Chapter 21: ...Then you might find an empty pot.

Blake’s nights in the last week had been fairly… strange.

It wasn’t like she was experiencing much of an issue with her nightmares, or at least not as much as she usually did.

Nor the girl was having troubles with her sessions with Ozpin. The headmaster was incredibly fair with his questions, but he would always bring up the interest he had over her friendship with Sid.

It wasn’t nothing too pushy, or genuinely worrying from the way the elder would back away at the first sign of uneasiness on her face over the topic.

The issue was more correlated to the recent developments. The dynamics of relationships between ‘study’ and ‘free time’ had mixed in a somewhat strange compound.

Yang was dating Sid.

The Belladonna had been there to see it happen. She knew what had happened there and she knew that the date had been successful. But the young man knew nothing of that, which prompted for a rather awkward discussion through Scroll.

The blonde had respectfully kept that part a secret, and the Cat Faunus was glad that there was no proof tracing her back to her role in that date.

The little story she had written about the two had scored some interesting milestones when she had posted it on some adult sites, but the entire situation just didn’t sit well with what happened from that point onward.

Blake was happy for them. Ruby was on the same wavelength while a certain white-haired Schnee was less enthusiastic over this development. Especially when the girl was ‘obliged’ to finally apologize to Sid.

Still, the black-haired girl really was happy for them. Heck, she was half-tempted to make a ship out of this novelty all to celebrate her recent earnings with the recent story and their happiness… if not for the fact that their new relationship had started to put a strain on the friendship she had for the waiter.

It was odd to believe what was happening. She was incredibly sure that friendships were meant to taken minor damage from that kind of escalation, but what ended up unraveling in the last day proved her wrong.

The Cat Faunus was still keeping in touch with Sid after her ‘therapy’ sessions, but the scope of those conversations started to slowly but surely turn into his new romantic tie with her partner.

Yang here, Yang there. It wasn’t obsessive as it might sound at first listening, but the presence of the blonde in their discussions was difficult to ignore. Especially if Sid had taken the habit of inquiring about his girlfriend at the beginning of their private chats.

Blake didn’t mind much about it at first. It was alright to be loving if both were taken about each other. It had sounded so sudden that they were sticking into each other’s faces so frequently, but it was fine.

It had to be fine. She couldn’t just mess things up for them.

But while the first few days were somewhat bearable… by day 5 something started to finally get in her nerves. It was something subtle at first, something that the girl couldn’t give a proper name to.

There had been two other dates. Each being fairly simple, almost close to the first one in terms of simplicity, but without the final brawl at the end of those.

And Blake had been ‘asked’ from Yang to be around and offer advice whenever possible.

The issue about that ‘smart decision’ from the blonde? The brawler would hardly ask for anything. If else, she would rebuke any suggestions forwarded by the Belladonna.

Confusion had swelled from that very behavior, but it wasn’t just clear to her why she felt like this was worse than it looked like at first glance.

Enlightenment came through the most unexpected of situations.

“So you say that Ms. Xiao Long doesn’t make use of your help… despite the fact that she wants you there to help?” Ozpin summarized with a skeptical and confused tone. “Forgive me, Ms. Belladonna. But paint me surprised about this strange circumstance.”

The girl nodded. “I’m confused myself- I mean, I’m not experienced in love so I can’t truly say if it’s just me or- or if there’s more to it.”

“Perhaps your suspicions aren’t that baseless as you think, Ms. Belladonna,” The headmaster commented with a slow voice. “I can’t say for sure if what you’re suggesting can be the subtle truth, or if you’re seeing beyond the reality of things. Sudden relationships of this kind can and will make people close to the couple rather hasty with their thinking and-”

“I’m supportive of them,” She blurted quickly. “I know what you’re implying, but I want them both to be happy. If them being an item is the best path to that, then I don’t mind it.”

“Hmm,” The old man leaned back on his chair, his eyes were fixed at Blake’s frame and… he looked fascinated at her face.

What? Was there something there that was making this much of a distraction?

She fought back the urge of searching for anything that could confirm this theory, ultimately holding back until the headmaster was resuming with his words.

