Some People Really Do Care
*(A/N): Yo and welcome back! Yeah I know and I admit it, I really fucked this chapter up. I tried to make Yang her usual self but I made her really emotional as well, it's a really weird read but there are key points and it helps show the relationships Okami has with RWBY. Please bear with it for now, I hope you enjoy!*
~ Okami ~
"This is getting ridiculous; here I am at a school that trains people how to fight and kill monsters, and I don't even have a fucking weapon!" Okami thought while she sat in the courtyard and watched other students walk by. "Ruby has a huge ass scythe, Weiss has a magical sword, Yang has shotgun gauntlets, I have no fucking idea what Blake has but it's awesome. All I had were some cheap rings I bought from a jewelry store and I don't even have those anymore."
A month had passed since Okami and Weiss had their little grudge match. Okami had tried to block one of Weiss' attacks and hoped for the best, but all she ended up with was a sword in her shoulder and broken claw rings. She only ever used those rings when she was being attacked by Grimm and only used fists on people, but the heiress had her sword and she wanted to use them in case things went too far. All the claws on her right hand broke off when Weiss blocked her punch with her sword and that same sword cut right through the left ones when she blocked, she was completely weaponless.
For the past month Okami had been working nonstop to buy a new weapon. She finally had enough to buy some new rings to replace the old ones, but she decided to wait to buy stronger ones instead. However, Ruby's birthday was last week and she ended up using the money to buy her a gift.
Okami reached into her pocket to pull out all the money she had left and saw she only had 60 lien; barely enough for this month's groceries and dog food. "Maybe if I ask Jacob to give me some extra shifts I can make around 200 in the next two months."
"Hey there puppy dog, what's up?" Yang asked getting into Okami's face.
Okami was so deep in thought she jumped back at the sudden claustrophobia she felt when her eyes focused on the blonde boxer. "Geez Yang! If I hadn't looked up and saw it was you I would have punched you square in the face!... AND DON'T CALL ME 'PUPPY DOG'!"
Yang laughed and stuck out her tongue. "Awww come on! Have some fun and take a chill pill! I'm done with lesions for today, wanna hang out in town?" She asked with a beaming smile.
It wasn't that Okami had anything against Yang; in fact, Okami thought Yang was pretty cool. The problem is that the two are so different; Yang was laidback and always cracking jokes while Okami was a bit more on the serious side, especially since she didn't really know that many people. She didn't want to turn down Yang's offer, but she didn't know if she would be able to stand the blonde for long.
"If you're that bored then why don't you ask Ruby or Weiss?" Okami asked.
"Ruby is falling behind on her studies so Weiss is tutoring her. I was in the library with them just now, but for some reason they kicked me out." Yang said as she scratched her head and gave a nervous laugh.
"Gee, I wonder why…"
"Then what about your girlfriend?" Okami asked remembering that she and Blake were actually dating.
"Oh, Blake is back at the dorm in bed. She came down with a bad cold."
"And you're just going to leave her alone?!"
"She said she needed rest and asked me to leave her in peace." Yang said in a sad voice as she slumped her head down.
Okami realized the situation she was in; Yang was trying to hint that she was the only person left. What could she do? She couldn't just tell Yang no, so she tried to make an excuse. "I'm sorry Yang, but I have t-"
Okami was interrupted by Yang grabbing the hood of her jacket and started dragging her towards her motorcycle. "Don't even bother."
Okami kept struggling to get free of the brawler's grasp even as Yang tossed her on the back of her bike. Yang let her go to turn on the engine and Okami tried to get off. She almost succeeded but then she wrapped her arms around Yang and hung on to her waist for dear life as they zoomed towards the town.
"WHAT TOURTURE DEVICE IS THIS?!" Okami yelled her voice fading in the sound of the wind.
~ In The Town ~
Yang and Okami were now walking down one of the major streets looking at shops. Okami was getting really nervous, she was really uncomfortable being alone with Yang and it didn't really help that Yang hadn't spoken a word since they got there. Yang was calm and quiet which isn't like her from what Okami could hear through the walls. The silence was maddening so Okami broke it. "So why did you want me to come along with you?"
Yang didn't answer right away and Okami could tell that she was asking herself about it as well. "It's just that ever since you've been here you have gotten close to my teammates. I know some things about you that my team has told me about and I've heard you talk about things while talking to my friends. It got me thinking and I thought, 'you know what, I still haven't gotten a chance to know Okami personally and the same for her.' I guess I just wanted a chance to talk and get to know you."
