Hi readers, thank you for sticking with me throughout this story.

Just to clarify, this story was supposed to have only 20 chapters. But, as I was writing, more ideas popped to my mind, so it became way longer than it was supposed to be. The biggest reason that contributed to the lengthened chapters was Blake's choice to join the White Fang. It was NOT in my draft.

I thought it would make the story more interesting. Also, the black trailer would require Blake to be in the White Fang so…why not?

So, I'm sorry, it will be a while before the story links back to chapter 1 from the flashback.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

If you like my stories, you can support me on Pa-treon as 'The Tanker'. I have a FB page with the name "IBurn 'Tank' RWBY Fanfic Author'. I sometimes post doodles or stuffs there.

I do not own RWBY.

#

Chapter 21: Truth

The door to Junior's club was kicked open again.

A very angry Yang stomped in as she approached the face-palming man at the counter. The people in the club at the moment were regular visitors, and they had pretty much gotten used to the blonde's epic entrance.

"Junior." She sat on her usual spot, hands held together to suppress her anger.

She was very calm when Blake left, but as she sped through the highway back to her own apartment, she got gradually angrier the more she thought about the guy that hit Blake.

What kind of man would hit a vulnerable girl like that? On top of that, he was her boyfriend! Well, ex boyfriend to be more accurate. If Blake didn't leave a violent man like that, she would punch the Faunus and knock some sense into her.

"Yes blondie?" The man sensed the seriousness in her tone.

"Do you by any chance know a man named Adam?"

"You do realize that there might be…oh I don't know, millions of people that were named Adam in Remnant?" Junior mixed some drinks skillfully, then pushed a cup of red and orange colored liquid to her.

"I don't have his full name." Yang took a deep breath to calm herself, "He did something terrible to my friend, and I want to go kick his ass."

"I will need more info if you want me to find him."

The blonde tried her best to recall what her best friend told her.

"My friend joined the White Fang…so perhaps that Adam guy's in there too."

Junior's eyes widened in shock.

"There's only one Adam in the White Fang."

"Perfect. Give me his address."

"Blondie." Junior frowned as he leaned forward to whisper to the blonde, "Adam Taurus is the leader of the White Fang."

"So?"

"So?" The man scowled, "Do you have any idea how powerful he is?"

"No."

"The White Fang under his lead became a group of terrorist instead of protesters. They fought and they were very, experienced in battle. Even if you're strong, you can't singlehandedly fight a man that could withstand the entire Schnee's private army. Not to mention Adam's deadly semblance."

"Schnee?" Yang jumped a bit hearing her crush's last name.

"Yes." The man's voice was harsh, "It's not those mindless monsters you fought out there, blondie. Adam is a real monster. He can rival the largest company in the world full of skilled army alone, so do you really think a little girl like you can take him down?"

Yang remembered now – she saw it on the news before.

The White Fang had been attacking the Schnee Dust Company ever since a new leader was appointed, and that meant they would eventually harm Weiss.

"More of the reason I should go kick his ass. Or kill him even." Yang's eye turned crimson.

Not only did that man harmed her best friend; he attacked her crush's workers – and potentially would harm the heiress herself.

And Yang would never let anyone hurt the people she loved the most.

"And what makes you think I know his location?" Junior narrowed his eyes, "Not even the Huntsmen Union could find them. They've been hunting the White Fang for ages."

"You know everything!" The blonde half yelled.

"No matter what, I won't let you die." The man retrieved the empty cup and walked away.

"Junior!"

"You should listen to him this time, Yang." A girl in red approached the blonde, sitting at her left side.

"If you don't want to die." Another girl in white sat on the other side.

"I'm not afraid of death." Yang said in a determined tone.

The twins sighed simultaneously.

"Have you ever stopped and think about people who cared about you?" Miltiades shifted nearer to her.

"The people who cared about me are either going to get hurt, or is already hurt." Yang replied, "And I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing."

