*(A/N): Hey guys! I'm sorry it's taking me a long time to update but I'm having a lot of computer problems and I'm also dealing with college applications.

Here is the next chapter and it actually didn't come out as gory as I thought it would. So I hope you like it!

Also, I'm going to start a chapter count down to the end of this story. The reason why is because with the way the story is going to be written people might think that the second to last chapter is actually the last chapter. I don't want people to think that is the case and just leave before reading the whole story.

So including this chapter, there is exactly seven chapters left. Also, I might add more depending how long the chapters are.

Please leave a review and enjoy this chapter!*

"Fire: an element that can both protect and harm."

I am a fire, or at least I think so anyway. Why? Because I want to protect those I love and hurt those that try to harm them. As for why, well it's a story that goes way back…

After my parents died, I had to move to a new city with a new guardian and a new sister. Ruby and I were at the playground when the town bullies came up to us. They were boys much older than us and gave us a really hard time.

At first they were only picking on me. Calling me names and mocking me while I tried to ignore them. Finally, they got me away from Ruby and one boy held me down while the other started cutting my hair.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, one moment I was scared and next I was angry with the two boys running away from me. I looked over at Ruby and saw some more boys hitting my little sister. I beat the crap out of them, but it was too late and the damage was done.

Ruby was shaking so much that she couldn't stand, so I placed her on my back and carried her home running. After we got home, she went strait to her room and didn't leave until two weeks later. During that time, I was terrified.

After she finally left her room, I started noticing things. At first, I noticed that Ruby would change moods very easily and found that odd. Then I noticed that Ruby seemed different. Finally, I watched her take off a jacket and saw cut marks on her arms.

The scars faded away now, but I have that one moment burned into my memory. From that moment, I swore I would protect Ruby and prevent that from ever happening again. Then the day after that, I discovered my semblance.

After all these years I have kept my promise, in fact, in a way it also grew. I didn't just protect Ruby, but those I care about too. Blake, Weiss, Ai, hell…even Okami, kinda…

I am who I am because of that moment.

But, what if it never happened?

What if Ruby was the one to save me instead?

What if I was unable to protect those I love?

…Will my fire go out?...

~ Yang Xiao Long

I Burn…

~ Yang ~

…She was cold…

No matter how many blankets were on top of her she couldn't get warm. It was early in the morning, so early the sun hadn't even come up yet. It was winter and it had just snowed the day before so the cold air sent a shiver down her spine. She was shivering in her sleep, until a pillow came and smacked her in the face waking her up with a start.

"Good morning team RWBY!" Shouted the cheerful leader, waking up the other two girls in the room.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled with a scowl. "You don't do that to wake us up!"

Ruby smiled at her sister's remark. "Sorry, I couldn't help it! Today we go on a mission!"

The team got up and changed into some warm combat clothes. After that, they started packing their bags with things they think they would need. When they were done, Ruby had everyone sit down in a circle to talk about the mission at hand.

"An abnormally large hoard of grimm has been spotted near by a village just outside of Vale." Ruby said in a very serious manner. "Our mission is to find and destroy them before anyone gets hurt. Now, it will take us only half a day to reach the area near the village. So I want us to travel there by foot early in the morning and set up a camp, from there we can rest up and prepare ourselves for battle. If we need anything else, then we can go into the village and pick it up. I want us to move out of camp just before dusk. That way any civilians would be home and out of harms way and hopefully the grimm will still be asleep."

Yang, Blake, and Weiss nodded agreeing with the plan so Ruby continued. "When we leave camp, I want us to split up to check both sides of the village, but I don't want anyone to be alone. So I'm going to assign us into pairs. It will be Blake and Weiss then Yang and me."

"Ruby," Weiss started. "I think we should come up with better pairs."

Ruby looked at them surprised. "Why is that?"

"It's just," Weiss explained. "Blake and I have very different fighting styles making it hard for us to read each other's movements. We wind up messing each other up rather than helping. Besides, you always pair up with Yang, I thing you can do one mission without."

"I have to agree with Weiss this time." Blake said with a small smile on her lips. "We need a change of partners besides for sparring."

"Quiet!" Ruby yelled and with an angry expression looked at Weiss and Blake. "I am the leader, and I do not want my team mates to gang up against me and my decision!... However, I've been thinking the same thing lately…"

Ruby turned to face Yang and asked her a question. "Will you be okay if change partners?"

Yang froze; Ruby had just put her on the spot. She had always relied on Ruby in battle. She knew that Ruby would be able to protect her, but most importantly, she knew Ruby could protect herself if something was to happen to her.

Yang looked over to Weiss and Blake and saw their pleading faces.

"…If it will help out the team…"

Yang looked back at Ruby and nodded.

Ruby gave a small smile and turned to the rest of the team. "Very well, I'll assign us new partners. Weiss, you'll be with Yang. Blake, you'll partner with me. "

"Whoa!" Weiss interrupted. "Hold on! Ruby, there is no way I will partner up with that no good blonde!"

