Last chapter's review feedback!
unmei96: Damnit Blake, indeed. And well, she did have reasons to hide it so :)
ThePeridotRanger: Thanks dude, glad you like it! I saw a headcanon of Adam being Blake's older brother a long time ago, I thought it was interesting B)
FoxyFoxation: Oh lordy lord. Sorry to make ya feel, bud. I don't want to say any spoilers BUT I can assure you, I do have this story planned out and there will be some lovely fluff at some point. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Still happy you want to keep reading though :)
Matthew998: I'm anticipating it too! hehe
whyspers: Thanks dude!
Now that that's out of the way, time to start the chapterrr, legooo!
Chapter 6: Dusk
Blake was jerked awake by two stiff hands on her shoulders and a distance shout. Her heavy eyelids slowly blinked open as the long-haired figure in front of her continued to rattle the noirette. Blake licked her dry lips as her dazed and partly-shut amber eyes peered into wide lilacs.
"Blake come on, you gotta wake up!" Yang shouted her whisper, still trying to get the half-awake girl fully conscience, "Wakey-wakey eggs-n-Blakey!"
A dopey groan spilled out of the raven-haired girl's throat as the blonde insisted on shaking her sleepy form until she got a proper response from the girl.
"Yeah, yeah… I'm awake…" Blake slurred, her eyes staring into now less distressed violet eyes. Yang stopped shaking the noirette and opted to rest her comforting human hand on her shoulder. "Good, I'm glad," she smiled slightly before continuing with a focused face, "Listen, the train's breaks went off a little while ago but- but something's off. I know you said you're getting off when this train stops but this isn't a normal, we're not at a proper train station or anything. I think we might have some trouble."
That's when Blake's eyelids flung open and was knocked fully awake. Her body flooded with sudden anxiety as she unconsciously grasped the blonde's forearm. "Y-Yang, what do you mean?" Blake gulped, her heart picking up its pace. Trouble? What does she mean 'trouble'? Can't I just catch a fucking break today?
Yang's dead-serious expression reflected onto the noirette, "I think some baddies hijacked the train."
Blake bit her lip, gripping the blonde's hoodie tighter in rising panic. Her breath hitched in her throat and felt her hands become slightly clammy against the heavy fabric she held. Blake opened her mouth to respond but before she could, cold metal suddenly made contact with her lips.
"It'll be fine if we stay quiet and hidden," Yang's whisper assured, her metal index finger shushed Blake's unsaid words. The raven-haired girl slowed her breathing as she nodded with her eyebrows furrowed. She knew all about being unseen and unheard so she thought this could be easily enough. Maybe I could even impress Yang that I'm more than just some nerdy bookish girl… For fuck's sake, Blake, why are you thinking about something like that right now?! This is serious!
The noirette gulped down the lump in her throat and pulled away from Yang's arm to shift towards a more viable hiding spot. The blonde followed Blake's lead, tip-toing over to the blind spot corner of the train cart. Yang sidled against the metal construct, and ever so slightly poked her head out to see if anyone was walking. The late evening-almost-night sky made it hard to see but despite that, she still was able to make out a few dark, human outlines. Her body jolted back to her spot beside Blake, her purple eyes wide. Yang pursed her thin lips together and looked over at amber eyes, silently telling Blake there were people outside. Nodding, the noirette focused her attention on listening to the men's footsteps. Her Faunus cat ears twitched against her bow as she heard uneven footsteps, suggesting to Blake that the people were not consistently walking. The blonde that stood to the left of her peered at the concentrated raven-haired girl, but before she could say a word, Blake whispered.
"How many people?"
Yang frowned, "I can't tell, it's too dark."
Blake decided she wanted to see for herself, just to make sure. She switched places with Yang and poked her head out for the smallest of moments then quickly went back to her spot.
"There's three," she said, blinking her amber eyes at the blonde.
Yang quirked an eyebrow, "How did you-?"
Her question was cut off by Blake's soft shushing.
Biting her lip, Blake stood stiff as did Yang for a long second. Her eyes soon enough landed on her knapsack that was slumped against the wall across from her. Opting that it would be best not to leave without it, the noirette began to slowly take a light step forward with an extended arm but she quickly flung her body back as a furious shout scared her back into hiding.
"All these fucking carts are empty! Every damn one of them! We're wasting our fucking time here! Are you sure this is even the right train, lieutenant?!" A man's harsh voice sounded followed by a sharp thump of a study object slamming against the metal exterior of one of the carts.
"Oi, settle down! You're gonna let all of Remnant know we're here, you idiot!" A different man barked, his voice deeper and gruffer than the first, "Grunt, recheck that slip we got from headquarters!"
The two made no noise, and after a moment, a third voice softly spoke out.
