"Um… Clara… Why am I here…?"
Here, in this particular case, was women's clothing store located in one of Vale's commercial districts. It was hardly one of the pricey boutiques Weiss preferred to shop at, but neither was it one of Yang's 'hotspots.' It was a fairly inoffensive establishment all told, with tasteful displays in the windows and stylish – if not necessarily high fashion – merchandise, and a pleasant atmosphere. Yet in spite of all these points in the place's favor, Blake was finding that she was having the same issues here as with all of her other shopping experiences in recent memory. Why am I in the lingerie section again…?
"Mina is here for moral support," Clara responded in a manner neither here nor there to the question asked before continuing, "But She's not exactly renowned for her aesthetic sense…" Clara turned to Mina, "No offense?"
Mina shrugged, "None taken,"
"So…" Clara resumed her line of explanation, having been reassured that she'd be offending no one, "I need you to help me pick an outfit for my next date with Robert – y'know? Friendships stuff,"
"Okay…" Blake eyed the nearest rack of bedclothes suspiciously, "So I don't have to wear any of these?"
"Only if you want to~" Mina sang with a devious smirk.
"I'm going to go with not," Blake sighed, before turning back to Clara, who was currently browsing, "But then why not ask-,"
"I can't ask Robert! It's supposed to be a surprise!" Clara cut off Blake's inquiry, "And I can't just ask some random guy – much as some of our customers would love that…" Blake shuddered, but Clara seemed unmoved by the statement, "Lizzie's too much of a man-hating grouch to understand why a girl would want to impress her boyfriend…"
"Okay, but-,"
"So naturally I turned to Mina," Clara continued, heedless of Blake's misgivings as she continued to browse, "But again, she can't actually see any of the options, so she kinda maybe sort of volunteered your help…"
Blake shot Mina a disapproving look, but Mina shrugged this too off with a little smile, "What are friends for?"
Blake sighed, "Alright… but I'm not sure how much help I can bee…"
"Oh that's the easy part," Clara waved that concern off without turning around, "You're into girls right? Stupid question, I know – but the point is that I need you to be my proxy Robert – just tell me if you think something's sexy or not,"
"Um…"
"Just tell me if you thinks something makes me look hot – it ain't hard,"
"…" Blake shot Mina a nervous glance. There really was not right way to answer that… Fortunately, Mina spared her that particular necessity.
"It is alright Dearest, I promise not to hold anything you say here against you~"
Great… No excused to run away now… Blake sighed more heavily now, "Fine…"
"That's the spirit!" Clara cheered, taking two items off the rack, "Now come on; I gotta try these on,"
Mina patted Blake on the back cheerfully as she ushered Blake to follow Clara, "Come now Dearest; you like to help total strangers – so why not a friend?"
"It seriously doesn't bother you that your friend wants me to stare at her in her underwear…? Because it bothers me…"
"Oh come now, I am sure that this little favor will be no temptation for you…" Mina wrapped her arms about Blake's waist as Clara stepped into the changing stall.
"I heard that!" Clara objected with mock indignation, "What? You don't think I'm hot enough to get a lesbian?"
Mina giggled with her chin resting on Blake's shoulder, "Not at all – but this one is taken,"
"Mina!"
While Blake wasn't terribly amused, Clara chuckled from the other side of the curtain, "God Blake, you're so easy…"
"I don't know about that…" Mina tossed in another wisecrack before Blake could respond, "You would not believe what I had to do the other day to get her to-,"
"Mina!"
"Oh fine…"
"You don't think so?" Clara called back, "You forget what I said about stripping on Robert's piano?"
"Hmmm… I suppose you do have me beat…"
Blake could only look back and forth in bemusement, her face steadily reddening despite her undeniable curiosity, "You did what?"
Clara snorted with a bitter laugh, "You heard me; Robert's just like a freaking monk when he's working on a piece – sometimes I have to resort to extremes to get his attention…" With that, the curtain was pulled aside and Clara stepped out, still wearing her jeans, but she'd pulled off her shirt and wove her fingers together behind her head to pose and show off the smooth and simple white brassiere she'd selected, "Now what do you think?"
"Well…" If Clara just wanted Blake's opinion on the bra, then it was fairly pedestrian – but the juxtaposition of all that skin with the well-fitted but still comparatively modest jeans made for an interesting counterpoint an – Wait – what the hell am I thinking?
"It's uh… simple…" Maybe Mina wasn't going to hold this favor against her, but Blake had no intention of finding out how much it would take to make Mina jealous anyway…
"Hmmm…" Clara thought aloud, turning around to look at herself in the stall's full-body mirror again, utterly heedless of Blake's inner turmoil, "I was going for the 'pure and clean' look, but you're right… probably won't make his eye pop…" and as quickly as she'd opened it, the curtain shut again, "Something… bolder… I guess…"
Blake sighed in momentary relief, "I really don't care for shopping…"
"Blasphemy!" Clara called out from the stall, "All women love to shop! Whether they want to admit it or not! Most men do too… It just comes down to what you like shopping for…"
"Books~" Mina gave Blake a little peck on the cheek, "Never understood the hobby myself though~"
"Ha ha…" Blake laughed dryly, "You love it when I read to you,"
"Indeed," Mina conceded, "But that has less to do with the books themselves and more to do with the cuddling that comes part and parcel with it~"
"I just can't win with you…" Blake shook her head, returning the little kiss to Mina's cheek, "honestly…"
"Nope~"
"Oh come on; ain't it just fine either way? I mean, I'm straight and I can see why you wouldn't mind lettin' her jerk you around a little bit,"
"You don't live with it every day," Blake shot back.
