A/N: I told you guys, reviews help me write.

Anyway, nice juicy chapter here with a lot of emotions and fun. Plus, a big introduction. No, not the first scene, I'll explain that one at the end.

Not much else to say here.

Hope you enjoy!

I own NOTHING.

Guilty Rose Chapter 35

Taiyang Xiao-Long looked around his quaint abode once more from the doorway. The memories that were triggered by each and every detail of the home filled his heart with sense of loneliness.

Why such fond memories had the opposite effect that they were supposed to was a simple question with a simple answer.

There were only memories left in this house.

His wives left him, one to take over the family bandit tribe, and the other because he wanted her to learn to let go. His daughter was off at Beacon, training to be a proper huntress. His best friend, Qrow, no longer stumbled in when he got too drunk. When Tai heard Qrow quit drinking, he didn't believe it until he saw the man cleaned up and sober with his own eyes. And finally, his dog, who he had just sent to Yang while he went on an extended field trip.

"An empty home doesn't feel much like a home anymore."

….

Yang sat in the fetal position out side her sister's room in the school's infirmary.

"I hurt her again."

The thought hurt far more than she could ever describe. She had spent the last few weeks desperately trying to make up for hurt Rose the first time, even though she was told it wasn't necessary.

Suddenly the vicious cycle following that thought began.

Yang hugged her knees tighter as the phantom feeling of breaking Rose's arm returned unwarranted.

It was a sickening sensation. The crack and crunch of bones, that were once whole, snapping like twigs and grinding past each other underneath her fist.

The glazed and lost expression on Rose's face as she stood. The same expression that always appeared when she was trapped in the tortures of her past.

The sight of her eyes slowly clearing up, only to twist in what must have been unimaginable pain before she finally passed out.

"I hurt her again."

Yang buried her face in her knees in an attempt to block everything out. Unfortunately, the cycle began again, though this time at the pace of some kind of clicking sound.

The feeling of bones breaking against her.

The glazed look in Rose's eyes as she relived whatever horrors her memory held.

The unmitigated pain in her eyes.

"I thought I'd find you here."

"I hurt her again."

"Miss Xiao-Long?"

The crunching of bone.

"Do not ignore me."

The glazed look.

"Yang."

The pain in her eyes.

"Yang!"

"I hurt her again."

Before the cycle could begin again, two feminine hands came down and grabbed Yang by her collar. Then in one fluid movement, Yang was was hoisted up to her feet. Wholly unprepared to be made standing, Yang was unable to put strength into her legs and would have collapsed if the hands weren't still holding onto her.

Jostled by the sudden movement, Yang looked up to see who had found it necessary to end her downward-spiraling thoughts. However, as soon as she did look up, she was pulled so close to them that her world was almost entirely a pair of gorgeous glacier blue eyes.

Winter stood there holding the woman so close that it was not an exaggeration to say they were breathing each other's air.

"Yang Xiao-Long, I have been trying to get in contact with you since I heard about the incident. I do not appreciate being ignored like this. Do you understand me?"

Yang nodded numbly as her coherency sluggishly returned. Her mind now comprehended that the woman before her was not Winter Schnee, the woman she had fall head over heels for, but Specialist Schnee, a woman colder and harsher than any Winter in Atlas.

"Good."

Yang almost gulped when the tone of voice registered in her depression-addled mind. That one word made it clear that things were anything but good.

Suddenly, Winter pulled her even closer as impossible as that seemed to be.

"Now, I want you to listen to me, and you will listen well."

That sentence made it clear that she was about to receive a fiat. A fiat that would contain her new life purpose, and that purpose would supersede anything else in her life including the need to breathe.

"First, you will go to your dorm immediately. Once there, you will pull yourself together and clean yourself up. After that, you will come back here, go into that room, and wait patiently for your sister to regain consciousness with the rest of your team. Once she does wake up, you will hug her and tell her you love her. Am I clear."

Yang didn't respond immediately, instead she opted to absorb the commands she had been given so she could carry them out flawlessly. Once she had finished, she nodded an affirmative.

