Chapter Three: Laser Focus
Written by: JayEmEl
Edited by: Cowjump
Check out the BUMBLEBEE (unofficial) TRAILER on Youtube! The link is on my profile.
NOTE: I despise this chapter.
In all honesty, agreeing to date you, Yang, was probably a horrible decision. You don't love me the way I love you, and you most likely never will. This relationship will continually make you feel uncomfortable. There will be this constant pressure on you to do things you just don't want to do. Further, I would only darken your light and sadden you with my gloom. I can unfortunately imagine this attempt at romance ruining our friendship, all because of me. I should have refused you.
Do you know what love is, Yang? It's unconditional. It's selfless. Patient. Faithful and true. I can appreciate your intentions and fall harder for you because of them, but I cannot accept that you would trouble yourself for the sake of pleasing me. I never asked that from you. I wanted you to want this relationship so that we could work at it together in equal measure, and if you make yourself uncomfortable in the process – if you allow yourself to receive more than you can give – then what good is trying if it will only create unspoken tensions between us?
To answer your question... Yes – God, yes – I struggle to not show you my love through tender embraces, gliding my fingers lightly over your skin, passing them through your hair, and kissing you softly... But there are other ways for me to show you. Sacrifice. Support. Understanding. These things do not need to be displayed by touch, and in the long run, they contribute far more than any caress could ever.
We're in a relationship now, though, and what's done is done. I'm happy to try, despite the immense uncertainty. So, this is my sacrifice for you, Yang. I will refrain from the physical and let you engage in it at your own pace, even if it almost pains me to do so. I will deny my
"Whatcha writing there, Blakey?"
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Yang was casually sitting beside Blake as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Outside, right there against the large tree trunk, in the shade of its healthy foliage, set apart from the other students enjoying the fresh air or doing homework while lounging on the grass, not directly in sight, protected from most of the strong breeze that was gusting that day, was a relaxing place to sit, having enough sunlight peeking through to provide cozy warmth. This is where Blake wrote.
She had been far too engrossed to even notice Yang until her journal was promptly plucked from her hands – one moment she was staring at the paper, and the next she was not. Her eyes widened and she tried to grab her journal back. "Yang, no!"
Except the eternal goofball was apparently in a playful mood and clearly hadn't realized that whatever her partner had been doing, it might have been personal. Yang moved her quarry out of reach, Blake reacting so swiftly she ended up almost halfway across her girlfriend in an attempt to take her journal back. Instead of being successful in this pressing endeavor, however, the sudden shift of weight caused Blake to be taken by her momentum. She sprawled over Yang's lap, forearms landing on the grass on the other side of the brawler's strong legs, stopping her from doing a face-plant.
Blushing fiercely, heart hammering, Blake turned over and tried again, lunging for the spiral notebook much like a cat would for a toy, but Yang only switched it to her other hand and brought it almost a full arm's length away, a huge grin plastered on her face. What didn't help was that she had purposely opened her legs enough so the bookworm's backside would hit the ground between her thighs, destabilizing Blake and forcing her to lean back again to catch herself. She was now positioned horizontally across Yang in a rather disagreeable position.
"That's my journal! You're not supposed to...read it..."
It was already too late, really. Yang's curious and amused lilac gaze had already skimmed over the page, and by the crease that had formed between her eyebrows, she had figured out that the entry was about none other than herself. There was no taking it back. Even if she tried again, Blake knew all too well that the damage was done. Yang would want to know what was written at all costs.
If the Faunus hadn't been wearing a bow, her cat ears would have been flat against her head, which she lowered a little in shame, waiting for her girlfriend to finish reading. The smile slowly but surely disappeared from the blonde's expression, and Blake practically shrank into herself. This was not what she had wanted to happen at all. Her journal was a means for her to express what she couldn't say aloud, to help her make sense of her feelings, or simply to put down on paper a memory or information she didn't want to forget the slightest details of. It was personal. Private.
