The Lines We Draw
Chapter 2
She was playing with her baby sister. That's how the dream always started.
A field full of flowers, crowns of daises, rings of golden dandelion. It was a simple afternoon in the late spring. While completing the much smaller crown for her sister, Yang would look up and see someone. Try as she might, she couldn't recognize the woman's face off in the distance. The dappled sunlight was bright enough to shroud the woman when the trunk of the tree could not.
Whoever that woman was, she was expressionless. Black hair wafting around her, hiding her like black smoke. The woman was standing not as pillar strength, but as a mere person lacking even dignity. Grace sacrificed for the thinning of her own resolve, and the turn of her back. The woman would begin to leave.
Yang would stand and take a few steps. Then, like always, a small hand would reach into her own. Her baby sister would toddle behind her, and cling onto the hem of her shirt. She'd been told several times before to stay with her little sister. To keep watch after her, and with a sigh, she picked up the small girl and carried her away to a safer place, where the stranger wouldn't be watching them.
Yang, like always, woke up shortly thereafter.
That dream, while not a bad one, lingered in her memory. She knew who that shrouded figure was now that she was older. It was her mother. Yang had long grown accustomed to those fleeting moments of seeing the woman. It happened a lot, actually. Even more often than not, she felt the eyes of someone burning into her back, watching her. Though she suspected a mother's love ran deep, she had no proof. She had no reason to believe that the shadow stalking her actually cared about her.
So then, why was Yang still alive? After all, there were many times she needed saving as a child. Times when she even endangered her baby sister. Times they both should have been killed, but people always seemed to protect them. It wasn't just her uncle, or her father. There had been others too.
In the darkness of night, when her eyes tempted to betray her with confused tears, she wished that shadow loomed now. That she could ask questions to the darkness, and maybe just once, hear an answer. It was a silly whim, and Yang knew she wouldn't have the opportunity. Still, it was what drove her. To be able to ask one simple question.
Why?
Just...why?
Reaching for the water bottle, she swiveled the cap and took a long drink before rolling over once more. It was only a few hours before dawn, and she would let her thoughts wander the empty space between wakefulness and sleep, categorizing that dream again. Thinking of it, and the small bit of comfort that it provided. The tiny reason Yang kept searching for her mother.
Because that woman's face had been filled with regret. For just one moment, a mother looked to her child with love, and a farewell. That Yang had seen her that one time had been intentional. Her mother had wanted that, but for what reason, Yang never knew.
...
It was sometime around sunrise that she felt her bed sink with a weight that was not her own. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the murmurs of the other girls. Her breath remained even, her body moving only slightly with each exhale.
"No use." Ruby hissed so loudly that it was laughable. "Out like a light."
"Still?" This came from Weiss, who was more in control of her volume, and of her footsteps.
"Let's leave her be. It's not like we have class today." Finally Blake, the reasonable one. "There are plenty of other places to be, rather than stuck in here."
"Common room?" Ruby asked.
"The library." Weiss retorted with her usual bite laced in her tone. "You need to start working on your grades."
"Hush, before you wake her up." Blake nagged, dragging both the girl out of the room and closing the door behind her. "We'll figure out where to go as we walk."
There were a few angry utterances from beyond the door, but Yang wasn't quite sure what the arguing was about. It slowly turned quiet, and that's when she finally pulled herself out of bed. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she just wanted to be lazy. Of course, that was the first sign that something was terribly wrong with her, and she didn't want the girls catching onto to her.
It was bad enough Blake seemed to know.
She looked to the wall. Four shower baskets hung in their respective positions, and Yang took hers and headed for the showers at the end of her floor. It was the only place with any real sort of privacy, and even then, she didn't seem to be alone.
"Morning Yang." Pyrrha greeted from one of the sinks, her long red hair wrapped up in a towel. "You're up early."
"I wanted to beat the rush." Yang replied, heading towards the rack of towels that were freshly laundered and folded each day.
"Aren't you usually one of the rush?" The woman asked with just a small hint of amusement playing across her lips.
Most of the time, yes, she was. All of team RWBY, Nora from team JNPR, Velvet from CFVY, and several others had such bad time management skills that they always ended up fighting over the ten sinks, showers, and toilet stalls before classes commenced. On weekends, mornings in the bathroom was like that of a ghost town, and many of the early risers took joy in that.
