XX53

"What?"

"My mother. Delivery me to her." Yang spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child, but I believe my confusion with the subject was justified.

"You want me… to treat you like cargo… and deliver you to your mother?"

"Yes." Probably the only time Yang was okay with being objectified.

"I don't… I can't do that." Probably.

"Why not?" Yang had her hands on her hips as she stared holes into my mask.

"We're not bodyguards. Why do you even need one? You're a Huntress, you should be plenty capable of protecting yourself." I said, turning and waving her off as I began to continue my walk to the airships.

"Wait! Don't walk away from me!"

"Why not? What you're asking me to do isn't right or my job. I'm not a bodyguard and I'm definitely not a mercenary."

"Oh, whatever! You're just a glorified mercenary who delivers packages!"

"You suck at asking for help, ya know that?"

"Yeah! So what?!" Yang's voice raised a pitch as she screamed, causing me to look over my shoulder to see the girl who had been storming after me, now standing still shoulders shaking as she glared at me, "I can't search an entire continent for one woman! I need help! Experienced help! I don't want to drag my team and my friends into some forest a continent away because of my hang ups!"

I turned as her fists twisted, her head hung now as we stood alone in the airship bay. The afternoon sun hung high, baking the pavement in addition to us. Yang's breaths were shaky, she slowly raised her head, I could see that her eyes were almost watering, "Please? I heard what you did to Pyrrha… I need help. Good help…"

I sighed, tapping a finger on my mask, "A continent?"

"She's… she's on Anima."

"Anima?" Home of Mistral… not the size of Sanus, the continent where Vale and Vaccuo were established; which was also where eighty-five percent of his work was done. Anima would be mostly new ground, he'd only done a handful of jobs on the continent.

"I know it's a long way and a lot of work but I'd pay you accordingly."

"How would you pay me, Schoolgirl?"

"I- I get paid for the bounties I work! And I have a part time job in Vale…" Yang was bashful, an odd look on her. It was odd to see her on the defensive and backpedaling.

"Sixteen thousand lien."

"What?!"

"Take it or leave it, Xiao Long." I smirked under the mask, pleased with myself, no way she had the kind of change laying around, even with bounties and part time that was an insane price. It was the equivalent to a new car.

"Fine."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'll pay it." Yang dug out her scroll, "What's your account number?"

I rattled the numbers off in disbelief, I didn't want to be rude to her and outright deny her or shut her down but this was crazy. Absolutely nuts. A single person in the entirety of a continent. It wouldn't be a delivery, it'd be a hunt. My attention was drawn to my Scroll as it went off in my pocket, sixteen thousand lien, I stared at the screen in disbelief. Then sighed, sliding the Scroll into my pocket.

"You want this… don't you?"

"My entire life… I never knew my biological mom. I need to see her, I need to know why she left." Yang admitted, kicking the dirt as she spoke.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck, I could still reject it. Send the money back and tell her to shove off… but I let my emotions do that thing where they overrule logic and closed my eyes beneath the mask, "I'll be back in a week. Be here and be ready for a hike."

I never put too much faith in the Twins. Not as a kid and not as a Beacon student. Even less so as a nineteen year old Courier. I'd seen too much evil go unpunished, too much good go unrewarded, watched good be wiped clean from lands and evil flourish in its place and in others as well.

Sunday. Day of the Twins. Day of Salvation and Retribution. Day before I took Yang halfway across the world to find some woman who didn't want her from the jump. Day before I descended into the wilds of Anima for a job that was barely on books for someone who barely even spoke to me when I lived ten feet away from her.

"Why on Remnant are you so fucking glum?" Coal asked, her white ponytail bouncing as she plopped down on the couch next to me.

"I'm gonna do something dumb." I confessed as her porcelain legs draped across my lap

"What the hell else is new?" She asked as she began to play around on her scroll.

"Like… this is so dumb."

"What we do usually is. Don't sweat it, just handle it one thing at a time. One step. One mile. One body. One Grimm. One job." Coal's voice rolled unenthusiastically but filled with grim truth near the end.

"Truly wise… Bianca."

"Ooh, using my real name. You on death's door?"

"Might be."

"Let's hope not. I'd like it if you could help me get laid before I die. Frost is such an older brother… all the time…" Coal's laugh was dry.

"What? Joker and Recorder can't offer help?"

"Those two are too busy fucking like rabbits to help me get some." Her laugh this time was filled with bass and heart.

"Right. Wonder what that's like."

"I imagine not too different than doing it yourself."

"Just wetter and with more limbs and skin?" I asked and Coal burst into giggles.

"Probably."

"You're such a bro, Coal."

"Woooow, what every young woman who already hates her boyish figure wants to hear." Coal mused sarcastically.

We laid on the couch as the late morning sun stretched across the living room through the massive loft windows, Coal eventually settled her head in my lap; tapping away in her scroll and occasionally showing me a funny picture. It was a nice morning. A relaxed morning. A rare thing most days.

"Ya know, if I had never become a Courier and I met you on the street. I'd probably be into you." I admitted.

"Same."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're tall, lean, funny, kind, not lacking below the belt."

"What?!"

"We've lived together for two years. I've seen you getting out of the shower… and watched you get dressed…"

"Why?!"

"Interest. Curiosity. You're hot."

"Your candor is worrying."

"Good. I like to keep people on their toes."

"And now I'm gonna have a complex about my bedroom door being closed."

"Cute how you think it was the bedroom door."

It was, she was just fucking with me. For a second I thought she may have put all hole in the wall. The cheeky little brat.

