บท 13: Fist 9: Street Fight/Talk
Fist 9: Street Fight/Talk
"Here, drink this." The cold sensation of a soda can, freshly taken from a fridge, against Yang's skin made her lift her head.
She looked at the hand offering her the can and took it reluctantly.
It had been fifteen minutes since they left the place where John had taken her.
fifteen minutes since she found out about her ma—no, since she found out Raven was an assassin, a wanted criminal, a monster.
Those images, those eyes.
The memory alone made her nauseous, and without hesitation, she popped open the can and took a big gulp, the cold liquid going down her throat and getting rid of that bitter taste in her mouth, at least temporarily.
"This is crap!" Her hand crushed the can with force, splashing the remaining liquid it held.
She watched the refreshment drip down her hand and could almost envision her mother crushing someone's neck in the same manner.
it disgusted her
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"
Yang stood up and began to stomp forcefully, each step breaking the concrete beneath her as she felt the anger rising.
Why!? Why!?
Her temperament began to surface, and she felt the fire burning inside her.
"Ragh!" She threw what was left of the can with all her might; muscles enhanced by aura caused a shockwave, but before the can could get too far, a quick hand caught it in the air.
"Calm down" John's calm voice was like a spark threatening to ignite the fuse of a bomb.
Yang started to see red.
"Calm down!? You want me to calm down!? How can I calm down, my moth—" she shook her head, halting her words.
"that woman... How many people has she killed? How many homes has she destroyed!? She's a monster!... and I have her face" like she suddenly had a revelation, Yang did something she never thought herself capable of doing.
She started to pull at her hair, wild and long blonde locks that she had carefully tended to, making it the envy of any other girl her age.
When she had let him grow so much, she hadn't thought too much about it. But the face of that woman, gazing at everything with coldness, now seemingly etched into her mind, made her realize something she had previously appreciated somewhat unconsciously. Though not exactly the same, both shared certain distinctive characteristics.
The most noticeable and easily distinguishable was their hair. It made her somewhat similar face almost identical.
Identical to the face of a killer.
It wasn't the same color, didn't have exactly the same shape, and perhaps wasn't as long, but it was undeniable that anyone who looked could associate one with the other because of it.
In her current state, Yang ignored all the small differences that existed. For the 15-year-old girl, the image of herself and her mother simply overlapped in her mind like an unpleasant mirror, painting the most horrifying image she could imagine right now.
Imagining herself as Raven.
Fingers that could crush steel began to tighten, and she didn't activate her aura at all to protect herself. She felt the strands of hair starting to break, tears flowing from her eyes.
It wasn't until she saw the strands of blonde hair starting to fall to the ground that she realized what she had done.
She almost fell to her knees, but a pair of hands held her wrists, causing her hands to lose their strength freeing her hair from them.
"Raise your head" the voice was firm, making Yang tremble slightly. She slowly lifted her gaze that had been fixed on the ground and saw those deep blue eyes looking directly at her. She almost averted her gaze; she didn't want to be looked at with the same eyes as that woman. However, those blue eyes didn't seem to contain fear, hatred, or resentment towards her.
"You're not like her"
She blinked in confusion.
"Your nose is smaller, your eyes are bigger, your eyelashes are longer, your lips are slightly wider, and your chin is less round. Not to mention the color of your eyes or your hair; you're very different from her in physical terms, but that really doesn't matter, does it?" Jaune shook his head, as if searching for the right words but not finding them entirely.
despite that he continued talking
He let go of her hands and pointed to her heart.
"No, what really matters is what's in here. I don't know you. I don't know your full name, where you come from, or what things you like. But I can see the pain this causes you; your tears are the most important sign and what makes me believe without a doubt that you and she are not alike at all... That woman, a monster like her, could never cry for others the way you do"
Jaune wasn't good with words. If he were, he might have achieved much more with them than with his fists. He could only be sincere and hope that it would work a little.
Of course, it might be futile, but he had to try. What kind of hero doesn't even attempt it, even if they know the chances of success are minimal?
He sighed and ran his fingers through Yang's hair, blonde strands falling to the ground, broken by the force Yang had exerted on them.
Yang looked at the strands with pain and wanted to cover her head with her hands, but Jaune was quicker to notice the issue.
He narrowed his eyes, took off his hat, and placed it atop her head.
Yang held onto the hat, gazing at the ground and gritting her teeth. Why had she done that?
Her nose suddenly felt wet, and she slowly sat back down.
She let the tears flow and remembered the words she had just heard.
Was it true? Was she really different from her mother?
Yes... they weren't the same, and they never would be.
Yang would never allow herself to be like that woman, no matter what.
"Do you talk like that to every girl, John?" Trying to distract herself, she looked at the guy who had sat down beside her.