“Ms. Belladonna, while I’m not best experienced in this topic, I can forward you a way to see if Ms. Xiao Long is being honest or not with her commitment with Mr. Tremaine,” Ozpin muttered. “Sure, Mr. Tremaine isn’t a student of mine, but I hope you understand that romantic relationships are… complex things. They make people let out their hearts to their partners. Fragility becomes a variable that can shatter the strongest of individuals.”

“One mistake and… that would become a mess,” She added, her lips twitching in a moment of nervousness at that very development. “But… I think I will still give it a try. I- I feel something is wrong with this.”

He nodded. “I suppose I can’t dissuade you from trying a closer approach. Then I shall offer you this very notion that I learned through my past relationships.”

Blake was slightly surprised when she was given a genuinely good key to begin a conversation with Yang. One that could seriously work if she voiced the words given by Ozpin in the correct tone.

But before she could do anything over her suspicions, she knew that there was something else that needed to be addressed before walking into an eventual fallout with the brawler. She needed support… from an unlikely source.

“Hello Bla-”

“Sid, we need to talk.”

Quick and… incredibly awkward. Maybe she should’ve been a little more mindful about her current anxiety.

Emotions can and will ruin important moments like this. She needed to be serious about it, at least for Yang’s and Sid’s sakes.

The waiter sighed. “Sounds important. What’s up?”

Now, how was she supposed to explain properly and without making any mistakes with her phrasing.

...Gods, why is this so complicated? Why am I dealing with this situation? Especially after that murderous fiasco with Adam.

“You… How much do you trust me?” The cat-girl almost blurted out without thinking about it.

Simple, incredibly worrying and, worst of it all, telling that something was wrong about this discussion.

“A lot? Do I need to offer some specific amount or-”

“I’m serious about it,” She curtly interrupted. “How much do you trust me about… your relationship with Yang?”

There was some humming coming from the other side of the call. Blake couldn’t tell if it was something to be concerned about or not. Hopefully, things weren’t going to take a terrible turn already.

She didn’t have any contingencies planned if the talk went south. She really didn’t need that.

“I mean, do you have something against it?” He asked back with a confused tone. “I thought you were happy about it, especially when- Actually, I found the smut you wrote about us. Is this about it? Because if it is, I can’t talk to you about it right now.”

She opened her mouth, ready to go ahead with her little speech when her brain was hit with that final bit.

“O-Oh- I can assure you that I didn’t write anything about you and-” The Faunus paused mid-sentence, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Wait, how did you find it? I’m quite sure it wasn’t posted in a site one can easily access.”

“I...” There was a brief pause from the young man. “It’s- It’s complicated. How about you continue with that discussion you were talking about? If it’s not this, then surely it has to do with something away from that.”

Quite an interesting development. But one that will have to sadly wait for the situation was way too serious to be derailed any further from the main point.

“I know that it might sound odd but… have you noticed something wrong about Yang… in the last two dates you two had?”The Belladonna asked with a hint of nervousness. “Just asking, of course.”

“You’re not just asking,” Sid rebuked with a sure voice. “But I’ve to admit that I saw that there was something quite strange about it.”

“Surely, you’ve seen that- Wait, you did?”

He did? When and… why didn’t he investigate about it?

Knowing the young man, he should’ve made some efforts to discern if something was off about his date.

So why didn’t he do that? Why he kept quiet about it to her too?

“Yeah. And what’s with that surprised tone? You seriously thought I couldn’t see that something was off with her during the last two hang outs?” He inquired with renewed interest. “Nothing against Yang, but it seemed like she wasn’t really trying about it like the first time.”

“She wasn’t… trying? Can you be a little more specific about it or-”

“It looked as if she wasn’t gambling on her attempts. It was all pretty moderate, way more moderate than I generally like and… it sounded almost shy.”

Blake could remember how Yang had restrained herself from going far with her own initiatives. It was something that just screamed that the blonde was unsure about what she was truly doing in that situation.

“You remember how I was supposed to give her help for that date?” The Faunus finally asked.

“I do- Wait, are you trying to say that she hasn’t asked help in the other ones-”

“I was there,” Blake quipped swiftly. “But she… didn’t ask for my help.”

… “What?”

