A/N: I am sorry.
Italics=thoughts
A wooden door was thrown open creating a loud boom that echoed throughout the Xiao Long residence. Yang came stomping through the entrance of her house with a deep frown on her face. As she started to stomp her way up the stairs, Taiyang came hastily walking after her. "Yang. C'mon Yang. Look I know you're frustrated, but you shouldn't just give up just because you're having a rough time with training."
Yang stopped at the foot of the stairs. She then turned to her father. "I'm having a rough time because I'm fucking exhausted because I can't get any amount of decent sleep!" Yang bellowed at her father.
"Yang. You have to push through it. Just think about it. If you train then you will be able to get some actual sleep because you will be so tired."
"Again. You're not listening dammit. I'm not getting sleep because I'm not tired enough. Trust me. I am plenty tired. The problem is the damn pain that keeps me awake at night!"
"That pain doesn't really exist Yang. It's just all in your head. The training will take your mind off it by making you focus on something else."
"How can you sit there and tell me that what I'm feeling isn't real?! What I'm feeling is very damn real. This pain in my arm is fucking real! Also, to make matters even worse, I now get horrible headaches." Yang spat as her crimson eyes started to give a terrifying glow.
Taiyang gulped. Those red eyes looked so much like Raven's. Especially the glowing. Raven's eyes always glowed when she angry about something. Typically, that was the only warning you got before she took action and made you suffer for your transgressions. It would appear that this was one more thing that his daughter took after her mother. Really, it was rather scary how similar daughter and mother were.
Taiyang looked at his daughter. He would have to choose his words carefully. Any wrong word or misconstrued sentence could set his fiery girl off. He would have to try to settle her down. An idea popped in his head. "Yang. Maybe a nice hot bath will do you some good and help you relax." Tai walked past his daughter and stopped half way up the stairs. He looked back down at his daughter. "Yang." His daughter looked up at him. He could really notice the bags under her angry red eyes now that they weren't training. A twinge of pain shot through his heart at the sight of his daughter's own exhaustion. "I will run the water and prepare your bath ok? After that, I'll get your lunch ready." he said with calm, soft, disarming voice.
Yang let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose." Fine. I'll be in my room."
Taiyang watched as his daughter walk past him. He was surprised that this worked. He normally did this with Raven when she was very upset about something. Which was rare since Raven was usually very composed and had good control over her emotions. Though she was far easier to irritate when she was pregnant with Yang. Taiyang smiled as he made his way up the stairs. "I'll come get you when your bath is ready."
"Fine. Whatever." Yang mumbled softly.
Yang was now left alone with her thoughts once again. Truth be told, she could really use a bath. She didn't exactly smell great and the hot water would do wonders on her aching muscles. Perhaps after her bath and eating lunch she would be able to take a nap or something. A full stomach and a hot bath would usually put her out.
She felt something pass by her legs. When she looked down she found Zwei looking up at her with his tongue hanging out of the side of mouth. He stood up on his hind legs and put his paws on her legs. It appeared that Zwei wanted to play. However, Yang really wasn't in the mood and she was much too tired to play with her furry friend. "Sorry Zwei. Maybe some other time ok buddy?"
He let out a small whine. He then turned around and stepped into his small bed, that he himself brought into Yang's room, and laid down. Normally, Zwei slept downstairs in the living room, but ever since Yang had been experiencing her mysterious bouts of pain, he had thought it necessary to sleep in the same room as her in an effort to make her feel better. He didn't understand what was happening to her, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to make his friend feel better.
Yang felt a little bad for turning Zwei down. She knew what he was trying to do and she truly appreciated it, but she was just too tired to play with him. "I'll have make it up to the little guy. I think maybe after my nap I'll feed him his favorite meal." She thought with a smile on her face. Zwei looked up at her and upon seeing her smile his ears instantly perked up. He threw his head back and let out a small goofy sounding howl causing Yang to giggle at his silliness. "Bless this dog."
A small knock on Yang's door caused the blonde to bring her attention to her door to see her father smilingly softly at her. "Your bath is ready sweetheart. I'll start making your lunch now."
"Alright dad." Yang said as she rose up from her bed. Before she started making her way towards her door, she made her way over to Zwei to bend down and gave him a light kiss on top of his head. To which he gave an ecstatic bark in response to his friend's show of affection.
As Yang walked up to her door, Taiyang held out a towel in front her. "Thanks." she said as she moved past her father to the bathroom where her bath is.
When Yang closed the bathroom door, Taiyang turned his attention to Zwei. He moved over to Zwei's bed and kneeled down on one knee. "Great job Zwei! You're a good boy for making her feel better." he said while petting the top Zwei's head.
