Backdraft Chapter 8

Lunch was interesting to say the least. Snowflake was still unaware that there were people out there who wanted Weiss dead and had tried to make that happen. Weiss was nervous, as would anyone. Yang was feeling oddly protective of Snowflake and Weiss, and had been keeping an eye on everyone in their close vicinity.

"Mom you're acting strange; are you getting sick?" Snowflake asked, after she was done devouring her food.

Weis sighed. Snow was sharp; she'd have noticed something was wrong sooner or later. "Well honey, you remember our house; how it burned down?"

Snow looked sad at first, but then grinned up at Yang sitting across the table. "Yeah! Cause that's when Yang saved me and was a superhero!"

Yang couldn't help but chuckle at how Snowflake thought so highly of her.

Weiss smiled a bit. "Yeah, she is a hero." This time, Yang felt her face heat up a bit at the praise for some odd reason…

"But Snowflake, the fire, it was set on purpose by some bad person." Weiss figured the best way to get to Snowflake was head on; not sugar coated. That's the kind of person Snow was, and she deserved to know why their house had burned down.

Snow got a sad look on her face. "You mean…our house went bye-bye cause someone bad burned it down on purpose?"

Weiss nodded. Yang gently placed a hand on Snow's. "Yes, Snow; that's exactly what she means. It's very sad, and that's okay to feel sad. But don't give up hope. We're going to find who did it and make sure they know how sad we are about what they did."

Snowflake looked up at Yang and smiled, her ice blue eyes shimmering with tears. "Thanks Yangy…you're the best…" She got up and tightly hugged Yang.

Yang hugged her back, and couldn't help but feel an intense desire to find whoever had made this angel cry. And make them pay a hundred times over.

Yang checked her watch. "Well, I think Ren is off break now and back working at the station. Now would be a good time to get there."

Weiss nodded, and they cleaned up their table of trash and made their way to the station.

"So Yang," Weiss started. "How do you know this Ren person?"

Yang suddenly got a very bashful look on her face and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well…I may or may not have gotten a bit too drunk at this one bar and wouldn't leave. Ren was in the area and responded to the owner of the bar. On the drive back to the jail, we kind of bonded over something. Still not quite sure what it was; since I totally forgot what happened that night other than getting into the squad car."

Weiss glanced over at Yang with a baffled look. "So. A cop arrests you for the night because you're drunk…and you become friends?"

Yang grinned wide, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah; crazy how life works, huh?"

Snowflake looked very confused. "Why did you get arrested if you drunk? Did you have too much water or juice?"

Yang held back a laugh, while Weiss glanced towards the sky. "Oh my Oum…"

…

After a talk about alcohol and how you should never drink any until you're old enough and have friends to take care of you so you don't go to jail, Weiss, Snow and Yang headed inside the police station.

The lady inside obviously knew Yang, because she grinned upon seeing the blonde firefighter. "Heya Yang; what's up?"

Yang nodded. "Hi Jade. Actually; I was wondering if I could talk to Ren? It's very important I talk with him as soon as possible."

The lady, Jade, became very serious. "Of course. He's talking with someone right now; you can head into the waiting room on the left and as soon as he's done I'll make sure he talks to you."

Yang smiled. "Thanks Jade; you're great help as always." Jade smiled wide and waved to Snowflake when she passed by.

Yang led the way to the waiting room, holding the door open for Weiss and Snow.

Weiss noticed this waiting room was empty, and there was a small shelf in the corner with toys and drawing supplies for children.

Knowing it would only be a matter of time before Snow noticed as well, Weiss pointed to the shelf. "You can play with the toys or draw; whatever you'd like. Just don't get too loud."

Snowflake immediately grabbed a coloring book and some crayons; setting up on the coffee table and starting to draw. Yang noted how well-mannered Snowflake was and smiled.

Weiss set her purse on the couch, but didn't sit down. She paced back and forth, looking worried.

Yang, after watching in silence for a minute or so, stepped in her path and grabbed her hands. "Weiss."

Weiss stopped and looked at her hands encompassed by the slightly larger firefighters hands.

