Things looked to be going so well for Taiyang. He had a beautiful lover, a great partner and the best daughter a man could ask for. He was as happy as can be as the future looked so bright for him.
Then Raven left.
No goodbyes, no notes, no warning. One night he slid into next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek and joyful "good night." The next morning, he was awaken by the sound of his daughter crying out, only to find that he was alone in the bed. He was shocked, to say the least, rushing throughout the house and in the area around them, calling out her name at the top of his lugs. But no matter how loud he cried out or as many times he tried finding her, the brawler couldn't find her anywhere. In his panic, he contacted Qrow, begging and pleading with his brother in law to tell him that Raven was with him, that she was still around.
Sadly, Qrow was just as shocked as he was and, judging from the fact that he fell through his front door with bloodshot eyes, a newly bought and broken flask in one hand and a crumbled up picture not five hours after he called, was at least as saddened by her leaving as he was, if not more. The two grieving men wanted desperately to just wallow in their misery and grief, to mourn the loss of someone they loved dearly, but that wasn't an option. Not when they had a newborn to take care of. So, the two of them pulled themselves together as tightly as possible and did their best to take care of the child, despite their inexperience.
One night, two months after Raven's disappearance, Taiyang was up late at night. gently rocking his crying daughter back and forth, back and forth as he hummed a wordless lullaby, luring her into a deep sleep. At first it seemed to not work in the slightest as she continued to cry out, probably still for her missing mother. Then, as he continued to rock her in his arms, her cries started to peter out, growing quieter and quieter, softer and softer as she grew sleepy until her eyes closed and her breath evened out, signaling her sleep. Closing his eyes in silent thanks, he placed her softly in the crib, pulling a soft blue blanket over her and giving her a small kiss on the forehead before walking away, closing the door carefully and softly. As soon as the door closed, the tired father couldn't help but let out a ragged sigh, making his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. On his way to the kitchen, he found his brother in law passed out on the couch, face deep in a cushion with his flask on the floor in a puddle of alcohol.
Taiyang shook his head and ran up stairs, coming back down with a blanket in hand. He rolled Qrow over on to his side, flipping the pillow over as well so he wouldn't be sleeping in his own drool and tears. The brawler then covered the passed out man with the blanket, patting his head thankfully. He was so glad to have the man by his side during this rough time. Between his help with taking care of the child and doing the best he could to comfort him, the scythe wielder's company was invaluable to him. Without him around, Taiyang didn't know how he could ever made it this far without him. The sunny brawler picked the flask off the floor, catching a whiff of it's contents as he did. He gagged audibly as he smelled the alcohol, his stomach convulsing and flipping in disgust. Luckily he hadn't eaten very much in the past few days or else he would have caused a bigger mess. The blue-eyed father screwed the top back on the flask and set it aside, giving it a disdainful look as he did. "Never could stand alcohol," Taiyang muttered, grabbing a washcloth from the kitchen and wiping off the floor, trying his best to to vomit.
Just as he was finished cleaning up Qrow's mess, the tired man heard someone knock on his front door. He grumbled loudly, wondering who could be knocking on his door at this hour. He opened the door and, to his utter amazement, Summer Rose was standing there, covered in blood and black fur with all of her clothes, even her signature white cape, were torn into shreds. Taiyang stood there in surprise while Summer gave him a happy, heartfelt smile and said, "Well, aren't you going to invite me in for a glass of water or something?"
Moments later, He and Summer were sitting at his living room kitchen with the arrived woman gulping down a big glass of water while Taiyang just sat there in a mixture of amazement and surprise. He opened his mouth to ask a question but she cut him off with a finger, holding it in the air for several seconds until the glass was empty, slamming it down onto the table with a satisfied sigh. "Sorry. Beowolf tore apart my canteen about six hours back. What did you want, Tai?" She asked happily.
"Where have been?!" He exclaimed, rocketing out of his chair, "I mean, we haven't heard from you in eight months. We were so worried." Summer got up out of her seat, ran herself another glass of water before sitting back down and talking to him.
