Ch. 6: I fight well
Gray:
Today was the day. I was going to show Yang and Cardin that Gray Forge was no one to fuck with. Earlier that day, I'd asked Darce if I could borrow some of his spare blue dust. He shrugged and handed it over. Afterword, I covertly watched Cardin open his locker (rocket propelled. I love this school!). Memorizing his combination, I waited for him to leave, and when he was gone, I opened his locker and placed the vial of blue dust on the bottom. I then attached two wires to it and placed the other ends on the door. Before I closed it, I placed a cookie on top of the vial. Act of revenge two of twelve: complete. Now to focus on the upcoming fight.
I changed from my uniform to my combat gear: a dragon scale shirt with comfortable jeans and metal shin guards, with Scorpion of course. I had decided on dragon scale because it was the strongest armor I could think of that didn't compromise mobility. Unlike my brother, who mostly focused on speed, I tried to be strong and fast. I found that most people take one look at me and think 'that guy's way too skinny to be a threat, plus he's too far away.' That's usually the part where I punch them in the face. When they finally figured out I am more than a threat, they would focus primarily on me, and Darce would always capitalize on this with a well placed blow from Nihil.
I walked out onto the arena. Darce wouldn't be here to back me up if I made a mistake, but that was fine. He had told me the 'do's-and-don'ts' of fighting Yang over breakfast. Well,...mostly don'ts. don't damage her hair, don't let her semblance build up, etc. When I was in position, Yang walked out.
"My money's on the human." I heard Cardin say to one of his teammates. They laughed, of course they laughed. I'd only be a fanus for a few months, and I was already sick of people like them.
"You ready?" Yang asked.
"Yep, and do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't hold back, I want to know how strong I am." She smiled at this.
"Sure thing."
"Begin!" Prof. Goodwitch announced.
We both charged at each other. I blocked a right hook and sent her a jet-propelled uppercut in retaliation. This only made her stumble backwards a bit. She shook it off immediately and let loose a barrage of punches. I tried to dodge and block them, but a few got through. My arua took most of the damage, but it still hurt. I noticed my pain tolerance was a lot higher than what it was back on earth. She finished her assault with a blow to my torso, sending me back a small distance. I shrugged it off and smiled. Time to show her my Scorpion's tails.
I thrust my hands forward and launched the blades hidden inside my vambraces. They flew at her, but she dodged just in time. I used my aura to control the chains attached to the blades, bending them to point Yang's way. She wasn't quick enough this time and they wrapped around one of her legs. I yanked her off balance and she fell. She tried to get back up, but I dragged her across the floor and hitting her against walls and pillars before she could.
"I told you I'd mop the floor with you!" I taunted. She flashed me a glare and flipped onto her hands, quickly spinning around and coiling the chains around her legs. I didn't know what she hoped to accomplish with this until the chains grew taut and I was the one being thrown about.
"And I told you that I pack more of a PUNCH!" She had wrapped the rest of the chain around herself and I was in range of her free foot, which she sent right into my jaw. She stopped spinning and I released her from my chains. We both quickly distanced ourselves from each other and took fighting poses.
"Hey! That was a kick, not a punch!" I complained.
"Whatever." She said dismissively. We charged again and we both hit the other in the face. We simultaneously fell onto the floor, exhausted. A buzzer sounded.
"Tie match." Called Prof. Goodwitch.
"Aww! You've gotta be kidding!" I yelled.
"Both of your auras went into the red at the same time. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that neither of you are fit for battle." We got up from the floor and smiled at each other.
"Hey, nice match!" Yang complimented me.
"Not so bad yourself." We got off the arena and went to our seats.
"Are there any volunteers for the next match? We have time for one more." Darce and Blake raised their hands, "Mr. Forge, Ms. Belladonna. You're up, then."
Darce:
Blake and I walked onto the arena. Blake's face was as blank as a mask, displaying no emotions. My hand rested on Nihil's handel, and I gripped it uneasily. This would be my first real fight. The Beowolves were too easy to count and I'd stayed in the background when fighting the Deathstalker.
There would be no hiding on an arena this small and flat, especially against an ex-thief like Blake. I briefly wondered if my enhanced reflexes would be enough to catch her ballistic chain-scythe, but scrapped that idea. It was too risky, I needed a more solid approach if I was going to win. I wouldn't be able to concentrate enough while inside combat to use my semblance, so that was another advantage taken away. She seemed to be studying me as much as I was her. We took fighting stances and waited. I'd just have to wing it.
"Begin!" our instructor shouted. Neither of us moved, waiting for the other to make the first attack. After a moment of stillness, we slowly drew our weapons. In a blur of movement, Blake flew at me and slashed at me with her large sword. I parried and we struggled for a moment trying to overpower the other. I pulled my trump card and electrified my blade, shocking her by extension. She let out a yelp and dropped her sword. Seeing that she was unarmed, I jumped backwards to give her some room to recover her weapon. She quickly took the opportunity and retrieved her sword. Our eyes locked and we began to walk in a slow circle.