Yang's response made Okami smile; sure the blonde is mostly curious about her, but she isn't prying and is actually trying to take the time to know her properly. "Ok, so how are we going to do this?"
"How about we make it like a game? We each take turns asking the other a question, but whoever asks a question has to answer that same question as well. If the question feels too personal or painful then you can just say 'skip'." Yang said smiling.
"Sure, that sounds fair enough for me."
"Alright, first question!" Yang exclaimed being her usual enthusiastic self again. "Where have you lived before coming to Beacon?"
"The village I'm from is hidden deep in the Dark Shadows Forest, after…you know what happened, Urufu and I slowly made our way over here staying in woods and only leaving them when necessary. I've been in this area for about a year living in the nearby woods."
"No way! You lived in these woods? My house is also in these woods!" Yang said excitedly.
"I guess it's a small world after all." Okami said with a smile. "Now it's my turn. Do you have a family?"
"Yeah, I've got a mom and a dad and then Ruby's my sister-"
"Wait, RUBY IS YOUR SISTER?!" Okami failed to learn this information.
"Well yeah, she's my little sister."
"I'm sorry, but I honestly can't see the resemblance."
"Ruby is my adoptive sister, we aren't related by blood. We grew up together with our adoptive parents; both of our birth parents were hunters and huntresses on the same team and were killed in battle. The people who raised us were really close friends to them and took us in when no one else did."
"Yang, I'm so sorry…"
"It's not like it's your fault they died; besides, it happened a long time ago." Yang's expression saddened a little but she quickly shook it off. "How about you? I already know about your parents, but do you have any siblings?"
"Well; I consider Urufu as my little sister, and there's have my half-sister, Tsume…"
"I see… Have you ever had your first kiss?" Yang asked curiously.
"No, I've only fallen in love once and she rejected me when I told her how I felt." Okami lowered her head in shame.
"I see, don't worry about it. Honestly, I haven't had mine yet." Yang said patting Okami's head.
"WHAT?!" Okami said turning to Yang in shock. "I would have thought you and Blake would be doing that by now!"
"Blake is shy and really self-conscious, she hasn't even fully opened up to me yet and I'm dating her. She wants to take things slow, we aren't even holding hands in public yet; but I honestly don't mind, she's worth waiting for." Yang said while blushing crazily.
Yang's response was really sweet and heartwarming, Okami was glad Blake is dating such a caring and loving person. "…Yellow Beauty Burns Gold…"
"What was that?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Hey, how old are you?"
"I'm 17; I turn 18 in four months. How old are you?"
"I'm 16; I turn 17 in two weeks."
"What! So soon, and you didn't even tell us?!" Yang asked in an offended tone.
"I've always spent my birthday alone, I never really thought of it as a big deal."
"I get that I guess… What was your dad like?"
Okami stopped walking and didn't respond. The expression on her face became dark and sad. Yang realized what she just asked and immediately felt bad. "I'm so sorry Okami… That's a 'pass', isn't it?"
"No, it's okay, really." Okami said while starting to walk again. "The only time he ever spoke to me was the day he passed away. He would see me passing by on the street and toss me a coin or some food when he did. I was the only orphan in the village; normally when a child's parents pass away the family's closest friends would take them in, no one knew who my parents were so the 'parents' who raised me were wolves. My grandfather was the Alpha in the village who had three sons, my father being the youngest. When he had me he never thought he had a chance to be the next Alpha, but he still chose to abandon me. His oldest brother died of the same illness as him when I was 4. When I was 8 some humans stumbled upon the village and attacked, my father defended all of us by himself by turning into a white wolf with blue eyes. Everyone saw him as a hero and his brother couldn't compete with that so he stepped down leaving my father to be Alpha. Everyone looked up to him; in fact, no one ever thought less of him when he confessed that he was my father, the people only hated me because of my mixed blood…"
"Okami I'm-"
"I prefer that we don't speak anymore on this subject." Okami said not letting Yang finish speaking. They continued walking not saying anything for a while. Okami was the one who broke the silence. "What's your weapon's name?"
The enthusiastic smile finally came back to Yang's face. "Her name is Ember Celica, I built her myself back at Signal."
"You built that yourself?!" Okami asked in surprise.
"Yeah, of course! All the students back at Signal built their own weapons." Yang said proudly. "What's your weapon's name?
"Don't have one."
"A name?"
"A weapon."
Yang's jaw dropped. "Didn't you have something when you fought Weiss?"
"She broke them; they were just rings that I slightly modified. They were meant to kill Grimm not weapons, so they broke during our little grudge match and are completely worthless." Yang looked like she was about to pass out.
