Well, the power of democracy demands it; Here is the beginning of the Ship Arc (I guess I'll call it?), a collection of ship-chapters! Starting from third place…it's actually a tie. So, I'll be doing two chapters for third place, one for each Blake and Pyrrha. This will be Blake's Chapter, followed by Pyrrha, then the second and first place votes!

Chapter 10

Roy became known for many things, despite the short amount of time his peers have known him. His skill and mental capacity was impressive, and his looks won over many of the female population of the Academy. However, the one thing he was known the most for;

He was fearless.

Regardless of what it was, he never showed the smallest amount of timidity in anything he took part in. Whether it be in the combat ring or out on the occasional field trip, it seemed that nothing could inspire fear in the hunter. Perhaps it was in the unwavering confidence he gave off during sparring matches, or the fearless way he took on Grimm with his bare hands in Professor Port's class. Everyone knew of his undaunted attitude towards battle, and practically everything else, and Roy was well aware of the notion.

Knowing this, Blake was surprised when one night, she awoke from hearing Roy's labored breathing late into the night. Without moving, she looked over at Roy's hammock. The hunter, bare-chested and standing in his pajama bottoms, was sitting over the side of his hammock clutching his chest with his hand. His eyes were wide, distraught with pure fear behind his pupils. Roy stood up, silently pacing before returning to his seat. After calming down, the hunter laid back down, and after what seemed like a long time, he fell back asleep.

The black-haired girl stared upwards into the bunk above her, her mind processing what she'd just seen. Did he have a nightmare..? He doesn't seem like one to have those… Blake pondered the thought for only a few moments, deciding to ask him herself the next morning…

The next day…

At breakfast, Teams RWBY and JNPR sat together once again before another day of classes. Pyrrha and Jaune studied for an exam over pancakes, while Yang and Ruby played catch with an apple. The only two people who weren't busy with anything besides their morning meal were Blake and Roy. The two black-haired students ate in relative silence next to each other, though their silence were for different reasons.

"How are you, Roy?" Blake asked quietly, setting her fork down on her tray.

"I'm…doing well, Blake," Roy hesitated before answering, giving her a smile which she could see right through. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Woke up in the middle of the night, but not for too long," Blake replied, which caused Roy to stop a moment over his breakfast before he swallowed his food.

"Oh. That's a shame, to not get a good night's sleep," Roy took another bite, going back to his meal.

"I believe you would know," Blake's answer caused the hunter to nearly choke, as he looked at her warily.

"I saw that you had a nightmare. Would you…like to talk about it?" Blake asked, bringing her hands together tentatively. Roy stood up quickly, taking his tray with him.

"Sorry everyone, I have to go. I forgot my book in the dorm," Roy quickly took off, leaving his teammates in a hurry. While his other teammates merely waved goodbye, Blake watched him leave with narrowed eyes. She knew that there was something else bothering him now, but not exactly what. With a goal in mind, the black-haired girl turned back to her teammates, and resumed her day normally until she could talk to him again.

Later that day…

Combat class was the only class where both teams, and consequentially Roy, shared besides certain other classes. Blake sat herself next to Roy, and their teammates sat beside them. Blake watched the now armored hunter waited patiently for his chance at battle, his eyes now focused and absent of those darker emotions she had seen earlier. He seems to be better…The match below ended, and the lights came back on. Glynda Goodwitch came forward from her usual spot near the arena.

"Very good, you two. Now, who's next?" The professor asked, looking to the other students for volunteers. A hand raised, belonging to Blake Belladonna.

"Ah, Ms. Belladonna. Now, to choose your opponent-"Goodwitch started, about to move things on her Scroll for the next match.

"Actually, Professor Goodwitch? May I choose my opponent?" Blake asked, her voice level and calm.

"Who would that be?" Glynda narrowed her eyes slightly, watching the girl with a stern look.

"Roy de Chasse." Blake replied, causing some whispers in the spectators and among her teammates.

"Very well. Mr. de Chasse, will you take this challenge?" Goodwitch asked, turning to the hunter in question.