"Aw, that's sweet you were so worried about little ol' me Tai," She said, taking another drink of water before continuing, "Well, the thing is, I was with a certain group of people trying to take out a rather troublesome Grimm in a faraway place. It took us and months to find and kill it, I would have called or wrote to you two but we couldn't spare a moment from our mission." The ax-wielding Huntress reached over and grabbed both of his hands, holding them with her own, smaller, colder hands, "I'm really sorry Tai. I know I've must have caused you and Qrow a lot of grief and worry and trust me when I say that would be the last thing I would want to do."
"I know," He comforted the kind-hearted woman, squeezing her hands in thanks, "We just get so scared when you're out there. Every hour we don't here from you is an hour you could be lying on the ground somewhere, alone and dying."
Summer raised one of her hands up to his face, rubbing left cheek gently with her thumb, "Well now I'm here so you don't have anything to worry about right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Taiyang agreed, taking a moment to drink in her presence before talking again, "Why did you come back now, anyway?"
"Well, when I heard from Qrow that you and... Raven were having a baby and that she left," She said to him, her hand dropping from his face and the smile she wore became almost like plastic. The brawler sensed something from the way she said his missing lover's name. Disappointment maybe? Or was it something deeper? Dislike? Anger? Maybe even...hatred? He would have suspected the last two if he didn't know her. "When I heard all that, I knew I had to be there for you and Qrow."
"Thanks Summer," He said. The worn out father glanced over at his brother on the couch, lasting only for a second. However, this was enough for the woman sitting across from him to catch his gaze and looked over at the same spot, her face turning into a look of curiosity and concern.
"How's he holding up?" Summer asked, her voice layered in concern. He looked over at his partner, sighing in sadness.
"He's...moving forward the best he can," Taiyang informed her, "Despite the heavy drinking he's been doing, his help has been invaluable to me, not to mention what he's been doing to keep me together," He looked at her, his eyes full of concern and pleading, "He could really use a hand, Summer."
"You both could," She agreed, looking him up, no doubt seeing his poor condition. Luckily, at that moment, they both heard a loud, high pitched wail echo through the house. Taiyang recognized the cry and raised himself up to go see what was wrong as Summer sat up as well, "Let me help you." The two of them made it to the child's bedroom, where the little baby was crying out in her crib. Taiyang groaned as her wail pierced through his sleep-starved mind. In his hesitation, Summer made the first move towards the baby, picking her up into her arms, Summer looked down at the crying baby. "There there, little one. It's going to be alright, everything's alright little...Um...Tai?"
"Yang."
"Yes, I know your name Tai. I asking what her name is." The powerful Huntress said.
"Yang."
"Okay, Taiyang," She said, a bit of frustration seeping into her usually calm and soothing voice, "What is the name of the crying baby I am holding?"
"Yang."
"Okay Xiao Long, you are really starting to aggravate me." She informed him.
"The baby's name is Yang!" He said loudly, raising his voice at the frustrated woman. She looked from the baby in her arms then to her teammate, who she gave a single raised eyebrow.
"Really Tai? You couldn't think of anything better than a shorter version of your name?" She asked him, half joking half serious.
"For your information, my name and therefore her's comes from an old name for the sun," He informed her, "My grandfather named me this because he said the sun shone brighter the day I was born. I never understood what he meant until I held Yang in my arms."
Summer stood there, taken back by his words. "I-I had no idea."
"Summer, are you crying?"
She sniffed, wiping her tears away from her eyes, "I wasn't expecting you to spring some deep stuff on me. I was caught off guard, okay?" She turned her attention back toward the baby in her arms, Yang, who was still crying. She sniffed the air around her, recoiling in horror at the smell. The woman went over to the changing table and, in a jawing dropping display of talent and skill, quickly changed the baby's diaper. The man watched slack jawed as she finished putting on the baby's diaper and gave the baby a kiss on the the tummy, in which Yang giggled and laugh. She picked up the baby and looked at Taiyang with a smile, which turned into a confused frown upon seeing Taiyang's expression. "What?"
"It took me a week in a class to learn how to change a diaper," He said in astonishment, making Summer giggle.
"Guess you guys really do need me." She laughed while Yang seemed to cry out happily in agreement.
