Arc I; Meetings
Chapter 5
Tukson's Book Trade (currently on fire)
She knew she had very little time as the smoke from the fire started to creep in from under the door, but even so Ruby couldn't rush this.
After all, slight smoke inhalation was preferable to having a hand blown off.
Though with the amount of time this was going to take it definitely wasn't going to be 'a little' and Ruby quickly scanned the room; it was a storage room of some sort and if the amount of boxes were any indication, should have exactly what she needed. The girl's silver eyes flickered up and down the shelves until she saw what she was looking for.
"Yang," she turned to her sister. "Grab that roll of tape and start sealing the door!"
"Who placed you in charge?" Weiss protested.
"Because I'm the one with the plan!" Ruby protested as Yang moved to do as she was told. "You two," she turned to Weiss and Blake properly. "I need some paper and a wire! Now!"
What surprised Ruby the most out of the whole thing was that the two older teens actually listened to her and started doing what she ordered, quickly rummaging through drawlers and cabinets to find the supplies she needed.
Right, Ruby thought to herself and opened her pack. My turn!
The brunette pulled out a container of gunpowder from her pack, silently thanking her luck for not taking another backpack on this little trip. After all, none of her other packs were the ones she prepped for the gun range.
Quickly placing the powder next to the metal door, Ruby quickly pulled out a pair of pliers along with a taser Yang got her for her birthday and a small pocket knife.
Just as the preparations for her little escape attempt were ready, Blake and Weiss handed her the materials she requested.
As Ruby quickly tore out a page of the magazine she was provided with, she noticed that the air was getting harder to breathe. Cursing to herself as to not waste any oxygen, Ruby opened her pocket knife and made a cone with the magazine page.
Eyeballing the correct width of the keyhole she took off the tip of the cone and jammed it into the lock, careful not to break the funnel.
Ignoring the mounting heat of the fire, Ruby unscrewed the cap of the powder canister and dumped most of the content into the funnel, filling up the keyhole until the powder started to seep out.
Discarding the now mostly empty container aside, Ruby took the wire Blake gave her and quickly started to strip off the plastic coating using the pair of pliers she dug out of her pack. Once the copper was exposed on both ends of the cable, Ruby carefully stuck one end of it into the piled on gunpowder.
"Ruby, are you sure this will work?" Yang asked and Ruby noticed that while she was preparing her (hopefully successful) door opening system, the fire had started working on the door itself, threatening to quickly spill into the small room where the girls were.
"I've got no idea!" the younger sister admitted as she touched the exposed end of the wire with the active stun gun. That was when she started praying.
The theory behind this idea was sound for the most part. The gunpowder in the lock was military grade, so it shouldn't have had any trouble blasting the locking mechanism of the door to shreds, if she could get it to ignite before they suffocated due to the fire.
The real snag of the plan however was the exit itself. Ruby was really hoping that the fire wouldn't spread this fast or that she could work a bit faster. Because right now, with the way the fire was spreading, the moment she opened the door to let them out, the backdraft that would occur from the introduction of air would probably incinerate them alive within seconds.
Seconds are a long time, Ruby thought to herself in a vain attempt to calm down her nerves. Even while she thought that though, her hand drifted toward the door handle. Once the lock blew open, she'd have to hold it closed, until they could run out in an instant.
The precious moments ticked by before Ruby finally saw smoke rise from the keyhole and a few seconds later, there was a loud explosion, accompanied by a brief flash of fire from the lock.
Even though the mini explosion startled her, Ruby quickly gripped the door handle to prevent it from opening before they could dive out.
"Everyone ready?" Ruby asked, even though her breathing was becoming more labored from the smoke.
"Just go!" Weiss snapped.
Ruby immediately complied and all four of them almost literally tumbled out of the shop and into the back alley, but fortunately for them, Ruby's fears about a giant fireball following them were unfounded.
"Okay," Yang managed to get out through a fit of coughing. "That was a thing!"
"A thing?" Weiss asked as she picked herself off the ground, her white clothes covered in sooth and dirt. "You call nearly being burned alive a thing?!" the heiress shrieked, her voice carrying above the fire truck alarms. "We nearly died you idiot! Does that even register in that alleged brain of yours?!"
Ruby couldn't help but crawl a little bit away from Weiss at her outburst, quietly wondering if being scary was part of the Schnee genes.