Yang's senses finally came back and she started dragging Okami into a store that sold nothing but weapons. "You attend one of the greatest fighting schools in the world and you don't even have a weapon. I'll help you pick one out; I think I already have something in mind that's up your ally." Yang finally turned towards Okami and gave a smile. "How much money can you spend on a weapon?"
"Right now, none!" Okami shouted finally getting out of her grip. "I've been trying to save the money I get from work, but I spent it on Ruby's gift last week. I barely even have enough for food this month for me and Urufu."
"Then I'll cover for ya!"
Okami shot her head in Yang's direction in surprise. "Why? Earlier you even said that you don't know that much about me."
Yang tossed her arm around Okami's neck and gave a huge smile. "But I know you a bit more now. I know enough to know that I like you, our pasts might not connect like you and Weiss or even Blake, but I feel a strong connection between us." Her gaze then softened a little. "We both lost our parents and we both have a little sister, both of us are trying to stay strong even though we can break at any moment."
Okami lowered her gaze and spoke softly. "True, but at least your sister likes you."
Yang's expression changed into a concerned one. "What do you mean? Does your sister hate you or something?"
Okami slowly nodded her head. "In my village everyone was taught that humans were the real monsters, not faunuses. Even though my father started an organization to bring peace between us many faunuses were against him, one of them was his own wife. She raised Tsume so that whenever she saw a human she would kill them with no mercy. When my father finally admitted my family origin he passed on the Kiba name to me forcing my sister and step mother to accept me into the family. After my father died many humans attacked our village and every time I would take damage for her, but she never once called me her sister. One day during an attack, a human got passed the guards and…and killed her mother… She blamed me for what had happened and when the time came that I was forced to leave, she didn't even bother to say good bye or watch me go…"
Yang started to rub Okami's back. "I'm really sorry Okami, I didn't know your family issues were that bad…"
"It's fine," Okami said as she pulled her hood over her head. "we're here now." Okami and Yang stopped in front of a weapon store and Okami turned to Yang. "So, what weapon do you have in mind for me?"
Yang let off a huge mischievous grin. "Oh, you'll find out soon."
~ Yang ~
Yang grabbed Okami's arm and dragged her inside the store and brought her to the very back. "Judging from her fight with Weiss, Okami is more of a one-on-one fighter. She isn't afraid to run right into the heat of the battle, but she is really struggling to get close with those long range attacks. Her aura is also different; instead of being able to prevent injuries she can heal them, but that's only if Urufu is with her… What if she had a weapon like mine? She would be able to still fight in her style but would also be able to get some range when needed and be able to block attacks instead of dodging all the time."
Yang stopped in front of the section of her choice and watched Okami's eyes widen.
"Is that all what I think it is?" Okami asked with her mouth open in awe.
"Yep," Yang said patting Okami on her back. "go ahead and pick one! I'll pay no matter what the cost."
In front of them was a wall filled with gauntlets all different shapes and sizes. Each pair had a different function but only one pair caught Okami's eye.
The gauntlet was silver and a bit old fashioned, it couldn't collapse or fire any rounds like Yang's. Honestly, Yang wouldn't have even given them a chance but she saw why Okami connected with them. They were fairly small and simple so you could still move your wrist when needed, but mostly on the end where Yang's gun barrel on her gauntlets were, there were four 5 inch long claws sticking out.
Yang nudged Okami in encouragement. "Why don't you try them on? They seem like they would suit you perfectly." Okami nodded and tried them on and Yang instantly saw the problems with it.
For starters, it was way too small for her, she had to force them on and they didn't even cover her hands. Second, the claws were all rusty and looked like they would fall off in one hit. Then lastly, they were way too heavy, as soon as she got them on her hands fell to her sides.
"I really like these, but I don't think they like me."
"Well, if you could fix them what would you do to them?" Yang asked as she started forming an idea.
"Well, first I would make them lighter, not too light but enough for me to lift my arms. I get into a lot of fights plus we still have sparring class and it doesn't feel right to use claws on humans, so I guess I would be able to make the claws and gauntlet itself retract so I could use them when needed. I can use my aura in a destructive way but only if I touch my opponent directly, it would be nice if I could fire it from a distance." Okami said as she took off the gauntlets and rubbed her wrists.
"I know exactly what to do."
"Okay, you know what you're looking for now but it's getting late. I need some supplies and we can head home."
Okami looked a little sad but she nodded. "Okay, maybe we can look again after I get my pay check."
"Her birthday is only two weeks away, if I can hurry I could make it in time. It would make an awesome gift."