"Of course, Professor. I'm never one to turn down a challenge," Roy replied, standing up slowly.

As the two walked down to the arena, Blake whispered into her teammate's ear. "If I win, you have to tell me what happened last night," to which Roy gave her a stern look.

"Why would I agree to that?" Roy whispered back, the purple in his eyes alight with a tone of anger.

"Because I challenged you. Didn't you say you're never one to turn down a challenge? Or…do you think you'll lose?" Blake retorted, walking in front of the now stopped hunter. She swayed her hips slightly, taunting the hunter with her flippant tone and coy body language. Roy sighed, and walked with her into the arena.

"I accept your terms, Blake. Do not expect an easy battle," Roy stated, walking to the opposite side of the arena from her as he did so. Blake watched him with a serious look, but had a small smile growing on her face.

"I never do, Roy." She whispered to herself, bringing Gambol Shroud up. Drawing her sword, Blake's mind focused as Roy drew his own blade from his back. The two teammates met each other's eyes, bringing their swords up to the ready. Blake and Roy's Aura levels were brought up on the wall between them, and the lights turned off over the spectators.

"Begin!" Goodwitch called out, as the buzzer rang.

Blake steeled herself, and rushed towards the hunter. Roy brought his sword up into a defensive stance, and blocked the strike from her blade. The two locked blades for a second, before Blake back-flipped away from him. Dashing back forward, she began to slash at rapid speeds. Roy blocked or parried each strike, their eyes locked in an intense stare as they worked to feint the other.

Using a clone, Blake leapt over Roy, and the two exchanged slashes as she flew overhead. The moment her feet hit the floor, she created another clone, passing by Roy before jumping into another attack. Roy parried her strike, and returned with a slash at her chest. Before it could connect, Blake jumped backwards out of a clone, and Roy slashed clear through it. Blake aimed the pistol in her sword at her opponent, firing off a few rounds as she retreated backwards.

Roy deflected the first two bullets, but was met by an explosion of ice in the third bullet. Roy's sword was engulfed by the ice, flying out of his hands and across the arena floor behind him. Rather than moving for his weapon, Roy sprinted at Blake. Caught off guard, Blake went for a horizontal slash. From Roy's left arm sprung the three short blades, which he angled to catch the sword's blade. Yanking outwards, he tossed her sword away from them.

Blake looked towards her weapon as it skidded away from her, and Roy took that moment as an opportunity. First throwing a low kick, Roy stepped into three quick punches to her torso before he slammed her with a heavy kick to the chest. Blake rolled, popping back onto her feet quickly. Grabbing her blade's sheath, she moved in for another backhanded slash. Roy sidestepped, and grabbed Blake from behind. He performed a suplex, slamming Blake onto her back hard. The force caused her to let go of the other half of her weapon, and it too skittered across the floor of the arena, coming to rest next to the other half.

Roy got back up, and brought his fists up to the ready. Blake's eyes widened, then narrowed as she focused on a way to win this battle. Her eyes honed in on the center of his cuirass, on the internal release on the inside. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with a way to get that close, until she settled on the best option; a distraction.

Blake brought up her hands, and she dashed in off the heels of a clone. Roy threw a hook, but his far more nimble opponent was able to weave around his fist. He threw two more punches, each of which Blake was able to sidestep. Roy readied a punch, but was cut off as Blake drew herself directly up to his chest. His eyes were only able to center on the girl before she abruptly kissed him square on the lips. Blake's hand gripped down on the release, and Roy's entire suit of armor began to disengage.

In the stands, both Team JNPR and the remaining three members of RWBY were slack-jawed at Blake's 'maneuver'. While Ruby and Yang were merely red to their ears, Weiss was downright furious. Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren were also red, while Nora was laughing hysterically at Roy's face. The rest of the crowd, too, was erupting in chatter at the insane move and at the implications of it.

