Crimson VII: Fight Through
"Shut it..."
"I'm just saying you didn't look that bad out there, it's a compliment."
"We don't want to hear it from you."
"Sheesh, try to be a nice guy and this is what it gets you..."
"You're mocking us under your breath, I know you are..."
"I thought you looked good out there, Ragna. You too Weiss."
"Thank you Ruby, we're glad you think so."
"Why does she not get any sass!?"
"Because unlike the womanizer we're dealing with, she's both innocent and genuine," Ragna told off Kagura while Ruby made a mocking face at the Black Gale. Currently he, Azrael, Noel Kagura, Celica, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were walking through the hallways of Beacon academy. Goodwitch's class had just ended... well the chaos caused by one Amane Nishiki had finally ended.
"So... does anyone have plans for this weekend?" Noel asked, trying to defuse the situation.
"Hit the gym, maybe do a few million reps," her partner, Azrael, said with a smirk. "You know; take it easy."
"Coming from you, that workout is the equivalent of saying you'll be sleeping all weekend," Ragna muttered.
"Well then, what's on your plate?" Kagura asked with a smirk. "Going to practice your dancing a little more?"
"Oh leave him alone, we've both been through more than was necessary today," Weiss Shnee told off the dark haired student only to see that she was getting a call. Opening up her scroll, she rolled her eyes before quickly closing it.
"...Shouldn't you get that?" Ragna asked her skeptically.
"I'll call them back later," Weiss declared, sending her dance partner a drop it message.
"Well, I'm planning on finally hitting the town, seeing the sights... getting to know the local fauna and flora," Kagura said with a confident smile.
"So... you're going to a flower shop and a petting zoo?" Celica asked him naively.
"He means he's going to try head into town and make an idiot of himself trying to pick up chicks," Ragna explained with a growl.
"He's going to pick up baby chickens?" she asked again. "Is he doing it at the petting zoo he's going to?"
"Like this pervert would be that innocent," the Reaper told her, a little of put by her innocence.
"Whoa, hostile," Kagura noted. "What did I ever do to you?"
"You know damn well what you did; your room was right next to mine!"
Though everyone at present was left in the dark, Kagura had to take only a minute to figure it out, but when he did his face became a sharp and challenging smirk. "What's wrong? Feeling inadequate?"
"You wish, asshole," Ragna said as he glared back, the sparks between the two's scowls were absolutely crackling.
"And you're telling me you can't absorb that?" Jaune Arc asked from the side lines as he watched from behind a pillar.
"You're starting to convince me that I can..." Nora noted as she could practically feel the electric waves. As they peered on and as Ragna and Kagura continued to glare at each other, another individual came into the fold.
"...Not a moment too soon," she thought aloud to herself with a sigh as she walked up. "Hey guys, having a heart to heart?"
"Yang!" Ruby called, which was enough for the glaring match to stop, though Ragna was still feeling beyond pissed.
"What are you doing out so early? Is class already over?" she asked them with a cheerful smile on her face.
"Yeah, Goodwitch let us out early," her younger sister explained before she grabbed out her scroll. "But you missed something completely hilarious!"
"Here we go..." Ragna and Weiss both sighed in unison, only to stare blankly at each other when they'd realized that they'd done so.
Surprisingly, Yang didn't comment as she watched the entire video and Ruby provided her with the context that had lead up to the events. She didn't even seem to smile at Amane's reveal of his semblance's functions after Ragna and Weiss had finished dancing.
"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked, who was also caught a little off guard at Yang's silence.
Yang didn't respond right away, instead appearing to be deep in thought. When she finally did speak it was directed solely at the Reaper. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"You... you mean in private?" To say Ragna was... surprised would be an accurate statement. "I mean... sure, I guess?"
"C'mon there's no reason to be so nervous, I don't bite," Yang told him with a smirk.
"I'D KILL YOU IF YOU DID!" came a sudden call.
"SHUT IT JIN!" Ragna shouted at his hidden brother as Yang guided him down the hallways.
"Whoa, deja vu," Ruby noted as she remembered back when Yang had forcefully introduced the two.
"Why do you think she needs to talk to him in private anyways?" Noel asked.
"Maybe it's to apologize for the card game yesterday, she did seem to cause him more than a little hardship on that one," Weiss suggested.
"He'd really oughta quit whining, I'd have fought through a thousand Grimm to get in his shoes," Kagura muttered.