Yang, however couldn't keep her brain where it belonged, and her mouth ran away with her wayward thoughts.
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said, sending her friend a passing sideways glance. "Could you repeat that?"
"Level with me here." Yang sighed, setting her basket down on the counter and leaning against the tiled wall. Arms crossed casually, her feet did the same at the ankle. "What in the hell is Nora thinking?"
"I don't try to understand half of what she does." Pyrrha shrugged, not wanting to anger the elder of the two siblings. "You're going to have to clarify."
"Ruby." That single word was all it took.
"Oh, I see." That name and the way it came out. Pyrrha set down the brush she had just picked up, leaving her damp hair forgotten. "I was wondering if you noticed that."
"Kind of hard not to." Yang replied evenly. "She is my little sister."
"That's true." Pyrrha let her words trail off in thought. "Nora's not thinking, or rather, she doesn't think anything of it."
"That's what I was worried about." Yang muttered, rubbing her face out of frustration. "Stupid…stupid situation."
"Nora's not trying to be malicious. In fact, I don't think she has it in her to lead Ruby on." Pyrrha explained with soft conviction. Pure honesty and little more. She cared about Nora and Ruby both, and had been monitoring the situation from afar. "She's just not that kind of person."
"I know that." Yang said with a roll of her eyes. "If anything, it's one-sided on Ruby's part. Still though, you can't blame me for being worried about my kid sister."
"Maybe you could just talk to Nora yourself." Pyrrha suggested simply in her usual gentle manner. "I'm sure she would understand."
Yang shrugged, but didn't give any voice to the tumbling little considerations. She kept rolling them around in her head. She also didn't like any of the answers she could come up with. "That's what I'm afraid of." Yang finally said under her breath as she picked up the basket and headed across the room to where the large showers were located.
The sooner she could stop worrying about Ruby, the better. Though, if she were being honest, she knew that her younger sister's plight was merely a distraction and little more.
And if that shouldn't make her feel as guilty as it did, she didn't know what should.
…
Yank knew it was wrong to listen in on her own team's conversations, but she couldn't help but worry that they were catching onto her. Or rather, that one person one. Weiss wasn't particularly stupid. Where Ruby was the strategist on the fly, Weiss was the technical expert. Leaving the two girls along was a recipe for disaster. Blake had a tendency to play devil's advocate, which only further complicated the whole situation.
And Yang, didn't want Weiss to find out the truth.
So like snoop, Yang expertly eavesdropped on the situation. Pressing the receiver into her ear, the bug she had planted in Blake's ribbon did most of the work for her. Though, she would pay dearly in expensive fish dinners later, of that Yang was sure. The conversation was garbled, but hearable.
"All I'm saying is it's not like Yang to skip breakfast." Weiss murmured over her perfectly balanced meal. "Maybe we should bring something back to the room for her."
"I really don't think that's a good idea." Blake pointed out.
"She does seem to be in a bad mood." Ruby noted.
"Blake, she's your best friend, right?" Weiss asked with a cutting tone. "Don't you know what's wrong with her?"
"It isn't my place to say." Blake knew alright. A little slip of the tongue would be all it took, but she kept it to herself. She flicked her eyes to the wall that Yang was hiding behind and smirked. Just because she agreed to go along with Yang's goofiness didn't mean she wasn't going to have fun with it. "Yang just needs to sort some things out for herself. Too bad she has bullets for brains sometimes."
"What a second. This isn't about yesterday, is it?" Weiss asked cryptically.
"What happened yesterday?" This came from Ruby, reminding them of her presence.
"Nothing." Blake lied easily. "We were just talking about the new dust compounds in the bullet that Yang uses."
"Oh, okay." Ruby accepted the explanation simply as that, while both Yang and Weiss both took a sigh of relief.
Yang pulled the receiver out of her ear, mentally promising to douse Blake with ice water the next chance she got, knowing that Blake hated freezing water more than the average person. Until then though, she would have to play the part of troublesome older sister. It was the same routine every day, that perfect mask of resistance up once more.
Yang exuded her false bravado and charm with witty flirtation. Luckily for her, a perfect target passed her by.
Rolling with the flow given to her by the ever collected Coco Adel, Yang took her opportunity. "Hey, mind if I borrow you."
