Author's Notes:

Welcome, fangirls and fanboys!

And today, I am finally bringing you my newest story! … After almost a month of hyping it up.

If I can be honest, I'm kind of scared. I've worked really hard on this story and I really, really don't want it to be a bust. Unlike the other stories I've written so far, this story actually has… well, a story; conflicts, stakes, developments, growth, all of that. So, um... please read it.

Also, I should tell you that I'll handle the scheduling of this story a little differently than I handled my previous story (Fans and Girlfriends). You see, some of the chapters in this story are long, and some are... not. And the time and date I'll upload the next chapter is heavily linked to the length of the previous chapter.

If the previous chapter is long (5k-6k words), then there'll be a 2-weeks gap before I post the next one.

If the previous chapter is short (3k-4k words), then… you'll get the next chapter next week.

This way, it'll be fair for both me, the writer, and you, the readers.

Enjoy!

Beta:

FeugoFox42. Check out his work, they are amazing and are worth your time ^^

CHAPTER I

The Smell of Danger

Why was she in such pain?! This- this wasn't any normal pain, she was sure of it! She'd taken far heavier hits before, and it still didn't hurt this much!

No- This was- This was a foreign pain. And it- it didn't even come from the cuts or her head. It came from… within.

...

Yang squinted her eyes as she looked through the binoculars.

A small, abandoned warehouse… at least it looked abandoned with all of those cracked windows…

"Well… it looks like the White Fang might be in there…" she mused before pulling down the binocular, letting it dangle loosely around her neck, turning to look at her partner.

She scrunched up her face instantly. Blake was leaning against a tree, her coat swaying as her hands worked at her weapon.

She was counting her ammo on their mission. That was unusual.

Blake always made sure that everything was prepared before a mission so she wouldn't have to worry when she was in the middle of it. So why would she…?

Maybe she's just worried, the reasonable part of herself said. This is the first partner-only mission we took; why wouldn't she take extra precautions?

If Yang were being honest, she was scared too. For a first mission the two of them were assigned to, it was… a little extreme. She didn't know the exact details of it, worrying about the specifics was her partner's department, but…

It had something to do with the White Fang, and… Maybe that's why Goodwitch gave us this mission… Yang's eyes drifted upwards, where Blake's bow used to be.

"The White Fang is in there, Yang." She didn't need to look back at the faunus to know she was smirking a Cheshire smile.

Yang looked back down again. Without the binoculars, the supposedly-intimidating warehouse looked so small. In fact, all of the buildings looked small. She supposed that was how things looked like when you were on top of a hill.

Yang took a few steps forward, putting her hands on her hips and taking a big, long, satisfying breath, feeling a smile effortlessly crawling into her face.

"You know, despite this being a serious mission and all, I can't help but enjoy the view."

Maybe it was the lights shining from all the buildings around the dark city, creating a twinkle of light that reminded her of the stars.

Maybe it was the hill they were atop of, that made them see the night in a different light; a more beautiful, serene light.

"Me too."

Maybe it was the beautiful girl behind her, who stared at her right in the eye as she spoke, making Yang wonder - as her cheeks were tinted red - just what her partner had meant by that.

The breezy wind blew their face. Yang cursed and tried to fix her now messy hair, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a hiss leaving her partner's mouth.

Blake was, obviously, cold. Even after wearing a jacket, and a scarf, and a pair of gloves, it was night; Winter night. Her teeth chattered, her shoulders hunched forward as she vigorously hugged herself, making her appear smaller than she really was. Not to mention she had a slightly red nose.

Wordlessly, she took off her coat. She never needed it, the cold never bothered her anyway.

Blake opened her eyes with a start when she sensed someone draping something on her shoulders, but eased herself when it was just Yang, who was leaning down at her and was close. Very close. "Yang, what-"

"You'll get sick if you don't cover yourself."

Gentle fingers ghosted against her ribs. Blake watched as those blonde locks kept dangling in front of her, as those small puffs of air formed every time she released a breath.