The white haired woman couldn't help but notice all the scars from cuts and scrapes on Yang's hands. On Yang's right hand was a large burn scar that led all the way to her elbow, where it tapered off.

Weiss glanced up at Yang, suddenly very curious about the story behind her scar, only to find Yang staring at her with worry filled in her lilac eyes.

"Weiss, it's going to be okay." Yang stated. "Come and sit down; relax for a little bit."

Weiss just nodded. "All right…" She sat down on the couch next to her purse.

Yang was concerned about her. Always had been. Maybe a bit more than most people…

Weiss furrowed her brow, but her thinking was interrupted by someone stepping inside the waiting room.

It was a tall, slim, police officer. He had short black hair with one pink highlight on the side of his head. He seemed to be of Asian descent.

"Yang; you got some nerve coming back here after what you did…"

Yang frowned, letting Weiss' hands go and standing up. "What…what did I do?"

Ren stepped right next to Yang and leaned down. "You should know…"

He waited for about three deathly quiet seconds before standing back up straight and looking to be very calm. "Thanks for the present you got me, Yang. Was very nice."

Yang blew out a breath. "Haha…thanks?"

Ren gave a small grin. "Now. Jade tells me there is something serious you want to talk to me about?"

Yang nodded, motioning to Weiss, who stood up. "Yes; this is Weiss Schnee, and her daughter Snowflake." Yang nodded towards Snow, who was still drawing.

Ren held out and hand towards Weiss. "Pleasure to meet you." He gave a small bow when Weiss shook his hand.

"Weiss and I believe that she has reason to be concerned for her and her daughters safety." Yang stated.

Ren instantly got a serious look on his face. "Why do you both think this?" He whipped out a small notepad and pen; poised to write things down.

"Well…"

Ren jotted a few more things down on his notepad before looking over at Weiss and Yang who had since sat down on the couch.

"This is very interesting…" He went back over his notes.

Yang had told him everything, about how Weiss was working with a client and he was an important witness to put a thief and criminal in prison for a long time, to how they thought another attack to silence Weiss forever could very well be in the works, or be almost in the works.

Ren hummed thoughtfully. "If what you say is true…then this criminal must be important. Weiss; I know your case must be very confidential; but it would benefit all of us if you told me what criminal this is."

Weiss glanced over at Snowflake, who was drawing in the corner now. Ren nodded understandingly. "Well could you write whatever you'd like on this paper?" He slid his notebook across the coffee table.

Weiss quickly wrote out Roman Torchwick, thief and criminal. Pretty sure he's head of a crime ring onto the notebook and slid it back.

Ren's eyes widened when he read the name. "I see now why you'd be concerned. Where do you live?"

"I live in apartment number 26 in Raven Wing Apartments on Raven Drive; south of town."

Ren nodded, looking pleased by this. "I can try to have two officers patrol by your house at night and three more during the day; starting hopefully tomorrow. They already swing by that area on their shift. The chief will want proof that you are in danger, but I think I can convince him. Plus the officers in that area owe me some favors…"

Yang blew out a relieved sigh. "Thank you Ren…"

Ren nodded. "Anything. A friend of Yang's is a friend of mine." He stood up. "Now, I hate to leave so quickly, but I have a car theft to work on."

Just then, Snowflake rushed over and laid her most recent drawing on the coffee table. It was a crude drawing of a police car with what was supposed to be Yang in the backseat, looking like she was in jail. In the front of the car was what can only be described as an angry version of Ren.

Yang stared. "Wow…I think she remembers more about that night we met than I do…"

Ren held back a chuckle. "You know what, Snowflake Schnee? I would like to have this drawing you made. How much?"

Snowflake put a hand to her chin, deep in thought. "Hmm…how about…10 Lien!"

Ren shook his head. "For this level of artistry; I'll give you 15."

Snowflake nodded and held out her hand. "Sold!"

Weiss and Yang watched the scene in total confusion. Snowflake seemed much too used to selling her art...

Weiss dropped Yang off at her house later when it was just getting dark, and after Yang pried Snowflake loose of her, Weiss headed back towards her home.

Unlocking her door, Yang stepped inside and turned on the light.

Her house seemed too empty after spending so much time with Weiss and Snow.

