Chapter 5
Author's Note: I'm happy to say that I've finished all of my finals and passed them all. So, my summer has officially begun and, other than personal life, work, and video games, I'll just be writing these chapters. I'm glad you all are sticking with this story and thank you so much for reading. Please leave me a review and any suggestions on how to improve story in any way. And please enjoy the story…
"I'm telling you…let me practice swinging on your ribbon and we can kick some serious ass." Yang was explaining to her partner. "Just think about it! I grab onto your ribbon while firing Ember Celica, to build up speed, and you swing me around towards a target. We'd be like a flaming wrecking ball!" Yang nearly shouted.
"Wouldn't this take far too much time to build up enough speed to do any sort of serious damage?" Blake asked while tying the ribbon around her forearm.
"Have you seen me punch? The speed doesn't do most of the damage…these babies do!" Yang said as she held up her fists.
"So the 'flaming wrecking ball' is just for show then?" Blake mocked.
"Nah! It's for better reach and to throw the bad guys off. They won't even see it coming." Yang said as she crossed her arms and nodded her head.
"I think, for the time being, we should focus on the Hunt…It is the day after tomorrow, after all. Perhaps more systematic and coordinated fighting would be better for now." Blake explained as the airship landed at the air docks. Yang and Blake stood up and began walking toward the door. As Yang continued to explain other fighting 'techniques,' Blake heard her leader speaking from behind her.
"Hellooo~ Remnant to Weiss, come in Weiss. You okay?" Ruby asked her partner.
Blake glanced behind her slightly just in time to see Weiss stand up and walk past her partner with clear annoyance. "I wonder what happened between those two." Blake thought.
"…can't tell me that some of those don't sound cool." Yang finished.
Thanks to her heightened perception, Blake, more or less, heard the gist of what Yang was talking about even while thinking about her other two teammates. "I think you need to stop watching so many movies." Blake said with slight chuckle.
"It's not like anything I said wasn't possible. Besides, we humored Ruby's stupid bow and arrow idea, in the Emerald Forest, and launched her towards a Nevermore! And it worked!" Yang said in a tone which would be much better suited for a debate rather than a friendly conversation.
"Hmm. We can practice some of your ideas when we get some free time AFTER the Hunt. Agreed?" Blake asked in the hopes of sedating her partners growing eagerness.
"Hell yeah!" Yang said as they walked closer to the first intersection after coming from the docks. Yang looked back at her sister and the Ice Queen to see a rather one-sided conversation being had. "Heya! Sis! Me and Blakey are gonna to head to that book store and then hit the gym across the street! You two stay outa' trouble, kay?" Yang yelled from a reasonable distance in front of them.
"No problem." Ruby said.
Yang and Blake crossed the street and took a right at the next intersection. "What book are you wanting to get?" Yang asked trying to spark another conversation.
"Do you actually care?" Blake asked very accusingly.
"Yeah…well…like, what kind of books are you into? I saw that 'Ninjas of Love' book…you like romance?" Yang asked trying to sound interested. Blake was right though, Yang despised books and found reading to be time-wasting exercise.
Blake immediately blushed and looked to her right to look as though she was admiring the view. That worked pretty well since they were crossing a bridge and the water looked beautiful. "Y-yeah. Romance, Adventure, Mystery. To be honest, I'll read anything so long as it catches my interest…which, admittedly, isn't that difficult to do." Blake explained to her partner.
"Any genre or plot idea that you like, in particular?" Yang asked.
"There isn't any specific genre, but I do love books in which there is an underdog who, through trial and tribulation, comes out on top. I like the idea of fighting for what you deserve and managing to obtain it." Blake stated. She knew in her own mind that she was talking about herself and her fight for Faunus rights.
"Oh, that's cool." In actuality, Yang wasn't that interested in what her partner was saying, but the amount of energy Blake was putting into her words impressed Yang. Blake usually spoke in a very non-caring tone and it was a breath of fresh air to see her speaking in such an excited tone. Besides, Yang still humors Ruby occasionally when the short girl goes on about weapons, even though Yang isn't that thrilled with them. "Do you have a favorite book?" Yang asked, deciding to continue the conversation.
