Sunlight peeked through the windows that caused the blonde to wince at the brightness. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and sighed. She didn't get much sleep after their little ride. But Yang could bet that the faunus beside her had even less beauty sleep. Given that she was outside on the rooftop for a good amount of the night.

Looking over at her, she saw the relaxed expression of the girl. She forgot how on guard she is in front of other people. She's usually relaxed when with her teammates but that one year time gap they were apart caused her to close up again, but in a different way. She was still open with her team, maybe even more that before, and she's even talked more about herself. Hell they didn't even know she had parents, let alone find out that her name is of high importance where she's from. But there is something about her past that she still refuses to talk about. Something that Yang could guess relates to Taurus.

She'll admit, he's a subject she herself has not talked about either, and probably won't. Not even to Ruby. But Blake is different. She's someone Yang wouldn't mind opening up to, but their current situation is a bit… strained, to say the least.

She rose from the shared bed as quietly as possible, knowing her friend was a light sleeper. But something told her she won't be waking up any time soon. Given her night terror a few hours ago, she guessed it exhausted her emotionally, like she herself usually was every time she dreamt of him.

As she got changed in the shared bathroom, her thoughts started to run by again. Their talk in the garden, the one by the lake. The subject of her best friend leaving will always be a sour one. Glancing into the mirror she saw her expression turn grim, eyes starting to change color. Closing her eyes and breathing deep, she opened her eyes again to find them their natural color. Giving her hair one last final brush, she made her way to the kitchen for something to wake her up. Who the hell can live through the day with less than 3 hours of sleep is beyond her.

Stepping into the kitchen she found Ren starting on breakfast. Deciding to lend a hand, she started up the coffee machine, got the orange juice ready, and unconsciously started boiling water for tea.

I can't seem to keep her off my mind, she thought tiredly. But went ahead and started the tea pot anyway.

She can't deny that anger is still present. Blake's explanations, although sound, where idiotic. She didn't stop to think about the consequences because she's so used to being alone, she cant get it in her head that she's not anymore. and it frustrates the fuck out of her.

Even so, she still cares for her. As much anger and betrayal that she feels at the moment. She truly does care. She wants to reconnect with her. She wants to try and trust in her again. She needs her. She's never connected to someone so strongly before, and although her choices severed that connection to a degree. That connection is still there. If it weren't, she'd have hit her the moment she saw her.

Yang paused as she went back to prepared the coffee to brew. She thought about Blake's reaction back at the garden, when Yang raised her hand to rake her hair back, the faunus thought she was gonna hit her. But the automatic reaction unnerved her. It bothered her tremendously. As fighters, as huntresses, our immediate reaction should be to block or flare your aura in a manner of defense. Yet, Blake's reaction to her seemed… practiced, like she was used to receiving those types of hits. What she didn't understand is why its happening now? She wasn't like this back at Beacon, she never responded a way that wasn't fighting oriented. So why now? What happened between then and today? What, or who caused this to her partner?

Yang sighed deeply. So much crap is being thrown into the world, at us, while we're still many ways of fucked up. Lovely. She thought bitterly.

The machine dinged, announcing freshly brewed coffee. Grabbing a cup and filling it up, the blonde lifted the black coffee and sipped. Grimacing at the temperature more than the bitter taste, she set the mug down and let go of her thoughts for now.

"Yang, can you help me set the table?" Ren asked. "Nora is getting side tracked again." Glancing over to the redhead, the brawler noticed she was all over Oscar again, talking about how lucky he was in celebrating two birthdays. The poor boy was getting assaulted.

Chuckling, she asked, "how in the world does she have the energy at this hour without coffee?"

Ren froze, and turned to her slowly. "Never, give Nora coffee. Ever." he said at an incredibly serious tone. And that's saying something, he's Ren after all.

Blinking in confusion, she simply uttered, "okay, got it."

Satisfied with her answer, Ren went back to cooking breakfast.

Shaking her head in confusion, Yang did as asked and started to set the table, more people starting to pile in. Pouring a cup of tea, she set of to wake up her partner. She honestly wanted to let her sleep in, but Ozpin stated that he had to talk with everyone after breakfast. Or well, Ozpin told Oscar to tell us.

"Man is this confusing," she uttered. Still wary with his presence. Although her mother wasn't someone she trusted with her life, she did take her warning into account, and judging from what Ozpin has told us thus far, she still had an inkling he was omitting things. And she didn't like it one bit.

When Blake wakes up, it confuses her. She felt… rested. It's been way too long since she'd actually slept and felt this way. Raising her hand and checking her scroll she noted it was a good 5 hours sleep. That was unheard of. It was late as well usually she'd be up by now but she must have been so comfortable that she ignored her intuitions. In fact, she's pretty sure the only reason she woke up was from the lack of warmth next to her. Yang was gone.

