May contain side effects
Chapter 3:
Raging Fire
"Now that's out of the way, are you feeling a little better yet?" Yang asked, concern seeping into her words.
Blake gave her another smile, which she definitely deserved. "Thanks to you, yes. I'm not as scared as I was before."
"I can't blame you for that, I would be terrified as well if I would have been you." Yang said, slowly shaking her head. "Now for a question that has been on my mind for a while now, HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET SO SMALL?!"
Yang's sudden outburst made the girl in her hand cower. Her eyes which Blake found so beautiful changed from a bright lilac to blood red for just a second, but long enough for Blake to see it.
She had seen them before, the red globes of death, but they had never been guided towards her. Well, that was not actually true, she had faced them once before.
That day certainly hadn't been her proudest, risking her friends and her very own health because she was concerned about the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, that bastard. Luckily he was spending his days in a cell now. Yang had been the one who finally snapped her out of it, although she hadn't gone easy on the raven-haired girl. Not that Blake blamed her partner, she had been acting more stubborn than a stone.
Yang's blood red eyes were an effect of her semblance and it only came out when she was very, very pissed. Her semblance held in that every punch or other form of damage she took made her stronger, her body absorbed the energy and stored it inside of her to use it to hit harder.
Oh, and did she also mention that another side effect of her semblance was that she caught on fire, literally? It started with her hair, but the more angry she became, the more it spread to the rest of her body. It also explained why her aura always warmed her body so much, not that Blake was complaining, it was very comforting actually, just the right temperature. You never needed a blanket when Yang was sleeping next to you, she created warmth enough for the both of you. Really useful, especially during the cold winters, don't need no fancy equipment like a heater when you're partnered with Yang Xiao Long.
But if her semblance was completely activated , it meant that shit was gonna go down big time, asses were gonna be kicked and the one who was gonna walk out of the burning fire of the aftermath, was the blonde brawler. Nobody had ever been able to beat her with her semblance fully raging.
The fact that her hair didn't catch on fire now and that the eye color change had been very brief, it meant she was like the last time they had an argument, during that fateful day. Angry but not angry enough to want to tear her partner apart.
Nonetheless it made Blake terrified, if Yang wasn't intimidating before then she definitely was when she was a whopping 100 feet tall. Shivers ran through her spine as she realized that Yang wasn't someone she wanted to piss of right now, if she wanted to live to tell the tale.
As soon as Yang noticed that she had gone a little too far, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. "Blake, I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. It's just that this whole situation is completely insane, and you know I'm bad with that type of stuff. You're the victim here, so would be stupid to blame you." Her voice sounded a lot softer than before, making Blake calm down a bit. "So, will you please tell me what happened? I need to know, otherwise I can't really help you."
Blake had to think about it, she wasn't quite sure what happened herself so she decided to simply spill everything she knew.
"Well, I ran out of the classroom as I had an incredible headache. I went to the dorm and took an aspirin like I had many times before this past week. At first it looked like it worked, but the headache came back with a vengeance and I blacked out from the pain. When I regained consciousness I was suddenly five inches tall, then you came into the room. I had to dodge out of the way of your foot as it crashed down just a hair length away from me. Then you looked around, found me and you know the rest." Blake explained.
She could see the eyes of the giantess open in shock and guilt started to wash trough the lilac. The blond hadn't known that she had almost crushed Blake under her boot. She stammered as her eyes began to water: "Oh Dust…"
"Yang, it's okay. You didn't know." Blake said quickly, but to no avail.
"How can you say that? I could have killed you, could have squished my own goddamn partner like some bug and I wouldn't even have noticed a thing." Yang choked out as her throat tightened and the first tears began rolling down her cheeks.
"Please don't think like that, it didn't happen did it?" Blake pleaded. She wished she didn't tell the blonde in the first place, some things were better left untold and this was apparently one of those cases.
Yang's hold on her was growing stronger and stronger the more the blonde was getting distressed.
"That doesn't mean anything! If it wasn't for your reflexes it would have happened! You could have been killed and I would have been the one to blame!" Yang exclaimed, tears now streaming freely.
"Don't blame yourself, I already told you it wasn't your fault!" Yang's fingers had now completely imprisoned the little girl in their iron grip. Some of the tears were hitting Blake square in the face, completely drenching her in the salty water.