"What do you think will happen to them if you die trying to avenge them?" Melanie scowled, "Seriously, you're such a dumb dragon."

"It doesn't matter." The blonde gulped before going on, "I…They hate me anyway."

"How the fuck do you know that they hate you? Have you ever tried talking to them? Have you even seen them?" Melanie stood up and slammed her hands on the table so hard it startled Yang.

"I've seen Blake." She replied, surprisingly calm, "Just now. At our…old place. She has wounds all over her body and it's that Adam whatever that did this to her."

"And does she hate you?" Miltiades motioned her head to tell her sister to sit down. Melanie scowled, but obeyed anyway.

Yang shook her head.

"She thinks I should hate her."

"And do you hate her?"

"No."

"See? That's what you guys lack." Miltiades huffed.

"It's called communication, you idiot." Melanie continued after her sister.

"But…if I just ignore it…there'll be a great chance he'll hurt Weiss!" Yang yelled, "I don't want Weiss to get hurt!"

"If you die, she'll be even more hurt." Miltiades said.

"But she hates me!"

"No she doesn't."

"She does!" The temperature rose as Yang clenched her fists tight, "She…slapped me when I tried to touch her and…she shouted 'no' and she ran…"

The memory started to play in her mind as she swallowed, trying her best not to cry.

Over the years, she really had grown up a lot, both physically and mentally. She dealt with things in a calmer and more thoughtful ways; she became tougher emotionally as well, but there was this one thing that always affected her.

Weiss.

It was the day Weiss rejected her.

She would be fine if Weiss just rejected her feelings – but no, Weiss rejected her.

The moment she hit Yang's hand when she tried to touch Weiss, the blonde understood the meaning fully.

"What did you do to her that caused her to reject you?" Miltiades said.

"I confessed to her."

"Only confessed?"

"…I kissed her."

"Yang, she's just shocked. She's straight, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"What will you do if…well, Junior suddenly kisses you?"

"Grab his nuts."

"Exactly."

"…"

"Whether she hates you or not, you won't know." Miltiades smiled gently, "Unless if you talk to her."

"Yeah, communication is a two way street Yang."

The three girls turned to the newcomer who suddenly spoke. He was standing behind them without them noticing and was smoking a cigar.

"!"

"Who are you?!" The two sisters turned to face the man.

"I didn't eavesdrop on purpose. I just happen to overhear you talking when I…well, came looking for Junior. And what a surprise, little dragon." The man smiled.

"…Hello Roman."

#

It turned out that Roman Torchwick wasn't as decent as he appeared to be.

He was involved in various underground businesses in order to keep his clinic alive – and that was why even if there weren't many customers at his shop, he could maintain it for years.

"Adults normally aren't as clean as they appear to be, little dragon." Roman said as Junior handed him a drink, "So, I've explained why I'm here. Care to tell me about you?"

Yang sighed as she ordered another Strawberry Sunrise from Junior.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here. I kinda have been here every night ever since I left but I've never seen you."

"Well…my dealer informed me about this place. He said the owner knows everything. And I happen to need some intel on another dealer that still owed me money."

"Heh." Yang took a sip of the sweet liquid.

"So, you've been hiding here?"

The blonde sent the Malachite twins a look and both of them nodded. Although curious, they knew Yang needed some privacy with this stranger.

"They're your new girlfriends eh?" Roman raised his eyebrow.

"No." Yang's answer was simple and quick.

"Still love ice queen?"

"What?!" Yang turned to her stepdad and the latter just shrugged.

"Weiss came to me and told me everything."

"…I guess she hates me eh." The energy built within her lost complete as she turned back to face the counter.

"She didn't tell me about your crush on her. She just told me about what happened in Secret Base after…you know, Ruby…"

"…"

"You know, it's kind of easy to see that you like her."

"…"

"You're not as sneaky as you thought you were."

"What else did she tell you?"