Oh, right. The nightmare, she thought grimly.

Blake dreaded the time Yang would ask about it, she saw her face. She saw the concern and the yearn to probe for answers. And Blake wasn't sure she would be able to give them. Hell, she shouldn't be worried for her period. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Sighing, she rose from bed and headed towards the bathroom to change. As soon as Yang's hoodie was laid on the counter, Blake took another glance at herself, scrutinizing tired eyes and bedridden hair. Even the tips of Blake's second set of ears looked disheveled. Blake was never much of a caretaker, so she simply ran her fingers through her hair and ears to settle them and considered it done. She hesitated however when putting on her ribbons over her forearms. She used them as a fashion statement but, she knows deep down it's just an excuse… an excuse to hide the ugly reminders. Although she did have a thing for ribbons, some might even say its her trademark. Gambol Shroud's existence being proof.

Blake stared at the mirror once more, the scars on her forearms very prominent, ragged ugly lines quite visible being a few shades lighter. A part of her wondered why she is so adamant in still covering these scars up. She had no qualms about showing her newest battle mark on her abdomen, but why did she feel so strongly against her arms?

The faunus gripped her left arm with her right tightly, her eyes shut closed. Nails started digging in.

Why? Even when your not here you still manage to screw with me.

Pain started to form under her grip, but she didn't let up. And she didn't activate her aura.

Why.

More pain.

WHY?!

Her eyes flashed open, pupils narrowed to slits, cat ears lowered in anger. She was breathing in harsh ragged breaths. Her expression, surprisingly, despite the anger she felt, looked frustrated and… almost sad.

They… they are such a cruel reminder, she thought. They're a reminder of what's he's become. Of the atrocities he's committed. The faunus huffed. "As if I'm one to talk."

But, why cover them? She doesn't give a damn about physical appearances. So… why? Why did she still feel this way?

Not finding an answer, she glanced away in frustration, finally letting go of her arm, wincing when her nails dug out of her skin. She started at the slight bloody prints she left, and thought nothing of it. She simply washed off the mess and left the small indentations as is.

Finally placing on her ribbons along with the rest of her clothes, she stepped out of the bathroom and into the room without her white tailcoat. She thought about bringing her weapon, but she was only going a few yards over to the kitchen. Her paranoia would be obvious to everyone, so she decided to leave it here.

Opening the door to the hallway, Blake stopped abruptly at seeing another person standing outside. Yang had her hand raised, about to open the door herself.

Her lilac eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, you're up. I thought you'd sleep in a bit longer."

"It's past five, I've slept long enough."

"You can't be human." Yang raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that early, you used to wake up not long after.

"Well yeah, but because I had to. This hair doesn't maintain itself, I can't give up in it looking this good." she said with such confidence.

Blake glanced at her long blonde mane. Because that's what it was really, she had a lot of hair. She couldn't help but be a little jealous, given that Blake didn't really take more than 2 minutes on her hair, the difference is there. Such a voluminous strands resembling a treasured antique golden curtain.

Blake chuckled softly, releasing a strand of said hair without realizing when she had reached up. "You're right, I'd be a shame." she murmured without thinking much of it. And before she could, the smell of tea filled her nose. "Is that green tea?"

Yang had to blink a few times to snap her head out of it. She stopped breathing when Blake's hand reached up near her left cheek to slide her fingers through her hair. She didn't even move. She watched Blake's face, seeing admiration at the strands she was holding before pulling her hand back as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Perhaps it was, at some point in their lives. But with the newfound distance between them, it was frustrating not knowing where that line stood. Hence the blonde's stillness at the sudden act. There was also the fact that her heart might have fluttered at the slight skin contact, but that was not something she wanted to concentrate on right now.

"- what?" she asked, not catching her partner's question during her inner turmoil.

Blake smiled sadly, "sorry, I forgot how you are with your hair. I was asking if there was any green tea left."

Before Yang could process the fact that she didn't mind Blake touching her hair she promptly handed her the tea, "its fine," she hastily added. "And that's yours," turning around she let out a breath. "I need something stronger to keep me on my toes," she uttered to herself.

Blake blinked at those words, her second set of ears catching the last statement. Pressing her lips to a firm line she thought, great, I upset her again.

Taking a sip of the green tea, she marveled at the rich taste, it was simmered at just the right amount of time. Did Yang make this? Blake marveled at the thought of Yang making it, like she used to during Beacon. Perhaps she did, maybe she'd thought of her enough to consider making some for her now. Her heart warmed at the thought.

