Cinnamon turned toward Blake and made a dash for her as Kali opened fire. Blake began to backpedal as Sun rose from the floor and hissed. His black shirt was torn in several places from the invading shards of glass, and his palms were bloody. Tiny fragments of the window seemed to sparkle within his hands from the firelight, and he found even closing his fingers to be painful as he reached for his weapon.
"Blake, I've got you!" he shouted as he ran to meet her. She turned to face him with a look of horror as she activated her semblance, blinking out of the way as Cinnamon rolled to take cover from Kali's potshots behind the massive table. She knocked the piece of furniture on its side and hid behind the large, rectangular top.
"Sun, no! You have no aura! We need to leave!" Blake commanded.
Sun stopped and let out a grunt of pain as Blake reached him, while Kali continued to rain bullets on the table. "Leave? Blake, it's three on one, and Kali needs-"
"Mom needs space to fight! We're in her way, and I'm not letting you play hero when you could get seriously hurt," Blake replied with more than a little annoyance.
"Just go, you two! I can handle her," Kali growled as she holstered a pistol, before bending to pick up Gambol Shroud. She handed the weapon over to Blake as she walked past the pair, keeping the remaining luger aimed at the table as her ghostly arms flexed and twitched behind her.
Sun frowned and heaved a sigh as he eyed the window. "I don't like this. I'll go, alone, and you two can f-"
The hard slap across the face from Blake caught him by surprise, and Sun stopped talking as Blake glared up at him.
"Mom. Needs. Room," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm not leaving you alone out there, when the White Fang could come running to see what's going on at any minute. Listen to me when I'm doing something for your sake, for once!" Blake finished with a yell. Sun shrank backward slightly at her tone, and he simply nodded as he made his way to the window, with Blake in tow. The two leaped the jagged glass still clinging to the bottom of the sill, and began to run back toward the Belladonna manor.
"About time," Kali muttered to herself as she turned her head to watch them go. With the two teens out of sight, she looked back toward the table and began to reload her pistol. "You're awfully quiet for someone so smug," she called out. No response came from behind the table, and Kali raised her ethereal incense burner high above her head, before jingling it back and forth. Particles of pulsating, purple light raced from the talisman and floated down and around the table to linger in the air behind the wood.
"If you're still there, I'd highly recommend moving," Kali lilted as she drew her other pistol and aimed both at the table. With no further words, she extended the limb holding the severed head, and the effigy opened its mouth in a silent scream.
Kali smirked to herself as brilliant violet lights radiated from behind the table and burst in a flameless, localized explosion of force. Splinters of wood careened through the air as the table was blown apart, leaving nothing but jagged fragments and odd craters of impact in the surface of the wooden floor. She frowned to herself as she found no opponent amongst the wreckage, only for her ears to twitch as she trained her pistols toward the sound of slow clapping from the nearby doorway.
"You Belladonnas do have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?" Cinnamon commented as she appeared from around the corner and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. Upon her right arm was a bracer mounted with some sort of metal blades folded back toward her elbow, and a bulging metal drum magazine on the inside of her forearm. "Now that it's just us adults, though, I really must ask what this is all about. Your daughter isn't exactly the greatest diplomat."
Cinnamon tossed her arm outward and rotated the bracer to let the mounted metal deflect the stray pistol round that Kali offered in response.
"She doesn't need to be. Your organization comes here, to my village, begins stirring up trouble, assaults my daughter, and you expect us not to respond? Blake and Sun came to collect evidence and capture you for questioning. I won't be so kind." Kali narrowed her eyes as she raised the incense burner once again, and Cinnamon used her shoulder to push off the wall while folding her arms.
"Wait." Kali paused, and blew a frustrated breath through her nose. "Firstly, the White Fang isn't my organization- that honor belongs to Sienna, and it once belonged to you and Ghira. Times change, and methods change… but our goal is still the same as yours. Individuals in any group will make their own decisions and sour things, but I'm not the woman you're looking for. As far as I'm concerned, you could walk out of here right now, I'll cut the loss on the table, and we'll call it even."
Cinnamon took a slow step forward, and offered a hand. Kali merely stared down at the limb, before flicking her eyes back upward to meet Cinnamon's.
"We know about Haven Academy. Don't play innocent with me," Kali snarled.
