Crash, Crash, CRASH! Winter gulped as she walked down the long tall hallways of the building, terrified at the sight she might find. The building was home to tons of different small businesses, and Winters feet moved her quickly down the hall trying to check as many of these as possible. She was half expecting to see Yang destroying some poor man's candle business or something, but so far everybody she'd asked hadn't seen the blonde.

"Yang! Where are you?" Winter called as she turned another corner in this labyrinth of halls. The ceilings were at least thirty feet in the air and painted a dark black at a certain point. Even with the warm lights, Winter couldn't help but feel horribly small and anxious as her steps echoed all around her. "Yang…"

CRASH! The sound boomed through the halls louder than ever, making Winter jump about a foot in the air. Winter gulped, hoping that whatever was breaking wasn't too valuable… On the bright side, she was pretty sure she knew where the noise was coming from now.

There was a small unmarked wooden door that sat at the end of a short, poorly lit side hallway. Winter looked at the door and seen it was hanging slightly ajar, and was almost positive it was the right place.

The hinges creaked loudly as Winter pushed the door open gently. It was a small room, probably a large janitor's closet. It was hard to tell because of all the destruction around the room. Brooms and mops snapped in half, rolls of toilet paper ripped to shreds, bottles of random chemicals had been thrown against the wall painting it a rainbow of colors that smelled like a mix between ammonia and lemons. The only thing Yang hadn't managed to break was a small metal cabinet. She'd only managed to flip that onto the ground and spill anything that had been on it on the ground.

But the most destroyed looking thing in the room was the small girl sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her knees with her forehead leaning against her knees while her shoulders trembled and shook.

Winter walked slowly, stepping over the destruction carefully, her eyes never leaving Yang. Winter kicked some toilet paper out of the way, making a small spot clear of debris for her to sit down and cross her legs. Winter looked around the room as she waited, the silence wrapping around them, almost strangling her. But Winter couldn't be the one to break it, so she endured.

"I- I didn't mean to… " Yang blubbered into her legs, hardly able to get the words out.

"I know you didn't" Winter gave Yang a sad smile, her heart felt tighter the longer she looked at the crying girl.

"When I get too mad, I- I sorta lose it" Yang looked up with tears still falling out of her eyes and sniffling. Yang chuckled lightly, failing to bring a smile to her lips as she tried to wipe her tears away, but more were quick to replace them.

Winter gave Yang a few minutes to pull herself together before she said anything else. Yang's tears never really went away, but they slowed. Her shoulders also stopped trembling as bad and she got her breathing under control.

"Why were you so mad? I know losing sucks, but you and I both lost to Ruby all night long in that game. Does it really make you this mad? Or is it something else?" Yang's gaze slowly fell to the ground, like she didn't really want to answer. Yang took a deep, shaky breath before she opened her mouth.

"I don't mind losing. Sometimes, it's even fun. Like, losing to Ruby is fun because it means she's getting better. But… I thought I would be good at this. I really hoped… " Yang's lip was quivering too much for her to keep going.

"Take your time" Winter said, giving Yang a warm smile as she reached out and squeezed the girls shoulder lightly. It took a few minutes for yang to compose herself again, but Winters smile never wavered.

Yang gave a long sigh, "OK. I hoped… I hoped, really really hoped, that I could be like my Dad"

"What do you mean?"

"See, my Dad was a really good boxer. Never professional or anything, but he'd been doing it forever. He took Ruby and I to all kinds of matches when we were little, and we never seen him lose, not even once" Yang was smiling ever so slightly now, her eyes alight as she remembered countless moments from times long past. Winter squeezed Yang's shoulder again, and Yang looked up at her with eyes that reminded her of a puppy that was lost in the street.

"Yang, I know it's hard for you to see now, but you did great. It was your first match and you were throwing punches like a champ! Yeah, you might have lost, but now you know where you're lacking and how to get better! Isn't that pretty cool? I know a certain sister that I know for sure agrees with me" Winter was grinning like Qrow and Ruby, trying her best to copy their energy, their charm, their warmth, trying her best to give even some of that energy to Yang now.

