Chapter 11
Gradually the room of Yang's apartment had lit up from the morning sun and once more she found herself staring to the ceiling. Only this time her thoughts were empty for now. She no longer had to find Blake for she was right besides her sleeping soundly in her bed. She had a hand upon Yang's left arm as if for some reason she would lose her come the morning. The blonde had no intention of separating herself from Blake for the foreseeable future.
She felt a calm upon her that she hadn't felt in a long time now, she enjoyed every moment of the blissful morning, even if it was spent in a cheap apartment where the paint was almost peeling from the walls. She turned her head to the left to look upon Blake. Still she slept quietly with her eyes closed. She was close enough that Yang could almost feel the breaths she took from her parted lips tickle at her bare shoulder. Though to her disappointment her breathing halted, but not seconds later and her golden eyes were looking back at her tiredly.
Yang offered a soft smile to the Faunus. "Sleep well?" she asked.
Blake made a weak attempt to cover her mouth as she yawned. It almost seemed like she was about to fall straight back to sleep. "Your bed... is really uncomfortable..." muttered Blake with a weak smile of her own.
"You think?" asked Yang in response, she either hadn't noticed or didn't mind at all. She went to move her arm as Blake reluctantly let go. Reaching over for her scroll Yang opened it to reveal the cracked screen. She had no new messages.
"I've been meaning to ask..." came Blake's soft voice to which Yang could see she was staring straight at her neck. She predicted the coming question. "Why do you have..." Blake continued, staring at the tattoo.
Yang frowned and brushed some of her golden hair over her shoulder to cover the mark. "It wasn't my choice" she stated.
Blake sat up in the bed, she wore a tight fitting grey shirt that only seemed to display her form in all the right places. She reached her hand forward to brush back the hair Yang had attempted to use to cover the mark. Gently her fingers traced the tattoo as she sighed. "We'll make her pay for it" she answered.
She couldn't explain it but every touch she received from Blake seemed to cause her breathing to almost stop entirely. Perhaps it was just part of the excitement she got from simply being by her friend once more. "Every time I've tried to beat her up, I'm the one who ends up taking the hits" replied Yang, some frustration rising in her tone as she recalled the fights so far.
"If we see her again you won't have to fight her alone" smiled Blake, lowering her hand as she pushed herself up and off the bed, moving to peer out the window. Yang respectfully glanced away, because asides from her grey shirt Blake was only wearing her black underwear. It was nothing Yang hadn't seen before as they used to share a dorm together but for some reason it only felt right to respect her privacy now.
"So... What have you been doing?" asked Yang, remaining in bed for the time being as she tried to avoid the topic of Neo further.
Blake turned to face her and upon noticing that Yang was looking away she started to dress herself more appropriately into her usual attire."Asides from avoiding you I was looking for..." she paused. "Looking for Adam".
"Adam?" asked Yang, looking back now that Blake was clothed.
"The one that..." began Blake, looking to Yang's arm who then caught on. To this Blake nodded, "I couldn't let him get away with what he did to you... So I searched. I stalked every member of the White Fang I could find, listened in on their meetings. I even went back to Beacon" answered the Faunus.
Yang looked shocked as she sat up in her bed, "You went back? I heard it was completely overrun, you could have got hurt again!" she replied, clearly concerned for her friend.
"Yang" stated Blake in a firm tone before her voice softened again with a smile, "I can take care of my self. I have since we were all separated. The point is I couldn't just leave him free. He had to pay. He... Has to pay" she said, her voice growing a little colder towards the end of her sentence.
"But after what he did you to last time? You can't take him alone" replied Yang.
"In the same way you can't take Neo alone" answered Blake. "So we do it all together, like we were meant to" she added before crawling over the bed to get to the other side and in doing so, over Yang who leaned back slightly to let her pass, her lilac eyes briefly scanning over her form idly.
She sighed at Blake before offering a smile herself. "Well if you couldn't find him what makes you think I can help? And Neo just seems to show up to get in my way, I never had to find her" she replied, looking to the half-covered window afterwards.
Blake turned to face Yang. "Then it's simple. We look for Adam and Neo will interrupt us" she answered.
Yang looked unconvinced, "It can't be that easy" she replied as if expecting some catch.
"But it might. So get dressed already. I could do with some food" finished Blake as she took a step back towards the door, leaning upon it as she waited for Yang.
"You know I was hoping that after I found you I could relax a bit" said Yang just before her scroll started to vibrate continuously. She looked to the caller to see that it was Winter. "Speaking of not relaxing..." she sighed before answering the call.
Winter's voice came through the scroll, it seemed as tense as usual but also urgent this time around. "Yang, it's your father, he found Neo". Yang's eyes widened.