Cinnamon grinned and brought her other hand up to her mouth as she began to laugh. "Oh, you." She narrowed her eyes as her grin grew wider. "No, you really don't."
Kali shook the burner and sent a row of pulsating lights straight out to Cinnamon as her opponent charged forward. The lionfish faunus leaped into the air above the violet points and threw a punch for the golden ornament, only to find her fist passing straight through it as Kali directed the severed head to scream once again. Cinnamon tucked into a roll as she landed and began to circle as more deafening bursts of pure force tore through the room, splintering part of the door frame and shredding the carpet where she had once stood.
"You know, I did at least pay for this home legitimately! Have a little respect?" Cinnamon asked as she dashed in once again, closing the distance while Kali raised her pistols.
"And we run this village legitimately, only for you to try to undermine it from within!" Kali countered as the two impacted each other. Cinnamon grabbed for Kali's wrists as Kali spun her pistols and twisted her arms, wrenching herself free as she struck out with the grip of one of her guns. Cinnamon leaned her shoulder in to take the hit and thrust a knee upwards into Kali's stomach, causing her to stumble backward as Cinnamon flipped back to land on one knee.
"Sounds to me like we've got similar problems, Belladonna." Cinnamon extended the arm encased within the bracer and used the other to support it at the elbow as the metal 'blades' flicked outward to form the frontal part of a crossbow. A whirring noise echoed from her wrist as steel bolts began to fire at high speeds, and Kali twirled to the side to avoid the hail of projectiles by ducking behind the cabinet. A bolt pierced the base of the holographic television and caused the device to switch off with an angry hiss.
"Why are you still talking!?" Kali demanded as she flipped her lugers around to hold them properly once again. She sucked in a breath and withdrew her semblance, letting the arms dissipate as she rose to find Cinnamon's crossbow trained on her. Kali raised her pistols in kind, and stared the woman down.
"Like I told your daughter- killing other faunus just isn't my thing. Humans? Couldn't care less. Our kind, though? It breaks my little black heart to have to defend myself from you. I mean that, really," she replied with a devilish grin.
"Is that so?" Kali asked with a deadpan tone. "So, what, you want to lay down our arms and just talk this out over coffee?"
"If it was up to me, sure. The goal is still equality, Kali. Adam just has a different way of getting there," Cinnamon said as she shifted her weight while keeping her arm-mounted crossbow leveled.
"…fine. You first."
Cinnamon's smile only grew wider. "I don't think so. That sounds to me like a deal a human would make."
"You know, good intentions don't absolve you from the damage you're causing by supporting Sienna… or Adam. Which is it, really? From what my daughter's told me, it seems like you serve him more than her, and that's honestly worse," Kali accused.
"Hm," Cinnamon replied while making a show of tilting her head and looking up toward the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. She brought her gaze back down to Kali, and gave her shoulders a noncommittal shrug. "Neither."
"What…?" Kali blinked in surprise, only to flinch and duck as a bullet ricocheted off the cabinet just beside her. She looked past Cinnamon through the shattered window to see five White Fang grunts approaching the house, guns trained on her.
"Waxing philosophical is a great way to stall for time, you know. Silent alarms are a hell of a thing, Belladonna. Look into 'em," Cinnamon offered as she gave Kali a mock salute. "I noticed your extra arms are down. I hope your aura isn't too drained to deal with them."
"Next time we meet, I'll show you a drained aura," Kali threatened as Cinnamon backed up toward the window.
"Lookin' forward to it. 'til then… it's been fun. We'll talk more later." Cinnamon gave a polite wave and hopped out the window as Kali checked her ammunition. Purple flames erupted from her shoulder blades as her ephemeral arms extended up and out once again, holding their implements of destruction.
"I bet you are," Kali stated plainly as two grunts entered through the window, and the remaining three appeared through the front door. Brilliant violet lights manifested close to both locations, and Kali narrowed her eyes as the soldiers raised their weapons, while she raised the severed head.
Sun once again sat upon a stool in the kitchen, his torn shirt resting in a heap atop the island beside him. Various bottles of rubbing alcohol and herbal extracts stood next to the article of clothing, and a bag full of bandages, gauze, and a few tools took up most of the rest of the surface. Sun didn't dare to speak as he looked at Blake with worry in his eyes and his heart down in his stomach. Blake stood hunched over the sink, gripping the metal rim of the basin with white knuckles and closed eyes as she collected her thoughts. Finally, she inhaled sharply as she looked over her shoulder at him.
