Emerald Sustrai sat among the audience, on an assignment given to her by her mistress. Her task? To scout out the enemies and single out any potential threats. She and the rest of her team had since infiltrated in Beacon as transfer students from Haven Academy of Mistral.
At the moment, she was witnessing a spar between the entirety of team CRDL and one Pyrrha Nikos. On the surface, that Nikos girl should have been at a disadvantage. Four against one would normally be a disadvantageous position for anyone unlucky enough to be the one.
That was not the case here. Pyrrha Nikos was a competitive champion, far more accustomed to the tournament scene than most of the students here. She gave as good as she got, if not better. Unsurprisingly, Pyrrha Nikos was winning. She gave a good showing if nothing else.
If it weren't for the fact that she had to maintain her cover, Emerald would definitely be one of the very few among the student body who wouldn't be impressed by it. She could do better than a mere championship fighter and Emerald wasn't alone on that. The other being her partner, Mercury Black.
"So which one do you think the boss wants us to focus on?" he asked in a whisper.
Emerald shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Cinder said we are given the choice. Though since one of them already made a showing…"
"We go with the other one, got it."
Watching the fight come to its inevitable end, Emerald's eyes drifted onto the other target. The one who had grabbed their attention mainly because he grabbed their enemies' attention: the blonde boy called Jaune Arc.
If Emerald were honest, the video they saw didn't do him any justice. In the video, the boy seemed to be a scrawny and weak man. More reliant on that semblance of his than any skill or technique. He looked as though that he belonged to the bottom of his class. How he became team leader is beyond her. Still, the interest came not with him but rather the aforementioned semblance.
That was far more interesting. While summoning semblances are not unique per say, none thus far have shown a level of independence as that one. Even going so far as to name herself as Jeanne d'Arc. That one at least showed competence. An experience marked by familiarity of both fighting and defense. Going so far as to defend her summoner without the command meant that she has some mind of her own. Emerald wondered if her own semblance could mess with that one as it would any other huntsman and huntress.
Back to the blonde knight, this Jaune carried himself better than he did in the video. More fit than last and seemingly less out of place in a school for huntsmen and huntresses. It should be expected since everyone here trains one way or another and yet, the contrast between him now than who he was in the video was clear to Emerald's eyes. Assuming that Mercury would follow through with his choice, she would have a look at what that difference would be.
Turning her attention back to the spar, unsurprisingly, Pyrrha Nikos had beaten team CRDL. With a major slam on the ground, the victory was decisive. There were records about team CRDL as well, if Emerald could recall. Namely that their team leader, Cardin Winchester, was a bully. One of his targets happen to be Pyrrha Nikos' own partner.
There had to be some kind of animosity there. All that time spent as some privileged celebrity meant that Pyrrha Nikos cared about her public image and so had to be this Miss Perfect. In a show of sportsmanship, Pyrrha Nikos extended a hand on the downed leader of team CRDL and shook his hand. She gave him a few words, probably some rehearsed babble about how it was a good fight or something.
"Excellent work, Miss Nikos," said Professor Goodwitch. "With skills like that you won't have any trouble qualifying for the tournament." Turning to face the class. "Now we still have time to squeeze one more sparring match, any volunteers?" she paused for a moment, then her eyes locked on one of the students. "Miss Belladonna? You seem rather lax as of recent, care to—"
Mercury raised his hand. "I'll do it."
"Ah, Mr. Black, is it? Very well, who will your opponent be?"
"Actually, I'm just curious." Taking out his scroll, Mercury replayed that video. "I want to fight the guy here. The blonde one."
Said blonde groaned. He knew what was coming.
"Very well." Goodwitch nodded. "Mr. Arc?"
No words had come from the boy. His response was him standing and grabbing his weapon.
Mercury turned one last time and winked at Emerald. She rolled her eyes.
Taking their positions on opposite ends of the ring, the two combatants readied their stance. The familiar hasn't materialized yet. Anyone outside of Beacon, or those who arrived much more recently, sat on the edge of their seats. Those whom Emerald assumes had gotten used to the sight are relaxed. That was telling to Emerald. Namely, that the familiar is a frequent appearance during the spars. Mercury noticed that too, if the sudden eye movement that Emerald caught was any indication.
