It Can't Get Much Worse

Luna's day was rather strange, especially with how it was the day of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Luna had no real qualms with such an event. She enjoyed little festivals liked this as it brought a sense of peaceful fun and excitement for all. Such a thing was sorely needed after the terrible weeks before this day. The disgusting Faunus of the White Fang attacked Haven, killing a group of students and even attempting to blow up the school itself! However, the rest of the student body beat the White Fang back before they could do so. Some students had even terribly wounded a few White Fang commanders in the battle, like how her teammate Percy had. But it didn't outset the cost of the battle.

Her team, Team APLL, had lost one of its members in the battle. Leonardo las Amarillo, a egotistical tiger Faunus who was a brutish blockhead who was loyal to his friends and a danger on the battlefield for his foes. During the intense battle, Leo had been separated from the team in order to split up to look for survivors in one of the many damaged parts of the school's many buildings. When the battle ended and when Luna and her team went to find Leo, they only found his severed right arm floating in a pool of blood. He didn't make it, yet they could never find a body. Shortly after, they were assigned a new teammate named Eve Ecru; making the Team APLE.

Luna had resigned herself of his fate. No one could survive losing an arm along with that much blood! Even with no body, she believed that Leo was dead. He had to be. If not, then she was going to kick Leo's ass for it! How dare he force her to grieve over his death! She hated grieving! It left a bad taste in her mouth and in her heart. Despite this, she and had gotten out better than Percy had.

For what Luna could tell, the battle had changed Percy. Instead of the 'reliable' con artist who always had a prank to put a smile on people, Percy was now a paranoid and malicious scammer who would bankrupt anyone for some extra Lien. This changed had probably been because of what Percy did to one of the White Fang lieutenant during the battle. During the battle, Percy and the lieutenant had fought in a dangerous duel which ended with Percy blowing off a massive chunk the lieutenant's arm with his shotguns. The wound was so bad that the lieutenant's arm would had be cut off as it was rendered useless by Percy's attacks. Luna had heard about what the White Fang does to get back at people, and Percy's family was in a place where they could be taken advantage by the White Fang. If anything, it seemed like Percy was trying to raise enough Lien to relocate his family to someplace safer, like Atlas. Smart move…

But the one who really seemed to change was Andy, and Luna didn't know how to feel about that. For Percy, her feelings could be easily identified and cataloged. But for Andy, she didn't exactly know how to feel. After the battle, and especially after the discovery of Leo's death, Andy had changed. No longer was he the carefree, airheaded idiot of a team leader that Luna had grown comfortable with. He was now an active and studious man that tried to improve himself through many different ways. Luna didn't know how to feel about this sudden change, and she didn't know how to deal with this new Andy.

However, she shouldn't worry about that on the day of the Cherry Blossom Festival. She cannot worry about things like that. She needs to just have some simple fun. That should be easy, right? Oh how wrong she was when she encountered Percy setting up a food stand for sweet bread and candy in one of the hallways of the school. The exchange between the two had started out simple enough.

When Luna encountered Percy, she asked him "What on earth are you doing, Percy?"

He replied with a simple "Setting up a stall so I can make some Lien. I hope you're ready for your job."

Luna was confused by the final statement, so she asked him "What are you talking about?"

"You're dressing up as a maid and you're going to beckon people to come buy stuff from my stall! What do you think I was talking about." Percy replied, all casual like this was the agreed plan. The thing was that Luna and Percy never made a plan like this. In fact, Luna would never agree to a plan like this unless they were in a literal life-or-death situation! A spring festival wasn't a life-or-death situation!

"I am not doing that. End. Of. Discussion." Luna said, putting a stop to whatever Percy was planning. However, she didn't have the power over the situation when Percy flashed a quick picture in her face. Luna's face immediately turned scarlet from embarrassment and anger and she tried to snatch Percy's Scroll out of his hands. When did he take a picture of that?! How long has he had that saved up for?!

