Author notes: Sorry for not updating in a long time, my exams are finally over but depression decided to kick me in the ass and well, at times it felt as if my metaphorical horse had ran away but I managed to catch him and saddle up. This chapter has been in the works for a very, very long time because I actually forgot how to write haha. There's angst and fluff here and then some explanations at the end. Until the next time. (Hopefully that won't be so far away.)
Anyhow as per usual likes and comments are much appreciated and yeah I guess, enjoy?
There key below is to try and help you understand what is going on because I've introduced a new format here.
Italics – Yang's inner thoughts / conscious or a flashback.
Bold italics – A new internal voice which Yang has no control over.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, all creditability and ownership of the following scenarios and characters goes to Monty Oum.
…
"Stay here."
Yang stood in complete silence, stunned into submission as her mother turned and slammed the large metallic door which lead to Salem's throne room in her face.
Blinking once then twice in rapid succession, Yang tried to overcome the shock that even after everything that she had just been through, her mother still had the audacity to challenge her. It was degrading and beyond agitating.
Yang grunted as she turned on her heels and started pacing the dark elongated corridor in hopes of de-stressing too little success. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the itch at the back of her mind that something wasn't quite right. Her strides quickly became more rushed and urgent the longer she waited for her mother to come back.
It was only after she had completed two full laps in an unsteady peace that the voices started talking to her.
You could always force your way inside the room. Nothing is stopping you.
Yang recoiled and immediately stopped pacing, feeling bile rise up her throat at the new presence inside of her head.
She should hold no power over you anymore, but you still wavered and buckled beneath her command.
Quickly closing her eyes and counting to ten, Yang worked on controlling her breathing and denying the reality, despite the fact that ever since she had hauled herself from the snow it was clear to her that she had not returned alone from the afterlife.
"1…2…3…4…"
You can see that Raven is a threat, it would be easier to just take her down now.
"No. Raven is not a threat. She is loyal to the Queen and if she trusts her then so do I." Yang sneered, angry that she had been reduced to arguing with things that weren't even real.
Salem is too blinded by her victory and confidence to notice her mistake; Raven cannot be trusted.
"That's not true. Raven is Salem's apprentice and has pledged fealty to the Queen and her cause. You're just trying to raise a response from me and it is not working." Yang interrupted, tired of hearing the phantom presence's words.
Your mother may say and outwardly show that she is a humble servant yet she makes choices which are not faithful to our cause. Tell me, why would someone secretly meet with their rebel brother on multiple occasions and protect their daughter who was working for our enemy, when their orders forbid them from doing so? Admit it. Raven is a traitor; she plays for both our side and theirs. She needs to be eliminated.
"I won't listen to your lies." Yang snapped as she swiped her left hand in a diagonal motion through the air as if to try and push away the presence, despite a small part of her admittedly thinking over the phantom's proposal. Raven didn't have the best track record for allegiances after all.
Stop listening to it. It's messing with your head, you know that Qrow's a good man and Raven couldn't just let you die. Besides, you can't just go in there guns a-blazing with the Queen inside the room as well, idiot.
Quickly deciding to listen to her conscious and realising that it was indeed wise to respect Salem's authority, Yang made no attempt to breach the room.
Straightening her posture and puffing out her chest, Yang turned on her heels once more and continued her urgent walk up and down the corridor. Telling herself that she would ignore the voices and calmly go over how everything had changed over the past twenty four hours as she waited to be summoned.
Back then things had still been complicated sure, but she wasn't in so deep and at least had a chance to change her mind.
Yang sighed, wishing with all of her being that she could go back in time and take a different path; a path without Raven and dark magic, a path entwined with Blake's: the right path.
Sure, she may have been physically weaker with that choice, but at least she would've been just-Yang; foolish, stubborn and naïve but just-Yang, not whatever or whoever she was now. Yang painfully swallowed around the large swell that formed at the back of her throat at the thought before she continued marching.
Foolish, stubborn and naïve, true. But just Yang? No. You've always had the potential for more.
"Go away." Yang grumbled in a hoarse whisper as she tried her best to ignore the being's words.
Not until you understand and accept the truth.
Yang halted her steps in pure disbelief, feeling her semblance immediately trigger due to her sudden rage. Whipping around in a small circle, she yelled in response to the voice's lecture.