Even though Blake loved 'Ninjas of Love' quite a bit, nothing has ever compared to the Shadow Children series. Not to mention, that if she said that 'Ninjas of Love' was her favorite, her teammates might ask to read it after her. Blake spoke accordingly, "I do not have a favorite book, but there is a series of books, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, known as the Shadow Children series."
As Blake began explaining the book, something which would normally piss Yang off, the brawler found herself enthralled. The book wasn't what was of much interest, but Blake's attitude was. The shadow warrior was smiling as she spoke and Yang couldn't help but gawk as her partner put every ounce of her energy into her explanation.
When the girls finally reached the bookstore, Blake decided to quickly finish up her detailed summary. She turned to see Yang staring at her, seemingly deep in thought. "Yang?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah? Oh look, we're here." Yang said as she pointed toward the store.
"Indeed. That's why I got your attention. Are you alright?" Blake asked, back to her normal demeanor.
"Yeah, I was just impressed at how much you love books. People only talk like that when something is important to 'em." Yang stated matter-of-factly.
"I suppose you're right. Anyway, I'm going to go in and look around…if you want to go ahead and go to the gym, that's fine. I'll be with you as soon as I'm finished." Blake said, already heading into the door to the store.
"Sounds good. Give Wolfy this and tell him that you're my friend...he might give you a discount." Yang said as she gave Blake a shotgun shell, specific to Ember Celica, and waved while crossing the street.
Yang saw Blake wave back and enter the store. Before Yang could turn around and enter the gym, a small shadow moving down the street caught her attention. She quickly darted her head upward and thought that she saw a girl with a white skirt in the air, but it disappeared behind a building before she could get a better look at it. She simply shrugged her shoulders and went inside the gym.
Blake was impressed at the sheer number of books residing within the store. She looked around, but saw no one at the counter. "Hello?" Blake asked aloud. She didn't hear anything and wondered if the owner might be at lunch. She pulled her scroll out and looked the time, seeing it was 10:32. "I doubt he would be at lunch this early." She thought.
She clicked the lock button on her scroll, the screen went black, and she immediately saw a reflection in the screen of a man behind her. She quickly turned around only to be grabbed by the man's hand around her neck. He was very tall and muscular, so he had, seemingly, no problem picking her up.
"You shouldn't have come here. I left without a fight, and had no intention of snitching. I won't let you take this life away from me you damned sheep." The man half yelled and half whispered.
Blake made the logical connection that this man was Tukson and a quick glance to the top of his head, toward his wolf ears, proved that. "You're…mistaken…" Blake barely managed to get out. Tukson was certainly serious, since his hand was squeezing very tightly. His grunt meant that he had no intention of letting her speak with his grip, but Blake's aura managed to repel his hand enough to give her room to talk.
"Ha, yeah. I saw you working with Adam. You're White Fang, I know it." Tukson growled, and placed his hand on his gun on his waist. It was a normal firearm, so it didn't manage to intimidate Blake at all since she knew her aura would deflect it. This, however, only managed to piss off Tukson more.
"…I…was…" Blake muttered out. She didn't want to fight Tukson due to a misunderstanding. Not that he was weak; given the small space of the store and the battle experience he has, she wasn't sure she could even win on her own. "…but…not…any…more…" She grunted.
Tukson was clearly getting angry, "You expect me to believe–"
"…Yang…Xiao…Long…" Blake stated as loud as she could.
"How d'you know that name?" Tukson asked.
"…we're…partners…" Blake said as she held up her scroll with the official information of Team RWBY, proving her relationship with Yang.
Even angrier, Tukson yelled, "You think some words and a picture is enough? Listen here, girl, I'm–"
Blake held up the shotgun shell, made for Ember Celica, which quickly caught Tukson's attention. Yang makes all of her own ammunition custom, so for her to be able to get one would mean that she had to have beaten Yang and taken it…which is less believable than his current situation. He hesitantly placed Blake onto the ground and loosened his hand. "How about you prove to me you're not part of the White Fang anymore." Tukson said.