And for the next six months, Summer not only helped raise the baby Yang but also helped Qrow and Taiyang recover from the blow Raven dealt upon her departure. Between giving the happy child the love her mother would have denied her, the healer slowly but surely helped rebuild the broken men. She helped Qrow not drink himself to sleep every night and to go back out there and get back into the groove of being a Huntsman. She tried to do the same with Taiyang but he didn't want to miss out on a moment in the baby's life. Raven was gone so he couldn't afford to lose a moment with her. So the two of them took care of Yang together, taking turns taking care of and spending time with her.
As he shared the experience of raising a child with her, the close ranger fighter found himself growing closer to his team leader. After the first month, he couldn't let her keep traveling from all the way in Patch to his home so he insisted that she stay with him and Qrow. From there, the two of them worked their hardest to raise Yang right. When they weren't busy with the child or Summer wasn't off on a mission, they had a lot of time to spend together seeing as Qrow always seemed to be in one mission or another. At first it was just simple things, small talk over a meal together. But things changed and they talked about deeper things, like their family. Summer told him stories of her family he had never heard before, like how her brother had almost gotten eaten by a Grim when she was only ten or when she managed to save a fellow classmate when her school caught on fire. And in turn Taiyang entrusted to her the stories of his childhood, how he spent his first few years living in fear of his mother with his father being more a distant observer than an actual parent and how he managed to find a way to live with that fear. And when they weren't telling stories to each other, they simply enjoyed each others' company, either with a movie or just resting together after a long, hard day. After a while, the blue-eyed brawler found himself seeking out her company more and more. He kept doing more and more things to make her happy, like making her favorite meals. He also started to hold her close while they were laying on the couch, even stroking her hair as she fell asleep on him. He knew very well what this meant: He was falling for Summer Rose.
While under normal circumstances Taiyang might have embraced these feelings, things weren't normal. It wasn't even a year since Raven left and he couldn't sully her memory chasing after another woman so soon, especially her partner. And what if Summer didn't feel the same as him if he confessed or tried pushing things? He would lose one of the three people had left in the world, not to mention he would drive away the closest thing to a mother Yang had. No, the tanned man decided that not pursuing these feelings would be for the best. So he didn't and continued on with his life like normal. Or at least, as normal as his life could be. Then one night, things changed. He was exhausted from the effort of a rough day of parenting and an especially hard test of his will against his feelings for Summer. Taiyang was barely able to collapsed onto his bed, his aching body soothed by the soft feeling of his blanket and sheets. He fell into a deep sleep, expecting to wake up the next morning. This was not the case, as he was awoken in the middle of the night by someone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes, his mind groggy and blurry from the sudden awakening. When his vision fully returned to him, he focused up at the person who woke him up.
He then knew that this must have been some weird dream he was having because what Taiyang saw was his team leader sitting next to him on his bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties, looking down at him with silver eyes shining . He refused to believe what he saw was true, deep in the belief he was shaving a weird dream as she moved down, pressing her body against his as she captured his lips and began kissing him. His belief that what was happening was a dream reduced greatly in probability as he felt her lips against his but he still couldn't quite process what was happening. So his body reacted on instinct as he began kissing her back. The two's lips moved in sync until they both subconsciously decided to go a step further, opening their mouths to allow their tongues to meet in the middle, dancing about with each other in a heated dance, his large, warm tongue dancing with Summer's smaller, cool one. Soon the two of them needed to come up for air as they parted, with Taiyang sitting up, making Summer move to the side. He looked over at her, his team mate unable to look at him with her face full of dread. "I'm sorry Tai," she apologized, her voice cracking in barely constrained sadness, "I've just had these feelings for you for so long but I never could say anything. I was either too shy or you were running after Raven. I've held on to them for so long I just couldn't hold them in anymore." The Huntress' eyes began watering and her noise began sniffling, "Please forgive me. I know you still love Raven and I shouldn't-" Taiyang lunged forward kissed her again, this time Summer was the one caught off guard this time around. When he pulled away from her, she left confused and dazed. "Tai?"
"It's true I still have feeling for Raven and I always will," He told her, wrapping his arms around her lithe frame, "But I know I have more than enough room in my heart for you too."