"What about you?"

Yang's chuckle vibrated. "Blake, have you forgotten that I'm the human equivalent of a portable heater?" She hadn't. That didn't stop her from worrying. "I'll be fine, Blake. Really." The tone was softer, meant to ease her nerves.

Blake looked up at the girl who was only slightly taller than her and slowly nodded. The blonde quickly leaned back, clapping her hands together as she stood proudly, leaning her body weight onto one side. "Great!"

The faunus gripped the collar of the coat and pulled it closer to her, noting that it smelled like fresh lemons and peaches; like Yang.

"How did you know?"

Blake blinked and looked up. She had spaced out, it seemed. Guiltily, she asked, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Yang didn't seem offended or even concerned. She flashed her that familiar warm smile. "I asked how you were able to find this place. It's miles away from Beacon, after all."

"Sun."

Yang pressed her lips together. "You've been talking to him?"

Blake tilted her head as if it was a strange thing to ask. "He's my friend."

Yang's frustration bubbled, but she tried to let it go through letting out a deep breath, causing a puff of air to appear in front of her.

"Yang?"

"Nothing," she lied. "It's nothing…"

Yang gave Blake the binoculars. Her partner was the one with night vision, meaning no matter how well she could see at night, Blake could always see better.

She sat down on the grassy ground. Watching Blake fiddle with Gambol Shroud made her want to check and see if her own weapon was armed and ready.

Yeah… That was what she was doing… That was what she wanted Blake to see; her blonde partner, goofing around, not at all thinking about the faunus in a non-platonic way…

Yang looked up at Blake. Those amber eyes were shining so brightly, so mysteriously. Her hair flew down majestically like a waterfall. Her skin was porcelain-pale and looked smooth… so smooth…

She regretted looking up.

She's your teammate.

Yang had always wanted to know what her lips tasted like, how it felt to run her fingers through the girl's dark tresses, to have their noses bumping each others'.

She's your partner.

To cuddle with her in bed. To be able to hear her heartbeat so closely. To be able to call Blake 'mine'.

She's your best friend.

Yang forcibly cocked back Ember Celica into their bracelet form. She didn't even know if the ammo were full. She didn't care, either. She let her back softly hit the ground… the grass tickled.

Her life had been going perfectly fine. They'd put Roman Torchwick behind bars for good, nobody had gotten hurt, and they'd had loads of fun in the tournament.

Everything seemed well…

If not for the fact that she harbored a massive crush on Blake Belladonna for who knew how long.

Yang draped one arm across her face, blocking her vision.

And it wasn't just any crush either, it was the kind of crush that didn't go away for months. Even when she kept telling herself all the things that could go wrong with pursuing a relationship with her teammate and best friend and partner, the feelings stayed, if not, grew.

And… honestly… she couldn't blame herself…

Why wouldn't she like Blake? The girl was amazing in so many ways! She was super smart, she was mysterious, she was witty, she was sarcastic, and- just- argh!

It was hard not to like Blake that way…

Yang didn't realize what kind of feelings she had for Blake until it was too late.

Hell, with all the things that had been going on in her life, she was so busy she didn't even know when she developed these feelings.

It just sort of… happened.

Yang undraped her arm, eyes widening when she saw Blake staring down at her, her chin lifted up in amusement. Her cheeks reddened. "What? It's late!" Blake smirked. Yang scowled. "Aren't we supposed to be kicking ass by now?"

Blake's smile faded and she looked away, glancing at the direction of the so-called suspicious warehouse. She had a poker face - the kind she wore on missions.

The time for jokes was over, it seemed.

"No, Goodwitch's orders were to find the base's location."

Yang stood up, crossing her arms, not because of the chill of the night.

"And…?" She raised an eyebrow expectantly, leaning forward ever-so-slightly.

Blake's eyes narrowed in focus - they looked like slits, giving her this… predatory vibe.

"The mission is to observe until we can confirm that this is the base of a small White Fang branch… then we report back immediately." Blake glanced over her shoulder and at Yang knowingly. "No explosions."