"And the award for biggest masochist goes to..." Blake began humorlessly.
"I didn't mean that part..." he tried to defend himself as Ragna and Yang continued to talk. "And now he's speaking one on one with a girl. Guess some people just get all of the luck in life."
"You'd be surprised," Azrael and Noel said in unison, thinking back to Ragna's partner.
"I'm sure Ragna does fine, even with his stroke of bad luck," Celica told them.
"Little more than a 'stroke' at this point," Ruby thought aloud as she watched Yang give a good tap to Ragna's chest with the back of her fist. Ragna was awkwardly scratching the back of his head while Yang was smirking at him. "Huh? Looks like their done talking."
"And not a moment too soon," a still bitter Kagura said as the two came back. Before either of them could say anything, he decided to cut in. "Do you two have your date all set up then?" he asked heatedly. Ruby, Weiss, Noel, and Blake were surprised at the abruptness of his words while Azrael swore he heard a katana slowly unsheathe.
"She wishes," Ragna said with great sarcasm, earning him a rather powerful jab on his arm from the blonde. "I'm just doing her a favor, something that she keeps insisting that I'm the only one that can help her with this... yet I'm being kept in the dark."
"Just don't want you to overthink it," Yang told him with a pleasant smile. "Plus, with everything you've had to go through this week you're on track to burn out before we even get to mid-terms. Take a night off, enjoy yourself. Those books will be waiting for you when you get back. What else were you going to do?"
"Find a place to crash and get a night where I don't need to sleep with one eye open?" Ragna offered, remembering Tsubaki's murder boner for him.
"You can sleep in our room Ragna! I'm sure we can make room," Celica offered.
"That's even worse!" he shouted.
"No kidding, you and your brother in the same room is something I'm not looking forward to watching," Kagura noted. "I mean Amane might be into it, but that would just make it even creepier."
"WHY are you fueling my nightmares? WHY?" Ragna shouted as even Azrael shuddered at that thought.
"So that your luck evens out," Kagura muttered.
"Evens out? You son of a..." Ragna growled, only to be slapped on the back of the head by Yang.
"Hey, hey, he's just jealous you're spending the evening with a hottie like me," she told Ragna to try and calm him down, which Kagura couldn't deny. "Just meet me at the school gates at seven tonight, I'll get us to where we need to go from there."
"...Fine, I'll see you then," Ragna said as he headed off, only pausing to kick his leg harshly into a nearby bush and hear his brother's suddenly grunt of pain come from within. "And YOU'RE staying here dammit."
"So... you're doing this why exactly?" Azrael asked bluntly. "Won't this just cause more problems for the guy?"
"Just... reasons," Yang told him sadly as she watched Ragna walk away, grumbling to himself the whole while.
Flashback -Ozpin's Office-
"Thanks for coming here on such short notice," the Head of Beacon said as he sat behind his desk. "Can I get you something to drink? Tea, coffee?"
"I'm fine," Yang told him. "Really, I'm just confused why you'd wanted to see me during class."
"It's a... precaution that I'm afraid I'm going to need to take," the professor said as he rose from his seat and headed towards the window. "Tell me, what do you know about the leader of Team RAIN?"
"Ragna? I haven't been with him that much, you'd have to talk to my sister on that one," Yang explained. Ozpin didn't respond, so Yang took that as a sign to elaborate. "He's... pretty tightly wound, but he doesn't seem to be a bad guy, just someone that's gotten a bad draw out of life."
"That would be an understatement," Ozpin told as he continued to look out the window. Yang was about to question what he meant, but Ozpin was already continuing. "At the very least I would assume so; I haven't any ideas of the more specific details of his past and your uncle didn't say anything in his letter to inform me."
"Uncle Qrow? What does he have to do with Ragna?" Yang asked, though remembering that Ruby had told her that Ragna did seem to know their 'drunkle' (drunk uncle).
"It's thanks to Qrow's letter of referral that Ragna managed to secure a place in the academy's entrance exam, before passing said exam despite... several clear problems showing. One of which I've brought you before me to address; his attitude."
"No offense, but I'd think you'd have bigger things to worry about." The professor didn't seem upset at her words, so Yang continued. "Maybe he's got a foul mouth on him, but I don't think he's trying cause trouble or anything like that. Like I said, he's gotten a bad draw."