When Goodwitch called for the match to begin, the blonde knight readied his shield forward. The sword was hidden behind it. Mercury took his stance but did not initiate. In fact, neither of them did. They inched closer to one another, never overstepping too much as to lose balance.
Mercury was obviously the superior fighter despite the obvious. As a martial artist, he is at a disadvantage against anyone who has a weapon. The sword for example could make up for the reach that Mercury would have given his specialty in kicking. Shield and armor provide defense that a student would normally have a hard time with. That right there was the crux, if Mercury were actually a student.
As much as Emerald doesn't want to admit it, Mercury is indeed an excellent fighter. Trained by an assassin and knowing the rougher parts of huntsman life meant that he was leagues above much of the student body. Right now though, he had to blend in with them. As such, he would have to let a few mistakes slide, if only so no one would be that suspicious.
It was Mercury that began to clash. Predictably, Arc used his shield to defend. But the force behind Mercury's kick pushed the shield aside. Using the momentum from the roundhouse kick, Mercury followed up with another. Interestingly enough for his opponent, Arc used the sword to redirect the kick so that it flew past his blonde hair.
Mercury quickly hopped back before the shield bash came after. He jumped right in afterwards, this time engaging in a more brawl-like fashion. It was a classical clash. Mercury had the finesse and the speed while Arc was slower and the strength, of course Mercury was holding back there but that is what can be seen by the audience members. While Mercury was acrobatic and took to the skies occasionally, Arc would stay rooted like a tree going against strong winds.
No sign of the familiar yet and the two in the ring are falling into a rhythm. Emerald looked around, attentive to the expressions of Beacon's students. No reaction, she thought. There must be more to it, then.
Emerald's assumptions were then confirmed. Arc and Mercury fell into a pattern. A comfortable pattern. It was enough that some of those who are more experienced in fighting are starting to get bored. Then, the familiar manifested herself. The spearhead was the first to appear, aiming for Mercury's head as he was balancing himself on one foot, causing him to fall backwards. Unfortunate for them, Mercury was trained in more than one martial art.
His back on the ground, Mercury's fighting style shifted to a more dance-like martial art. Still using his feet to attack, his hands are now doing the balancing as he twisted and turned to fight the pair.
A common tactic for those with superior numbers would be to pincer their enemy. It was no exemption here. The two split apart, weapons ready as they wait for Mercury to decide who to attack. On one side, he could go for the less experienced Arc but he would be faced with a more defensive shell. On the other, the familiar would be more of a challenge and had the superior reach.
Mercury chose the latter. The deadliest part of the spear was the spear point, afterwards it was more of a quarterstaff. It would still be dangerous but that is more manageable than having a sharp object pointed at you. Getting inside the range was obvious and easy for Mercury. He gave another kick but he hit air.
Emerald couldn't see what his expression was as his back was turned against her but she assumed that his eyes widened. From behind, Arc came in with an overhead swing, forcing Mercury to block using his arms, reinforced by aura. It would seem that dematerializing and rematerializing was a tactic of theirs. They didn't let up as the familiar had materialized weapon first once again. The spear point aiming for the head appeared just beneath where sword and arms clashed.
Disengaging, Mercury leapt back. Tilting his head, his facial expression practically, "Okay, that was pretty good. Not what I was expecting but not bad."
The familiar lead the charge, spear pointed directly at Mercury with Arc following behind.
"I forfeit," Mercury suddenly declared.
When the declaration was made, sounds of disappointment were heard from the crowd. Professor Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and said, "You have no intention of continuing, Mr. Black?"
Mercury shrugged. "It was a two-on-one. It was only a matter of time I suppose." His tone was nonchalant.
Goodwitch narrowed her eyes. "Very well," she said. "Then maybe next time you could think hard when choosing your next opponent."
"Will do."
Emerald wasted no time when Mercury returned to his seat. "So how was he?"
"He's alright. Got a head on his shoulders, at least. Video definitely doesn't do him justice."
"Then, we'll be making a report later."
Mercury gave Emerald a thumbs up. As Professor Goodwitch gave them a final reminder of the dance, the class had ended.
AN: Was going to name Mercury's fighting style here (namely Taekwondo and Capoeira from what I've seen), wasn't sure if it was named the same in the show or if it was just regarded as martial arts or something.