Blake smiled. She'd like to think that. She really did.

The faunus raised her hand to pull her hair behind her right ear. Raking her fingertips through all the way to her tips, she paused in thought. Yang's hair was so soft, she thought wistfully before following after her.

As Yang and Blake walked into the kitchen dishes were filled. Ren was praised countless times just as Nora was denied caffeine. It was mindless chatter at this point, some reminiscing here a few underhanded insults there. But all smiles and jokes soon halted just as Oscar spoke up.

"So… um. He wants to talk about a plan of action." he announced. This caused the ambience to sober up and become a bit tense. The group then moved on back into the living room, awaiting for what the next step would be. Shortly after sitting down, Oscar stiffened in his seat and his facial expression soon turned stern signaling that Ozpin was now in control.

"Good morning students, good to see you in such high spirits."

"Okay then," Yang stated as she sat down next to Ruby. "What's going to be our next move?"

Ozpin paused for a few moments before answering. "Yes, about that… ."

"WAIT!"

Glances were thrown over towards Nora, with Ren releasing an exasperated sigh next to her.

"I just realized! This is perfect! We were stuck at a dead end, but now, we can just take little-cute-boy-Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!" During her vehement speech, she jumped up next to Ozpin followed by overly enthusiastic hand gestures.

Ozpin looked at her calmly, closed his eyes briefly and responded, "please don't call me that."

"We're not sure that's the best idea," it was Qrow who answered the energetic redhead.

Nora groaned and sulked back to her seat.

"But I thought all the headmasters took all their orders from you," Ren added questionably.

"That was the intention. Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But Qrow told me about your meeting with General Ironwood. Lionheart isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him." He stood up and walked towards the wall decorated with Mystral paintings, stopping by the one of Haven Academy.

"Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No one outside this room knows I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way."

"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand." Qrow further explained.

"Precisely." Ozpin turned and added, "General Ironwoods plans on heading towards Raven's camp might be a bit risky, and a lot of odds seem to be against our favor. However, something tells me the Branwen camp isn't the big target here. Something even bigger is brewing, I just wish I knew what." He paused in thought for a moment, going through every possible scenario, but coming up empty.

Facing his students again, he continued. "Now, we have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen."

Ren started, "But the Mistral council only responds to Lionheart, how can we ask him to do that without -

" - the Mystral council does not own every huntsman in the kingdom," Qrow interrupted. "Leo and the council might not want to help us anyway, but we don't need his help. I've been here enough times to know where we can find more huntsman.

"So long as they're trustworthy." Ozpin added warily.

Qrow huffed. "You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight." He raised his hands behind his head and leaned back, placing both feet on top of the wooden table. No more than a second later and the table cracked, shattering the glass cups everywhere. The avian straightened up in alarm and annoyance.

"Good luck with that," Nora imputed unnecessarily.

Shooting her a glare, he kept quiet. But proceeded to pick up the pieces.

Yang shot Blake a questioning glance, wondering if she's going to bring up her small faunus army that would honestly help out tremendously. Upon seeing her glance briefly at her scroll, she guessed her friend Van Dyke must not have given her a response yet, so she's keeping quiet for now. Yang didn't mind keeping low about what she told her, after all, she still was very skeptical about Ozpin. The way her mother spoke about him… he's hiding things, and Yang is determined to find out what. She just hoped her uncle is having no part in this.

Ozpin watched Qrow and Nora's exchange in amusement as he stepped forward. "After that, we can move on to step two."

"What's step two?" Nora asked for everyone.

"Getting you all into fighting shape." he declared.

Glances were thrown out the room. It was Ruby who spoke up this time, "but, uh, we already know how to fight."

Ozpin, anticipating this reaction, tossed his cane and twirled it in the air. Upon catching it he aimed it straight at Ruby.

Yang frowned at that, but said nothing.

"You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand to hand combat." he waited for a protest.

Ruby looked around nervously, "Well… uh, yeah," she admitted defeatedly.

"Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved, but sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your semblance." Said person looked away as well in admittance, causing Nora to glance at him with a concerned look. "All of you still have a ways to go before you're ready to pose any real threat against Salem and her forces. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his aura."

Wait, what? Oscar exclaimed.

"He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process."

"But if Qrow's out looking for huntsmen the who's going to teach us?" Ruby asked the obvious question.

Making an intricate leap through the air and landing on one of the sofas, Ozpin twirled his cane around while standing straight, very uncharacteristic for a 14 year old farmer boy.

"Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy." At the sudden display of power, everyone's reactions were mixed. Nora and Yang stared at him through narrowed eyes. Though for different reasons. Jaune, Ruby and Ren looked quite in shock. Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake looked at each other with raised eyebrows, mostly thinking the same thing about receiving lessons from a 14 year old boy.