"What truth? The fact that I'm crazy now!" The blonde's eyes burned a deep crimson as she span in slow movements with her balled fists by her sides, hoping the presence would emerge so she could physically beat it into submission.
The fact that you've accomplished more in the past half hour than you have in the past year.
"You call being murdered and brought back to this hell an accomplishment!" Yang fumed, deciding that she might just be desperate enough to knock herself out if it meant not listening to the phantom for a second longer.
No, I call killing the man who robbed you of your arm and avenging your teammate vengeance, and being resurrected a victory.
"It doesn't feel like a victory to me." The blonde sneered, unclenching her fists as an eerie chill passed through her. She knew that she was unprepared to delve into the memories of what she did to the male Faunus.
Are you saying that you don't feel satisfied and triumphant at knowing that you slaughtered Adam? That it didn't feel good crushing his bones beneath your feet and pummelling his own sword through his chest?
Yang didn't take a second to think before she spat out her answer. "No. It didn't."
Liar.
"I'm not lying! I feel nothing but regret for what I did to him and even then, I knew I shouldn't have done what I did." Yang shouted. Her fists shaking with her confession and her breaths quickly becoming heavy and laboured.
The voice did not respond.
Slowing her pacing until she was overwhelmed by the sudden silence of the halls, Yang continued. If they were really going to do this, she could at least try and get some closure from the voice's relentless guilt trip. "It was wrong okay! I shouldn't have tortured him, let alone killed him."
Then why didn't you stop?
Yang paused in shock. Why didn't I stop…?
A cold shiver jolted through her system at the thought, rendering her immobile to basic speech and movement.
Why didn't I stop?
Before Yang could stop herself, the words tumbled from her mouth. "Because- Because she was in trouble. I had to stop him, I had to save her."
And…
Yang felt the intense guilt that she had tried to bury since she returned immediately overwhelm her.
It wasn't just about Blake.
Of course it wasn't just about her.
Yang says nothing, but she doesn't have too. Her face betrays everything.
A heavy sheen of sweat has covered the entirety of her flushed face. A singular glistening droplet beads to its full capacity then hurriedly drips past the deep creases in her forehead and frowned eyebrows, only to mix with the bittersweet trail of tears which leave burning pathways down her cheeks. Her nostrils flare in rushed bursts as her body desperately grasps for the oxygen her trembling lips and stuttering jaw are adamant to obtain.
She has become exhausted, agitated and reduced to nothing more than emotions. She knows that she needs to confess. Even if only to relieve the weight of the shameful and selfish secret that she would burden for the rest of her existence.
"Because I wanted too, because I wanted him to suffer." Yang murmured, her head hug low in shame.
The instant relief she had expected didn't come.
Nothing.
Opening crimson eyes, a fiery rage overcame her once more. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I wanted him to pay for everything that he did to me, everything that he did to her!" Yang bellowed, turning and slamming her fists into a wall as she wept with the declaration.
She had actually wanted to kill Adam.
You did what you needed to do, you made him suffer and pay for his crimes.
Whimpering in defeat, Yang pulled her fist from the wall and fell to her knees, desperately trying to hold herself together to no avail.
She had burnt herself out.
"Then why do I feel so bad. If it was necessary, why can't I let it go?" Yang whispered as her body began to tremble with shock.
You're suffering because you took the life of a being with thought, feelings and consciousness and you can't let it go because when you did it, you thought it would be so simple, didn't you? Just a little jump between killing a creature of darkness and a tainted man? It wasn't and it's breaking you because as much as you think Adam was a beast, as much as you want to justify killing him, he wasn't a mindless Grimm. If anything, he was once an innocent Faunus that became a corrupted man, twisted and warped by a broken society which discriminated and turned against him. You're in pain because there's no going back now, you're a killer and his blood is on your hands.
Gasping on her hands and knees, Yang bowed her back as she cried.
It was too much.
Her body tingled and constricted in pain, her ears rang with deafening pressure and when she blinked, she could see piercing flashbacks of darkness and the glistening tears which trickled from amber eyes.
I wonder what your family would say, when they hear what you have said.
Maybe one day they'll forgive me…
No.
A deep rumble began to echo throughout the room, it took Yang a minute to realise that it was her growling at herself.
You can't let yourself believe or hope that your old friends and family will accept you back with open arms when they find out what you've become. It's a foolish endeavour, they will either reject you, or try to kill you…After all, you are a murderer now and you did betray them for an arm.