"Uhhm… Schnee Dust Company transport train, uhuh… North of Vale, mhm… Nine… Nine o'clock…" The grunt's soft voice drifted off. There was another small silence before the lieutenant's impatient growl cut through the air, "What is it? Spit it out already, ya weasel!"
"Sir… sir, it says here nine o'clock AM not PM…"
A heavy but short pause.
"…What did you just say, grunt?"
Blake's Faunus ears twitched as she leaned in a little closer to the opening of the train cart. Yang clutched the noirette's shoulder, silently telling her to be careful.
"I- I must have misread the message, lieutenant. I'm s-sorry, I didn't- Forgive m-" The grunt was cut off abruptly and was replaced with a painful shriek as the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed.
"You moron! This is why I don't want fucking newbies tagging along with me, you only weight me down and cause problems!"
Blake gasped lightly as she felt Yang's grip on her shoulder grow tighter. The raven-haired girl cocked her head to look at the blonde and her amber eyes met with concerned, serious lilacs. "Who are these crooks, Blake? What happened? What do you see?" Yang's troubled whisper questioned. Blake turned away for a moment, her head out of the opening. Her eyes dropped to see the third man laying still on the ground as the second man towered over him menacingly, his hand in a tight fist. She squinted her eyes, making out the symbol that was stitched on the front of the man's white-vest uniform.
No- No, they can't be-
Blake cursed under her breath and whipped her head back to face Yang, her whisper distressed. "These- These aren't your everyday bandits…" She took a breath, "T-They're apart of White Fang." The blonde's eyes widened and she clenched her teeth as if anger suddenly pumped through her veins.
"White Fang? Are you fucking kidding me? N-No way. I... I swore if I ever saw any one of those assholes ever again, I would-!" Yang furiously whispered, glaring pass the noirette towards the opening of the train cart. The blonde subconsciously formed her metal hand into a tight iron fist. Blake's expression flushed with worry as she gripped Yang's sleeve, trying to calm down the suddenly pissed-off brawler. Does she have history with the White Fang? What happened between them and Yang for her to be so angry with them?
"Yang, listen to me, please. I don't want any trouble. It'll be better to sneak away, we just have to wait for the right-" Blake pleaded the blood-boiling blonde in an anxious whisper. Yang's lilac eyes flashed a crimson tint, not bothering to look at the girl.
"I gotta do something, Blake. Don't worry, it'll only take a minute, tops." Yang shook off the noirette's grasp and intimidatingly marched her way towards the exit. Blake's citrine eyes filled with fear when she saw the blonde hop out of the train with her fists clenched tight. "N-no, wait, Yang!" The raven-haired girl's breath gasped, but she already knew it was too late.
"Hey, jackasses!" Yang shouted harshly, getting the attention of the two White Fang members, "Somethin' the matter?"
The presumed lieutenant, a tall and heavily-built ox of a man, roared back, "And just who the hell are you, bitch?"
Yang slyly grinned and lightly chuckled at the man, inching closer and closer towards the two. Are you out of your mind, Yang?! These are White Fang members! Not some carefree boxing match!
"I've been getting called that a lot lately, I hope it doesn't become a trend or anything," Yang scoffed, looking scarily devious. "Boss, I thought this train wasn't transporting people," the first man stated more that questioned. The lieutenant grumbled as an answer and stepped over the third man's unconscious body while rubbing his right fist, getting closer to Yang. The other man, who was shorter and leaner, trailed behind.
"Are you looking for a fight, girly?" The White Fang higher up threatened, slightly adjusting the white mask that covered his entire face. Blake bit her lip, poking her head out further as Yang kept walking towards the men. This is bad, oh fuck, this is really bad. Damnit!
Yang rolled both of her sleeves up to her elbows, exposing both her human and metal lower arms as her fingers curled into fists. Blake noticed that Yang had a sleeve tattoo on her outer right forearm. Hyper-realistic dragon scales coated the limb, the orangey-red and golden shade almost glowing in the dusk that surrounded them. If the tattoo was this breath-taking from a distance, Blake wondered how mystic and beautiful it would be to admire up close but she had to shake her head to rid her thoughts, Blake's mind needing to focus on the real concern in front of her.
Yang held her fists in front of her, her body getting into boxing stance. Grinning, she glared at the men with red-tinted lilacs.
"Aha, 'suppose I am, asshat."
"Why, you little-!" The lieutenant yelled, cocking his head over to his sideman, "What are you waiting for, nitwit!? Get her!"
The lean man hesitated for a short moment, but soon obeyed the gruff man's orders, sprinting at Yang with heavy steps. She stood still, her grin getting wider as the man approached her. He threw an unskilled and overpowered punch at Yang's face, but she dodged it with ease, making the White Fang member almost trip over his own feet. The blonde now stood still behind him and waited for her opponent to perk his head up.