"How…so?" Blake managed to say after catching her breath.
"Give me your scroll." Tukson said quickly.
Blake simply handed her scroll over, since it was not a particularly demanding request. Tukson plugged the scroll into his own with what looked like a homemade wire. After a few beeps his face immediately softened. He unplugged Blake's scroll and handed it back.
"I am sorry for the confusion." Tukson said as he bowed his head.
"It's quite alright, I can understand your suspicion. If you don't mind my asking, what did you do to my scroll?" Blake asked as she followed Tukson, who had begun walking back to the counter.
"Adam made it a point to begin using Technological warfare, and so he embedded hacking software into many of his field agent's scrolls. Yours', however, was clean." He explained as he sat back down behind the cash register and offered Blake a seat next to his.
"I see. Do you check every Faunus' scroll when they come in?" Blake asked sarcastically.
Tukson sat there staring at her for a few seconds, deep in thought. It seemed as though he was studying her. "Do you have the time?" He finally asked.
Blake was dumbfounded. She expected some sort of life-altering question to emerge from his mouth, given how much thought he was putting into it. "It's about…10:30…" she said remembering from when she checked her scroll, earlier.
Tukson sighed with very clear disappointment and began to readjust himself in his chair.
"Is everything alright?" Blake asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry. But anyway, I believe that I owe you for what I just put you through. You're here, so you must like books, right?" Tukson asked with the first smile Blake had seen the whole time.
Blake was officially confused by the man that was sitting in front of her. She didn't know if there was a reason that he was unable to keep a consistent conversation, but she concluded that he just wanted her to leave as soon as possible and forget everything that previously happened. "Yes, I do." She answered.
"Well, I'll offer you ten free books of your choosing. Sound good?" Tukson asked.
"I certainly won't argue with you. I'll begin looking around after I ask you a question." Blake stated.
"Yes ma'am?" Tukson asked with annoyance in his face, clearly he doesn't want to talk about anything White Fang related.
"What was your reason for leaving the White Fang? Specifically?" Blake asked while glaring daggers at him.
"I despised the hierarchical rule that was imposed after Adam came to power. And besides, what good is a movement if you don't have sympathizers on both sides? That is something Adam sorely lacks. Even if his methods prove fruitful, there will be even more humans that hate us." Tukson explained. "And you?" He asked immediately after.
"He believes in Faunus supremacy. All the cargo we stole and officials we killed; it was all to weaken the Humans and strengthen us. He intends on waging a war…no, a holocaust. And I don't want superiority, I want equality." Blake said without missing a beat.
It looked as though Tukson was genuinely impressed by Blake's answer. "I'll tell you what, after you finish the Hunt, come back here and visit me. We'll talk. I'll explain…everything." He said in a very serious yet soft tone.
"Everything? What do you mean?" Blake asked but Tukson did not answer, or even acknowledge her inquiry. She glared at him for about five seconds and saw no sign of wavering and said, "Very well."
"Excellent! Now, if you need any help just give me a call, if not…I'll be here when you have all the books you want." Tukson said before pulling out a book and began reading.
Blake pushed what she heard to the back of her mind, for the time being, got up, and began walking around the store looking for any books that looked interesting. She wanted to make sure she took full advantage of this deal.
After having gathered a total of fourteen books, she walked back up to the counter to see Tukson still sitting in the same position reading his book. "Excuse me?" She whispered.
Tukson looked up and placed a bookmark in order to save his place in the book. "Yes ma'am, are you ready?" he asked. Blake nodded and began laying the books out for him. He began to scan each book and waited for them to appear on the screen in front of him. "Don't worry, like I said, ten of them will be free…I just want to scan all of them for inventory's sake." He said without looking up from his screen.
"I understand." Blake stated since she just wanted to leave the store. It would be an understatement to say that she thought he was strange. This did not go unnoticed by Tukson, however.