Gritting her teeth at the foreign voice's words, Yang's bottom lip trembled as she slowly turned her head to the side and blinked away the heavy blur of tears to look at the appendage that she had indeed sacrificed everything for to get back. Her dribbling mouth curled up into a broken smile as she clenched and unclenched her right fist, it felt the same as she remembered, strong muscles and flexible digits.
I wonder what Blake would think if she saw you now, if she saw what I see. Would she cry? Would she curse or would she reject? Oh, wait. It doesn't matter - because it wasn't just Adam that you killed for that arm was it?
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Yang yowled, too far gone to take in anything else.
Why should I? It's entertaining. Two individuals from different walks of life, unknowingly joined together by the actions of one seemingly insignificant girl. And even then, without her, I must admit that the parallels between you and Adam and quite remarkable, yet you accomplished what he had been desperate to do for ten years in two and a half.
Yang fumed, too frustrated at the implications and too drained to be deciphering riddles. "What are you talking about? I am nothinglike him!"
Don't tell me that you don't see the patterns…
"No I don't! I don't see any damn patterns!" Yang screeched as she curled up into a ball on the floor, holding her throbbing head in her hands and closing her eyes to try and stop the rampaging pain which rapidly consumed her skull.
Come now, you have more in common with him than you think. Not only are your pasts entwined but in the end, despite causing his death, you completed his final wishes. How funny is it that all you had to do was make Blake fall in love with you then break her heart as you watch the life drain from her eyes?
Yang wailed, outraged that it would imply that she was the same as Adam. "We are nothing alike! Nothing! And don't you dare say that she's dead! She's not! My- My dad would've saved her!"
Ah yes, the fathers. Do you know that Adam had a negligent father too? A man that failed to be there for him?"
"My dad is not negligent! He was there for me! He's always been there for me, even when Adam took my arm." Yang retaliated, desperately trying to hold onto the idea that Tai was a good man and an even better father.
But he wasn't there when Raven left and Summer died was he? He left you and Ruby to bury his grief in whoever else he could find. Adam's father was the same. And then of course, there's the mother's themselves. Another positive correlation between the two of you. How curious that his mother abandoned him too? What are the odds? And not only that, but he was an apprentice of Raven too. What are the chances?
"Tai did not cheat on them! He would never! He loved them both, even when they left him he stayed loyal! You're lying!" Yang attacked as she turned onto her right side. "Besides! Raven was not in league with that- that monster!" She bawled, her headache only getting worse as she considered the implications if the phantom was telling the truth.
Where do you think the White Fang got their inspiration for the mask of Grimm from? Funny how deep some connections can run from emperors, to masters, to slaves.
"- I - It was from the Grimm themselves! – It wouldn't be from – No! He did not work for Salem. He was not a slave to her."
He was a puppet being played on invisible strings, he just never knew it. But then again, how could he? Salem has had everything that has happened to you both planned out from the beginning and all she had to do was use her most manipulative asset when her targets were at their most vulnerable.
No…
It was too easy really to dispatch Raven whenever she was needed. You both were so vulnerable to the charms of a leading sympathiser who offered tactical advice and solace after all.
Yang sucked in a deep breath and involuntarily tensed up all of her muscles in a defensive coil as she was violently assaulted by flashbacks from a different time.
*"I'm here to help you Yang, but you've got to be willing to give me a chance. It's time you knew the truth."*
After she had gained your trust, it was just a matter of time before she pushed you into the direction she needed you to go.
*"Because I promise you that I will give you all the answers you seek and I will make sure that no one will ever be able to hurt you again. Not the grimm, not your enemies and not even Blake or Adam."*
It was the perfect ploy. Enabling her and Salem to gain your full compliance without letting either of you have direct knowledge about the real reason you were involved in their games.
*It means you're going to be strong enough to take down the man who took away your arm Yang. You're going to be strong enough to fight him again. You can have vengeance for what he did to you and your partner"*
Yang intensely convulsed as she was thrown back into the present. She couldn't form basic words as she flinched and gasped like a fish torn from the ocean; feeling even more exhausted than ever before as her body slowly started shutting itself down.
Then of course, there's the most important piece in this game of ours; Blake Belladonna.
In her current state, Yang barely even registered that a part of her became nauseous at the voice's use of her ex- partners full name.
