Note: Based off the movie Fight Club. So this is not the fluff you are looking for. Enjoy.
Pale, delicate fist that were heavy like steel pounded into raw flesh, shattering teeth and drawing blood from a cut under the unfortunate man's eye, his head dropping to the concrete he laid on. Opening his eyes to catch a glimpse of the feet walking and dancing around him, his head was lifted by his brown hair, only to be met with another fist. More of his blood and spit landed somewhere near his face. Sweaty, bruised, tired, and wishing to end his match quickly before another brutal blow, the man quickly lifted his right arm and tapped on the arm holding him down three times. The tall figure dressed into nothing but a sports bra and black shorts straddling him smiled before standing to her feet, relieving her toned body with curves a stock car driver could drift on for days.
With blond hair dripping wet from sweat, glistering over her entire body, she threw up both hands into the air as the crowd surrounding her cheered. They roared with so much joy their collective voices crackled like thunder. Yang Xiao Long was in her element, happy as she drew out as much praises as she could get from the audience, before clearing the figurative ring she previously boxed in to allow another pair to square off. 'A good night's sleep' Yang thought as she strolled over to an unoccupied bench to rest. Tonight, when Yang returns to her bed in the dorm room she shared with her team, she'd be having a good night's sleep.
A better night's sleep than she had been previously having.
Yang wanted to sleep. Exhaustion from classes, team building exercises, and a small extermination mission were wearing down on the busty boxer, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep tonight. To be blissful wrapped in blankets or spread across her bed in untangled limbs. Every night Yang looked forward to a hot shower and her double twin sized top bunk. Every night, the blond bruiser looked forward to her black haired Faunus partner's soothing declaration of "lights out" before listening to her teammates settle into their sheets to assist her in drifting off to peaceful slumber.
Except there was problem; she couldn't sleep. No matter how much she tried, Yang could keep her eyes closed for more than five minutes at a time. No noise or distractions, no pains her aura could not handle, little stress, and no nightmares, so Yang should have been sleeping soundly tonight. Her snores should have been ringing like a buzz saw through a giant oak tree. But tonight, like she has for the last few weeks, Yang laid awake in her bed, clutching the covers that were usually draped over her feet and hanging from the side of her bunk.
'Why am I not sleeping?' Tossing pillows over her body and resting her head on the mattress Yang could only stare at her peacefully sleeping sister across from her as she searched for a comfortable position. She was tired, beyond tired yet whenever she closed her eyes she could feel her muscles restless with excitement and her mind refusing to shut down. 'Not comfortable.'
Tossing on her opposite side to face the brown colored walls of the shared dorm Yang could now only focus on the sounds of a small analog clock sitting in the middle of the room's bookshelf ticking away. Yang was being robbed of her joy and comfort, arguably her second favorite pastime after cracking jaws and breaking the limbs of Grimm. For the twenty-third night in a row Yang laid in her bed exhausted but unable to recharge, gathering a cumulative hour and half worth of rest before the sunlight indicative of a new day bore through the window curtains. 'I need to do something about this.'
"I can't sleep."
"Hmm, really?"
"Really; I need help." The first course of action for the little sun dragon was to look up her cause of discomfort. After searching and finding a name for her ailment Yang immediately went to trying some solutions; but all fell short of allowing her to find sleep. Next step, seek the advice of a professional, the reason for today's visit to Beacon infirmary.
The doctor didn't respond right away. Holding an open beige file folder in his hand the older man thumbed through a thin stack of papers. Setting it aside he unlocked his scroll and began tapping away at the screen. "Well, have you tried sleeping pills or –"
"I've tried everything I could to get to sleep. But there's only so much I can do", Yang answered somberly, waving her hand dismissively at his question.
The doctor paused in his speech and raised his eyebrow to a questioning stare. Yang only responded by shaking her head. He had no reason to doubt the young woman. As students of Beacon they had access to plethora of resources but he knew with the stresses of fighting the forces of darkness, whatever Yang did wouldn't help. But her condition would last long. "Hmm, well insomnia would only last a few weeks, three to four weeks tops. You don't have any health problems so—"
"I'm going on week six", was her monotone reply. "This shit insomnia is chronic."
The physician furrowed his brow before taking another glance at Yang's record. 'She has been her before to see another doctor two weeks ago.'
The physician must have said his thoughts out loud as he received a threatening tone from the girl in gold. "No shit Sherlock. I just told you—"
"It is stress related," he interrupted, pulling a pen a notepad out from his desk. "The best I can suggest is behavioral changes to encourage better sleeping habits and supplements." The doctor scratched his pen near his hairline on his forehead, earning a tongue click from Yang. "We can monitor you and if the problem persists we'll take extreme measures to cure what ails you."
Yang's right eye twitched. She could feel her anger rising from this doctor's incompetence as he ruffled his brown hair. "Look man. I need more than that. I can't get to sleep at night. I've tired naps during the day, reading before bed, I've changed my diet, stopped evening workouts before bed; nothing works. And it's affecting my work. I'm falling behind in my non-combat courses, it's becoming harder for me to keep a top rank in my combat class, and I'm putting my team in danger on each mission and class assignment we are sent on. I really need you to do more than give me supplements. I'm in a lot of pain."
The doctor took a hard glare at the young woman before him. "Pain; you think a few night of lost sleep is pain?" The physician leaned forward in his seat. "You don't know pain until you've come back from a death match with a Death Stalker, your prize being a broken leg and a missing eye. You don't know pain until a stuffy, old doctor, who has had too many drinks on a Monday morning, tells you that you have testicular cancer." Yang was stunned silent as she examined the man's face finally noticing the black eye patch covering his left eye, his speech an honest confession of past trauma.
"Here", the doctor spat shoving two slips of paper in her hand. "Take two days off from all activities. Get your medicine from the nurse up front. Until further notice you are not to participate in any missions and will have limited field assignments." Waving his hand towards the door Yang stood to slowly shuffled to the front, but not without a final comment from the angry doctor.
"Soft, full golden hair, a pretty smile, abs of steel, and curves any woman would kill for; you want to see pain? Go to the Vale Cultural Center on Wednesday evenings and talk to the women who meet there," he paused and took an un-shameful but disinterested glance the chest he felt his patient flaunted, "who have breast cancer. You'll know pain then."
Yang didn't know why she took the physician's suggestion to heart. Maybe it was because she had been over dramatizing her situation, that she failed to see other's pain and needed a reality check. Maybe going to see those who were less fortunate for her was healing for Yang herself, knowing that despite her lack of sleep she was most fortunate to still have her gauntlets, beautiful mane, and a lifetime ahead of her. Or it could have been because for the third time in her life, she had the opportunity to get laid.
Terrible, she knew it; taking advantage of some young woman's short time to live to fulfill a dirty desire she had been deprived of since the few months prior to coming to Beacon. These women who were crowding around a small stage in metal foldout chairs rusted in the joint; these women who were sick and likely to die at any time because they weren't educated about early detection and prevention that could have made them survivors, all the money in the world unable to buy them a cure. Yang was that malicious jackass who wasn't easy, not like people assumed, but more than willing to accept a chance to go out for a drink with one of those lucky survivors, the twinkling in eyes a sure sign that her date expected more than a simple girls night out.
Yang knew this was her fault and couldn't blame anyone but herself. Then again, looking to the companion to her right who had so generously offered the invitation, she wasn't above blaming modern medicine and human needs for self-preservation; more than ten round of chemotherapy and the woman still looked like a seventeen year old dancing queen.
Yang could only wonder 'How did I get into this situation?' Thinking back into their earlier conversations, maybe the woman knew she was really a faker and was only out to expose the truth. When Yang first showed up to the meeting the brown hair vixen took immediate interest in her, or more so her body. The blond was flattered, truly she was; even in her baggy clothing and hats to hide her figure and most distinguishable features Yang was forced into answering that that her hair was a well glued wig and her breast were clever padding when the woman made a…lustful note of her unique physique.
"Over compensating for your lost because cancer makes you feel less of a woman huh? Well you are alone here."
Or maybe it was because the Faunus who took note to her was legitimately friendly and the two hit it off very well, using their meting time to discuss anything and everything that was cancer or being sick; instead of focusing on the positives and encourage a happy, active lifestyle that included making the most of what could be their final days, the group leaders were just prepping them for death or a lifetime of misery.
"You are a very good distraction from a painful reality Amber", Yang recalled as the compliment given to her, the bogus name given as her identity because of a reluctance to use her real name.
No, the real culprit had to be insomnia; the lack of sleep was the reason she was here three times a week, and the lack of sleep was why Yang would get to home base with a beautiful fox who hadn't even asked for a first date yet.
Yang found it to be a surprisingly simple but morbid cure for her problem. Show up to the breast cancer meeting three times a week, sit off in the distance while the more active group members talked about their day, and in the last ten minutes of the hour long support group meetings, join one of her "peers", or more often the fox, in a crying session where they hug and comfort each other before they all convened in the lobby for finger sandwiches, donuts, and coffee. Then show up two days later and repeat.