Taiyang rose up and walked out of his daughter's room. Making his way downstairs, he began thinking about what kind of meal to make for his little girl. When he came to the foot of the stairs he made a sharp turn to walk into the kitchen. There he stopped in front of a large set of doors. He reached out with both of his hands to grab the door handles and turned them to swing the doors open to reveal a comically large pantry that was stocked with enough food that it could possibly feed a very small village. Anyone who didn't know his family would say that he went completely overboard with the amount of food he kept. This might be true for normal families, but his family was not normal. He had two girls that ate more than their appearances let on.
This was doubly true for his eldest child. Yang normally ate a lot. Ruby ate a lot of food too, but her sister practically ate twice as much as her, but of course she did. Yang was made of much sturdier things, had more muscle, was bigger and broader in comparison to Ruby's scrawnier body. Whatever Taiyang would decide to make for his daughter, he would have to make sure it was a substantial meal. Well...substantial by Yang standards. Thankfully, he hasn't had to worry about his daughter's appetite. Even though she was going through her slump, she still ate as much as she normally ate, even if she tended to pick at her food more often now.
"Ah! I know what to make!" he said with a clap. His smile wide with excitement as he made his way over to various different spices.
After taking what he needed, Taiyang turned and exited the pantry; closing the doors with his foot. Putting the first set of ingredients on the counter, he made his way to the freezer to open it. Peering down into the freezer, he spied a large bag of sirloin. After taking out the frozen meat and placing on the counter, he went about the kitchen to gather the various other ingredients that he required. "Yang is gonna love this!"
Yang opened the bathroom door with steam rolling out from behind her. Stretching her arms over her head as far as her body allowed her, she let out a moan of contentment. "Man that bath was awesome. Really needed that."
Before she could even think about making her way to her room, the smell of sizzling meat caught her attention. Closing her eyes, she put her nose up and sniffed the air once. "Wow. Whatever dad is making smells delicious!" As the scent became more prominent, her mouth began to water and her stomach let out a loud rumble. Wiping her mouth clean of saliva, Yang hastily decided that she would go to the kitchen and see what the origin of the delicious aroma that now filled her nose.
After reaching the foot of the stairs, Yang excitedly turned into the kitchen. She was now quite literally following her nose and her stomach. The sound of sizzling meat echoed throughout the kitchen. She walked behind her father and stood on her toes to look over his shoulder to see what was making the wondrous smell that had enthralled her so.
"Whatcha makin dad?"
Taiyang smiled. "Your favorite. Sirloin steak with garlic butter!"
"Really? When's it gonna be done?" Yang said with childish excitement and impatience.
Taiyang chuckled at his daughter's childishness. "It's about to be done now. So why don't you go and take a seat and I'll bring it to you." As soon as the last word left his mouth, his daughter hurried her way to the simple wooden table that sat on the other end of the kitchen. "Oh and Yang."
"Yeah?" asked the blonde as she started pulling her seat out.
"You're drooling." Taiyang said with a shit-eating grin.
Embarrassed, Yang quickly grabbed a nearby napkin and washed her mouth quickly. Taking her seat, she leaned back placing her arms in her lap, waiting patiently for her father to bring her food. A few minutes of waiting, Taiyang placed a large plate that held several large sirloins in front of her. Yang immediately dug into her food with startling vigor.
Taiyang smiled as he took a seat across from his daughter. It made him happy to see his daughter in such a good mood. However, something caught his eye. Yang's eye's weren't their normal lilac color. The were crimson like her mother's. "Is she mad at me or something? She certainly doesn't seem mad."
After several moments, Taiyang had finally decided to ask his daughter what was wrong.
"Yang."
Yang let out a hum of acknowledgment as she continued to stuff her face full of her scrumptious meal.
"Are you...are you mad at something?" Taiyang asked carefully. Lacing his fingers together on the table.
Yang looked up at her father with puffy cheeks filled with food. She blinked several times before swallowing her food."No. Not really. Why do you ask?" Yang said with a raised brow.
"Well it's because I've just noticed that your eyes are red. Normally they're like that when your mad or when your semblance is activated."
Yang placed her fork and knife down. She then laid her arms down flat on the table while looking down at her laps. "I woke up like this."
"Huh?" Taiyang asked with a bewildered face.
"It's like I said. I woke up like this. I tried to turn my eyes back to normal, but it didn't work. I don't know why my eyes changed and I don't know why they won't change back." Yang looked up at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, she locked eyes with her father. She brought up her left arm to grab her right shoulder. "I don't know what's happening to me at all" she stated with a tremble in her voice.