Sighing and tossing her keys on the counter, Yang was about to take her shoes off when she got a weird feeling. It was like a tug, in her chest, that told her to check on Weiss. That something bad was going to happen very soon. Yang couldn't describe it, but she just knew that Weiss needed her in person.

Snatching her keys off the counter and slipping on her riding jacket on the way out the door, Yang hopped onto Bumblebee; her trusted motorcycle. "Please be okay and let this just be me overreacting and imagining things…" Yang thought to herself…

Internally chanting "Please be okay, please be okay" to herself, Yang broke several speed limits racing towards Weiss. Room 26, Raven Wing Apartments on Raven Drive.

Pulling up in a hurry, Yang spotted the apartment complex that belonged to Weiss.

Parking her bike and shutting off the engine, Yang looked around; super alert for anything out of the ordinary…

There were two dudes heading towards the other apartments, but Yang was pretty sure they were only maybe selling drugs. While bad, it wasn't worth looking into much further.

Looking around again, Yang could just barely make out two dark figures sneaking towards the stairwell that led up to Weiss' apartment.

They instantly seemed out of place, and up to no good. Yang got that tug in her chest again, and she knew. They needed stopped from whatever they were going to do.

Jumping off her bike, Yang sprinted up the stairs; her adrenaline made the trip seem like a short walk.

Arriving at Weiss's number, Yang saw two people in all black clothing and dark hoods huddling by Weiss's door.

Suddenly, the area around her door was illuminated in a bright orange glow.

"Those bitches lit a fire!" Yang used her momentum from sprinting up the stairs to grab the one on the left and slam them into the wall. Outstretching her right hand, Yang instantly snuffed the fire and lit the ground underneath the right one on fire using her fire powers.

The dark figure, now definitely known as a male, shoved Yang back and swung a hard fist at her face before she could react.

The impact had her seeing stars, and she couldn't evade his follow-up kick to her ribs.

Grunting at the impact, Yang grabbed his leg before he could back away and yanked him off-balance. He hit the ground, and Yang quickly shoved him down the stairs.

Suddenly a hard impact to her nose had Yang herself off balance. The second figure got into a ready stance; obviously no stranger to fighting. They leapt forward with surprising strength and gave several quick punches.

Yang was no stranger to fighting either though; and this person; definitely a female, would regret it. Dodging the strikes with ease, Yang followed up with her own punches. The woman tried to dodge her strikes as well, but didn't anticipate Yang using the same arm again and so fast. Connecting hard enough for Yang to worry she broke something in her hand, Yang got a good strike in; mercilessly following up with a swift kick to her legs, dropping the woman. Her hood fell off, revealing a younger female with green hair and light brown eyes glaring with hate.

Yang stared back with her own hate, and was going to get back into a ready stance herself when her left leg suddenly was pulled at with significant force. Falling to the landing of the stairwell, Yang quickly rolled left, avoiding a kick to the head. Just as quickly grabbing the other figure's foot, Yang twisted; and upon hearing a satisfying snap and a loud cry, Yang jumped to her feet and tackled the female; the male out of fighting condition.

Rolling around, trading kicks and punches, Yang cried out as she felt the woman's teeth sink into her left arm. "Biting's not good sportsmanship!"Yang exclaimed. Kicking her away, Yang jumped to her feet again.

Looking around, she didn't see them. Glancing down, she spotted the female helping the male limp off into the darkness of the night and away from view.

Yang panted, her adrenaline finally starting to wear off. Grimacing and tasting blood, Yang knocked on Weiss's door.

"Go away, I called the police!" Yang could hear the fear in Weiss's voice.

"Weiss it's me…they're gone. It's safe now."

"Yang?!" Yang could see a shadow behind the door; Weiss obviously looking through the peephole. "Yang!"

Weiss unlocked the door and gasped at Yang. "Yang your face!"

Yang held a hand under her nose, feeling blood drip down. "Yeah…got me good… I think my face is as much proof as the police chief needs; you should call for a patrol."

"Ow!"

"Hold still!"

"Well it hurts!"

"Then hold still and it won't hurt as bad!"