"Look Schnee," Yang countered. "I know what happened! I know that we nearly died!" the blonde continued and Ruby saw her sister's eyes darkening at the word. "So stop pretending to be better than me! In fact, weren't you going to be leaving us?"
That appeared to strike a nerve, almost literally, as Ruby saw a vein pulse on Weiss' forehead.
"You know what?" the white haired teen replied, her voice trembling with rage. "That's precisely what I'm going to do!"
Turning almost on a dime, Weiss stalked toward the other end of the alley and quickly rejoined the crowds of people that Ruby noticed were gathered in front of the burning building.
"Woohoo!" Yang cheered as Weiss disappeared from view. "Finally!"
Ruby wished she could share in Yang's enthusiasm at seeing Weiss gone, but she couldn't. As silly as it sounded, Weiss was realistically the first friend Ruby made, or at least thought she made, in a very long time. Seeing her go was… A bit depressing.
"What now?" Blake asked, returning both Ruby and Yang to reality. "We lost the ledger and probably the only clue we had."
The ledger…. Ruby thought and immediately turned toward the door, where she could see the fire eating away at everything it touched, the precious book probably long since gone.
"Let's get back home for starters and take a shower," Yang suggested. "We reek like smoke, the police are bound to arrive soon and it's nearing lunch time anyway."
Ruby took an experimental sniff at her hoodie and quickly recoiled from the familiar smell of burned materials.
"A shower sounds nice," she smiled sheepishly and the three started toward the street.
"That still doesn't explain how we can find another lead," Blake pointed out as Yang hailed a cab.
"Well, I do have an idea…" Yang mused and Ruby's stomach dropped as she saw the twinkle in Yang's eyes.
Xiao Long/Rose Residence
"No!" Ruby shouted as soon as Yang finished her proposition, bits of the younger girl's lunch flying everywhere. "Yang, you can't go back there! Not after what you did last time!"
"It wasn't all that bad," the blonde defended herself, pointing her sandwich accusingly at Ruby. "There was just a slight… misunderstanding."
"Why do I get the feeling there is a story behind your last visit to this club?" Blake asked calmly as she took a bite out of her tuna.
"Because there is!" Ruby confirmed. "Last time she went to Junior's club, she started a brawl, punched out Junior's girlfriend and… squished some things." The brunette ended and felt a slight touch of heat on her face.
"While I would like to believe that's an exaggeration," Blake sighed. "I do think I can believe it, given how we met last night."
"Look you two," Yang threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "We don't exactly have a choice in the matter! Junior might be a sexist asshole, but he knows everything that goes on in Vale and much of the outlying areas. If someone knows who murdered Tukson, he would, or he'd know who knows."
Ruby hated this plan. She mostly hated that Yang was right and they didn't have another plan to use, making this by default the best idea… Which in on itself was scary. Even so…
"Yang, over half the patrons there hate you!" Ruby continued. "Who do you think keeps betting against you during your matches?"
"I always thought those are just people who like to lose," Yang replied with a cocky smile.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Ruby rested her head on the table.
"Relax, Rubs," Yang patted her back. "I'll take Blake with me and we'll be back in an hour or so."
"I'm coming too!" Ruby protested and tried to get up, but Yang pushed her back into the chair.
"Nope, not this time!" the blonde shook her head. "I ain't taking you to Junior's bar and that's final."
Knowing that it was impossible to argue with her sister when she got protective, Ruby just slumped back in her seat further.
"Just promise me you'll be careful,"
"When aren't I?" Yang asked fainting shock, only for Ruby to level her best glare at her older sister.
"Don't worry," Blake replied smiling. "I'll keep her out of trouble."
"Yeah," Yang chuckled. "We don't have the cash to pay for such a full time job."
With that little joke, Yang and Blake left, leaving Ruby alone, with nothing to do.
"Guess, I'll just wait for them to come back," Ruby thought resigned and returned to picking through her lunch.
Before she could take more than two bites however someone knocked on the door and the teen had to resist the urge to roll her silver eyes.
"Yang, did you forget your keys again?"
Streets of Vale
Weiss loved the fact that if she was angry enough, people consciously moved out of her way as to not draw her attention. It worked in Schnee manor, it worked in school and it definitely appeared to be working on the streets of Vale as most pedestrians steered clear of the girl.
Each and every step Weiss made was punctuated in her thoughts with a curse thrown at the direction of the three girls that nearly killed her.