Weiss' sudden exclamation took Yang by surprise and it stung, but she didn't say anything and let Weiss continue.

"I've seen the way she fights! How the hell did she even pass the entrance exam?! Ever since the beginning, she has been relying on you to save her because she can't even protect herself! There is no way in hell I'll pair with her! All she'll do is drag me down!"

"WEISS!" Ruby snapped. "That is no way to talk about my sister! Especially in front of me!"

Once again, Ruby just defended her proving Weiss' point even more. Yang hated herself for being this much of a burden on her team.

Yang hung her head low in shame when she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"I'll partner up with Yang." Blake said proudly and smiled toward Yang. "We spar often with each other and we can read each other's moves. I also trust her to have my back in a fight."

Ruby thought about it for a moment and nodded. The four of them settled on partners and headed out on their mission.

~ Six Hours Later ~

Ruby and Weiss went to the village to pick up some dust, which left Yang and Blake to watch over the camp alone.

It was quiet while the two of them checked and cleaned their weapons. The silence was driving Yang mad, so she finally gained the courage to break it.

"Why?" Yang spoke softly.

Blake heard her but didn't understand the question. "'Why' what?"

Yang turned and faced Blake. "Why did you agree to be my partner? All of us know that Weiss is right about me. So why pick me willingly?"

The look on Blake's face told Yang she was deep in thought. "Because I know you're a good person at heart? Because I know deep down in your soul is a raging fire? Because I know you put yourself 110% into everything you do? Because I like you? For all those reasons, really."

Yang's cheeks turned to a deep red.

"Did the girl I like just say she likes me?"

Yang quickly turned her head away from Blake. "H-How can you like someone who doesn't even know what her own semblance is, let alone use it?"

"You'll figure it out some day… But that doesn't matter to me, I still like you."

"You mean as a friend?" Yang asked.

"Nope." Blake answered bluntly. "I like you more than that."

Yang turned and saw that Blake had moved next to her. Blake was leaning her head closer and closer to Yang and closed her eyes. Their faces were only an inch apart when Yang quickly turned away.

Yang glanced back and saw so much pain on Blake's face. "I'm sorry, I can't…"

"No, it's fine. I got a bit carried away." Blake said quickly.

The air grew silent and the atmosphere around them was awkward.

Yang finally stood up and walked over to the fire and laid down on her mat. "I'm going to sleep."

"Okay."

Yang then fell into a deep sleep, unaware of the event about to come.

~ Six Hours Later ~

It was quiet again. The two girls were walking around in a dark forest. Neither of them spoke to each other since it incident that happened earlier.

Yang couldn't bear the awkward silence and neither could Blake. Maybe that's why the cat faunus was the one to break that silence.

"Yang? About earlier…" Blake said in a soft quiet voice. "Just forget about it. I was out of line to say any of that."

Yang knew this would eventually happen, but luckily she had a lot of time to think about it and made up her mind.

"No, I'm sorry…" Yang started nervously. "The truth is, I like you too… It's just, I like you so much and I want to be able to protect you… But I can't… I can't protect anyone, not even myself…"

Blake gave Yang an understanding look as she placed her hand on Yang's shoulder. "I don't care if you can't protect me, because I will protect you. And I know one day, you WILL be able to protect those you care about."

Yang gave Blake a loving smile and Blake gave one in return, but the mood changed quickly when they heard gunshots being fired off in the distance. A sinking feeling grew in Yang's gut.

"Ruby!"

They both ran as fast as they could and eventually found their team mates. But the horror before them made them freeze in fear.

They were in an open clearing and were surrounded by what looked to be hundreds of grimm of all types. Yang quickly spotted Weiss and gasped.

Weiss no longer had her weapon in her hand; in fact, it looked like Weiss' arm was severely broken. In her right arm she was carrying a large mass of what looked to be bloody and dead. Yang ran up to Weiss to help her when she saw that the red mass was her sister.

Ruby's right eye was gouged out of its socket with the left eye staring blankly at Yang. Her left arm was nearly torn off and guessing from the damage to her legs, she would never be able to walk again.

Yang fell to her knees in complete grief and let out a cry of pure pain.

"She's not dead!" Weiss yelled to the blond. "She's still alive but she won't be if I don't get her help soon! I'll take her to the village; don't let any of those creatures live!"

Yang obeyed Weiss and quickly got to her feet and activated her gauntlets. She tore through many grimm and was covered in blood. But it felt like when one grimm died, two more appeared.

Yang had lost track of Blake and was desperately looking for her until she heard a painful cry. Yang turned around in time to get covered in blood. But not a creature of grimm's blood… It was Blake's blood.

A beowolf had grabbed Blake and had torn off her left arm completely. Yang stood there in shock but snapped out of it when it looked like the beowolf would tear off her right arm.