"Stop saying things just to please me! That won't help you or me, anybody for that matter!" Yang's voice was now completely changed into a weird mix of sobbing and shouting.
Blake was having trouble to breath, the pressure her partner's hand was exerting on her body was getting unbearable. Her arms and sides began to sting as they were being pinched against each other.
"Yang, please!" Blake choked out as her eyes began to water from the pain. This got her partner's attention.
Yang looked down and gasped as she saw her friend's dire state. Quickly releasing Blake, she stammered: "Oh no, B-Blake, I'm so sorry…" as fresh tears started to form in her eyes.
Blake's lungs began sucking in the generous oxygen gratefully and the pain in her sides ebbed away slowly, that didn't stop her from falling down onto Yang's now open palm though.
"I really can't be trusted with you, can I? The only thing I do is putting you in danger or hurting you directly." Yang said with a depressed tone, her head hanging low, her beautiful blonde manes covered her eyes although you could still see the tears rolling down her cheeks.
Recomposing herself, Blake was able to stand up shakily, her legs hadn't adjusted yet to the change of pressure. Noticing that Yang's normally warm temperature was cooling off, made her very worried. She couldn't let the blonde continue her self-hate or the consequences could be very bad for the both of them.
"Shut up."
"First the docks, now this! And I am supposed to protect you? Heh, I really am the worst partner you could have chosen. I am just a hazard for your health. I better switch with Weiss or something, Ruby is somebody I can protect at least. I have done so for many years, but somehow I already failed you twice in a few months." Yang continued her rant as she didn't hear the girl in her hand.
"Shut up!" Blake exclaimed again, louder this time.
"I better hand you over to Ruby or even Weiss before I really do kill you. They would be able to do a better job of keeping you safe. I can understand if you don't even want to look me in the eyes."
This made Blake snap. "I SAID SHUT UP!"
Her outburst got the attention of the blonde this time, she promptly closed her mouth and her head lifted up, revealing her lilac eyes once more. Surprise replaced sadness and depression although there were still some clues of it lingering in her alluring globes.
The redness of her cheeks and eyes, an effect of her crying, made Blake angry, she didn't want to see her partner in this state. Of course she didn't hate Yang for what she did, she would have to be heartless to do so.
Deciding it was time to lay down the hammer, she took opportunity of the long silence: "Man, you really are thickheaded sometimes! I don't blame you for anything you have done, stop lying by saying you're a bad partner!
These past few months have been the best of my entire fucking life! Ruby and Weiss are some of the greatest teammates I could have asked for! But you was the one who was able to make me see how wonderful life could be. You learned me to have fun again, something I hadn't done in a very long time. You and the rest of the team and team JNPR singlehandedly restored my faith in humanity after it was broken all these years ago.
But you know what the best part about you is? That you're simply around, it makes me happy and break out of my shell.
If I had to the choose of you having to hurt me to keep it that way, then please go ahead, I would take that beating a million times over.
So are you the worst partner ever? No, not by a mile. You're the best partner I could have ever hoped for. You're the only one who I fully trust with my life, so please don't leave me alone." Blake finished with a pleading voice.
Her rant shook Yang to her core, the sadness instantly disappeared and her tears stopped flowing as she listened. But at the same time, Blake's speech was a revelation to herself, she had never thought that way about her partner before until she exclaimed those words aloud.
Deep in her heart she knew they were true, Yang had been her world, her hold on sanity. And now she was almost literally her world, about the right size.
A moment went by and Blake wondered if she said something wrong as Yang was looking at her with a blank stare. Yang's huge eyes suddenly stopped blinking and started observing the little girl in her hand.
Blake was feeling nervous as she cowered under the lilac gaze, her own heartbeat was the only thing she could hear in the eerie silence.
Eventually Yang was the one to break it: "Do you really mean that?" Her voice was as emotionless as her expression.
"Yes, wholeheartedly. Is that so hard to believe?" Blake asked almost challengingly.
All of a sudden a gentle smile broke the emotionless mask on Yang's face.