"Do you think I should do this?"

"This Anima job?"

I nodded.

"Shit I don't know, I'm not educated. I think it's crazy that you've done so much and come so far away from Beacon just to be linked with it within six hours of you being there."

"It was at least twelve."

"Same fucking difference, Jaune!" The petite girl bolted up, no longer using my lap as a pillow and suddenly staring at me with intense blue eyes as she knelt on the couch, "You were there for a stunningly short amount of time before you just decided to start giving out your identity like candy on Hallow's Eve."

"Maybe some suggestions instead of criticism?" I was backpedaling hard, she was right. I'd slipped up. I'd let my emotions get the better of me.

"Distance. Distance. Distance! She is not Yang, your old school acquaintance. She's Miss Xiao Long, the client who is paying you to drag her to the middle of Anima because she thinks it'll help her mommy issues because apparently she's never heard of therapy."

"Harsh…"

"So what? She's a customer, she never has to know. Satisfy her, get paid, then come home to us."

"I should dehumanize her? Treat her like cargo?"

"Just like she wants and once this is done, you can move on with your life. Got it?" Coal had grabbed the back of my neck, forcing me to not look away as her eyes bore into mine.

"Yeah, I got it." I steeled my voice, though it was hard.

"Good." Coal leaned forward, her lips brushing my cheek before she withdrew, "I don't want you to do anything dumb and get yourself killed, you're the closest thing to family I have besides Frost. I know he feels the same and Joker and Recorder love you too, you'll probably be Joker's best man when they probably get married."

I smiled at the idea of all of that, "Okay."

Coal laughed before patting my head, "Good boy."

I sent the message three days later, going back on what I had said and sending Yang an address for a skyship port in Vale telling her to meet me there in four days. After an affirmation, I spent the next couple of days running errands. Vale, unsurprisingly, doesn't have a military surplus store so I had to go to one of the scarce camping and sporting goods stores. Funnily enough, people don't wanna go camping when sorrow devouring creatures of darkness are prowling the campgrounds. But, I managed to get the supplies I wanted. A larger backpack, sleeping bag, meal bars, M.R.Es, a camping shovel, an extra knife, flint and steel and canteen.

I really hoped I didn't forget anything.

I forgot something I definitely needed.

Days dragged, like calm before the storm that you could spot on the horizon. A blonde storm with ample chest and amethyst eyes that left destruction in her wake. On the day, I would be lying if I said I was excited. I wasn't. I regretted this. I should've passed this off on someone else; anyone else. I was sitting on a bench outside the airship depot, mask on and spinning a small knife between my fingers.

Families passed, probably going to visit family or friends across the sea. Kids stared and parents pulled them along, reprimanding them as much as you could punish a child's natural curiosity in a stranger in a mask. I was early, mostly just jitters, the flying was probably going to destroy me; I had my medicine but it's effectiveness waned or even diminished on airships and Bullheads.

"Rogue!"

I was yanked from my thoughts at the voice I'd been dreading. I stood and stowed the knife on my belt as Yang, a cocky smile, not quite a smirk, on her face as she approached, "Ready?"

I scanned her. She was dressed fairly normally, the only addition from her normal outfit being a brown and yellow knapsack slung across her back, "Are you?"

She breathed deep, "As I'll ever be."

I spun, motioning her to follow, "Then let's go."

We moved quickly, purchasing our tickets and boarding the airship, people moving to clear a path and gawking in my wake. Yang was clearly not as used to the mass of attention as I was. We sat across from each other. She opened her mouth once or twice to speak but stopped each time, her voice dying in her throat. I spoke, "Something to say, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Is it always like this?"

"No." I rested my head against my hand and the window, "Sometimes I'm alone. Or I don't have the mask on. But when I'm on the clock and want to be seen? Yeah…"

"Must get annoying."

"You know that as well as anyone." I put forward.

"Oh? How so?"

The captain's voice rang over the ship, greeting the passengers and telling them about the coming flight.

"You're a gorgeous young lady. Spite and jealousy from other women and lust from men is probably a normal part of your day." I let my eyes wander across the ships docking bay, watching as people rushed back and forth; supplying the ship with dust and loading people's luggage into the cargo hold.

"You're not entirely wrong. I rarely leave Beacon and everyone there knows I'm not down with those games and when I do, people tend to look away as soon as I give them a pissed off look." Yang laughed at the last bit, probably finding joy in setting snooty girls and horny boys in their place.

"I can't exactly do that." I tapped the eye plate over my right eye, humor in my voice.

"Unfortunate, you're probably pretty cute underneath that mask."

"Unfortunately, you'll never know." I spoke, cold steel making up my voice. I could be cordial, but I wasn't going to even let her think about learning anything about me.

"Geez, don't bite my head off." Yang said, raising her hands in surrender.

I leaned back in my seat, drowning out the practiced words of the captain and Yang's eyes flickered around, watching other passengers filter past, watching the ground team loading baggage and cargo into the hold below, "I've never left Vale before. I've only ever been on Airship rides to Patch."

"So you're nervous?"

"A bit."

"Don't worry it'll be fine."

It very much was not.

AN: Hey, eight months is better than one year right??? Right??? Yeahhhh, times are weird right now. We're all stuck inside, I don't have a job, I'm sure most of you can't go to class or work but try to stay positive and try to find ways to stay active and undepressed, I've been watching Haikyuu, Demon Slayer and old Critical Role streams while also working out, so stay safe and try to enjoy the time as much as possible. Have a great day guys.