Yang, Hei, and the Olive in the Martini

Arriving in Mistral, Yang finds an old friend. Sort of.

[Author's note: This story takes place soon after the end of Volume 4, as Yang arrives in Mistral. It was written without knowledge of what might happen in Volume 5.]

Yang Xiao Long brought her motorbike to a stop on a street in the trendy, if somewhat seedy, section of Mistral.

"Huh," she said to herself. "Look who's here."

The sign over the ornate doorway said: Junior's Club. Opening tonight.

She parked the bike and walked through the door of the club, which was still being prepared for the evening event. Immediately, Hei Xiong – known more widely as Junior – saw her. "Oh no," he said. "Not you again. Have you come to wreck the place before we even open for business?"

"Now is that any way to greet the light of your life, the apple of your eye, the olive in your martini, Hei?" said Yang.

"Making out a bit does not make you the light of my life, Blondie," said Hei. "And not the apple of my eye. The olive? Well, possibly. You beat a lot of my employees senseless, remember?"

"Ha, they were senseless before I beat them," said Yang with a laugh. She took a seat at the bar. "And let us not forget that you fired a lot of missiles at me and then whacked me with a club. That was before the making-out thing, of course, but still. Can we call it even?"

Hei considered. He sighed, and took the seat next to her. He gestured for the barman to bring some drinks.

"So you decided to re-locate to Mistral?" said Yang.

"Well, the flood of Grimms was bad for business in Vale. There's more than you can count, and more coming all the time. Mistral seemed like a much better proposition."

Yang nodded. She looked around. "Still got the bimbo bouncers?" she said.

"No, they told me they had a better offer. Didn't say what, and I didn't ask. You looking for a job?"

Yang laughed again. "In your dreams," she said. "No, I'm hoping you can tell me some things. You always know stuff."

"Like?"

"Like where my friends Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee might be. We kind of ... lost touch. After Beacon. You hear anything?"

"Maybe. What's in it for me?"

"Well, I promise that I'll only come to your club to dance and drink. And maybe see you. No damage. Of any type. Not so much as a broken heart."

Hei considered. "Sounds like a deal," he said eventually. "Well, I heard that the Big Daddy of the Schnee family was having a temper tantrum because your friend packed up and left. Word is that she is headed this way. Same with your cat-ears friend. She and the blond fellow who doesn't know what a shirt is were at that Menagerie place, and had some dealings with the White Fang faction there, but now they're on their way here, might have even arrived. I can only assume that everyone wants to come to the opening of my new club.

"And here's something for free. Your Red Riding Hood sister and her uncle, and a couple of other Beaconites, are already here." He gave her the address.

Yang thought about what Hei had told her. "Well, in that case, I guess I should be going," she said. She lifted her glass and drained it.

"You going to pay for that?" said Hei.

"Of course not," she said. "But ... thanks for the info, Hei." She stood up and turned to leave. Then she turned back. She grabbed Hei, pulled him to her, and kissed him on the lips. It was a long, hard, sexy kiss.

Then she walked away.

"Hey!" called Hei after her. "I also heard that you lost an arm!"

Yang turned and, walking backwards, flipped a finger with her mechanical hand. But she was smiling. Then she was gone.

Hei turned back to his drink. He saw the barman staring silently at him, while he wiped glasses.

"Oh, shut up," said Hei.

END