"Like what?" He blinked. Now that he didn't have his hat on, his face was more visible, younger, definitely her age.
"You know, giving pep talks, detailing their facial features in a low, gruff voice, and giving cheesy speeches about the heart and stuff?" She attempted to tease him, but it didn't come out as it should have.
She didn't have that spark she usually had when teasing someone.
It was just a feeble attempt to be herself without really feeling like herself.
John seemed more thoughtful than embarrassed, and that was all Yang needed to know she had failed in her attempt.
"No, not really. Usually, it's the girls who pull me out of my melancholic moments now that I think about it... congrats, Yang, you're my first" he said that, feigning a shy look and tilting his head with "embarrassment," and Yang would've spat if she were drinking something.
"W-what? y-you?" Astounded, she couldn't find words, but she didn't need to.
"Hahaha!"
His laughter snapped her out of her bewilderment, and she watched as he chuckled while looking at her.
" you!" Yang gritted her teeth, but John waved his hand in a placating gesture.
"You're about ten more years away from embarrassing me, girl" he winked, and Yang felt the urge to hit him, but instead, she just huffed and looked away.
John calmed down and gazed thoughtfully at the sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yang sulking to herself, muttering something about "stupid blondes."
Things had taken an unexpected turn. He hadn't imagined he'd encounter the daughter of such a notorious criminal.
Jaune hadn't known about Raven before because she hadn't been on his radar; they were on different continents, after all. But now that he knew, there was only one outcome.
He would have to stop her, dismantle her tribe, and if she didn't cooperate, kill her.
He felt relieved knowing that her daughter wouldn't be an obstacle. He'd dealt with enough vengeful family members after defeating, imprisoning, or killing a bad guy.
On the other hand, the surname was familiar, and if those red eyes were an indication, he would have to talk to Qrow.
He didn't believe he was the same as his sister, but he couldn't tell the man if there was something of her in him.
What a mess.
Returning to the present, he saw that Yang was calmer, but not too much; things like this couldn't be resolved in a moment.
"What will you do now?" John's question snapped Yang out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him.
What would she do now? She hadn't thought about that...
Actually, she thought about it too much, but there were so many things in her head that nothing seemed to settle.
She needed a distraction, something to ignore all her problems until they disappeared or, alternatively, something else replaced them
Yang stood up suddenly and began looking around; they were still in the bad part of town, and the place was as shady as hell, so finding a distraction should have been easy.
Emphasis on should have been. At first glance, everything was calm. For being the bad part, there was a clear lack of shady things happening.
"Damn it," she clicked her tongue, watching as her plan started to fail. Depressed as she was, she still was, well, her, so she felt the need to hit something. She needed to vent. She looked, and her eyes landed on John, who was still sitting there, looking at her with those calm eyes. That angered her. Why could he stay so calm when she couldn't?
"Hey, you!"
"Huh?" He blinked, being suddenly addressed.
"You're strong, right?" He had done all that to keep her still and had even prevented her from ripping her hair out completely, so he seemed pretty strong.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm weak" John replied, standing up and dusting off his backside.
he could feel the intention to fight in her.
"That's enough for me... fight me" Yang took off her hooded cloak; it would only get in the way at this moment.
"This is where I should say this is a bad idea" John said, but he did nothing to move away. Instead, he edged a bit closer.
Impulsive, violence-prone individuals— he knew them well, having dealt with many before.
Ignoring them only caused more trouble than simply kicking their behinds until they calmed down.
And partly, this was his fault. Perhaps she wouldn't have found out the truth about Raven if he hadn't dragged her to this place. He could've just pulled her out of the bar, preventing the fight and stepping away, but he had been too meddlesome, hadn't he?
Oh well, that came with the territory of being a hero—get involved in matters that don't concern you or something like that
He just had to take responsibility and prevent anyone else from getting hurt, which wasn't difficult at this moment.
He looked at the empty street; it was already night, and no soul walked this place, at least none that could be noticed.
Dangerous places tended to have that characteristic.
It was also a spacious street, and Jaune recalled one of those scenarios from fighting games, Street Gladiator? Or Emperor of Fighter? No, this seemed more like Street Gladiator.
If that was the feeling the setting gave him, although it lacked the crowd of spectators, but that was fine— not having to worry about others while fighting was more fun.
Yang cracked her knuckles, assumed a stance, and her eyes seemed to glow in a reddish hue.
Jaune, still in a relaxed posture, extended his hand forward, fingers straight and together, pointing at Yang, while his other hand went behind his back.
"By the way, my name's Jaune; John is just a nickname," since this was going to be a fight, a proper introduction should be made.
Yang huffed; she obviously had guessed that before.