"You misunderstand, it's not the amount of trouble that he gets into, but there is a connection to his bad draw," Ozpin then turned back to face Yang. "Tell me, Miss Xiao Long; what attracts the Grimm?"
"Well... I know of a couple of types of bait that are supposed to be in the works, not to mention there are probably a few types of semblances that can do the job," Yang thought.
"True, but there's another thing that outclasses those on every level," the professor said, turning deadly serious. "Negative Emotions; emotions of fear, rage, or malice... The Grimm are attracted to them like your sister's addiction to cookies."
'If he's even halfway serious in his comparison, that's more than a little worrying,' Yang thought. "So what, we're going to have a hoard of Grimm attacking all of us simply because Ragna's acting a little gloomy?"
"Under normal circumstances not even a hundred people engulfed in malice would be enough to cause a significant difference in Grimm activities, but Ragna..."
"...He's not normal... is he?" Yang asked, the temperature in the room seeming to slowly decrease.
"...I've spent countless hours observing his footage from his entrance exam, watching his complexion and the resulting Grimm activities that came soon afterwards. It's still positively staggering to me now, in all of my years I have never seen anything like this; one student's slightest shift in attitude was enough to send the Grimm barreling towards him from literal miles away. Suddenly an area of the forest which had been barren of Grimm for years was so full of them it looked like the occasional tree emerging from a rolling ocean of darkness."
"But, if that's true then we'd practically have the Grimm at the doors of the academy at this very moment!" Yang shouted at Ozpin. "His own partner wants to see him dead, the entire school thinks that he's some perv loser, he's always the butt of every joke, and his brother has some sort of... I don't even want to know!"
"You're right, the Grimm would have been here by now if he'd let his emotions leak through," Ozpin said with a sigh. "I can only assume that he's had training in protecting himself from this, perhaps its why he tries to resort to vulgarity and more... immediate tactics instead of harboring grudges. "
"Jeeze, how do you even get negativity this strong?" Yang asked.
"I haven't the slightest," Ozpin said as he shook his head. "It may have something to do with his as of yet revealed semblance, but at this point most of the evidence seems to point to a tragedy in his past." Ozpin finally turned to look at Yang. "The good news is I've discovered a solution, but I need your help."
"I... I feel for Ragna, especially if you put it like that," she admitted. "But wouldn't my sister be better for something like this? Those two are already close enough to be best friends. Hell, he even struggles not to smile when she's around."
"It's true that Miss Rose has gotten close to him, but it's possible that might just be what has kept his emotions from attracting an army of Grimm thusfar," Ozpin explained, his voice growing quiet. "And that's a chance I just can't take."
"...What do you need me to do?" Yang asked, deciding she'd help if she could.
"Simply put, I want you to do what you've been doing, but make a point to spend time with Ragna when you can whether as a group or one on one," Ozpin told her. "Out of all of the students close to him, you seem to have the most... let's call it spunk." Yang's face alone was enough to make Ozpin chuckle. "Well, whatever you'd like to call it, I'm simply hoping some of it starts to rub off onto Ragna... he won't be able to keep that lock on his emotions forever."
"And that's it? I just need to cheer him on?" Yang asked.
"If you'd like to put it simply, then yes," Ozpin then grabbed out a few documents from his desk. "Though you're the prime candidate, I have a few other students I could ask to do this if you're not comfortable with the idea-"
"No, Ragna's been helping Ruby out and she's been doing really well in all of her classes since they've started studying together... even our Ice Queen and Blake are starting to open up a little more when he's around... I'll return the favor for him."
"Good," Ozpin asked before letting out a breath of relief. "I'll have to ask that you don't tell the rest of your team or Ragna himself of the reasons for your actions just yet... Let's just try to make everything as stable as we can first and then disclose the information once he's found his center."
End of the Flashback
"I hope this goes well," Yang thought aloud as she sat on her motorcycle and waited for Ragna. "...Maybe I should've made a point to draw him aside and ask him out without the others trying to watch us. Nah, then things would've been awkward later if they found out we went somewhere together. 'Sides, that mess was on Kagura, not me."
Despite talking to herself, Yang was confident that she could do what was needed. If things went well, not only would Ragna be away from the collective pain in his rear from all of the people that seemed to having nothing better to do than bother him, but he'd also be put in (what Yang hoped would be) his element and he'd get a chance to enjoy himself. Ruby had likely wanted to try and tag along, but Yang had insisted that (without revealing any Ozpin's plan) she just wanted to give Ragna a win.