Worst of the three however was Xiao Long and her utter glee at the fact that she forced Weiss to leave. The blonde oaf probably thought Weiss couldn't hear her cheer of joy at the heiress' departure.
The most infuriating part about it was that it actually hurt her.
Due to who she was, Weiss never really had friends. She had… 'associates' and 'acquaintances', never 'friends'. So to hear Yang being so cheerful at the fact she was never going to see her again just…
Enough! Weiss snapped to herself. She wasn't going to pity herself. She wasn't some naïve child not to realize that those people weren't her friends and she wasn't going to waste her time and thoughts on them. Right now she was just going to get back home and pretend this whole morning never happene…
"Uff!" Weiss huffed as she slammed into something that sent her falling to the ground.
The problem with not looking where you're going, I guess, she reasoned to herself and started to pick herself up.
"Are you alright Miss?" the man asked leaning forward.
Weiss glanced up at the man. He was wearing a green business suit, which to her appeared slightly out of place, given that she'd grown up surrounded by black. In the man's hand was a cane, with an elaborate silver handle, complete with a cross guard. Weiss' gaze moved upwards and was met with a pair of thin brown eyes, hidden behind dark-green spectacles. The man's hair was white, but unlike Weiss' snow-white locks, his hair was more greyish meaning it was definitely not his natural color.
"And who are you?" Weiss huffed at the stranger, glad for the chance to vent. While it might not have been fair to take out her frustrations on a perfectly innocent stranger, Weiss couldn't exactly go back just to yell at Xiao Long. Not to mention she was sure the blonde disaster area and her friends weren't at the same spot anymore.
"My name is Ozpin," the man introduced himself with a smile. "Commissioner of the Vale Police Department."
"Oh," Weiss replied dumb folded, all her intentions of screaming, completely derailed. After all, she could do a lot of stupid things in a state of anger, but she wasn't stupid enough to start yelling at one of the most important people in Vale over something that was technically her fault.
"And you are Miss?" Ozpin questioned.
"Weiss. Weiss Schnee," Weiss promptly introduced herself, inclining her head slightly.
"Hm," the man inclined his head slightly. "And if I might be so bold, what exactly are you doing here Miss Schnee. Especially in such a… disheveled look?" Ozpin asked, motioning toward her.
For the first time since this morning Weiss actually looked herself over. Her clothes were graying, probably due to the smoke of the fire, her jacket had a ripped socket, probably from the fall onto the alley and Weiss saw several strands of hair dancing in front of her vision which weren't supposed to be there.
"I…. Had an argument… With some people I know," Weiss lied weakly, fully aware that Ozpin was probably seeing straight through her, if the sparkle in his eyes was any indication.
"I see," the man nodded. "Still, I would like to apologize for knocking you over. Mind indulging an old gentleman in an apology?" he smiled.
"I guess," Weiss nodded hesitantly.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Five minutes later Weiss was standing on a table in a small café across Ozpin, who was looking at her over a cup of coffee.
Weiss wasn't exactly sure what the Commissioner wanted. Sure he made the excuse of apologizing, but fact was she was the one at fault for the whole 'crash into you' thing. Not to mention the simple fact that someone of Ozpin's position probably didn't have time for a casual sit down at a café. If her Father had taught her one thing is that people of high societal positions rarely just sat down for something.
And it would never be something as trivial as bumping into someone.
"You have a question, Miss Schnee?" Ozpin asked, putting down his coffee mug.
"It's nothing Commissioner," Weiss lied, but realized how futile it must be to lie to such a man. The teen fished for a few moments, to find the right words to voice her question, before speaking up. "Why did you invite me here Commissioner? I am almost certain you have better things to do."
"I did," the man answered. "For about half an hour. Then my lead went up in smoke." He added with a smile, looking pointedly at Weiss.
Oh, Remnant! The white-haired girl sighed inwardly.
"You know?"
"Not until right now," Ozpin smiled sympathetically. "I suspected. After all, I hardly expect there to be another fire near Tukson's Book Trade, much less meet someone who just happens to be part of that conveniently coincidental second fire."
"Can this day get any worse?" Weiss asked, slumping back in her chair.
"Depends on what you'll tell me Miss Schnee," Ozpin explained calmly. "What exactly were you doing at Tukson's Book Trade?"
Weiss weighed her options, not that there were much to talk about. One was that she refused to tell Ozpin anything and ended up in a holding cell, much like Lie Ren, until this whole thing cleared up and the other…
"I was… Last night I met some people who seem to believe the boy you have in connection to Tukson's murder is innocent," Weiss explained, shortening the story for the sake of getting to the point. "I followed them until the book store, where the fire took place."