And yet, because this was Yang, a part of Blake still argued that the golden girl had a right to know, that it was even imperative for her to know exactly how the raven-haired girl felt. That said, Blake had always been a very reserved individual and didn't enjoy having her partner read her deepest thoughts without permission, significant other or not.
Yang quietly handed the spiral notebook back to Blake, who immediately took it and flipped it shut, glaring angrily but blushing at the same time in embarrassment, even shame. One could have disputed that by not persisting in trying to snatch the journal back she had implicitly given her consent for it to be read, but that was by all means false. It was simply out of the question to fight the brawler over something that could easily be ripped or damaged – especially something with sentimental value.
"Blake...why didn't you just tell me?" Yang finally asked softly, meeting Blake's golden gaze a little regretfully. "You were going to mention your instincts, weren't you? That you were going to ignore them." She looked worried now. "I can't let you sacrifice that. They're part of who you are and if you have to deny yourself such an important aspect of your personality for me, then this relationship is gonna head nowhere pretty freaking fast. If this is about yesterday, the reason I got all tense wasn't because I was uncomfortable. I just didn't know how to respond. Like, did you want me to hold you, or should I have put my hands on your waist, or was there –"
"Yang."
"Yes, kitten?"
"You're beginning to ramble."
"Oh." Yang paused, evidently processing the anticlimactic revelation. But then a bright grin illuminated her countenance. She unexpectedly pulled Blake – who was already sitting across her lap – against her chest, securely wrapping her arms around her and allowing the Faunus to nuzzle Yang's collarbone.
It goes without saying that Blake was surprised by Yang's decision to hold her in a manner that would clearly not seem platonic to onlookers. The breeze blew against them, but cuddled together as they were, Blake barely felt it. Any remaining upset from the recent violation of privacy melted away under the living heater's perpetual warmth and was replaced with genuine appreciation. She shifted slightly, wanting to be more comfortable but also searching to press herself closer to her girlfriend, quietly inhaling Yang's vanilla and gunpowder scent. This made Blake content. It was comparable to a physical relief, like a small weight had been lifted from her chest. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, resting her hand on the lively girl's abdomen.
"Do you know why I told you not to be afraid of showing me your affection?" Yang wondered lightly. Since it was a rhetorical question – as Blake had correctly assumed – Yang continued without really waiting for an answer, "It was so you could help me learn to love you romantically. And it would be easier for me to do things like this..."
Blake felt Yang's lips on her temple, near her eyebrow. It was a gentle but brief touch. She nevertheless flushed pink, but the result was undoubtedly what Yang had planned: Blake was absolutely gratified. This was already so much more than she had ever expected. "Holding me like this doesn't make you feel awkward at all?" she asked in mild amazement.
"Well, I'm not gonna lie; it does a little. Actually, a little more than a little." Before Blake could even react to that, however, Yang tightened her grip – as if she had known her partner would try to pull away upon hearing the admitted and almost brutally honest truth, given the chance. She immediately added, "But the whole point is for me to get used to it, to learn to enjoy it. If we never do things like this, how am I ever going to see you as more than just a friend?"
Blake was silent, heart beating a bit more rapidly than normal. She was internally conflicted. On one hand, it was near bliss to be huddled against her personal sun, enveloped in her reassuring warmth and scent, listening to the nervous thudding of her heart through her chest and enjoying the resonance of her voice when she spoke through the same means. But on the other hand, she couldn't be completely happy knowing that this feeling of safety and attachment wasn't reciprocated, that Yang was forcing herself to do something which, for the time being, wasn't natural for her. Or might...never be natural, either, even if she tried.
But Blake couldn't think about that possibility. It was painful enough as it was.
Despite her girlfriend having tightened her hold, the raven-haired girl insisted on pulling away and Yang couldn't force her to stay within her embrace, so she let go. Without meeting the concerned lilac gaze set on her, Blake carefully moved off Yang's lap and stood up, grabbing her journal in the process and putting herself at the mercy of the strong wind. It made her slightly wavy black locks get in her face and flail wildly, but she gave no sign of it disturbing her. "You knew the others and JNPR are going out today, right?"