"You have a motorcycle?" Ragna was wearing his usual red and black clothing as he casually approached Yang at 6:58.
"Do you ever change out of that clothing," Yang asked, before considering where she was taking him.
"Not if I can help it; this jacket was a pretty important gift, nice and durable to boot," the Reaper told her before returning his attention to the motorcycle. "So... you're driving us?"
"That's the plan... you're not scared of riding on a motorcycle, are you?" Poor planning on Yang's part, but to her relief Ragna merely gave her a shrug.
"First time for everything," he told her as Yang mounted her motorcycle. Ragna then got on behind her and held onto the back metal for support. The ride wasn't too... eventful, well except for- "Dammit, there goes another round."
"You're using your scroll?" Yang asked as she glanced behind her (the two had been stopped by a red light at that point).
"Yeah, Ruby told me about this card game on your scroll that's free to download. I've trying to win a single match just so I can break my losing streak... It's not going well."
"Figures, but is this really the time to do it?" Yang asked him. She wasn't exactly taking it slow while she was driving and Ragna wasn't holding on to much of anything for support.
"Eh, it is if I want to make the reference."
"Reference?" Yang asked as the light turned to green and she started moving again. "What are you talking abo-?"
"CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES BITCHES!" Ragna shouted as the two roared down the city streets.
(Author's Note: My respect to LittleKuriboh for essentially starting the anime abridged trend)
Later –Edge of Town-
It didn't take much longer for the two to get to where Yang was going, to which Ragna immediately started to get a worse feeling than usual. The two were in front of the small out of the way bar at the city's edge. Already Ragna was seeing a few people that were looking that the both of them with clear disdain in their eyes and seemed ready for a fight.
"Yang... You sure this is the place that we're trying to get to?" Ragna asked as Yang parked her motorcycle. "That thing's going to get stolen if you leave it here."
"Trust me, the people around here know better than to steal from bikes in front of the bar," she said before she started heading up to the place.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," he warned as he tried to get between Yang and her destination. "What the hell are we here for? Don't tell me you brought me this whole way to sneak a beer kegger back to school."
"Come on, it's not anything that illegal," Yang told him, worrying Ragna with how she stressed the obviously operative word. Before he could stop her, she then headed into the bar. Groaning as he knew this was likely more trouble, he had little choice but to follow her.
The inside of the bar was about what you'd expect. A wood and brick building with plenty of rough looking individuals downing whiskey and beer. The bartender standing behind the bar was giving them both the stink eye, but when Yang pointed downwards with her index and middle finger, the man gave a shrug as he pointed her to a door that said 'Employees Only.'
'Does she work here part-time or something?' Ragna considered as Yang opened the door to the small employee's lounge. She then headed over to what looked like a coat closest and... revealed a staircase leading down below ground. By this point nothing about this was sitting well with Ragna. "Yang, wait."
"Come on, we're just about there," the blonde told him. "You'll get your answers in a second, I promise."
"Is that before or after I lose a kidney?" he demanded with a glare. "I'm already in enough hot water with Goodwitch that I get glared at her every time she passes me in the hallway, if this shady crap just puts me in detention for a month then-"
"Do you trust me?" Yang interrupted, stopping Ragna cold. "Do you, Ragna, trust me?"
"...If I say no, can we go home?" he asked hopefully, only for Yang to roll her eyes as she grabbed his arm. "Shit."
As the two headed down the steps, Ragna could swear he was starting to hear loud music. He figured that maybe Yang was just taking him to a secret club... but that was before he saw the 30 foot wide fighting ring waiting for them with two heavily muscled men striking each other with trained brutality. It was a large caged arena with several sets of bleacher seats set up around it. There were loud speakers adjusted around the room and playing loud rock music. In short, Ragna was looking at an underground fight club.
"...You could've let me know about this ahead of time and saved me some stress," Ragna muttered as he let out a breath of relief. "So, we're here to watch a fight?"
"Hardly, you're the one fighting," Yang told him, leading him to scowl. "Well... both of us are. There's a tag team event going on tonight and I needed a partner."
"...And you're sure they let men and women fight together?" Ragna questioned leading Yang to glare at him. "I don't know the rules! Besides, Azrael would've-"
"-Been a little too excited about this," Yang told him with a smirk. "Come on, just this once alright?"
