A Prison of Ice

XI.


By the time an airship bearing a logo of the Yuki Corporation arrived, it had started raining. Mercury always hated the rain, ever since he was a little kid. His old man's drunken rampages were always worse during the dreary weather. And without mom around, that only left one target for pop's violent tendencies.

Tch; he dragged the memories back down and locked them away deep within the confines of his mind.

At the very least, the rain did a good job in putting out the house fire. It would have been a pain in the ass if the fire had spread into the forest. The only things left behind were the charred remains of what had once been his father's house. And if Mercury were being honest?

Good riddance.

That place had felt more like a prison than a home, anyway. There were no happy memories to take away from that place; only pain and suffering. To see all of it gone, burned away to ashes and dust, it gave him a certain sense of comfort. Comfort in the fact that Marcus couldn't take anything else from him anymore and even a hint of pride. Pride because he had been the one that had killed the bastard once and for all.

He wasn't weak like Marcus had said.

The doors to the lone airship slowly hissed open.

Makoto Yuki stepped out and took a look around before their eyes met. Even though it was late at night, Mercury could see that he still had his business attire on. That explained why he looked so sleep deprived; it must have been rough being the new boss of the company. As Makoto made his way over towards him, Mercury didn't miss the sidearm he had holstered by his side.

That was new.

"... Since when did you carry that around?" Mercury tilted his head towards the pistol. "You even know how to use that thing?"

"It's insurance." Makoto simply replied before he glanced over towards the house. "Is Marcus…?"

"He's dead."

Makoto frowned, but otherwise said nothing and just nodded in response. They both stood there in silence, staring at the remains of the burned down house. Eventually, even the small embers finally died out, leaving only the charred husk of his father's house remaining.

"... You not going to ask why?" Mercury spoke up; ending the silence.

"Do you want to tell me?"

Mercury just shrugged in response.

"It's not a big deal. The old man tried to take something from me and we had a disagreement." He wiped away some blood that was dripping down his cheek. "I got sick of him taking my things, so I killed him."

It wasn't the complete story. There was a lot of context missing, but having to explain everything was a pain in the ass. He wasn't too inclined to have to dig through all those memories of the past, anyway. Those were better off staying locked away forever.

"... I see." Makoto turned his attention back towards him. "... Also, I'm sorry."

Mercury's brow furrowed. "For what?"

"I knew how Marcus treated you. I should have done something earlier, so you didn't have to–"

"There you go again." Mercury interrupted with an exasperated sigh. "The princess is right, you know. Stop worrying about everyone else and worry about yourself for once." Mercury tilted his head towards him. "I mean look at you; you look like you haven't slept in days."

Makoto stared back and looked him up and down.

"... Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

Mercury just scoffed. "Yeah, I probably look like shit. I also just came out of a death match against my pops. What's your excuse?"

"..."

"Let me guess, you feel guilty about how your old man treated the Faunus. So here you are, working yourself to the bone trying to make things right." Mercury just gave him a wry grin. "You're too soft, Makoto."

"... Maybe I am." The other boy had a wistful look in his eyes. "It's funny, because I told myself I wasn't going to play the part of the hero anymore."

"Hero, yeah that sounds about right for you. A real bleeding heart." Mercury snorted. "I wonder what that makes me then? I did the world a favor, you know?" He smirked menacingly. "By getting rid of that bastard."

"... You shouldn't joke about things like that, Mercury." Makoto shook his head. "A child should never have to kill his own father…"

"Bastard deserved it. Good riddance too." Mercury spit on the ground. "You know, I guess that makes the two of us pretty similar."

"What do you mean by that…?"

"We both had shitty fathers that finally kicked the bucket." Mercury replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "So, when are we killing ole Jacques so the princess can join the club too?"

Makoto gave him a look. "Mercury, please don't make me regret hiring you."

He just laughed in response. Man, he really missed this.

"Too late for that boss, you're stuck with me now."

For most people, this would probably be one of the worst days of their lives. For Mercury Black? It was the exact opposite. His old man's house was burnt to a crisp and the old bastard himself was finally six feet under. Gone for good. Makoto came through for him in the end, and he even had a new job now.