"I see," Ozpin nodded. "And where are these… Friends of yours, now?"
"They aren't my friends!" Weiss snapped. "My Mother forced me to tag along with them, nothing more, nothing less. And I don't know, to answer your question. Sir." The teen added, as soon as she realized her tone.
"Interesting," the older man nodded. "And did you find anything that might prove Mr. Lie's innocence?"
"Maybe," Weiss admitted. "Tukson had another appointment besides Lie Ren. Something about a book called Third Crusade."
As she uttered the name, Weiss saw a change in Ozpin's stance. It wasn't anything noticeable, but he seemed to go rigid for a moment, his cup stopping midway toward his mouth. The entire thing lasted only a second or so, before the Commissioner seemed to return to normal.
"I see," Ozpin muttered. "And do you have any proof of that?"
"No," Weiss lied. "The only proof we had was burned with the fire."
"Shame," Ozpin muttered. "While I am sure that mister Lie's innocence will be proved, I was hoping to shorten the process. Now if you'd excuse me."
With that the Commissioner simply rose from his chair and headed toward the door, leaving Weiss alone to think.
The white haired teen was almost sure that Ozpin saw through her lie. Fact was that there was a way to prove Lie Ren's innocence, but it wasn't exactly one she was looking forward to exploit. At the very least it wasn't what might be considered hard evidence. After all she didn't lie about the fact that the original ledger was probably destroyed in the fire.
But that wasn't before Weiss managed to take a look at it. And that meant she memorized it.
Sometimes having an eidetic memory can be really troublesome, Weiss sighed.
Ever since she was discovered to have such a memory, she always thought of it as a double-edged blade. True that she could recall absolutely everything she ever read or heard, or even saw in passing, making most of her school work and even with most of the 'jobs' her Father gave her in connection to the Schnee Mining Company laughably easy at times, it also meant that there was a great deal of things she couldn't forget no matter how much she tried.
And Remnant had she tried so many times.
Maybe it's time to do something good with this, Weiss reasoned and got up.
She couldn't tell Ozpin, as much as she wanted to. First off she wasn't even sure where he went off to and second it could easily be considered interfering with an active investigation, given that she originally lied about it.
There were however three people just as interested in the information.
Outside of Club "Black Bear's Den"
"Here we are!" Yang announced, accompanied by a wide-sweeping bow as she and Blake stepped out of the taxi.
Ignoring the blonde's dramatic flares Blake studied the building they were in front of; the architecture wasn't anything to stand out from the rest of the street. The only thing that told Blake that there was something special about it was the extra-large double door made out of darkened glass.
"Come on, my contact is inside," Yang motioned and started walking toward the doors and Blake noticed a change in her entire demeanor, with her strides becoming far more confident and with a hint of a sway to them.
To Blake it almost looked like the blonde was… Giddy at the prospect of entering a place where, according to her sister, everyone hated her. The fact did however confirm Blake's suspicions about the girl's nature; a thrill seeker. Blake wouldn't put it pass the blonde to jump of a plane with no parachute if she was bored enough.
Blake had always envied people like those. People who would jump into a fight for the sheer excitement, who would plunge headlong into the dark just to see what's in it.
She envied them, … Because that took bravery.
Taking a deep breath, the black haired girl followed Yang as she neared the club's door.
"No bouncers?" Blake asked as Yang started to push the doors open.
"Only after six," the blonde shrugged. "Club opens around noon, but most people who come at that time don't want trouble. Normally."
"How very reassuring," Blake couldn't resist as the two walked in.
The club was fairly large, even though Blake was sure that she couldn't see a good deal of it even from the elevated position of the entrance. The walls were lined with neon lights, running in sleek lines across the entire length. Large, glass columns flanked the dance floor, tables set up between them. Several raised platforms were on either side of the dance floor, with one a good deal higher than the rest, directly opposed to the entrance. Judging by the equipment there, Blake reasoned that this was probably what was used for a DJ Booth. On the left of the entrance, the wall was taken up completely by a bar, shelves filled with bottles ran the entire length of the bar.
There were already a few patrons around the bar, despite it being only the early afternoon.
"Oh, there's Junior!" Yang pointed toward a man behind the counter and started to walk toward him.