"She never blamed you. She faults herself for everything. She said she hurt you and that you left because she had hurt you too much."

"That's not even remotely true!" Yang squeaked.

"Well, she did say you snapped at her. Then she snapped back and you left. I'm not really clear about what happened, but…" Roman furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't you think it's time you stop running and face her?"

A pause.

"Even if I want to…I can't. She's moved to Atlas and…"

"She moved to Atlas? Since when?" The man exclaimed.

"I saw Blake just now…when I went to Secret Base. She told me everything. It's on the news Roman, don't you ever read?"

"She could've managed SDC in Vale. I didn't expect her to get this far…"

"What?"

"Weiss came to me after Ruby's been…oh Yang, Ruby's moved to Atlas."

"I know."

Roman raised his eyebrow, but continued anyway.

"So…Weiss came to me, telling me that she suffocates because she had hurt both kitty and you. She went study in Signal together with kitty and kitty confessed to her. But she knew Weiss wasn't into girls so kitty told her that she'd just make peace by being around Weiss. Of course, Weiss doesn't think like that."

Yang gritted her teeth; she had no idea that her crush was feeling this painful. She nodded, silently encouraging Roman to go on.

"You see…she was really troubled. Weiss' a tough little girl, so when she asked for my help, I know things must be really heavy. She told me everything and I told her that it wasn't her fault."

"It's mine…"

"No, it wasn't anyone's fault. Love is not something that you can control, my dear stepdaughter."

"But…"

"Sssh. After all these years you still don't understand?"

"I think I eventually will. But for now…no I don't."

"You'll get it in the future." Roman smiled, "Well where was I? Oh yeah, I gave her some advice. I told her that it wasn't her fault and both kitty and you will have to learn to walk out of it. I'm not saying it's your fault; it's just that it's very common for one-sided crush. So I told her that to sort things out with kitty, she could put some distance and draw a line between love and friendship. But I never expect her to leave."

"I see…" Yang mumbled.

She finally had a clear view of everything. The Malachite twins were right, what they lack of was communication; they assumed what each other think of themselves without actually knowing it.

And this had caused such huge misunderstanding that went on for years. Dust, how much had Weiss been suffering? It must be way heavier than what she felt in the past five years and it could be solved by simply talking to each other.

Why was she so stubborn?

"Don't blame yourself, little dragon. We do and say stupid things sometimes." Roman smiled.

"If only I can realize it earlier…"

"Ssh, the past is in the past. Let it go and start new, Yang."

"Blake's suffering too…Dust, we really could just…you know, talk to each other. Like how we always did when we were kids. It all just…went complicated ever since I started having romantic feelings for Weiss…"

"Well, it's not too late now. Yang, if you really value your friendship…you have to take action. Things have been dragged on for too long. You all grown up now and it's time to fix it before it broke entirely."

"Yeah. Thanks…dad."

Roman flinched a bit before blushing. He quickly looked to the other side to hide his face.

"N…no problem."

"By the way…I…might need your help with something."

"Oh?"

"I must do this…before I can see Weiss." Yang's tone was determined.

"And what is it?"

"If we were to see each other…we'll have to do it together – Blake, Weiss and me, in Ruby's hospital room if possible. I want our reunion to be…together."

"Speaking of which, where is the kitty? You said she saw her just now?"

"That's the issue I need help about."

"Oh?"

Yang told Roman about everything – how she found Blake in a bad condition; how this guy named Adam abused her; how the White Fang was targeting the Schnee Dust Company.

"So…you need my help to find Adam Taurus?"

"Yeah. Junior told me about how strong they were…so…if I want to fight him, I'll be needing help. Please help me, dad."

Roman remained silent for a while.

"I…I can't take him alone so…I figure I can ask for Qrow and Summer's help…although I'm in no position to do that…"

"I'll help you."

"…That was a quick decision."

"Yang, I think it's time to tell you the truth."

