Semblance of Brutality

The Ol' One-Two

Yang's perspective

I arrive outside of Qrow's medium-sized house around 7:55; never a bad idea to be a bit early just in case. I wait around for a few minutes and, at the stroke of eight, Doomguy comes outside. Could he be just as eager for this? I think to myself. He doesn't have his helmet on and I can see his face clearly for the first time. He has short-cut, chestnut-brown hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a strong jawline.

"Ready to get to work, Yang?" he asks me.

"Whenever you are!" I grin. "Just don't go easy on me!"

"Wasn't planning on it," he retorts, raising his fists in a standard boxing form.

I raise my own fists in my personal fighting style: a mixture of taekwondo, karate, and kickboxing. I am about to taunt him by asking if he's afraid to hit a girl when he rushes me. He sure runs fast, I say to myself. I block his downward jab at the last second, silently telling him that I'm just as quick. We exchange blows for a few moments before I sweep my foot under his shin, tripping him.

"I'll let you in on some advice from my dad," I begin, "Never be so dense as to think the only way to conquer an obstacle is simply through it. Sometimes the best way is to go around."

He is still on the ground, gazing up at me. There is an unusual look in his eyes; admiration, maybe? I decide not to read too much into it; we still had training to focus on, after all. I reach my hand towards him, offering to help him up. He grabs my hand and pulls himself upward.

"Again?" I ask.

"Again," he nods.

Once again, we raise our fists, preparing to fight. This time, I'm quicker on the draw and rush Doomguy instead. My fist impacts with his face, but, before I can jump back, he grabs my arm and hurls me backwards. Luckily, I am able to skid myself to a halt before losing control of the momentum. I spring forward once more and manage to get a couple more hits in. Just as our fight seems to be reaching some sort of climax, a groggy Qrow saunters outside, his hair noticeably messier than usual.

"Sheesh! Try to keep the noise down, will you? Some people aren't early birds."

Both of us immediately halt our fight, and I begin to draw into myself a bit.

"Sorry, Qrow. We didn't mean to wake you. I kinda figured you would have slept a bit heavier."

"How I sleep is no one's business but mine," he tells us. "But for the record, I do sleep quite heavily. You two, however, are really loud fighters," he adds before shuffling back inside, presumably to get some coffee.

I turn to Doomguy and begin to explain his fighting strengths and weaknesses.

"Okay," I begin, "you focus a lot on throwing punches, and, while that's normally acceptable, you should also focus on integrating some kicks and leg sweeps. It can turn the tide of a fist-fight pretty reliably, especially if your opponent isn't expecting it."

"Good to know. I can't help but wonder, though... What does this have to do with my semblance?"

"Well, some people unlock it through a lot of training, which is what we're trying to do here. If this doesn't end up working, we'll have to find another way or just wait and see."

"Hm. Got it," he says succinctly. "Wanna go again?"

"Not right now," I chuckle. "Maybe later. Right now, I think I need some food!"

My stomach roars exactly at the end of my sentence. After a few moments of glancing at each other, then at my stomach, then at each other again, we both burst out laughing. His laughter is the antithesis of mine; it is a loud, raucous laugh that felt like it could shake a forest. Qrow comes out of the house once more, this time with the smell of breakfast wafting out of the front door.

"You loud kids want breakfast? Or would you rather stay out here and continue to be loud while I eat all of it?" Qrow teases.

"Of course I want some!" I turn to Doomguy. "Race you?"

"You'll lose," he jokes.

"As if!"

Both of us race enthusiastically into the house. As we eat, I find my mind wandering and ending up at the same place over and over: Doomguy. I don't know exactly what it is about him, but, for a person whose days used to consist of only killing demons, he's rather fun to be around. When we fought, I felt a type of chemistry; neither of us were stronger or faster than the other, and, instead, we were nearly evenly-matched. If it's already been this great, I can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds!