Chapter 21
To be fair to Jaune, he lasted longer than expected. Pyrrha would have been proud.
Weiss was not exactly fighting at her full potential. She could have accelerated herself and defeated him in a few moments, or she could have used one of her newly-created techniques which she had developed with help from Ruby in the past couple of weeks. But not wanting to show her hand unnecessarily to the future opposition, she decided to take him out in a more traditional way.
Lunging across the arena, she struck at him with swift stabs which would have taken him out immediately had it been a few months ago. But now, Jaune was able to deflect enough of the jabs to take a swing at Weiss.
She ducked back, her right hand flicking behind her to create a glyph, tilted upwards, which she placed her back-foot on and used to push-off, giving extra momentum to her strike. Her blade went just past his face, as he managed to twist himself around the blade, and swing his own sword at Weiss again.
Weiss slashed her blade down to her left, cutting over Jaune's shield, and then she stabbed at his chest, before twisting her body around, landing her left foot to spin on, and flipping herself away from Jaune's attack. She halted for a brief moment, glancing up at the screen that showed her full aura-gauge, and Jaune's gauge severely depleted. Now she just had to be careful not to slip up.
She readied herself to lunge again, her blade glowing a light blue, bending her left arm and flicking the wrist of her right, creating another glyph, which she leaped from. She launched herself at Jaune, stabbing at him. Jaune side-stepped, and Weiss spun herself in the air, slashing at her opponent, the ice dust she had trigger adding to the power of the blow.
Weiss skidded to a halt, and a bell rang. Looking up, she saw Jaune's aura was well in the red: the match was hers. She smirked to herself 'It's only natural.'
Striding proudly out of the arena, Weiss was suddenly attacked by an excited Ruby. As Weiss struggled to free herself of the bear-hug that she was caught in, Ruby beamed up at her. "Wow Weiss, you looked so awesome out there, and really sexy too! I barely ever get to just watch you in action, it was really cool ohmygosh!"
"Ruby, calm down," Weiss said, trying to keep her voice calm herself. "And could you let me go please?"
Ruby did as asked, and took a small step back from Weiss. "But you were really cool."
"Of course I was, I was me," Weiss replied with a smirk. The pair walked away, with Ruby chattering noisily at Weiss, while Weiss simply nodded, or made agreeing noises when Ruby stopped for breath. Behind them, a slightly dejected Jaune stepped out of the arena.
"Oh man..." Jaune sighed and looked at his feet. "I suck..."
"You did really well in there," a voice spoke up. When Jaune looked up, he saw Pyrrha approaching, "You lasted a lot longer than most people would against her."
Jaune gave a half-hearted smile, "Well I suppose I could have done worse... thanks."
Pyrrha smiled, "No problem."
The next day, the remaining competitors were gearing up for their quarter-final matches. Weiss had already had hers, winning her way through to the semi-final with relative ease. Now the members of teams RWBY and JNPR were waiting for their matches. They, sans Jaune, were the only competitors remaining now. The three remaining matches of the round would be Ren vs Blake, Ruby vs Nora and Yang vs Pyrrha. Needless to say, the atmosphere was tense, after all, next year's bedroom choosing rights were in the balance here: if either team got three members through to the semi-finals, those choosing rights were automatically theirs. With Weiss already through, team RWBY had the clear advantage.
Blake and Ren were called into the arena, and with a hug from Yang and a slap on the back from Nora, the pair went out to the ring.
"Twenty Lien on Ren!" Nora called out, beaming.
"Thirty on Blake," Yang returned.
"Yang, you don't have thirty Lien to your name," Weiss put-in. "You were complaining about how poor you were only this morning.
"That's how confident I am about my Blakey's skills," Yang smirked.
"Really? Hm... so by the way, how much would you pay me not to tell Blake you were betting on the match?"
Yang opened her mouths, words trying to form themselves but failing. She closed her mouth and pouted. "Ruby, tell Weiss to stop being mean!"
Ruby looked thoughtful, "But, you know, Blake really doesn't like you betting, and she should have a bit of say in the way you use your money, as she's your girlfriend, so..."
Yang fell to her knees dramatically. "Eat chew Ruby?"