Yang pouted, her shoulders slumping. "Aww… man."

"No fighting, either."

Yang pouted harder. "Aww, Man!"

That just wasn't fair. What kind of a mission was this again?! And why should she come if there were none of those stuff?!

"Otherwise, she'd send the entire team - maybe two."

That... was a good point.

"Ugh, fine." She shook away her frown when a - rather important - question popped into her head. "How do you suppose we do that?"

Yang tilted her head, curious. Blake hummed at her before answering, "We just have to confirm that the White Fang's been hiding in there."

Yang massaged her temples, still not quite understanding what all of this was. She knew Blake loved to be mysterious and all, but sometimes she could be too vague for her own good. "What? So, stuff like masks, or guns, or-"

Blake's ear flicked, her head snapped towards the warehouse. Yang followed her gaze soon after.

It was a little hard to see without the goggles and it being night, but the blonde could see that there were two silhouettes of people walking- no, rushing into the entrance of the building.

"... Or two shady-looking dudes going inside the building." Yang cocked her head at her partner, asking, "That enough proof for ya?"

Now that she looked more closely, there were silhouettes of two people standing near the door, too.

Were they… guarding the entrance?

Blake looked away, her face partly hidden within her scarf, revealing only her eyes. "No. We have to be able to confirm that it's the White Fang."

"Okay…" Yang's feet moved on their own. "Let's get inside then."

A hand grabbed her elbow, causing her to stop. She looked back, finding Blake's frightened gaze. "No, we can't, it might be too dangerous."

What? No, it wasn't. This was just a smaller, less dangerous branch of the White Fang, right? If they could handle the regular White Fangs, then they could definitely handle these downgraded versions of them.

Blake's eyes found Yang's again.

A silent question was asked.

Blake looked at her pleadingly, biting her lip. She swallowed and shook her head again.

Lilac eyes widened as she realized… "You got a hunch."

Blake's hesitant nod confirmed it.

Yang's gaze flickered between the building and her partner, her brows furrowing more and more. It was stupid of Blake to think Yang would believe her, especially with nothing more than a gut feeling…

Yang nodded at Blake with steady eyes. "Fine. Then what will we do?"

Blake looked relieved that she was willing to give up so easily, but she recovered quickly, her face adopting familiar stern features.

"We wait."

There was another breeze, a stronger one. Blake didn't bat an eye and absent-mindedly tucked herself more into Yang's coat.

Yang tried not to make a big deal out of it.

...

It took them some time to figure out where they could stalk - or, as Blake preferred to put it; observe - the potentially dangerous base.

In the end, they settled to wait in a small coffee shop right in front of the warehouse.

Yang had gawked at the idea, pointing out the part where it was right in front of the (potentially) enemy's base, but Blake explained that no one could see their weapons - Blake's were strapped to her back and hidden underneath her coat, while Yang's were in her bracelet form - thus, they could pass as two girls hanging out late at night… nothing unusual.

Hiding in plain sight, basically.

Blake took a small sniff at the fabric that she was wearing. It smelled wonderful, just like Yang.

Yang…

Who had given her this coat without a second thought.

The brawler had always been kind to her, but then again, she was kind to everybody - always willing to lend a hand, putting others before herself.

Yang's kindness adored her, but… it also confused her.

More than once, she wondered if Yang was doing this just because she was nice or… maybe there was something more…

Don't be ridiculous, the rational part of her mind had always chastized, reminding her that Yang was Ruby Rose's sister, so she's bound to want to help others.

She wondered if Yang would've given the coat if it wasn't she who was freezing…

"Here."

She looked up from her seat, finding Yang holding two drinks, extending one towards her.

"But, the mission-"

Yang shook her head. "The mission won't matter when you catch hypothermia, now, will it?" Blake shot her a glare. She would never catch such a disease so easily. She was a huntress. The brawler didn't cower at her glare, if anything, she looked amused. "Plus, aren't we supposed to blend in and look like two normal girls? What kind of teenagers go to a coffee shop and not buy anything?"