Upon hearing the words she thought all but in her imagination, Summer's face changed into a look of unrestrained, fully embraced joy and love, leaping up and kissing him with all her might. He managed to kiss back and they embraced each other gladly, their bodies moving together in unison as they reveled in their love, expressing it in the purest way possible. Writhing and dancing with each other, gasping, moaning, grunting and calling out each others' names in their dance. And as they reached the heights of nirvana together, the two settled down together, falling back down to earth in each others' arms, smiling with the knowledge that they had the rest if their lives together.
"Waaaaaaaa!"
"*Sigh* Tai, could you get that? I can't feel my legs right now."
"Sure."
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From that day forward, Taiyang Xiao Long's life went nowhere but up. Yang grew up nice and healthy without any problems. His relationship with Summer developed quickly and smoothly, especially when they got Qrow's blessing. Speaking of the avian fighter, he seemed to have fully recovered from Raven's disappearance, having regained his dry sense of humor and quick wit. Although he would prefer that his brother in law wasn't drinking. They moved out of his small home, leaving it to their partner, and moved into a house on Summer's home island of Patch. He even managed to get a few Huntsman jobs on the side to support his family. And to his utter joy, he soon found out that was pregnant. Overcome with the thought of having a second child with Summer, he let out a cheer so loud that Ozpin found out half a kingdom away. So he tended to Summer during her pregnancy, which was relatively easy as she didn't beat him up every time she had a mood swing. Then he held her hand as she gave birth to their second child, a small girl named Ruby who looked like a small version of her mother. And after Summer, Qrow and several doctors pried Ruby from Taiyang's proud arms, the big family took one big picture together with the proud papa smiling in contentment at his life. He had a loving wife, the best brother in law he could ask for and two beautiful children. Things were finally going his way.
...For about four years, where his love Summer Rose died on a Huntsman mission. Despite all their searching and all their prayers and hope, all they could find was a torn and bloody white cloak. Needless to say, the impact her death had was massive. Qrow, although taking it the bets, was visibly distraught, his drinking nearly reaching the heights of his sister's disappearance.. Ozpin nearly cried, meaning his heart was probably ripping in two. Yang and Ruby were deep in morning from the loss of their mother, old enough to know she was gone but too young to process such a loss. As for Taiyang?
He wasn't doing very well. Evident by the fact that after bringing his nieces home from wandering into the forest looking for his sister with reasons he could barely comprehend, he found his brother in law attempting to hang himself. Faced with a seeming endless stretch of darkness and despair, pain and grief eternal, the only thing he could find to do was end it all. Luckily Qrow was able to cut him down before anything could happen but that didn't stop the sadness that consumed him everyday or the hopelessness that persevered without end. He had lost so much, nothing seemed to go right for him. Why should he get out of bed in the morning? Why should he even continue to live?
So things continued like that for him for months, with his brother in law desperately fighting with him everyday to get out of bed, to help be there for his kids. Each time he mentioned Yang and Ruby, the blonde brawler tried his best to rise up and recover but in the end the overwhelming sadness won out and he'd just lie back down. Every day, he lied awake, his memories of Summer and Raven playing on loop in his head over and over again, a constant reminder of what he had, what he lost and what he could never have again. Every time he couldn't be there for his kids, he felt more and more like a failure, driving him deeper into his hole. And every time he saw that look of fear on Qrow's face when a Grimm attacked their house or when the scythe-wielder had to stop him from killing himself, the damaged brawler was reminded of how much his sorrow was hurting his brother and that kept him from rising out of his rut. And as bad as his days were, his nights were even worse. At night he was plagued by a familiar horror: night terrors.