Did she tell you that she hunted you down specifically in the Emerald forest because you reminded her the least of him? Or that when you broke Mercury's leg in the arena, she saw you making his same mistakes and that she regretted her choice. That she wanted to leave you?
Shaking her head from side to side. No. Yang seized her trembling ribs, craving air which would enable her to function and speak. "No." She gasped. "I – I didn't know - Adam until -singles match was over, and even then – it wasn't the full story" Yang closed her eyes and focused on controlling her erratic breathing, not caring that her tongue had become enflamed and swollen or that her words were barely audible. She knew the voice would understand her regardless.
Strange isn't it? I know that I find it bizarre that she never thought to tell you about him, that she failed to trust you when she ran away after being exposed as a Faunus or during the Vytal festival.
Yang gently shook her head from side to side, trying to remember her argument but with the haze around her mind, she was struggling to remember a reason why she should disagree. "She had – she had been through a lot, it's understandable that - she couldn't or didn't - want to tell us everything."
Even after you confided in her and told her about that night that you nearly killed yourself and your own sister?
"Trust is a two-way street. I – I needed to take the first step and even then, I didn't expect her to just - tell me her deepest and darkest secrets. It wouldn't have - been fair." She whispered with her head against the cool tiles. It was becoming a fight to keep her mind clear and to force her eyes open.
Don't you think it would've been fair if she had told you the truth about why she left the fang… why she left you?
"She did tell me the truth. She left the White Fang because it became violent. She left Adam because he became spiteful and cruel." Yang breathed with a deep sign, the fatigue in her system had won out.
Does it sound familiar to you yet?
Yang stayed silent, her eyes widened slightly and her mind became blank.
She didn't want to believe what she was hearing.
She couldn't believe it.
It was after she saw what you were capable of… your anger… your rage… that she abandoned you wasn't it? Did you know that it was while she was witnessing Adam's same brutality while they sabotaged a Schnee dust company train that she decided to abandon him too?
"No." Yang whispered in defeat as she was assaulted by another powerful flashback. However, this time it wasn't her own.
…
The wind turns bitter and cold as you turn away from the dissolving remnants of the war machine. You're usually consumed by the sense of invulnerability after such a glorious take down, but as the cutting breeze painfully howls and bites down against the exposed patches of your skin in a blur of beige, red and black, you feel vulnerable for the first time in a long while. Looking down, you focus on the violent hum of machinery beneath your feet, a tell-tale sign that despite the fact that you stand still, the ground beneath you is still moving.
Realising that you are running out of time, your head snaps up and you start running towards the last compartment. An unsteady gnaw at the base of your stomach grows with each stride you take, until you pause, two carriages away from your intended destination. Slowly and deliberately looking up and through the narrow slits within your mask, fear and confusion keeps you paralyzed at what you see.
A figure in black and white stands on top of the black train carriage opposite you, her rigid posture holding strong against the raging spiral of colours around her.
She raises her right arm, unsheathing her blade as she finally looks at you with devastated eyes. The gnaw in your stomach becomes an unbearable roar as her hair whips violently in the harsh breeze and you realise her intentions.
Before you can act to stop her, you freeze as she says her farewell.
"Goodbye"
The words are said without emotion as she strikes her blade against the chains which keep you tethered together.
The resounding clash of metal against metal falls at the same time of the stab of pain through your heart as you watch Blake slowly fade into the distance.
...
A daunting emptiness fills her system as Yang slowly returns to the present. It's not violent, scorching or ravenous as she expects it to be, but delectable and euphoric, as if she has been graced by the elating cool of morphine.
She welcomes it.
It's ironic really.
"What is?" Yang breaths as her rouge eyes flutter and she lets out a laboured sigh.
That in turn for the arm he took away, in the end you've become the man you slayed
What?
Realising that something is wrong, Yang sighs as she fights against the smothering weight of sleep-like darkness, only to open her eyes and freeze at the image of Adam's profile glistening on the surface of the purple tiles beneath her, his face mere inches away from her own.
The beasts sickening blood red eyes and smirk pierce into Yang's very soul.
"NO! NO, NO, NO!" Yang screams as she shuffles backwards as fast as she can, never taking her eyes away from his.
Turning to her left side to get up, she tries to run, only to stumble into a solid wall and slide down the cold surface. Looking up, she tries to search for her bearings, just to face another perfect image of Adam, his twisted posture perfectly matching hers.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yang roars as she raises her left fist in time with Adam's before launching it into the image, sending shards and pieces of the reflective material into the hall with a deafening boom.