"Up to no good again, Yang?" The woman asked, her eyes peeking out from the rim of her glasses.
"As always." Yang said with a smirk. "So, you mind?"
"You're just lucky you know how to play it cool." Coco said as she slid her hand around Yang's hip, her fingers brushing along soft, exposed skin. Yang shivered at the feel, and Coco noticed. "Been a long time, huh."
"Too long." She admitted as they started to walk. "So you and Fox?" Yang's hand found its favorite perch, the ass pocket of Coco's dark pants, her fingers and palm a perfect fit. Coco was everything Yang looked for an wing-girl and more. That she could play with Coco on the side a little bit was only added fun.
"And Velvet." Coco murmured.
Letting out a low whistle, Yang tried to interpret that the best she could. "Didn't know about her."
"Keep it on the down-low. She's not a fan of PDA, and so we keep what we do with her behind closed doors." Coco explained in a hushed murmur into Yang's ear. As they passed table after table of unassuming eyes, Coco smirked against that heated flesh. "Yang, if you ever needed to take the edge off, you know where to find me. I don't make that offer lightly, either."
"Yeah, I know you don't." Yang sighed, mentally pushing away a world of temptation offered to her in that one single moment.
"No come-back?" She let her palm squeeze that hip that fit so good in her hold. "You must really be hard-up."
"You have no idea." Yang admitted, with a hiss. If she was merely looking for a one night stand, she wouldn't look any further. The only problem was, she wanted more than that. Yang craved the touch of a woman who didn't even know how she felt. "It's fine though, honestly. I'll get mine soon enough."
"Better get it soon, it's not good to be so pent up." Coco smirked, her thumb brushing up exposed skin once more. Yang's shiver was delightful, and that flash of red in Yang's eyes was hotter than any she-devil to cross Coco's path before. "See what I mean?"
Yang Squeezed Coco's ass hard. "Stop being a bitch."
"Then stop making it so damn easy." Coco retaliated coyly, her breath doing terrible things across Yang's neck. "You're making it too hard to resist." Finally, they came to the table that the freshmen were sitting at. "Hey girls."
"Hey Coco." Ruby greeted, her head cocked to the side as she took in the familiar and yet strange sight. "Yang, are you hungry? You don't have a food tray."
"She's mine for today." Coco said, pulling Yang just that much closer. "Actually, I wanted to borrow Blake too. Velvet and I need some sparring partners who don't mind playing dirty. I would ask Pyrrha and Nora, but from what I hear, Nora's too predictable."
"You two good to study on your own today?" Yang asked Ruby with her usual cocky smirk.
"Uh, yeah..." Ruby agreed. "I guess."
"We'll be fine." Weiss said as she gathered her things. "I'll help get Ruby caught up."
"That settles it." Yang grabbed Blake by the shirt, yanking her to stand. "Come on Blake, let's go kick some ass."
As the trio trudged off, Blake noticed something that made her ears twitch. She doubted even her ribbon could hide it. She glanced over her shoulder. Weiss was watching them go, a dubious look on her features. Her eyes burned into one back in-particular. Blake waited until they were further out of ear shot before she spoke about her findings. "Um, I hate to say this Yang, but it looks like she's on to you."
"Well maybe if you'd let Coco get a little frisky with you too, I wouldn't be having this problem." Yang said softly, but with good humor.
"It was only a matter of time." Coco said coolly. "Face it, Yang, your losing your game here."
Turning the corner, they hit an abandoned hallway. "Alright then, what would you do?" Yang asked, a tiny hint of desperation finally reaching her voice.
"Blake, meet up with Velvet in training hall two. I'll be there with this one in just a sec." Coco explained as she carefully pulled off her glasses, and rested them on the collar of her shirt, only partially folded.
Blake bristled, a shiver rolling up her spine. She knew what that meant, and didn't want to be around for it. Coco never showed her eyes unless she meant business. It wasn't the violent kind, either. Having been on the receiving end of one of Coco's discussions before, Blake wanted nothing more than to find their bunny-eared friend and put this whole situation behind her.