"...Fine, but you're buying me dinner for this."
"Only if we win, but I've seen you fight before and you've got some skill with your fists. We'll be a shoe-in if you're as good as I think you are."
"So I can't use any weapons. Looks like I'll need somewhere to put my..." Ragna was about to finish before deciding to glance behind him.
"You think he's ever going to remember to take this thing with him?" Azrael asked back in Team RAIN's room as he looked over Bloodscythe which had been leaning against Ragna's bed for the last week.
"At the moment? I doubt he remembers it exists," Tsubaki muttered as she worked on her studies while Noel continued to practice her poetry on her bed.
"Come on, let's go get signed up," Yang said as she headed over towards the front desk that was headed by a tall man with a balding head. "We're here for the challenge, I hear we're supposed to be tonight's main event."
"You two are the challengers? I was expecting someone a little older," he said as he looked over the two. "So from the phone call I got earlier today... Yang Xio Long?" Yang nodded. "And Ragna... Kisaragi?"
"What the-!? You used Jin's last name!?" Ragna demanded as he glared at Yang.
"What? He's your brother, isn't he?" Yang asked.
"I'M adopted! H-He's been adopted by a well-known family!" Ragna shouted, causing the blonde's normally cheery smile to turn guilty for a moment. "Just take the last name out, will ya?"
"...Sure thing kid," the announcer said, feeling very awkward with the two teenagers in front of him. "Anyways, changing rooms are in the back; just find a set of shorts that fit you and head to the waiting rows."
"If it's all the same to you, I'll keep wearing what I've got on now," he defended.
"It ain't, you gotta fight bare-chested and with the shorts we provide. This thing may be underground, but we still got rules for you to follow. Got it?"
"Tch, now she's getting me to strip," Ragna grumbled under his breath.
"Aw, is someone shy?" Yang taunted, only to notice her partner for the evening glancing at his right arm. "...Ragna?"
"It's nothing, let's just get this over with."
"Hey c'mon, you'll have fun with this," Yang assured him. Ragna wasn't so sure.
Fortunately there were no other fighters in the changing rooms, so he at least had complete privacy when he went into the changing room and there was a large collection of shorts his size, freshly washed and ready to be worn. Choosing a red pair with thorny black symbols on the sides (because of course), Ragna swapped his regular gloves for fighter authorized ones, stored his clothes and his scroll inside of one of the lockers, and grabbed a black hooded robe to wear between his fights and slung it on. Heading out the doorway and towards the ring, he saw Yang waiting for him on one of the closest bleachers.
"...I expected you to be scrawny under all of that baggy clothing," she muttered as she got a good look at Ragna's eight pack, the tattoo on his chest, and his toned legs since the cloak was only coating his arms. Yang herself was wearing a set of brown fighter shorts and yellow fighter's bra. She was barefoot like Ragna and had grabbed a white robe to wear between her fights though she wasn't currently wearing it. Yang noticed he was looking at her outfit and the amount of skin it showed off. "Hee, see something you like?"
"Tch, I'm not Kagura," Ragna muttered as he took a seat beside her and next to another fighter who appeared to have just finished his match. The man only scoffed as he got a good look at the younger brawler beside him, seeing him as nothing more than a fresh child with nothing more than dreams too big for him to handle.
"And I never said that you were, but it doesn't mean you can't appreciate a good scene." Ragna wisely chose not to comment, so Yang decided she could afford to poke a little fun at him. "After all, view's pretty good from where I'm sitting." His face turning as red as a tomato, the Reaper turned away so that Yang couldn't see him.
"Kids today," the fighter beside Ragna chuckled. Not long later, the current fight was finished with a time out. A quick clean of the ring to mop up the blood later and it was as good as new. An announcer then went to the center of the ring, holding a microphone so that everyone could hear him.
"All right you louts! We've had some pretty impressive fights so far tonight, but now we've got our main event of this evening! I'm telling you, I laughed when I heard that some girl from Beacon and her boy toy wanted to take on our champions, but it looks like the damned kids are serious! Let's all show 'em the true fighters of the UNDERGROUND RUUUUUUUUMBLE!" The crowd's cheering and the jeering at Ragna and Yang was overwhelming. "...Sponsored by Junior's."
