Well, managed one more updated before the work week.
So, here's to the road!
Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for the support!
"Do you realize how reckless you have been?"
"Yes, Dad…"
"I really don't think you have, Yang." Her father, Taiyang's voice resonated, holding his arms crossed his chest while looking down at his daughter, who could not meet his gaze, leaning back and roughly seating herself against the kitchen counter.
He wanted to scowl as he was tremendously upset about the entire situation. Neither of his daughters had come home last night after having only left to go shopping and to check on a friend Yang had met the day before. He hoped his oldest daughter would come home with more acceptable clothes and dress more modestly like Ruby…
A dream, but one he wished she would listen to him on.
They spent the night at a boy's house, and that bothered him even though his mother sounded quite lovely, and he felt assured nothing would happen. There was every possibility he would have to get used to Yang spending the night in the room with a young man very soon, given she was heading to Beacon, and he knew she would undoubtedly ace the test. She always did…
When others doubted her, she excelled.
Then there was what happened and the reason why they did not come home—somehow had gotten into a scuffle with the White Fang. That was trouble enough as the former peaceful protest, now a terrorist organization for Faunus' Rights, was known for holding grudges and paying them back. And Ruby returned home, now recovered but exhausted and slightly injured!
Taiyang was rightly agitated by their actions!
It didn't make matters any better neither she nor Ruby was explaining why they got into the situation, to begin with. Only that her friend, a Faunus, and his family were involved with them. That rang alarm bells, but he did not want to isolate his daughters anymore. He had a decent picture of them based on their responses, and he didn't like it.
"I helped you obtain Bumblebee when you earned your license, I knew you were going to roam. I knew you would go out and look for her." Tai started, his voice lowered as he sternly looked at his eldest. "What I didn't expect was you to constantly get into scraps and mess like this throughout the summer and into the fall. How many times have you come home after a brawl? Getting into trouble? Where I get a call that you've intervened where you shouldn't have?"
"I know, I know…" Yang looked away, gritting her teeth and tapping her foot, listening and taking her scolding.
"Yang, I'm trying to be reasonable with you." Tai sighed as he dropped his arms to his side, his shoulders slumping. "Because you aren't getting it. No matter how many times you say you know."
"Ruby was lucky that this time it wasn't too bad." Tai sagged his head and broke his vision from Yang. "She's was going to follow you, and you know that. You know how much she desires to help and wants to be seen as a heroine. Add in the two of you've to have been inseparable almost all your life and here shortly, and her having to deal with that and her following you into a dangerous situation shouldn't have come as a surprise. She's confident in her abilities now, just like you."
"I know, okay!" Yang snapped, stepping off the counter as she waved her hand. "I am more than aware I shouldn't have taken Ruby home. That I shouldn't have charged into a situation I had no idea that I didn't entirely understand. That I need to think things through and be better. Not letting my emotions get the better of me, putting everyone and my life in danger!"
"Yang?" Tai noted the surge of emotion bursting from his daughter, anger being the most prominent.
But seeing the tears welling as she spoke, the trembling in her stance as she spoke…
"I understand, okay!" Yang tearfully choked as she brought her hand to her chest and shivered. "I can't just get through like I have been. Searching for mom, having fun wherever, whenever I want…"
A pause enveloped the room. Tai knew something was bothering his daughter. Something had happened. Her cocksure attitude had finally cracked, and the delicate and gentle flower beneath had been exposed.
And he was worried and had so much to say, but he knew she had something to get off her chest. She was just searching for it, trying to find the right words.
Explain what she felt in her heart.
"If it weren't for Naruto, I would be dead right now…" Yang hung her head, her lip bleeding as she gazed downward. "I was cocky and confident like I always am. So much so that I didn't realize what I had walked into. That I kept getting told to back down by my friend and to listen. And then, when everything started to collapse, I ran into someone with a more refined version of my ability! And I fed it like a fool as I let my anger get the better of me, and I attacked first…"
"I should be dead! I was caught in it with no way out!" Tears streamed down Yang's face as she finally looked up and straight into her father's fearful eyes. "And I can't help but think about how I messed up and what I need to do to improve so I don't put those I care for in that situation again! So I don't let my overconfidence put me in the same spot again, and I'm not facing my own demise!"
Feeling warmth around her, Yang shivered as her father fully embraced her and him tightly to her. Her eyes shimmered as she looked up at her father and buried her head in his shoulder, letting tears freely fall.
