YESTERDAY IS HISTORY, TOMORROW IS A MYSTERY...

Sunrise came earlier than I expected, and I honestly wished it didn't cause now, I'm late for my appointment. Again. Still... hopping all over Vale, last night wasn't all for naught. At the very least, I was able to confirm that Sun and Blake had absolutely zero plans on how they want to approach the white fang. It gives me time to shove both of them out of harm's way, while allowing Roman to do his part in all of this hassle free.

I quickly changed into my Beacon uniform, and ran to the kitchen as fast as possible. I'm glad that I did, cause the moment I made that last turn onto the kitchen hallway, Yang was already there with two cups of coffee in her hand.

"You're late."

She jokingly said with a slight pout on her face. Yang handed me the cup on her left hand, which I cautiously took a sip of the moment I took it off her hand.

"Like chocolate milk."

I smiled at her, impressed that she was able to somehow mimic the amount of sugar and cream I placed on my drink the day before. Yang blushed, her face clearly filled with joy but that didn't last long however. She tucked her elbows right against her waist, and cuffed her drink close to her chest, as she stared at her own reflection on the pitch black coffee.

"Hey, about last night..."

I stopped her right away.

"Don't worry about it."

I insisted, but because Yang is Yang, naturally stubborn and rebellious. Yang looked back at me pouting. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, as I leaned back right next to her on the kitchen counter.

"I didn't mean what I said last night. I- calling you out just like that was below the belt. Hypocritical, like you said. You're part of the team, and yet I made it seem like I was pushing you away. More like pushing all of our team's problems on you instead of solving it, and I-"

I took my finger and jammed it on the side of her cheek, probably pissing her off in the process.

"Yang. You were right too, you know. Maybe bailing last night was the wrong choice. In times of peril where Blake needed us the most- where we needed each other… together… I chose to turn my back and leave. Also… self discovery was probably the worst excuse I could've come up with last night… it felt natural, but thinking about it now, the whole thing was really cringy and awkward...so uhm, sorry."

Yang took a deep breath, and looked at me with a soft smile.

"Ez, truth be told, I'm really not all concerned about what was said last night. I mean what I said just now, but I-I'm more worried about you getting mad at me more than anything else. T-that's probably the last thing I wanted to see happen, and I guess I'm apologizing because I want to-"

I cut her off while I stared deep into her lovely lilac eyes.

"Erase that feeling I got when we started fighting… I know, I feel the same way."

She looked at me, blushing and embarrassed, then looked away. Feeling that I'm probably, blushing as well, I instinctively did the same thing. Yang then slowly crept closer till our elbows touched, still with her gaze focused somewhere else.

"Sooo… why did you leave last night Ez?"

This is it, the perfect moment, the moment where I pour my soul out with a heartbreaking story that I've been preparing for ever since this infiltration mission started. A false background, a sob story that breaks down people's guard in order to get what I want. I have about 30 of these all memorized, and I can easily recite one of them on the spot for situations like these, but for some reason, now that I'm looking at Yang, all those false histories that I made up vanished, and the only one I can remember is the one I actually experienced.

"Family. I grew up here in Vale with my three sisters: Elle, Elize, and Edna. Triplets, and as you can probably tell, my parents' favorite letter is 'E'."

I smiled at the thought of my three young sisters, then took a sip of my hot coffee.

"Well I say, Vale but technically… eh, I guess it is still Vale, anyways..."

I looked at Yang with a sarcastic smile, attempting to diffuse the concern she's about to feel once I finished what I'm about to say.

"Mountain Glenn is probably a more accurate name for the place I grew up in."

Yang's jaws dropped.

"That abandoned city right by the outskirts of Vale?"

I nodded.

"Mmhmm. We were a migrating clan of hunters that came from Mistral. My sisters were just born when the head of the clan, my father, decided to settle in Mountain Glenn permanently. We were offered a contract: protect the colony in exchange for a place to stay. A place to lay down our roots. It wasn't a bad gig. My father was a capable hunter and a great leader, my older sister - his best protégé was almost as good as he was. I was young, but I remember how tiring… walking was. Ridiculous I know, it's just walking after all but the anxiety, the fear, and just the overall feeling of not being safe when we were on the move was something I was glad we were finally getting rid of. You have no idea how relieved I was to see my dad and my older sister sigh in relief once we arrived in Mountain Glenn."

