Chapter 15

After a few days and even more paintings it was Saturday, the night of Yang's fight. Ren and Nora came over to watch with Ruby and Penny. Blake and Weiss had gone to Vytal for the fight, along with Doc, Coach and Peach. Pyrrha was the only other healthy fighter remaining, but everyone involved agreed that putting her in close contact with Yang would be a bad idea given the circumstances. Ren had invited her to watch the fight with Ruby, hoping the offer might be an opening for her to return more permanently, but Pyrrha had refused. All she had done was apologize profusely to Ren for beating him up. Ren tried to have a conversation but Pyrrha was not interested. For Ruby, watching the fights was just another reminder of Pyrrha and the fact that she was no longer there for her.

"You're losing." Coach said. "You need to finish her."

Peach poured some water into Yang's mouth while Doc tended to a bad cut above her eye. Yang felt awful. Arslan Atlan, the champion, had spent four rounds picking her apart, and Yang could find no answers. She had never been so badly beaten, and never even been cut before. Now her left eye was basically useless as blood poured in from her eyebrow and obscured her vision. That was not her only injury either. Repeated body blows had left her with what she suspected was a broken rib, and her legs were both aching from repeated kicks.

Arslan was too quick, or more correctly, Yang was too slow. Arslan's strikes were not necessarily that hard, but they came in thick and fast and Yang was helpless to stop them. When she tried to launch any assault of her own, Arslan easily got out of the way. Before the fight Yang had identified Arslan's weakness as her ground game, but it hardly mattered. Yang simply could not take her down. Whenever Yang shot for a takedown Arslan blocked the effort and ended up in a dominant position. After almost getting submitted in such circumstances twice Yang stopped attempting takedowns altogether. Now she had five minutes to knock Arslan out or make her submit. Yang felt exhausted but across the ring Arslan looked fresh. Yang knew in her heart it was over. She spit out the water. It was time for the final round.

As the referee called for the round to start Yang and Arslan walked to the center of the cage and touched gloves. Yang may have been angry and frustrated, but she still had tremendous respect for her opponent. They traded blows for a while. Yang noticed that contrary to her appearance, Arslan was tired, her attacks now slower and less powerful. She was still fast enough to avoid Yang's strikes though. Those Yang landed were at best glancing blows. With 30 seconds remaining in the fight Yang pressed forward. There was no sense in saving energy now. Yang uncorked a hard right but Arslan jumped back, then kicked Yang's lead leg hard.

After a night of punishment, Yang's leg buckled. She dropped to a knee. Arslan saw a chance and attacked aggressively, diving at Yang in hopes of getting on top of her. Yang saw her chance too. Arslan's move was a reckless one. Yang bucked backwards as Arslan made contact, and both rolled. There was just enough momentum to flip them over and Yang landed on top. Arslan was shocked and seemed disoriented. Yang started pounding away at her head as Arslan desperately tried to cover up from the flurry of strikes. The referee moved in, taking a close look to see if he should stop the fight. It looked like he was about to. Then the horn sounded. Time had run out.

"I can't believe it." Ren sighed. "I never thought I'd see her lose, except maybe to Pyrrha if they ever fought."

"She could still win a decision." Ruby said, hoping against hope.

"If the judges are terrible." Nora said. She paused for a second. "Sorry."

"No, you're right." Ruby groaned. "She got her ass kicked."

"Another 10 seconds and she would have won though." Penny suggested.

"It doesn't matter." Ruby said, beginning to tear up. "I just...I feel like this is my fault."

Yang and Arslan stood on either side of the referee in the center of the ring. "After five rounds, we go to the judges scorecards for a decision." The ring announcer said. "The judges score the fight 48-46, 48-47 and 49-46 for the winner by unanimous decision and...still VFC Lightweight Champion...Arslan Atlan!" The referee raised Arslan's hand and the belt was strapped around her waist. Yang shook her hand and walked out. And there it was. Yang's big shot and she had blown it. She wanted to go home, probably get something to drink, but Doc insisted she go to the hospital. If nothing else the cut above her eye would require stitches, and the damage to her legs and chest were visible from the considerable bruising. She needed to be checked to be sure there was not serious damage.

"She didn't even stick around for an interview." Ruby sighed. "She must be so depressed. This was supposed to be her big night."

"She'll bounce back." Ren encouraged. "Yang's a great fighter. She'll get another shot."

"I still feel like it's my fault." Ruby groaned. "If she wasn't so distracted by my condition…"

"Ruby, that's no way to think." Penny cut her off. "If you keep going down that track you'll end up back where you were when I first got here."

"You're right." Ruby said. "I can't blame myself. Who knows? Yang might have been hiding an injury or something. Maybe she was just out partying too late last night."