"So, being a fanus, you must face a lot of discrimination. Yet you seem to not mind." Blake apparently wanted to make small talk.
"Nothing I can't handle." I assured her.
"It would be so easy to hide it, why don't you?"
"Hiding what I am would imply that I'm ashamed of it. Sure, I could wear a hat or something, but that would be like wearing a blindfold because some people don't like blue eyes." She almost looked angry at this.
"That's not really true-"
"Isn't it? So what if I have cat ears? I love these things! Take one look at them! They're adorable!" Now she looked slightly amused. "Whop, careful Blake, I saw your bow twitch." I said just quietly enough for her to hear. Her eyes widened a bit and she went pale.
"Get on with the fight already!" Cardin yelled.
"Silence in the peanut gallery, asshole!" I yelled back. When I turned my attention back to Blake, she'd already covered most of the distance between us. She was already too close to block with Nihil, but a plan came to me. I quickly dropped my sword and clapped my hands around the sides of her katana, ready to electrify it again. Seeing what I was about to do, she released her sword, slid onto the ground, grabbed my sword, continued to slide between my legs, came back up behind me, and held my own sword against my throat. I dropped Blake's weapon and raised my hands above my head. My plan had failed miserably.
"I forf-" I began.
"Who sent you?" Blake harshly whispered into my ear.
"What? No one!"
"Then how did you know?"
"I began to suspect when you were reading that night in the ballroom with that bow on and I thought I saw it move. My suspicions were just confirmed by your actions." She pressed the blade harder into my skin. I noted that she was, indeed, using the cutting edge.
"If I find out you're lying-"
"I'm not!" There was a moment of silence before she let go of Nihil. I let out a sigh of relief as she walked away.
"He forfeits." She told professor Goodwitch. She looked over at me for confirmation. I nodded.
"The winner is Blake Belladonna. This was quite a match, not much aura was lost at all." Our teacher commented. I walked back to my seat between Gray and Aries.
"Well, that was...boring. You guys barely even hit each other! At least I tied!"
"That's only because she held back, bro." I informed him.
"What!? She did not!"
"You think a huntress who's been training her whole life and is powered by her opponents kinetic energy would be knocked out by a five minute scuffle? She didn't even use the shotgun function of her gauntlets."
"Her aura went into the red!"
"Yes, because she was discreetly putting her aura down as you were flinging her around with your chains." He was dumbfounded.
"Why would she do that?!"
"Because she heard Cardin's comment and didn't want him getting the satisfaction of being right, but neither did she want to hand you the win." Aries mumbled out. Hearing Aries speak is weird, his voice sounds so quiet that you shouldn't be able to hear it, but somehow, no matter what other noises are blaring around you, you can always just manage to hear him.
Gray was pissed now.
"How dare she! I told her to not hold back!"
"Would you rather give Cardin another thing to laugh about?"
"I would rather have learned the limits of my strength! Besides, I not too worried about Cardin laughing for too long." a sly smile played across his face before he remembered that he was angry. What was that? I decided to not press him.
Gray:
"Class dismissed." Prof. Goodwitch announced. We left to go to our dorms. As we passed the locker room, we heard a loud scream come from within.
"Someone in trouble!" Darce yelled, but I held him back. A lovely change, as he was usually holding me back.
"It's Cardin." He immediately relaxed.
"Oh...Wait, how do you know?"
"He may or may not be dealing with electrical burns right now." understanding came into his eyes, and a smile to his face.
"I see."
Murphy and Aries had already gone ahead, so we walked and talked about nothing in particular. That is, until a thought occurred to me.
"Hey, Darce?
"What?"
"Where have I heard the name 'Glynda Goodwitch' before?" His smile grew.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd catch on. I'll give you a hint: We're not in Kansas anymore." My palm immediately hit my forehead.
"The good witch of the north! She was really named after that?"
"Technically, yes. 'The Wizard of Oz' doesn't exist in Remnant. Our teacher is based off of her. And Ruby is based off of little red riding hood. Yang is goldilocks, Weiss is Snow White, and Blake is Beauty and the Beast. Everyone here is based off of something!"
"And what does that make you? 'Puss in Sneakers'?"
"Ha-ha. Very funny."
"Wait, then who the hell is Jaune?
"Jaune Arc, Joan of arc." I face palmed again. No wonder he screamed like a girl. Then another thought struck me.
"And what about Murphy?" He hesitated for a bit.
"If I had to guess, Murphy's law."
"'Anything that can go wrong, will'? Great, that just fills me with confidence!"
"Well, we'll just have to talk to him, won't we?"
"And say what? 'Hey, we think your name means that you have a hidden agenda, mind telling us what it is?'!"
"Calm down, we'll think of something. In the mean time, I've got a favor to ask you." He changed the subject rather forcefully.
"What?"
"I've got no idea how my semblance works or its limitations. Mind helping me out?"
"Sure. Where and when?"
"A balcony I know is a good spot to train, and now if possible." I shrugged.
"Fine by me." He gestured me to follow him, and we left.