One night while he slept, he dreamt that he was chasing after the screams and cries of his lost love, bounding towards her with every ounce of strength within him, launching himself deeper and deeper into the dark, malevolent woods around him, but always making the same progress. Upon reaching Summer's location, he would always see her turn to face him just as a giant mass of shadows, it's face a white mask pulsating with blood red power, it's mouth twisted into a freakish, wolf-like grin, stab her in the back, causing her blood to splatter all over him. He then woke up suddenly, his mouth forced open in a silent, wordless scream of horror and despair. The once strong protector was frozen in fear as tears of heartbreak streamed down his face as the visions played before him in his mind. After what seemed like an eternity passed, the horror subsided and all he was left with was the empty feeling of depression all over again. The only reason he got out of bed was because his body forced him too, lest he sleep in a pool of his own urine. Rising up from his bed, he moved his tired legs forward, forcing himself downstairs and to the bathroom. Upon finishing his deed, Taiyang splashed his face with water in an attempt to calm himself down. As he did so, the brawler caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Seeing the pathetic, broken down mess of a man staring back, he felt himself wrinkling his nose in disgust.'You sure are one piece of work.' He thought to himself. He moved back toward his bedroom when he saw his children sleeping in their rooms, no doubt from a tiring day of wondering what the hell was wrong with their father. He also saw something moving outside. His curiosity peaked slightly, he looked outside to something big, black and vaguely humanoid shifting in the woods, making it's way toward the house. He judged it to be a Grimm and judging by the size, it was a rather powerful one.
For the first time in months, Taiyang felt something overtake his usual emptiness or sadness: fear. Specifically, fear for what the Grimm could do to his home or, Oum forbid, his children. He called out to his brother in law, trying to inform him about the approaching Grimm. Since he didn't see Qrow bounding out to fight it, he looked through the house until he found him, passed out on the couch from both heavy drinking and heavy amounts of stress. Panic sprang out from his fear upon seeing this as he knew Qrow was in no condition to fight. Meaning it was up to him to fight the Grimm and protect his family. Which would have been fine and dandy as he was trained for this kind of thing. Except he had barely moved in the last few months, let alone fight, he hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep in just as long, he'd barely eaten in the past week and Qrow had hidden his gauntlets. So fighting something stronger than a half blind Ursa wasn't a promising prospect. Even so, he marched outside and stood in the best fighting stance he could adopt at the moment, waiting for the enemy to appear out of the woods. He didn't wait long as the trees were forced apart by his soon to be opponent, a creature that made Taiyang want to crap himself.
The Grimm was a Berginel, evident by it's ape-like body and muscles, it's super sharp fangs that jetted out of it's mouth, ready to render soft human flesh from it's bones, it's powerful arms capable of smashing stone into dust and launching itself at anything it wanted and it's single red eye glaring down at him with an impossible amount of dark intelligence. Except that this monster was different from most Berginels he had fought before. While most were just the size of a full grown man, this beast stood at a full height of nearly eight feet, it's muscles were more pronounced, scars crisscrossed it's body, the fangs on it's face were sharper than most he had ever seen and doused in the blood of it's enemies and it had a back of copper red fur. The Berginel beat it's giant fists against it's hard chest and roared at Taiyang, challenging him. He felt his breath became quick and rapid, feeling the beast's shadow fall over him. In order to keep himself from running, the fist fighter launched the first punch, striking it's chest. The blow bounced off it's giant, barrel-like chest, leaving nothing but the tinniest, slim crack in the armor. The creature responded with a swift raising of it's fist, dropping it down quickly like a hammer on his left shoulder. Taiyang would have moved to block the blow but neither his body nor his mind were reading for the quick blow, forcing him to stumble to the side from it's sheer force. He had barely enough time to recover before the Berginel struck again, swinging an underhand blow with so strong it sent him flying back, up and up into the air until he landed onto the harsh, cold ground. Taiyang bounced off the ground several times before he settled on there. He attempted to rise up from the ground but he felt something scream out in pain, no doubt a damaged rib or something from the blow. Not only that, his body ached from not only the attack but his days and days of inactivity. He briefly considered just lying down on the grass and let the Grimm tear him limb from limb. Not only would he stop feeling this depression and pain but his worthless ass wouldn't endanger his family anymore. It was a win-win, not just for him but also his family.
Then a thought occurred to him as he he lied in the grass. His sadness was caused by the loss of Summer and Raven. Qrow, Yang and Ruby had also lost those two and even though they were doing better than him, they were still in mourning. If he died here, they would only get sadder and that would attract more Grimm, especially this one. The thought of his brother in law that stood by his side for so long or worse, the children that had given him so much lying dead in a pool of their own blood sent a shot of white hot fear rocketing through him, causing his body to glow ever so slightly, awakening his cold, frozen heart. He was afraid of being hurt again yes and he was even afraid of the dark future that laid ahead. But what he was more afraid of-
Was losing his family.