Coco pushed Yang into a nearby elevator, closing the doors, and slamming the emergent stop button. Here, they'd have a little privacy. "Okay cutie, listen close. For an underclassmen, you've got game. That'll get you by if you're looking for a good time, but that's not what you want." Coco was sure of that, because even with having Yang up against the metal wall, it wasn't lust that swirled in lilac colored eyes. "You can keep shaking that tight ass of yours, keep flirting, and playing these games. I don't mind."
"Geeze, I didn't think I'd be getting a lecture from you of all people…"
"Look at me Yang." Coco murmured hotly.
The younger girl didn't have the gull, because that wasn't playful cockiness in Coco's tone. It was something a fraction deeper, intent. Of what kind, Yang wasn't exactly sure. She didn't give coco the satisfaction of obedience. "No."
Leather clad fingers lifted Yang's face, meeting the younger girl's gaze once more. "You can't beat me in this. It's not about fighting. So spill, why haven't you told her the truth? It's not like you to cower."
Yang nodded, sighed deeply, and shrugged. Coco wasn't the enemy here, which is why she hadn't yet raised a fist to the woman. "I'm riff-raff, okay? I get that. I don't stand a chance with Weiss."
"You're selling yourself sort." Coco had always wondered what it would feel like to kiss this woman. To take her and have her way with her. Yang, while a flirt, held a timid nature expected of a girl her age. "I'm an aristocrat too, and if I thought it would go somewhere, I would have been after you the first day you sauntered your happy little ass on the campus."
"It's different with her."
"It's not."
"Yes! It is."
Yang was starting to put up an interesting fight of denial. With one dark eyebrow raised, Coco let a little smirk show. She slid one leather clad thigh between Yang's own. Coco had always found it strange that Yang left so much of her body exposed, chalking up to a matter of fashion choices along. She had soon come to find that all of that exposed skin was like an armor to Yang. A way to intimidate and keep people from getting too close. Yang exuded sexuality, but cut to the core of all of that, and you had an average teenage girl, with average teenage problems.
Yang needed to be brought down a peg, and Coco was too happy to oblige, her lips claiming those of the twin-fisted terror in a rough and heated kiss. At first, Yang tried to back out, only to feel the metal wall keeping her there. It was only after a soft groan of frustration from Yang that Coco broke the contact. "It's that easy Yang. Put the ball on her court, and she'll handle the rest." Flicking her glasses out, she perched them back onto the bridge of her nose. "Now then, I believe we have a sparring match to get to."
…
For days, Yang felt that mind numbing tingle of an earthshattering kiss. It played havoc on her mind. It wasn't so much the kiss itself, as the message behind it. What Coco had told her to do made Yang balk. For all of her confidence, she couldn't very well pin Weiss down and kiss the woman. It was what Yang wanted to do, of course…but it wouldn't be the right thing. Although, she doubted that just telling Weiss would do her any good either.
Weiss was starting to suspect her of something, too. Yang was noticing more sideways glances, more strange looks. Yang should have known she was dragging things too far, but, she couldn't help it. As a huntress in training though, this was inexcusable.
No plan survives contact with the enemy – it was an old saying drilled into every young cadet who first begin training.
Be it military, or the hunt, every young man and woman to enter an academy such as Beacon understood those words and took them as law. Hunters would become the hunted, and grim would run wild if such laws weren't stringently obeyed. Humanity teetered on the cusp of ruin, and that was something that everyone knew in the backs of their minds. Peace of the soul was a precious thing, and it was something granted safe harbor in the hearts of the youth. They carried on the traditions of their forbearers.
At least, that's what the musty textbooks said over and over again.
Yang wasn't paying attention to the lecture going on, her mind was on the woman beside her, dutifully taking notes. She sighed to herself as she looked at three other people she called a team. Blake didn't need to study to get by, it was simply a formality. She read for pleasure, not for school. Weiss studied too much, as proved by her rigorous note taking, and utterances that the portly man in front of them was talking too fast. Finally, Ruby say the furthest away in a daze. She was listening, but she wasn't writing anything down. The next test would only prove just how lackluster Ruby's memory really was.
Yang looked down at her own notebook, realizing how barren it had become. She'd been spacing out for a while now. Much longer than she should have, and finally the bell rang, singling the end of the torture. Like always, the man in front of them left his story unfinished, to be bantered upon the next day.
"Yang," Weiss said as she closed her book. Her crisp eyes saw the lack of Yang's own endeavors, and concern filled her voice once more. "We need to talk."