Yellow Hope

V:4 C:9 Progress, Regress

(Robbed of a mother's love at birth
Left to drown in blood
He was to die beneath her corpse
Meant to rot in a cesspit of despair
Born to die as a waste of air)

(Barbatos' POV)

Holy crap sparing is something else. I'm panting more like a dog than anything else. Yang's dad is tough guy, I thought he was... well weak, but gods be damn.

"Yang you are up."

"I know." I sit up looking at the fight. I was lost of words, Yang just started a couple of weeks ago, but yet is still pretty good. Taiyang stands alone and moves forward, doing his own roundhouse kick. Yang joins both hands atop each other to block Tai's landing foot. With a loud cry, she pushes it up and back. Taiyang regains his footing in a flip while Yang waits for his landing. Using her robotic arm, she knocks him back with a single hit. Holding onto his right bicep, Tai slides through the dirt, his feet flat on the ground until he comes to a stop.

"Whoa, that thing packs a punch!"

"Honestly, I'm kind of surprised." Yang said while looking at her robotic arm. "I thought it would be just this huge weight, but it feels... natural. They did a great job with this thing."

Taiyang comes in, delivering a left hook right into her face. Yang's upper body rears back both from impact and surprise. She's ready to block his right hook, however, and uses the turning momentum to deliver an elbow jab. Grinning the entire time, Tai blocks it and then dodges all the kicks she follows through with. Yang switches to punches, but Tai is too on point for her. While she uses her left hand to block an elbow thrust, Tai has grasped her robotic arm and pulled it forward. The position puts Yang in the position of having her balance rely on the weight of one leg. He sweeps her forward leg, sending her onto the ground on her back. He leaves her there and walks over to Zwei, who happily gets the top towel for him.

"Ouch." I said to her, as she laid there on the ground

"I saw your tournament fights. During the Vytal Festival."

"Let me guess. I was 'sloppy'."

"No that awards goes to your boyfriend. You were too predictable." She quickly turned to him. "Do you realize that you used your Semblance to win every fight after the qualifiers?"

"So what? How is me using my Semblance any different than someone else using theirs?"

"A Semblance is used to enhance a person's fighting style, not as the whole fighting style." Yang just looked at her father. "Look, just keep a level head, and think before you act. Your Semblance is a great fallback, but you can't let yourself rely on it. It won't always save you." Yang just quickly rolled her eyes, he just sigh in responds. "You definitely have your mom's stubbornness."

"Oh, so now we can talk about her?" Yang asked him.

"Well, as I have been informed, you're an adult now, remember?"

"Well, sorry I remind you of her."

"Don't be. Raven was great in so many ways - her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for. I'm proud of how much of her I see in you. But, I'm glad I don't see all of her in you."

"Why?"

"Your mother was... a complicated woman. Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore our team apart. And, it did a real number on our family. You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it." As he points at Zwei, I felt as if he was talking to me too, some of my fingers in my hand twitch. "That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see..." He just walked around Zwei. "there's a way around as well. Come on - one more before dinner." Yang ready herself up, and got up.