It was an odd process for the blond, and she felt terrible for using each depressing gathering, and arguably worse than a soup kitchen food, as a clutch. But it was strangely therapeutic; for the first time in a six weeks Yang was able to sleep and if the return of her angry Nevermore snores meant anything, babies swaddled in warm blankets, taking happy holiday pictures for greeting cards never slept as good as she did.
Which bought her back to her current situation; after two weeks of playful banter the Faunus finally asked Yang out for a couple of drinks that would result in a one night stand neither would remember in the morning.
"I'm not gonna beat around the bush. You are a very attractive woman and I figure the only way I'm gonna have a shot with you is to get you drunk enough to get into bed with me." Okay, so maybe the vixen was the predatory type who also took advantage of other's weakness to use a coping mechanism to deal with her own stress and struggles. Hell, at least she was honest. Like Blake, but in a different way.
"But trust me; I don't want anything more than something physical. You game?" Honest and direct.
"As tempting as that sounds, I don't think it's such a good idea. I'll have to pass pretty lady", the boxer nervously replied.
And yet as serious as she was Yang ended up agreeing to a few rounds of cheap beer at a nearby pub, a few round of cheap beer that turned into a lot of rounds of vodka and baijiu; a lot of rounds of hard liquor that ended up as sloppy kissing and groping as the newly made lovers rushed to a nearby motel, and sloppy kissing in a third rate motel that caused Yang to mistakenly reveal her hair was not a wig, her breast were real and at least a D cup, and that she never had cancer.
The Faunus was quick to curse at her and kick her out the room, inflammatory remarks about Yang being a perverted snake, every type of ass in existence, and otherwise a terrible human being ringing clear in her ears as she made the long walk of shame back to Beacon at two in the morning on a Saturday, her desperate tries to apologize having failed. That was funny coming from someone who gave an eighteen year old girl booze in exchange sex like a cheap whore.
But none of that really mattered. Yang felt like shit and tonight, she slept like shit.
"Yang, you look like shit. You haven't been sleeping and you aren't sleeping tonight."
Leave it to Blake Belladonna to paint an accurate description of Yang's state of affairs that has been another painful month of just two hours of rest a night; in as little words as possible. It wasn't a statement but more of a question that really asked "What is going on with you?" But that was what her partner was like. She observed people more than interacting with them, only confronting them with she needed to, had near perfect information, and when they were in no condition to lie to her.
"Nothing's wrong", Yang answered groggily, though not from sleep, "Just haven't been tired lately."
The black hair Faunus shook her head, her eyes illuminating the darkness that was their dorm room as she hung off the side of their bunk beds. Given that Yang had long adjusted to the darkness she could see the scowl and frown on Blake's face.
"Yang, I'm not stupid", she retorted, climbing into Yang's bed, ignoring the obvious danger of it collapsing under their combined weight. Into their second year at Beacon and the duo still used books to prop it up, Weiss refusing to buy proper bed for the team since none of them died from the shabbily engineering furniture yet. For being loaded with money she was very frugal. "Of all people you should know not to lie to me."
While aware of her sleeping roommates, Yang let out an audible groan of annoyance akin to a snarling bear. "If you know why I haven't been sleeping, then why bother me when I'm trying to sleep?" she spat, shifting in her bed to create more room for Blake sit comfortably but turning to face away from her. Yang knew it was rude and should have just been truthful about these reoccurring cases of insomnia, but she was the Mama Bear of the team. She couldn't just admit she had a chronic sleep disorder.
"Yang, you may not have noticed…" Contrary to popular belief Blake, she did.
"…but we've grown accustom to your Boarbatusk snores of blissful dreams. They…" Blake paused. Yang recognized it as a moment of vulnerability, probably something the Faunus did not want to admit. "Your snores actually help me sleep at night."
Yang laid still for a moment to register what amber eyed girl said before turning to her with a questioning glaze of a raised eyebrow that asked why?
"It lets me know you're here."
Yang knew Blake's statement pointed to previous issues. She didn't have to say it outright, but subtle hints alluded to the fact she was scared of being alone, never shaking the feeling that her identity and past affiliations would cause tension in the group, and when push came to shove, she'd be left behind by the very friends she loved the most. The blond thought they had worked past this, but she knew well how Blake felt; given you may be someone totally different than what your teammates knew you as, the fear of rejection never leaves your mind. Internally Yang had to laugh. If they only knew about the previous drama the blond bruiser was in the center of; if they only knew how many names Yang held to keep her real identity, and them, safe.