"Tch, of course that idiot would have a stake in this," Yang grumbled before turning cockily to Ragna "Looks like he's putting the crowd against us."
"Can we just get the damn fights started already? Listening to this guy is probably going to be more painful than being punched in the gut."
"Shh, he's going to explain the rules."
"Don't need 'em, just punch the other guy enough times and they won't get up," Ragna said nonchalantly.
"Just listen to what he's got to say so we don't get disqualified."
"Now then, onto the rules since it's been a good while since someone was foolish, I mean brave enough to try and take on our champions. The champion match is going to involve two fighters on each team, a lead and then a follower to go in after the team's lead has been defeated. Any semblances are legal, but killing is... shall we say frowned upon."
"Think he means it?" Yang asked her partner.
"More than likely, a death here would cause too large of a disturbance and get the cops or a Hunter here. They could try to sweep it under the rug, but there'd always be that threat."
"You seem to know about this quite a bit..."
"Qrow taught me a couple of things about underground fight clubs," Ragna said, revealing more on his connection with Yang's uncle. "Never really took it heart, but I guess back then I didn't know what his niece was like."
"Ouch, subtle burn there."
"Since this is for the championship, a time out is not an option and there are no bells to split the fights. You come in here and you're in till you give up or get knocked out with the exception of a short five minutes break between each round," the announcer instructed. "And their prize money? 1000 Platinum Lien to split between our winners if they manage to take down our amazing champions!"
(Author's Note: I combined Lien and Platinum dollar to create to a new form of currency)
"Damn, now I know why you wanted me here," Ragna muttered as he thought the idea over. "500 Platinum to each of us... what would I even do with that kind of cash?"
"So you're interested in winning now?" Yang realized, and Ragna couldn't help but nod. "Cool, mind if I go first? I've been fired up for this for a while now."
"Ladies first I guess," Ragna said with a shrug as he leaned back on his seat and his partner rose to her feet. "Just try and leave something for me to do."
"And tonight's first challenger is ready and looking for a match!" the announcer shouted. "On the challengers side, we've got the Blond Bomber, the Femme Fatal, the Beauty Bruiser, Yang Xio LOOOOONG!" There were a only few cheers for Yang as she steeped up to the ring, a couple of whistles for her as well. "And defending her place at the top of our bracket, the Bone Breaker, The Ground Shaker, and the Name Taker... Azula Icaruuuuuuuuussss!" The woman that entered the cage on the other side was a few inches shorter than Ragna and had her blue hair done up behind her in a ponytail. Her shorts and top were both black while small bandages covered her checks a little below her eyes.
'Yang might have trouble with her,' Ragna thought as he looked over both women, judging the difference in size, toning, and posture. '...But I get the feeling it's going to come down to our semblances most of all... Which is going to be a problem on my end.'
(Cue Street Fight V Cammy's Theme)
"Hope you're ready for a good fight, champ!" Yang said with energy as she stepped to the center and put her fist out to bump them with her opponents before the match. The stoic faced Azula on the other had didn't look half as interested and only put her fists up to get ready for the fight. "Okay then... serious time."
"ROUND 1! FIGHT!" the announcer shouted and the match began as a bell was struck by a hammer.
Taking the first strike for herself, Yang rushed forward and delivered a powerful punch. Azula managed to guard against the attack and only lurched slightly as a result. Forcing the attack off her, Azula made a short leap into the air and delivered a powerful jab with her fist which Yang was force to guard against. Quickly transitioning as soon as she landed, Azula then spun into a high aimed kick that struck Yang guard. The force was powerful enough to get the blond to slide back slightly and nearly sent her off balance. Asserting her footing, Yang roared right before she rushed back and threw a solid punch which was mirrored by Azula as the two fists struck.
Yang then went for a grapple to throw her opponent and get some distance, but Azula managed to duck under the grab right before sweeping her leg around and send Yang off balance. Trying to catch the blonde in air with a devastating punch, Yang managed to twist her body in mid-air and push off the punch, nullifying the attack and giving her a bit of distance where she then landed on her feet. Switching back the offensive, Yang went back to a right hook which was blocked by Azula before she bounced to the other side, sliding past her opponents guard and delivering a left hook to the ribs.
"...Is that all?" Azula finally spoke, surprising Yang as her opponent wasn't hurt much by the attack. With a devastating punch screaming to the air towards her, Yang had no choice but to guard before she was blasted off her feet and sent straight into the cage wall. She didn't even have time to recover as Azula was already upon her, sending shot after shot at Yang while she tried desperately to guard, a wild blue glow starting to come off her opponent.