Soon, I found myself staring at my reflection in my coffee the way Yang did just moments ago.

"As you can probably tell based on the Mountain's state, it didn't exactly go as planned. I remember it clearly. It was a cold winter. A blizzard was brewing, but the colony needed supplies and only Vale can provide it. My sister took a band of our best hunters to escort the resupply team to the city, but that was when the Grimm attacked. We- we were overran. Dad died first, he held off as many Grimm as he possibly could, but it was all in vain. Everybody died all the same."

I couldn't even tell that tears were flowing down my face, till a drop of it caused a ripple in the coffee that distorted my reflection.

"Mom learned how to operate the train during our time there, and she sacrificed herself when she separated me and my sister's cart, from the train's main body so we could get away. I- I was only a kid and only survivor along with my infant sisters, naturally I didn't know how to control a runaway train, and we crashed."

I rubbed my arms across my face, wiping the tears off of my face.

"Thankfully, we crashed in Vale, unharmed. The people that found us were not your average citizens. They're way of life were… say… peculiar and slightly illegal."

I was a smile at the concerned Yang before continuing.

"Life was hard where we landed, and it wasn't uncommon for people to rely on thievery, swindling other people, and setting up shop on the shady part of town, but they were good people. Good people. They didn't really harm anyone, annoying them would be a better term to describe it. Just trying to make a living. They treated us kindly. They weren't you're typical family, but they were family nonetheless. More than anyone in our situation had at least."

I forced a smile at Yang, who silently stood by, not knowing how to respond.

"It's a good thing I had talent at least. I guess I learned enough from my old man that I was able to train. HARD. Hard enough for Beacon Academy to notice me, and here I am! Drinking coffee with the most beautiful woman in the whole school."

It took her a second to process what I said, but the moment she did, all the traces of worrying vanished from her face. She stepped back for a second, then softly swung her fist against my face, while she blushed.

"God, you're never gonna stop acting all cheesy are you? What about your older sister?"

She laughed as she turned back around, with her back landing on the counter right next to me.

"I-I don't know. It's probably wise to assume that she died during the resupply mission that night... Would have been nice to her right about now. Triplets are not an easy task let me tell you."

Yang nodded in agreement. You can tell that Ruby was at the forefront of her mind the moment I mentioned sister.

"Is that why you left last night?"

She asked with a curios look on her face.

"Y-yeah. I visited the my sisters last night to make sure they're alright, and as part of a promise I made with them."

They were lies of course. I didn't visit my sisters, it would be stupid to do so, especially now that I've found out that Cinder's on the prowl, out looking for any leverage against me, but out of all the information I told Yang, this piece of information was the only lie I made. I had to. That's how I justify it at least.

"Now I feel even more like a jerk for yelling last night."

She sulked.

"Well don't worry about it."

We coincidentally both looked at each other at the same, but this time, neither one of us wanted looked away.

"You're more than making up for it now."

Yang crept in even closer, and leaned her head against my shoulder. We stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, even though I know for a fact that it was merely a moment. A moment that I wished would last forever. Truth is, speaking about my past could easily be the biggest mistake I've made during this whole mission, not just because of the possible repercussions I might face after exposing information about myself, but because I left myself emotionally vulnerable to the pain I've been avoiding for a long time, and I have no doubt in my mind all of this is because of Yang.

Maybe, just maybe, after this mission is over… after Cinder is done with whatever it is she's planning there might be a chance- no matter how small, that I can be a part of Yang's life. Unlikely, true… but for now, it's a problem meant for my future self to sort out. For now, while I'm still in this moment, I want to forget everything because right now, with Yang resting right on top of my shoulders is all that matters.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is… a gift. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

"YAAAANG!"