"We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to student's return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing." he finished twirling the cane and took a stance. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you." he warned with a confident smile.

A sudden shudder passed through the boy, causing him to lose balance and fall backwards. It was apparent to everyone that Oscar was the one in control now. "You've gotta be kidding me," he uttered from his position on the floor with the overthrown chair."

"Soo, do we start now?" Asked Nora. "Whose legs am I breaking first?" she added excitedly.

What have I gotten myself into, thought Oscar. Ozpin simply chuckled.

Training together after nearly a year was interesting. And seeing Ruby and Oscar fight hand to hand was both amusing and cringe-worthy. Looks like I might not have taught her enough back at home, Yang thought. But then again, my style of fighting might not suit her. And it seems as though Ozpin's teachings are doing her justice. For both of them, even if it's just been a few hours.

Yang discovered how well everyone's kept up in training during this last year. Ruby's semblance was quite something, and Weiss claims that going that fast would make a normal person extremely woozy, although Nora thought it was a thrilling ride.

"My point exactly," the ice queen responded.

Blake on the other hand, saw Yang fight and immediately saw a significant difference in her fighting style. She no longer barged in and took the hits to amp up her semblance, relying on it constantly. Something that the feline always pointed out, and although Blake was always there to have her back, she always talked to her how dangerous it could be without thinking things through. "It's fine! I have my reliable partner to watch my back!" she had exclaimed with her usual confidence.

But now? She observed her opponent's movements. And she never went in with just her strength. She wasn't relying on her semblance. She looked for a weakness, and then she'd strike. Blake couldn't help but feel pride and how Yang has grown in that aspect.

She herself didn't go unchanged. Her fighting style might be the same, but she's improved in using her semblance to fight, not just to take the hits for her. She'd tried continuously to summon a clone and make it physical enough to fight alongside her, and although she's succeeded, they only last a few seconds, any longer and she'd risk draining her aura too quickly.

For today however, Ozpin insisted in increasing their hand to hand combat skills. Everyone split off into pairs, Ruby and Oscar getting the most attention for obvious entertainment reasons. As everyone rose from their quick breaks, they switched partners, because according to Ozpin, not everyone you fight will fight alike. After fighting with a member from team SSSN and JN_R, it was time to fight members from your own team.

When Yang stood before Blake however, she couldn't help but be a little nervous. When they usually fought, Bake won most of their sparring matches, her stamina and fast hard hits mixed with the evasion of Yang's fists usually overwhelmed the blonde's. Yang was confident she could stand her ground and give her a hard time now, but her uneasiness is coming from their current awkward situation. Usually Yang would joke around and try to push the faunus' buttons, something that usually got her wins if she succeeded. However, it would feel forced if she tried that now. So instead, she stayed silent, got into a defensive stand, and waited.

If Blake was surprised at her lack of fire and eagerness at charging first, she didn't show it. She has the best poker face Yang has ever encountered, and she's sure she could rob everyone silly in a poker game at the clubs she sometimes frequented.

Her face showed nothing, but her cat ears were as attentive as Ruby when there are cookies in play, high and alert. Yang knew the faunus must have been surprised that she didn't jump right in, she herself knows how much she's changed in her fighting style. And the fact that this was a hand to hand workout, the odds stack over to Yang. Blake was good, very good. But without her weapon and being forced up close, are two of the weakest points she had.

So for the first time it was Blake who initiated the fight. She didn't go straight at her per say, probably knowing that you can't beat the brawler with just strength, so she went straight for her legs.

Yang saw this immediately and knew Blake was just trying to find an opening, and being the usual smart one in battle, the feline knows to keep her distance. Because while Blake surpassed her in speed and agility, the brawler surpassed her in strength. One good direct hit from her and she'd pin her down long enough to get the upper hand.

Yang easily avoided the leg sweep and went in for a right hook, knowing she'll probably use her semblance to avoid the hit. To her surprise though, she didn't. Though she didn't block it either, she simply placed her forearm near her wrist with precision and pushed Yang's right hook away from her face.

Blake was smart, she knew that blocking a hit head on by her partner would not come without consequences, so she simply relies on diverting her attacks and evading them. And given what she's seen so far today, she knows this fight will be different that past ones. She saw her fight Nora earlier, and Blake knew she needed to change her usual tactics with her. So that means, fight unexpectedly. Contrary to popular belief, the introvert does know how to fight up close and personal, and she was extremely good. She simply avoided doing so, being cautious was her middle name. However, being at such close distance to Yang's superior strength does unnerve her.