The blond hair beauty raised her hand stroke Blake's cheek, a gentle amount of her own aura emitted through her hand for comfort, before moving to rub Blake's lower back. "Blake, I'm fine", she cooed, "If anything comes up, I'll be sure to talk to you; all of you guys. Now go to sleep."
While still apprehensive about their brief conversation Blake decided to take her partner's word for it and give up on pressing the issue. Climbing down to her own bed after lingering a bit longer to steal a bit more of Yang's warmth, the Faunus traded a gentle goodnight and a warning to rest up well for classes the next day.
Yang chuckled, still wide awake, but with a smile on her face as she closed her eyes to attempted to rest. "I'm going to sleep now."
"Ren, I need this! I haven't been sleeping at all!"
"Yang, I don't see how this helps you, at all", a light chuck threaten to escape said boy's lips.
'That mocking little shit', Yang thought. She knew Ren secretly had a sarcastic attitude, but undeterred she pressed forward, ignoring his mocking jab. "I don't know how to explain it but I have a feeling that whatever you got into, I want to be a part of it too because I think it will help me out. I know it doesn't…" Yang paused to gather her thoughts and find the right words, "connect as far as logic goes. But at this point I'm willing to try anything. I need something."
Rubbing the back of his neck, the boy in green closed his eyes before narrowing glaring back at Yang, his pink orb locked on to lilac ones. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Not wanting to seem intimidated Yang glared back. "I have a vague idea; can't put it together though because I'm running on fumes."
Yang couldn't quite explain what she was trying to put together, her mind hardly functioning at full capacity, but for a week now, Yang had observed some rather strange occurrence among a small population of the student body at Beacon.
It started in Professor Port's class; the brawler having given up on everything took her time to sit in the back of the class and take what little sleep she could. That's when she overheard an interesting conversation between two students about clubs, new members, fights, and something called 'the underground'; Ren's and Cardin's name popped up in conversation at least once.
The blond brawler was interested; anything with the word "fight" drew her attention like a moth to a flame. But lacking the energy, Yang could no longer afford to keep eavesdropping and decided to question them later. Not surprisingly, she actually forgot to do that.
However, there was also an incident with a third year student attempted to start fights with bystanders, but without actually fighting. Yang didn't quite get what he was doing; he kicked people that walked by, knocked their books out of their hands, or splashed them with water he was currently drinking, but avoided fighting when they retaliated. Unfortunately for him, he touched Yang the wrong way by slapping her on her ass.
His face was swollen beyond recognition and both Ruby and Weiss chewed her ass out for nearly beating the boy into a coma.
Of course Yang had other reasons for questioning Ren. The excuse for the injury Ren gave, that it supposedly it happened in a training exercise, seemed dubious at best. Ren was never far from Nora so for him to willing spar with any other students outside team JNPR or RWBY was an unlikely story.
"So you want know exactly what it is I'm supposedly doing on my free time because I have a broken arm and that somehow helps you sleep better at night?"
She didn't answer, but he had successfully summaries her thought process.
The lotus boy dug around his pockets to pull out his scroll when Yang refused to respond. "Look Yang, I'd like to help, but I don't think I can. I'd like to tell you how I really broke my arm doing some unorthodox training for fun, but I can't."
"Why can't you—"
"I'd like to tell you about the underground passage behind the dragon statue in the Garden of Eden", he interrupted, pausing to gage the blond before tapping on his own scroll furiously, "Garden of Eden, write it down!" he exclaimed in a hushed tone.
"Oh", the girl in yellow silently murmured before clumsily fishing for her scroll.
"I'd like to tell you to meet me in front of the Beowolf statue three hours after the last of the street lights turn on, but I can't. I certainly cannot recommend you come without Celica Ember and I will not be sending you a more expansive checklist by your scroll." Ren stood from the bench he was currently sitting at to walk back towards the dorms having spotted Nora in the distance, "I'd like to help, but I can't. There's nothing I can do, so…have a nice day."
And with that, Ren slowly made his way towards his partner. Shortly thereafter, Yang's scroll went off.
"Rule number one, you do not talk about Fight Club. Rule number two, you do not talk about Fight Club!" a tall thin student with spiky dirty blond hair spoke as he stood over the crowd.
The large dimly lit basement was cold, the concrete walls and floors doing a bad job of trapping in any heat even though the mass of human bodies should have done just as well. Wooden benches without backs and a few stools lined the grey stoned walls, but not nearly enough to seat every man (and woman) here in attendance.
"Rule number three; if someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over. Rule number four, only two people to a fight. Rule number five, one fight at a time." Scattered about the room Yang observed under the seats laid several gym bags as guys started removing their shirts and shoes. Those without bags simply tossed their discarded clothing aside.
