Lost and Found Alive

8

Maybe Junior will have a clue in which direction to look for Blake. He knows basically everything about this city. I hopped on Bumblebee and drove off towards his bar on the shady side of town. Literally took me a half hour to get from home to the club. As I arrived, a girl with a denim hoodie jacket and dark shaded sunglasses exited the building. She seemed rather familiar but I don't know why. I shrugged off the weird feeling and walked in through the front door. Junior's goons freaked out yet again upon seeing me. "Don't even think about it," I threatened. They eventually ran off and I walked over to the bar where Junior was currently. He was cleaning some glasses. Then he took notice to my presence.

"Blondie? I thought you were dead," he gasped. I shook my head.

"Nope. Faked it due to a mission I was assigned," I explained. "Anyways, down to business." Junior was a little confused. He put down the towel and glass he was currently drying.

"What business?" He raised an eyebrow at me in suspicion. I took out my scroll, pulling up a picture of Blake.

"Have you seen her at all Junior?" He looked at the picture.

"No, I haven't." He only took a glance at the picture! How would he even know if he did or didn't if he take a good look at the picture?!

"Look again," I said in a demanding tone. He sighed and looked again, long and hard.

"Nope, still haven't seen her. Why is it so important for you to find this girl," he asked. I grumbled.

"She's a friend. She's been missing for several months now and we don't know if she's okay or not," I said.

"Well, I wish you luck Blondie on your search. I'll keep an ear out just in case," the man said. He seemed almost sympathetic which is unheard of coming from Junior.

"Thanks Junior," I said, starting to walk off. He didn't say another word. So I made my way for the door. I heaved out a heavy sigh as I walked over to my bike. "Why is it so hard to find her? Where are you Blake Belladonna?"

*      *      *

I finished practicing around two. I had to be here around five, so I had some time to spare. "Great job Blake. I look forward to your performance tonight," Junior said with a friendly smile.

"Thanks Junior," I replied. Then I thought of something. "Junior, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"There's someone looking for me. You might remember her, Yang Xiao Long. If she comes around asking you if you've seen me, tell her that you haven't. It's important that she doesn't find me," I said in a serious tone.

"I understand Blake. Anything for a brilliant employee. But I thought she was dead."

"She made us believe that she was dead. It was because of a mission she was assigned to that it was crucial to keep my team back at Beacon out of the way of interfering."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, I'll see you around five."

"See ya." Then I left the club and headed home. I sighed with relief. Thank god Junior is a man who understands and doesn't ask a lot of questions. I actually enjoyed working for him. It was nice and I was able to stay under the radar for the most part.

With Yang getting a bit too close, I needed to have him lie for me. I can't have her finding me. After seeing her alive at graduation, everything came flying back, hitting me like a ton of bricks. It was just too much for me to take in all at once. That's why I decided to go on my own, taking my own path. I knew that Weiss and Ruby would ask Yang to join us at some point. Knowing that was a possibility, I couldn't stay. The pain I felt, the guilt I burdened myself with, too much would cause that to resurface if I stayed. I wanted to stay, I really did. Weiss and Ruby did so much for me. Just seeing Yang again, I just couldn't.

Knowing Yang was alive was enough to throw me over the edge. I couldn't be near her or the others. It was just too much to handle. I would've felt like I was suffocating. That was something I had to avoid by all means. I needed to take control of my own life. By leaving, I was able to free myself from the pain that I would've experienced if I had stayed. I still have the gift Yang gave me that was delivered by Ruby. It was a ring, a black diamond ring with a gold band. Bumblebee. That was the significance to the coloring. I never wore it. I kept it in the back of my top drawer in its little box. Wearing it was something I couldn't do. Although I still wear the scrap of orange fabric that was once part of Yang's scarf from so many years ago.

I'm proud of what I've become. I've made myself a life now. Even though I trained to become a huntress, I like how my life has turned out.