…
Yang violently coughs as she waves the air in front of her face to try and clear the descending clouds of thick grey dust. "Hello?" She wheezes, feeling a heavy sandpaper-like itch reside at the back of her throat.
The mist slowly swirls into a heavy blur around her, like a swirling tornado suspended in time. "Is someone there?"
No response.
Yang gently rubs her eyes in order to gain visibility through the heavy shrouds of grey like snow. A blur in the distance instantly catching her attention. "Please, who's there?" Squinting, the blur began to move and take shape "Please…"
Silence.
Yang tucks her knees under her arms and starts slowly rocking her body backwards and forwards, feeling completely isolated and alone despite the emerging outline of figure from shadows.
"Yang…?"
Yang stiffens and snaps her eyes shut as the memory of a different person's voice resurfaced. Praying to a god that if she ignores it, it will go away.
"You once said that you'd never stopped looking for answers…"
Her voice was loud and clear as it echoed down and around the halls. Yang blanched. Everything felt wrong, her body was burning hot with pent-up energy yet she felt so cold and exhausted.
"It's not real. It's not real!" The part-blonde stutters aloud repeatedly as she quickly covers her ears and focused on her own words. "It's not real!"
"Did you find them? If so…"
Yang felt fresh tears spill onto her mask as her body quivered and crippled inwards like it was touched by a ghost. "It's in your head. It's in your head. It's all just in your head!"
"Was it worth it?"
"STOP IT!" Yang roars as she clenched her head in a vice like grip, losing control of herself. "JUST STOP IT BLAKE, STOP PLEASE!"
"Yang?"
Yang opened her eyes, feeling the ice in her veins ignite into fire at the sight of Blake stood before her.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Yang bellows, pushing off of the ground with a burst of unparralled speed and rushing forwards, cocking her arms and forming Ember Cilica on her fists as she fires multiple shots at the girl in front of her.
The explosive rounds impact Blake in the chest, sending the girl blasting backwards through the throne room until she lands on her back in a heap on the floor. Blake turns, raising her left hand in peace while the right fly's to her side. Yang rapidly shoots at the girl's right elbow, giving her no time to unsheathe or grab Gambol Shroud.
Blake's screams of pain echo the room as the multiple shots quickly dissipate her aura. "YOUV'E ONLY BROUGHT ME MORE TROUBLE AND PAIN." Yang thunders as she quickly storms towards the limp girl and straddles her, making her immobile.
"WHY BLAKE! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME.? YOU WERE MY LOVE." Yang snaps as she reaches down with the speed of a striking cobra and squeezes the girl's throat with her left hand while she punches Blake's face with her right until the crack of bone and an agonising whimper of pain break through everything else.
Clenching her fist, Yang channels all of her energy into her right fist as she raises it high into the air, ready to deliver the final killing stroke. Exhaling a breath, Yang's arm descends toward its target, before it's stopped without her permission, mere centimetres away from Blake's face.
Looking towards her disobedient arm, shock flushes Yang's system as a red flowing ribbon of a dust like substance swirls around her wrist and forearm, preventing her from finishing her attack.
Hissing in fury, Yang goes to raise her left fist until the sounds of clapping and a malicious laugh instantly broke her concentration.
Slowly turning to her left at the inappropriate sounds, Yang felt a shiver of cold pass down her spine as Salem stood from her throne and began walking towards her. The part-blonde trembled as a heavy shroud of darkness suddenly lifted from her body and mind. Looking down, Yang stopped breathing.
Instead of being completed and vicious looking, Raven's mask of Grimm had been shattered into six uneven pieces, the white and red remnants scattered around her bloodied face and teary red eyes.
Yang looked down at her fists then back to her mother before rapidly scrambling off from on top of her on all fours.
What did I do?
You did what had to be done.
Staring disbelieving at the unmoving body of Raven, Yang staggered backwards towards the door before a heavy pull from her bones dragged her back.
"Leaving so soon?" Yang quivered at the smooth and triumphant tone of Salem's voice. "I'm afraid we're not done with you yet."
Yang sobbed as she screamed. Too scared and confused too understand what was happening. She just wanted to go home. She tried shooting, kicking and clawing away from Salem's grasp to no use, she was trapped. Black spots started appearing through her vision as she finally stilled, allowing a numbing sensation to overcome her system as unconsciousness overtook her once more.