For once in his shitty life, things were finally starting to look up.


Weiss couldn't stop staring at her scroll.

She looked at the clock and sighed. It was already nine and Makoto still hadn't called. Weiss had been trying to pass the time by studying, but he was supposed to have called her an hour ago. She knew he was going to be busy with his new duties as the CEO, but she couldn't help but be annoyed that all of his time was being monopolized by work like that.

Was it selfish of her?

Yes, but she didn't care. She could be selfish about this one thing, couldn't she? With a huff, she grabbed her scroll and called him. If he wasn't going to call, then she was going to call him instead. And if he didn't pick up, she was going to send him a very angry text message this time!

"Sup?"

The voice that answered the call made her freeze. That wasn't Makoto, he never answered her calls without the video option turned on. That wasn't Makoto's voice either, although it did sound strangely familiar.

"... Mercury, is that you?" She eventually asked.

"Yup." He replied by popping the 'p'. "I'm surprised you recognized my voice, princess."

She felt a pang of irritation at that annoying nickname, but she didn't let it reflect in her tone. Mercury was the type of person who enjoyed being an irritant after all; better to not feed the wolves and what not.

"As a singer, I'm quite in tune with people's voices." She explained; keeping her tone neutral. "But what are you doing there, Mercury? I thought your father had no interest in renewing his contract with the Yuki Corporation?"

There was a brief bit of silence on the other end of the call.

"... Let's just say that I became a free agent, and Makoto gave me an offer I couldn't refuse."

Weiss blinked at that. "So you're working as Makoto's bodyguard now?"

"Yup."

"I see, please make sure to watch out for him then."

After what happened with the White Fang… It was nice that he had hired Mercury again, but she wished Makoto would invest more in his protection detail. Perhaps a few extra huntsmen as bodyguards; it wasn't like he couldn't afford it after all.

"That's a part of the job description, princess." Mercury drawled. "I'm sure you're probably sick of hearing my voice now though. You want me to go grab the boss?"

"Is he really busy…?" She hesitantly asked. If he was truly that busy, then she didn't want to disturb him. "I don't want to bother him if he is."

"Nothing that he can't get done tomorrow." Mercury casually replied as she heard him walk down some stairs. "He won't listen to me princess, so give him a good scolding for me, alright?"

"Scolding?" Weiss furrowed her brow. "For what?"

"You'll see."

Before she could ask what Mercury meant, she heard a loud thump.

"... Mercury, what did I tell you about kicking my door open?"

The video option for the scroll was suddenly turned on and she could see Mercury smirking at her through the camera lens. He gave her a wink.

"Have fun, princess."

And then the video suddenly blurred. Did Mercury just throw Makoto's scroll through the air?

He definitely did.

Makoto caught it before it landed on the floor, at the very least. The boy had a bit of an annoyed look on his face before he looked through the camera lens. It looked like he hadn't slept in days. And then she suddenly understood what Mercury had meant. She felt another pang of irritation well up from inside her.

Gods, why was Makoto always like this?

"Makoto, when was the last time you slept?" Her tone booked no room for argument. It was the same tone of voice that Winter used to use when she did something wrong.

The boy in question narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his bangs.

"I know, Weiss." He softly replied. "I know… I've just been busy."

"Makoto Yuki, if you don't head to bed right now, I swear to the gods that I'll be taking the next flight to Mistral and make you get some sleep."

He just gave her a tired grin.

"I'll get some sleep soon, Weiss. I just need to finish drafting up this project; it's important for the Faunus."

Faunus…?

Was that what this was about? Makoto had always been too compassionate of a person for his own good; and now those beasts were trying to take advantage of his kindness… Truly, the depths that they were willing to sink to was abhorrent.

"Makoto, did you forget that those Faunus killed your parents?" Her voice hitched a bit. "Did you forget that they almost killed you too?!"

"That was the White Fang, Weiss." He averted his eyes. "The workers at the mines had nothing to do with that."

Weiss didn't want to have this argument with him right now.

They've always held different beliefs regarding the Faunus, and that was fine. Makoto was free to have his own opinion, and she was free to have hers. That didn't change the fact that he was overworking himself right now though.

