.
My Sunshine
.
You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.
Please, don't take my sunshine away…
.
.
Neo choked Blake down with one hand and held her sword aloft with the other. A mad glint shimmered in the small girl's eyes, as she postured on the feral cat.
Blake thrashed about wildly like a rabid animal. Her claws scratched at Neo's face, hissing with rage.
Both were disheveled and heavily wounded. Their throats dry as they gave raspy breaths between.
Neo finally managed to find a secure position, when she jammed her sword into the insane girl's cornea.
Blake's thrashing ceased…and her limbs fell to the sides…
…
Then, the body convulsed again as black wisps billowed from her wounds.
Neo drew back her sword, ready to stab again. When it came down, Blake tore her head out of the way. The blade caught the cat Faunus' ear instead, and pinned it to the ground.
Blake screamed with furious agony. Neo snarled back in similar frenzy.
It was the fifth time she killed Blake. And there would be a sixth, or a seventh, or however many it took as Neo brought her blade up once more.
"—Whooaaa~!" Yang awed, when arriving at the clearing.
Varying sized glass shards embedded themselves in the surrounding area. Some of them were covered in the smoking black mist emanating Blake's body. Although it was late afternoon, the immediate surroundings made it seem closer to night.
"Geez. You and Blake did all this?" Yang came and knelt beside Neo. "You guys really went at it, huh?"
Neo puffed her cheeks and started jabbing her finger at Yang's boob furiously.
"My fault?"
She nodded and poked harder.
"Yang…?" Blake's voice distorted.
She stopped thrashing on seeing Yang. One of her cat's eyes lost its points, rounding with calmness. Blake now had a sort of lopsided appearance, as half her face seemed normal, but the other still bestial.
"No! Don't look at—!" she tried to cover herself, but Neo held her arms with her feet.
Yang put a finger on Blake's extended canines to feel that they were real, then whistled.
"Neo. Give us a minute, okay?"
Neo puffed up and poked her again and again.
"Come on~ Just one second?"
Neo threw her an angry look she hadn't seen before.
"Neo?"
The small girl stood with a fury and stepped away, but only by a few paces. Yang turned to Blake to assess the damage.
The injuries seemed severe, but the dark mist pulsing from her body was already working to treat the wounds. Her former partner's ear looked especially painful, but that too, was in the process of being stitched back together.
Yang smiled, taking the cloth tied around her leg. With it, she wrapped the damaged ear with tender care.
Blake shivered and cried. She clung tightly to her like a baby kitten.
"P-Please…! Don't go, Yang. Just—!"
"Blake."
"Take me with you. I'll go anywhere. Yang, I lov—"
Yang hugged the girl tight in her arms, pressing the other's head to her chest. She nuzzled the top of Blake's head and smelled her hair.
"Hey, Blake. Would it sound like a lie if I said, I love you?"
"…"
"Not that it would mean much, anyway."
"…"
"I can't stay with you right now, and I can't take you with me."
"WHY?!" Blake cried. "I'll do anything! I swear! Just—let me…"
But Yang had already let go and was standing up. Her golden bangs hid whatever expression she portrayed.
"Goodbye, Blake."
Yang walked to Neo's side as the smaller girl scowled at her.
"What? You jealous?"
Neo snatched Yang's jaw and pulled her down to the same height.
Violently, the petite girl kissed her. Neo's tongue entangled with hers. And with one flickering eye, Neo glared at Blake to make sure she saw the whole thing.
Seeing the obvious rage boiling, Neo let go with a thin smile that stretched from ear to ear.
A parting gift that burned at Blake before she eventually passed out.
.
X
.
On their way back to the train, Yang and Neo met Emerald and Mercury. The four teammates stared at each other for a second.
Then, Emerald turned to Mercury.
"Told you she'd win~ " she sang.
"We sure it wasn't Neo?"
"Was it Neo?"
Yang frowned. "I beat Weiss. Neo took Blake."
"See? Another hundred lien. Fork it!"
Mercury groaned, as he reached into his wallet.
Yang crossed her arms.
"You bet whether I could fight my friends?"
"And win," Emerald added. "Merc didn't think you had it in you, but I? I had faith," she chuckled.
"Wow. Unbelievable."
"Oh, don't be like that." Emerald rested an arm on Yang's shoulder and waved the cash in her face. "I'll treat you to something nice, cheap, and pretty."
Yang gave a matching smirk and pulled out Weiss' wallet.
"I'm good, thanks."
Neo tugged on her arm and pointed to herself with a hopeful look.
"Fine, I'll buy you something…"
Just then, Emerald gave a frightful gasp and clasped the sides of her face.
"What? What's wrong?" Yang asked.
"We forgot to loot the bodies! MERCURY!"
"Yeah. They're gone by now," Mercury told her.
"GAH! All we have are her stupid sunglasses and her stupid hat!"
Yang took a closer look at her. "Nice shades, though."