"Listen, I'm sorry for the way I've 'greeted' you today. Not to mention, I've been acting a little strange also. The violence, I'm sure you understand…Adam doesn't like loose ends." Tukson said while completing the order. He looked up and continued, "Everything else, well…if you come back after the Hunt, I might be able to explain."
"Why do you want me coming back AFTER the Hunt? And what do you mean everything? What are you hiding?" She asked while getting slightly angry at the lack of answers.
"I want to make sure you're ready for what I have to say. By everything, I mean EVERYTHING. And I am hiding a-fucking-lot." Tukson said with a very condescending grin. He pressed a button and the price went from 243 lien to 54 lien. "Alright, your total comes out to 54 lien, is there anything else that I can help you with?" He asked.
"A-fucking-lot." She said mockingly as she slid her debit card and paid for her books.
Tukson bagged all of her books into two plastic bags and handed them to her. "I hope to see you again, soon." He said with a smirk.
Blake walked out of the store and crossed the street, heading for the gym; she wanted that store to be a memory as soon as possible. As she entered, she was met with a very tall woman, probably about 6'8" in height. "Hello, are you here for a class or to train?" she asked.
"I was probably going to train with a friend of mine." Blake said as she looked around for her friend, whom she found in the ring with an extremely muscular man.
"Oh, you must be Yang's friend…Blake, right?" She said noticing Blake looking at the ring. "She said you'd be coming in. My name's Lizzy, by the way." She said while holding her hand out.
Blake placed her bags onto the floor and extended her hand to Lizzy's. "It's nice to meet you. And yes, my name is Blake. I am Yang's partner." She said after shaking hands.
"Yang told me about the fight you two had yesterday. It's not too often that someone is able to give Yang a run for her money. Especially when she's raging." Lizzy says while both girls watch Yang make short work of the previously unnamed muscular man. "Poor Herald…" Lizzy whispers with a chuckle.
"How is it that Yang is so familiar with this part of Vale? Yang said she went to Signal, so I assume that she lives on Patch. That's quite a distance away." Blake asked as Yang notices her and waves at her.
"Yang and Ruby's uncle has been bringing them here to train, during summer, for the past four years…well, Ruby has been training for three. The first year, she didn't meet the age requirement, so she watched her big sis fight." Lizzy said after she saw Blake wave back to Yang and turn her attention to her.
"So who taught them to fight?" Blake asked. Yang was sitting in the corner of the ring, waiting for another match. She only had three articles of clothing visible; she was wearing a golden sports bra, which has to be industrial grade since her well-endowed bosom was barely moving during her previous fight. Her hands had been taped with athletic tape and she was currently adding more tape to cover spots that had been removed in the previous fight. Adorning her legs were black athletic shorts coming all the way down to her knees.
"Their uncle taught Ruby how to fight, but, since Yang is a much more up-close-and-personal fighter, he left her physical training to me while he dealt with the aura stuff. That's why I was surprised that you held your own. She's not the best, that's why she's training at Beacon, but she has never lost to someone her own age." Lizzy explained as looked Blake up and down.
"I've had quite a bit of training, myself." Blake stated.
"Indeed. After Yang is finished, with this last fight, I want to see you two spar. I need to see for myself the Blake she has been gloating about." Lizzy said.
"She's been gloating?" Blake asked as she face-palmed.
"Oh yeah. She loves people who can fight. And she's taken a particular interest in you…and I want to see what all the fuss is." Lizzy said while crossing her arms. Yang just stood up and was moving toward the middle of the ring, putting her mouth piece in. Once she got to the middle, she was staring up toward a tall man who was rather skinny, given his height. They pounded their knuckles together and readied themselves for a fight.
The bell rang and Yang was the first to throw a punch, which was blocked by the other man, who then threw a kick towards Yang's side. Yang grabbed his leg and pulled back, knocking the man on his back. She let go of his leg and fell onto him with her elbow, which dug into his stomach. The bell rang again, then the man quickly left the arena.
"Although, what I really want is for you to keep helping her get stronger. She's at the point where everyone here she can beat in the matter of seconds…or minutes if she's having a bad day." Lizzy said as Yang took out her mouth piece and raised her fists in victory.
