Yang wanted nothing more than to lie in bed all day. Her limbs felt heavy as she sat up and got to her feet, but she did it anyway. She told herself that she'd faced worse setbacks, but really she couldn't stand to see herself waste another day, not after all the progress she'd made. She'd established a routine again, and she was loathe to break it.
Yang considered the robot arm, resting on her bedside table. She shook her head as she walked past it on her way to the shower. She wouldn't be able to put it on by herself even if she wanted to, and right now the last thing she needed was a reminder of her missing arm.
As she showered, paying special attention to her hair, she thought about the conversation she and Neo had the night before. Neo had rejected Yang's attempts to draw out an apology, refusing to acknowledge any wrongdoing on her own part, and she had left, but that wasn't the cause of Yang's depressed mood.
Rather, she was disgusted with herself. Before Neo had left, Yang had asked her to come back. She couldn't stand the thought of yet another person leaving her, and Yang hated that weakness. She would rather the company of her former rival, the remorseless killer, to being left alone.
You're pathetic.
Yang dried her hair and dressed herself, then paused to look at herself in the mirror. Her missing arm sent a pang of loss through her, but she still managed to give herself a bitter half-smile.
"At least you're out of bed," she told herself. That made her feel a little better, made her feel good about getting out of bed.
She made her way to the kitchen. Yang didn't want to go to all the trouble of making breakfast, but she had gotten used to eating a full breakfast every morning, and her stomach rumbled at the thought of skipping a meal. She put some bread in the toaster and sat down to think, staring out the window pensively.
She wanted Neo to stay with her. As much as she was loathe to admit it, she was becoming attached to her former rival. Just a few weeks ago she would have been happy to see the back of her, but the night before she had practically begged Neo to come back.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of her father, Hunter's gear strapped to his back, with Zwei trotting along at his heels.
"Dad? You going somewhere?" Yang asked. Taiyang smiled and walked over to her.
"Just some Hunter's business. The townsfolk have been seeing weird lights and hearing noises from the old abandoned cabin, and I'm going to check it out. Probably nothing, but you never know," he explained.
He kissed her forehead and made his way to the door that led out into the yard.
"Oh. Be safe!" she called after him. He waved back at her as Zwei ran out past him into the snow.
"I will. Love you!" he replied as he shut the door behind him.
Yang sighed and looked back at the toaster. Her father had probably been so worried about her for the past few months. Yang was just glad that she was back on her feet, so that he didn't have to worry about her.
And that was thanks to Neo. Yang was slowly beginning to accept that even if it was to serve her own goals, Neo had helped Yang a lot, both in getting her the robot arm and in helping her recover from her depression.
Neo had good in her. Yang just needed to bring it out.
/
Neo's heart leapt into her throat as Yang grabbed her leg. Her pulse sang as her opponent threw her, and Neo immediately knew she had won. If the blonde had gone for a takedown, that could have been it, but instead Neo was able to recover and sprint forward, leap up onto the blonde, grab her hand, and perform a flawless takedown that slammed her against the roof of the train car. She landed flat on her back, unconscious.
Neo took a moment to savor the adrenaline rush and the sight of her opponent, defeated. She lived for this, the feeling of power that came from victory, the knowledge that she was the one with control over life and death...
And now, the finishing blow. Neo walked forward, drawing her misericorde from her parasol and preparing for a swift downward stab into the blonde's heart.
I win.
She felt the familiar sensation of metal plunging through flesh and muscle.
/
Neo awoke, gasping for breath. She bolted upright, flinging the ragged blankets away from her and planting her hands flat on the bare mattress to support herself.
Slowly, she calmed down and remembered where she was: in a safehouse on Patch, an abandoned cabin outside of town. Without the blankets wrapped around her, Neo could feel the cold winter air seeping in, finding its way inside even her winter coat.
She shivered and lay back down again, pulling the blankets tightly around her. That helped a little. She rolled over, and felt her parasol in bed next to her, readied just in case someone happened to stumble upon her hiding spot. Next to her, perched atop an empty cardboard box, was Roman's hat, battered and faded, but still recognizable.
Neo felt a pang of loss.
"I miss you," she whispered aloud. No one was there to hear her voice, though. She wiped the cold sweat from her brow and thought about her most recent nightmare.
It was obvious what had caused it, coming as it had on the heels of her argument with Yang the night prior. She'd walked directly home through the snow, her mind too distracted by the heavy snowfall and biting cold to think about it, and when she'd reached the marginal warmth of her safehouse she'd crawled into bed and almost immediately fallen asleep.