Emerald sighed. "Yeah. Thanks. I guess."
"Hey! What about me?" Mercury posed with Coco's beret. "Huh? Huh?"
""No."" Yang and Emerald answered simultaneously.
Neo reached up and snatched the beret for herself. It flopped over to one side, when she put it on.
Yang took it and adjusted it for her.
"So, how'd the rematch go?"
"What do you think?" Mercury smirked.
"Always wanted to go a few rounds with Coco. I liked her spunk."
Emerald scoffed. "I've met spunkier."
"So, Ws across the board. Team ENMY gets their first real victory. Do you guys usually huddle or have a group cheer?"
"Ugh." Emerald rolled her eyes and walked away.
"No, nothing? No celebration?"
"Ice cream. Your dime," Mercury said, following Emerald.
"What?"
Neo pointed to herself.
"Ice cream…Okay."
.
X
.
"Mmm…."
"Awake now, are we?"
Blake blinked her eyes open. She tried to get up, but the lingering soreness in her body forced her back down. She was covered in wounds, as well as undergoing the aftereffects of Bane. It was a struggle just for her to stay conscious.
Blake rolled her head to the side and saw Weiss sitting there, staring at something in the distance. She followed her line of sight to the trail of smoke billowing in the air, followed by the sound of a train's horn.
Blake tried to stand again, more urgently this time. She managed to get to her feet, but ended up falling forward. She slammed her fist into the dirt, nearly breaking the bones in her hand.
Weiss had never seen her like this.
She was about to help her teammate, when the enraged girl stabbed Gambol Shroud into the ground, hoisting herself up through sheer tenacity. Before Weiss could utter a word, Blake turned her feral eyes in her direction.
"We need to go after Yang!"
She tried to run, but only managed two steps before having to catch herself again.
Blake was in no condition to chase a full moving train. Weiss was no better. And then, there was Coco and Velvet to think of.
"We'll go after her again, Blake. I promise you that. But it's not going to be today."
"But, Weiss! THEY HAVE HER!"
"You think I don't know that?!" Weiss moved in front and clasped her shoulders. "We messed up! We took them lightly and we paid for it. We won't make the same mistake next time. But right now, we're out of Dust and our Auras are completely spent."
"I… I let them take her, Weiss. I have to get her back!"
"We will."
Blake calmed a little under her teammate's strong gaze. She sat down on the ground, still angry with herself—the light in her eyes refusing to dissipate.
Weiss couldn't help, but smile at this.
Just like it was the first time seeing Blake so enraged, it was also the first time she had seen her so tenacious.
Weiss always thought her teammate was too down on herself, and in all honesty, too quick to back away from adversity. The young Faunus had a habit of searching for ways around her problems or being too careful about them.
In their school days, when they tried to stop the White Fang to now, it was all done out of fear and misplaced guilt. Though Blake tried so hard to find her old organization, she never actually wanted to confront them, such was the girl's nature.
But today, would change her.
Blake rested, trying to recover her Aura. All the while, her eyes still peered ahead, as if she could still see Yang.
"I'll get her back. I have to get her back. I can't leave her with that gremlin…" Blake muttered to herself.
Weiss' mood shifted.
I can't hesitate either, she thought, as she glared in the same direction.
Once upon a time, Blake parted ways with a loved one from a train—because of a change she convinced herself she could never undo.
And now, history repeated itself.
She abandoned Adam instead of fighting to bring back the good in him. Now, Yang and her separated for similar reason.
…
Blake made a vow.
This time would be different.
I'll save her.
I'll fight her.
This time I won't fail.
Never again…
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X
.
(Three Days Later)
Rain poured down on the harbor like it was trying to wash away all the filth into the ocean. Nothing but a few lanterns and the occasional streak of lightning to light the night.
It was at the trainyard, near the continent's edge, where Team ENMY stood beside the shipment of Junior's goods. Across from them, postured various members of the White Fang.
At least twenty numbered their ranks. Their faces, hidden by masks, but obviously observing the four transporters with keen interest.
Especially one in particular.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" one of them asked Yang.
To which, she started cracking her knuckles.
"Oh. You and me got history. We didn't get to know each other long, but you left an impression."
"Yang?" Emerald called.
"Yeah?"
*Sigh* "…Nothing. Never mind."
"Gonna try to convince me revenge isn't worth it? That it won't make me feel better?"
"Pfft! That's dumb," Mercury scoffed. "Revenge is totally worth it and it always makes you feel better."
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Emerald sighed again and drew her guns with desperado flare.
All the White Fang soldiers went on edge, training their weapons in Team ENMY's direction.
"Oh! The arm! I remember now," Adam Taurus chuckled, as he rested his hand on the hilt of his katana.
Yang felt lava boil from the pit of her stomach. She bore a vicious smile full of hostility and excitement.
"Yeah. You're gonna wish you killed me when you had the chance~ "