"It's 'Et Tu,'" Weiss commented. "And good girl Ruby." Ruby smiled brightly at Weiss's words.
"They're starting," Pyrrha said, and everyone's eyes went to the screens displaying the arena.
A bell rang in the arena. Blake and Ren both stayed motionless, watching each other carefully. The only part of either of them that seemed to move was their eyes, scanning each other for any sign of a tell. At once, both seemed to blur as they moved, Blake rushing to attack while Ren changed his stance, his aura flaring visibly as Blake approached.
Blake leaped at Ren, slashing with both her blades. Her attacks were met with aura barriers, and Ren retaliated with swift strikes. Blake flipped backwards, landing out of Ren's reach, switching her sword to pistol form and opening fire as she landed. Ren threw up barriers of aura to deflect the bullets, and returned fire with his own guns.
Watching the fight, Yang commented "They're actually pretty well matched."
"They both rely on speed and finesse, as well as mixing close-ranged and melee combat a lot," Weiss said. "They're sufficiently similar in style that even a slight advantage will quickly turn into victory. They're both aware of that and aren't letting up at all."
Blake and Ren were now both running at one another, striking out as they approached, Blake's slightly longer reach giving her a slight edge, only for her attacks to strike Ren's aura and fail to hit home. Ren ducked down and threw out a spin kick. Blake fell as her feet were swept out from under her. Ren swept around, slashing with his weapon.
Blake's body shattered as the blade struck it, and Ren wheeled round to see the real Blake behind him. He managed to block with a barrier, but Blake's attack broke through the hastily created shield. Ren managed to duck back, both fighters breathing heavily as they took the chance to catch their breaths now that there was space between them. Ren's aura bar had slipped into the yellow. Blake's was still green, though not full.
"There's the slight advantage," Pyrrha said, her eyes, like the others', glued to the screen.
"Will it really make that much of a difference?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, you can see just from Ren's posture," Jaune replied, to the surprise of the team RWBY members. "He's on the defensive, he's aware of his disadvantage, and is hoping to catch Blake off guard. It's especially bad for Ren, because his stamina's not great, that little advantage can be pressed easily if Blake knows how to."
Weiss and Ruby glanced at each other. Neither of them had expected the detailed analysis from that corner. Both shrugged and returned their eyes to the screens.
Blake now rushed at Ren once more, pushing-off slightly with each step she took, making her zig-zag ever so slightly. When she was close, she pushed off harder, hurling herself at Ren that little bit faster.
Ren blocked with his weapons, and their blades locked. Blake pushed forward, while Ren held against the pressure. Both started using their auras to push against each other, their aura bars starting to drain slowly. Ren's eyes flicked to the bars for a moment, seeing his own fall below half. Blake's was still about two thirds full, he had to do something quickly.
He suddenly jumped back, causing Blake to lose her balance for a brief moment, allowing Ren a chance to strike, swinging down at Blake. He saw a slight flicker of Blake's form, and swung around, kicking at the decoy he had just seen be created. But there was no sign of Blake behind him. He felt pain in his leg, as Blake attacked. He realised his mistake too late: that use of her semblance was too well telegraphed, it wasn't her using it, she had faked it, knowing he would react the way he did.
"Well played," he muttered, as Blake lashed out again, and he felt his aura give. He fell backwards, hitting the arena floor as his aura bar drained down to the red. A bell signalled the end of the fight.
Blake stepped out of the arena, straight into a bear-hug from Yang. "Nicely done Kitty!"
Blake rolled her eyes, "How many times...? At least don't call me that in public!"
"Aw~ come on, you know I only do it 'cause I love you."
Ren walked out of the ring, somewhat less steady that Blake. Nora patted him on the back, "Nice fight." She smiled, trying to cheer him up.
"Thanks... I guess."
"Well, now it's time for me to get my revenge on team RWBY!" Nora glared at Ruby, "I hope you're ready to go down!"
Ruby smirked, "We'll see about that, come on!" The two rushed into the ring.
"So the official verdict just came back. Nora was disqualified for..." Weiss glanced at her scroll, "...endangering students and staff, damaging property, general poor conduct, tone-deaf singing and maniacal laughter," Weiss looked back up at Ruby. "So yeah, you're through to the semi-finals."