Blake doubted the White Fang would care whether or not they ordered their drinks… but… the with the way Yang was looking at her now, so hopeful…

"Fine," she sighed, taking the cup and looking away when she saw her partner breaking into a grin.

Yang took a seat in front of her, sipping her own drink, while Blake looked through the window on her side, where she saw two people standing at the entrance of the door.

They were guards, even if they didn't look like much. The way they stood and jolted at every little sound confirmed it. They also hid their faces in their hoodie, so it was hard to tell what they looked like or even their gender and age or, most vitally, whether or not they were faunus.

The first time Yang had seen them, she'd quickly took a bunch of pictures, nodded as if she was proud of her work, then turned at Blake, declaring, "Okay! Mission over, let's go home so I can sleep in!"

Blake had argued that they couldn't just do that, and Yang had countered that they just did.

Blake had made a point that they could be regular guards, taking care of a regular building.

They needed more evidence, ones that were concrete. This was their responsibility.

Those points were what had put Yang to her senses. And now, here they were.

Blake took a sip from her drink, humming in delight when she realized this was Earl Grey tea; her favorite.

And, again, she had to wonder if this was just her partner trying to be a good friend or-

"So, what's so special about this branch?"

Blake swallowed her tea a little too quickly. "What?"

Yang scoffed and looked at her intently. Her partner was feigning innocence, and she didn't buy it.

"Oh, come on, don't give me that. If there's nothing special, then why are we miles away from Beacon?" They were practically on the outskirts of Vale. "You don't just travel this far if you just happen to hear about it." It would make sense if they were to start investigating someplace near Beacon, but nope! Here they were.

Yang might not be as smart as Blake or Weiss, but she was no idiot either.

She observed her side, through the window, at their supposed-mission.

"Something's up here. And you know why otherwise you won't be so worked up."

Blake looked away, unable to look at Yang and keep away her blush. She buried half of her face in her mug, not really drinking. "It… I'm not 'worked up'."

To her annoyance, Yang snorted. "Uh huh… Sure you're not. And that's exactly why Goodwitch gave us - more specifically, you - this mission and not, like, oh, I don't know, anybody else?"

There was no malice in her partner's words. Yang had never shown any malice, not when it came to her. There was only an acute observation, mixed in with the-ever-useful sarcasm.

Yang was fiddling with the straw as she drank her own drink. It smelled like a sort of soda…

"How did you find out?" she had to ask. "About me knowing this?"

Blake tried to look uninterested when Yang looked at her. She frowned when Yang raised an amused eyebrow at her.

The blonde chuckled, leaning forward. "You might have just found out about this place now, but you've been worked up for the past few days. I haven't seen you read a book in, like, two days! And it's not just me- everyone knows, too." She looked down at her drink as she muttered, "Come to think of it, maybe that's why Glynda assigned us on this mission…"

Blake could only gawk at her… She had been researching and trying to find more about this base for a couple of days. She'd made sure not to let it become an obsession like last time too, to not forget to eat and sleep and interact with her friends…

Yet still… Everyone knew…

Blake… wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Yang grinned at her triumphantly. "So, spill the beans."

Blake's ears perked up as she stared at Yang's challenging eye, making sure that absolutely no one was eavesdropping on her.

Only when she was certain did she begin by saying, "The White Fang is dangerous-"

Yang laughed but winced when she was being glared at. "Sorry, it- just- … sorry."

Blake's glare stayed for a couple of seconds before she gave with a sigh.

"... They're dangerous, but, as vague and twisted as they may be they have limits. They don't just do crime anymore." Now that certainly caught Yang's attention. "After what happened at the Breach, they've learned their lesson, I think."

Yang blinked once. Twice. She gripped her drink a little tighter. "Lesson?"