Blake's eyes narrowed at "Junior" as she started evaluating him. One of the first things she learned as a member of the White Fang was to gouge any potential threat as soon as she saw it. And this man's entire demeanor spoke of a threat. He was around seven feet tall, give or take an inch and even in his meticulous dress shirt, vest and pants, he appeared to be built like a freight train.
Blake had very little doubt that if he got his hands on someone, they'd quickly come to regret it.
"Junior!" Yang shouted, even as she and Blake were a good distance away, drawing the attention of every person in the club. As more and more of the patrons and employees turned around to look at the pair, Blake started to feel a mounting sense of malice directed toward them, or more accurately Yang.
Junior also took note of their arrival and turned to one of the other men at the bar, muttering something that Blake couldn't hear or see, before the large man vaulted over the bar.
"Blondie," Junior greeted Yang and stalked toward her. "What in Remnant's Name are you doing here?" he hissed as soon as he was close enough.
"Now, now Junior," Yang smiled sweetly. "Is that any way to treat an old friend?" she asked innocently, but Blake noticed that she kept clenching and unclenching her right hand deliberately.
"We had a deal," the large man protested, though Blake heard a bit of fear in his voice this time. "I don't ban you from here and you don't come for a week after you win a match!"
"I know," Yang nodded. "But I need information. Something only you can get."
"You know the rules Blondie," Junior shook his head. "Information for information."
"How about I just don't tell the Malachite twins you've been sleeping around behind their backs?" Yang asked innocently and Blake actually had to fight the urge to smile at the shock written on Junior's face.
"Fine," he relented. "What do you need?"
"There was a murder last night. A bookstore owner by the name of Tukson," Yang clarified. "Wondering if you know something about it?"
"And here I hoped it was just rumors," Junior growled. "Come to the bar. Don't want to be spooking the patrons. You sure know how to pick your problems Xiao Long!" he muttered as he walked away.
"Okay," Yang whispered to Blake. "Now I am a bit worried."
"Why?" Blake asked. "He agreed didn't he?"
"Yeah, but he normally just spills," Yang shook her head. "None of this 'don't want to disturb' nonsense."
"Must be good then," Blake reasoned and walked toward the bar.
At the bar Blake saw Junior already mixing some sort of drink. As she and yang saw down on a couple of barstools the man slid the ready drink in front of Yang.
"Strawberry Sunrise," he explained. "No ice."
"You forgot the umbrella," Yang pointed, but never the less took a sip. "Not bad. Oh, what's this?" Yang pointed at a bowl and Blake say it filled with some kind of fruit, that reminded her a bit of lemons in appearance.
"Loquats," Junior clarified. "Mix up with an order and now I'm trying to get rid of them. Want one?"
"Nah," Yang waved him off. "I don't eat anything I can't pronounce."
"That could be rice," Junior smirked.
"I believe I had a question?" Yang asked, her friendly demeanor immediately replaced with quiet anger and Blake had to resist the urge to giggle. It was comical how the blonde could make fun of anyone and anything, but hated being made fun of.
"Word on the street is," Junior began as he took a piece of cloth and started to clean a glass. "That Tukson is,… Was, a member of the White Fang."
The little bit of information sent a chill down Blake's spine. Sure the book, Third Crusade, should have probably been a tip off for her, but she had hoped that it was a coincidence. After all, Third Crusade was an assassination order.
"The White Fang?" Yang asked surprised. "I thought they didn't operate in Vale?"
"They didn't," Junior confirmed. "Not until about six months ago, right around the time Councilwoman Fall started her campaign against the Fang, Remnant wide. Guess they needed the manpower."
Blake tried to keep her composure as Junior himself probably wasn't aware how close he came to hitting the nail on the head.
During her years in the White Fang, they never expanded into Vale for the simple reason that it didn't really offer much in terms of resources, both industrial and in terms of manpower. Vale was the intellectual capital of Remnant, with just enough infrastructure to support itself with most other things being imported from Vacuo, Atlas and Mistral. Oh sure it served as a travel hub and it made getting in and out of the other three easier, but it was also the most accepting of the Four Kingdoms when it came to Faunus. Hard to build up a following when everyone is happy.
That is, until six months ago, Councilwoman Cinder Fall started to really crack down on the White Fang and by extension Faunus in general. The woman's crusade was ruthless and incredibly spot on, to the point where many of the White Fang branches started accusing each other of treason.
"Dad did say the campaign was a mistake," Yang muttered.