And as soon as it had happened, Blake pulled away. Roy stared at her incredulously, until she planted both feet onto his chest and kicked off. As he fell, Roy only then realized what she'd done. Falling onto his back, his armor came undone, and he was forced to jump out of the suit as it collapsed in one heap on the ground. Standing now in his short-sleeved purple shirt and black pants, Roy stood back to full height with a serious glare in his eyes. Blake had retrieved her weapons, now holding her sword and its sheath in her hands.

"That was quite the trick, Blake." Roy reached to his side, grabbing onto the sword he'd left. Pulling hard, he now held Plum Blossom in his right hand with a hard grip. "However, you've made a grave miscalculation in this move. While my defense will definitely be lower now, you may notice a massive increase in my speed and striking power due to the massive drop in weight." Roy took his katana into both hands, and held it towards her.

"I'll manage," Blake retorted, readying her blade in her right hand. Roy's eyebrows rose before he focused, bringing his blade to the ready.

In a flash, both of them dashed forward, clashing blades once again. Blake spun rapidly around Roy, swinging her sword with her ribbon at breakneck speeds. Roy was easily able to deflect the strikes, but was hard pressed to push an attack. Blake swung at his feet, but the hunter leapt over it and raised his sword over his head for an overhead slash. Pulling backwards, Blake caught him in the back with a slash and a bullet. Roy rolled past her, standing back up quickly.

Blake now used both her sword and sheath in tandem, holding her sword in a backhand grip and the sheath in a regular grip. She made quick slashes with both, spinning gracefully around the hunter as she swung precisely. Her attacks weren't connecting, but she could see he was slowing down slightly.

I shouldn't take that as a sign I'm winning, though…Blake thought, remembering Aloe's comment from before in the Ring.

And as she anticipated, once Blake took a moment to recover some stamina, Roy moved in for an attack. Firing off a bullet for the extra speed, Roy performed a quick-draw, nearly knocking Blake off her feet with the sheer force of his slash. Stepping in, Roy slashed with heavy slashes which Blake could only dodge in fear of having her block broken. Roy slashed, and at the end of his slash, Roy fired off a shot from his rifle. The bullet impacted against Blake's foot, and a gout of wind sent her spiraling until she slammed into the ground on her back. Roy stepped in with a fist, about to land the ending strike, but Blake was slightly faster.

A bullet of fire Dust collided with Roy's chest, fired from Gambol Shroud in pistol form at her hip.

Roy flew backwards, landing hard on his chest as he slid backwards. He let out a groan, and the buzzer rang. Blake looked up at the screen, seeing that they were both very close in Aura. Blake was only a few slices of Aura away from the red, and Roy had only tipped into the red. The black-haired girl let out a heavy sigh, then she picked herself off the floor. Blake looked over at Roy, who had brought himself to a knee next to his armor.

"That was…quite the performance, you two. Let this be a lesson that your opponent may employ…unexpected tactics, to gain an upper hand," Goodwitch spoke, adjusting her glasses as she spoke.

"Roy?" Blake approached the hunter, who now stood in his full suit of armor. The man in question looked at her with a serious look. The two stared at each other for what felt to Blake like an eternity, until Roy let out a small laugh.

"You kiss like a dog...We should practice sometime," Roy flipped his sword into its box form, leaving Blake with a massive blush on her cheeks.

That night…

Team RWBY began to settle in for the night, albeit in a very awkward fashion. Weiss seemed to glare at Blake every time the girl turned her back, giving off the vibes that Weiss was still quite angry about what had happened earlier. Yang laid in her bed with her Scroll, while Ruby read over a textbook. Ruby was the least affected of the team, seeming to pass it off as what Professor Goodwitch said, a 'unexpected tactic', and had no romantic value, like when she gave kisses to her Dad. Blake sat in her bed in her yukata, reading a book to herself while Weiss seemed to angrily brush her hair across from her.

Roy slowly opened the bathroom door, walking over to his hammock in his own pajamas. Jashi hopped from his spot on Roy's usual abode, and rubbed against his legs. Roy held his arm down, and the cat leapt up it onto his bare shoulder. The hunter opened a can of cat food, and held it up to the cat. Jashi took it into his two front paws, holding it in place as he ate ravenously. Roy smiled at his friend, before turning to Weiss.

