Ch 10: Testing Skills PTII

POV: Nick Crowe- Beacon's Arena

Renee's shield may be an issue. If I can separate her from is I might have a fighting chance. Zero shouldn't be a problem if I keep my distance, his claws have no reach.

Finishing my train of thought, I begin to twirl my two Katanas around. The fire engulfed blades surprise Renee and Zero, as the two of them dodge the swirling fire. Renee holds up her shield, and the inferno burns to its left and right. Meanwhile, Zero attempts to get as far away as possible from my savage strikes.

"What? Are you afraid of a little fire?" I chuckle as I ready my stance again.

"Hardly," Zero mutters as he turns invisible. Fuck, I forgot about his freakin semblance.

Worried as to where he was I held my swords in a defensive posture as Renee drew closer and closer to me, holding up her tower shield. If he is smart he will attempt to get behind me and use Renee as a distraction.

Footsteps that echo from behind me strengthen my hunch as I spin around, catching two metal claws between my blades. Zero looks surprised, probably finding it odd that I had predicted his move. The sweat dripping down his cheeks he kicks me in the gut, breaking the tension between us and cloaks himself again. Fuck.

I sigh as I regain myself when all of a sudden, what feels like a freight train, hits me in the back. Hitting the ground face first I roll myself over, realizing Renee had bashed me with her enormous shield. Damn, she hits hard.

"Gonna get up pretty boy?" Renee smirks as lowers her shield.

"Naah." Springing to my feet I drop kick Renee in her chest, sending her to the arena floor. Too cocky.

A sudden shot of pain emits from my back as I spin around, realizing Zero's claws had torn through the cloth of my outfit. Oh you fucking messed up.

POV: Raiden Stone (Later That Day) – Beacon Dorms

"So Leah, what do you think about this whole dance thing this Sunday?" I ask the redheaded Faunus whom I have my arm wrapped around as we sit on my couch, watching TV.

"I think that you should take me to it." She looks at me and smiles.

"And why is that?"

"Oh shut up, don't play stupid with me." Leah grins at me.

"What? Because of what happened the other day?"

"Yep, who cares if Hunter already knows; everyone else will find out soon enough." She sighs and puts her head in my lap.

"So let me get this straight, you are asking me, to take you to the dance? Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"Yea, but I'm starting to think you are taking too long. I know you want to take me." I roll my eyes at her comment, but she is right.

"Fine, Leah Nova, will you go to the dance with me?"

"Absolutely, I thought you would never ask." She bats her eyelashes at me and sits up straight in my lap, facing me. "We will have a fantastic night!" She sneaks in a brief kiss as her face begins to blush red.

Alejandra Moreno – Nick Crowe's Dorm

"Ugghh that stings, dammit!" Nick moans in pain as I rub disinfectant on his wounds he received during his arena match against Zero and Renee.

"Will you hold still? I'm trying to take my time; I don't want to rush this." I remind him as I dab the rag in alcohol.

"Fine take your time; god that stings, fuck!" Nick's back tenses up as I dab the puncture wound in his back. His hands grab his bed sheets tightly as he attempts to keep his mouth shut.

"At least you beat them." I attempt to change the subject, reminding him that he actually beat both Zero and Renee.

"Blondie is useless without her shield, and she can't shoot her assault rifle to save her life. Zero goes into a silent rage and attempts savage strikes, which leaves him too exposed. I found it kind of easy." Nick laughs as he explains this.

"Yet here you are, lying on your bed whining about wounds."

"You should have seen Zero. I cut that pup up like a steak. His combat suit, or cloak, whatever the hell it is, got shredded and burned by my Katanas." He loosens his grip on his bed sheets as I take a break from cleaning his wounds, dabbing it in the alcohol again.

"Still, in retrospect I don't think you won that fight, even if you depleted their aura, their strikes dealt a lot of physical damage to your person." He never looks at the bad side of things, but I guess that can be a good thing.

"I won the match, impressed Goodwitch, and now I have a cute girl cleaning my wounds. Sounds like I won Alejandra." He laughs again to himself.

"Don't even try to kiss up to me; I'm only doing this because I felt it is the right thing to do. Last thing our team needs is a teammate with an infection." To be honest, this was the most time I had ever spent talking to Nick in a one on one environment.

"In all seriousness, I'm very appreciative of it Alejandra. I'm pretty sure Leah would never do something like this." I hear the change of tone in his voice. He sounds so sincere.

"You are right about that." I unwrap a bandage and begin to wrap it around his chest, taking time not to hurt him. "I need you to lean up, so I can finish wrapping this."

Nick complies and lifts his upper body off the bed, I wrap the bandage around his wound as he winces in pain. "That's already beginning to feel better." He rolls over onto his back and looks at me in silence.

After what feels like forever, he finally breaks it. "Why are you always putting your hair in a ponytail? Also, why do you wear baggy pants, Alejandra?" I wonder where this is going.

"I don't like to show off. I'm not Leah or Sheena."

"So you feel as if you don't want to attract guys or attention?"

"Let's just say I don't enjoy it when guys suck up to me." I smirk at him as I explain this.

"Who says all guys are suck ups?" Knew it.

"I never said they were. I just don't enjoy it when they behave like ones."

"So you wouldn't mind if I asked you to attend the dance with me on Sunday?" He asks with an honest expression on his face, grinning from ear to ear. It's just a dance Alejandra, you can do it. It's nothing crazy.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to go with you. I mean it's just a dance right?" I begin to feel my cheeks turn flush, a little embarrassed by what has just transpired.

"Cool, I imagine those two first years will have a decent dance planned." Oh yea, the infamous ice queen, Weiss Schnee and her teammate with the blonde hair, whose name I can't remember, are running the dance.

"I hope they do, it would be nice to have a break and all, now that I think about it." I stand up and begin to walk towards the door.

"Alejandra wait." I turn around to see Nick looking at me, directly in my eyes. "Thanks for patching me up."

"No problem, it's what teammates are for." I open the door but are stopped again by Nick.

"I'll be at your dorm to pick you up at 6:30, okay?"

"Whatever you think will work." I grin and close the door behind him. I feel sorry for whoever gets suckered into going with Hunter.

Next Chapter will have 2 different perspectives, one from inside the ballroom, and another will be through the eyes of a troubled character who feels he or she just doesn't belong.

A little late on posting this, expect another follow up before this Thursday. Maybe even tomorrow if I can put my early press copy of Destiny down, this game is freakin awesome! As always Review and PM with any ideas.