"Yang, Yang Xiao-Long. Remember it because it's the name of the one who's going to kick your ass"
Jaune processed the name and couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Of course, little dragon~"
Yang's eyes widened slightly.
Oh, he didn't just say that! Nobody mocked her name!
With a growl, Yang lunged forward, her feet leaving a deep mark in the street behind her. Her body instantly broke the sound barrier, and her practiced fist skillfully shot towards Jaune.
A fist that had easily knocked out many trainee huntsmen.
Jaune received it with the back of his hand, stopping it abruptly. The air rippled, and Yang had only half a second to be alarmed before she felt a palm strike her stomach; the air exploded upon contact.
Her body was thrown backward, her feet tearing the ground until she stopped by sheer force.
"Ouch!" Yang grimaced, feeling her stomach; her aura had absorbed most of the damage, but she still felt it.
"Is that all? I thought you'd kick my ass" Jaune taunted, a confident smile on his face.
"Oh, you'll see!" Yang decided to stop fooling around and launched forward twice as fast as before, a barrage of punches raining down on her opponent.
Jaune received each blow, not dodging or deflecting them but directly blocking each one with his hand.
He studied Yang's fighting style with every punch and couldn't help but smile.
'So, a hand-to-hand fighter... But judging by those bracelets, she should have some kind of weapon too'
His suspicions were confirmed when Yang let out a frustrated cry, and suddenly the bracelets on her wrists unfolded, revealing they were indeed some sort of weaponry.
"Take this!" she shouted and struck from a distance.
Jaune saw the bullets coming toward him.
"A shotgun, huh? It makes sense; it gives more impact to her punch" but shotgun bullets or not, the reality was that Yang's blows were, at best, mild nuisances.
With a quick motion, his hand moved deftly, catching each projectile thrown instantly.
"What?" Yang seemed somewhat puzzled but didn't give herself time to think. As fast as he caught them, he returned the projectiles with even more force.
"Oh fuck" Yang crossed her arms but still was thrown backward.
Fortunately, her aura managed to withstand it, so she just grimaced.
Jaune decided to give her a little fight to let her emotions out, of course, he'd have to hold back a lot as he didn't want to truly hurt her.
Besides, holding back was a challenge in itself; he still didn't entirely know the limits of the aura. Perhaps he could test it a bit on this occasion.
Yang stopped covering herself to look at Jaune, but what greeted her was a fist coming straight at her.
With no time to think, she instinctively moved to the side, but the fist seemed to flow along with her movement, and she felt it connect with her cheek.
She grunted in pain and annoyance and retaliated, this time Jaune didn't cover to block; he let Yang's fist hit his face.
The air rippled at the impact and the thunderous sound ran through the empty street.
Yang smiled with satisfaction, which vanished when she realized she hadn't moved Jaune even half a centimeter.
Then a fist struck her in the stomach, almost knocking the air out of her, and she retaliated by hitting him in the side
Without paying attention to blocking or dodging, they both started hitting each other directly.
For every punch Jaune landed, Yang connected three, but this didn't give her an advantage since each of Jaune's punches felt like she was receiving ten.
The fact that he seemed completely unaffected by her blows only made her angrier, causing her to hit harder and faster.
It was like hitting an immovable steel wall, something unbreakable, exactly what Yang needed to let off steam.
Every thought, sadness, frustration, and anger were lost in her fists, her mind focusing only on continuing to strike even if she was hit in return.
She felt the fire burning inside her, and her broken hair began to blaze in flames; once it might have been a visually stunning and striking sight.
Now it was like uneven fire.
Fortunately for her, the aura-protected hat blocked the worst view.
Jaune felt the shift; Yang's eyes gleamed in intense red, and heat radiated from her in waves.
There was an almost familiar sensation every time he hit her, but it wasn't until now that he realized what it was.
'Is she absorbing the energy from the hits?'
It was somewhat akin to what the water stream did, yet different at the same time.
Like a blazing comet, she launched herself at him much faster than before and with greater force.
Her fist connecting with his face actually made him stagger back a bit, the heat stinging slightly against his skin—not painful, but uncomfortable.
The air exploded, the ground beneath their feet cratered, and debris flew.
The shockwave rippled out for hundreds of meters with great force.
It was a solid hit.
But it also caused a lot of collateral damage; he could already hear people in the distance reacting.
"How about that, eh?" Yang grinned and panted, breathing heavily. Her knuckles ached like hell, her hand was starting to numb, but that didn't matter now that she'd landed a blow—one that seemed to have done something, at least.
"I think we need to run," Jaune said. Yang blinked, confused, the fire within her dwindling.
Then she heard the sirens, and her eyes widened. "Oh shit."
She looked around; the street was a mess with potholes and signs of their scuffle everywhere, too much damage.