As soon as Yang nodded her acceptance, Winter's entire expression softened immeasurably.

"Very good. I hate seeing you like this Yang, so please don't ever shut me out again."

Winter closed the final minuscule distance between her and Yang so she could press a chaste kiss to the corner of Yang's mouth for longer than was strictly chaste. Reluctantly retreating back to the previous distance.

"Now, hurry up and go so your sister can wake up with you there."

Yang nodded again, still feeling the phantom sensation of the kiss, and walked off robotically.

Winter watched the blonde walk off with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Friend Winter, while that was very sweet and Romantic, are sure that you should have done that here?"

Winter stiffened up and a blush began creeping across her features.

"I really need to stop forgetting that she's with me."

"It will be fine as long as neither of us speaks of it."

"I normally would agree, but a majority of the infirmary also witnessed that very intimate scene."

Winter's blush worked it's way all across her body at this point.

"I see… I'm going to leave now. Please don't follow me."

"Yes, friend Winter."

Winter did not even glance back as she stomped off to find somewhere to curl up and die from her embarrassment.

….

It wasn't until Yang reached the dorm that she finally recovered from Winter setting her straight.

"Wow, I've never seen her so commanding… And I didn't know I liked being ordered around like that."

I blush grew on her face with that second realization. But then she thought about it more as she entered her dorm to change and freshen.

"Like I was ordered to. Heh, anyone else would have gotten more than a black eye and paid for it with a few teeth."

Yang couldn't help but shake her head at just how much Winter had wormed her way under Yang's skin.

"I guess me and Rose have similar tastes in women considering we're both dating the Schnee sisters."

Yang stopped and stared into space wide eyed.

"I'm banging my future sister-in-law. Oh, I'm going to have a field day with this."

A big mischievous smile grew on her face as the jokes she would tell came to mind.

"This is going to be Yangtastic."

….

Winter stopped screaming into her pillow as the dire need to stop Yang from doing something incredibly her overcame her.

"What is that woman planning now?"

….

Yang finished freshening up and was about to leave when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Package for Yang Xiao-Long."

"One sec."

Yang straightened her uniform one last time before going to the door and opening it to find Beacon's postman. The man presented her with a clipboard.

"Sign by the 'x'."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Yang jotted down her signature and handed the clipboard back. The postman then traded it for a cylindrical package along with the team's normal mail.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Yang tossed the normal mail onto Weiss' desk to be parceled out later.

"Parceled out, I am on a roll today."

Yang chuckled at her genius while checking her package. The label on it said it was from her father.

Hey sweetie, it's that time again.

Yang gasped, she had forgotten that it was time for Signal's annual senior trip. The package vibrated in her hands momentarily.

"Hey boy, you're gonna have to wait a few minutes, okay. There's someone you need to meet."

….

"Could you repeat that."

That was not a question and Arthur Watts knew it. Then again, Salem never asked anyone to do anything. You did what she said or you found yourself without the need to breathe anymore.

"Yes, my queen. It seems that my tip that Cinder was working for us has either been ignored or used against us."

Salem stared at him with the cold fury that promised more pain than could possibly be imagined.

"Used against us?"

Arthur gulped and tried vainly to settle his nerves.

"Well there is the distinct possibility that she was captured and they are prying information from her."

Salem's stare became much colder. So much colder that Arthur clenched and unclenched his hands to help his blood flow, which felt like it had come to a stop.

"You assured me that this plan would work. That we would flush her out of Vale into our waiting arms."

Arthur nodded reluctantly.

"I was certain that if General Ironwood got the information, that he would have made an overly obvious show of coming to capture her. An effort that she should have easily avoided given her team's skill set."

"Then what went wrong?"

Arthur could no longer keep Salem's gaze and hung his head for the illusion of a respite.

"It would seem that either the general did not receive the information or I did not know the man as well as I thought I did. Frankly, I'm not even sure which is worse."