“I know it sounds strange, but… it’s the truth,” The Faunus continued, her stare diverting away from the device. “She asked to me there and offer some help but she didn’t want any of that when the dates started.”

“That sounds pretty stupid, but also incredibly not-Yang.”

She would’ve cracked a smile at that, but the situation couldn’t be lightened up with some silly amusement.

“I thought the same and… that is why I want to ask you if...” She sighed. “If it would be fine for me to see if there are ulterior motivations that got her to behave like this.”

“I can tell from the way you worded it that you believe this is quite… worrisome. And I can see your point as I too think that something about this decision is plain strange. I really do,” The young man muttered lenghtily. “But I can’t help but say that it wouldn’t be right to ask her directly about it. While that theory sounds worth of some investigation, it can also be some silly attempt from Yang to try and succeed in a date without external help.”

“I just… what if you both get hurt with whatever is going on? What if the situation is much worse than that?”

“Then we should take a slow approach in finding the truth,” He replied with a calm tone. “I’m glad that you’re telling me this, Blake. I know it had to have been difficult to try and bring up this situation to me, but I really wouldn’t like if you went ahead and tried anything… too sudden. You know that acting before thinking in this kind of situation isn’t the best option you have.”

And she couldn’t exactly fault him for saying that. With the bad wagon still pending over her mind, Blake knew that she had plenty of reasons to not just dive into the issue and solve it through direct questioning.

Which is why, instead of pressing on about it, the girl kept quiet.

“But I will not stop you if you wish to still try,” Sid added with an uneasy tone.

“...What?” She blurted out suddenly, surprised by this new comment. “But- what if-”

“You asked me if I trust you, didn’t you?” The young man interrupted with a sigh. “And I know you’re not going to gung-ho the entire situation. I think, and I really hope this is the case, that you know the risks and can gauge if the situation is beyond intervention.”

“So I can try this-”

“But without my full support about it,” He reminded sternly. “I see your logic, I know you’re not going to mess things up because you’re aware of what might happen if you mess things up… but I still don’t like this. Not at all. And I’ve already told you why.”

“Still, I will give it a try,” The Belladonna rebuked quietly. “But- What if I’m wrong about it?”

“Then you face the consequences of your actions, Blake. I think we can both agree that Yang would’ve all the rights to be angry about it if you’re wrong and made this much of an issue about it,” The young man answered readily, but not as coldly as this sentence would demand much to the girl’s surprise and minor relief. “I can help you whenever it’s possible. I can help you with a talking buddy, maybe a sparring one to that, but I will not hold your hand if you’re going to take that kind of risks when dealing with other people. Especially if said risks might end up hurting someone we both care about.”

… “I suppose I will take that risk,” She pressed onward. “I know it sounds silly but- I know that this is important. And I will never forgive myself if I don’t act about it.”

She expected to be denigrated at that point. Trusting her instincts wasn’t certainly something that Sid would’ve approved about. Way too many troubles had been caused by her gut-feelings.

But, much to her surprise, the human merely snorted and chuckled.

“I suppose there’s no stopping you about it. Then go ahead and try,” Sid stated with a slightly happy tone. “But don’t come here and cry that you make a big chaotic mess that needs some cleaning because I will not help you with that.”

…

She sighed. “Then I will have to use your example and clean things up on my own.”

Yes, she will be ready for any eventuality.

She needed to.

For Yang, for Sid and… for that strange squeeze within her chest at the idea of facing Yang about this.

---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-d-----------

Things were set perfectly for what was going to be a thorough talk with Yang.

Blake was ready to face the brawler by the dorm room, thinking that the girl had to have been stuck by the bathroom by the moment she had reached their team’s room… only to find out that the place was unoccupied.

Ruby and Weiss were already sleeping soundly in their beds. But the blonde was nowhere in the room. Which was quite… strange.

Confusion started to rise in her mind at the lack of her partner, but then… she decided to wander around.

Clearly Yang wasn’t planning to sleep at the usual time for tonight. Which was fairly odd considering how devoted to her ‘beauty sleep’ the girl was.

This should’ve been taken as a sign for Blake to not try and have any conversations with the girl in that moment. Maybe there was a reason why the blonde was being late for that night.