Percy kept his Scroll out of her reach and said to Luna "If you don't do what I say, then I'll send this little picture to Andy. I wonder how he'll react when he sees you-"

"Don't! I-I'll do it…" Luna resigned herself, silently vowing to make Percy regret his actions. This action had also saddened Luna somewhat. Percy had used blackmail to force her to work for him in order to make more Lien. He had never used blackmail before, not even against his enemies. To do so against a friend really reinforced how much Percy had changed after the battle. Luna wondered if there was some way to reverse time and stop all of their troubles…

"Alright! Your outfit is in the yellow bag over there. I'm going to finish up setting up the stall. Come back to me when you're dressed up!" Percy ordered Luna as he pocketed his Scroll and went back to working on the food stand. Luna grabbed the yellow bag and went to the nearby bathroom, going into one of the stalls in order to change.

She couldn't believe the outfit she had to wear. She simply couldn't believe it. It was one of those sexy maid outfits, and she utterly despised the sight of it. The skirt length was too short for her comfort, the shirt was too tight so it made her breasts pop out along with making her uncomfortable, and she felt ridiculous wearing such an outfit. When had Percy purchased such an outfit?! Did he have a maid fetish?! So many questions and so much anger bubbled in Luna as she left the bathroom and returned to Percy.

Once she had made it back, her cheeks scarlet red from embarrassment and anger as she listened to Percy's orders. Percy ordered Luna to: "Smile and advertise to any customers walking by. Especially any nerdy-looking fools who'll do anything for a pretty girl. I want to make over three thousand Lien today, so you better work it! Now get to it!" Those orders were simple, yet demeaning as Luna would have to embarrass herself for Percy's profit. But she had to in order for that picture not to be shown to Andy. God, she despises this so much…

When the Festival finally started, Luna had her work cut out for her as a horde of students and visitors flooded the hallways in order to gawk at the wares that the many stalls were offering. As such, Luna just had to act pretty and allure customers as they checked out Percy's selection of sweets and bread. After the initial rush died down, it was then when Luna had to work for it. She had to approach potential customers and charm them with her looks and sweet words. She felt ridiculous while doing so, and she also felt disgust when she saw most of the customers only looking at her "eyes" instead of her eyes. What she wouldn't give for Percy to be kicked six ways to Sunday!

Luna's horrible situation lasted for four hours before she found a rather interesting girl wandering around. She looked like a domino: carrying a white board, a black marker, and a sword. She looked like she was capable of doing anything, something that could help her get free of Percy's control. As such, Luna quickly approached the girl with a fake smile on her face.

"Excuse me Miss! You seem like the kind of girl who would like some sweetie goodness! Why don't you head on down to Percy's Sweet Breads? Two snacks cost five Lien! That's a bargain!" The bargain didn't account for tax and nor Percy's "Finder's Fee."

The girl shook her head at Luna and began to write on the whiteboard. After finishing, she held it up for Luna to see. It said "No thank you."

"I insist! You seem hungry! Why not get some glazed donuts to fill you up?!" Luna wasn't going to take no for an answer as she followed the girl, disappearing around the corner as she kept walking beside the domino-looking woman.

"No thank you. Just leave me alone." The girl wrote once again on the whiteboard, frowning at Luna.

Luna just about had it, and decided to drop her friendly persona. She slammed her hand against some nearby lockers, stopping her potential customer as Luna hovered over her. She then told the girl the truth with a tone of barely held back rage. "Listen here you domino-looking tic-tac; if you aren't going to buy any sweets then at least get me out of this hell-hole. That asshole running the sweet stand blackmailed me into doing this, and I want him to feel pain. If you won't indulge in his sick business, then destroy it. You could say it was 'Practice destroying stuff in case any enemies are hiding behind them for cover'! I'll even back you up if any of these security morons decide to find out what is going on. Deal?!"

"Deal." Luna blinked at the domino girl ducking under Luna's arms and heading back to Percy's stall. Luna felt a genuine smile grace her lips as she followed after, only stopping once they made it back to the stand. Luna watched from behind the corner as the girl whipped out her sword and began to wreck Percy's business, trashing the food and the stand itself with her blade. Percy himself was scrambling to recover his Lien, dodging the girl's attacks and the debris scattering all around. After watching for a bit, Luna decided to leave and head back to their team's dorm room. She needed to get out of this outfit before anyone sees her, especially Andy!

