Guardian

Chapter Thirty-Two

Yang stared back at Blake, her water bottle halfway to her lips. "How much of that did you hear?"

"I couldn't hear what Ruby was saying but I heard a good portion of what you had said," Blake approached her cautiously. "Yang you've never f-"

"Don't!" Yang's voice broke and she turned to face the punching bag again. "How can you look back at what happened and say I didn't fail you?"

"You did nothing wrong that night, Yang, I was the one who ran from you."

"Because of something I did!"

"You were doing your job, Yang. My father gave you an order and you followed it against your own feelings. I was the one who put myself in danger and you," Blake cleared the distance between them and gently leaned forward, placing her forehead between Yang's shoulder blades and wrapped her arms around her, "you saved me."

Yang's chest tightened as she clung to Blake's hands at her stomach. "But I didn't. The only reason we made it out of there was because of my mother."

"We made it out of there because you found me. If you didn't then who knows what he would have done to me."

Yang tightened her grip on Blake's hand. "I don't even want to think about what that asshole had planned," she turned around to face Blake and buried her face in her hair, right between her feline ears. "I can't have you go Blake. I can't promise to protect you if you do."

"You can't promise to protect me if I stay either."

"I trust Ilia enough to keep you safe while I'm gone."

"You don't even have a plan to fight him! You could be walking right into a trap for all you know."

"I doubt it's a trap, his pride is to wounded for him to come up with one right now."

"Yang, please," Blake sniffed as her eyes started to get misty, her emotions finally making their way to the surface, "please don't make me sit here without your. We haven't been apart since my father hired you as my bodyguard."

"So some time apart from me would probably do you good then," Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "I know I can be a bit much sometimes."

Blake groaned in annoyance and grabbed her by the wrists, slowly pushing her back toward the wall as she spoke. "Listen to me Yang Xiao Long!" Yang gasped as her back pressed against the cold cement of the basement walls. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to distance yourself before you go after him, you think it would be easier or safer for me but it won't be! You don't get to do that. You don't get to come into my life and make me fall so in love with you that I don't know where I end and you begin and then run off on what could be a suicide mission! Do you even understand that loosing you would destroy me?"

Hot tears fell downs Yang's face. She could break out of Blake's grasp easily, both of them knew it, but instead she let Blake keep her hold on her, nails digging into her skin like she was some sort of lifeline and placed her forehead against hers. Neither spoke for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually Blake's grip loosened and Yang cupped her face in her, now free, hands.

"Blake," she said her name tenderly, "you are everything to me. What he did to you...I can't sit back and risk it happening again but-"

"What he did to me?" Blake couldn't hide the hysterical laugh that erupted from her. She turned Yang's metal prosthetic over in her hand a few times. "You think I want to risk you getting hurt for me again?"

"It's literally my job to get hurt for you," Yang intertwined their fingers to keep Blake from fidgeting. "But you didn't let me finish. I can't sit back and risk it happening again but, I know I can't stop you from following me either. I stand a better chance of protecting you if I actually know you're there and can plan accordingly."

"So that means...?"

"Yes," Yang reluctantly confirmed, "you can come with me but you have to promise me that if I tell you to leave then you will get out of there."

She stood on her toes and gave Yang a quick peck. "I promise."

"Are you two done fighting now?"

They looked at the stairs and found Ilia leaning against the entryway to the basement, half of a granola bar in her hand as she eyed them knowingly.

"We weren't fighting," Yang mumbled. "It was just a disagreement."

"Was a pretty loud disagreement. Some of the other guard asked me if you two were okay. What sould I tell them?"

"Tell them that, starting tomorrow, Yang and I will be training in the arena and we might ask for their assistance," Blake smirked.

"You're gonna use 'em as attack dummies aren't you?" Ilia groaned. "Blake I need them intact to do their jobs!"

"Who else are we going to practice with? Weiss and Ruby left on another job and so did Jaune and his team."

Yang placed a hand on Blake's shoulder to get her attention. "We don't need the guards or my sister. We would just hold back on them anyway. I have another idea."

"You have that smile I love," Blake ginned. "Full of mischief. What's your plan?"

"Your father said I could take you on a few jobs. We don't need to hold back against Grimm and any criminals we catch just need to be brought in alive."

"It's not a bad idea really," Ilia tapped her lips as she thought. "It's going to take a while for Adam to nurse his wounded pride so he likely won't make any moves in the near future but I think I know someone who can help us keep tabs on him while you two are stepping up your game."

"Who?" Blake and Yang asked in unison.

"Someone who's just as mad about his antics as we are. He betrayed her trust too, and she wants to see him brought to justice as well."

Yang's eyes lit up as she caught on. "Do you have a way of getting into contact with her?"

"No. She doesn't exactly want just anyone to be able to get ahold of her. But we both know someone who can get her attention."

Yang had her phone out before Ilia was finished. "Already on it."

Blake looked between them. "I'm still incredibly confused as to who you guys are talking about? Who's 'she'? Why are we contacting her?"

Before Yang could answer the person on the other end picked up. Ghira's voice was mixed with sleep and concern. "Yang? Is everything okay? Did something happen? Is Blake alright?"

"She's fine Ghira," Yang assured him. "Actually I need a favor. We found Adam. He's holed up somewhere, likely won't be bothering us for a bit, so we figured we would take the fight to him."

"I can be on the first ship back in the morning."

"No no no!" Yang coughed to hide the chuckle that threatened to burst from her at his quick and eager response. "That isn't the favor I need."

He seemed to relax. "What is it you need then? You know we will help however we can."

"We need some help from someone who also isn't exactly Adam Taurus's biggest fan."

"That's a long list, you'll need to be more specific."

"Do you think you could set us up a meeting with Sienna Khan?"

A/N: I hope you guys wanted more Sienna! Sorry this chapter is so short in comparison to the others but from now on the chapters will likely vary in size depending on what I am able to make time for. As always I thank you all for your continued support of Guardian and of me! I have so many writing projects going on that it is a relief to see you guys continue to love this fic despite it's hectic upload schedule. I send you all my love and appreciation!