Ruby walked in on us, but not before Yang lifted her head away from my shoulders. Ruby's mouth dropped the instant she saw the both of us, then immediately stomped her foot as she made her way towards us. I'm pretty sure steam was coming out of her head.

"There you are! Ez, you're here too! What are you guys doing?"

She looked at me, confused, still slightly angry at the same time. I glanced at Yang with a cheeky grin on my face before answering her back.

"Tying up loose ends."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at me, before her face brightened up all of a sudden, finally realizing what I was getting at.

"Oh, you two made up already? See sis, I told you Ezra wasn't the type to get angry."

So Yang being worried about me getting angry at her was true. I poked my tongue out at Yang after hearing all this. She immediately blushed and look away before she wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck, playfully choking her.

"That was supposed to be between the two of us you little..."

The sisters took a moment to laugh at each other, before Ruby composed herself and spoke with a tone that demanded our attention.

"It's cool that you two made up, but Blake's still not back! I really don't mind if she goes off on her own, I mean come on it's BLAKE!"

Fair point.

"But I really didn't like how we split up last night. I have a feeling she needs us now more than ever, as her friend, even if she doesn't know it."

The pure innocence that Ruby exhibits on a daily basis intrigues me. At first I thought it was just because she was naive and inexperienced, but being with her these past couple weeks made me change my mind. There's something about this girl that's special… that makes me feel like I can do better. Something about her that makes me want to follow her. It's probably why I'm feeling obligated to give her a hint of what Blake is up to, rather than lead them away.

"Well let's look back, when did Blake snap? I mean, what did Weiss say that really irked her?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders then placed her hands on her waist.

"To be fair, almost everything Weiss say has the potential to irk anyone."

The instant she said that, Weiss walked in.

"HEY!"

Yang cringed and smiled apologetically at her, to which Weiss ignored… after giving her one hell of a death stare.

"The White Fang. I did say some things about the rapscallion faunuses, but she really lost it when I mentioned the White Fang."

I pointed my finger at Weiss with an ecstatic look on my face.

"Precisely! Blake was pretty adamant about defending the White Fang's honor despite the organizations' current activities, which means she was most likely part of the White Fang some point in her life."

Ruby, looking even more concerned now, butted in the conversation.

"You think she's going after the White Fang then?"

Yang placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

"Not likely." She then raised her head seemingly reaching a conclusion. "I think she's not going after them per se, but more like to confirm something."

Weiss tilted her head to the side, trying to hide her guilt.

"Like she's trying to see for herself whether or not, what I said last night was true..."

The kitchen room fell silent, all of us collectively worried about Blake, even Weiss.

"I guess we could look at all the White Fang related crimes… allegedly… and see if we can find Blake?"

Ruby timidly suggested. I don't know why, that was pretty smart of her.

"Brilliant, let's do that."

I agreed, then continued.

"I mean y'all do that."

Yang looked at me disappointed after hearing what I just said.

"Ditching us?"

I smirked and shook my head at her then winked.

"I know a guy."

Her eyes instantly widened. She immediately realized where I was going with this and I'm glad that she did, I needed her support if I'm going to stave off Ruby's persistence. Satisfied, I drank my coffee one last time and left it on the counter, unwashed, like a true student of Beacon. Glynda would be proud. I tucked my legs close to my chest as I balanced myself on the window frames, before looking back at the three of them.

"You ladies go ahead, I'll meet y'all at…"

I closed my eyes and pretended to think for a second.

"Dusk till Dawn! 12 o'clock!"

I wave at the them goodbye and immediately jumped off. I quickly found the nearest bush and hid there silently and motionless, while I waited for the them to leave the room.

"What was that all about?"

Weiss asked. In a panic, Yang quickly diffused the situation by being awkward and suspicious.

"D-don't worry about it! Let's just go and look for Blake!"

With Yang urging them, the other two ladies felt obligated to leave. I slowly lifted my head, and scanned my surroundings, trying to confirm that no one else was inside the room or anyone near me. I then sit back down and pulled out my scroll, and dialed a number I wasn't expecting to call throughout this whole mission.

"Neo. It's me. I need a favor..."