This small game went on for quite a bit, Yang was trying to figure out a way to grab a hold of her, that's all she needed, have a good grip on her and it was over. She knew it wouldn't be easy, her partner was practically the queen of evasion, her flexibility can be quite annoying too. How the hell can she bend backwards and still have her feet planted to the ground? That was straight out Nickol Jackson's impossible dance move. She was fighting differently that when she fought Ren earlier, she thought. She knows how I fight now, this will be a little harder than I thought.

When Blake used her forearms again to deflect her next strike to the right, the blonde used that motion and spun that same way to deliver a back kick. Now that got the faunus' attention. One of Yang's greatest weaknesses were leg fighters, and the girl always preferred fighting with her fists.

Blake knew she should have expected the unexpected with Yang, but the sudden change in direction threw her for a loop. To avoid getting hit by her foot Blake was forced to use her semblance, backflipping into the air. Yang, however, used that to her advantage and pushed up after her up in the air.

Blake's eyes widened when she saw her go air borne, luckily, without her gauntlets her speed and distance would be greatly diminished. So before Yang was able to grab her by the waist, the faunus summoned a shadow clone next to her, grabbing the summoner's arm and pushing her out of the way. All that Yang caught was air.

Rolling into a stop on the ground, she turned around to face her partner again. To say that Yang was surprised at the new show of semblance would be an understatement.

"That's new," she commented.

"So is your way of fighting," Blake replied, "you've improved immensely."

Yang couldn't help but smile at the praise. "Flattery will get you nowhere Belladonna. You're going down today."

The inexpressive mask the faunus wore moved the slightest bit for a smirk. "I'd like to see you try."

And try she did. Their match ended up being the longest out of everyone. Grabbing all of their attention and having them all watching from the sidelines. Yang didn't use her full strength, knowing that she'll just waste energy and needed to catch her first.

While Blake knew this she kept her evasion skill to the max, but she couldn't beat her with just deflecting her attacks. However, she also knew she didn't have the strength to get a heavy hit on her that wouldn't bring repercussions, so she opted to use the blonde's punches and kicks and redirected that power for herself.

She waited for Yang to put all her weight in a single punch, step aside to avoid it, and then use that momentum to trip her, grabbing her by the shoulder and then throw her down.

Yang was victim of this strategy continuously, and she was starting to get frustrated at not finding a good opening against it. Because every time she did and tried to get close, Blake would just use her semblance to back off.

If I don't figure out something soon, this will become a battle of who lasts the longest. Yang thought. And although the brawler had quite the stamina, so did her partner. She needed a way to stop this faster. Thinking back to her past victories, they were mostly due to keeping her partner distracted. Oh, I know just the thing, she thought with glee.

When Blake saw her partner's face void of the previous calculating expression she's had the entire battle, she paused before advancing. Studying her, she noticed her face was the picture of perfect innocence and restraint, meaning something disastrous was about to happen.

"Say, Blake? During my time recovering I took back a hobby when Ruby was still a kid, and it reminded me of you." she commented casually.

Blake not knowing where this was going treaded carefully. "Oh?" One-word short responds where a safe bet.

"Yeah! I caught up on some reading and thought, 'you know what, I should read some of the stuff my partner is into,' so I picked up the last book you were reading, 'The In-between.'"

Blake was surprised Yang knew about that, she never did finish the book. And thinking back, that was during the time of the Vytal festival, right before the blonde's match with Mercury. After that, chaos was brought upon them, and books were the last thing on her mind. It's a shame her collection is forever lost within the remnants of Beacon.

"Gosh, Olivia went through such an injustice, can you believe that ending?! Absolutely ridiculous!" she goaded. Seeing her partner tense and narrow her eyes, she knew she had her.

"I never actuall -

"To think that the son of a bitch would actually go as far as to -

"YANG!" Blake at this point was near frantic, her cat ears tilted back to uselessly prevent the brawlers voice to carry. She hadn't finished that book yet, it was on of the best mystery novels she'd read thus far. And Yang was SO not going to ruin this for her.

"I know! That was my reaction! I never thought her dad would try to kill hims -

Blake lunged at her, using her shadow clones repeatedly to go increasingly faster. Desperately trying to shut her partner up. Fuck my higher hearing. Don't listen to her. Don't listen. You can't hear. You can't hear. You hear nothing. She chanted to herself.

Yang on the other hand, watched her amusedly. She honestly felt kinda bad at playing her like this, but it worked. Her partner dove straight towards her, not bothering to use a careful approach.

Yang let herself be knocked against the wall. Ooff, she's stronger than I give her credit for. She thought when her back slammed hard enough to crack the wood.