#

He was humming happy tunes that night with a cute little baby in his hands.

"This is the way we wanna spend every day~" He sang lightly as the baby chuckled.

The door to the room opened then, revealing a man with orange hair.

"Hey Roman!" The man greeted while turning to the newcomer; he let the baby faced him too as he continued his sentence, "Say hi to Uncle Roman, Yang~"

Roman smiled as he flipped on the light switch, "How many times have I told you to not move in the dark? If you fell and hurt Yang-"

"Sssshhh chill bro!" Taiyang Xiao Long grinned, "The moonlight allows me to see well in the dark! That's why I requested a door-sized window!"

Roman shook his head and sighed.

"Raven's gone on hunting missions again?"

"Well she likes being on the field." Taiyang shrugged, "Besides, I don't really mind to stay home and take care of my precious little baby~ right Yang?"

He touched Yang's forehead with his and the baby giggled.

"Look at this yellow dork." Roman smiled, "Anyway, up for a night walk?"

"Oh of course! My little dragon loves to go outside~ oh aren'tcha?"

Both men went out for a walk near the park nearby; Taiyang, despite his name that meant 'Sun', actually liked the moon very much.

He chose to teach at Signal Academy solely because it was the best place in Remnant to admire the shattered moon. And Yang liked it too. He initially wanted to name Yang 'Yue Xiao Long', which meant 'Moon' but Raven disagreed with that.

So after a long discussion, they had decided to name her 'Yang' instead. She had beautiful blonde hair that burned like the sun and Taiyang felt really thankful he didn't go with his initial decision.

Roman was his best friend and they often hung out together at bars or clubs before Yang was born. Now with Taiyang becoming a father, Roman had stopped visiting those noisy places and chose to accompany his friend instead.

True friendship was how Taiyang described it.

"So there was this cute dog today…"

They were chatting about Roman's job and didn't realize they had reached the end of the path. A forest blocked their way and they turned around, getting ready to go back to the Xiao Long house.

Then they heard a growl.

Roman grabbed his cane as they turned to face the source of the sound at the same time.

A boy, about seventeen or something judging from his appearance was standing among the trees in the forest. He was panting heavily; his right hand was holding a blood red katana and he had a pair of bull horns on top of his flaming red hair.

"Boy, are you okay?" Taiyang shouted when Roman stood in front of him, spreading his hand to protect them.

"Humans…" The boy growled, "Filthy humans…"

"Tai, run."

"I'm not leaving you he-"

The boy charged towards them in an instant as Roman blocked his sword precisely with his cane, resulting a huge shockwave to be created that blew Taiyang away. He fell down but was still grabbing his daughter tightly. Yang began to cry and evidently the sound irritated the boy.

"Shut up! Shut up shut up!" The boy yelled as he repeatedly slashed at Roman; the latter blocking every hit but was soon overpowered as he was thrown to a certain direction.

"Hey, what do you want?!" Taiyang yelled as Roman got up quickly.

"I want you all to die!"

The boy then leaped at Taiyang, stubbornly targeting Yang who was in his hands, "Die humans! Stop reproducing more killers!"

"Hey!" Roman popped open the edge of his cane and fired a few shots at the boy.

"You're all liars…humans are all liars!" He shouted as tears started to spill from his eyes. He lost his balance when one of Roman's shot hit his legs and fell.

The boy rolled towards a tree because of the inertia and both men took the chance to call for help through their scrolls.

He was extremely powerful and it would take two of them to take him down without killing him. But with Yang in Taiyang's arms, it would be difficult for both of them to fight at the same time. Plus, it was pretty late at night so there was no one around to assist them.

However, their scrolls were fired off by the boy's rifle which transformed from his sheath.

"You're all liars…you killed my parents…although we were so nice to you…although we've did nothing wrong…" The boy wept as he knelt down, "Adam is a nice boy…please don't kill Adam…but Adam want to kill you all…because you killed Adam's parents…"

"Adam? Is that your name?" Roman tried to negotiate as he motioned his head to Taiyang, pleading him to run.