Yang, who hadn't budged from leaning against the massive tree trunk, blinked up at her a few times, probably confused by the sudden change of subject. When she finally jogged her memory, she spontaneously jumped up, exclaiming, "Yes! That's right! There's this sweet laser tag place that opened this week and it's specifically meant for huntsmen and huntresses! We totally wanted to give it a shot."
Blake had to smile a bit at that, nevertheless raising her eyebrows skeptically. "We?"
Yang at least had the decency to appear mildly embarrassed, as a brief reversal of roles. "Well, I mean, like, not us us, but the group of us in general. 'Cause, you know, Weiss is probably just going against her will and stuff. And you...well, you were coming, right?"
The girl in black was definitely not blind to the hopeful glint that had sparked to life in her companion's lilac eyes. As usual, slight butterflies formed in her stomach at the knowledge of Yang wanting her to be there, to participate. Because she mattered. If Blake's presence had to be important to anyone, Yang would have always been the first to say it. Genuinely.
Yang had left the safety the large tree provided from the wind, too, and her unruly, long blonde hair was blown into an insouciant mess. She was beautiful.
There was no way Blake could refuse.
"If it's up your alley, I'm game." The Faunus unfortunately only realized what she said after she said it. And it was already too late. Her prankster could pick up on possible puns faster than she could throw a punch, and if Blake's comment was anything at all, it was a joke waiting to happen. Blake braced herself, seeing the mocking glimmer appear in Yang's eyes, and knew that she knew that Blake knew just by the size of the grin that spread across her lips.
"Is that an invitation?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows in an attempt at making the innuendo more obvious. "'Cause you're definitely game if you're in my alley, kitty." And then she winked.
Blake thought she had braced herself. She had assumed that whatever Yang had been about to say would have been some stupid Faunus-related pun that would have once again ruined the moment, and life would have moved on. It was actually much worse than that. It was an openly flirtatious joke, one that not only addressed Blake's Faunus heritage but also directly called on her instincts – something primal that was excited at the prospect of hunting...or in this case, being hunted. It was exactly the same feeling she had been overcome with when Yang had decided to initiate a round of tag.
Blake hadn't been lying when she told Yang she was playing a dangerous game.
The quiet introvert therefore found herself unexpectedly blushing a dark red and doing her utmost to strangle the sudden urge to tackle her girlfriend right then and there. "You're the worst," she mumbled, trying and ultimately failing at hiding just how much the pun had affected her.
Yang was laughing, clearly getting a kick out of Blake's reaction. "Oh, man," she wheezed, "If that's the way you look when I flirt with you...even if it's just a joke..." she never finished her sentence, being that she was taken over with another bout of giggles.
The cat Faunus still had her pride. She wouldn't just stand there and endure those mockeries until the end, so she turned around and started walking back towards the dormitory, cheeks still red and wishing there wasn't that emotional distance between herself and her partner. It wasn't fair for Yang to throw those suggestive remarks at her as if they were all just simple puns, not when Blake wanted it to be more than that. And especially not when it provoked her instincts and she had to behave.
And yet, this was exactly what she had been willing to sacrifice for Yang.
Quickly, it sounded as if the prankster realized her error because her chuckling stopped and she caught up with the bookworm, grabbing her arm gently so the two girls could look at each other. "Blake, wait. I'm sorry. I thought it would be funny and I was wrong." Bright lilac gazed pleadingly into sharp golden, and whatever Yang saw there made her sigh. "There's that look in your eyes again. I'm really sorry. Forgive me?"
Blake was crestfallen. She wanted to laugh with Yang. She wanted to receive her flirting and maybe even tease back. The problem did not lie in the joking, itself, and she by no means wanted to change that aspect of her sun's personality or make Yang feel like her sense of humor was hurtful – because it really wasn't, and it never had been. The circumstances merely denied Blake the privilege of responding in the manner she would have enjoyed, therefore removing a large part of the appreciation she could have retrieved from the exchanges.