"Not quite the way I'd hoped to get in," Ruby replied, looking up at a screen, the only one that was still functioning, which displayed the remains of the arena. There were several craters and the walls were badly damaged, but it was swiftly being put back together by the dust-using teachers.
"Well you were ahead when they had to halt the match anyway," Weiss replied, patting Ruby on the head. "I wouldn't dwell on it."
Ruby smiled, "I suppose."
Off to the side, Pyrrha whispered to Blake "Are those two...?"
Blake nodded, "Oh, but don't tell them I told you, and try to keep it hushed up for the moment."
"For the moment?"
"You'll see soon."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, but nodded, "Okay."
"So anyway, where's Nora? I don't see Ren either."
"They're talking to Miss Goodwitch. Nora's gone to apologise, and Ren went with her, to make sure she actually apologises, rather than, you know, her being Nora in the general direction of Miss Goodwitch, which I doubt would help matters."
Blake nodded, "I can imagine that would be a problem."
"Hey, they're almost done fixing the arena!" Yang called out from the arena entrance. "They want us in five Pyrrha."
"Okay!" Pyrrha nodded. "I'd better go and get ready."
Blake nodded, "By the way, please don't beat my girlfriend up too much. Actually, feel free to go crazy, she'll want comfort afterwards if you beat her down hard enough..."
Pyrrha frowned, "I am not going to adapt my battle strategy to facilitate you getting some tonight."
Blake scowled, though mirth showed through in her eyes. "Damn, I was so hopeful."
"Well after I'm done with her, she'll probably need at least a hug," Pyrrha smiled as she walked over to the arena-entrance, waving back at Blake.
A few minutes later, Yang and Pyrrha faced each other in the arena, both in battle-stances, waiting for the bell to signal the start of the match. Yang held a fist drawn halfway-back, her eyes glaring bullets in the direction of Pyrrha.
The bell sounded and Yang immediately hurled her fist forward, firing a blast from her gauntlet, smoke and shell fragments engulfing Pyrrha's form. Two shots sounded from within the smoke cloud, Yang rolling out-of-the-way of the two rifle shots. Pyrrha emerged from the smoke, holding her weapon in rifle-form in on of the inwards-curves of her shield. The shield had covered her from the blast, and now Pyrrha took aim again, firing once more.
Yang dodged the bullets and rushed at Pyrrha, swinging at her. Pyrrha blocked with her shield as her weapon morphed into its spear-form, and she stabbed at Yang.
The pair were caught-up in an almost imperceivable flurry of blows. Yang's strikes mostly contacted Pyrrha's shield, while Pyrrha struck her mark a few times, but had to concentrate on her defence too much to really make much headway. Also, every time she landed a hit on Yang, she felt the punches become just a little more forceful.
Pyrrha had been worried about Yang in the tournament, more than the other fighters. Pyrrha tended to wear-down her foes, using her semblance to prevent them from harming her, and exhausting them before she took them down. Against Yang, that tactic was worse than useless. She needed to end the fight quickly, before Yang was able to simply overpower her.
Pyrrha jumped back as one of Yang's blows hit her shield, using the blow's momentum to clear some distance between her and the blonde. Yang immediately ran at her. Pyrrha now had her back to a wall. She smiled. Just as planned.
As Yang closed in, Pyrrha threw her shield and ducked to the side. Her shield struck Yang in the legs, causing her to trip and stumble into the wall. Pyrrha swiftly span around and struck at the blonde with her spear. Yang fell to the floor, breathing heavily. Her aura bar was in the yellow.
It had not been quite enough. Pyrrha ran for her shield, as she smelt burning. Yang's hair had begun to blaze, and now she was pissed off. Picking herself up and turning to Pyrrha, she smirked. "Nice moves Miss Untouchable." She cracked her knuckles, and grinned, "I'm really enjoying this."
The demonic look in Yang's crimson eyes said anything but 'enjoyment.' Pyrrha steadied herself. One more hit would decide this.
Yang's aura flared, and she rushed at Pyrrha, who raised her shield. Yang drew back her gauntlet and swung at Pyrrha, flames surrounding her fist.
At the last second, Pyrrha ducked, and Yang felt as though something were pulling up on her hand. Her fist hit the shield, sending it flying, but crouching beneath it, Pyrrha sprang at Yang, driving her spear at the blonde's chest.