Yang charged and quickly killed the beowolf, but the damage was already done. Yang dragged Blake to a safe spot, but Blake told her to keep fighting and to not worry about her.

Yang did what she was told and kept fighting. Many times she tried to activate her aura but every time she failed.

Yang had killed almost one third of the grimm when she heard Blake cry out to her. Yang turned and was now face to face with a twelve foot ursa about to swipe her. She quickly closed her eyes awaiting the pain she would never feel and opened them when she heard a sickening THUNK.

Blake had taken the hit for Yang.

Blake's torso was torn open to the point that Yang was able to see her broken ribs and several organs. The expression on Blake's face was a mix of pain and shock. Yang stood there motionless until she noticed her chest stopped moving. She checked the faunus' pulse and broke down into tears when she realized Blake was now gone.

Yang was in so much distress, she didn't notice the ursa about to make another swing nor the flash of blue that stopped it… She just held Blake's motionless body close to her…

"It was my fault… She protected me from the blow and now she's gone… All because I couldn't protect myself…"

She was deep in her own grief, she didn't hear the person in front of her calling her name… Until that person slapped her across her face.

SMACK

"YANG!"

Yang finally came to her senses and saw the person in front of her clearly. This person was crouched down to eye level with Yang, but she knew this person was taller than her. The person was a girl but had very masculine facial features. This girl had brown hair that was tied into a low pony tail with wolf ears on top. On her back was a sky blue cloak with a brown wolf tail sticking out and Yang could see fangs poking out of the girl's concern expression. But what caught her attention the most was the girl's beautiful sky blue eyes staring directly into her lilac ones.

"Finally you got a grip on yourself!" The girl said.

"W-Who are you?" Yang asked confused with the girl's familiarity towards her.

"I don't have time to explain, but I'm a friend…kinda!" The girl responded hastily. "Why aren't you fighting?!"

Yang hung her head low. "I'm not strong enough… I couldn't protect her."

"That's not true! The Yang I know if even to me! You just need to get up and fight!"

For some reason this girl really pisses Yang off…

"I can't!" Yang screamed. "I'm so weak I can't even put a dent into these guys!"

SMACK

The wolf girl slapped Yang again and once more Yang was captivated with the girl's strong gaze.

"Life isn't about how hard you CAN hit…" The girl said having Yang's full attention. "It's about how hard you can GET hit, and keep going!"

Something inside Yang snapped and realized this girl was right. There was still things Yang had to do…

…People to protect…

In a hot burning sensation grew all over Yang's body and suddenly she felt invincible. The sudden change within Yang must have been obvious because the girl gave a kind smile.

The girl stepped back from Yang and smashed her right clenched fist into her open left hand. "Now let's go kick some ass!"

Together Yang and the wolf girl charged at the large mass of grimm before them. Yang was fighting as hard as she could until the last grimm fell. She was feeling accomplished when the wolf girl caught her attention.

"Whoa! Be careful were you use that aura of yours!"

Yang looked down at her fists and saw that golden flames were erupting from her skin but they weren't burning her…

Her flame was relit.

At that moment, Yang seemed to remember everything and looked up at the wolf girl. "Okami?"

As soon as Yang spoke Okami's name, the dead grimm that surrounded them turned to white mist and began swirling around them while slowly approaching Yang. The wind grew faster and faster, so fast Yang saw Okami struggling to keep her ground.

"Your nightmare is now over!" Okami yelled over the harsh wind. "The others are waiting for you, including Blake! They are worried about you!"

Okami was starting to slide towards Yang due to the wind, but she quickly grabbed a nearby tree branch and pulled herself away.

"Okami! What's happening?!" Yang asked.

"You're going back to reality, but I have to stay!"

"Why?"

Okami smiled at Yang. "I still have someone to protect as well."

The wind seemed to die down a bit, enough so that Okami was able to run to safety deeper inside the forest.

"Okami! Wai-" It was too late, the mist closed in on Yang and Okami disappeared.

~ Dark Shadows Forest ~

"Okami! Wait!"

Yang shouted waking up with a start. She looked around and saw that she was surrounded by her team who was crying. Blake immediately kissed Yang to try to calm her down.

"What were you saying about Okami?" Ruby asked concerned.

"Okami… Okami stayed behind in that place!" Yang said in a worried tone.

"Why did she stay?" Weiss asked.

"She said she still had someone to protect, I think she was looking for that person!"

"Who?" Blake asked now worried for her friend.

"Who do you think?!" Yang said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okami is looking for Ai!"

*(A/N): What is going on in Ai's Trial? Find out next chapter! XD

I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter and will continue reading. There is only two chapters left for the trials!

Also, I just want you guys to know that Ai's trial is going to be really short. But don't worry, it will be made up in Okami's.

Please Follow and Favorite if you enjoy the story so far and PM me if you have any questions!

See ya next time!

~ Okami The Blue Wolf*