"Of course I forgive you," she replied, and then slowly shook her head, forcing herself to just let the incident go. She wasn't angry with Yang, after all. She was angry with herself. Blake put her hand overtop of her friend's, where it was still on her arm, and gave an affectionate squeeze while attempting to smile reassuringly. "Let's get going, okay? The others are bound to be leaving shortly, and I don't want you to miss this."
Yang tilted her head to the side, observing Blake's face for a sign of something – what, she didn't know – and finally, a slow smile formed on her lips. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"
It was quite a large chamber, both in surface area and height. This was because it had a second level, one which looked down on the first, and other floating platforms that were at varied strategic locations, supported by nothing. There were corridors, hiding places, horizontal slits in almost every wall to take opponents by surprise, and in the middle was an open territory, which only had low hedges to sit or crouch behind. Some of these were taller and covered over to provide refuge against anyone up above.
The chamber was mostly in darkness, instead offering fluorescent configurations on objects and on the floor to act as guides and orientation markers. Each person had to slip into lightweight pieces of armor over their torsos and intricately fabricated helmets over their heads. The suits were equipped with sensors that detected when a shot hit, and if it was the case, the player's chosen gun would not function for about five seconds. The reason for the term 'chosen' being put to use here was because there were various kinds of weapons to pick from, depending on each person's comfort preference or simple style.
It was specifically designed for huntsmen and huntresses, after all, and there was a higher level of professionalism and skill expected.
Team RWBY and Team JNPR decided to separate into squads of two, each player resolving to coordinate with their respective partners for maximum efficiency. It was with a fair amount of enthusiasm that the group geared up and stationed themselves with their single allies at different ends of the large chamber. They then had thirty seconds to mentally prepare and briefly discuss possible strategies. There was loud music playing, the bass resonating through the floor, which contributed to the excitement of the game.
Five seconds before the start, their guns activated. If it was even possible, the hype increased.
Three...two...one...
Begin.
The more vocal players bellowed challenges and ebullient exclamations that echoed through the halls, allowing everyone to know that they were on the move and unafraid. It was very soon found out that despite the lack of bullets, the guns still made sounds similar to their authentic kin when fired, adding to the realism. Also, because it was nevertheless fairly somber, each armament was equipped with lasers that immediately put a red target dot on whatever it was pointing at. One could see exactly where they were about to receive a shot if they didn't react swiftly enough.
There was a lot of action happening, a lot to be watchful for. Each team of two was fearless, some more daunting than others and heading straight into the heat of fire and trusting their acrobatic skills to avoid losing points. Others were more crafty, preferring stealth over the direct approach, and struck their opponents unexpectedly. A few – although not the majority – were inexperienced in using guns at all and needed time to adjust and gain their own techniques. Although the game was entirely on friendly terms, there was still a high level of competitiveness over which duo would win. Physical battle encounters were not uncommon, a way to both practice and render the laser tag venture more entertaining.
Blake tried extremely hard.
No, really, she did. Armed with a black handgun lookalike, she used the darkness to her advantage and was nearly invisible until it was too late. She endeavored solely on headshots (these were worth more points), sometimes altogether knocking her opponents down with a well-placed kick to get a clear aim if they were close enough for her to attack. Her area of expertise was in accuracy and agility, after all, and in every other circumstance she would have usually been a deadly ally. She was silent, calculating, and had an amazing ability to focus. This was without mentioning she was also incredibly smart and skilled, habituated to using a kind of pistol on a regular basis, as Gambol Shroud quadrupled as one – other than being a katana, a kind of grappling gun, and a cleaver. There was a reason why she was often referred to as a ninja, and she had an advantage the others didn't to top it all off: night vision. If anything, all things considered, Blake was probably the most efficient, talented and dangerous player on the custom-built war-zone terrain.