"What, specifically, did she say about me?" Blake asked as she looked back at Lizzy.
"I think her exact words were 'She basically killed me. If it were a real fight, she would have gotten away with a broken leg and I'd have bled to death.' or something along those lines. Take the way she acts with a grain of salt. She knows she's not perfect, and she admires how you can be so pretty, strong, AND smart." Lizzy said.
Blake glanced over toward her teammate, who was stepping out of the ring and running towards her. "Well, a spar won't tell you much. I needed my semblance to fight her the first time. She's still strong without hers." Blake said before teammate made it to her.
"Heya! What'd ya think?" Yang asked as she stopped right in front of the two.
"Was there ever a chance of anyone winning?" Lizzy asked. "Of course you kicked ass." She said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but I want your opinion of my fighting stance and speed." Yang said.
"Both have improved, but you need to stay focused. I don't know what caught your eye, but Jordan shouldn't have been able to block your first punch." Lizzy said in a mocking scold.
"I was just having a bit of fun." Yang explained.
"Well, I have a class to teach in about twenty minutes, so I have to get everything ready. You two don't destroy anything…and by 'you two' I mean YOU." Lizzy said as she glared daggers at Yang.
"No promises." Yang said with a huge grin before Lizzy began walking away.
"Holy shit, how much did all that cost?" Yang said, looking at the bags of books at Blake's feet.
"54 lien." Blake said picking up the bags.
"Wow. I didn't expect him to give you that big of a discount." Yang said. "C'mon, you can put those in my locker." She stated as she began leading Blake toward the back.
"What kind of training did you want to do?" Blake asked as she entered through a door that Yang was holding open.
"Locker's last one on the right. Combination is 19-25-07. And I was thinking of some aura endurance training…aura is something you can never have too much of." Yang said while standing in the doorway. "Oh, and you can use some of my workout clothes in there…they're clean." Yang offered.
"I doubt I could fit into one of your sports bras, but I have my own. I will borrow your shorts, however." Blake said very flatly as she began stripping down to her underwear. It was then that Yang noticed Blake was already wearing her sports bra.
"Do you always were a sports bra?" Yang asked.
"Yes, it provides quite a bit support." Blake answered as she placed her clothes and heels inside of Yang's locker and puts on her other pair of black athletic shorts. "Anyway, I'm ready if you are." Blake said after making sure her books were securely within the locker, before closing it.
"Yep. We're going to go to the bottom floor. They have an old-school simulator down there." Yang said.
"Old school?" Blake asked as she relocked the locker.
"Yeah…it's like Beacon's, but the simulation can't hurt you. They're just a bunch of holograms." Yang explained.
"That's good. I want to make sure we're fully healed for the Hunt. Speaking of which, do you think we should ask Ruby and Weiss to join us. This might provide an excellent teamwork exercise also." Blake said.
"Yeah! That's a great idea! I'll text Ruby right now." Yang said right as she pulled out her scroll. "Alright, they should be here in like ten–" Yang said as she was looking up only to see Blake adjusting her breasts to better accommodate the rapid movement she will soon be enduring. "…minutes." Yang finished.
"Everything alright?" Blake asked.
"Yeah. Just got a little light-headed." Yang lied. "But I'm fine, so don't worry." She said. Yang had gotten very excited when she saw Blake enter the gym. She did her best to make sure that she looked 'cool' while fighting. Yang didn't need to deny anything, she admired Blake a lot. "She's hot, smart, and she kicks ass. What's not to like?" Yang thought.
It was never a secret that Yang swung both ways, though she hadn't known Blake long enough for her to know that. Yang loved being the flirtatious tease that she was, and watching both men and women squirm when she was with them was a guilty pleasure of hers. Since Blake didn't know however, Yang settled for being…well…Yang when she was around her. If she can solicit any sort of sexual reaction from Blake, then Yang would try to get more intimate; If not, then she would move on to her next target. "If she's not into that, then I'll move on." Yang thought, completely ignoring the immense pain she felt when she thought of 'moving on.'