Yang picked out the supplies she needed to make a new pair of gauntlets and walked over to the register with Okami behind her. The cashier was handing Yang her change when a car alarm went off outside, the alarm caused Okami's ears to twitch and her hood fell off. The man saw Okami's ears and glared at her.
"Get out! Your kind isn't welcome here!" The old man shouted.
"Okami looked at him in surprise and spoke innocently. "Why am I being kicked out? I didn't even do anything wrong!"
The old man grabbed a hammer and threw it at Okami. The hammer hit her on the head; Okami didn't budge at all from the impact but rubbed where it hit her. Yang grabbed the man by the collar and brought him close to her face.
"How dare you hurt my friend like that!" Yang yelled as her eyes turned red.
Okami grabbed her by the arm. "It's okay Yang, some humans really are monsters." Okami then ran out of the store and down the street.
Yang grabbed her supplies and jumped on her bike to follow Okami. Yang found her an hour later walking out of the woods and towards the school.
"Okami!" Yang shouted as she tackled Okami. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"
"Why were you looking for me? Why didn't you just go home?" Okami said with tears running down her face. "Nobody cares about me!"
Yang slapped Okami across her face as tears streamed down her own. "Ruby, Weiss, and Blake care about you! I care about you too you idiot! At first I didn't but then I got to know you, now I see you like a sister! Some people really do care about you; don't let some random jack asses make you think differently!"
Okami stopped crying and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry I made you worry, thank you for caring about me."
Yang got up and offered her hand to Okami. "It's okay, just don't do that again. I'm sorry I slapped you."
"Yeah that hurt, please don't do that again." Okami said while taking Yang's hand.
They both started laughing while they headed back towards the school.
~ Two Weeks Later ~
Yang, Ruby, and Weiss were sitting in Okami's room waiting for her return. Yang had spilled the beans and told the rest off team RWBY that Okami's birthday was coming soon, and the team quickly got to work.
Ruby made a hooded cloak somewhat similar to hers, Blake made a special head band to hide her ears if needed (Yang told them about the store incident), and Weiss made her a set of armor with extra padding that made the others laugh (you'll understand why soon enough). Yang was proud of her gift; it was a pair of gauntlets like Okami wanted, but she slightly modified it to suit Okami's style.
Okami had called Yang earlier saying she would be working late and asked her to watch Urufu, this gave the team the idea to hide in her room to surprise her. Okami normally worked until 6 but now it was around 9 and the team started to worry.
"I'm going to check if she's still stuck at work, it normally only takes her an hour to get back." Blake said with concern lining her voice, then she stood and turned towards Yang. "Do you mind if I take Bumblebee? We will be here forever if I walk there and back."
"Sure thing sweetie," Yang said as she tossed her girlfriend her keys. "just make sure Okami is okay."
Blake smiled and nodded, she was glad that her girlfriend had come to like Okami. For a long time Yang would always complain that Okami was trying to steal Blake from her, but that day Blake came down with a cold Yang came home late and told her about their bonding experience.
Yang wouldn't have admitted it but she was worried about Okami. Every day she slowly learned more about the wolf faunus. One thing she learned was that unlike her, Okami was very persistent with time. She didn't waste time; she would always hurry from place to place even when there was no need to. For Okami to be this late…something must have happened.
Ruby was drawing in her sketch book while she spoke to Weiss who was playing with Urufu. Yang was laying on one of the futons (Okami asked Ozpin to put more futons in since members of RWBY would constantly stay over) and played on her scroll. Half an hour had passed since Blake had left to find Okami when suddenly Urufu started to growl and it caught everyone's attention. Urufu never growled…unless something really bad was about to happen…
Right on cue, Blake busted through the door with a panicked expression on her face. "Okami wasn't at work, in fact, Jacob said that she wasn't scheduled to work today!"
The rest of team RWBY jumped up and was about to run out the door when Ruby's scroll started to ring. She opened it so that everyone could hear and spoke. "Hello?"
"Team RWBY," Professor Ozpin's voice came from the scroll. "I am sorry to call so late at night, but I'm afraid that I need you four on a mission."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mission?"
"A search and rescue." Ozpin continued. "I believe you are all on good terms with the student Okami Kiba, am I correct?"
"Yes sir, we are all friends with Okami." Weiss responded.
"It appears that Okami isn't with her companion Urufu, she needs to be found and Urufu needs to be brought to her at once. Her life and others could be in danger." Ozpin said in a monotone voice.
"Why does Okami need Urufu right now?" Blake asked trying to stay calm.