Maybe she had forgotten to conclude some important homework and she was trying to get access to the library for the sake of getting it done already-

No, that very scenario was… absurd on itself. If Yang risked to flunk a test, it was either Weiss that hounded her to get it done before the end of daylight, or she would happily let the bad grade come her way with a ‘proud smile’.

The silly image was enough to make Blake snort in brief amusement as she finally walked out of the dorm room. At this time of the night, a large majority of people was already sleeping and… there were some teachers already patrolling the halls for any students sneaking around.

The Cat Faunus wasn’t worried about getting caught. Especially since she had long refined her former stealth, making it once more a valuable assets either during fights… or in these situations.

Wandering around the school, her frame disappeared easily in the shadows, rendering sight of her presence completely impossible for anyone without a source of light to use against her.

Humming quietly, her little stroll took her all over the main classrooms which Yang could’ve gone to.

Professor Port’s classroom looked to be empty as she stared by the doorstep, but there was a strange noise of something trying to get out of metallic restrictions. It wasn’t human, and the grunting just reminded her of a Boarbatusk.

Another live specimen? The portly professor sure had a thing against Grimm. A little more than what other Hunters were known for, at least.

Blake didn’t even try to see if the brawler had gone to Professor Oobleck’s classroom. The area was already hated by the blonde, and there was no reason from the girl to dare and visit it during nighttime.

The classroom assigned to Professor Peach looked to be devoid of life. Only various glass jars filled with jam or other liquids correlated to the flora native to Vale.

...Maybe she could steal some of the sap for- No. Resist the- urge!

She will think about doing it on a latter date, when things actually allow her to ‘borrow’ one of the jars for herself. She had a Yang to catch and… those blonde-maned creatures truly are of the elusive kind.

Despite how loud and annoying she could get, her partner sure had kept quiet about the fact she was sneaking around Beacon.

...Why did she have to do this tonight?!

Ignoring her urge to headbutt the brawler once she found her, Blake ventured inside the only place where Yang could’ve gone to.

Professor Goodwitch’s classroom was one of the largest rooms here at the school. Considering that it was the union of two rooms, one meant for theoretical lessons and one for practical ones, the spaciousness of the area was explained by the dual purpose it had.

Still, her suspicions proved correct when she heard the noise of someone punching around and… fighting against something?

Curiosity killed the cat, but Belladonna easily reminded herself that she was a Cat Faunus… with Cat-like reactions once or twice in a while. Approaching the epicenter of the loudness brought Blake before the most interesting of scenes.

Yang yelled, her entire face a bright red as she threw the umpteenth punch to nothing in particular in the air. The swinging move was sluggish, much slower than anything the blonde was normally capable of.

It was testament of the fact that the girl had been training for some time now. Who knows how long she had been there… and who knows if she knew how late it is right now.

But those questions were held back from being asked, with golden eyes staring silently and with a hint of curiousness at the fatigued state which her partner was right now.

Wearing a sleeveless orange shirt that barely reached down her midriff and a pair of short pants that were reached just a little below her knees, Yang’s clothes were the ones that she would usually wear when busy at Beacon’s gym room.

It was light compared to her usual clothes, and merely looking at her made Blake shiver in mental cold at how exposed she was at the chilling temperature. Aura can do so much for heat, and that much exposure was just begging to be bedridden with a fever.

But why was she here and why was she training at this late hour? What got her to forsake sleep for… this foolish effort?!

Instead of being granted an answer, the Faunus was given the chance to move closer as Yang took another right hook at the unfazed air and… promptly slipped and tripped to the ground. A soft thud dignified the end of her fall, but the lack of any attempt to get up revealed how much drained the blonde was.

A step, then two. The cat-girl walked closer to the tired blonde, stopping just as the brawler managed to turn around and stare up at the ceiling and… at her.

Lilac locked onto yellow. Panic surged in Yang’s mind and face, her body tensing up and trying to get off the floor. The latter reaction was a complete failure, with her muscles too stressed to genuinely stand up.

There was some silence, but Blake couldn’t say if it was an awkward one or a confused one.

“The weather is nice today, ain’t it?”