Blake looked at her with no hesitation. "To not be reckless. To not try to follow just any man - but those who earned their leadership." She took a sip of the drink. Yang did too and tried not to worry too much about her partner. "For the past few months," Blake continued, "their activities have actually gone less aggressive, and more predictable…"

Blake knowingly looked to her side.

The pieces were put together.

"... Except for this branch," she realized with wide eyes, her grip slackening.

Blake nodded at her again, but then her eyes widened and she looked at the side. Yang did so as well.

Her eyes narrowed.

The two guards were standing near each other. One of them was communicating through the walkie-talkie while the other listened.

Yang turned to Blake, wondering, "Can you hear what they're saying?"

A dejected shake of the head answered her question.

Yang bit her lip again as she saw the first guard putting back the device in his pocket before they both stayed guard again, returning to their original position.

Yeah… like that wasn't suspicious.

She turned to her partner again, who looked to be deep in thought.

"You were saying?"

Blake blinked a couple of times as if pulled away from a trance. She looked at Yang sheepishly and uttered a small "right" before straightening her posture. "This branch is different. Too different. They've strayed too much from the White Fang that they themselves don't want anything to do with it. And... it's not just that…"

Yang had to ask. "What else is there?"

Blake pulled out her scroll, playing with it before she gave it to Yang. The screen was filled with a profile of a faunus woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. But that wasn't what caught her attention.

No, it was the big bold letters attached to the picture; Missing, it said.

"This. This is what's different." Yang slid the screen and, to her horror, it was another missing faunus. She slid it again, and again, and again, and there were more missing faunus. "The White Fang don't normally recruit middle-aged faunus, especially not those with no fighting experience whatsoever."

Yang momentarily looked away from her partner's scroll to look at the owner, giving her a nervous grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Err, I didn't realize there was an age limit."

Blake shook her head vehemently. "No, you don't understand. Age does come into factor in regards to recruitment. Younger people tend to be fueled with more passion, more energy, more hatred, so it's-"

"-easier to get them to join," Yang finished.

A distant but loud yell caught their attention. Looking at the targeted place, they found that one of the guards were yelling at the other, before they stormed into the place, leaving the other guard alone.

Yang swallowed, wondering what the guard could've been furious about.

"This… This is just normal people." Yang looked back to her partner, frowning at how sad and resigned she looked. Her drink was cold and abandoned, and she looked into nothingness, eyes gazing down at her lap. "Why would they want to recruit civilians? Better yet - why would civilians want to join the White Fang? These people have jobs, families… Why would they…?"

Yang was tense as she gazed down on her partner's scroll. All of these faunus… It didn't make sense.

"That is weird…" she mused, catching Blake's eyes when she gave the scroll back. "So we're not just dealing with the White Fang - we're dealing with this weirder branch of it, the branch that the White Fang itself… hates, I guess."

Blake winced at the oversimplification, stiffly nodding. "That's… one way to put it…"

Yang leaned back, taking a small sip of her drink before rubbing her chin as the gears in her head turned. Blake smirked at the cute pout the brawler adopted as she was thinking, but it vanished when Yang drew her own conclusion.

"But the branch is small, too small for it to be considered a serious threat, hence why Glynda wants us and only us to investigate. If this were the real White Fang, she'd have sent, like, dozens of professional huntsmen."

Silence enveloped the table for quite a while, the reality of the situation dawning on the blonde, at last.

Suddenly, Yang barked a laugh, startling the cat faunus.

"What?"

The blonde shook her head and held out her two hands, showing that she meant no offense. "It's just- can't believe you managed to figure this out all on your own." Yang leaned close, eyes twinkling in delight as she smiled that gorgeous smile. "Like, you're insanely genius, Blakey!"

Blake's mouth was dry and her heart was beating so fast.

She tried not to think about how proud and happy Yang looked when speaking about her as if her words were the truth. One that she seemed to be proud of.

She tried not to think of the fondness emanating from Yang when she called her name and muttered, "Sun helped…"

Yang's smile faded slightly, but before Blake could think more of it, she flashed her an even brighter grin.