The winds generated by their fight didn't help; dust and debris scattered, making it look even worse than it was.
Yang nearly panicked, but before she could, she felt a hooded cloak being deftly placed over her, almost making her feel like a doll being dressed in a rush.
"Let's go! Unless you're a millionaire and can pay for this damage," he grabbed her arm and started running, and she quickly followed suit.
Clearly, she wasn't a millionaire.
Jaune might have felt bad about all the damage they had caused, but he wasn't because that street wasn't a "normal" street.
He knew this; he had learned a lot about it these past few days.
Although it was referred to as the bad part of the city, it wasn't because it was a poor area. In fact, everything about it screamed "expensive."
The poor area and the bad area were two completely different things.
The poor area might have had crime, but the bad area was where high-level players truly crossed paths.
Drawing a little police attention here wouldn't hurt; it might put nerves on edge for several of the criminals roaming these streets.
They quickly ran toward the rooftops, getting away from the sound of the sirens.
.
.
.
"That was close" Yang took a deep breath, adjusted her hat on her head, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She winced as she moved her hand, took off the fingerless gloves she usually wore, and inspected her knuckles; even with her aura, they were slightly red.
They were already healing, of course, but the phantom pain lingered.
"What the heck are you made of?" she asked, looking at him. He didn't even have a mark from where she had hit him; even her strongest hit at the end hadn't left a thing.
Jaune seemed to consider it seriously before responding.
"The last time I checked, 35 liters of water, 20 liters of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 liters of quicklime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of—"
"Okay, I get it! I get it!" Yang interrupted him before he continued reciting all those strange ingredients.
That was fine by Jaune; he didn't remember what came next anyway.
Yang relaxed; hitting something had cleared her head a bit. It didn't make her problems disappear or anything, they were all still there.
But at least the anger had subsided.
"I'm sorry" Yang blinked and realized that she was the one who had said that.
"Huh? Why are you apologizing?" Jaune sat down beside her; they were at the edge of a tall building, overlooking the city.
"You've just been helping me and I'm being a shit, an ungrateful shit no less... I don't want to be like her... but my temper gets the best of me sometimes" She didn't like that. What if she goes too far? What if, at some point, she crosses a line?
"You certainly have an explosive temper, but I don't think that makes you like her. Your eyes seemed to burn with fire, and hers are just like a glacier, quite different if you ask me" Jaune admitted.
Seeing people's true nature was difficult, but there were obvious signs one could notice with enough experience.
"You have a passion within you that's different from the coldness that woman exudes. Although I don't know you very well, so my words might not mean much to you" Jaune felt that the words were somewhat difficult to find. because not all problems can simply be solved with fists?
Yang listened, and within herself, she actually appreciated his words, But she didn't say it out loud because she was embarrassed to admit it.
A comfortable silence filled the edge of the building where they sat. Yang looked at the broken moon in the sky; it would probably take a long time to overcome this revelation.
But even though it hurt, what weighed on her most was disappointment, disappointment in herself.
Why had she sought out that woman? Why had she become so obsessed with her? Was it just because she sought to fill the void left by Summer? The void left by her real mother?
Spending so much time chasing after someone who wasn't worth it left her feeling somewhat lost, even though her long-term goals hadn't changed.
She was going to be a huntress; this was just a stumbling block in her path, something to overcome.
She tried to convince herself of this.
Feeling the depressing thoughts, she quickly shook her head and asked a question to distract herself.
"What will you do now?" That question had been asked to her by Jaune before, and now it was the other way around.
Upon hearing Yang's question, Jaune pondered it.
His quest to find those seeking to destroy Mount Glenn had failed; now, all he had left was to meet Qrow and talk to him about his... sister? Cousin?
He didn't exactly know what Raven was to Qrow, but from her appearance, it was obvious they shared a close blood tie.
"I have some matters to attend to in Patch. I need to meet an acquaintance there" he admitted, not seeing the harm in saying so.
Yang widened her eyes. Was that a coincidence?
"You're going to Patch? That's great! I live there. My excursion in Vale ends soon. If you want, I can show you around the place. I know every corner of the island like the back of my hand" she quickly offered, blushing as she realized she had been overly enthusiastic and hasty.
"Just... to thank you and all that," she adjusted her hat to try and hide her expression.
Jaune considered it and shrugged. "Sure, I haven't been there before, so I guess a guide could be helpful"
He figured a little tourist break wouldn't hurt.
So, the two continued chatting for a while longer before deciding on a meeting point when it was time to depart.
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note
Writing this chapter took longer than I expected. Who would've thought that depicting character interactions and emotions would be more challenging than writing fights? I had to rewrite many things, and I'm not sure if it turned out as I intended. However, I'm not displeased with the result; it's just about learning and improving for future chapters.
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