His heart finally starting to beat with something other than emptiness or sadness, albeit quite a bit of it was fear, he stood up onto his feet again, ignoring his body's protests. Facing the monster in front of him, he gave the best grin he could before bounding forward, his fist pulled back. Once he was in range, the Berginel swung it's fist at him. He ducked the fist and launched a series of punches into the monster ape's chest at a swift pace. Each blow left only a small crack on the monster's armor, but thanks to his speed the brawler was able to launch enough attacks to actually leave damage. The creature swatted him away, smashing him into a nearby tree to his right. His body ached from the blow but Taiyang ignored that, letting his Aura take care of his injury. He got back and leaped back at the big Berginel, striking it's arm with all his might. It swung around, attempting to strike him down with another powerful punch. But this time Taiyang was able to see it coming and braced himself for the impact, which caused the ground beneath him to crack with a thunderous boom. His aura flared up in a blinding flash of bright white as he felt a familiar warm build around him, a warmth he didn't know he missed. He countered the Grimm's attack with a quick left hook to it's jaw, whipping it's head sharply to the right. The beast roared at him, no doubt venting it's frustrations, grabbing a hold of the man a hold of him and throwing him into the nearest tree. He busted right through the tree, into three others and smashing into a fifth. Once again, Taiyang got right back up, now covered in a permanent fiery white aura. He ran back to the beast, ducked under a swipe from it and delivered a strong uppercut to it's jaw.
The Berginel seemed to get fed up with the constant blows and decided to take things up a notch, ripping up a nearby tree and holding it as a club. The fiery brawler watched in silent surprise as the monster pulled the tree back and swung. Acting on instinct, he leaped back but not far back enough to avoid the swing, sent flying again into another tree. This time, he was ready, using his impact with the tree to launch him back at the monster, zooming towards it as fast as he could. It swung the tree at him again, this time he jumped straight up into the air and landed on the monster's face with a kick. It stumbled back, swing it's club wildly, which he was able to either dodge or block. Taiyang ducked under the last swing and moved behind it just as the beast recovered from the blow, looking around for him. He took this moment to attack the monster from behind, aiming a punch directly at it's spine, causing it to growl. It tried to whip back around but Taiyang kicked it in the back of it's knees. The depressed man used what little time he bought to try and wretch the tree from it's grasp. The Berginel sensed this and began tugging back, making the wood creak. The two of them played this little game of tugging and pulling, causing the tree to creak and crack from their pressure. The fighter noticed this, and knowing he wouldn't win this war, decided to go for a draw of sort. He pulled with all his might back, throwing the monster off balance. And in a split second he slammed his fist into the middle of the tree trunk, causing it to explode in half in a shower of splinters. The two of them stumbled back, each holding a half of the tree, Taiyang holding the roots and the Berginel the branches and leaves. The two met eyes and ran at each other, trading blows with their giant wooden clubs. The Berginel slammed it's trunk into his sides and chest while the blonde swung his into it's chest and face, each swing causing a crack to thunder throughout the woods. After they traded enough blows to knock each other down quite a few times, their clubs collided with each other, showering them in splinters once more from the sheer force. The two threw away their useless weapons and returned to beating each other down with their bare hands.