"That's better." Ren said.

Ruby nodded and managed a smile. "Thanks for being here for me." She said. "You too Nora."

"The pleasure is ours." Ren said. "But now we should be taking our leave."

"Oh, wait." Nora said. "Penny, can I talk to you...alone?"

"Sure, of course." Penny replied. She directed Nora toward the bedroom then followed her in.

Nora sat on the edge of the bed and Penny joined her. "It's been a while." Nora said, her characteristic cheerfulness nowhere to be found.

"You got married." Penny said.

"Yeah, we did." Nora smiled, looking at the ring. "It was the happiest day of my life." She sighed. "I'm sorry you weren't there."

"It's okay Nora." Penny said.

"No, it's not okay." Nora groaned. "You took care of me, you helped me when Ren couldn't. It's because of you that I can live my life without breaking down and hurting myself by accident." She started to cry, turned and hugged Penny. The embrace was firm, but not nearly as crushing as Nora usually was. "I'm sorry I didn't say thanks. I'm sorry I didn't stay in contact. And I'm sorry I didn't invite you to my wedding. You would have been an awesome flower girl."

"It's okay, really." Penny insisted. "It was a tough time. You didn't mean anything by it. I forgive you."

Nora released Penny and used her arm to wipe away her tears. "Thank you." Nora said. "You know, you should seriously get a tattoo. They're great fun! Ruby's amazing."

"I'll...think about it." Penny said. "But for now we shouldn't keep Ren waiting."

It was Sunday night before Yang finally got home. The trip to the hospital had shown some ligament damage in her left leg and a cracked rib, and the doctors wanted to get that sorted out before releasing her. When she finally got to her apartment building Yang was tired, in pain, and hoping to have a good stiff drink. As she approached her apartment she spotted someone waiting outside the door. Yang recognized the woman, black-haired and middle-aged. It would have been impossible for her not to given how they looked nearly identical besides the difference in hair and age. It was obviously her estranged mother, Raven.

"I saw your fight." Raven said. "You didn't look like…"

"No." Yang said. She pushed past Raven, unlocked the door and slipped inside, before slamming the door behind her.

"Yang please." Raven said through the door. She knocked repeatedly.

Yang decided Raven was not going to leave without some encouragement. She walked back and opened the door. "What makes you think you can just walk back into my life, now of all times?" Yang seethed. "You made your choice when you abandoned me. Leave me alone."

"Yang, wait." Raven implored. "I came because I saw that you need help. You weren't yourself in that fight. Please, let me help you." She took a step forward.

"You're about ten years too late!" Yang screamed. She slammed the door shut. Raven tried to back up but was not fast enough, catching the heavy metal door in the face.

Yang had sent Coco a text to let her know she was back in Vale. Coco decided she needed to see Yang. They had not seen each other for about a week. Coco could tell something was wrong and knew now was the time when Yang would need her most. As she walked through the lobby of Yang's apartment building, she spotted a black-haired woman covering her face with her hand as blood streamed out of her nose. It was a disturbing sight but Coco ignored it, deciding to focus on Yang instead. She took the elevator straight up and knocked on Yang's door.

"I thought I made myself pretty clear…" Yang started as she opened the door. "Oh...Coco...hey."

"Hey yourself." Coco said. "Can I come in?"

"I'd rather you didn't." Yang said.

"Please." Coco pressed.

"Fine." Yang relented. She walked back into her apartment and sat at the kitchen counter where she immediately began drinking whiskey, straight from the bottle.

Coco looked around the apartment. She had not been there in weeks. Empty liquor bottles and other assorted garbage were scattered everywhere. Dishes were piled in the sink. Laundry was strewn across the floor. "My God Yang." Coco gasped. "What's happened to you?"

"What's happened to me?" Yang said. "Life. That's what happened."

"Yang, stop drinking." Coco demanded. She pulled the bottle away before Yang could get a grip on it. "What are you doing to yourself?"

Yang stood and walked up to Coco, getting in her face. "I'm doing what I have to." Yang replied. "Drinking is the only way I can stay sane."

"Yang, you need help." Coco said. "First you need to cut it out with the booze. Let me help you."

"You were talking to her, weren't you?!" Yang accused. "You're on her side aren't you?!" She balled her fists and took a step back. "Well you can both fuck off!" Yang punched at Coco. Coco closed her eyes but did not flinch, waiting for a blow that never came. When Coco opened her eyes Yang's fist was inches from her face. The color drained from Yang's face. "Oh God...Coco...I…" Yang staggered back until she bumped into the counter. "I...I almost...I…" Tears began to well in her eyes. "I have to go!" Yang grabbed her motorcycle helmet and rushed out the door.