"Rule number six, for our lovely ladies here tonight," The student at top grinned while some of the men flexed their muscles, "No shirts, shoes, dust or semblances; auras on a…case by case bases." Yang clutched her own bag that hung off her shoulder tightly.
"Don't look so uncomfortable Yang. You know why we're here. And the whole thing with your aura…" a soothing voice called out, a small hand grasping her shoulder; "it's been taken into account."
Yang stared into magenta orbs. "Can't help it; when your friend takes you to some secret underground boxing cult meeting you get a little nervous."
"Rule number seven, fights will go on as long as they have to. And finally, rule eight. If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight."
Ren offered a gentle smile usually reserved for Nora to put the brawler at ease and motioned his hand to the front, eyes traveling with it. Following his gaze, Yang observed a number of student staring back at her with hungry eyes like wolves.
"You are kind of popular among many of the students here Yang," Ren began, drawing low cheers and crackles from the gathering that heard him. "They've been waiting for the Blond Bombshell so they could test their might."
"Is that what they call me now", Yang responded gazing over the hawkish onlookers before cracking a grin herself, removing her boots. "I can't imagine why you didn't bring me along sooner then."
"Because you're supposed to find this place on your own to join", a voice called out, people parting ways to open up the middle of the room. In the center stood a muscular brown haired Faunus, a wolf type if Yang had to guess, big but no taller than her. Growling the wolf spat on the ground near him. "Let's go blondie."
The whole spit take was rather repulsive but she could think of countless things much worse than what he did. Having already wrapped her hands Yang removed her jacket, skirt, and tank top, proud that she remembered to wear a sport bra that matched her black shorts.
"Good luck", Yang cheerfully said as she swayed over to middle of the room, outstretching her hand to shake. In a move that had the brawler nearly choking on her own spit the wolf spat in his then slapped hers before getting into a fighting stance. Yang pulled back her hand a looked at it as if a million spiders were crawling on her skin.
"You nasty ass mother—", Yang began in a shout but ended abruptly as she dodged right as the Faunus came running towards her, throwing his large fist in a cross but missing. Apparently the match started.
Yang listened as the crowd roared on, circling the duo in the "ring". They were screaming advice and words of encouragement to the young Faunus; "Keep your distance", "Watch her legs", "Give us a good show", and "Don't touch her hair". A vast majority of the crowd was cheering for wolf's victory but she wasn't without her own supporters. They chanted "Go Blond Bombshell" and "Kick his ass" like drunkards at a football game.
The Faunus, not deterred from missing his first swing quickly raised his leg for a roundhouse kick. Yang deflected with a downwards block but didn't except he'd follow through with another right cross. That one actually landed.
If Yang wasn't awake before the match, the fist to her face certainly woke her. Now she was ready to brawl. The blond brawler watched the Faunus pumped his hands in the air, the mob roaring for him having knocked the dragon off her feet. Turning to face his opponent the Faunus launched forward in a slow jab. Ducking under his punch Yang punched at his open abdomen, causing him to stumble back.
Yang didn't bother to wait for him to catch his breath. Bouncing up to him with her own two fists shielding her face, the bruiser served him two jabs to his face, finishing with a cross of her own. The wolf swiped up trying to land an uppercut but Yang had predicted his sloppy movements and jumped back to safety.
Deciding to play for the mass watching Yang allowed him to throw punch after punch, adding to the Faunus' frustration. To onlookers, the girl in black and yellow was dancing about, light on her feet, and their jeers shifted in favor of the boxing beauty as she delivered occasional jabs when he left himself open. Her opponent was becoming angry, the thunderous crowd distracting him, but in Yang's mind their shouts were muffled and distance.
It was so unfortunately he had two sets of ears; they must be overwhelmingly loud.
Yelling the Faunus charged furiously towards her with what would be his last punch. Side stepping to his left Yang jabbed her elbow into his face, kicking him in his stomach when he stepped back and raised his hand to nurse his face. As he fell on his back Yang straddled him and laid a flurry of blows upon him. After five good hits the wolf Faunus tapped out and the brawler jumped to her feet, fist pumped in the air as the men and women watching boomed.
"So how do you like Beacon's Fight Club Yang?" the lotus boy asked, his face holding the smallest of smiles as she swayed over towards an open bench. Ren asked knowing the answer, but though it'd be common curtsey to ask since it was her first outing and he invited her. Yang's answer however, confirmed his best desire.
"A lot. I think I'd like another fight!"