But she wasn't. Not in this case.
Why, one may ask? She was a cat Faunus. And there were lots of lasers. Everywhere. Constantly. Tantalizing. They made it impossible for Blake to properly concentrate on the task at hand, so occupied as she was on not chasing every single one that darted across her field of vision. Her sharp golden gaze was forever distracted by red dots flitting by in every direction, and in the frenzy her mind was slowly but surely entering, moments of inattention became increasingly numerous and prolonged. Inevitably, as the game carried on, she became a far too easy target and barely managed any points of her own.
But she really did try extremely hard.
However, when one was partnered with someone named Yang Xiao Long, just trying in this situation was next to hopeless. Blake did not want to give the prankster a reason to mess with her again, and the effort she put into staying still was incredibly taxing on her performance. If Yang hadn't noticed until now, it was a Dust-infused miracle.
But if she did, she made no attempt at teasing her partner. It goes without saying that despite this, the blonde did seem to often repress laughter. Because the two had such different fighting approaches, any strategic plans they had concocted were rather vague and they mostly stuck to following each other, one staying behind and hidden, the other in full sight and constantly moving. Blake therefore wasn't always aware of Yang's expression, but she did catch her staring and smiling knowingly a few times when the Faunus would manage to snap out of her hypnotized trance. Sharp golden would immediately glare at bright lilac as a warning, and Yang would innocently pretend she hadn't seen a thing and keep playing.
When round one was over and the group returned to the entrance to view their score, panting and laughing and sharing satisfied comments, Blake saw that she was placed right there at the bottom of the list, just under Nora but above Weiss and Jaune. It seemed both sword wielders had difficulty using a gun. In the teams list, because of her, Blake and Yang ranked poorly, only beating Pyrrha and Jaune, who were last. Either Jaune had been so bad he had taken his partner down with him, or Pyrrha had been slightly out of her element. She did have a tendency to use Milo in its spear form more than its rifle one, after all.
"Wow, Blake and Yang. Especially Blake. This is shocking," Weiss commented, clearly intent on removing the attention from her own very low point score.
Ruby giggled at her partner, though. "Pft, Weiss. I thought you were better with a gun than that."
This caused Weiss to immediately turn away, red in the face. "Well, in a controlled environment, yes..."
With a smirk, Yang pivoted and looked at her partner. The raven-haired girl crossed her arms and, much like Weiss had, gazed elsewhere, not needing to look to see the huge troublemaker grin that undoubtedly crossed Yang's lips. Somehow, Blake guessed, the prankster had been dying to tease the quieter girl and had barely managed to refrain from doing so during the first round. The only thing that had assuredly prevented Yang from being obnoxious was possessing just the necessary amount of competitive spirit, and probably hadn't wanted to purposely make the two of them lose more points. But now round two was going to start.
And it was a free for all. Yang would have no mercy, competition or no.
Blake was unsure how she would get through this next stretch. As she made her way to the beginning checkpoint without a sound, she realized she was frowning. There would be no escaping this time. She was going to do terribly, and she was going to be pursued by none other than her own oh-so-trustworthy teammate to be the butt of a cat joke.
No, she couldn't think like that. Shaking her head, Blake resolved to do her utmost to not be an easy target and to even beat Yang in points. She would not become some gibe for her girlfriend to make fun of. She wasn't an animal, not entirely anyway. She could control herself. Lasers were just stupid lights that acted as guides. They couldn't be caught. It was senseless to even try. They weren't even alive. She would not chase them, end of story.
Round two, begin.
Night vision allowed the cat Faunus to see as clear as day in the darkness, but it was usually at the expense of colors. Everything took on different shades of grey. However, the fluorescent marker guides – especially the very bright ones – allowed for some color to enter and be processed. The lasers probably would have been tolerable had they been of just some other grey tone, but there was exactly enough visible red to make them distracting.