"…"

"There. That's better." Weiss had finished cleaning up the blood from Yang's face, and handed her an ice pack. "Here, for the swelling."

Yang was currently sitting at Weiss's kitchen table, wincing as she held an ice pack to her eye. "Thanks Weiss…"

After Yang drove off the two arsonists, the police cars Ren had sent to check up on them were only minutes away and responded quickly. Sadly, the male and female arsonists had gotten away and the police didn't seem to have any more leads beyond the description Yang had given them of the female.

After checking to make sure the fire wouldn't start again, the chief had two undercover police officers patrolling around the perimeter of Weiss' apartment. The threat of them attacking again was very low, but Weiss and Yang were still going to bed late because of how stressed they both were. Also Yang was in too much pain to fall asleep; the painkillers hadn't kicked in yet.

The firefighter sighed and looked at the ground.

Weiss furrowed her brow. Yang looked to be in a lot of pain. "Yang, do you want me to take you to a doctor?"

Yang instantly sat up straight. "Nope; I'm all good. Just need to get home and rest." She went to stand up, wincing and holding her side.

"Yang no, you can't ride home in your condition. Stay the night; we have a big couch. You saved both mine and Snowflake's lives, again, and it's the least we could do."

Yang was too tired and hurt too much to argue, so she walked over to the couch and sat down. "It is pretty soft…"

Weiss went into her bedroom and grabbed some extra blankets and a pillow, and when she walked back out, Yang was leaning back and fast asleep; lightly snoring.

"She looks so cute when she's sleeping…"

Weiss blushed for some odd reason before gently leaning the blonde over and covering her with a soft blanket.

"Sleep well, my hero…"

"RUBY!"

Weiss jolted awake and hopped out of bed; noting the yell had come from the living room.

"Who's Ruby, Yangy?" Weiss was in the hallway leading towards the living room and recognized Snowflakes voice.

"Oh sorry Little White; I didn't mean to wake you up."

"That's okay Yang." Weiss could see Snow hop up onto the couch and sit next to Yang. Neither of them had noticed Weiss yet. "You okay? You look sad. And your face got some boo boos still…"

Snowflake reached up and gently touched Yang's face. Yang winces slightly, but smiles all the same. "Thanks Snowflake. You're so sweet and caring...you remind me of my sister." Snowflake perked up at that, but her face got serious.

"Is Ruby your sister?" She asked.

Yang nodded. "Yeah...she was. I was having a bad dream about her. Well...what happened to her I should say."

Weiss suddenly felt bad for eavesdropping, but her curiosity got the better of her so she stayed where she was; listening intently.

Snowflake hopped up onto the couch and hugged Yang really tight. "I am sorry...she sounds cool. I like her name a lot. It's beautiful."

Yang laughed, but it almost came out as crying. "God….this kid is the sweetest thing...why does she have to be so stinkin nice?!" "She was cool, that's for sure. Sadly she died when I was little. I dream good things about her sometimes, but mostly it's the sadder stuff I dream."

Snowflake looked up at Yang, her white hair in her face. "You are the best and I wish you dreamed good things all the time."

Yang brushed the hair out of Snow's face. "Wanna know a secret?" Snowflake nodded her head, her eyes wide. "Ruby is the one who gave me the fire powers I told you about."

Snowflake hopped up and down, the intense and sad vibes from earlier completely forgotten. "I told Mommy about that! I tried to tell her about your magic powers but she doesn't believe me!"

Weiss smiled. Snowflake did try and tell her that Yang had magic powers. Yang was so nice to make up a fun story for her daughter...

Yang laughed and lightly pushed on Snow's shoulder. "Snowyyy you're killin me! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Snowflake shrugged. "Oopsy daisy."

"Hey, you better get back to bed or your mom is gunna kill me for keeping you up all night!" Yang said.

Snowflake gave Yang a long hug. "Can we play again soon?"

Yang laughed. "Sure thing Little White."

Weiss silently went back to bed; neither Yang nor Snowflake knowing she was there.