"Well, damn. Are you that mad? At least their father can rest in peac-

Blake slapped her hand on her partner's mouth successfully after several failed attempts. But it was too late. Her ears drooped incredibly low and her expression turned stricken. "He… ?! But… he appeared so adamant at finding the -

Blake grunted at being grabbed roughly and being swung against the wall herself. The side of her face taking the brunt of it. Yang finally caught her, and used this new position to grab her in a headlock. Her partner tried her best but she knew it was over. It was impossible to break out of Yang Xiao Long's grip. Even when she tried to bring the fight to the ground all she ended up doing is kneel in the exact position with Yang kneeling behind her. Blake prolonged it as much as she could but her breath started to catch, patting Yang's arm repeatedly, the brawler immediately let go and placed her hands near the feline's upper arms, trying to look over her for any bad injuries. Seeing her cough slightly, she frowned, she didn't think she tightened her hold that much, but sometimes it was hard to tell with her new arm.

"You okay? Did I -

"I'm fine." she sighed. The coughing lessening. She got off her knees and sat down on the floor, breaking free from Yang's hold and leaning against the wall.

Upon seeing her okay physically aside from a few bruises here and there, Yang noticed her partner's expression. Her eyes were throwing daggers at her, ears still pinned down in annoyance. In response she smiled fondly, getting the rise out of her partner pleases her in so many ways, getting her to open up more and express herself unexpectedly will always be on Yang's to do list. She always found her addiction to literature admirable too.

She didn't know how this happened. One minute their relationship was silent and awkward yet the next, they were acting like they used to.

Yang faked a cough to hide her smile, causing the faunus to press her lips to a firm line. "I lied about the ending Blake," she assured her, amused smile still on her face. Blake looked warily at her, not completely believing. "I did read the book, but I know I'd lose my tongue if I ever dared spoil it for you."

Her ears lifted, twitching in attention, "you swear it?" she warned.

Yang held out her hand, "pinky promise."

Blake hesitated for a moment and raised her hand as well. They crossed their pinkies and touched their thumbs, something Blake always thought was childish. But Yang's sunny attitude always got her to give in and go through with it. Blake finally relaxed, "that was playing dirty." she accused.

Yang laughed. "Honestly I'm surprised you didn't expect it, you know I love messing with you."

"I did, but the fact that you knew the book title and that I didn't finish it made me second guess myself." Blake cocked her head to the side. And again Yang found that movement so adorably cat-like. "How did you know that," she asked the blonde.

Yang mimicked her head movement and cocked her head as well, Blake's eyes narrowing at the repeated movement. "What do you mean?" Yang asked, "I always take in every little detail about my partner."

She said that so honestly that Blake was taken aback. That was actually quite… touching. The thought of Yang wanting to know her caused her chest to tighten the slightest bit. Blake finally smiled. Her expression softening.

Yang leaned into her partner until her lips were next to her human left ear, "just be glad I didn't bring up Ninjas of Love in front of everyone."

Blake's smile immediately vanished, and when Yang leaned back there was a significant flush on the poor feline's face. Seeing this caused the brawler's smile to widen. Her partner rarely blushed, this was the best victory thus far.

"I swear I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face." her partner warned her in a low dangerous voice, her body tensing.

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "I'd like to see you try," she repeated the same thing Blake responded at the beginning of their sparring match. Oh, this leverage is gold, she thought. But before anything could happen, the small crowd that their fight had gained walked forwards, or rather, most walked, some flew.

"OH MY GODS! Blake! What you did with your semblance was so cool!" Ruby exclaimed with excitement.

The pair on the floor paused their little scuffle and made their way to stand.

"Hey! My semblance is practically the same!" Sun called out. "I'm offended." He strode up next to Blake, throwing an arm casually over her shoulders. Blake seemed exasperated by the action, everyone knowing she's not fond of such physical contact, but she made no move to remove his hand.

She seems used to it, Yang thought grimly.

"Oh! That's right! You two would make a pretty neat duo!" Ruby realized.

Yang frowned at that. She and Blake were a duo. Releasing a breath, she hid her annoyance, "I think Blake should just stop being a copycat." This earned some unimpressed grumbling and an unamused expression from her partner.

"Yang." she warned.

Said person held her hands up. "Not another word, got it."

The rest of the conversation was followed by Blake's reaction to hearing spoilers. Everyone was chuckling in earnest. The person of conversation glanced away and stared stubbornly out the window, refusing to acknowledge what happened and feeling uncomfortable with the attention.

Yang, noticing this, decided that it has been enough Blake exhibition for the day. Besides, I refer to keep these moments for myself.

"Welp, I think that's gonna be it for us. We're still a bit jet lagged from traveling yesterday."