Taiyang reached over and gently grabbed the right hand of her prosthetic. "You know what Yang. It doesn't matter. No point in trying to figure something out when we don't have the tools to do it. We'll just be running in circles trying. Just focus on what you can control and change. Go ahead and finish your meal. I'll do the dishes after you're done."
"Ok."
She felt something gently shake her from her shoulder. Yang groggily opened her eyes and turned her head to the left to see her father peering down at her.
"Yang. I need you to go into town for me to get a few things. I would go, but I need to make a few calls to Signal for something about work."
"Aw c'mon dad. I really don't feel like being around people."
"Come now Yang. It won't take long at all for you to do and we need these things. Besides, you need to get out of the house a little more and not stay cooped up in your room so much."
"Ugh! Fine." Yang said while rolling her eyes.
"Good. Here's the list. Also, you can take Zwei with you. I'm sure he would love to go for a walk."
After her father left her room, Yang sat up on her bed. "I really don't want to do this." she thought solemnly. Sighing in resignation, she finally stood up from her bed and put on her jacket and squeezed her feet into her shoes."Might as well get this over with."
"C'mon Zwei. Me and you are going to the town." said the huntress-in-training while giving a small wave towards Zwei.
Yang made her way downstairs with Zwei trailing. Reaching the bottom, she walked over to the coffee table in the living room to grab her pair of house keys. Reaching the front door she pulled it opened to have the late afternoon breeze hit her face. Walking through the doorway, she stopped on her porch to allow Zwei to follow her. Once Zwei made it outside she closed the door and locked it.
Yang walked onto the path through the forest that led to the town. She hoped this wouldn't take too long. It would take at least 40 minutes to get to her destination and she was thankful that the Grimm never showed along the path. She looked down to her left to see Zwei happily trotting along with his mouth slightly ajar and tongue hanging out. She brought eyes forward once more with a small smile on her face. The blonde had always thought it was cute to see Zwei moving his tiny legs and the way his head bobbed as he walked was a little funny.
"Well at least I got you to keep me company you cute little ball of fur."
After 40 minutes of walking, Yang and Zwei finally arrived at their destination. The town of Berm was one of the most successful settlements outside of the walls and that was because of all of the hunters that work at Signal kept the Beowolves away. Entering the town through it's large gate, Yang could see the town still as busy as ever. People moving around from store to store buying everything they needed. Others were moving around materials that were important to the town. While others just simply stood around conversing with each other as the their children ran around playing with one another.
After walking a few dozen yards into Berm, Yang noticed something. It was quiet now. Far too quiet for a town of this size. She slowed down to a stand still and she moved her head from side to side to see what was the cause for the sudden lack of sound from Berm's residents. What she found disturbed her and terribly so. They were all staring at her. No. Not staring, but outright glaring at her with the fires of anger and hate in their eyes. Gulping, she began walking again. Taking cautious steps forward as she kept moving her eyes from side to side.
She could feel all of her anxiety coming back at full blast. Her heart beating heavily in her chest as she continued to the store. All of her instincts were telling her to run now and run very far away. She began to pick up her pace from slow and cautious to being a step down from jogging. She wanted to get whatever her father needed quickly and leave because she didn't think she could stay under the townsfolk heated glares for much longer.
Finally, she came in front of the shop and she hastily opened the doors to enter. If Yang thought she would receive any kind of reprieve then she was sorely mistaken. The store owner stepped in front of her as soon as she had taken a few steps in the store. Folding his arms to his chest, the middle aged man barked "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doin!?"
Yang looked up to see the store owner's hateful eyes peering down at her. She gulped. "I...I j...just wanted t...to get some things for my dad." She said meekly.
The store owner twisted his face into a deep frown. "Oh hell no. Your father wants something from here then he can come by himself and buy them. I don't do business with a filthy criminal!" he spat at Yang. Spittle from his mouth landing on her jacket.
"W...what? Criminal?"
"Yeah! Criminal! You think we forgot what you did to that poor boy at the tournament?"
"b...but-"
"You're a fucking animal!" a woman from the crowd that had gathered beside Yang in the store yelled.
"Get out of here you unhinged bitch!" a man from the same crowd yelled.
"We don't want your kind here at all!" an old woman screamed.
Yang began to feel panic creeping up her spine as the whole store was now filled with the angry shouts of people yelling derogatory insults at her. She felt her chest tighten causing her breathing to quicken to a pace just below hyperventilation. Yang started to walk backwards weakly, her whole body shaking with panic. A few steps back and she felt herself bump into someone. She slowly turned head to see that she had bumped into a rather large man with a graying beard and a scar across his nose. Trembling, she looked up to see this large man looking down at her. His face twisted with anger and disgust.