Arthur heard an annoyed growl which told him not to look up again until he was given clearance to leave the room. Though with the way this conversation was going, that when was becoming an if.

"Is there any way to know Cinder's fate for certain?"

Arthur grimaced, this was going to be another answer she wouldn't like.

"Unfortunately without Cinder planting the virus like she was supposed to, there's no way for me to confirm anything."

Arthur began counting to twenty slowly. He knew if he was still breathing by the end of the count that he would walk away from this.

"That is regrettable, but not entirely your fault. However, I want you to find out exactly what happened to Cinder. If you fail to accomplish that, I'll allow Tyrian to refine his plans for Cinder using you."

Arthur stopped breathing for a few seconds.

"I-I understand c-clearly. I will not fail you."

Salem gave him a dismissive wave.

"See to it that you don't. I'd hate to have to find a replacement for you."

….

Rose opened her eyes, but had to immediately shut them to block out the harsh lights above her.

"I don't remember the arena's lights being so bright."

"Rose?"

The voice was hoarse, but it was obviously Weiss'. Rose could also feel someone holding her hand.

"Rose, are you awake?"

Rose attempted to open her eyes again, but the lights were only marginally less painful to bear. After a moment, she decided to forgo opening her eyes and instead tried to talk.

"W-Weiss?"

The hand holding hers tightened its grip and gave it a small shake.

"Yeah, it's me Rose. I'm right here, so is Blake."

"Yes, I'm here. Take it easy though Rose, the nurse said you had a mild concussion."

Rose took the offered advice, but then noticed that someone was missing. And suddenly her memories of the match came back, all the way up to her charging her sister with her knife. She turned her head to the direction of Weiss' voice slowly as to avoid aggravating her head injury.

"What about Yang?"

The initial response was an awkward silence. Silence that made Rose's heart beat faster as the acidic thought that she actually hurt Yang crept through her mind.

"Weiss, where is Yang?"

Suddenly the door opened and the room was flooded with the familiar scent of Yang.

"My ears were burning, I guess you gals did miss me."

Though Rose still couldn't see her, she knew Yang had her typical megawatt smile. Once again, Rose turned her head slowly so she could face her sister.

"Are you okay Yang, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Rose heard Yang's shoes literally squeak to a halt.

"Hurt me? Rose, I'm the one that broke your arm, you should be mad at me, not asking if I'm okay. Seriously, I brought a peace offering and everything."

Rose pouted at her sister, which seemed to still have an effect on her despite her eyes being closed.

"Okay, okay, I'm fine. Glynda grabbed you before you even got to me. Now put away that lip, it's dangerous."

Rose stopped pouting and tilted her head in confusion. But before she could inquire about what she meant, she felt Yang come up and touch her face gently.

"Hey, are you okay? You haven't opened your eyes."

Rose whimpered a bit before pulling away, which promptly made Yang stop.

"Rose. What's wrong?"

"It's just too bright in here. They said I had a concussion, so I just need to wait for my aura to heal it."

Yang sighed before gently pressing her thumbs to Rose's temples.

"I'll give you a boost then."

"It's fine, it's only taking so long because of my arm."

"Well, I need to speed things up. I have someone waiting to meet you."

Rose felt Yang's aura work its way through her head. It was always odd feeling someone else's aura, like a liquid so cold it burned but in a good way.

"Who would want to meet me?"

Rose winced when Yang's hands gripped her head before immediate releasing her. By this time, Yang had done enough that she could open her eyes without being assaulted by the light.

"Don't say it like that, sis. You're not some monster."

Rose couldn't help but purse her lips. Yang didn't know what she learned last night.

"Stop. I know you're thinking 'I don't know everything'. I don't, I know I don't. But I know more than enough. Now, you want to meet the someone who has been waiting ever so patiently to meet you?"

Rose let out a defeated growling sigh which made Yang grin.

"Glad to hear it."

Yang pulled the tube package out again, much to the confusion of her team, and went to open it. Then she recalled that Blake was a feline faunus.

"Hey, uh, Blake, how do you feel about canines?"