Weiss yawns and blearily opens her eyes. "Another long day ahead…" It was then that she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Walking down the hallway in her nightgown, Weiss noticed laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. That, and what sounded like something cooking. It was then that the smell of breakfast food hit her nostrils; making her mouth water. Bacon, pancakes and eggs, from the smell of it. Rounding the corner into the living room and kitchen, Weiss saw Snowflake happily munching on pancakes that had way too much syrup on them. Snowflake was laughing at something Yang said.

It was then that it hit the lawyer like a ton of bricks. "Shit! Yang! I totally forgot that she stayed over!" Weiss looked down at her nightgown and blushed. Of course, as if the universe loves to punish her, Snow noticed her.

"Oh hey Mommy! Look what Yangy made!" Her hair was brushed and neatly braided, and while still in her pajamas, Snowflake looked wide awake.

"Oh hi Weiss. Hope you don't mind that I made breakfast from stuff in your fridge. Snowflake was apparently "Really hungry and would die if she didn't get some food right away!"" The last bit Yang said directed at Snowflake, and she giggled.

"Sleeping makes my tummy hungry!"

Yang chuckles and looks up at Weiss, her lilac eyes never looking more beautiful. "I debated making some breakfast for you; but wasn't sure if you wanted food or..?" Her eyes were kind but questioning, and Weiss gave up. She normally doesn't even eat breakfast, and if she does it's definitely not bacon and pancakes, but to hell with it. Breakfast looked delicious.

"First, thanks so much for making breakfast; you didn't have to. Second. Sign me up! Let me get changed and then I will definitely want food." Weiss smiled at Yang. The firefighter never ceased to amaze her, and show different sides to her that the woman couldn't help but say that she was starting to really like the blonde.

"Sure thing Weiss! Better hurry up before this black hole over here eats everything before you get back!" Yang said, poking Snowflake in the shoulder. Giggling, Snow just shoved more pancakes into her mouth.

"Chew!" Both Yang and Weiss exclaimed.

After quickly getting changed, Weiss headed back into the kitchen to see a plate full of food waiting for her- but with no sign of Yang. Next to the plate was a note, and as Weiss was picking it up, Snowflake came out of the bathroom; just changing out of her pajamas.

"Yeah. Yangy had to go to work...but she said that she probably would play some other time!"

Looking down at the note, Weiss smiled. "Just repaying the favor ;) Take care of yourself and Snowflake. By the way, you raised a really awesome daughter. -Yang"

A couple days pass. Work for Yang is normal, and while it's still as dangerous as ever; Yang takes significantly less risks than she usually does. Every time she is about to run into a house on fire; she thinks of Weiss and Snowflake, and how she wouldn't see them again if something bad happened to her.

Pyrrha comments on this new behavior and mentions it at dinner. "So...what's got you so in love with life lately?"

Nora chuckles. "Yeah, you actually are following orders now! What happened to the old reckless Yang?!"

Yang smiles. "Some things in life might actually work out for once...we'll see." She turns back to her food, the rest of her unit sharing looks. All in all, Yang seems a little happier than she normally does.

A silver-haired young man opened the door to the office (If you could call it that, it was a walled off room in the back of a huge warehouse) and sighed.

"I told you, that I didn't want to be disturbed." A seductive but harsh and cold voice all at the same time said.

He shrugged. "Boss dude said it was important. That the fire worked out perfectly. The client is dead or whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Said to tell you right away." Most people might end up slightly disfigured if they interrupted the master boss lady, but eh. He couldn't be driven to care. They were all bad anyways; just some more bad than others.

"Is that it?" She asked.

He paused, not sure how well she would take the news... "Well, Emerald and I set the fire at the Schnee's apartment, but that firefighter was there. The one who saved them in the other fire. And she put out our fire somehow. She did this" He lifted his left leg, his ankle in a cast. "to me and nearly got Emerald real good too. We barely escaped before the police caught us."

"That is...unfortunate...next time, when you are given a mission, I fully expect you to follow through with it. You can go. Close the door out on your way, Mercury."

Mercury nodded. "Sure thing, Cinder."

A/N: Well...I'm not dead? Yay? I finally started back on this story and I'm sorry for the wait! It's been a while since I've written anything so let me know what you think of it! Thanks guys if you're reading this; I'm sorry it's been so long. You all are the best!

Peace! Jackie out!