"Wow, is that what they teach all of the member at White Fang? Tsk, tsk," Yang nonchalantly provoked. The man shot back up into fighting position and grimaced, showing he was ready to commence the brawl once again. Yang humph-ed and prepared to fight.
The shorter man sent a fury of messy jabs, aiming for Yang's neck and face, though none actually hit her as she just continued to swift dodge every punch thrown at her. She blocked one of the man's hooks with her metal forearm, as a cracking sound echoed. He groaned in pain as he staggered back, cradling his now-broken left fist in his right palm. Seeing the clear opening to the man's torso, Yang hooked her opponent square in the gut, punching the breath right out of him. The man wheezed and dropped to his knees, holding his body up with unbroken hand. Yang casually walked over to the front of the beat-up man, her blood-shot eyes peering down into the two eye slits of the White Fang mask he wore.
"I'd warn you to be more careful next time, but I don't think I'll be seeing you again," She smugly stated and without waiting for a reply from the man, she kneed him directly underneath his jaw with an audible crack, his body flopping to the ground unconscious. Yang exhaled and cracked the joints of her knuckles.
Blake had to retrieve her jaw from the floor. That was… amazing. She makes it seem like that was nothing! The noirette's amber eyes fell onto the gruff White Fang lieutenant, who seemed to be getting angrier and angrier as each second passed. It may have been nothing for Yang to knock out the White Fan grunt but facing the lieutenant one v one was an entirely different story. Knowing this, Blake took this time to quickly grab and slip on her knapsack; she watched in slience.
"Round two?" Yang questioned mischievously with a smirk, her elbows bent and hands slightly extended in front of her, suggesting to fist fight. The lieutenant grunted and, without a second thought, darted at the blonde, "Why, you motherfucking whore!"
The heavy-built man opted to first lead on with a low and powerful kick towards Yang's shins. Being a light one on her feet, she hoping over the foot with no problem, making a soft "humph" sound as she jumped. The man came back around with a swinging fist aimed for the blonde's face but she, again, dodged it successfully by ducking. As Yang was close to the ground, she shot an iron fist followed by her human one into the man's gut. The man inched back slightly from the two consecutive hits which allowed the twenty-year-old girl to shuffle back to space herself from the man at a comfortable distance. The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
"Is that all you got, worthless amputated bitch?!" The White Fang lieutenant bellowed and deeply chuckled.
The dusk air grew heavy and thick. Blake held her breath as she shifted her feet towards the entrance of the train cart. While they're distracted I can just-
"…What did you just call me?" Yang bit back, disgust dripping down her tongue.
Blake felt the lieutenant evilly grin from behind his mask.
"I assure you that a White Fang never forgets! And I'm sure you haven't forgotten what happened either. But just to remind you: you and your pack of hoodlums took our stuff, so we took something to be even with ya," The man barked, pointing to Yang's prosthetic metal arm, "You've been holding that grudge for way too long now!"
Yang's fists tightened into a white-knuckle grip, she tilted her head downwards and closed her eyes, her breath heavy. When she opened her eyelids, her once-lilac eyes were now blood-shot crimson.
"Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up!" The blonde roared, her legs breaking into a mad sprint towards the lieutenant. It seemed like she'd gone berserk in an instant, as if her once-clear mind was replaced with thoughts of a blood-thirsty dragon.
The huge man just stood steady on his ground, ready to endure the girl's impact. When Yang was close enough, she threw a vigorous hook with her metal hand towards the man's gut. Before she was able to make contact, the man pulled his torso back, making Yang slightly stumble. She recovered quickly, her teeth clenched into a grim frown of hatred.
I've… I've seen that expression before… from my- my…
Fire. Suffering. Death.
Thoughts of flames burned into Blake's head as she was having a hard time concentrating her mind shifted from reality and imagination. In one moment, it was the blonde stranger throwing punches at a gruff man in white; and in the next, it was a nameless human weakly defending himself from a murderous, red-haired bull Faunus she called her brother.
Adam let out an annoyed and distasted grunt as the ruthless flames behind him grew larger and larger by the second. The sounds of painful screams flowed through the night air, some being drowned out by the sound of bullets or echoing louder before being abruptly cut off. Blake's disheveled and dirtied form crouched behind a lush bush that was not yet a victim to the inferno. Terrified amber eyes were unable to break away from the scene that lay before her.
"Weak and powerless. Who do you think you humans are?!" Adam growled before grabbing the beaten-up middle-aged man by the collar of his shirt. He punched the man's face while her limbs hung lifeless from his body as if he was a ragdoll.