"Yang wait!" Coco called after her, but Yang was already gone.

Yang got on her bike and rode off into the night. She did not know where she was going, just away. She was a professional fighter, her fists were her weapons, and she had almost unleashed those weapons on her girlfriend. How had she fallen so far? How much farther would she go? She rode faster, heading out of the city and into the hills, darting around cars with reckless abandon. It used to be that when she had a problem she would face it. Now she was running away as fast as she could go.

Yang was briefly blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car. She turned her head away from the glare. When she looked back a corner was approaching, and a sharp one at that. She braked hard, too hard, and the bike began to wobble. There was no way she was getting it slowed in time. Yang laid the bike down and slid along the pavement. The bike careened off the road, struck the armco barrier and disintegrated. Yang slid to a stop just short of the barrier. She lay flat on her back in the grass on the outside of the corner. Her helmet had probably saved her life, and her fashionable leather pants had saved her legs, but her left arm was shredded after scraping along the tarmac.

A car pulled up, it's headlights illuminating her. The driver stepped out. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed. "Are you alright?!"

Yang slipped off her helmet and looked at her arm. The dragon tattooed on it had lost most of its head as the road ground her skin off. "My arm's just fucked up." Yang replied. "Can you drive me to a hospital?"

Coco's phone rang. It was Yang. "Yang." Coco said.

"Uh...hey Coco." Yang said.

"Where are you?" Coco asked, the worry clear in her voice.

"I'm at the hospital." Yang replied. "Listen, I…"

"Which one?" Coco asked.

"Vale Central." Yang answered. "Listen, I…"

"I'm coming." Coco said. "Don't move."

"Coco…" Yang started, but Coco hung up.

After a short wait Coco power-walked in. Given the time it would take to get there she must have been driving almost as fast as Yang. "Coco, I'm fine." Yang said as Coco entered the room. Yang's arm was thickly wrapped with bandages but blood still seeped to the surface. "Just some scrapes and bruises. Listen…"

"Shut up Yang." Coco commanded. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? You run off and don't take my calls, and crash your bike you stupid, bloody, idiot! Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I...I'm so sorry Coco." Yang said as tears filled her eyes. "I just...I almost hit you and I was...I didn't want to hurt you. I had to get away. I'm sorry...so sorry." She broke down sobbing.

Coco pulled Yang into a hug. "Only you could crash your bike and be more cut up about our little spat." Coco sighed. "We had a fight. You nearly crossed a line, and yes, that was scary, but you're not yourself. You've been going through a lot of shit, the alcohol has been messing with your brain, and between Ruby and your fight and me it made you snap. I don't blame you for this, but things are going to change from now on. Look at me."

Yang pulled herself away and wiped away her tears. "O-okay." She stammered.

"You are getting sober, starting now." Coco said. "No AA yet, but I'm going to keep an eye on you. You'll clean yourself up, and we'll start making things right, together. Understand?"

"Uh huh." Yang nodded.

"Good." Coco said, crossing her arms and smiling.

"I don't deserve you Coco." Yang said.

"Damn right you don't, but you're stuck with me." Coco laughed. "Because I love you too God damn much to give up."

"I...I…" Yang struggled. "I love you too Coco."

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Coco asked. She sat behind the wheel of her car, now parked outside Ruby's apartment. Yang had spent the night in the hospital and been discharged around midday.

"No...I need to do this on my own." Yang replied. She got out. "Thanks, for everything." Coco just nodded. Yang entered the building and made her way upstairs. She paused outside the door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

"I've got it!" Ruby yelled inside. Yang could her footfalls approaching and soon the door swung open. "Yang!" Ruby exclaimed as she hugged her sister.

"Whoa...a little tight." Yang groaned. "Busted rib."

"Oh, sorry." Ruby said, backing off. "Come in!"

"Sure." Yang said. She followed Ruby in and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Who is it?" Penny asked, approaching from the kitchen.

"My sister Yang." Ruby answered. "Penny, Yang. Yang, Penny. Penny's been taking care of me since...since Pyrrha left."

"Well, you two probably want some privacy, so I'll go do a little cleaning in the other room." Penny said before heading off.

"I like her already." Yang said.

"She's pretty great." Ruby confirmed. "I'm lucky to have her."

"You shouldn't need her." Yang sighed. "I should be here for you. I promised mom I would be. Dad trusted me too. But when you needed me most I fell apart and only made your life worse."

"Yang..." Ruby said. "You can't be perfect. No one can."

"Yeah, but when it comes to helping you I should be." Yang said.

"You've always done everything you could." Ruby said.