"Oh come now; you love me~" Mina smirked.
"I do…" Blake admitted, "But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't enjoy if you laid off the wisecracks now and again…"
"Speaking of putting up with things… that brings up an interesting question actually…" Clara asked from across the curtain, "I know that I, for one, am a total bitch around my time of the month – and I give Robert serious credit for putting up with me – But I can't imagine our relationship if Robert went through PMS too… How the hell do you two deal with that?"
Blake reddened like a beet, "Can we not talk about this…?"
"Oh it is not so bad…" Mina completely ignored Blake's embarrassed protestations, "Blake just acts the grump, and I get… clingy…"
"People don't need to know that Mina…" Blake tried to hush Mina, "It's kind of private…"
Clara burst out laughing as she pulled the curtain aside again, "Priceless! But anyway, how about this one?"
Blake took a moment to get a grip on her embarrassment again and acknowledge that she was being given an out – after all, a heap of burning coals was still out of a frying pan… "Well… it's… more elaborate…" That was to say lacy – and bright red, "Not really my taste though-,"
"You think the lace is too much?" Clara interrupted, tugging idly at the strap, "Back to the drawing board then I guess…"
"That cannot be right…" Mina cocked her head, causing Blake's heart to skip a beat, "Blake loves my lacy bra-,"
"Mina shut up!"
"Busted~" Clara giggled, "Look, I know that I'm not stacked like Mina here, but try to remember that I want your opinion on the bra – not the goods…"
"I… Um… It looks nice…?"
"Good girl…" Clara said dryly, "Now does 'nice' mean pretty, sexy, or slutty –and you're just too nice to say it?"
"What's the right answer…?" Blake practically begged, "When I said nice, I meant nice…"
Clara sighed, "I suppose that is what it means…" she shook her head, "Maybe I should've just canned the whole 'surprise' thing and just bring Robert along to pick…"
"That would have been nice…" Blake agreed, "Although…"
"Hmmm?"
"If you used your Semblance…" Blake turned to Mina, "I mean, Clara would still have to be her own judge of color, but you could help out that way…"
"Hmmm…" Mina nodded, "Perhaps a somewhat mundane application of my Semblance, but it could work…" She cracked a smile, "Very well; I will help~"
"Oh yeah… you've got those weird huntress powers right?" Clara asked, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Blake felt an immense wave of relieve wash over her, "Oh thank God… Now if you don't mind, I just need to go… get a drink…"
"Don't be too long~"
With an exasperated nod, Blake had excused herself and headed for the bathroom at the back of the store and stepped inside. Turning the knob on the sink and cupping her hands, Blake took a long sip from the faucet, and then, finding herself dwelling on task she'd just gotten herself out of, she splashed herself in the face to clear her head.
"Note to self: always go shopping alone…" She shook her head, causing the droplets of water to fall from her face, "Or at least… for something like this…"
Blake stiffened a bit as she heard the door to the bathroom open behind her, but she forced herself to relax, It's probably nothing… A set of footsteps came into the room, and after a moment's pause, Blake could see someone move into view on the mirror. It was no one Blake knew, of that she was certain; average height and about Blake's own age, far as she could tell at a glance. Blake silently reproached herself for reflexively profiling the girl she did not know at all, Rushing to judgment really is a bad habit…
The girl did not enter one of the stalls though, or approach the sink – she just leaned up against the wall directly behind Blake and folded her arms. Blake's eyes narrowed, but she made a conscious effort not to stare directly at the newcomer, even reflected in the mirror, but even so, she could identify a worn and ragged pair of jeans and a windbreaker, What is she waiting for…?
"You know… Life just isn't fair…" Blake's ears perked up at the oddly wistful quality of the voice as the girl spoke from behind her, "Don't you think so…?"
Blake turned around to look at her, "I beg your pardon?"
Now that Blake was looking at her, the girl had blonde hair and oddly dull green eyes, "Oh.. you know…" She pulled the collar of her windbreaker aside, revealing to Blake's surprise, a set of gills, "The world…"
"You're a…"
"Just like you…"
Blake's eye went wide, "Wh-who are you? And how did you-?"
The girl giggled unsettlingly, "Oh it wasn't that hard to figure out – well, that's what I'd say if I didn't already know~"
Blake instinctively reached for Gambol Shroud, only to remember that she hadn't brought it, "You're with the-,"
"Shshshsh… I wouldn't say that too loud~" Another bout of unnerving laughter, "Never know who might walk in…"
"What do you want?" Blake demanded, "And who are you?"