What remained of her aura shattered under the blow, Yang's hair now simply smouldering, the blaze dying in moments. Without the power of her aura driving her, her legs buckled, and she collapsed to her knees. Pyrrha stood up, and a bell rang, signalling the end of the bout.
Yang chuckled, "Well... that was fun." The blonde then fell forward and passed out.
When Yang woke up, she immediately realised she was in the infirmary. Apart from being utterly exhausted, she felt fine. Glancing to her left, she saw her favourite person in the whole wide world, sat on a chair reading a book. "Hey Blakey."
Blake looked up, "Good evening."
"I've been out that long?"
"Oh, you've been unconscious for eight years. We eventually gave up on you ever waking up, and we used the wonders of modern science so that I could have your kittens. They'll be born next month." Blake spoke with a completely straight face, which made Yang laugh all the more.
"Right, right. Seriously, you should be comedian."
Blake looked at Yang strangely, "Er... I'm not joking."
Yang stared at her for a few moments, half-tempted to believe the faunus, before Blake cracked a smirk, and Yang chuckled, "Almost had me there Blake, but you look way too thin and sexy to be pregnant."
"Are you saying that you wouldn't love me if I got fat?" Blake frowned. "How are we going to have kids then?"
"Hey, I was joking. You'd look sexy whatever happened." Blake smiled at Yang's comment, then her face turned serious.
"By the way, oh dear lovely girlfriend of mine, I hear that somebody was making bets with Nora about my match." Blake glared at a sheepish Yang.
"In my defence, I won."
"That's not the point, you..."
Weiss and Ruby, who were listening at the door of the room, glanced at each other, as Blake told Yang all about being responsible with money.
"Sounds like she's fine, I wouldn't want to interrupt," Ruby said, biting her lip.
"Yeah, it would be terribly rude when they're... enjoying each others' company so much," Weiss replied as various expletives sounded in the middle of Blake's speech.
The pair began making their way back to their room. "So you're up against Blake tomorrow?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, round two I suppose," Weiss shrugged, "Not quite as much pressure this time around though."
"I don't know about that, this will be a fight for the sake of our holiday."
"I think the whole 'fate of the world' thing kinda dwarfed that. Mainly because if we'd lost last time we certainly wouldn't be going on that holiday together," Weiss pointed out.
"I suppose. But yeah... I get to fight Pyrrha, and avenge my sister."
Weiss smiled slightly, only for her expression to be overtaken by a frown. "Do be careful out there. I don't want to have to be the one waiting in the infirmary tomorrow."
Ruby smiled, "I promised I'd meet you in the final, right? So that's what I'm going to do."
Weiss smiled, "Okay, just don't come crying to me if you get yourself hurt."
"I won't cry, I'm a big girl!" Ruby pouted.
"Of course you are Ruby, of course you are. Now, do you want to have some cookies and milk before we settle down to do that essay?"
"Yay! Cookies! But do we have to do the essay tonight?" Ruby's pout was almost overpowering.
'She's so adorable...' Weiss shook herself slightly. She needed to be the grown-up one here. "Yes, we do, now come on! If you do it quickly there may be some time for some snuggling."
"Okay!" Ruby suddenly seemed cheery, as the pair wandered up to their dormitory.
A/N: Yes, it's short again. I've been a touch busy, as I've said before. But I'm now 98% done with my project! Or at least the first draft of it... yeah... it sounds less good when I put it like that. Oh well.
Just as a thing, as some of you may possibly be aware, it's Christmas soon (yeah, I know, hardly anyone remembers that). This means it's also my birthday soon! (Yeah, fewer of you will be aware of that). As a result, while I will definitely update next week, the following few weeks will be a bit more... iffy. Not only will I be doing family stuff, but I'll also be revising for my January exams (yeah, pity me). So, long and short of it is: I will try my best to keep updating every week, but I may well just have to take a week off somewhere in the middle of it. We shall see. Basically I'm saying this as a 'don't worry if' statement. I'm going to be back to definite regular updates by the end of January at the latest (when my exams finish) but until then things might be a little shaky.
But yes, that's all for now.
'Til Eternity Ends
E.D.