Konnichiwa, Konnichiwa, Planeshunter here!
For those wondering, "Everything will be OK" was, is and will always be a standalone one-shot. Chapter 1 is a story by itself.
Now, that said, it seemed like a bit of a waste to let go such nice scenario. And like a lot of nonsense to create a second story to follow it up. From this Chapter 2 onwards, I'll elaborate to the best of my humble capabilities the aforementioned scenario.
With that said, Everything will be Ok (What if…?) 始まります!
Sun peeks over the horizon, and the slightest of lights projects against the ceiling of Yang's room. It's not even dawn yet, just… the hint of a dawn. But that's enough for Yang's llilac eyes to snap open and her bedclothes to erupt as she kicks them up energetically. The missing arm still gives her trouble but, since she's decided to not let it bother her, kicking things out of the way is quickly becoming a habit.
-"Wakey wakey chicken bakey!"
The jolt under the covers of the other bed feels as satisfying as it did the first day. Back on beacon, Weiss would've chewed her off if she had dared to tried this. Heck, I wouldn't have woken up so early for my life's worth. But after such a long period of apathy, she now has energy to spare.
-"For Dust's sake, Yang…" -The aggravated face of the cat girl slowly rose to surface- "Couldn't you take it easy at least during morning? When did you become your sister?"
-"Maybe when a certain someone returned me my fighting spirit!" -To give strength to her words, she removes Blake's covers all the way to the floor with a single pull- "Now get up so we can go make breakfast!"
-"Remind me what I was thinking when I accepted to take the pain of moving your sister's bed into your room. Surely it wasn't to get ripped out of it with the first light and be dragged to the kitchens…"
-"To keep me for getting all depressed again, duh" -In spite of the light tone, Blake's soft smile disappears as her eyebrows reflect concern- "Oh, come on! I'm just kidding!"
She smiles again, but it's not the same. Yang's joke has killed the mood, and she scolds herself for it too soon, you idiot! There's no use in crying over spilled milk, tho. So she grabs her arm and pulls her out of the room and downstairs.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs and slightly burnt bacon. And it tasted like glory.
By the time birds begin chirping, sun actually rose over the horizon and any normal person would say it was 'morning', Blake has had breakfast already, done some morning training, and is already wiping off her sweat with a towel. Much to her dismay.
-"Dust, it's odd to move with only one arm!" -Yang whines with despair as she throws her own towel down- "I can't wait to get a prosthetic."
-"Well, your center of gravity is completely off, you'll have to get used." -She's unsure about continuing the touchy subject, but at this point it would be more awkward to suddenly change it- "Also, prosthetics don't weight the same as real limbs, you'll need to get used to that too."
-"Party-pooper" -She accuses before slapping her cheek- "Okay! Let's get some lumber! Pop's will kill us if we use more of the winter reserves!"
Nodding silently, Blake follows her to the grove behind the house. What had started as a joke has now become part of their routine in a matter of days. Who would've thought something out of a fantasy book would end up becoming so addicting? They both begin humming and, without even realising it, pile up the lumber and make some embers. Next step is getting the water.
-"Gimme a hand with this, will ya?" -Yang stubbornly carries the enormous bucket by herself, holding it overhead with a single hand. She still needs her help to balance it, tho- "It still feels heavy. I really am out of form!"
So, with her hands risen around the bucket to prevent accidents, she follows behind all the way from the stream. Between the night's sweating, the workout and this, their smell is hard to ignore for her acute senses, specially being this close. But it's not really unpleasant, it smells like... hard work and hopes. With that weird idea still fluttering around her mind, they arrive and set up everything.
-"Now the final touch!" -Yang practically chirps as she submerges Ember Celica in the water, quickly rising its temperature- "And clothes off!"
The first time they bathed together, it felt kind of awkward, and terribly embarrassing, at least for her. But the warm water and the smell of the wood have an almost magical effect, specially in the middle of the snow, turning both her body and mind into a relaxed mush. Now she barely even thinks about it. Hot tubs… who did invent them? Whoever it was, she hopes he was handsomely rewarded for it…
Before the sight of his daughter chowing down lunch like some anime character, Tai cannot help but smile. His little Yang spent so long locked up in her room, dark and gloomy, barely eating, or even talking... It hurts his pride a little that he was powerless to help while a little girl managed to cheer her up in a single night.
Come to think of it, it was his own fault that he only dared to watch for a distance. When one's as big and strong as him, one realizes how easily things break the hard way. One learns to be careful with anything one cares about. That's as good as it is bad, for sometimes he overthinks things too much and ends up acting late or not acting at all. It's also true that puberty is a time for change to anyone, it's no surprise that someone who shared his daughter's last year knows her better than her own father.
-"Slow down, girl, the food won't go anywhere!" -He says with a laugh, after his daughter chokes- "So, how was the morning? If you don't work out properly, all this will go straight to your… bottom."
-"Pops! Manners!" -He laughs again, seeing his tomboy blushing and spying her friend's reaction sideways- "We worked out dang fine, and we'll do a bit more after I mess around with Jolly."
-"How's she coming around?"