She's not going to let this go until I do something…Roy sighed, walking across the dorm to the heiress. Yang turned her eyes from her Scroll, watching with mild curiosity. Blake too watched, though far less obviously than her partner.

"Weiss? Are you alright?" Roy asked, though the heiress huffed and turned away from him with a pout.

"No, I am not, thank you very much." Weiss crossed her arms, looking away from the hunter as much as possible. "How could you just let something like that happen, Roy?"

"I don't let things happen, Weiss. I was caught off guard." As Roy spoke, he sat gently down on the bed next to Weiss. His shoulder touched hers, and she sat up slightly, though she still refused to look at him. "I know it upsets you that she kissed me, and I'm sure she's sorry for your plight." Weiss turned her head to see Blake, who nodded with a guilty expression on her face. The heiress sighed, and turned herself to Roy, though she still looked angry.

Jashi now took this time to curl up in Weiss' lap, purring contently as he got comfortable on her legs. The heiress let out a laugh, and smiled. Letting out a sigh, she looked at Roy, who had an honest glean to his eyes.

"I'll try my best to not let it happen again, Weiss. I promise," Roy pledged, to which Weiss could only smile at.

"Alright, Roy." Before he could leave, Weiss grabbed the hunter by the neck, bringing him to eye level with her. "It better not, okay?" The suddenly stern tone in her voice scared both Jashi and Roy, the former leaping away with a small noise and the hunter's eyes widening. He nodded quickly, and she then gave a coy smile before kissing him on the forehead. Roy walked dumbly back to his hammock, while Jashi took refuge next to Ruby on her bed.

"Good night, everyone," Roy said as he turned off the light for the whole room.

"Good night," the four girls replied, though only three went to sleep. Blake waited quietly, watching for the sign. As their teammates fell asleep, Roy looked around silently before standing out of his hammock. Blake got out of bed, following her teammate out into the hallway. Looking to Yang's electronic clock before leaving, she saw that it was nearly midnight. Opening the door silently, the two left the door just a hair open behind them as they walked down the hall to the intersection.

"I suppose you want your answers, Blake," Roy had his arms crossed as he leaned on the wall of the hall.

"That's not what this is about, Roy. I wanted to know so I could help," Blake replied, resting her hand on Roy's shoulder. The hunter walked away, coming up to a window which looked out to the bright moon above.

"Blake…it's my mother," Roy spoke quietly, looking out with a sad look in his eyes.

"Roy..?" Blake's eyes were wide, softly walking in her bare feet towards him.

"It's…that night. When she…gave her life for mine," Roy was nearly whispering, but Blake heard every word he said. "My uncle, known now as the Traitorous Rat, had some vision in his head that children like me…those of mixed blood of HearthFire and Hunters was some kind of abomination. He came to kill me…" He set his hands on the window sill, while Blake could only stand there in silence behind him.

"She took his knife through her heart. My father cut off his arm in response, but he was able to escape. She was dead, and nothing could change that." Roy spoke softly, his eyes threatening to well up. "My father went on a rampage…creating what is now called the Wolf's Territory, or…the Death Forest." Blake gasped, remembering the horrible stories of the massacre.

"Since then…I had to live with the memories. Of both my mother's death…and of the destruction in my father's wake. It seems that I only have these night terrors on nights where the moon is bright…just like it was then." Roy turned back to face Blake, and she could see a single tear had trailed down his cheek.

"The only thing I've ever feared has lived in me. That feeling of helplessness is the worst thing I've ever known, Blake. My nightmares force me to remember that feeling, where I can't do anything but watch the terror take hold in me." Roy held his chest over his heart, clutching it tightly. His eyes went wide, when Blake wrapped her arms around his torso.

"It's okay, Roy. I'm…here for you." Blake whispered, holding him tightly as she rested her head against his chest. Roy slowly moved his arms, holding her gently against him.