"Of course not! You sure know how to make a girl feel pretty." She said as tears resumed flowing. Although this time it wasn't out of sadness, it was out of happiness. She hugged the little girl by pushing her in the softness of her top, just above her remarkable cleavage, cupping her with both her hands. It was like the little girl was her most treasured jewel, which it probably was. "Oh Blake, you really are the best friend I have ever had!" She was able to choke out between her sobs.
Blake was a bit stunned by the sudden change of emotion and location. She wasn't complaining though as she melted in her partner's hug, Yang's body warmth was engulfing her completely, making her feel incredibly comfortable as she happily returned the hug. Of course that wasn't really possible so she had to be content with spreading her arms against the soft silk of the yellow top of the giantess.
A foreign feeling invaded her body. It felt like something beating in a rhythm.
She realized what it was, the beating was Yang's heartbeat. It was hard but gentle at the same time, just like Yang herself. She found herself strangely appealed to the feeling, feeling more comfortable than ever. There was just something attractive about her partner's heartbeat. Probably because it reminded that the giant, beautiful girl holding her was alive.
Blake waited patiently as her partner cried her heart out. When she finally did calm down, she released Blake from her chest.
She asked her: "You okay, Blakey? I didn't hug you to hard, did I?"
She responded with a warm smile: "No, Yang, it was perfect."
It was the moment a wet trail rolled over her face when she realized her hair was still dripping wet from Yang's tears. Yang herself seemed to have noticed too because she took Blake to the bathroom.
Turning on the faucet, she let the water flow at a gentle pace in the sink. She dropped Blake next to the streaming water and said: "I'm sorry for your hair, you can wash it while I grab some shampoo."
Blake had to be careful not to slip on the smooth surface of the sink, the fact that it was shaped like a bowl didn't really help either. Shuffling forward, she managed to reach to water. Careful not to get her clothes wet, she leaned forward and sighed happily as the warm water washed through her raven hair.
As she washed the salty liquid out of her hair, she realized something. She didn't exactly have a spare pair of clothing, everything she owned obviously wouldn't fit her at her current size. She made a mental note that she had to mention this to Yang later.
She looked up as she heard the girl in question returning. The blonde held out her finger on which a tiny droplet of Shampoo rested, it might be small, but so was Blake.
Blake gratefully scooped the jellylike shampoo off the finger and rubbed it in her hair. While she was scrubbing she noticed it didn't smell like hers, but it definitely smelled familiar nonetheless.
She stopped rubbing and noticed Yang giving her an apologetic look. "I had to give you my shampoo as I couldn't find yours, I hope you don't mind."
Blake gave her a small smile. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
As she continued rubbing it in her hair, it's scent started growing stronger. It smelled like Yang's hair and Blake actually loved its scent, not minding at all to use her partner's shampoo for once.
She finished and put her head back under the warm water, which was still streaming out of the faucet.
When her hair was completely free of any leftover foam, Yang handed her a corner of a towel to dry it while she held the rest of it.
"All done?" the blonde asked her after a while. She laid her hand next to the girl so she could carry her once again.
"Yup, thanks a lot, Yang." Blake responded gratefully, stepping in her open palm.
Yang let out a laugh at this. "It's no problem, after all, I was the one who got you dirty in the first place."
Blake hummed in agreement as she felt the familiar feeling of being lifted up again. Even though she had been before a few times now, she thought she would never get accustomed with the feeling. Her stomach still jumped a bit like she was on a rollercoaster as the g-forces impacted on her. When she looked back at Yang, she noticed the blonde's grin had never left her face.
"What's so funny?" Blake asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, it's just that- I better just show you." Yang answered before she moved Blake to one of the mirrors on the wall.
The Faunus girl looked at herself for the first time since she was shrunk. There she was, looking exactly the same like before, only she was standing on top of the hand of her partner. It looked so surreal seeing herself like that.
That's when she noticed why the blonde was grinning so much, it was her hair. The shampoo apparently had another effect on her than just smelling like Yang. Her hair was far more puffy looking than usual, a big difference with the straight hair she normally had with pride. "Oh Dust…"
"Don't worry about it, I think you look very cute." Yang cooed. Blake flushed a bit red at this, cute definitely was a word to describe her as she gazed over herself in the mirror. She was like a toy in the blonde's hand, and although she shouldn't be thinking like that, the thought still invaded her mind.