"THERE IT IS!" the announcer shouted as the crowd started cheering for the knock-out. "Azula's classic COBALT ASSAULT! Her Strength based semblance puts the power of a bullet train into every one of her Swarmer styled attacks! Effective simplicity at it's finest! Looks like it's all over for our blonde contestant folks!"
"Tch!" whack "Don't-" whack "sell me-" whack "short!" Yang protested as she was repeatedly punished by blow after blow by her contender. She tried to duck against one of the punches, only to dive right into it and take a heavy hit to her face which caused her nose to start bleeding. Azula then went for a follow up strike to Yang's head, narrowly missing...
...but catching a few strands of Yang's hair.
"...YOU'RE DEAD!" Yang shouted with blood lust in her eyes as a fiery aura surrounded her. Azula tried sending another punch, but Yang held the attack back effortlessly. Going to knee the blonde in the gut, the attack was once again deflected as Yang blasted it back with her first before hitting Azula square in the gut. Striking her back a short distance and appearing to deal damage.
"Wh-what is this!?" the announcer shouted as he watched on while Yang charged Azula to keep up her offensive. "It looks like our challenger has activated her Semblance!" A painful crack was heard as one of Yang's punches managed to hit its hit Azula's face dead on. "She's driving Azula back! Unbelievable!" Another crack, this time as Azula's leg managed to catch Yang in the ribs. "But our defending champ is fighting hard to keep her ground in this intense struggle!"
One particularly devastating trade-off of blows later, Yang and Azula had both managed to back off a decent distance and now both girls were staring each other down to stay ready for the finish.
"You're not bad... but we can still beat you both," Azula told Yang as she kept her aura showing.
"Heh, I'm still standing right now, so talk later," Yang told her cockily as she rushed forward with her first up in a charging guard. Azula then took full advantage of the approach and tried to go for a low sweep. Seeing through this, Yang performed a short hop to avoid the attack before thrusting her fist downwards and catching her unguarded opponent. The force was great enough to cause Azula to bounce from the impact and force her into the air, so Yang followed up with a hook that sent her opponent flying. Azula barely managed to catch herself of the fighting arena walls before rushing back.
Yang thought she saw an opening in her opponent last charge and made a wide hook to catch her, but Azula say this attack coming. Using expert timing, she back stepped the attack at the last instant before throwing one final round house kick that caught Yang at the side of her head. Yang lurched harshly, but her aura only seemed to glow even bright as she smashed her fist into Azula's face. The blonde lurch slightly at the damage she'd taken while Azula fell to the ground with a a shaky thud.
(End theme)
"And the ref's calling it! Yang takes the first round by a sudden turn around KNOCK OUT!" the announcer called out with excitement as the crowd actually looked to be cheery Yang somewhat. While the blonde was a little shaky on her feet, she did her best to stay standing with a stubborn grin. "FIVE MINUTES ON THE CLOCK NOW FOLKS! CLAIM YOUR WINNINGS AND GRAB YOUR DRINKS!"
While Yang started slowly making her way back to her own side of the ring, she noticed a red clocked figure heading into the ring and heading over towards Azula. The figure didn't say anything as Yang's opponent regained consciousness, only offering a hand, helping her up, and guiding her back to the other side of the cage. Yang could guess that the person was her next opponent, but she was more focused on getting back to her seats and finding a drink of water.
"Here," Ragna said as he offered his current partner one of the water bottles from the stands.
"Thanks," Yang said in turn as she roughly sat down and took a long drink. "That felt close."
"Looked it too... if it wasn't for the amount of brute force your style had to offer you would have been in trouble," he decided to inform, only to then notice Yang glaring at him. "What's your problem?"
"You of all people, talking to me about brute force?" Yang scoffed at the hypocrisy. "Remind me again how you fight?"
"I never said it was a bad thing, I can just recognize it easily... since I'm a big user of it myself," he muttered as Yang delivered a light punch to his shoulder, something that seemed to hurt her more than it did himself.. "Be careful about this next guy; the way he walks tells me he isn't any amateur."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful," Yang told him before smiling. "Wouldn't want to lose a tooth and ruin the smile that makes you as red as your coat."