Taiyang shook his head however; he didn't want to leave his best friend alone.

"Hey, Roman, if we have no choice, just kill him. Or we will be killed." Taiyang whispered.

Roman was perfectly capable if he was to fight without any restriction. He nodded at his best friend.

"Yes…kill you or I will be killed." The bull Faunus snickered, "Die, human!"

He dashed towards Roman and slashed him with demonic strength.

Roman countered him but this boy…Adam was too powerful. He had no idea how this young boy could have enough power to rival a trained fighter like him.

The incessant slashes however stopped after a while as Adam held his blade near his waist, as if he was charging something.

Both men instantly used all of their auras to shield their body as Roman stepped in front of Taiyang.

With a beautiful slash all the trees around were cut in half and Roman was pushed flying backwards immediately as he hit Taiyang, both falling onto the ground.

Had it not been them focusing their aura, they would've been cut in half.

Dust, this Faunus was really powerful.

And at this very moment, Taiyang had made an important decision.

He handed Yang to Roman and stood up, activating both yellow gauntlets on his wrists.

"No, Tai-"

"This is the best option. You can't fight anymore, Roman. Your inside was probably messed up. Just…take care of Yang and Raven if I can't make it, okay?"

Taiyang didn't wait for the man to reply. He charged at the crazy boy, landing furious punches on him. He figured out Adam's semblance, so he did his best to avoid hitting the blade; instead, he kept on focusing on spots that Adam would not have expected so that he wouldn't have time to parry the attacks.

That worked initially as Taiyang's eyes became crimson.

He felt energy building up his body; his semblance was starting to work.

The Huntsmen Union didn't want Taiyang's semblance to go to waste, so they did their best to persuade the man to take missions that required a lot of fighting. But sadly, he had rejected and stated that he loved to teach in Signal.

There wasn't a specific name for his semblance. With every hit he landed on an enemy – or anyone in particular, he built energy within his body. Roman named it 'Every-hit-on-enemy-makes-me-stronger'.

"Ha!" He punched Adam hard in his head as he fell onto the ground.

"Ugh…" The boy groaned as he struggled to get up.

"Give up, boy, or I'll have to kill you!"

"No, I will be the one killing you!" Adam charged again but this time Taiyang didn't allow him to have time to prepare. He landed a straight punch on the boy's face but the boy dodged.

!

When the second punch hit straight into Adam's eyes, the boy's blade also slashed straight through Taiyang's stomach.

"Argh!" Adam groaned as his vision went black completely; Taiyang didn't have any mercy on that punch – and it destroyed Adam's eyeballs completely, "My eyes! You son of a bitch! Argh!"

Adam's shriek had echoed through the whole place.

"Tai!" Roman shouted as he ran to his best friend who collapsed onto the ground.

Blood started coming out from that deep wound on his stomach.

"Tai, please, hang on!" Roman shared his aura to let the wound heal, but it was too deep.

Apparently, Adam's hysterical shriek had alerted someone who just happened to pass by after Tai was slashed. They called for help and before they all realized it, Adam was gone.

#

Taiyang didn't make it.

He died on the way to the hospital.

Raven arrived an hour later after rushing all the way from Mistral.

It was the worst day of their lives.

#

"No…this is the worst day…not when Tai died…" Roman sobbed as he saw that letter on his working table.

Roman:

Please take care of Yang. I'm sorry. I have serious business to attend to. Don't attempt looking for me.

Raven.

#

So yeah…Adam really hates human.

And Tai destroying his eyeballs was rather gore. Imagine a fist on your face and the next moment your eyeballs explode. Ugh. I'm sorry for that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this flashback and the friendship between Roman, Yang, Malachites and Junior.

Thanks for reading.

I do not own RWBY.