Weiss glanced at the bumblebee duo and added, maybe you should see how Ruby's uncle is doing. I don't know about you guys, but I don't completely trust him to be reliable."

"Hey!" Ruby protested. "You're just mad he won that battle with your sister."

"That was a tie!" retorted the ice queen.

"He could probably use some help," Yang added. "We'll head to the house first while we wait for him." Yang stepped towards the door, then glanced back. "You coming Blake?"

Blake immediately followed suit. Glad to keep her company. Seems Yang may have not been as upset with her as she thought when she touched her hair earlier today. That was good to hear.

Exiting the building, they pair walked their way towards the house, the sky was darkening and there weren't many people out. The house wasn't that far, a mere five minutes, yet, as moments passed by in silence, those seconds started to feel like hours. A silence that was starting to feel like the norm.

Yang sighed internally, the strained relationship with Blake was getting tiring, but she didn't exactly know where to go from their talk by the lake. Why do moments like these feel awkward? Why do some side conversations seem forced? Yet out of nowhere things seem like they were before? Yang thought.

The blonde looked directly to her right, watching her partner glance at the moon. She couldn't tell much of her expression from this angle, but something tells her she was thinking the same thing. Her gaze trailed upwards once more, she caught herself doing this a few times throughout the day, she just can't really believe Blake would feel ashamed of her heritage when it was literally the most adorable thing she's seen. And way too fitting for her elusive partner.

A small smile broke through seeing them twitch when a few kids got a bit loud with a screaming match.

Way too adorable, she mused.

She was about to turn her gaze forward when something caught her eye. A man who was towards Blake's general direction was walking with his back to them. Yang stopped abruptly when the flash of red hair caused her mind to drift.

The sound of metal from a sword being drawn, a gruesome mask, and a smug grin filled her mind. And those images and sounds bombarded her in a matter of seconds. All flashing through her eyes too quickly, giving her a slight headache. Blinking rapidly she saw the man turn and see him smile to what appeared to be his kid.

Not him… its not him.

"Yang? Are you okay?"

Glancing Blake's way she saw her stop a few steps in front of her. She must have noticed Yang had stopped walking and found her staring at someone with a faraway look.

"It's nothing… I was just seeing things." A few moments passed before she spoke again. "I get flashes from that night sometimes," she said, gripping her shaking hand, struggling to calm her breath. Blake watched her struggle to calm down, and felt useless. "Do you really think he's going to take on the White Fang leader?" she asked. "He doesn't really strike me as the power hungry type," More of a mentally unstable one, Yang thought.

"That's what the information I got from the spy says. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me. And you're right, his power... it comes from control. He… used to get in my head, make me feel small, but at the moment I didn't really think much about it. I saw it as… mentorship, as ridiculous as it sounds."

"That's messed up." Yang responded, looking at her prosthetic. "How can someone like that exist?"

"Well, sometimes people change for the worst." Blake responded. The blonde stayed silent, worry seeping through her eyes.

Blake grasped her metal hand, uncaring about the cool metal feeling,

"Hey, I'm not leaving. And if we ever see him again I promise I'll be there. I'll have your back, and I know you'll have mine."

Yang clasped her metal hand with Blake's, and smiled. "Thank you, Blake." she needed to hear that, she really did. And she remembered what she'd said back at the lake;

I don't know if you're just going to leave again without saying goodbye or –

"I won't."

"I can't trust that," she smiled sadly.

Yang can still sense that fear, but as she looked into her eyes at this moment, she truly believed what she was saying. She truly trusted that her partner would stay by her side, The fear lessened ever so slightly. Or maybe that was her heart fluttering at the close distance Blake was from her. How close their faces were. But Yang refused to dwell on that. For now, at least.

After a few moments, Yang realized they still had not moved. Blinking and stepping away, she unclasped their hands as she quickly looked for something to say in order to stop her flustering emotions.

"I still can't believe someone like that has been able to gain so many people to back him up though. I never knew how divided humanity was. He wont stop. And he needs to be stopped. There's no saving someone like him." he needs to be stopped before he hurts anymore people, before he tries to hurt Blake again.

"Do you really think that?" Blake asked without thinking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang stiffly asked in confusion. Did she mishear that?

Blake stuttered at Yang's sudden change in demeanor, " - it's just - he…" she sighed. "He wasn't always like that. The reasons he did what he did, well… everyone has reason for doing the things they do."

Yang looked at her partner incredulously, "... are you… defending him?!"

"No! I mean, I'm not saying he's justified. Just that he wasn't always this way. He's gone through some pretty nasty things that just… drove him the wrong direction."

Yang's eye were still narrowed. "So have you, and you aren't a cold bastard who killed a huge number of people to get to his goal."