Yang sat back down on Blake's bed and just relaxed a bit. They didn't have any homework until the rest of the week, which was a rare and probably a good thing with Blake currently being a mere five inches tall. Blake laid back in the warm palm of her hand and closed her eyes a bit. She suddenly felt very tired, it had been an exhausting afternoon after all. It didn't take long until the sleep caught her.
Blake awoke about an hour later. The boisterous blonde exclaimed excitedly: "Good evening, kitty-cat, did you enjoy your catnap?"
Still to sleepy to be annoyed at the terrible puns of her partner, she simply grunted and she stretched entire body while sighing happily from the relieving feeling.
"Wow, you really are like a cat. Or would I say kitten?" Yang said amused with a slight tease.
Blake glared at her. "Already making jokes about your partner's size, Yang?" She asked with a halfhearted cold voice.
She was answered by a sheepish smile by the blonde giant. "Sowwy." she pouted.
That's when Blake noticed Yang was holding a book and decided to give her a little payback. "Am I dreaming? Is Yang Xiao Long actually reading a book?"
Yang stuck her tongue out at this. "Well, you were sleeping so peacefully, so I didn't want to wake you by moving. I decided to take a book out of your shelf to kill time as it was within reach."
'She couldn't have!' Blake thought, suddenly becoming very nervous. She knew very well what books were hidden in her shelf, books that weren't supposed to see daylight if she wanted to avoid endless teasing from her partner.
But as she saw the cover of the book she was holding, she calmed down and gave Yang a thankful smile. "Thanks, Yang I needed it."
Blake would be lying if she would say that she wasn't disappointed when she woke up, she had hoped her little situation would have resolved itself. False hope it seemed.
That's when a thought struck her. 'Why the hell did I not think of this!' She scolded herself mentally in her head. She grabbed her partner's attention. "Yang, we should go to professor Ozpin."
Yang tilted her head a bit in confusion. "What? Why?"
"Because, maybe we should tell him about my disease or whatever?" Blake asked sternly.
"Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'm kinda tired." Yang let her head fall backwards and yawned excessive to get her point across.
Blake was getting aggravated with the girl but when she spoke she wasn't stern or cold. Her voice was almost a whisper, with a hint of fear. "But Yang, what if it gets worse?"
The blonde was clearly taken aback by this question as her sleepy lilac eyes opened in shock. Quickly snapping towards the raven-haired girl, Blake could see concern seeping in her face. "Oh Dust, I didn't think about that, I'm so stupid! We'll go right away!" She exclaimed.
Blake looked out of the window and noticed the skies were already turning dark, night would fall upon them very soon. "What time is it anyway?"
Yang took out her scroll to check. "It's about seven o'clock, we just missed dinner I'm afraid. I expect Ruby and Weiss returning to the dorm soon." She stopped when she was almost at the door as she realized what she had just said.
"They don't know yet…" The blonde said almost in a breath.
Blake felt very small all of a sudden, like she was afraid of large spaces. Well she was five inches tall but when she had been lying on bed with Yang it hadn't bothered her all that much. Now she felt her heart beating in her throat as the ginormous door in front of her looked menacingly at her all of a sudden.
Determinedness replaced the fear for her partner in Yang's eyes. "If we go quick then maybe we'll just miss them." she said resolute and began marching towards the door.
She hadn't set two steps before she abruptly stopped however.
It looked like time slowed down as the door handle turned and the door swung open, revealing light from the corridor and two silhouettes of persons.
'Fuck me.' Was all what went through Blake's head.
"Yang, we're back. You missed lunch, how could you! You never miss lunch! They even had those fried potatoes you like so much!" The energetic voice of a certain team leader echoed through the room.
There we have it folks, about time too!
I'm sorry I'm a week late with this chapter, things like break and school projects stole a lot of my time. I wanted to upload this yesterday, but I just was too tired to proofread :(.
I would like to give a shout out to the whole bunch of people that followed and favorited MCSE. I have never had this many before for just one chapter, you should have seen my face when I opened my email!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! If there is anything that's a bit dodgy or something, feel free to let me know!
Also if there is anything you would like to see, just ask! (no promises though)
Review, follow, favorite and maybe Blake will give you a hug too!
DragonSlayer Out!