…
"Do you know where my blanket has gone?" Yang asked as she gently threw her bedding onto the floor for the third time in ten minutes, searching for the missing fabric.
"Eurghhh… No… Maybe Ruby took it with her and Weiss when they - went to stay over at Junipers?" Blake coughed as she painfully eased herself into a sitting position, trying to reach the cup of water, balm tissues and medication that Yang had driven out into a snow storm at nine in the evening for.
"Woah! Hold up partner, don't get up – I'll do it!" Yang chimed as she jumped off her bed and quickly knelt beside Blake, readjusting the sick girl's pillows and easing her onto them so she could sit up more comfortably. Yang couldn't help but smile at the light flush on Blake's cheeks before reaching out to the side for the cup and medicine.
"You heard what the doctor said, no excessive movements or stress." Yang teased with a feather light tone as a cunning idea began to form in her head. Grabbing the medicine bottle, Yang stood and strode into the kitchen, searching for something as Blake scrunched her face in confusion.
"What doctor?" Blake questioned, confused. She hadn't been to see any doctors.
"Why, Doctor Xiao Long of course!" Yang giggled as she reached inside a cabinet and triumphantly grabbed the instrument she had been searching for before retuning back to Blake.
"Yang… I've just got a - cold and bad cramps… It's nothing to be - constantly bed - bound for..." Blake cursed as her voice broke off trying to refrain from coughing. Yang gave Blake an apologetic look before kneeling beside her again.
"It's okay to need help or pampering from time to time Blake." Yang whispered as she reached out and gently placed the back of her hand against Blake's forehead, finding her temperature to be a little warmer than she would've liked.
Blake looked away from the blonde at her words and the feel of Yang's inviting warmth against her clammy skin. "I'm going to give you some medicine now if you want it." Yang stated as she uncapped the bottle with a click and revealed a medicine spoon in her other hand.
Blake's eyes widened at Yang's intentions. "Yang, I'm not so incapacitated - that I can't take my own…medicine." Blake whimpered and clenched her stomach as another churning pain wracked though her abdomen.
"Don't be so stubborn, humour me here." Yang gently pleaded as she poured the correct dose into the spoon.
Blake turned her head and angrily pouted at Yang like a stubborn child once the pain returned to barely manageable levels. "Aww, don't be like that Blake. What do I have to say to get you to do this?"
Blake stared into Yang's mesmerising lilac eyes as she considered her options. "Tuna for two weeks." Blake couldn't help but smirk as Yang's mouth opened in shock at the answer.
"For two weeks!? Blake, No. How about two days a week?" It was Blake's turn to become appalled at the response. There was no way was she letting Yang spoon feed her only for her to get tuna on just two days a week.
"One week, final offer." Blake insisted with a satisfactory grin, knowing that she had Yang on the ropes.
"You strike a hard bargain Belladonna." Yang grumbled as she looked at the spoon in her hands then down to her lap. She couldn't be responsible for the dorms smelling like tuna for a whole week, yet she didn't want to miss the opportunity to care for Blake. She needed a better compromise.
"Is that a deal?" Blake inquired, feeling victorious about the whole situation.
"How about tuna for three days a week and I take you out to the new restaurant in Vale on the third day?" Yang joked.
"Deal."
Blake froze. She hadn't meant to have said "deal" out loud. Oh god, what if she says no? What if she doesn't want that?
Yang's jaw fully dropped at the reply. She had not expected that. "Eurgh, Yeah. Deal" Yang mumbled as she started playing with the spoon in her hands, internally feeling ecstatic that Blake had actually agreed.
Blake visibly relaxed at Yang's words, forgetting what she was even agreeing to have done to her until Yang let out a small forced cough and raised the plastic spoon. "Your turn to uphold your part of the deal." Yang beamed despite how Blake's face dropped a bit.
"Okay, fine." Blake sulked as she crossed her arms over her chest, determined to not let how much she was intrigued and curious about what was going to happen show.
Yang put the bottle on the side before sitting up on the side of Blake's bed as she leaned one hand against the mattress while the other slowly raised the spoon closer towards Blake's mouth, waiting for Blake to accept the medicine.
Blake had to bite her lips to keep from giggling at the way Yang subconsciously poked her tongue out at the side of her mouth as she leaned closer towards her. The blonde looked cute and enduring but she couldn't let her know that.