Blake looked curiously at the scroll but narrowed her eyes at Yang's reaction to whatever the call was. She waited patiently for her to hang up and as soon as she did she asked, "Is something wrong?"
Her lungs felt raw, each breath of air painfully cold in her throat. She hadn't stopped running since she left the apartment. Blake was managing to keep up with her, having stayed silent since they left as she seemed more inclined to follow her friend's lead. They had been making their way towards the docks where Winter had informed them was where Taiyang and Neo were located. The distant sounds of repeated gunfire could already be heard, accompanied by a mechanic whirring which made it the iconic sound of Taiyang's gauntlets, Spark Dibolic. As they grew closer the sound only became more intense. Ahead they saw what was likely the field of battle, an area filled with large metal containers which created an industrial maze of metal. Some signs of battle visible already as a number of the containers had scorch marks and bullet holes.
Reaching the maze of containers the two found Atlas soldiers unconscious on the floor while others took cover from the hail of bullet-fire that no doubt came from Taiyang. The gunshots were constant and just around the corner now. Blake moved forward but before she could turn the corner Yang had grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, only for some wayward bullets to pass by. Blake looked alarmed at the fact that Yang's father could be so reckless with his weapons. They could already hear his voice as he yelled out, "Think you can just mess with her life like that!?".
Yang grit her teeth, her father was trying to solve the problems she created. She made for the corner, not bothering to heed her own caution knowing the area of damage that could be caused by Spark Dibolic. As she viewed the battle she watched as her father charged towards Neo who had her umbrella open in front of her. His right fist was behind him ready to punch as he charged with his left aimed forward, the built in gattling gun around his fist providing a solid stream of bullets to keep his target in place. As he punched forward with his right fist the gattling gun began to spin but it did not fire. The punch connected against the umbrella as it shattered, like it usually did when something finally came into contact with it.
All of a sudden a blade was held to Yang's throat, she was harshly tugged so that she was positioned in front of both Taiyang and Blake. Yang looked down at the sharp sword that protruded from the end of Neo's umbrella, but her father had yet to realise she was even here. He turned aiming one of his gauntlets that showered a stream of bullets in the direction of both her and Neo. Too late did he realise he had fired at his own daughter. Yang shut her eyes tight, she heard Blake gasp. She heard the bullets collide with something. Herself probably.
Yet she was still thinking. She opened her lilac eyes and saw an opened umbrella in front of her. Through it she could see Taiyang, his eyes wide as his gauntlet continued to aim at her, frozen. She could also see Blake who was also frozen still at the sight, one arm outstretched as if she was attempting to reach for her. But the umbrella in front of her... Had Neo stopped the hail of bullets from hitting her? She was small enough to use Yang herself as a shield, so why protect her? Before she could come to a conclusion the umbrella in front of herself shattered, she spun around to find that Neo was nowhere to be seen.
"Y- Yang...? Yang!" yelled Taiyang as he lowered his gauntlet, rushing towards her. The Atlesian military finally came out of cover, checking their surroundings for hostile activity. Blake continued to stay behind the corner of the container, simply looking at Yang unsure. She felt her father's arms embrace her into an apologetic hug. "Yang, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! I was just so consumed with teaching that brat a lesson that I-" He was cut off as a voice called out.
"Under arrest" came Winter's voice as she stepped onto the scene with her quite loud heels, folding her arms across her chest as her soldiers began to surround Taiyang with rifles aimed and ready.
An awkward pause fell over the area before Yang furrowed her brows at Winter, escaping her father's grasp as she yelled. "What!? What do you mean he's under arrest! He didn't do anything!"
Winter narrowed her icy gaze at Yang as Blake rushed towards the blonde woman, reaching out to grab her arm to stop her from advancing towards Winter any further. "Look around, Yang. What do you see?" asked Winter as she motioned with her hand.
Yang wouldn't have looked if not for the fact that she felt Blake's hand squeeze at her arm, calming her to an extent. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area. Damaged containers. Unconscious Atlesian military. It looked like a terrorist attack. She knew very well where Winter was coming from. Taiyang's recklessness had caused damage to both the property around him and the soldiers who were no doubt trying to assist him. She didn't want to accept it though, she almost refused to as she glared back at Winter.
"Don't be the bull, Yang" spoke Winter coldly, her eyes piercing her deeply.
With a growl Yang turned to start approaching her father who was already in the process of being cuffed. "What were you thinking!?" she yelled, hurling her anger at him instead as Blake attempted to restrain her respectfully, but in her fury the blonde pushed her away harshly and causing the Faunus to stumble back with a dejected look on her face. But right now Yang didn't care, her emotions were taking too much of a hold for her to really notice.