"Yang, you stupid girl…" Tai lovingly muttered as he held his daughter tight, holding her head in his left as she cried. "One thing at a time, alright, honey? I'm still relieved you both returned okay because things could have been so much worse. We'll work on improving later."
"But I'm glad to see something's finally got through that thick head of yours…"
"Dad, not now…"
"Are we seriously shopping for clothes right now? I don't have the lien for this."
"Yes, we are." Blake shifted through men's clothing, pulling out a shirt and placing it in front of Fen, squinting her eyes as she examined him together before putting it back on the shelf. "Threads hold your jeans together, and your jacket and shirt have seen better days. You'll need an updated outfit before heading to Beacon. Want you to be presentable when we arrive. Perhaps we can find you a cute girl, and you'll want to look nicer than you."
"We need to talk." Fen frowned as he watched Blake hum as she sorted through clothes, looking for something in particular, ears twitching back and forth.
"We're mostly alone here." Blake hummed, her golden eyes shimmering as she took her eyes off the clothes and smiled at Fen. "Don't think anyone will listen to us here. Thought that it would be a convenient place to talk away from your family. And since I'm staying with you until we head to Beacon, I felt I could pay for an outfit for you. It's what I can afford to pay you back."
"Wish you would keep your lien for when you need it."
"And I do need it. I need you to have a better outfit so we can find you an attractive girl."
Fen's face twisted into a sour expression while his ears jerked at her comment. "You sound like my mom. Why are you so focused on that? I have plenty going on. A relationship can wait."
"Thought you would say that." Blake tilted her head, shaking her head. "And I am aware. I'm not pressuring you or anything. I just want to see you with someone suitable for you."
"And that is why you are having a problem with Yang?" Fen scowled and narrowed his eyes. "I barely know her, but weren't you being too harsh with her? You were tormenting her, and I can't help but question what was your issue?"
"I don't like her…" Blake mildly hissed as her ears bowed on her head before she shrank back into herself, seeing Fen glare at her in reaction and looking away, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't. Her loudness bothers me. Is short-tempered. Too emotional…"
"You are explaining me, Blake." Fen retorted, annoyed with his lifeline friend, who flinched before gnashing her teeth. "Everything you listed is still attributed to me, and you don't treat me like that."
"Because I've lived with you all my life, and I know you!" Blake hissed, her ears stiffening as she stared deeply into Fen's eyes. "You had anger problems. You worked on them. You can be the loudest person and the room, yet when needed, you are the quietest. You say you are short-tempered, but you can keep your cool when it matters most! She is our age and is acting so irresponsibly! And with her sister in tow!"
"And that gave you the reason to confront her? After all the mistakes you've made." Fen simply responded, causing Blake to become rigid.
She hissed at Fen and turned away, ashamed and biting her lip. Her head lowered, and her ears twitched before she sniffled and shook her head. "No. It didn't give me the right… I've made plenty of my own and should not be one to judge. She's probably heard it for quite some time… But she needed to hear it from someone she didn't know, and that was impartial. I do not regret telling her."
Sighing as he listened to her reasoning, Fen pocketed his hands and shook his hand. "I already had some time with her, and after that, I was going to talk with her and deal with it this morning. She seemed to be having problems as she knows she had a brush with death, which seemed to be affecting her. Now she has this challenge of yours added on top of it? Can say I'm not a fan…"
"Sorry…"
"But, sometimes, a fight is needed to settle your differences, so I'm not entirely against it." Fen flicked his hand through his hair and ears. "I simply don't like the premise of the fight. I know there is more to it, and the two of you are settling your differences. However, the fact that I'm involved in any part of the fight makes it awkward for me."
"I'm not sorry for that." Blake scowled, catching Fen by surprise, and narrowed his gaze as she looked directly at him. "She is obviously attracted to you. She came to check in on you after another incident tells me all I needed to know about that. And I don't care what you think. I don't want her with you. I don't think she's good enough for you as you are not only one of my closest friends, but we are basically family."
"So unless she does something to change my opinion massively, she isn't going to change my mind about that!"
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
A gentle autumn wind from the cliff-side sea whisked through her long, thick strands of hair as the roar of an engine purred and came to a stop. Stepping off Bumblebee just outside the edge of a forest, on the cusp of a cliff, Yang Xiao Long gazed upon a memorial stone.