"What? Something wrong? Don't you want to call me all those slurs you used against us Faunus?!" Adam shook the man's crippled body. When the man only let out a light cough, the long coat-clad Faunus roughly pushed the man up against a nearby tree. The intense fire continued to scorch the once-tranquil town as Adam withdrew a small, silver dagger and placed it over the man's bruised neck. Blake's cat ears picked up a low chuckle emanating from her crazed brother. He pushed the dagger's blade deeper and deeper into the man's neck, his smirk growing wide. Blake's liquid-gold eyes filled with horror as her entire body shook, hot tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched the dismay that happened before her.
"Ah, it's always fun to-"
"-Kill a human!"
Blake's mind flashed back to reality, blinking away the newly-formed tears that distorted her view. Her ambers stared at a White Fang member holding up a blonde girl against the metal construct of a train cart. Yang's body fought back weakly, restricted groans and pants escaping her lips.
"…B-Blake… p-please… hel-h…"
The noirette's Faunus ears twitched against her bow as she perked her head up, eyebrows furrowed. Did she just… call my name?
It was spontaneous; Blake did it on mere instinct. Her clouded thoughts floated away as she forced herself to launch out of the bush she was hiding behind. Her light but nimbly feet dashed towards the man's back, swift fingers grabbing and flicking out her pocket blade. Yang's lungs couldn't take the lack of air much longer.
Blake lunged a foot towards the back of the man's knees as the surprise kick made the man kneel on the grass, letting go of the blonde. The girl's form fell beside the train cart roughly as she struggled to take in sharp breaths of air. Before the man even realized what was going on, Blake was already one step ahead and struck his temple with the handle of her knife. Knowing one blow wouldn't knock him out, she kept striking the side of the lieutenant's head until his heavy body seeped into unconscious.
Serious and slightly dazed gold eyes met with wide, stunned lilacs.
"D-damm, Blake, you- you saved me again… you're-" Yang managed to state between deep and raspy breaths.
Blake flicked her blade back and put away her dagger into her knapsack. She held out her right arm towards the blonde as she grabbed the noirette's forearm to prop herself back onto her feet.
"Come on, let's get out of here. More of them might come." The raven-haired girl said, hesitantly letting go of Yang's human arm to turn away and walk a couple of paces forward.
"…'Let's'?"
Blake knew the blonde was going to question that part of her statement. Rubbing her face once to get rid of her worried thoughts, the noirette twisted her torso to face a pale, confused expression.
Blake's bottom half still facing towards the dark forest, she held out an open palm for Yang and smirked.
"I've saved your life twice now. You owe me big time and I'm not leaving you until I'm satisfied."
Yang's expression shifted from bewilderment to amusement as she flashed a dorky grin.
/dramatic trumpets sounds, mmhm I wonder what's gonna go down between our bees, hmm...
This one was a tough one to write. It was mostly the action (which wasn't a lot but shhhh-) because i'm not to experience in writing that sort of stuff.
Hell, this fic is one of my first so well, I mean...
ANYWAYS!
Thanks to all the fab-asses who fav'd and followed, glad y'all are interested!
And also Blake told me to tell you to review. She knows how much they mean to m-
Blake busts through the door to the author's bedroom, clearly pissed off, "I did not say that."
Hella looks up at the noirette in shock, fingers frozen above the keyboard.
"U-uhm w-well you see, I just really want, ya know-"
The noirette rolls her eyes and places her right hand on her hip. She's holding a can of half-eaten tuna in her left. Hella's gaze lands on the tin as she furrows her eyebrows.
"What?" Blake asks, her expression cold-stone.
"Are you..." Hella starts, pointing to the canned tuna in girl's hand, "Are you eating tuna fish?"
Blake shifts uncomfortably, "...Yeah?"
"My tuna fish? The last can that was in the pantry?"
The author's tone is sharp and dead-serious. The Faunus bites her lip.
"...Maybe?"
Hella lets out an audible grumble and attempts to calm herself, "Okay listen. I'll let you have the rest of my tuna if you tell the lovely readers to review."
Blake quirks an eyebrow.
"And if I don't?"
"I delete you from the story AND tell Yang you've been stealing her socks and hiding them under your bed."
The noirette's amber eyes widen, "How did you-? Are you manipulating me?"
Hella smirks, "...Maybe?"
"Ugh, fine," Blake clicks her tongue in annoyance, "Feel free to quote me on this, because I'm not saying it again."
The author readies her fingers to type.
"Please review if you can because it makes Hella happy to read your guys' thoughts. Also, none of you better NOT tell Yang about the sock thing."
"Thanks Blakey!" Hella says, as Blake hums and leaves the room with a mouth-full of tuna, annoyed but content because of the fish.
Okay I got a little carried away there but yeah TLDR: reviews are nice :)
Looks like that's all, so for now, I'll peace out till next chap! B)
(also follow mah tumbls i post rwby shit at hella-belladonna)