Blake's eyes widened in shock, then she began nervously looking between Yang and Rose. Finally, she settled on looking at Yang pleadingly. It took Yang a few moments to realize Blake was begging for her crush on Rose to not be revealed.

"I meant dogs, real ones."

"Oh. I'm not overly fond of them."

Yang groaned. Her partner had to embody as many stereotypical traits of cats as possible.

"Could you put up with one if it made Rose happy?"

Blake didn't hesitate to answer that question.

"Absolutely."

Yang snickered at the response and went back to opening the package from her father. As soon as it was opened, she shook it until a furry roll popped out and fell on the ground. All four girls stared at it, waiting for it to do something. Suddenly, furry mass popped into the shape of a dog like a kernel of popcorn.

"Arf."

Weiss was the first to react, which was to say she pinched her brow in confusion and concern.

"I-I-I… How?"

Rose and Blake adopted a similar expression, which made Yang laugh.

"It's his semblance. He instantly adapts to whatever situation he's in. He's basically indestructible."

Anyway, look Zwei, that's Rose. You know, Ruby?"

Yang could feel her team's concerned looks. She knew she was talking to a dog, but this was Zwei.

"Arf!"

The corgi bark seemed like an affirmative before he turned to Rose and hopped up on the bed. Once there, he sat and cocked his head at Rose.

"Arf."

Weiss and Rose looked at each other before looking at the corgi.

"Um… Hello?"

"Arf!"

Zwei hopped into Rose's lap, much to her shock, and curled up. The partners once again exchanged looks. Then Weiss broke the silence.

"If you want my opinion, I think he's adorable and we should see about keeping him."

A/N: Smacks lips Well that was certainly fun.

Recap time!

First scene, Tai's scene. I've had people clamoring since a year ago for Tai to appear, well here he is...kinda. I'll be honest, this wasn't planned, but I wanted to show you guys that this wasn't a Tai bashing story. I love him in canon and in this story. Plus I also wanted to show that he's not a bad guy or that he's evil. He's human, he has a nasty temper, that's it. I promise.

Yang in the hallway. Yeah, that scene was interesting. I decided to experimenting with a spiraling thought process, mostly cuz this is who Yang is. But then who comes to save her from herself? Winter! Yep, I decided to show how Winter comforts people and acts romantic, well, her version anyway. Which of course means she's gonna treat someone like a soldier. And look! It worked...kinda...sorta. Also, I couldn't help but add that joke in.

Yang in the dorm room, not much to say there. By the way, the "banging my future sister-in-law" joke is owned by DavidQrowWashington, and all grievances should be taken to him.

Salem being told that her plan to force Cinder out of Beacon. I'll be honest, that was a last minute filler scene that I got from a reader. Anyway, Salem is pissed and someone is gonna get their ass kicked.

Rose wakes up. The main scene of the chapter. As per usual, it turned out differently than I intended. First the concussion bit, I know concussions and yes they can have effects like that. Honestly, she was lucky. Even mild concussions are nasty business. Then there's Yang's entrance. I wanted to make it obvious that Yang was hanging outside the door still without saying it. Also, Rose being more concerned about Yang than herself felt natural. The Aura healing bit...that was interesting. I've long since decided a person in this story can give their aura to another person. This is not like Jaune's canon semblance. Any joe blow cannot amp another. They can heal because that is a designated task for their aura to accomplish and it already does it naturally. Plus, for those without an appropriate semblance, the sensation of someone giving you their aura isn't comfortable. It's not out right painful, but you wouldn't just do it for small stuff. And finally, the big introduction, Zwei. Yes guys he's finally here! And he will be everywhere. Also, I do realize, this is not the canon time for him to arrive. I just don't care. And yes, he has a semblance that makes him indestructible.

End of Recap.

Announcements!

Chapter 40 will soon be out. I will do a Q&A at the end of the chapter. Same rules as always, post your question in a review, my favorite five will be answered.

End of Announcements.

Well that's the chapter.

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