"Sorry, I haven't come sooner. I meant to, but you know how it is. I need to find her. I have so many questions to ask…" Yang sheepishly tucked her head away from the memorial in embarrassment before a sliver of a smile snuck up on her lips, seeing a generous amount of flowers and small gadgets placed on the monument. "Besides, Ruby has kept you company while I was away. She comes out here every day if she has the chance.."
Falling to the soft grass below on her knees, her head sunk as she faced the memorial and her bangs covering it, Yang a grim expression spread on her face. "Summer, I don't know what to do… I'm so lost, and I need help. I want to ask Dad, but I'm so scared…"
A single tear trailed down her right cheek as she sniffled, attempting to wipe it away and remain strong. "Ever since… Things have changed. I've been so angry at everything. Dad has never been right since, and now that I'm older, I understand, but it doesn't change how I feel. I had to help Ruby so much while you were gone. But I knew I couldn't take it out on Dad. He didn't deserve it…"
"So I bottled it up. Pretended to be happy-go-lucky and free-spirited, putting up a strong front for Ruby. So much so that, honestly, I faked it until I started feeling that it was true. And things started getting better as Dad was present more, and even Uncle Qrow was there whenever he felt like it." Yang looked up into the afternoon sky, with scattered clouds rolling over the setting sun in the distance. "But I was still so angry on the inside. Always ready to fight at the drop of a hat."
"Dad has always tried to work with me on it, but it's never worked. He calls my Burn my temper tantrums, and to an extent, he's not wrong. They always happen when my anger gets out of control," Yang bit back a laugh, admitting her father wasn't wrong, and shook her head before her face sobered. "What he fails to see is what Burn truly is. Semblance is a representation of our soul, Summer. Burn is a reflection of my true self, my anger at this world!"
"Mom walking out on us before I got to know her. You left without a word to Ruby and me, lying to Dad about where you were heading! Dying and leaving us alone as Dad shut down! Having to help take care of Ruby for all of my childhood, even after Dad came back to us! All the people that look down on me for being a close-ranged, in-your-face fighter despite being a girl! All the doubters that keep saying I can't do something because I'm terrible at it! That I'm no good!"
"It all just makes me so damn mad!" Yang roared as her rant flooded from her and came to a screeching halt, her aura flashed around as her eyes bled crimson.
The fiery aura faded, and her eyes returned to the lilac shade as tears welled in her eyes again. Her expression was sullen as she fell onto all fours before the memorial. "And it all starts with my mother… And you, Summer. You both left us, and I don't think I can ever get over that, despite my love for you…"
Silence reigned for quite some time as she sat before the memorial, clenching the grass. She felt relieved to finally get that out of her system. It felt so much…
A gust of wind fluttered from the cliffside, blowing against her enough to make her hair whip in the wind. It wasn't enjoyable, but a normal sensation here by the…
Something brushed against her cheek?
Her eyes snapped open, and she noticed several rose petals carried in the wind as she sat up. Her eyes fell on the roses Ruby had placed at the memorial. She knew that was where they came from, but she couldn't shake the feeling…
Was this a response?
"Summer?" Yang muttered as she looked up at the heavens above, tears welling up in her eyes. "I have so many questions… But I guess they'll have to wait another time as you can't answer them."
Wiping her arm against her eyes, Yang took a deep breath to calm herself as she stood up. She smiled as she stepped away from the memorial, gazing back at it. "Thanks for the talk. I needed it…"
A caw drew her attention, and Yang turned her attention to Bumblebee.
And on it stood the raven looking at her curiously as if it had been watching the entire time.
Yang frowned and placed her hand on her, staring back at the bird. "What is your deal, bird?"
"Why are you always here when I'm at my most emotional?"
"I think it looks terrific on you. Vibrant, but it matches your personality."
"White is a color that I rarely wear," Fen responded to Blake's enthusiasm, glancing at the white overcoat he had over his current outfit, keeping his navy blue shirt for now but having a new pair of straight orange pants. "But, you know, I do like it! Gotta say, this does look really good…"
"I told you, I wanted you to look good." Blake smiled with her eyes closed. "Want you looking your finest for that lucky lady…"
"You still on about that!"
"We are heading to a bar, are we not?" Blake retorted, holding out her hand as if it wasn't the most obvious thing. "Even if we're going to meet your contacts, looking stylish should be of the utmost importance, just in case. I dare say if you meet someone, we could get you to be taken home and have a fun time…"
"My contacts already did that to me once…" Fen muttered as his ears lay flat on his head, annoyed with his current partner as they entered a particular bar.