Stupid question to start a conversation, but it could’ve been worse.

“What are you doing?” The Cat Faunus inquired calmly. “It’s nighttime.”

The blonde’s eyes widened a little bit at that comment, and it looked like the girl was realizing this just now.

“Oh… so that’s why the lights went off.”

“You...” Blake restrained herself from face-palming at the degree of airheadness she was witnessing. “Yang, we need to talk.”

“Aren’t we already?” The brawler’s cheekiness was astonishing considering the current situation… but there wasn’t time to grow annoyed by it.

The Belladonna sighed. “It’s important. And I think you know what I’m talking about.”

… “Do I?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m quite disappointed you’ve not told me before,” The Faunus continued. “I trusted you, Yang.”

“L-Look, it’s- Can I at least be helped up? I really don’t want to be lying on the ground while we’re talking about this-”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have been training this much. Sadly, you’re stuck like this until you admit to the truth.”

“C-Come on, Blakey- there’s no way you’re leaving your partner yanging. Am I right?” A nervous chuckle followed.

Blake didn’t move at that, merely staring down at the blonde as she quickly sobered up.

“You ain’t joking-”

“Yang, I will tell the others if you don’t tell me the truth right now,” The dark-haired girl pressed on. “And at that point, things will be even more difficult for you.”

“I mean, it wouldn’t,” Yang replied with a frown. “Ruby knows. I think Weiss knows too by the fact that she was close enough to hear about what happened.”

...What was she talking about?

Maybe Blake did mess things up. Maybe this was something different than she planned to discover. But now that the situation was unraveling, there was no means to stop. And she was incredibly curious about what Yang was talking about.

“What did you do?”

Lilac eyes darted away from her feline ones.

“Do… Do you remember when you couldn’t find Gambol Shroud about three days ago?”

Of course the Faunus could. She remembered panicking so much when her weapon had disappeared from the dorm room.

Ruby had been the first one to be interrogated, mostly because the short girl was the only one with a reason to take Blake’s weapon because of her unhealthy attachments to guns.

Weiss was ignored as she herself was surprised by the happening, and Yang hadn’t been around when the odd situation had unfolding. ‘She is training’, Ruby had said back then.

“What-”

“I swear, I didn’t want to use it that way, but there was nothing else to do,” The blonde muttered. “There’s no plunger in the bathroom and-”

“No! NO! Don’t continue-”

“I’m sorry, but I had to use Gambol Shroud to unclog-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

Maybe Sid was correct in saying she shouldn’t be headbutting into problems. If that was the kind of madness she was supposed to suffer through all for the sake of getting the truth out of the brawler, then maybe the thing wasn’t truly worth that much.

“B-But-”

A diversion was nice, Blake needed one. The Faunus had a reason to press on, and she didn’t hesitate in diverting the attention elsewhere.

“I was talking about your relationship with that waiter- Sid?”

Yang merely nodded, still recoiling from the embarrassing confession she had offered.

“Okay, tell me the secret about that. The one you’re keeping from everyone else!”

…

“Oh, so you’re not mad that I-”

“I will administer a proper punishment once you tell me about this other subject,” Blake interrupted with a stern tone. “This one deserves more attention since you did something bad.”

At first Yang was confused by the strange derail, but she seemed to realize that she wasn’t going to avoid this very issue. And thus she sighed.

“I guess I can tell you since… I feel like I can trust you about it.”

Was that it? Was she finally going to say the truth- confirm that Blake was correct all along?!

Eagerness started to build up behind the Belladonna’s stern look as she prepared for the situation to go along the lines she had theorized.

“I might have lied to you about why I went after him,” Yang muttered with a serious tone. “I mean, part of me feel like I should still give it a try, especially since he’s a good kisser, polite- but then again I think he’s aiming at someone else.”

“What are you-”

“Blake, have you ever noticed how much he looks at you all the time we visit the Morning Sip?” The blonde interjected quickly. “How he smiles so kindly and… how you smile back with the same warmth?”

“Yang, that’s not-”

“You never smile like that when we’re at Beacon,” The brawler continued without hesitation. “You know, I kind of feel awed by how you two connect. A simple stare, and bam- you’re both looking dumb.”