Blake refused to become transfixed. She dashed forward, pointing her handgun lookalike at the ground, keeping close to the walls and quickly ducking when she went by the long, horizontal, neck-level openings. There was already gunfire echoing through the chamber, keenly felt as much as the loud music pulsing through the floor. The shots were more numerous than they had been in round one. There was one more target per person, after all.
Hearing the sound of running footsteps approaching (her ears hardly ever failed her, despite all the noise), Blake swiftly made her way to the side of an archway and pressed her back against the wall, keeping absolutely still. The person's breathing became audible, and at the last moment Blake stuck her foot out, effectively tripping her opponent and sending them flying a good five feet forward as they were taken by their own momentum before face-planting on the ground. Without missing a beat, Blake jumped and pressed her foot on the person's back to stop them from standing and got a clean headshot out of the encounter. She recognized her opponent as none other than Jaune. That had been almost unfair.
"Ah, c'monnn," Jaune groaned, but the silent ninja wasn't planning on lingering any longer. She was standing in front of one of the windows, and there was a red dot near her shoulder. She hopped backwards, leaving behind a shadow clone of herself that quickly dematerialized but gave her the necessary time to escape and allow the decoy to be shot at instead. Before Jaune could even turn around, Blake was already long gone.
She could do this. She was going to beat Yang and prove to her that she wasn't one to be messed around with. She just had to keep moving and stay focused.
...If, of course, that little red dot would quit trying to track her on the wall to her right. Blake frowned at it, attempting to hide by crouching and making whoever was aiming think she had moved along. But it remained right there, occasionally darting from side to side or even up and down. Blake's frown became a glare. Her gaze followed it intently in disdain, wishing it would just leave her alone. It was going to die one day. Pure evil should not...
God! Nora was standing at the entrance of the small sector Blake was in, pointing her massive grenade launcher lookalike straight at her. Caught so off-guard, the raven-haired girl literally hissed and propelled herself directly into the air, leaving another decoy behind to mistake Nora's aim. She then used the wall behind her to fling herself at the hyper member of Team JNPR and knock her down with a midair roundabout kick. Nora crashed into the wall but recovered rather quickly and tried to retaliate with a swivel and punch – her weapon too cumbersome to try to fire again in this rapid exchange – but Blake tacked sideways and took a shot at the girl's head just as she passed by.
"I will have my vengeance!" Nora exclaimed in good humor after hearing the pistol fire and noticing her grenade launcher had deactivated.
Blake barely smiled and then was running again, intent on not letting that blasted red dot catch up with her. It had definitely remained the whole time in that room she had just left. Surely it wouldn't be able to follow her everywhere she went?
She needed to get out of these corridors. It was too constricted for her fighting style and it was too easy to be taken by surprise. The middle of the chamber was her least ideal area, but the second level had been the most efficient spot for her, she had found. Lots of space to move, but also not completely in the open yet still offering many hiding places. It also had a very advantageous view to shoot at targets below.
The drawback was that to get there, she would have to be in plain sight and also be subjected to seeing a lot of lasers. But she really needed all the help she could get to beat Yang, and this was her only chance.
She veered the next corner, startled to have come face to face with Weiss. The two practically collided, but Weiss had the instinct to jump back, landing on her hands and then springing up into the air again to land on her feet, immediately taking aim with her pistol. The only problem with her tactic was that it had given Blake the opportunity to aim, and Weiss was the one that ended up being hit. Nonetheless, it had been a close call.
Blake didn't take the time to acknowledge the heiress nor her scowl afterwards, because right outside there, past her and from where she had come from, were the platforms that would lead to the second level. She instantly rushed towards them and vaulted up on the first, now out in the open for all to try and shoot at. The lasers came from many directions and the temptation to just stand there and admire them was overwhelming, but Blake was determined. Heart pounding, she continued her acrobatics to avoid fire, knowing that the darkness would make her a much more difficult target, and finally managed to pounce onto the second level. Immediately rolling to the next safest cover and just sitting there, breathing hard, Blake collected herself.