His partners of late had been annoying him…
This statement caught Blake's attention, and her ears twitched, and her eyes widened as they headed to two specific individuals and the barkeep, the barkeep slowly backing away at the sight of who it was. "You haven't! You already lost it! Oh, they better have been worthy or…"
"Naruto…" Militia's voice echoed when he arrived, standing up, her green eyes shimmering at the sight of him. "You dare come in here with another girl after the last time?"
"At least this one doesn't look like a Hustler like last time." Melanie hissed, standing at the other side of him, eyes filled with justified rage. "What do you want?"
Shifting her gaze between the two as Fen sighed defeatedly, a wide grin crossed Blake's face as she leaned into him. "So, you going to introduce me to your two girlfriends? I like them. They seem quite lovely. Why haven't you brought them home to your mother?"
"Blake Belladonna!" Fen hissed as she giggled, amused by his reaction. "Do not make this relationship more complicated than it is!"
Militia and Melanie's stances relaxed, satisfied and smug smirks sneaking onto their lips. They nodded in approval of Blake as they took their seats once more. "We like this one. Much better than the last girl."
"Militiades Malachite." Militia purred as she took a drink from her cocktail as Fen and Blake took their seats beside them.
"Melanie Malachite." Melanie cockily added as she drank from her martini, giving a full glance at Blake before turning his attention to Naruto. "My dear, you just saw us, and we are quite roughed up from our last encounter. Whatever is it that you need from us?"
"Supplies," Fen stated, pulling out a small list and handing it over to Militia. "Far more than the usual order and earlier than normal too. I am afraid my routine visits will be much sparser in the coming months."
"Ah, yes. Heading to Beacon," Militia tilted her head with a broad smile, taking a sip as Fen frowned, hearing they knew he was going to the Academy. "Do not underestimate our ability to gather intelligence. We have been aware for quite some time."
"We have been waiting for this order for quite some time," Melanie put her hand to her mouth as she arrogantly laughed. "But for making us wait so long, the price will be much more than you bargained for. After all, you did come in here and wreck us and our favorite drinking spot. Hardly anyone has come in the last two days."
"Been no fun with no one to play with," Militia added sourly, her hand moving and uncomfortably trailing against Fen's leg. "So you need to make up for that and with extra."
"Not in front of my bar." Junior snarled at his top-paid guards, annoyed at their antics and what they were playing at. "Take it to the dance floor. Don't want to see… This."
"Spoilsport." Militia and Melanie spoke in tandem, rolling their eyes as they stood up, offering their hands.
And strangely, Melanie offered hers to Blake, catching the other Faunus by surprise. "Um, okay?"
"Careful, they're Bi. That is definitely an offer." Fen warned, frowning as he recognized what the sisters were up to. "I'm not roping my friend into my offer. I'll pay for it myself, like usual, even if it takes more time…"
"Blake!" Fen turned back around, and Blake took Melanie's hand, a smirk on her face as they headed to the dance floor.
"Sounds like fun to me." Blake closed her eyes and tilted her head, gazing back at Fen. "And the most effective way to get over someone is to get under someone else… Or on top of them, depending on the situation."
"Oh, I like you." Melanie grinned as they reached the dance floor, eyes shimmering in anticipation. "Can't wait to see where this night goes!"
Fen growled, agitated, before taking a breath to calm down. Flicking a hand through his hair, he turned his attention to Militia, who still confidently held out her hand for him to accept. "You two are devils. You know that? This is just for supplies."
"Well, if you could pay, this may be different." Militia closed her eyes and grinned before opening her eyes, and a shimmer sent a shiver down his spine. "But probably not. We've been with you once…"
"And we want more. So come to the dance floor, and let's start this night."
"Yang?"
"What's up, Ruby?" Yang raised her head, sitting on the floor in the middle of her room after hearing a knock and seeing her sister open the door.
"I saw the light was still on in your room…" Ruby rubbed her eyes, frowning as she saw Yang sitting with crossed legs. "What's wrong? You are normally passed out and sprawled out on your bed at this time."
"Geez, say it like it is…" Yang scratched the back of her head, chuckling, knowing that was true more often than not, before sighing. "I… Got some things on my mind. And I'm working on how to solve them. Thought meditation would help."