She made it back to her dorm room just fine, but when she opened the door; she was greeted with a strange sight. Her new teammate, Eve Ecru, was sitting on her bed alongside a rather edgy looking boy; gaming controllers in their hands as they played a fighting game together. Eve was in a rather casual outfit, very different to the princess-like attire she wore most of the time. A simply hoodie, no shirt underneath, with short shorts on. It was almost like they had… Oh…

"Sorry. Please excuse me…" Luna said as she slowly closed the door and left the two to their business. What on earth was that?! Questions for later as there are more pressing issues. Luna still needs to get out of this outfit! The next link was her emergency outfit in her weapon's locker. But she would have to go through a quarter of the school to get to it! Well, it is better than nothing.

Just as Luna had exited the building, her situation got worse. She was suddenly doused with water from above, soaking her to the bone. She looked up after the water had stopped, she saw two rather guilty looking students yelling out "Sorry!" to Luna. It was an accident, but an accident that made Luna's situation worse. Her outfit was now soaked, revealing her undergarments while also chilling the poor girl to the bone. This can't get worse, can it? Better not test that…

Luna then began to run towards the locker room, trying her hardest to avoid other people so she didn't embarrass herself even more. She made it to the locker room after what felt like hours, and she was grateful for it. She was cold, shivering cold, and her outfit has gotten tighter thanks to the water. But that was soon to be a thing of the past as she grabbed the locker room door's handle and pulled- The door's locked! She's locked out!

"Luna? Is that you?" Luna dreadfully turned around and looked at the person who spoke to her. It was Andy, standing there with a trash bag in his hands.

"H-Hello Andy… W-W-What are you doing here?" Luna asked, her teeth chattering due to how cold she was.

"Taking out the trash. You do know that the locker room has been refashioned as the garbage place for the Festival, right?" Andy said, scratching his head as Luna lowered her head while curling her arms around her chest. She had failed in every regard! This can't get any worse, can it?

"Hey Luna. Mind waiting here for a bit?" Luna looked back up at Andy as he dug a key out of his pockets and opened the locker room door. Luna was only able to nod before Andy went into the building and closed the door behind him, leaving Luna with her thoughts.

"This has to be one of the worst days of my life!" Luna thought to herself as she covered her face, her face scarlet red from a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and oddly pleasure. She had no idea how to explain the pleasure part, but she could explain the anger and embarrassment. She was mad. Mad about Percy, the blackmail, the outfit she had to wear, the water, and now Andy seeing her. The same could be said about the embarrassment. She was embarrassed about how Andy saw him, the blackmail Percy somehow has over her, and her outfit! Seriously, how did Percy even get such an outfit?!

"Alright, I'm done." Luna turned and looked at Andy, only to blush brighter at the sight of her team's captain. He had taken off of his clothing; only leaving his underwear, his toolbelt, his hat, and his shoes on while his shirt and pants were in his hands. He looked ridiculous, and also strangely handsome. His recent training was really paying off as he was much more toned and muscular than the last time Luna saw him shirtless.

Andy held out the clothing in his hands to Luna, saying "Take them. The door's unlocked." Luna couldn't believe her captain. He was offering her his clothing?! What on earth was he thinking about? Whatever, at least now she can get out of this stupid outfit! As such, she snatched the clothing out of his hands and swiftly went inside; quickly switching her maid outfit for Andy's clothes.

After changing, Luna stepped back outside and stared at her commander with half-closed eyes; watching the moron readjust his hat. He looked ridiculous, but he looked like this for her. Damn moron…

Luna walked up to Andy and leaned against him, hugging the now blushing boy as he asks her "What's wrong?" Luna said nothing as she silently hugged him before reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. After the quick peck, Luna disengaged herself from Andy and walked off; leaving him confused with a bright red blush on his face. As she walked away, she thought back to the blackmail Percy had shown her.

The blackmail was a picture of Luna, her forehead wrapped with blood stained bandages, kissing an unconscious, bruised Andy's cheek while in the school's hospital, recovering from their first mission.