"Ehh, Blake. You kind of have to open your mouth…" Blake's cheeks turned crimson at the words before she looked down at the spoon. The medicine was a light pink and smelt like strawberries, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all… Looking back up into Yang's curious eyes, Blake opened her mouth.
Yang swallowed, not breaking eye contact as she managed to steady her trembling hand and guide the spoon into Blake's mouth. Blake blinked and her face slightly scrunched as she swallowed the medicine, already hating Yang's terms of the agreement.
"Sorry Blake, that was the only flavour they had." Blake weakly smiled at Yang as she tried removing the bad taste from her tongue. "That's okay, at least it's done now."
The pure guilty look on Yang's face made her pause in fear. "There's still kind of one more dose to go..."
"I did not agree to this." Blake immediately groaned and coughed as she shuffled as far away from the medicine as possible until she was hunched into the small top-right hand corner of the bed.
"It was in the small print you know? Like terms and conditions." Yang giggled as she measured the second amount.
"What are the terms and conditions for the restaurant?" Blake interjected before putting a hand over her mouth. Once more, not meaning to say her thoughts out loud.
"Eh, whatever you want them to be I guess? That's your part of the deal." Yang chuckled as she looked over to the shrunken Blake. "Oh my, don't make me come over there Blake because we both know that I can and I will." Noticing that Blake just huddled closer to the wall, Yang put on her chirpy yet authoritative tone that she used to use on Ruby. "Get the bellabooty over here and we can get it this over and done with quicker."
Locking eyes with the blonde, Blake slowly pulled her multiple blankets and duvets up and over herself as cover, reluctant to believe that Yang would actually be so mean as to make her endure the medicine again.
"Alright, I guess I'm going in then." Blake's heart shrunk as she felt her bed dip slightly as Yang clambered her way over to her above the cramped mattress. "Last chance Blake. I'll accept your defeat if you surrender now!"
"Nooo, I don't want the medication!" Blake mumbled before squealing as Yang starting pulling away the barriers of her sheet fortress. "Yang! I surrender!"
"You missed the surrender Blake! You can't stop the siege of this castle now." Yang guffawed as she snatched multiple covers away from the girl until she got down to the last blanket Blake was hiding beneath and pulled it away from her bashful partner.
"Ah! Yang!" Blake exclaimed as the last layer of defense disappeared. Yang gently tickled Blake's sides making Blake cough, laugh and tenderly protest against her actions. "Yang! You- Ah! You know I'm ticklish! You're - not fighting fair"
Yang marvelled and laughed at the brunette as she cutely rolled around from side to side, trying to prevent the tickling. Blake was way too adorable and Yang wanted to hear her cute little laugh for the rest of the evening but after a minute, Yang decided to be merciful on the poor girl.
Slowly dropping her arms to her side, Yang shuffled down the bed so that she could comfortably lie next to her partner on the cramped single bed. However, just as she lowered herself to Blake's level the faunus suddenly turned and started tickling her instead.
"Oh- No! – Bl- Blake!" Yang chuckled as her sides were assaulted by Blake's fingers. "Ahh! You're – so - sneaky!" With a sudden burst of energy, Yang suddenly flipped herself so that she was on top of her partner, grabbing Blake's wrists and pinning them against the soft pillows. "Who's the one who doesn't fight fair?"
Panting rapidly, Blake felt heat everywhere as Yang suddenly straddled her waist and pinned her arms down beside her head with her hands. This was not what she had expected to happen, yet it wasn't at all unwelcome.
Slowly looking up and down at the girl beneath her, Yang felt herself flush as she realised what position she had put herself in. Timidly, she raised her gaze to Blake's face, hurriedly searching for any sign of discomfort from the brunette.
Blake felt her heartrate suddenly spike as she watched Yang shamelessly check her out before their eyes locked; Yang's a worried and nervous purple, Blake's a determined and predatory amber. They remained frozen for a minute, wrapped within the heavy atmosphere, both their breaths becoming steadily harder and faster with each passing second. Before she even realised what she was doing, Blake wetted her parched lips with her tongue and began to lightly purr.