"What?" Ruby looked alarmed and nearly stumbled out of her sister's room upon hearing this admission, looking at her with wide eyes. "That's… Well… I…"
"Shocking, I know." Yang suppressed a tired laugh, knowing that was what her sister was thinking. "It's just, after what happened, I feel something needs to change. I don't know what I can do, so I'm trying something. Anything…"
Ruby grimaced. She knew her sister was struggling after hearing her crying downstairs with her father. Yang even went to her mother's memorial, something she hadn't done in quite some time as she spent so much time this summer and fall searching for information on her mother. What had happened had clearly bothered Yang enough to affect her, and she wanted to help…
But she didn't know what she could do…
All she could offer was her voice.
"So, is anything working?" Ruby asked cheerfully, tilting her head and smiling thoughtfully as she tried to look at things positively for her sister.
"Oum, no. Nothing has. Nothing ever has." Yang frustratedly responded, frowning as she squatted on the floor, looking glum. "Thought I would try and return to meditation as I heard that it does work to calm one's mind. But I don't know how to! Been trying for hours, and now I need to go to the bathroom as all I'm thinking about is water that was running in the bathroom!"
"Whoops…" Ruby scratched the back of her head, choking back a laugh as Yang glared at her baby sister and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Thanks for that!"
Laughing together for a brief moment, Ruby smiled, seeing Yang look like her usual self briefly. But seeing her bangs fall back over her sullen expression after, she frowned. She was still bothered. She really needed help.
What could she…
"Have you asked anyone for help?"
"Don't want to bother Dad. He's already burdened enough, and after this, I don't want to put more pressure on him." Yang shook her head, scowling before taking out her scroll. "And not a single friend of mine would know what to do either. They're all the party-hard types. …Really need to pick my friends better."
"Ain't that the truth," Ruby muttered, earning a glare from her sister, and she only laughed. Then a thought came to her after, making her pucker her lips. "I know this is a stretch, and your probably not going to like it as it would mean contacting her… But why not call Naruto? I'm pretty sure he meditates and knows how to."
"Oh, I am not calling her!" Yang feverishly shook her head, realizing what her sister was asking and, in a way, wanted to get in contact with her.
She then frowned. Why did her sister think that Naruto would know how to meditate? What made her come to that conclusion? "Ruby, what makes you think he meditates?"
"I thought I saw him meditating when I woke up this morning," Ruby stated, catching Yang's attention. "He was in the same position you were in and was in deep concentration for a few good minutes. His breath was slow and rhythmic. Looked like meditation before he got up and left the room."
"Is that so…" Yang murmured, looking down at her scroll, frowning, seeing the cat Faunus' number and scowling.
"So maybe, if you don't think Dad can help, maybe he can?" Ruby shrugged her shoulders and turned from her sister's room. "Well, I'm going back to bed. Please don't spend all night stressing. Dad and I are worried about you, okay? Get some rest."
"I will, Rubes…" Yang looked up at his sister's retreating before looking back down at the scroll and sighing. "I will…"
"But first, I guess I have to do this…"
"Did that seriously just happen?" Fen muttered, sitting at the bar before an irked Junior as he fixed a drink for the Faunus.
"Don't you say a word about what happened." Junior bit back a snarl, putting a rum and coke before the Fennec Fox. "It's on the house as long as you keep guard of the place since you put my guard on the shelf for the night."
"Fair enough." Fen nodded, picking up the drink, giving it a good swirl, and taking a solid drink. "Nothing beats sake, but don't have much of that around here."
"I'll take an Old Fashion," An elegant woman's voice came from next to Fen, drawing his attention as a woman in a fiery red dress that stopped at her thighs sat next to him, "Cinnamon spiced if you would. I like a little fire to go with my drinks."
"You've got it," Junior responded, turning to grab the ingredients and make the drink as intended.
Not heeding her any mind, outside, she sat next to him in an empty bar, Fen sipped his beverage. The night was still young…
"What a lovely night this is, isn't it?" The woman addressed him, a pleasant smile on her face as she turned, and her amber eyes gazed into his. "I've spent so long trying to find you, and now I've finally found you. Such a handsome young man you are. What lovely music we can make together. You, a God of Foxes, and I, a lonely princess waiting for her prince to rescue her but doomed to save herself."
Fen's eyes narrowed as he felt something was deeply amiss. Something was wrong, and he knew it. And he left his gear in the room with the women…
"Don't worry. I'm not here to stir trouble." The woman's eyes burned with passionate flames that could scorch anything they touched as her hand reached out and stroked his. "I have something much more in mind for you."
"So, shall we take this elsewhere, Kitsune no Ogami?"