"Mistake or not, it gave the Fang a chance to start a small following here," Junior shrugged. "So far they've been playing nice with others though, except one or two hits against the Schnee Mining Company, but that's to be expected."
"What does this have to do with Tukson being killed though?" Yang asked. "What's the point of killing a supporter?"
"Getting there Blondie," the man raised his hand. "I overheard that Tukson was trying to get out. Contacted one of my dealers for documents to get out of Vale and into Patch. Last I heard from my guy as well."
"Any idea who made the hit?"
"No," Junior shook his head. "The Fang likes to keep things in house. Even I'm not privy to that kind of infor…"
"Hey! Xiong!" a male voice yelled from behind them and Blake saw one of the patrons moving toward them. "What's the big deal letting the blonde bimbo in?"
"I don't know," Yang replied, her voice cheerful. "Why did you let this guy in Junior?"
"Look you two," Junior spoke up. "I don't want problems in my bar. You want to fight, go outside."
"Oh, you are such a spoil sport Junior," Yang laughed and then turned toward the other patron. "Now scram off, I've got business to discuss with Junior."
"Whatever," the man scoffed. "Have fun rigging your next match! God knows you can't win otherwise!" he continued, just loud enough for the other patrons to hear. Some of them even laughed.
Blake felt Yang bristle next to her, hands clenching into fists. The girl literally started radiating aggression. Figuring that this could very well erupt into a brawl, Blake started to look around the bar for a weapon of some kind. While she could probably go hand-to-hand, especially since this time she was rested and not starving, she didn't really like fighting without an advantage.
"Why don't you come over here and say that?" the blonde turned around on her barstool, glaring at the man, knuckles cracking.
"Xiao Long, I don't need another repair bill," Junior stated calmly, though Blake noticed that he had retreated a few steps back.
"I'd love to," the man replied with a confident smirk. "But that'd mean taking you away from your pet."
Blake felt her nails scratch the counter at the remark, but she quickly reigned in her emotions. The insult was something she'd gotten used to over the years. It didn't need to register externally.
Internally however,…
"Why you,…" Yang got up, but before she could take a step toward the man, Blake grabbed her wrist.
"Don't be so dramatic," Blake sighed as she got off the bar stool. "I'll be back in a minute." She called back as she walked toward the man.
"Oh, this I going to be rich!" the man laughed and was quickly joined
Yes it will, Blake smirked inwardly.
Club "Black Bear's Den" Bar
"Blondie, go and bail out your friend," Junior urged Yang, who simply nodded and started to walk toward the group.
After she got rid of the annoying idiot who insulted her boxing, Yang had every intention of beating some sense into Blake for taking the bait. Sure it sounded hypocritical, even to herself, but the difference between them was that Yang could actually beat the stuffing out of those drunk losers and Blake would probably just…
Hit him straight in the solar plexus, Yang blinked as she saw the black haired girl delivered a precise blow, just under the man's ribs, making him double over in pain. As his head reached a low point, Blake slammed her elbow into his nose and Yang heard a familiar crack as the guy's head rubber banded back up, blood spraying from the broken appendage. Not giving him time to recover the raven-haired girl, swept her right leg forward, catching the tall oaf's ankle as she went and sent him tumbling down to the floor.
Yang blinked dumb folded at the display and simply sat back down.
"On second thought, I think she's got this," she said to Junior and grabbed the remainder of her drink.
"Hm,"
From her seat, Yang saw as the second man encroached Blake and tried to sucker punch the girl from behind, but she simply moved to her right, letting the hand pass through where her head was moments before, and then seized the limb and with a simple repositioning of her legs, sent the man tumbling forward and over her, landing on the first.
Yang was… Impressed.
Sure, the blonde could fight and was one of the things she prided herself most on, (Right after her incredible sense of humor of course) but this was… Elegant.
Oh sure it was savage and deadly, no doubt about that, as she saw a third man go down just as fast as the first two, but it was also so… Pretty. It wasn't Yang's style which consisted of simply punching and kicking her way through the opposition as savagely as she could.
This was precise, efficient and even a bit scary, if she had to be honest with herself.
Another hapless patron decided to join the fray , only for Blake to almost seamlessly move behind him and kick the back of his knees, forcing him to drop down to the floor hard.
"Ouch," Junior muttered as Blake delivered a particularly nasty roundhouse kick to finish off her latest victim.