By some miracle, it must have worked, Because yang cracked an actual smile as her eyes lit up. "I guess you're right. If Ruby says I did good, I gotta believe her"

"Exactly. Sisters never lie to each other" Winter grinned at Yang, whose eyes were still far in the past. "You must've looked up to him" Yang didn't look shocked by the question, her smile growing bigger.

"Oh yeah, he was the best. He was funny, nice, and great at everything too. He started boxing when he was young, and he said he was always great at it" Yang was somber when she talked, but also excited like a young kid. Or Ruby.

"What do you think he'd say right about now?" Winter watched as Yang closed her eyes, her lip trembling again.

"It's not about taking a punch, it's about what you do after…" Yang sucked in a deep breath like she was in pain before she opened her eyes again. They were alive and bright, despite the tears. "Ugh, he and Mom had a saying for everything" Yang chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.

"My Mother was the same way, always seemed to know exactly what to say"

"Right! Maybe Moms are psychic or something?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. She always knew where I was, what I was doing, and if I was feeling sad she knew exactly how to cheer me up" Winter laughed, thinking about all the times her Mom would find her in the library crying and how easily she would cheer Winter up. In hindsight, some of the maids or chefs had probably told her Mom where she was hiding, but Winter liked to think it was because they were so close.

"Moms are like that I guess" Yang laughed, and Winter couldn't help but join in, the tension finally dispelled. Yang looked around the room, whistling as she finally got a good look at what she'd done, "I really did lose my cool, didn't I?" Yang gave a nervous chuckle as she stood up.

"Don't worry, we'll clean it up before we leave. Then you'll leave some money for the damage" Winter slowly got up off the ground, winking at Yang.

"But I don't have that kinda money!" Yang complained, her eyes popping out of her head.

"Then you're gonna need a loan from the international bank of Qrow" Winter laughed, patting her legs clean of dust.

"Ughhh, he's gonna be so maaad" Yang whined, her head falling down for a moment.

"I doubt it. More like he'll get mildly annoyed" Chuckled Winter as Yang's head flew right back up.

"Yeah, you're right" Yang was looking sheepishly at Winter, looking a lot more nervous than was normal, "Those gloves I had were actually my Dads from awhile back…God I hope they're still there"

"They aren't. I grabbed them before I came after you. Luckily your Uncle has some deep pockets" Winter smiled as she pulled the gloved from her back pocket, handing them to Yang.

Yang looked shocked, her mouth open ever so slightly. She reached out for them, but her hands stopped mid air. For some reason, Winter pictured Jaune. But the image faded as quickly as it had come, and Winter stepped forward and pushed the gloves into Yang's open hands.

Yang smiled as she looked down at the worn gloves, her thumbs tracing lines on them again. Yang pulled them up to her face and kissed them lightly before smiling at winter sheepishly, "Um, thanks. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper. So thanks for not getting mad. And for these. And for, you know, listening. It helped a lot" Yang looked down at the ground sheepishly, before opening up her arms, "Hug?"
Winter felt warmth bubble up inside of her at the offer, feeling incredibly touched that Yang had opened up to her, "Of course" Winter wasn't usually one for hugs, but how could she say no to Yang?

Winter wrapped Yang in her arms and felt a kind of contentment that she hadn't known for a long, long time. It was a hug filled with warmth and smiles that could have made anyone feel better. Winters's hands went up and down Yangs back, trying to soothe the girl even half as much as Yang was soothing her.

Quickly Winter realized that something felt… wrong. Not with the hug or how she was feeling, but something actually felt wrong. As Winter brought her hand up and down Yang's back, it didn't feel smooth like she expected, it felt like there were patches at random points all up and down her back. Winter could even feel bumps through the sports bra Yang was wearing, lightly tracing them with the tips of her fingers like she was touching broken glass.

Not only that, but something was tugging on the back of Winter's mind, forcing her to pull away from the warm hug. Winter looked at Yang, sweet, smiling Yang who looked completely happy in this moment. Winter didn't want that look to go away, but… She had to.

"Yang, can I see your back real quick?" Winter asked softly, pulling away from the hug.

"Sure, why?" Yang wondered, turning around without another word. All across Yang's back were pink lines, scars that appeared randomly up and down Yang's back. Some were thin, some were thick, some were long while others were short. There looked like there was more than a dozen of the scars, all of them looked mostly healed, probably years old. Guilt dug a whole in Winters stomach, how could I not see these while Yang was boxing? She thought to herself as she traced the lines.

"What happened to your back, Yang?"

Yang turned around, a smile on her face, "Oh, those? When I was a kid I was petting a dog and when I went for his ears he got pretty mad at me! Got me real good!" Yang laughed, turning back around and shrugging like it was something that happened to everyone. "Ruby got it worse though" Yang smile turned into a grimace at the memory.

"So Ruby has scars like these too? And it was a dog?"

"Yup. Dog went from me to her, it eventually ran away before anything really bad happened. By the way, Uncle Qrow doesn't like talking about it, so could you try to not say anything about them in front of him?" Yang chuckled as she held up her finger to her lips.

"Of course…" Winter felt the guilt lift a bit from her belly, but something didn't exactly feel right. Not to mention there was one more question she had to ask…

"Yang… Earlier when you were talking about your Dad…" Winter started, her voice failing her as Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"You were saying was… Is he…?" Winter couldn't bring herself to say it. Yang looked confused for a second, clearly not getting what Yang meant at first. But then she nodded, a small smile on her face as she looked down at the ground again.

"Um, yeah. It happened when I was nine. It was raining outside and it was dark. Mom and Dad went out on a date and they, um, they didn't come back… Not a great thing to wake up to!" Yang chuckled at Winter scratching the back of her head with a small grin, "The doctors said it was painless, so can't really ask for more than that!"

As much as Yang tried to hide it, Winter could see past the mask. Yang was smiling, but it was thin, only there to try and make Winter feel less awkward. She tried to make it seem like it was all in the past, like she was perfectly fine now, but inside she was probably hardly holding it together. Even then, she was probably only holding it together for her younger sister's sake. It was almost like looking in a mirror.

"Five years ago, my Mom got sick. We didn't think it was too bad at first, we were told she'd get over it quickly… She didn't. It was slow, but she always kept her smile. Eventually, it beat her… That was three years ago, and it still feels like it was yesterday. Yang, there isn't a day that goes by I don't feel like breaking down and wishing she was back. You're strong, but it's ok to be weak every now and then. And I need you to know, they are so proud of you and Ruby" Winter put her hand on Yang's arms as their eyes met, both of them full of sadness, but hope still glowed.

Yang's smile started to dip again as her lip trembled, her composure starting to fall apart again. A tear rolled down her face and Winter used her thumb to wipe it away, bringing Yang into another hug.

"Yaaang! Winteeerrr! Where are you guys?" They heard Ruby yell from down the hall.

"Ruby, people are working here" They heard Qrow scold.

"Oh, sorry"

"What? No, go and ask them if they've seen anything"

"Oh! Good idea, you're a genius Uncle Qrow!"

Yang and Winter looked at each other, chuckling lightly, "I think we've been gone for too long" Winter said as she checked her phone, finally seeing that Qrow had called and text her probably a thousand times since they'd disappeared. No reason Qrow and Ruby were looking for them!

"Only by a little bit! Um, are we still cleaning this up?" Yang gulped, looking at the chemicals drip down the wall.

"Oh yeah, sorry kid" Winter laughed, the answer made Yang sigh. Winter gestured to the door, Yang shook her head as she walked to the door, throwing it open.

"We're over here!" As Qrow and Ruby ran over to talk to her, Winter got a good long look at Yang's back. It felt good to learn more about the girl's past, but something didn't sit right with her. Mainly, there wasn't a dog alive that would leave claw marks like the ones on Yang's back…