They meet up with each other, pummeling each other with all their might. Their bodies maybe sore, especially Taiyang's, but they couldn't give up. They wouldn't give up. The Berginel couldn't resist the temptation to inflict despair and death on these humans. As for Taiyang, he knew he hadn't earned the right to stop. He had to keep fighting since he had stopped for so long. So they kept on fighting and fighting, launching punches and kicks like no tomorrow as their bodies screamed in pain, as his body roared in agony. But whereas the Berginel was growing weaker and weaker as the brawler's many blows took their toll, Taiyang felt his Semblance grow stronger and stronger within him. The more damage he took, the more pain he felt, the stronger and hotter the flame built inside of him, struggling to be released. But he fought to hold it inside, to force it to grow bigger and bigger. It was the only way he would be able to ensure his family's safety. He had to endure. Same as always. The battle continued on and on until the gorilla-like monstrosity grabbed a hold of Taiyang and slammed him into the ground, pounding him over and over with what little power it had left in it's body. Taiyang tried to get up or crawl away but the beast kept him in place, tenderizing his entire being endlessly. Then, as the Berginel raised it's hands to deliver the final blow, the brawler saw his opening and let his Semblance explode forth, exploding in an inferno of white and yellow that wrapped and twisted itself around him, cloaking and armoring him. The monster stumbled backwards, blinded by the new light as Taiyang rose up to his feet and gave his opponent a cocky grin. "You had your chance. Now," he slammed his fists together, causing a flare of white fire, "It's my turn."
In an instant, Taiyang ran up to the monstrous ape and let loose a series of lightning fast punches into it's cracked armor, hammering into it like hundreds of hammers all pounding away at the armor. The white plating cracked more and more, causing blood to ooze out of the cracks. The Berginel felt this and roared at him again, splattering blood and spit all over him. But the roar failed to intimidate the blazing man, so it tried to swat him away like it had done so many times before. However, the tall creature's attacks simply bounced off him, the flames seeming to protect him. The brawler smirked at seeing the Grimm's confusion and began pushing himself to strike faster and faster. This went on for minutes until the Berginel dropped down to it's knees, it's body battered and broken in every way possible. Still, it had enough determination and energy to let out another roar, which Taiyang shut up with a quick hook to the face. "Will you keep it down?" He growled at the monster, striking it;s face and increasing the intensity with each passing word, "My children. Are trying. To. Sleep!" He declared, emphasizing the last word with an uppercut, rocketing the Grimm's head off it's body and landing several feet away. The head rolled away as the body fell to the ground, already fading back into the darkness. The father looked over his handiwork, grimacing at the thought of this creature killing his family. All because of him and his stupid, childish, selfish, reckles-
He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts, "No Taiyang, you can't let those thoughts rule you anymore. You have a job to do," he started walking back to his home, mumbling to himself, "I should check out that doctor Qrow was talking about..."
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So Taiyang went and found help far far away in the kingdom of Atlas, where a clinic specializing in grief and loss resided. For two years he left his family behind in order to get better, to overcome his depression and sadness once more. That time in his life was hell. He was forced to bring up the worst memories in his life, including those of his family and his stint in depression. Not only that, they forced him to take medication to ensure he wouldn't try to hang himself or anything, which made him feel rather weird. And worst of all, he barely had any contact with his family during those two years, meaning his kids were growing up without him. But it was all worth it to finally get back control over his life, leaving the clinic with a clean bill of health. Well, as clean as he could ever get. So with a happy smile across his face, he arrived back at home with open arms by his brother and children.
The years passed by without a hitch. … Well, as easily as it could with two rambunctious girls that insisted on bring Hunters, the single most dangerous profession in all of Remnant. Of course Taiyang was against this. His children going into the same profession that killed his second love? He would be scared out of his mind every single second of every single day until the eventual heart attack that would end him. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't bare to think of losing them, especially due to their earlier scrape with death. But his friends and brother reminded him of how much good they could do becoming Hunters, not to mention that he himself was guilty of doing the same thing to his grandfather. So with a reluctant heart and personal training from him and Qrow, he allowed his children to become Huntresses.
He taught both of his kids basic hand to hand combat, bring back old memories of his training days. But when it came time to learn the specifics, he insisted that Ruby be taught by Qrow. Unlike her sister, Ruby simply wasn't cut out to be a brawler. She did find out that she had some skill with a scythe. So while his younger daughter was taught by his brother, he personally taught his elder daughter. He taught her everything he could in the few years he had to train her. Unlike himself, Yang had no form of training before then so he had to start at a more basic level for her. And in all honesty, he could never fully bring himself to train Yang as hard as he could have. The mere fact that he was training her to be a Huntress was stressful enough for him, let alone the intense training he would have to press her through for that. Still, she was a natural talent in combat and that allowed her training to shine through. She was even able to make him stumble a couple of times.
