Smile Again, Please : A Yang Xiao Long Story!

Chapter 7 : The Possession

WARNING : Self-Harm Mentioned. Reader Discretion is advised

Several charred grim later, Raiden and Yang both were on patrol around a very large perimeter of the house. Approximately three miles away, on Raiden's left, was Tai's cabin. Although three a three mile radius from the house seemed large, it also gave time in case of emergency. The three miles would have to be traversed, allowing Tai and whoever else to escape with extra time. Due to the recent attack, Tai wanted to take no chances.

"Rai?" Yang suddenly spoke from behind him. Raiden stopped and turned to her.

"Yes?" He replied, his eyes having turned blue after the use of his semblance earlier.

"How's your arm?" She asked attentatively. Earlier, in the battle with the Grimm in which Darius' life was saved, Raiden's right arm had been slashed by a large ursa.

"It's fine. I don't want Erin to user her semblance again." Raiden replied before glancing at his bandaged arm. Yang had seen the blood flowing from his arm earlier, the ripped flesh and the slashed skin. The bone practically poking out of his reddened meat.

"Are you sure?" Yang asked before walking up next to him. Raiden nodded before returning to the patrol route, his sharp blue eyes darting in every direction possible. Yang was about to follow him when she suddenly had the urge to gaze into the dark sky. The familiar galaxy spreading for an endless measurement astonished her, and for a moment everything she saw was..... red?

Raiden suddenly whipped around, his blue eyes catching sight of the red energy enveloping Yang. The energy suddenly transformed into a red tornado, however the winds it produced were minimal at best. The trees stubbornly held their place, only the branches and leaves succumbing to the gentle yet violent push the red aura gave off. Yang was being possessed.

Raiden suddenly looked at Yang's eyes, as they were wide open and glaring angrily at him. Her eyes, much like when her semblance was active, had turned red. Only now, her hair had also retained the color red. She held a wicked smile on her face as the energy around her intensified, sending powerful waves of energy in all directions. The intensified energy also produced a violent and almost real killing intent. Then, Yang began to speak. Only Yang's voice was not the one that came through.

"It is quite good to see you again, Raiden." Raiden's eyes widened as he suddenly knew. The vicious red aura, the killing intent, the red eyes and hair.

"Cynthia." Raiden breathed before his left hand curled into a fist.

"Of course. Who else would it be?" Cynthia replied. She made Yang stop smiling as she examined her new arms, then her legs.

"Very nice. It seems I've picked the perfect host." Cynthia spoke again.

"What the hell do you want?" Raiden asked, attempting to control his anger.

"What do I want? What I want is revenge for you leaving me in Vacuo. Your job is to help others like me, and yet you abandoned me." Cynthia said before launching a small shockwave of energy around her, causing the surrounding trees to surrender and bend away from her. Raiden, however, stood as still as a rock.

"I saw you disappear." Raiden stated as blue electricity suddenly swarmed around him.

"Sometimes, what you see isn't always what happened." Cynthia replied before beginning to float Yang's body upwards. Raiden grunted in anger before throwing something into the air. Seconds later, a flare exploded in the sky and fell back towards the Earth, a signal that Tai had instructed for him to use if he ever needed assistance. Instantly, a red portal opened up and Raven Branwen stepped through, the familiar Grimm-like mask blocking her facial features.

"It seems you require help." Raven said as she drew her sword. The possessed Yang suddenly caused an blinding light of red energy around her, forcing Raiden and Raven to cover their eyes.

When the light faded, Yang's body was nowhere to be seen.

---

"Explain." Tai said, angrily. Raiden and Raven had used Raven's semblance to return to the cabin earlier, sitting Raiden down and handing him more numbing medicine.

"Cynthia is a spirit I tried to help in Vacuo. Her husband was killed in front of her years ago, so she..... hung herself. All she wanted was to find reunite with her husband, but I couldn't find him. So I took her to the place her husband was killed and there, she disappeared in front of me." Raiden said as he tipped his head back and drank a cup of water.

"So why is she back now?" Tai asked.

"Spirits exist in this world because they don't want to leave yet. They believe that they still have a purpose. Once I either accomplish this for them or have them witness that they are no longer needed, they pass on to the next world." Raiden explained.

"What happened to Yang is a lot like what happens to me when I allow a spirit to take over my body. The blinding display of energy, the change of eye color. This time, however, it's.... different." Tai suddenly stood up.

"How so?" He asked.

"Spirits can't control a human's body. It's too hard to control someone else's movements when you're used to your own. There's rare cases, but Yang and Cynthia are completely different. Yang is taller, her arms and legs are longer, she's blonde while Cynthia has brown hair." Raiden shook his head. Tai began pacing the room, his hand attached to his chin as he impatiently attempted to calm himself.

"I can only think of one thing that might have caused this to happen." Tai suddenly snapped around towards Raiden.

"And that is!?"

"Cynthia has become a demon."

---

Raiden gently pushed several branches out of his way, the branches acting as a natural gateway for the view in front of him. Several meters ahead, the ground he stood on fell down and created a cliff, a lake being created by the waterfall to his left. This was the location, the only spot in the entire forest that Yang's body would unconsciously head towards.

Her favorite spot, called Stargazer's Cliff. The same cliff she had last seen Summer Rose at. As he walked from the cover of the trees, his words from before echoed in his mind.

"Demons come from angered spirits. However, an angered spirit can be calmed very easily. Once they are calmed, I can send them to the next world. However, if they continue to be absorbed by their anger, they become much more powerful and much less reasonable. The result is a demon. Unlike angered spirits, demons won't stop until... "

"Until what?" Raven asked.

"Until someone  else feels their pain." Raiden stated."She thinks I left her in Vacuo, which means she wants me to die." Raven walked in front of him, blocking the path to the door.

"Are you saying that she's going to kill Yang?"  Tai asked with a serious tone. Raiden nodded his head.

"There's only one way to ensure Yang lives." Raiden declared as he drew his sword in front of Raven and Tai.

"We fight and I die in her place."  He said as Erin healed his arm without his consent.

---

Raiden's sword was in his right hand, the serrated edge practically glistening in the moonlight. Ahead of him stood Yang, possessed by Cynthia. She smiled wickedly again as she spotted Raiden.

"Any last words?" Cynthia asked.

"Just five more after this: Are you ready to die?" Raiden replied as blue electricity suddenly swarmed around him again.