"I told you to stay outside."
"Blake, I can't just le-" Sun began, only to cower slightly as Blake whirled and leaned in, inches from his face.
"Shut up!" she demanded, her tone harsh. Sun did as he was told, and he looked off to the side as he mentally prepared himself for the worst.
"I could have handled it. Even if she had caught me in the basement, we had a plan. It would've been two fresh fighters, armed and with full aura, against one. I probably could have escaped, and made it three on one, even if Mom can't use her semblance when we're in the way. You let me fight on my own on the rooftop, and today, you choked and potentially cost us more information, or even the ability to subdue her in a best case scenario. What changed? What happened to trust, Sun?" Blake's voice cracked slightly at the last question, and Sun's shoulders slumped as he tried to think of the best approach to explain himself.
"Blake, I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry. What changed is… well, we're an item, now…" Sun tried, only to find his excuse collapsing in his mind as soon as he'd made it. Blake was equally unimpressed, and folded her arms across her chest with a huff as she stood straight.
"Yes, we are, but what does that even mean? How does that affect our relationship, other than giving it a label? We've kissed a few times, but that isn't enough to just keep being my shield when I needed a bit of freedom. I thought you were going to work on this. You were making progress, and now it's all suddenly collapsed. I'm pissed, Sun… and I'm hurt, too. I'm tired of showing you affection by cleaning your wounds, watching you get sick, and sitting in bed worrying after you pass out from exhaustion. This has to end, now," Blake said as she braced a hand against the kitchen island.
"I know," Sun said quickly. "I am trying. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm really trying to put myself out there a bit more. I'm just not… good at it."
"No, you're really not. I know it's your weakness, but… look at all the good your strengths have done," Blake insisted as she knelt before him. She took his hands in her own, and gently began to look them over for miniscule glass shards before giving the back of his hand a gentle kiss.
"Look at everything you've drawn out of me, when my entire team tried for over a year to get me to open up. You're…" Blake pulled a face and flattened her ears, seemingly having trouble finding the right words. "…special to me, Sun. I know that sounds lame, and stupid, but I don't know how else to say it. Don't you think you deserve the kind of attention you've given me? I just want to help you, but I can't, if you keep deflecting."
"I know," Sun insisted. "It just isn't that easy. I can't just lay it all out on the table. The last time I did, I regretted it immediately."
"But why would you regret it with me? What are you so afraid of? Do you honestly think I'm going to judge you, or think you're less of a man, or something stupid like that? Sun, I'm begging you. Let me in. Let me know what's going on in that head of yours, because until I understand, we're going to clash like this every time I need you to just let me do my own thing. I don't want that to drive us apart."
Blake looked down at his hands with a frown as she continued to rub the backs of them. She drew her eyes up to meet Sun's, and he found that they were full of genuine sadness. The sight was too much for him, and he looked down into his lap as he felt a pulse of guilt and nausea course through his body like a sickening wave. He shivered, and began to speak softly as he tried to fight back the urge to break down at the overwhelming combination of the sight of her and his own feelings.
"Blake… I know exactly what changed, and why I've gotten worse about this. Do you… do you really want to know why I have so much trouble being open, and letting you focus on me? I know you said you won't think less of me, and maybe that's true… but you won't look at me the same way, once you know. I don't know if you'll even understand," Sun finished with a worried glance to her. Blake leaned forward and rested a cold hand upon his chest, as she began to make note of where he needed treatment.
"I'll try my best to understand, no matter what it is. We'll get through this, together, the way we're meant to do everything from here on out. Just tell me, Sun. I want the truth," she replied as she reached for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a pair of tweezers.
"The truth," Sun repeated. "I… hate the truth about myself."
"I feel the same way, Sun… but I love you, and I know you love me. Let that motivate you. This, right here, is the next step in our relationship, and it's one I need you to take. I'm here for you," Blake said reassuringly as she began to get to work on extracting the glass shards.
"Then, I will." Sun paused to take a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "The truth. The truth is…"
Author's Note:
…coming out on Sunday, the 10th.
-RD