And now, with the sun casting rays of morning light through the windows, Neo had time to process everything.
She'd tried to explain herself to Yang. At first she hadn't understood why Yang was so upset - it wasn't like Neo had actually killed her, and she thought the two of them were taking steps to put their rivalry behind them.
It wasn't the first time she'd had that sort of conversation, and every time Neo had insisted on her own innocence, explaining the circumstances that had forced her hand. Eventually, she'd given up on trying to have those conversations entirely, but with Yang she had no choice but to get drawn into them. Ordinarily, Neo would be defensive, but not this time. For the first time, Neo's reaction to someone's accusation had not been one of defensiveness.
She had felt bad about it.
Neo had seen the pain on Yang's face. Neo understood what Yang said, about having no one else if Yang was dead. The question had pierced Neo deeply, and sent a stab of guilt through her. And the dream only served to drive the feeling home. Never before had the thought of killing someone filled her with dread.
But she couldn't apologize. To do so would undermine everything she had told herself for years. Even if she had hurt Yang, it wasn't her fault. But Neo also knew that no matter the explanation, it wouldn't make Yang feel any better. And the more Neo thought about it, the more the guilt ate at her. She thought about Yang, lying on the floor of that train, bleeding out...
Neo rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry," she sighed. Two words. They didn't sound so bad, when she said them out loud. They were easy to say. They'd be even easier to type. Maybe, just this once, she could apologize.
Neo bolted upright. Something was moving outside the cabin. She listened carefully, and caught the sound again. Footsteps in the snow.
Getting carefully to her feet, Neo considered her options. There was the chance that the intruder knew she was here, in which case the best bet would be to hide herself and her few possessions - but then they would break the illusion if they entered the room. It was also possible that they were unaware of her presence, in which case the same options applied - but if she only hid herself, then her possessions would lead to suspicion. She wasn't worried about being discovered, considering she could easily make her escape should the intruder prove hostile.
It took her only a few seconds to make her decision.
She began casting her illusion. It would be Florence, her alias for the tournament. She imagined black hair, let down while she slept, green eyes, and warm winter clothing - a far cry from her old, tattered outfit. With the illusion cast, she moved quickly, grabbing her parasol and Roman's hat and throwing them in a duffel bag full of Lien. She put it under the windowsill, ready to grab in case she had to run. Finally, she snatched up her Scroll, ready to use it.
The front door opened with a creak, and she heard heavy boots moving down the hallway, carefully but not stealthily. She also heard another sound - something hard scrabbling on the warped wooden floors. Claws? From a-
Dog.
Neo backed up against the wall, the duffel bag within reach, as Zwei came padding into the doorway. He looked at her and barked in what Neo almost thought was a greeting. Half a second later, Taiyang appeared in the doorway, some sort of weapon case slung over his back.
The two regarded each other for a moment, Neo ready to grab the bag and run at the slightest hint of hostility, while Taiyang just looked shocked.
"Florence?" he asked, evidently very surprised to find her here, of all places. Neo swallowed nervously and tried to contain her fear. How had he found her? Did he know? She raised her Scroll shakily.
[Hello Mr. Xiao Long.]
Taiyang looked around Neo's room in disbelief. Neo followed his gaze. Warped wooden walls and floors, a cracked ceiling that probably leaked when it rained, a dirty glass window. A bare mattress strewn with tattered blankets. Cardboard boxes, some empty, others full of spare parts, one half-full of canned food. More empty cans, lying in corners and in yet more boxes. Her dufflebag.
Neo looked back at Taiyang, who seemed shocked at the state Neo was living in. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't so bad. She'd been in worse situations, both before and after she met Roman. At least right now she had a bed and a roof over her head, and hanging around the Xiao Long place meant she could get a full meal every once in a while...
"What is this? Have...have you been living here?"
Neo relaxed slightly. Taiyang clearly hadn't come here looking for her. Why he was here, she didn't know, but she decided to figure that out later.
[Yes.]
"Oh, no...I'm so sorry."
Zwei barked and scampered up to her, jumping up on his hind legs to paw at her knees. She smiled and gave Taiyang a quick glance. When he showed no sign of anger, she sat down on the edge of the mattress. She scratched Zwei behind his ears, and he rolled over onto his back. Taiyang went to one knee.
"How long have you been here?"
Neo thought carefully. He didn't seem suspicious, just genuinely concerned. She decided to go with the truth.
[About two weeks.]
"Does Yang know?"
[Of course not.]