"How do I let someone else fix something inside of me, Blake?" Roy spoke softly, his chin resting gently on her head, just ahead of her bow.

"You don't," Blake replied just as quietly. "I'm here to help you find the way yourself."

The two stood in silence in each other's arms for what felt like forever, feeling each other's heartbeats under the pale light of the moon. Blake moved her head to look up at Roy, and Roy moved to look down at her. She gave a small smile, which he returned.

"So, do I really kiss like a dog?" Blake said, causing Roy to laugh.

"No, but that was quite rough and rushed, Blake." Roy replied, as he then realized how close they really were. "But…it wasn't the worst I've had."

"Enough to try one more time?" Blake asked, her chest welling up with feelings. Roy's face grew slightly red, as the black-haired girl gave him a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Well…as long as Weiss doesn't know about this one…" Roy said, and Blake chuckled quietly. Tentatively, Roy closed the remaining distance, and their lips met softly once more. They stayed together for a few moments more, the heat in their bodies growing and the feelings in their chests finally beating out; their hearts were pounding from the anticipation. Pulling away, they looked at each other almost embarrassed.

"That was…much better, Blake." Roy remarked, while Blake could only blush.

"Y-Yeah…" Blake turned away slightly, her eyes looking down in thought.

"What's wrong?" Roy turned her back to him, and she looked up at him.

"It's…just that…I don't know if we could manage something like this. At least while the rest of the team still…" Blake cut herself off, looking away from him.

"I know, Blake. And…I'm uncertain as well. How could I have a relationship without causing strife within the team?" Roy looked down for a moment, before stepping back towards her. "I guess…I'll just have to find where my heart truly lies. It may take a while." Blake turned back to him, now with a sad smile on her face.

"Well…I'll be here for you, as a friend, in case you need help on that journey." Blake took his cheek in her hand, which he gently moved into. "You'll find who you belong to, Roy. I know it. And anything else that may trouble you…we'll be here for you." Blake felt a pang in her heart, knowing her own hypocrisy, but her mind was interrupted as Roy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in.

"You should know that such a promise goes both ways, Blake. If you ever need to talk to someone, please come to me…or anyone on our team." Roy replied, and Blake nodded into his shoulder.

"Now, we should get to bed. Tomorrow's our workout day, we require a good night's sleep." Roy said heartily, leading the way back to their dorm. Walking in silently, they saw that no one had awoken during their absence. Making their way back to their bed/hammock, they both fell into a peaceful night's sleep.

The next day…

In Beacon Academy's workout facilities, Team RWBY and Roy went to work at their weekly workout. Weiss and Blake ran across an open area of the gym, doing laps at rapid speeds in white and black shorts and tank tops, respectively. Ruby ran on a treadmill, working on her endurance in an amusingly goofy workout outfit in her colors. Yang lifted weights, benching massive dumbbells in a pair of black shorts and a yellow top. However, Roy was pulling the eyes of most people, as he was squatting all of the weights at a station, while wearing only a pair of black gym shorts which had a purple stripe going up the side.

After a while, Blake and Roy ran next to each other on treadmills. All that day, Blake had been thinking that the night before might had been a dream, some vivid hope in her subconscious. Roy hadn't said anything about the night before at all, and seemed to be his regular, confident self.

"Don't worry, Blake." Blake looked over at Roy, who had just spoken. "I won't say anything about last night. It'll be our secret," Roy winked, before hopping off the treadmill, walking away towards a punching bag. Blake seemed to run absentmindedly, before a small smile grew on her face.

I guess he's more than a nice guy after all…She mused, continuing her workout in a particularly bright mood.

Okay, hopefully those Panther shippers (really the best name for this ship I could come up with) are sated by that chapter. It was honestly some of my favorite writing, from the idea itself, which I've done for this fic. Next up will be Pyrrha (I got nothing for a ship name), and that'll be coming soon.

I hope you all enjoyed this, and as always, please leave constructive criticism, ideas, or if you like this stuff in the reviews!

Have a great day!