"You think I was going to let her get away with it!?" yelled Taiyang in return, almost tugging at his cuffs. "She made a fool out of me and you suffered for it! I can't let that slide and call myself a father!" he responded.
"You can't call yourself a father if you're dead either! She's dangerous!" yelled Yang once more as the soldiers started to pull her father away.
Taiyang looked back at Yang, "Dangerous!? She didn't even land a hit on me!" he yelled before abruptly being pushed into the back of a military van.
Yang was about to yell back but halted as she saw Blake frowning at her, only now realizing how she had just treated the Faunus. "It's okay" came Blake's voice, those were the exact words Yang didn't want to hear. Acceptance of her harsh behaviour, especially towards a friend.
The blonde grabbed at her own head, she didn't like it when too many things were rushing through her mind at once, too many emotions. She shut her eyes tight, "No, no it's not okay. Nothings okay" she spoke to no one in particular. She felt a hand place upon her shoulder. Even now Blake wanted to comfort her. She hardly felt like she deserved it.
"Forgive me Yang, but I could not ignore it" came Winter's voice, she was still present and stood before the two. Yang understood, her father had broken the law or maybe even worse.
"Why can't he just... stay out of my business..." muttered Yang as she referred to her father. Taiyang had meant well, this she knew, but Neo was her issue and hers alone.
She felt a second hand upon her other shoulder and opening her eyes she could see Blake in front of her, her expression stern. "Just... take it one at a time" she suggested, as if she knew Yang so well that she could tell she was confused by the sudden stream of multiple events that had taken place. Thoughts were running through Yang's head. Why had Neo protected her? Why didn't she beat her father to a pulp? How long was he going to be held for? How could she treat Blake like she had after only just finding her again? Why did Winter always have to be right?
Yang shuddered in a breath and decided to start with the simplest, looking apologetically towards Blake as she placed her hand upon hers. "I- I'm sorry Blake, I wasn't seeing straight-" she began.
Blake offered a friendly smile in return, "Just like your father?" she asked. If anyone was unsure as to wherever or not Yang was Taiyang's daughter, today would have proved it. They're as reckless and bullheaded as each other, even if most of the time they were unaware of it. "I forgive you" added Blake. Sometimes she seemed almost too good to be true with the way she treated Yang.
Yang offered a sad smile to Blake as she nodded at her, happy to have been forgiven despite still feeling terrible for what she had done. She looked over her shoulder to Winter who stood as professionally as ever. "I- I'm sorry for yelling at you for doing your job Winter"
Winter outstretched her arms as she spoke, "And I am sorry for arresting your father" she admitted before lowering them.
"How long do you think he'll..." began Yang. As if knowing the question she would ask Winter had replied before it was finished.
"We'll know in a few hours, but you may be looking at a few weeks" replied Winter. Her eyes seemed to slowly drift towards Blake who looked over her shoulder towards her. "That reminds me" began Winter, keeping her focus upon the Faunus as her gaze narrowed slightly.
Yang tugged Blake closer to her side. "Really? Now?" asked Yang, looking to the area around them once more. Winter did the same as she bit her lip in contemplation.
"Very well. I very much wish to speak to you however, Miss Belladonna. When you have the time of course" spoke Winter. Blake never replied to her as she simply kept watching cautiously. Yang could tell she was growing more tense around Winter. If they were going to work towards finding Weiss however the two would need to come to some middle-ground.
"Is there... anything else Winter? Not that I don't like your company or anything, you're awesome" said Yang as she presented an awkward smile to the woman.
Winter smirked and closed her eyes gently, "For now, no. I am making progress on receiving permission to move to Atlas. I will keep you informed" she replied.
It was the part of Winter that Yang liked to see, the part of her that was more the caring older sister than the specialist of a military group. With that Winter spun on her heel and started marching away, offering a wave of her hand behind herself. Yang gave a brief wave back before looking to Blake.
"So... why does Neo have your name tattooed on her neck?" asked Blake as she smirked at Yang.
Yang scoffed and glanced away, "Let's just... get something to eat okay? I'll buy you some tuna or something".
"R- Really?" asked Blake in a fashion that tried to hide how truly excited she was, her eyes shining with hope.
The blonde nodded once as she linked her arm with Blake's, the Faunus seemed to tense up suddenly from the contact but allowed herself to be led by Yang who remained oblivious to the reasoning. "Sure thing, my treat" she spoke, her lilac eyes subtly scanning the area around them for any sign of Neo. If anything that woman had turned her into a paranoid wreck that she didn't often like admitting.