Neo didn't know how Yang would react if she found out. In her experience, a homeless girl elicited sympathy, but not much else. Roman had told her that the world was a hard, cruel place, but she'd learned that herself years prior. He only reinforced that.
"Does anybody know you're here?"
Neo shook her head.
Taiyang looked at her carefully. She wasn't as thin as she had been, but the illusion still hid her slightly emaciated look. However, Taiyang didn't seem to be worried about that.
"You don't have anywhere else to go, do you?" he asked. Neo shook her head again, and Taiyang looked around the room thoughtfully. Neo felt incredibly self-conscious. She knew he pitied her, she'd seen that look plenty of times when she was a child on the streets. She wanted him to leave so she could slink off to another safe house. His questions were starting to unnerve her.
After a moment, Taiyang shook his head.
"This isn't right. I can't leave you here."
What?
He smiled at her, but all she could do was stare back at him in confusion.
"After everything you've done for Yang, there's no way I could let you stay here."
Neo's heart skipped a beat. Surely she misunderstood him. Was he telling her to….leave the safehouse?
"Florence...would you like to stay with Yang and I?"
Neo's jaw dropped. She was so surprised she almost stammered out a yes. She caught herself and pushed away the next couple of thoughts that popped into her head.
You can't be serious. This is a trick.
She studied his face again, and it slowly dawned on her that he was serious. She...she couldn't believe it! The last person who had been this generous was Roman, and he was the only person in all her years on the streets who'd actually wanted to help her...
[Do you really mean that?]
There had to be some catch, right? She'd fallen for traps like this before, and learned to be cautious through painful trial and error. She didn't like thinking about those times, and when she did she felt a stab of fear.
Then Taiyang stood up and smiled down at her warmly, and those fears receded.
"Of course! I couldn't stand the thought of leaving a friend of Yang's out in the cold like this."
This was real!
She smiled at him hopefully. She had tried to convince herself that her situation wasn't so bad, but this...this was what she really wanted.
[I can really come with you?]
Neo was uncomfortably aware of the tears of joy welling up in her eyes, and the deep surge of gratitude. She'd never expected this from...anyone...
"Of course you can!"
Neo clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob as she shakily typed out a response.
[Thank you! Thank you so much!]
She knew immediately that a text would never be able to communicate her gratitude properly, but maybe one day she would be able to tell him in her own words. She quickly composed herself. Zwei stood up on his hind legs and licked at her face, and she giggled and wiped away her tears.
[Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me.]
Taiyang knelt down next to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I just wish I had known about this sooner. Why didn't you tell anyone where you were staying?"
Neo kept her smile, but she didn't answer him, instead choosing to pet Zwei again.
Because I didn't think anyone would care.
When she didn't give him a response, Taiyang shook his head.
"It doesn't matter," he said kindly as he stood up again, "Here, I'll help you with your things."
Neo watched as he began gathering up spare parts and putting them in a cardboard box. She quickly stood up, grabbed her dufflebag, and slung it over her shoulder. Her heart was still pounding, and she couldn't keep a pure, joyful smile from spreading across her face. She was going somewhere safe!
"Are these all for Yang?" Taiyang asked. Neo's smile disappeared, and she looked at the spare parts, then nodded cautiously. Taiyang shook his head again and looked at the half-empty box that held the remainder of her food supply. Neo shuffled her feet uncomfortably.
"You really care about her, don't you?" he asked. Neo smiled faintly.
[Yeah. I do.]
He gave her another smile. It was like Yang's, from the few times she had seen it - warm, and genuine.
"Yang really is lucky to have you."
Taiyang stacked one box on top of another and hefted them both in his muscular arms.
"You don't have a lot of stuff. How about I get this, and you carry that bag?"
Neo held the dufflebag closer to her and nodded.
They spent a few minutes packing, during which Neo felt lightheaded and happy, daring to hope that this really was everything she wanted.
The world was a cold, hard place. Neo knew that from experience. Roman had taught her to look out for herself, and she had...but she also didn't forget that it was Roman who took her in. There were people out there that could care about her. Maybe Yang was one of them. Maybe...maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.
Taiyang walked out into the snow, three boxes in his arms, while Zwei scampered along at his heels. Neo stopped and gave the safe house one last glance. She would be glad to see the back of it, to be somewhere with warmth and food and...and people she cared about.
"Come on, let's get this stuff back home," Taiyang called behind him. Neo's heart fluttered in her chest.
Home.
Neo followed Taiyang off through the snow-covered woods.
A crow circled overhead.