"As you all know, Okami has a very unique aura. Her aura could be used to heal, reinforce, and destroy. However, her aura amount is much greater than any normal means and causes her to lose control at any random moment, though it does seem connected to her emotions. When she loses control she turns more to her animal nature unless Urufu is there to help her control it, if Urufu can't then she can at least keep Okami from hurting others." Ozpin responded.
"Okay fine, but how is her life in danger?!" Yang shouted worrying about her friend.
Ozpin hesitated for a moment as if he was unsure if he should tell them, in the end he decided to say it. "People would panic and try to kill her if they saw Okami in that state. If they don't kill her, then she could probably kill herself."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked panic now in her face.
"Her body cannot survive without her unique aura. If she exerts all of her aura…she will die…" Ozpin said in a serious tone. "I hope you all find her soon, she was last seen going into the woods near town. I wish you the best of luck." Ozpin hung up and the rest of team RWBY remained still.
"Okami…what are you trying to do?" With that thought Yang ran out of the school with the rest of her team and Urufu following behind her.
Urufu led them into the woods by following Okami's scent. The further they ran into the woods the colder the air became. The air seemed to get thicker and a fog had rolled in. Urufu suddenly stopped and the four girls did the same, at first they didn't know why but then they saw the small shelter… They arrived at Okami's home.
The shelter was small with only one wall and a roof on top. It was about three feet tall and was made from three branches and leafs, it was easy to tell that the shelter was only for sitting and sleeping. There was a small creek nearby for water and plenty of dead trees for wood, but what made them uneasy was the dry splatters of blood everywhere.
"Are we too late?... No, she's alive. She has to be!"
As they got closer they heard a noise coming from the shelter. It was the sound of crying, Okami was home.
"Okami!" Yang shouted as she stepped forward but stopped at the sound of loud, low growling.
From the shelter came a pair of glowing red eyes staring at the four girls. Urufu walked up to the pair of eyes and laid in front of them causing them to change from red to blue.
"Okami?" Ruby asked while stepping forward.
The eyes widened from alarm and a big black blur moved from the shelter to the trees above. The movement of the unidentified object caused the girls to pull out their weapons but put them back when Urufu jumped up and barked at them. The girls eyed the trees above them and thought that the object left until the silence was broken.
"Why have you come here?" Asked a deep, raspy voice. "I am unstable; if not for Urufu I would have hurt all of you."
"We were all worried about you Okami; we came to bring you home." Blake said.
"Why do you worry about someone like me?" Said the voice. "This is my home, the home of a monster."
"That's not true Okami; your home is with us at Beacon!" Weiss shouted.
"We care about you Okami; you are family to us!" Ruby stated.
"How can anybody care about something like this?" The dark object fell to the ground between the four girls.
It was a beowolf, or maybe not. It was shaped like one but it had no armor or bones like other Grimm. It lifted its head and stared at RWBY with blue glowing eyes. The other girls didn't know what they were looking at, but the scar over its right eye was a dead give away to Yang.
"Okami!" Yang shouted as she threw her arms around Okami. "I already told you before; there are some people who really do care about you, we are those people." Yang felt tears fall on her but she still continued. "It doesn't matter how big and scary you look; you are still Okami, that's all that matters to us because we love you no matter what." Yang felt Okami shrinking in her arms and finally Okami hugged her back.
"Thank you, thank you so much Yang." Okami said still crying. "…Yellow Beauty Burns Gold…"
Yang looked up in confusion. "Okay, I heard you saw that before. What the hell does that even mean?"
Okami wiped away a tear while looking Yang in the eye and smiled. "It means that you are beautiful on the outside; but most importantly, on the inside as well."
Okami's response took Yang by surprise and caused her to feel a little guilty.
"That's not true at all… I only took you to town the other day because I felt threatened by you. I wanted to scare you away from Blake, but then I saw how kind of a person you really are."
The rest of team RWBY came in with a long group hug. After Okami calmed down she picked up Urufu and RWBY led them back home.
No one was aware of the black wolf with red eyes watching them with an evil grin.
*(A/N): Yeah, yeah, I know; Yang's part was really cheesy and quick. But like I said; this chapter is really just to show you the current relationships Okami has with RWBY for right now. Honestly, I don't really like writing slow chapters like the last few, but they have to be done to lead up to the fun part and get there quicker. Trust me, I write things in detail that are important to the story but you have to recognize them; something small I wrote in chapter two could be brought back up or be really important in a later chapter. So please be careful, I don't want to keep repeating things unless they are necessary. So now in the next chapter the second and third plot will come up… NOW THE CHAOS SHALL BEGIN! :D*