Unfortunately, she wasn't given much time.
Her eyes widened. Right there in front of her. That red dot. She could swear it was mocking her. Moving in little circles like that...it was even blatantly laughing. It dared her to catch it and prove that it could suffer for its existence. Slowly, it wandered near her foot, teasing. She stared at it with such intensity it became the only thing she could see. Red. Evil.
And then just like that, it flitted off. Blake's reaction was instantaneous. Never minding to compose herself, she sprinted after it, wary enough to stay low and make an attempt at remaining hidden as best she could while she ran. But she was entirely focused on the stupid red light that wouldn't stay still for just five seconds. It always played dirty. It heeded no rules and cared about nothing but itself. It had to perish.
Yet at the same time it was just so mesmerizing. She couldn't look away.
It had stopped. Right there on the low wall to crouch behind. Blake halted as well and ducked low, placing one hand on the cool floor and leaning forward a bit, observing the offending red enemy with far too much interest, just like a predator would its prey. Distractedly, she was aware that a rifle shot had sounded not too far off and that she had been hit, but all of that no longer mattered. None of it did. It was just her and that irritating, tiny –
It was on the move again! That traitorous crimson glow. Blake chased after it furiously, easily leaping over the low wall and following it closer to the left edge of the chamber, utterly transfixed by the idiotic thing. Some loud rifle fired across the room, and somewhere at the back of the Faunus' mind she knew Ruby had scored herself a headshot. But that too was unimportant; there was a crisis happening, and Blake would put an end to it before it harmed anyone else.
The red dot came to a stop again, and Blake all but tripped over herself trying to halt suddenly – definitely not one of her more graceful moments. She stared at it, leaning forward and getting ready to pounce. But then something made her look up. It was another red dot, but it seemed to be floating. No, it was...it was...the source. Of course! It all made sense now. The tricky fiend was just the byproduct of something far more nefarious. If she eliminated its origins, it would never come back! She could hear it laughing. It thought it was all so mighty and powerful. It could never have been more wrong.
Her pupils dilated even further, and Blake the cat Faunus jumped into the air, effortlessly clearing the ten or so feet that separated her from her target, claws out, and tackled her opponent.
To say the least, it was much sturdier than she expected. The impact practically knocked the breath out of her, but she held firm as they tumbled to the floor, and her teeth clamped down on something as she sought to claim dominance over her prey. It let out a satisfyingly shocked yelp. She would destroy the thing. She would demonstrate exactly what the consequences were of threatening everything she cared about. She would...
"...ake! Hey, Blake! Blakeyyyy!"
Blake blinked a few times, and suddenly seemed to see the world clearly again. Laser tag. Trying her very best to beat Yang. Proving she wasn't an animal. Gunshots and loud music. Darkness. Also, warmth beneath her and the smell of vanilla and gunpowder. Confused, she first glanced ahead, seeing someone's collarbone, and then gazed up a little and was met by Yang's beautiful face, who appeared to be both absolutely befuddled and on the verge of cracking up.
"Hi!" Lilac eyes glittered mockingly in the somber lighting. "So, kitty, why are you biting my hand?" Her voice was dripping with honey sweetness.
And that's when the Faunus realized...everything.
PLEASE, READ THE NEXT CHAPTER AND FORGET THIS ONE EXISTS. THANKS.
Blargh. The reason I hate this chapter is because Yang acts like a total jerk. Like, her behavior is borderline racist - but I'm mad at myself for this slight because I'm the one who thought this would be funny when I wrote it. So, I'm stupid, and I apologize. Honestly, I considered scrapping and rewriting it entirely - but then I figured I should leave it as is in case some of you don't want to see Forlorn changed so drastically. If you share my annoyance with this chapter, please don't give up on the story just yet - I promise that everything after this gets better, and Yang acting like a jerk is addressed in the next chapter.
See you there!