Yang knew that she must've been as red as Ruby's cloak. Not only had she been caught looking at Blake in that way, but her partner was now licking her lips and purring at her like some sort of temptress. The brunette's actions were quickly making all of the tension within her tense muscles ease as she realised with a gentle tug in her heart that Blake didn't seem uncomfortable with what was happening, but appeared to be content and dare she say, wanting more…
A sudden warm and welcoming atmosphere enveloped them both. It was if Blake could truly feel Yang's aura; her insecurities, fears, hopes and strength all in one moment. It was breath-taking and oh, so intimate. She never wanted it to end.
Yang felt an intense pull deep within her chest, an instinctual longing for her to press closer to her partner, to hold her in her arms and to never let her go. Sucking up all of her courage, she closed her eyes gently and followed the pull, leaning her head closer and closer till she was inches away from Blake's lips.
Blake was beginning to struggle. A deep burning pain had crept up out of nowhere and was building to uncontrollable levels at the back of her throat but she knew that if she let it out, she would ruin the moment. There was little she could do however, as Yang closed her eyes the itch tripled. Tears began to well in Blake's own eyes as she tried desperately to withhold the urge to cough as Yang started leaning forwards. Wait? Is she going to…?
She was.
Blake felt an intense pain in her gut. She wanted this so much. Almost too much… she wanted Yang, to have her here and to kiss her but as she tried holding her breath the pain only got worse. She had to let it go. There would always be another time…
Yang rapidly blinked as she was shocked out of her trance by Blake tugging herself to her left and coughing loudly into the pillow. Retreating backwards, a wave of defeat and sadness overwhelmed the blonde... Maybe Blake didn't want that after all.
Swallowing her pride and upset. Yang quickly acted as to not make the scenario anymore awkward or to let Blake know that she was feeling a bit rejected. Forcefully coughing herself, she reached out for the forgotten spoon and brought it back towards them.
"Last one, I promise then… I'll let you rest." Yang stuttered, trying to defuse the tension as she brought the medicine closer to the passive Blake with her shaking left hand while her right hand still held Blake's wrist.
Leaning her head up but looking aside to her now free hand, Blake took the medicine, too caught up in Yang's presence and everything that had just happened to even notice the bitter aftertaste.
Pulling the spoon away slowly, Yang studied Blake's features as she gently let go of her wrist. "See, that wasn't so bad was it?"
Blake opened her mouth, about to respond and apologise before a sudden knock at the door beat her to it.
Jolting backwards in surprise, Yang accidently slammed the back of her head against the bottom of her bunk, causing the books which supported the bunkbeds to shuffle around and tremor.
Blake immediately burst into laughter at Yang's accident, joyous tears welling and falling down her cheeks due to a mixture of embarrassment and hilarity at the situation.
"Owe, dust! Eurghhh!" Yang yelped as she collapsed face first into Blake's pillow and massaged the back of her head with both her hands, temporarily forgetting about the guest at the door.
Blake tried to turn to her side to ease the pain in her stomach and chest as she started having a coughing fit from her laughter but was blocked by the majority of Yang's weight draped over her body. "Y-Yang! Get- Get up!"
"Nooo, it hurts! Just let them come in, it's probably just Ruby anyway." Yang grumbled into the pillow as the knocking in the door became louder and more insistent.
"Yang!" Blake ordered before quickly realising that her partner probably wouldn't move before the person at the door decided to just barge in. Thinking on her feet, Blake grabbed Yang's right thigh and hip in her hands where they were still placed over her own waist and using all the strength she had, pushed Yang roughly out of the bed onto the floor below.
"Unghmph" Yang huffed as she landed squarely on her backside before the door tenderly eased open to reveal an apprehensive looking Pyhrra Nikos.
"Erm, eh. Hey Pyhrra, what's up?" Yang asked with a tired chime as she continued rubbing the back of her head with her left hand whilst Blake turned away into a corner and snickered while coughing.
"Er, hello again." Pyhrra gulped, her face turning a bright red as she took in the sight before her.
"So… Erm, what brings you to our side of the hall?" Yang awkwardly mumbled, noticing the way that Pyhrra's eyes darted around the room but never really focused on her.
"Hmm, oh! Nothing. Nothing at all!" Pyhrra answered in a rush as she started retreating back towards the door.
Yang cursed herself as she realised what Pyhrra must be seeing; dishevelled nightwear and hair, tussled bedding sprawled across the floor and a hysterical Blake behind her.
"I'm sorry, maybe I should come back later?"
Before Yang could reply, Pyhrra had already backed away and closed the door behind her.