He spoke with a rough baritone voice. "You heard these people. Get out!"
"P..pl...please. I just want to buy some things for m...my dad."
The man's eyes widen in anger. He lifted right arm and grabbed Yang's head in his massive hand. Completely engulfing her head. Yang let out a scream of terror as he lifted her up.
"I said GET OUT!" he yelled. Throwing Yang out of the store as soon as the last syllable left his mouth.
Screaming as she was flying through the air, she let out a oompf of pain as she landed in a puddle of mud face first creating a loud splash. She spat out the mud that had entered her mouth as she began to prop her self up with her elbows. When she looked up she could see the people of Berm begin to gather across from her. Her eyes frantically moved from one end of the crowd to the other. These people were yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs. She saw movement in her peripheral and when she turned her head to see what had caught her attention, she felt something hard hit her forehead. "Ahhh!" Yang looked down to see what had hit her and what she saw was a rock. She could feel something trickle down her forehead just above her right eye. Yang reached up with her left hand to wipe her forehead only to find when she brought it back down to see it stained with red. It was blood. Her blood.
Yang's eyes flew open and her mouth opened in a wide O shape as she felt a heavy boot crash across her body. The blow landing just below her breasts. After landing on the ground with a thud, her body bounced several times before coming to a stop. Yang was gasping in pain as she clutched her body. She curled her body into a ball as she was writhing. As the pain began to pass away, she brought her head up to see her attacker. It was the same man that had thrown her out of the store. She could already feel it. The blow he had given her would definitely leave an ugly bruise.
"What the fuck are you still doing here!?"
"Please. Please stop." She coughed out. Desperately pleading with her attacker to spare her from anymore pain.
He walked over to her with long strides. He stopped a few inches from her face. Looking down, he sneered as he reached down to grab as fistful of hair from her ponytail. Lifting her up to his face.
"AHHHHH!" Yang screamed in agony. She reached up with both her arm and her prosthetic to grab at the man's hand to desperately dislodge his grip from her hair.
"Stop? STOP!? What stopped you from kneecapping that boy?" he bellowed in her face.
Yang continued her desperate struggle, but the man was simply to strong and her aura and semblance wasn't responding to due to her frightened and panicked mind.
"I think you need to be taught a lesson you little filthy bitch."
As he brought his fist up Yang closed her eyes. "Please. Please no more. Leave me alone!" the blonde begged as tears began to stream down her face.
"Oh I'll leave you alone alright." he sneered. A wicked grin spreading across his face. " I'll leave you alone after I'm done beating you half to death!"
Before his fist could connect, he felt something bite down on the arm that was holding up Yang. He yelled in agony while dropping Yang onto the ground.
After a few moments of being dropped, Yang looked up to see what caused her attacker to drop her to see that Zwei was firmly latched onto his arm. She could see blood oozing from where Zwei's teeth were sunk in. The large man was flailing his arm around all over the place trying to get her dog off of him. He brought up his left fist and brought it down to hit her friend, but at the very last moment, Zwei had jumped away from where he had bitten. Causing the man to howl in pain as Zwei had fooled him into hitting himself on the fresh wound that he had created.
Yang's eyes widened in horror as she saw this man begin to pull out his weapon. She immediately knew that he was a huntsmen and if she stayed here then it was very likely that both her and Zwei would be killed. Getting up with the new found strength that her fear had given her, she ran over to Zwei and scooped him up in her arms. She turned around to the town's entrance and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. As she ran, the people of Berm were throwing rocks as she went by them. Finally, she made it to the gate and ran out as she heard a gunshot. She flinched as she felt a bullet graze her cheek. A thin line of blood dripping from her wound.
After a few minutes of running, Yang stopped. After she let Zwei jump out of her arms, she dropped to her hands and knees. Sweat was dripping from face as she was gasping for air. She had never ran so fast in her entire life. Taking a few minutes to regain her breath, she rose up to her feet. She looked back at the direction of the town. Yang then turned her head to look in the direction of her home. She began her journey back home with her shoulders slumped forward and head hanging low. She never wanted to come to this town ever again.
A/N: Holy crap I wrote a lot. Seriously, this is 14 pages worth of work here. I didn't mean to write so much. Well anyway, I told you things would start to get ugly for our heroine. Sorry to say that this is just the beginning and it hurts to write this since I love Yang so much, but it must happen. Also, if it feels like things are happening fast then don't worry. Just trying to get past the set up and when I do, things will slow down. Also, I want to say thank you to everyone who even bothered to read my story. Also, thank you to everyone who decided to follow, fav and review my story too. Seriously, I always get really nervous that most people would hate my story. Anyway, I'll see you guys with the next chapter! BYE!