There was much more than that ‘simple stare’. There was also the few weeks spent trying to make a strange situation work as normally as it could while also avoiding messing things up for both. It was an exercise that heightened their capacity to find common grounds against their common enemies.

But there was no mean for Blake to rebuke that situation without blurting out the rest of the situation.

It hadn’t passed long enough for her to genuinely show this much of a ‘legitimate’ bond with the young man… but then again it was difficult to not be honest around him. The strong trust they had for each other was proof of their genuine friendship.

“Yang, this is-”

“I’m kind of jealous,” The blonde spoke again, this time huffing. “He really seems like a fun guy. He’s a joker, and someone that can tank my puns without cursing my pretty name. He can throw good hooks and he doesn’t stare at much at my puppies.”

…

“But there’s something I saw from the second date onward. Something that just made the entire effort of seeing what kind of guy he was, and if he meant well with his stares quite difficult. Painful even,” Yang finally paused for a moment, her lilac eyes lazily staring up at the ceiling. “He’s really good. I think pops used to call those ‘keepers’. The kind of guys you really want to have around your life until the very end.”

“We’re not going to date,” Blake finally rebuked.

“And why not? You both seem to hit it off without much of an issue. Plus, I heard he got a big flat you can just hole yourself into when you’re in Vale.”

The Cat Faunus had to flinch at that ‘suggestion’. If only Yang knew how close she was to the truth with these words…

“Yang, why did you do this? Why?”

Blake had to know now. Something just felt so wrong about the twist things were taking.

“You’re angry at me anyway, so why would it matter if you know my reasons or not?”

“Because I know you’re smarter than this,” The Belladonna pressed a little more. “And I know you’re interested in him.”

“He’s a good kisser. He will make you twirl with his jokes and...”

“And you’re a moron,” Blake finally muttered, drawing Yang’s lilac eyes back at her. “You- I- We shouldn’t be lying about this. I know you’re better than this, Yang. I know that there’s more to it than you’re letting out.”

“What if I’m just dumber than I look?” The brawler exclaimed in an annoyed tone. “I tend to punch all problems, may those be emotional or material by their mug. I’m not going to land a proper relationship like this, just… not when you’ve higher chances of dating him.”

…

Blake sighed, finally starting to realize where the discussion was going and… she wasn’t liking nay of that.

Seriously, why was love this complicated- and why everyone was trying to place both Blake and Sid together!

Truly a dreadful situation… but one that had a particularly interesting solution to it. Right now Yang had no reason to turn angry if Blake decided to actually tell the truth about the relationship between her and Sid.

Telling her now? She wasn’t sure it would’ve done well to them both.

Tomorrow was Saturday and… maybe the Cat Faunus had a devious, stupid, and incredibly suicidal idea. Especially since it could easily end up with a certain young man getting furious and… getting mauled by an even angrier Yang.

“Yang, I… I’m glad that you told me this,” The dark-haired girl started with a genuinely calm tone. “I know it’s… a big burden to not tell to anyone else but… I think I want to continue to talk about this tomorrow. I know a place where nobody can disturb us.”

The blonde offered a slow nervous nod. “I guess we can talk about it in private.”

“It’s quite private. Nobody will disturb us.”

The brawler easily accepted the little offer, relief finally washing over her tired body and… Blake started to walk away from the room.

Panic swelled within Yang’s chest, and her eyes widened in panic.

“W-Wait, Blakey. You’re forgetting about-”

“Oh, I’m not forgetting,” The Cat Faunus interjected with a hint of smug and vindictiveness. “But I just decided that the best way for you to pay for your heinous crime is to have a good rest here in this room.”

“N-No, wait- I could freeze up and die here if-”

“You got plenty of Aura left, and I know that you can still activate your Semblance to keep yourself warm.”

Good reasons to keep her stuck in there, but the brawler hardly looked endeared by the prospect of sleeping in that cold floor. While her body was mostly fine in enduring that kind of unfair punishment, the same couldn’t be said for her hair.

But while she was ready to whine even more about it, she soon found herself once again alone in that room.

She closed her eyes, and she took a moment to breathe and think.

Next time, I should use Myrtenaster for that kind of job.