"Yeah. With finding out where the base is. Figuring out that there is a base in the first place, though - that was all you." Yang chuckled, taking a sip of her drink as she shook her head. "What'd I do without you, Blakey?"

"You'd do fine, Yang, stop doubting yourself too much," she chastised with a light scowl. It disappeared when she looked up thoughtfully. "And… It's not all that hard… You just have to know where to ask. And how to ask the right questions to the right people. They won't just speak if you blatantly ask where the enemy's hiding - but if you ask questions such as 'Has there been any recent people missing?' or 'Has there been any rumors regarding the enemy?', you might get the answer you're looking for. And you have to get to know the area to know where they could possibly hide."

Yang, who had been listening intently in awe and admiration, perked up at one detail of Blake's speech. "You know this area?" Awe and admiration were replaced by disbelief and a sense of overprotectiveness.

Blake gave her a sly, knowing look. "That's where Sun helped."

"Ah." Yang blinked, then tilted her head to the side. She looked like an adorable child. "Yeah, I only got, like, half of it-" she broke into an adorably happy grin "-but thanks for the lesson, Miss Belladonna!"

Blake gave a grin of her own and opened her mouth to retort-

There were loud noises. Shouts and yells and the sounds of something heavy falling.

The last guard rushed into the source of all that noise.

They all came from the warehouse.

They found each others' eyes, each filled with a sense of dread, fear, but most of all…

Determination.

It was Yang who spoke first.

"Think it's a good idea to get in now?"

...

She leaned forward, squinting her eyes at the reflection disbelievingly.

No… No, that- that can't be…

But it's- it's there…

No, no, I must be dreaming…

She pinched her cheek. Nothing happened.

What-? But… How…

This- This must be some kind of joke-

There's no way- No fucking way…

But it was no joke, and she knew that.

This… This is real…

What she was seeing through her reflection…

What was swishing back and forth rapidly - almost nervously - behind her…

Something that wasn't there before, not before that overwhelming pain…

A tail.

TO BE CONTINUED

News:

Hey everyone! Do you want to read the next chapter now and support me with my writing at the same time? If not, then that's alright! If so, then thank you and please check out my site:

P a treon . com (slash) ClementineDavidson

I promise it's not unreasonably expensive.

I know my current page isn't that amazing, but I'm only starting out and… well… I'd love for you to help me reach my goal so I can write stories as not just a hobby :)

Author's Notes:

If you're still here right now, then wow, you've read the first chapter... thanks!

Yeah, it's long for a first chapter (4.200 words), but it's necessary. I want to start this story off with a bang (or should I say with a Yang?). No playing around. I have a story I want to tell, but before that, I need to build off the fundamentals of the story itself, the important aspects of it. I showed you the timeline of this slight-AU (where the shitstorm that is Volume 3 never happened).

Overall, I think this is a good first chapter. I've shown you the "outer plot" (surrounding the White Fang) and the "inner plot" (Blake and Yang's feelings towards each other).

It's a healthy balance between romance and progression, don't you think?

This isn't really a mystery/suspenseful story, though it may seem like it at first. The "mystery" surrounding the White Fang base does play a huge part in my story, at the end of it, it's really about Yang and Blake at the very core of it.

I intentionally made it unclear when they started to fall for each other. Crushes are like that, especially with close friends; you don't know it's been building up until it's too late. It's up to your interpretations.

This isn't the story about two girls falling in love with each other - I'm sure we've all read too many stories of that concept. This is the story of two girls who are already in love with each other and are figuring out how to handle their feelings.

The next chapter has Blake and Yang learning something they should never have learned~ (ooh, spooky~). There'll be action, not to mention suspense. Oh, and comedy, I think.

So… What are your thoughts? This story is currently my biggest project. I'm not lying when I said I've worked hard on this. Currently, I'm working on Chapter 11 of this story and I don't think it's nearly done yet.

I'm open to criticism ^^ a writer can never stop improving, after all.

See you all next week (or the week after that, I haven't really decided yet!)