"I really blew it this time though." Yang said. "I...I...Pyrrha...she came to me...before she left. She wanted help, advice, anything. I had nothing for her. I was too drunk to do anything useful. If I'd kept myself together...she wouldn't have left."

"Yang, some things should happen, some thing shouldn't happen, but these things did happen." Ruby said. "There's no sense dwelling on it. We just have to deal with it. I don't blame you. If anyone, I blame myself."

"Ruby you can't...please don't blame yourself." Yang wept. "I just want you to be happy. Anything that happens to me or anyone else, that's on us, not you. Please just be happy."

"I'll try." Ruby said. "But it's really hard. I feel like you lost your fight because of me."

"I lost my fight because I'm an idiot and I couldn't ask for help with my problems like a normal person." Yang countered. "I decided I had to do everything on my own and the best solution I could come up with was to drink the pain away. If I'd just talked to someone instead of being a stubborn asshole, I would have been fine, and I would have kicked Arslan's ass."

"I guess…" Ruby sighed. "Well, enough about me. What happened to your arm?"

"Oh...uh...yeah…" Yang groaned. "Sorry for ruining your tattoo."

"I'm not worried about the tattoo." Ruby said. "I'm worried about you. What happened?"

"I crashed my bike last night." Yang replied. "I got into a fight with Coco and ran off like a jerk. It'll be fine, just a flesh wound."

"Good thing I remember how your tattoo is supposed to look." Ruby said. "I'll be able to fix it right up."

"Yeah...once the skin grows back." Yang said with an uneasy laugh. "Well, I should probably get going."

"You're leaving already?" Ruby asked.

"For now." Yang answered. "You're just the first person I needed to talk to."

"Pyrrha?" Ruby suggested.

"Yep." Yang confirmed.

"What are you going to do to her?" Ruby asked.

"I'm only planning to beat her up a little." Yang said with a smirk.

"I'd prefer it if you just talked her into coming back." Ruby said.

"Why can't it be both?" Yang asked. "So yeah, I'll see you for dinner. If that's alright of course."

"I'd love it!" Ruby squealed. "And Penny's an awesome cook. It'll be great!"

There was a knock at Pyrrha's door. She figured it was probably Blake, back from Vytal and eager to train. When she opened the door she was shocked to see Yang. "Y-Yang…" Pyrrha gasped.

"Get dressed and get in the ring, now." Yang demanded.

"But you're hurt..." Pyrrha started.

"We'll spar there or in your room." Yang said. "Your choice."

Pyrrha reluctantly suited up and met Yang in the ring. With all her recent injuries Yang was in no fighting shape. "I can't fight you." Pyrrha said. "Not while you're in that condition."

"I'm going to fight you regardless." Yang declared. She stepped forward and punched Pyrrha in the face. It was not a hard strike for Yang, but Pyrrha felt it for sure. "You can be a punching bag or you can punch back."

"I…I…" Pyrrha stammered.

Yang punched her again. "You took out every other fighter in the gym." Yang said. "Take me out next."

"Yang...I…" Pyrrha said. Another punch, this time blocked. "Fine." Pyrrha punched at Yang, but it was slow and telegraphed. Her heart was not in it and it showed.

Yang caught Pyrrha's arm and twisted her to the ground, all to minimal resistance. In no time she had Pyrrha's back. Yang fought for a rear-naked-choke as Pyrrha tried to stop her. "You're better than them." Yang said. "You hurt them because it makes you feel good. It feels better to hurt someone who can fight back after you've hurt someone who can't. It makes you feel strong, and physically you are, but deep down you're weak. You're so weak you left Ruby, the woman you supposedly loved, my sister. Did she ever really mean anything to you? Are you going to fucking defend yourself?!"

Pyrrha tried to thrash her way out of Yang's grip and started to cry. "I love her more than anything!" She sobbed. "Her suffering was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. She was so scared and I hurt her because of it. I had to leave, I couldn't stay, even if part of me never could. She needed someone strong, someone who understood, someone who wouldn't hurt her again. I couldn't be that for her, no matter how hard I tried." Pyrrha realized that Yang's attempts to lock in a hold had transformed into an embrace. She stopped struggling and just sobbed in Yang's arms. "I wasn't strong enough...I wasn't strong enough."

"Shh...it's alright." Yang said. "I know, I know. I'm sorry I had to say those things, but it was the only way to get you to face what you're feeling. Now don't you see? You still love Ruby and she still loves you."

"But I've caused so much pain." Pyrrha wept. "How can I go back now? It's too late."

"It's not too late." Yang said. "It's never too late for love. Can't you see that? Go back to her."

"I...I…" Pyrrha stuttered. "I'm so sorry…"