought his lips to her collarbone. She relaxed into him, sighing contentedly, and the boy squeezed her metal hand gently. She squeezed back, shifting under the covers as the morning sun streamed through the blinds, pulling the bedsheets around her a little tighter.

'I think we should get up.' Jaye said, shaking Yang gently. She pecked him on the cheek, pushing herself out of the bed.

'I think we should.' She stretched in the morning light, making a sound of satisfaction as she relieved the stiffness in her muscles. Jaye watched her back quietly, silhouetted in the morning light, and smiled in appreciation.

'I really love you. So much.' He said, and Yang chuckled at the boy, turning around to find her clothes.

'That was random.' She laughed, pulling on her trousers. She buckled her belt, watching the boy slide out from under the covers and sighed in response. She paced over to him quietly, pressing her lips to his. 'I love you too.'

'Time to formulate a plan. Hopefully Ozpin's already got something in mind.' Jaye said, pulling on his shirt. Yang zipped up her jacket, stretching her neck until it cracked. 'You coming with?'

'No, not right now. I just… want to be a teenager for a little while longer.' She said, glancing out the window. She spotted a red-clothed girl sitting outside in the training area, and she stalked into the bathroom to get washed up. Jaye pulled on his boots, staring once more at the swords in the corner. He picked them up wordlessly, clipping them to his belt, and Yang stepped out to let him use the sink. She eyed the swords once more, and he placed a hand over them instinctively.

'It's time we talked about us.' Yang sighed, crossing her arms, and Jaye gargled loudly from the bathroom. 'I–uh–don't know how you feel now, but I want to stick with you. I want to spend more time with you.'

Jaye stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his face with a hand towel. He tossed it onto the bed, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

'Of course. How could I say no?' He took the blonde's hands in his. 'Honestly, I'm a wreck right now. Sure, I might look fine, fight fine, talk fine, but I'm really not. I'm good at acting, but I can't keep it up forever. I need you now, more than ever, and I don't want to let you go either.' He smiled at the girl. 'So, don't ever feel like you're a burden. I need you, more than anything.'

'I won't.' Yang smiled, and Jaye kissed her again. 'I think I'll go spend some time with my sister. We've been apart for quite a while.'

'Good idea. I'll go fish Ozpin for some answers.' Jaye pushed the door open, pausing in the doorframe. 'But if we have a little time later… do you want to go look around town?'

Yang's face lit up like the morning sun, and she smiled broadly at the boy.

'I'd love to.'

Training Grounds

Ruby stared up at the morning sky quietly, watching the deep blue as the clouds floated lazily by. A few birds roamed about lazily, and she stared at them intently as if trying to figure out what was going through their heads. She looked up as a mop of blonde appeared in front of her face.

'You're up early.' Yang smiled, and Ruby returned it lazily.

'Hey sis.' She murmured peacefully, and Yang let her hair drop down over her shoulders.

'Boop!' She waved her hair playfully in Ruby's face, and the smaller girl giggled as her dauntless foe continued to assault her with the golden locks. She sat up, crossing her legs, and Yang moved to sit down beside her.

'What are you doing up.' The raven-haired girl asked, and Yang shrugged nonchalantly.

'Can't fall back asleep.'

'Ahh me neither.'

'Well fortunately.' The two girls glanced over their shoulder at Weiss, bearing a tray and four steaming mugs of coffee. 'Coffee exists.'

The girl handed off the cups to her fellow teammates, and Ruby made a little "X" with her hands in front of her face.

'No please!' She whined, and Weiss rolled her eyes.

'Don't worry; I put in blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar just for you.' She said, holding the cup out to the girl. Ruby reached for it with a broad smile.

'Aww yeah! Nice Weiss strikes again!'

'I will pour this on you, and it will burn.' She said, finally handing the cup to the sheepish girl. 'Where's Jaye?'

'Trying to find out a little more about what we're doing next.' Yang said, sipping from her cup. 'Though I doubt that's going to amount to much. I know Ozpin said no more lies and half-truths but… I still don't entirely trust him.'

'Well, I guess we'll have to for now. We've got enough distrust going around right now, so the best we can do is have faith in each other.' Weiss said, and the girls lapsed into silence, sipping from their cups. Yang sighed, staring out over the cliff before them.

'Can't believe we're actually in Mistral.' She said, and Roby snorted.

'That's what you can't believe?' She asked, raising an eyebrow. Yang shrugged.

'Well yeah, and all that other magic and stuff but… okay you know what I mean!'

'I honestly wasn't sure if I would ever see you two again.' Weiss said, raising her mug to the blonde girl. Yang grinned at her.

'Well, here's to defying expectations.' She said, clinking their glasses together with a flourish. They swigged from their cups with satisfied groans, and Ruby sighed quietly.

'I just wish Blake could be here with us.' She said, and Yang's face turned dark.

'Yeah, well, she made her choice.' The blonde girl leaned back onto her hands, and the other two girls exchanged confused glances. Weiss leaned forward to catch the blonde's eye.