"Oh, so many questions – tell you the truth, I don't have a whole lot of answers…"
"What. Do. You. Want?"
"Ooh… that one's easy…" the girl smiled deviously, "I mean, you've got it already…"
Blake's brow furrowed, "What…?"
'You know…" The girl said vaguely, "You've got everything the rest of us want so much… People care about you… know you and respect you… love you… Everything we fight for… you've got it all~ Oh, but I don't care about all that… just one thing actually Blake Belladonna…"
Blake headed for the door, feeling her blood ran cold, "Get away from me…"
The girl moved to block Blake's way though, standing in front of the door, "Oh no, no, no; we can't have that…" She pulled a knife, "Not till we get a few things straight…"
Blake stepped back, but her guard was up, "Look, I don't know who you are, but you don't want to do this…"
The knife-wielding girl seemed amused, "Oh… silly, silly Belladonna-,"
"What the hell is your problem with me? I don't even know you-!"
"But I know you," The crazed blonde interrupted, "And my problem with you? You walked in with her…" the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled and weather-worn picture torn out of a months old issue of the Vale Inquirer. A picture of Mina… "There's no way a damn flake like you is good enough her… But… I'm not gonna hold that against you – being a flake, anyway – I don't really give a damn about that anymore… Her though…"
"M-Mina?"
"Mmmm…" The aquatic Faunus purred, "She's perfect, don't you think?"
Oh my God…"Nadia Undine…"
That seemed to catch the girl's attention, "I'm nobody; how do you know me…?"
"You're the one who tried to kill us!"
"Oh… that…" Nadia Undine chuckled, "I was thinking maybe we could call that water under the bridge, but I guess not,"
"You tried to kill me, and now you're threatening me with a knife! What about that is 'water under the bridge!?'" Blake demanded angrily, taking a further step back and getting ready to use her Semblance to escape if necessary.
"Simple," Nadia Undine got disturbingly quiet, "I forgive you for abandoning the White Fang; this…" she indicated the knife in her hand, "This has nothing to do with that…"
She's… "Okay, why don't you just calm down…"
"Oh I'm perfectly calm…" Nadia Undine replied in an unnaturally level voice, "You're the one that looks scared to me… Afraid I'll steal her from you?"
She's… Is this the same person that planned all that hell Mina went through at the wharf? She's totally…
"I actually pity you…" Nadia Undine continued, snapping Blake's attention back to her.
What?
"I bet you didn't know this, but I'd bet anything that she really hates you…" Undine continued, lowering the knife as if she didn't need it, "I bet she only tolerates you because you're such a willing blood donor – but hey; not just anyone gets to support a hero like that…"
"You're delusional!" Blake fought to keep herself from shouting as she clenched her fists, "Just… just shut up!"
Nadia cocked her head with a bitter laugh, "What? Don't believe me? She ever tell you how her mother died?"
Blake's breath caught in her throat, "Y-you… Just leave me alone and we can forget about this…"
"Oh… so that's how it's gonna be…" Undine smiled knowingly, "I don't scare you at all… but you really don't what to hear what I've got to say…"
Blake made to force her way past, but Undine stepped back to place her weight on the door and held up the knife again, "Tut tut, Blake Belladonna… the truth is ugly sometimes, but that doesn't mean you get to run away – not from this…"
"I don't care what you have to say-,"
"Denial if I ever heard it. But oh well; you're just lying to yourself. Not me though – I'll give it to you straight: beautiful, beautiful Mia Carfax hates us all..."
"Shut up!" Blake barked through clenched teeth, "Mina doesn't hate-,"
"Oh really?" Nadia Undine retorted, "You don't think so? How would you feel if Faunus rights protesters beat your mother to death with a glass bottle?"
No… That… no… Blake was paralyzed. She felt cold, like she was frozen in place – but she couldn't stop shaking, She's just trying to rattle you… It has to be a lie…
Undine stepped away from the door now, closer to Blake, staring right into her eyes now, "You can't handle that, can you?" the unhinged blonde laughed bitterly, "Don't worry ; I can… So just go ahead and do me a favor…"
Undine's hair seemed to glow, and then her eyes Blake stared into them. The sheer malice in her expression was a stark contrast to the light she seemed to exude, and all the more gripping for its very personal quality. Blake had long since lost count of the times when she'd suffered discrimination or racism and called it 'hate,' but right now the word didn't seem to fit with the way she'd always used it. No, what she saw in Nadia Undine's eyes was what actual hatred looked like – all that malicious envy flowing from a horrible smile. It was an awful sight to behold, but yet… she couldn't look away.
"Get lost…"
Author's Note: Okay… Plot! Oh yeah… and a cliffhanger… sorry about that - my time's just been a little tighter than usual, and I wanted to post a chapter this week, so I decided to split this into two parts rather than just leaving it hanging for as much as two weeks - hopefully the suspense works a bit, but you'll have to tell me. At any rate, I'd also like to apologgize for the bait-and-switch fluff... I needed a fairly innocuous way to start the chapter for juxtaposition's sake. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that, and until next time, have a good one.