Blake flinched. She felt like she was sucker punched in the face. She looked away, not trusting her emotions to stay in check. You're, wrong, I have done those things. In worse ways that you can imagine, she thought. She recalled on Yang's reaction towards the White Fang's way of dealing with traitors back during their meeting with General Ironwood…

"Torture?" Yang scoffed in bewilderment. "What type of twisted beasts torture their own people. And all for what? Leaving those savage ideals behind?" Blake's mention of Adam fed the anger that, up until now, was hiding deep inside the blonde.

The faunus however, felt as though she was stabbed in the gut. Her partner's hatred towards Adam's torturing of people just told her all she needed to know. She was just like him, she was a beast. Somehow, she preferred the title of being a coward, anything that'll erase the disgust and hatred in Yang's eyes. Disgust and hatred towards her. Someone who tortured people for their own savage ideals.

Closing her eyes, Blake asked something she hoped she didn't regret.

"What… what would you think of him if he were to…" she couldn't find the right words. "Say, I was able to get through to him. That I was able to convince him that what he's doing for the faunus isn't right, what he's been doing isn't right. That he regrets the things he's done and feels… disgusted by what he used to be." She was no longer talking about Adam.

Blake was turned away, so she couldn't see Yang's expression of complete bewilderment. Is she actually considering… is she fucking serious? She thought.

Yang strode up to her and placed her had on her shoulder, steering her around to face her. She needed to see her face, she needed to know this was a sick joke. She wouldn't actually consider feeling empathetic towards someone who murdered hundreds at Beacon? Who literally stabbed his own ex-partner, and who had no qualms in severing someone's limb? And Yang is sure he's hurt her in the worst of ways. To have a partner, no, to see your own partner become a monster, must have been the worst thing imaginable to experience. The blonde understood that, but everything that bastard has done is proof that he's too far gone, he's no longer that person Blake used to know.

But yet, as she looked into those gorgeous amber eyes, she saw sincerity and curiosity. She's serious. She's…

"I don't believe this. You can't actually be serious!? After what he's done?! To Beacon! To humans. To his own people! To his own partner!..." her grip tightened on her shoulder. "... to me." she whispered that last bit.

Blake's eyes widened. And Yang felt tears drip slowly down her cheeks. Why am I crying, why do I feel like this? She released her hand from her partner and quickly wiped her face.

"... Yang, I'm sorry, I didn't mean -

She laughed humorlessly. "That's all you ever do recently," she murmured. "Apologize, that's all you ever do." Some small part of her regret saying that. She's running high on emotions at the moment and is blurting out the first thing that pops out. I didn't mean that, she thought, but did not voice.

"I shouldn't have brought him up. I'm…" she stopped short before apologizing again.

"I get you knew him as a different person. But that person is gone Blake. Someone like that? He deserves nothing but the worst. People don't just change like that out of the blue. And if they do," she sighed. "How can that type of person live with themselves? Innocent blood on their hands for their own selfish ideals…"

Blake stopped listening after that. Her ears started ringing. She tried, she really tried to not react. But she wouldn't be able to for much longer. The feeling at this very moment is the worst feeling she's ever experienced. Her night terror the previous night had nothing on this. Her fear towards Adam had nothing on this. She felt as though those thin walls of hope, righteousness, benevolence, went crashing down. Yang is probably the person she cares for the most in the world, she's never had such strong feelings towards a friend, towards a partner. And that same person felt disgusted by the type of person she was. She's always hated herself deep down. Disgusted by her own past actions, but at this moment, she's never hated herself even more.

But Blake tried to hang on, as thin as a thread that might be, Yang thought she was talking about Adam. Her opinion might change if she told her the truth. But… what if her opinion did not change. What if their mending relationship fully breaks from exposing her past sins? She can't go through that. She couldn't.

"You're right. His actions should never be forgiven or taken lightly. I never meant to belittle what he's done. I simply believe in second chances. Maybe someday he'll see things differently, maybe he'll let go of his spite." That sounded ridiculous, even to her ears. Adam's shown her time and time again that he'll never let go of his hatred towards humanity.

Yang's eyes narrowed, dangerously changing color, but not quite.

"Whatever," she turned around and started walking. When she heard Blake starting up after her she quickly added, "I'm going ahead, I need to cool off. This conversation is getting me pissed."

Blake stopped abruptly in place, seeing Yang disappear ahead of her.

What am I doing wrong? She sighed, I shouldn't have asked that question, I shouldn't talk about him period. She clenched her fists tightly, and looked up at the broken moon. Even when your not here, you sure find a way to screw me over huh? She thought bitterly.