-"She'll be ready to hit the road in a couple of days" -She seems to struggle with something before continuing, and Tai feels a lump forming in his throat, here it comes- "Hmm… Dad? When Jolly get's ready we were thinking about… paying a visit to Weiss."
He sighs, no use trying to resist, he had seen this coming.
-"I guess that's… Wait, Weiss?" -Wasn't that girl safe with her father?- "Not your sister?"
-"Ruby's with good friends, pops, she'll be fine for a while. But Weiss..." -The way she looks at the sky through the window before continuing feels… Dust, she really has matured, hasn't she?- "Weiss is all alone in a place she hates. I'm sure she could use some friendly faces."
-"Traveling to the Schnee Company headquarters by land is nothing to sneeze at" -The girls deadpan at his bad joke, but he masterfully ignores it- "Even for two huntress in training."
-"One, pops." -She says with a defeated smile, raising her stump- "I'm stuck in the role of damsel in distress."
Would he mess up things if he hugs her daughter now? As if reading her thoughts, the faunus girl nods quietly. Well, if the girl who "knows his daugher better than his own father" gives the thumbs-up… He walks the few steps separating them and burrows her golden locks in a bear hugh. She protests with some inarticulate sounds, but doesn't resist.
The girl… -no, her name's Blake- smiles softly. There's something warm and caring in that smile, and Tai cannot help but feeling at ease. He has done right, acted like a good parent would.
-"Come on, you father needed that" -Blake had said when she apologized for his behavior after lunch- "And I have seen you carrying that water bucket, remember? You're no damsel in distress."
As she remembers this, Yang can't suppress a smile. How lucky can a girl get with her friends? Then her wrench gets stuck and she curses. She tries to pull and twist, softly first, but progressively stronger as she loses her temper. In the end, she tries to bite it off, and finally holds the urge to kick it before giving up.
Jolly will have to sleep with the wrench there, she's tired and it's late anyway. Standing up, she goes a few steps back to gaze at her work. The powerful bike in front of her will never replace Bumblebee, but is a damn fine machine. Unfortunately, she doesn't have materials or means to make a decent body, so this steed kind of looks like "the skeleton" of a bike. But it's fine, that's why she named her "Jolly Roger".
Aside from providing transportation, Jolly has been a nice excuse to spend time alone. Working on the engine she can let her mind wander, without worrying about causing concern to anyone. She is feeling better. Way better, in fact, but she still needs some time to sink in her dark thoughts. As much as she would want to, she cannot simply make them go away.
It's also a good way to let Blake release tension. The girl leans towards the independent side, and no doubt needs time to herself, as much as she wants to stay by her side.
What does a young cat faunus girl do in her free time? Feel the gentle evening breeze caressing her skin… and get up to close the window. It's winter, after all, and the room is nice, cozy and quiet. The extensive fairytale collection on the bookshelf is a harder temptation to resist. For the seventh time she looks it's way with longing eyes. But she can't, she's busy.
With a sigh, she goes back to what some people would call a 'real book'. As abundant as good stories are in this house, weapon engineering guides as at least as numerous. This isn't Ruby's home for nothing. There's also combat manuals and a lot of other hunter-related material. They are interesting, on it's own way, and she has learnt a lot.
As you should she remembers herself You won't kill Adam with physical training alone.
She's had many thoughts along those lines lately, but that one is specially grim. Not so long ago, during her stay in Beacon, she had naively assumed her emotional wounds were already closed. The events after the tournament proved otherwise. The thought of something she once thought would last forever, of someone she once thought would be her soulmate, turning into something so ugly, scares her.
The memory of what he did to Yang, resurfaces and she trembles with anger, but.. Do I really want to kill him? Then she remembers his promise to kill 'everyone she holds dear' Oh, Dust, I really want to, don't I?
Do I have the right to feel this way? Adam deserves punishment, that's for sure, but… Am I acting out of fear? Fear of him coming to finish the job, fear of him hunting down my friends without me being able to do anything?
She looks up from the book after noticing she's been reading the same line forever. This is a discussion she's had with herself more times that she cares to count. She won't find the answer today either. The clock marks five o'clock, it's time to go find her partner.
Aaaand that's the end!
To be completely honest, The last scene was originally quite different. But after writing it up I realized it didn't really work out, so I decided to let Blake reflect upon Adam. In case anyone wonders, I hate the guy. Hated him even before he sliced the business arm of my favorite character. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for jerks like him. Of course, I'm professional enough to not let that affect my story… No, not really. But I'll try my best.
On another note, can you believe I had to look up how japanese hot tubs worked to write this? When it came to the details of the description, I noticed I didn't really knew enough to not mess up… I still don't know as much as I would've liked, but know a fair deal more. Who said you don't learn writing fantasy? I know for example that you usually need to prepare them beforehand and had to find a way to not rewrite the whole scene, sending one of my favourite interactions through the window.
Now for some blatant self-advertising. I'm writing my own original novel at Project Rhea, if you guys are interested in taking a look, you can find the links in my profile. Reading is free, and will always be!
Jeez, look at me, ranting around instead of letting you drop reviews and follows on me like crazy. I better say goodbye so you guys can get to it!
Bidding farewell:
-Planeshunter.