He needed to get some rest.

"Just… forget that I brought it up." Weiss sighed. "Get some sleep Makoto, please? You can always finish up the draft tomorrow."

Makoto looked down at the papers on his desk and seemed to give it some thought.

"I'm serious, don't make me fly over there." She added with a wry smile. "I'll take one of my father's private airships again like I did for Vale."

"Alright, you win." He eventually relented. "I'll stop for the night."

"Good." She nodded her head. "You should be grateful, I didn't even scold you for forgetting your promise."

"Ah…" Makoto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I forgot to call you."

It bothered her.

Not because he forgot due to his work, but because it was for the sake of the Faunus. They didn't deserve Makoto's kindness, not after what they had done to him; after they had hurt him. Gods, she hated them all; scoundrels and murderers, the lot of them.

"I'll forgive you if you get some rest." She replied with a small huff. "Good night, Makoto."

He just gave her a tired smile in response.

"Good night, Weiss."


Adam had changed.

He'd grown even more violent since the bombing at the Dust factory. It had been subtle at first, minor differences here and there. These days, he didn't even bother trying to hide it from her; it was obvious that this had devolved from a fight for Faunus rights into a quest for vengeance. The fact that Sienna Khan supported Adam's actions only made things worse.

Blake didn't know what to do.

Adam wouldn't listen to her. Oh, he'd pretend to care about what she said, but that was all it was in the end. A pretense. He'd appease her during the moment, but when the mission came; he was as bloodthirsty as ever. It didn't help that everyone in the White Fang believed their actions were working. The Yuki Corporation had been making massive changes to their workplace conditions in the mines recently. She'd seen the new leader of the Yuki Corporation in interviews; talking about how he wanted to make things right.

That he was different from his father.

The worst part of it all, was he seemed like a genuinely good person. Makoto Yuki wasn't afraid like Adam liked to believe, she didn't see fear in his eyes. Blake only saw determination. And judging from the rumors she'd heard of Makoto Yuki personally visiting the mines, it seemed like he truly wanted to help the Faunus.

That only made her feel even worse.

Blake had orphaned that boy and even after what happened; he didn't look for revenge. He only wanted to help. Did Adam not see how hypocritical that made the White Fang look? For all the speeches he gave about how terrible the humans were, were they truly any better?

No, they weren't.

And the guilt ate away at her every day. She had killed Makoto Yuki's parents. A boy that was the same age as her. They were the actual monsters here, and she was sick of it all.

The White Fang wouldn't listen to her. Adam wouldn't listen to her.

So, she was done with the White Fang. She wanted no part in anymore of their senseless violence. From now on, Blake would do this the right way, just like her father had done. She would fight for Faunus' rights without violence. She'd change the current world's system from the inside out.

And she would apologize to Makoto Yuki.

She didn't think that he would ever forgive her; how could he? After what she had done? If she were in his shoes, she'd never want to see herself again. But she still needed to apologize, to atone somehow, the guilt was just too much for her to bear. It ate away at her insides; threatened to burn her away to ashes.

So with a heavy heart, during the dead of night, Blake packed her things and snuck out of the White Fang's campsite. She left a simple letter behind for Adam, detailing her thoughts and reasons for leaving. It would have been better to say goodbye in person, but she was afraid Adam wouldn't let her leave. He had changed… or perhaps; he had always been like that and she had just never noticed behind the rose-tinted glasses.

She didn't even know anymore.

Looking back at the White Fang one last time, Blake just shook her head and began to make her way to Mistral. It was going to be a long trip, but she didn't mind; she needed the time alone to gather her thoughts and do some self-reflecting.


Author's Notes- So, figured I'd say this now if it wasn't apparent already, Makoto is not going to Beacon. I've already done that premise in a few other stories I've written, so I'm going with something new this time. But yeah, thanks for all the reviews everyone; glad to hear that it wasn't getting too dark for everyone's taste.

Also, I made a ko-fi account recently, so if you enjoy reading my stuff and want to buy me a drink or something; you can find me at ko-fi dot com/specialfx. That's all from me, until next time~