Chapter 4: Nightmares and Fights
(Present Day)
Yang awoke with a gasp and lying in a cold sweat, her eyes widen and breathing heavily. It has been like this ever since Beacon. She rarely got to sleep, and when she did she was forced awake from the nightmares. It was always the same one. Blake disappearing. Her becoming a child, alone in dark. And that man with the red sword. It scared her and she hated that. It made her feel like a kid again, completely defenseless. Unable to save her own skin. She removed the covers and turned to sit at the edge of the bed. Resting her arm on her knee and her hand holding her head, Yang began to slowly calm herself down.
'It's okay, it's okay. You're awake, it's gone,' she kept thinking to herself making her breathing slow down to normal pacing, 'M-maybe a drink will help calm the nerves.'
Yang lifted herself off of the bed and walked toward the bedroom door. By instinct, she reached for the doorknob with her right arm, only to quickly remember the harsh reality. It's not going to be easy getting over this loss, especially since her right arm was the dominate one. She did everything with her right hand, from writing to eating. Even while fighting she opened up with her right. Now she had to adjust to doing everything awkwardly with her left hand from now on.
She opened the door and closed it behind her as she left the room. The first thing she noticed was that it was dead quiet. No lights were left on so it was completely dark. Yang made sure to walk ever so slowly as to not wake anyone as she traveled down the hall. Upon reaching the living room she noticed her uncle wasn't on the couch as she couldn't hear his often loud snoring.
'I guess he left early,' she thought to herself with a saddened look on her face, 'figures, he's always in a rush to get going.'
Yang pushed the thought aside. She'd think about it when she was fully awake tomorrow. Right now she just needed a drink and go back to sleep. Continuing into the kitchen, Yang grabbed a glass from a cupboard and placed in the sink below the faucet. Turning it to cold, she waited for the right amount of water to fill the cup before switching it off. In one go, Yang downed the entire glass, ending in a gasp of air.
Yang froze when she heard the faint sound of yelling coming from outside. She could make out two voices arguing, but not the words. Yang walked to the front door, and as she got closer, she began to figure out who it was. It was her dad and her uncle, having another fight of which she never knew the reason behind. Yang sat at the door, listening to them yell at each other for about a minute. Until she heard her uncle say one certain line.
"Good is never coming! She just lost two good friends the other day! And in case you haven't noticed, YANG LOST AN ARM!" Qrow yelled with anger behind every word he spoke, "Like it or not, times are only gonna get worse from here on out! It'd be best to tell her now!"
'Are they... they're fighting about me?' her thoughts instantly went to as her hand covered her mouth and tears started to form.
Their next words didn't register to her as she zoned out of their argument back into her own thoughts. She was only brought back to reality when the noise stopped. Peaking out the very slightly opened door, Yang saw her father and uncle starring each other down. All the while small almost unnoticeable flakes of snow began to fall, signally the arrival of winter.
Qrow made a quick dash for Taiyang. Catching him off guard, he landed one clean hit on the side of his face. The force of the strike knocked Taiyang a good couple feet back onto the ground. Yang's eyes widened as a gasp escaped her voice. A couple seconds past before Taiyang rose back to his feet.
"So, that's how it's going to be?" Taiyang asked well knowing what the answer would be, "Fine."
Taiyang darted forward, landing a hit on Qrow similar to the one he was given. The two kept delivering blow for blow, never letting up or moving a muscle as they stood their ground, continuously hitting each other. Their aura lasted several minutes of non-stop assault until one of Qrow's punches drew first blood, busting Taiyang's lip.
"Asshole!" he shouted simply.
"Jackass!" Qrow retorted.
Both of them continued to fight, neither moving to dodge or block the others punches. It was just hit after hit after hit after hit after hit. Yang watched as the only two parental figures left in her life mercilessly beat each other in the freezing cold. She couldn't stand it. Them fighting to actually harm one another. It being about her. And her unable to do anything about it. Yang was done with this.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!?"