'What's that supposed to mean?' She asked, and Yang snorted in response.

'Well, she could've been here if she'd just stuck around.' She scoffed. 'It's no big deal though, we'll be fine.'

'Don't you want her here?' Ruby furrowed her brow, and Yang finally met their eyes.

'Why would I want her here?' The blonde spat, and the silence dragged thickly on. Ruby swallowed sadly.

'Are you… still mad at her for leaving?' Ruby asked, and Yang rolled her eyes.

'Oh, whatever gave you that idea Ruby? No, I'm totally fine. I'm great.'

'Okay. Calm down.' Weiss began, the Yang whirled on the girl.

'Don't tell me to calm down!' Her eyes flashing red, Yang's face was a picture of anger as her semblance triggered unconsciously. The girls were taken aback for a second, nearly dropping their coffee cups in shock.

'Whoa, Yang…' Ruby's brow wrinkled with concern, and Yang caught herself too late. She turned away from the girls, trying to raise her coffee cup to her lips. She grimaced as her hand shook uncontrollably, the dark brown liquid threatening to spill out over the sides. She grit her teeth as she pushed herself to her feet.

'Whatever.' She stalked back into the house, leaving the other two girls sitting on the cliffside. The two girls exchanged worried glances once more, turning back to gaze after the hurting girl as she pushed her way into the building. Standing far above them, a certain fox faunus was watching quietly, his ears flicking in the wind as he pushed himself away from the balcony. Kamina pondered what to do quietly, finally deciding that if the girls wanted him to know, they'd tell little old Jaye bird themselves. He made a mental note to keep watch over the girls, glancing back down at the two who were still huddled together on the cliffside, discussing what to do, and resolved to watch how they were going to handle the situation from afar. He looked up as a small boy walked in through the balcony doors, making a sound of surprise as he caught the eye of the fox faunus.

'Oh um, hello.' Oscar/Ozpin said, raising a hand in greeting to the fox boy. Kamina grinned back, swishing his ears in response. 'How are you this morning?'

'Just peachy Ozzy boy.' Kamina laughed, placing a hand briefly on the boy's head. 'Nothing you need to be worried about at all.'

That evening

'So, Leo called for us? That was quick.' Jaye sipped from his mug quietly, tapping a finger on his thigh. 'Too quick.'

'I'm surprised too, but if Leo says so we should go.' Qrow placed a hand over his mouth contemplatively. 'But still, it's a little strange to get an answer from the council this fast. I was expecting to wait at least a week or more.'

'Well isn't this a good thing? Maybe they assessed the situation and realized it was a real crisis!' Nora blurted, pumping her fist. 'Hello? This is good news!'

'First off, that's an assumption.' Jaye said, placing his mug on the table. 'Secondly, from what you've told me so far the way things have been playing out since we got here is highly irregular.'

'First is the lack of huntsmen.' Qrow said, raising a finger in the air. 'I'd get one or two of them getting offed, but every single one of them? And all at once? That's incredibly suspicious.'

'Even discounting that as some freak streak of bad luck.' Jaye cut in. 'The biggest thing is the empty school. Even if all the students were out till classes started, there will always be a few around for extra classes. There's no way nobody failed anything. Besides, none of the teachers except for Lionheart was around either, and that's one of the strangest things.'

'All things considered, it's far too irregular for us to just pass everything that's happened off as sheer coincidence.' Kamina said, fiddling with his claws. 'If anything, I'd say we were being set up. And not very well at that.'

'I don't want to believe that he's betrayed us, but we're not going to go in blind.' Qrow said, heaving a sigh. 'We need to make our moves carefully.'

'They might be powerful foes, but they're not very good at this game.' Jaye said, crossing his arms. 'And we're experts at it.'

'Time to prove it.' Kamina grinned. 'If they're laying a trap, we lay one right back. If they're as powerful as you say they are, we're going to need every advantage we can get.'

Inside the main hall

'Why hello.' Lionheart's voice trembled as he spoke, leaning on the railing seated above the ornate statue of a goddess and chuckling nervously. Jaye eyed the gold ornamentation of the pearly white carving, raising an eyebrow at the cryptic gold chains hanging from her wrists as she held up the balcony the faunus man stood on. 'Thank you for… coming. There uh… seems to be more of you than last time.'

'Eh, you know that they say, the more the merrier.' Qrow shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. 'So, what's going on with the council?'

'Why… did you bring your weapons?'

'What?' Qrow raised his hands in a show of bewilderment. 'Leo, we're huntsmen. You okay?'

'Of course! Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee.'

Yang narrowed her eyes at the bird in the corner, the black bird almost invisible in the dark edges of the stairwell. Qrow heaved an exasperated sigh.

'Look it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?' He asked, and Yang let out a gently gasp. He turned an eye on her inquisitively, and he followed her gaze to the bird.

'Mom?'

End of 59