So when it came time for them to head off to Beacon Academy, he was able to put on a confident face as he bid them farewell. A confident face that soon broke under the pressure of seeing his kids leave ad left a crying mess, holding onto his children as tightly as possible. "Promise me you'll call and write!" The male brawler blubbered as he kept a tight hold on them. Ruby and Yang tried to tell him yes but all that came out was a high pitched wheeze. The scythe wielder beside him chuckled at their expense before prying them out of his arms with all of his gaunt might. With the children freed from their father's clutches, they gave their family one last look.
"Good luck out there," Qrow wished to them, raising his closed flask in a toast like manner. Both girls smiled at his wish before looking at their father, who still trying to keep his tears in.
"Dad, could you please keep it together long enough to see us off?" Yang asked him, smiling confidently. Taiyang gathered what little composure he had left and steadied himself, giving her a less painful hug.
"Take good care of your sister," He told her.
"I know, Da-"
"That includes not ditching her immediately at Beacon." He added on, giving her a look, "You hear me Yang?"
"Yes dad," She answered, turning away from him indignant. He nodded in understanding before turning to his younger daughter, who was shuffling around nervously. Taiyang sighed internally. Of all the things she could have inherited from him why did it have to social awkwardness? He knelt over and gave Ruby one last hug before looking her in the eye.
"Ruby, don't you be scared," he told her, "You'll do very well at Beacon."
"But Dad, I don't know if I'm ready yet," Ruby said to him, "I just want to stay here with my friends and go to Beacon at the right time."
"Ruby Rose," He said, forcing her to look him in the eye, "I know things seem scary and uncertain now but you have to know that you can't let that stop you. Like it or not, rosebud, you are special. And going to Beacon can only help you realize that."
"But Dad-"
"Fear isn't something you run from Ruby. It's something you run toward." He looked up to his scruffy brother, "Isn't that right Qrow?"
The man shrugged, waving his hand, "50-50."
"Qrow!"
"Kidding Tai," He said, raising his hands in defense, "He's right kid in this case kid. If you run now, you're gonna regret it the rest of your life." Ruby sighed in defeat, accepting their words. And with one last goodbye, the two young women hopped aboard the Bullhead, promising to make them proud.
"You already have," He cried, his eyes watering up again.
"God damn it Tai, can't you keep it together for longer than five minutes?" Qrow joked, ribbing him. The two watched on as the Bullhead disappeared from sight. They watched the clouds for a moment as the crowd around the dispersed before the red eyed Huntsman looked to his adopted kin, "You scared for them Tai?"
Taiyang chuckled, "Oh yeah, even more so than always. I mean, remember how many times we almost died at Beacon, let alone the missions beyond it?" He laughed again, this time to expel his inner fear, "But Qrow, I'm not letting that control me anymore. They want to be Huntresses? Then I'll support them to the very end. Give them a home and a nice warm bed to come to when they need it."
Qrow smiled, "And I'll help ya along the way." And so the cowardly lion turned around and started walking back home, his buddy the scarecrow in tow. Scared for the ones he cared for but confident they could handle what life threw at them.
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Knight Of Balance: That. Was. Exhausting. What started out as a simple one shot to get my rusty butt back in gear turned out to be my biggest stand alone by a huge margin. I mean fuck, I gotta work on making sure these thing aren't too long.
Well, at least I had a lot of fun making this. I always found Taiyang to be a rather interesting character. I mean, by all rights, he should be peeing himself in fear for his kids ever day of his life seeing the world he lived in. And the beating that guy has taken. I mean, only about a third of the abuse he suffered here is me. The rest is RT being a dick. And yet he gets up in the morning and does the bets damn job he can. If that's not a testament to how strong a guy can be, I don't know what is?
Well, I hoped you enjoy this! If you could, please a review giving your thoughts, especially any criticisms. I just hope I didn't go overboard with the fear or the misery.
Have a nice day!
P.S. Apparently I didn't make this clear but during the fight with the Berginel, Taiyang was sleep deprived, food deprived, and weaponless. That's why he was struggling.
I also didn't do anything with Raven because she's a hard to pinpoint character what I can pinpoint is...not nice. So I just decided to leave that for another day.