"I agree," Yang nodded as she sipped her Strawberry Sunrise, not really caring for the drink anymore. The show was far more interesting to her inner brawler.
"So, is she looking for a job…?"
"Hey!" Yang protested. "I saw her first!" she claimed, not caring if she sounded possessive right now. This girl was a hurricane in her own right and only girl besides Coco, Yang had seen fight so ferociously, even if it was restrained.
Yang's musings though were interrupted as she saw that one of the guys who Blake initially knocked down on the floor got up again and actually managed to grab her, while another was approaching, determined to take full advantage of the situation.
Yang quickly dropped her drink and rushed forward, pass the first man and delivered a straight right into the face of the man holding Blake. The guy dropped down to the ground, this time knocked out cold and Yang immediately spun around, just in time to block a wild punch from the man she passed earlier. Before the blonde could retaliate however Blake nailed him with one of the ashtrays from a table, just below the waist and Yang heard a collective groan from all the males in the vicinity.
"That was a bit dirty Blake-y," Yang commented as she raised her fists.
"Then why, pray tell, are you smiling?" the raven-haired girl asked as she moved back to back with Yang.
"I happen to like dirty," Yang smirked, getting ready to continue the fight.
I might just have to call Penny tonight, the blonde thought as she saw another man approaching the duo.
"Alright, that's enough!" Junior called from behind the bar and all of a sudden, about a dozen men, dressed in identical black suits, with red ties walked in and started to disperse the beaten up patrons and their friends.
"Did you have to do that?" Yang asked annoyed. "This was just getting good!"
"Precisely," Junior nodded. "And my bar is still in one piece. I happen to like it like this."
"You could have called your men in earlier," Blake stated matter-of-factly.
"And risk an all-out brawl? Nah," Junior shook his head. "I prefer clean-up."
"We were doing a pretty good job, cleaning up," Yang smirked and put her hand around Blake's shoulder
"Shut up, Blondie," Junior sighed and grabbed one of the loquats. "Here, eat a loquat!" he added, plopping the fruit in Yang's mouth, as she opened it to protest.
"Not bad," Yang managed through her chewing. "Where were we before the interruption?"
"I just finished telling you everything I knew about Tukson," Junior answered the rhetorical question. "And I was about to ask you to leave!" he added pointing at the door.
"You really don't know anything?"
"After last time, do you really think I'd lie to you Blondie?" Junior asked, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Fair enough," Yang shrugged. "Come on Blake!"
With that the two girls started toward the door, but it wasn't before they were well out of Junior's range of hearing that Yang's companion spoke up.
"Think he was telling the truth?" she asked.
"If he knows what's good for him," Yang nodded.
"Sounds like there's a story behind your meeting,"
"Yeah," Yang nodded, smiling at the memory. "And speaking of stories… Where did you learn to fight like that, it was awesome!" she asked, a bit of childish glee slipping into her voice.
"It was nothing special, really," Blake said modestly.
"Nothing?" the brawler asked scandalized. "It was incredible!"
"Maybe," the raven-haired girl shrugged. "But it doesn't change the fact that we're back to square one." He reminded, making Yang realize that she was right. Sure they learned something, but it was a far cry from having a solid lead to follow. Sure they now knew that there was probably a connection to the White Fang, but that didn't exactly mean they could follow up on that.
Sure, Yang was a crazy, adrenaline junkie, thrill-seeker, but that didn't mean she was stupid or suicidal!
"Guess you're right," Yang sighed in defeat. "We could always tell the police about it." She offered. "Junior isn't exactly on the up and up with some of his business practices, but his information is known to be reliable even by VPD standards."
"It could work," Blake nodded and Yang immediately grabbed her and started dragging her toward the street so they could hail a cab.
What surprised Yang though was that she saw Schnee walking toward them. What was even more surprising to Yang was that the girl looked exactly like she did when they left her back at Tukson's Book Trade, leading Yang to believe that the heiress hadn't gone back home, like she originally stated she'd do.
"Xiao Long, I need to talk to you!" the pale girl called out as she stalked toward them.
"What do you want Princess?" Yang asked. "I'm in a hurry!"
"I might have some information…" Schnee began, but Yang's scroll rang, interrupting her.
"Sorry, but this is more important," Yang smirked, causing the other teen to bristle as Yang pulled out the communication device and saw that Ruby was calling her. "Hey Rubs, what's…"
"I have your sister!" a male voice informed her from the other end, making Yang's stomach drop.