"Speaking of losing teeth..." Ragna began, and Yang couldn't help but notice the deflection in the conversation. "I thought these places were supposed to give us mouth guards."
"Better," said the fighter beside the two as he smiled and revealed several metal teeth. "We got our own personal dental plan."
"...Yeaaaaah, don't get hit in the face," Ragna advised to Yang who only seemed to giggle while the fighter beside Ragna actually looked slightly hurt by the comment. Soon enough though, the five minute mark had passed and it was time for Yang to take to fighting arena once more.
"Wish me luck," Yang told him as she headed into the arena, only to see the enigma in the red cloak standing before her.
"HERE HE IS!" the announcer shouted, getting a great cheering roar from the watchers. "In our five years of operating in this little fight club, never have found a fight with as much talent as this man! You know him! You love him! THE ARENA NIGHTMARE! THE RISING PHEONIX! THE FABULOUS DAD-ULOUS! ROJO ICARUUUUUUUUUUUS!"
Throwing his cloak away for a dramatic demonstration, Yang and Ragna managed to get a good look at the other champion. He stood slightly taller than Ragna and looked at his late 30's at most. His hair was long and red, done into a pony tail in the back but there were traces of blue highlights all about it. On the front of his chest he seemed to the tattoo portrayal of a hawk's head and talons while he had it's red wings painted on his back. His combat shorts were a mix or red and golden and he seemed to carry himself rather well.
"...Fabulous Dad-ulous?" Yang questioned for a short moment before she got the connection. "So Azula..."
"Yeah, that's my daughter; always charging into the family business a bit too eagerly," Rojo told her. Yang started to feel a little awkward for the whole thing, but Rojo then gave a chuckle. "I'm not the type to hold grudges in the ring; it's just a matter of battles with business." Showing more sportsmanship than his daughter, he held his knuckles out. Yang smirked as she tapped them in return and got into position. "Sorry in advance if I go too hard on you, but I hate to lose."
"That's something we've got in common then," Yang assured him with a smirk, trying to keep an eye on him and read his movement.
"And we're all set! ROUND TWO! FIGHT!"
"*GUH-!*...What the-?"
Yang's eyes were filled with surprise as Rojo stood right before her, his fist striking her square in the gut and through any defenses she could have prepared. A short trail of crimson was visible behind him, as was a dissolving after-image of his starting stance. Only as she slowly fell did she hear the sound of the bell toll through the arena, right before she hit the ground.
"The legendary CRIMSON FLASH!" the announcer shouted as the crowd shouted for more. "That's the very technique that Rojo used to get him the championship battle! We're checking the instant replay and... Yes! The bell was technically rung before the move was started! Perfect timing on Rojo's part and a perfect knockout in less than a second!"
"Phew, wasn't sure if Klark was going to soil the surprise before I threw the move," Rojo sighed as he looked down at the struggling form of Yang. "Sorry kiddo, but I don't think I'm that soft-hearted. You showed my daughter a good fight, so be proud of that much."
Only nodding to him, Yang slowly forced herself to stand and slowly began limping her way to her seat. At the entrance to the ring stood Ragna in wait with his cloak removed. Yang took one look at him and it was clear that he wasn't here to help her back to her seat.
"Be careful... he's fast," Yang warned him.
"Yeah, but I didn't have fight through a match in order to get here did I?" Ragna said in response as he entered the ring. "I won't have to fight through a first beating to keep eyes on him, so that's one small advantage."
"Looks like our next fighter is already chomping at the bit for the next round! He can't even wait the five minutes!" Klark the announcer declared before turning his head to Rojo who only nodded. "Yep! Looks like next rounds starting any second folks! This new challenger saw what just happened to his partner, but he's either brave or stupid because it doesn't look like he's flinching away for even a second Standing tall in the face of horrifying odds, it's White-Haired Warrior! The Ballsy Brawler! The Grim-Faced Gladiator! RAGNAAAAAAAAA!"
'Cheering isn't half as loud as what Yang got,' Ragna thought to himself with a sigh. 'Then again, unlike her I don't exactly have much sex appeal with men... take it a compliment and hope that Jin realizes what he needs to.' He shuddered at that last part.
"Mind if I ask you something?" Rojo asked Ragna, standing as calmly as he had before. Ragna only gave a shrug. "Kind of curious why you didn't help you partner back to her seat. You're not using her to get to me are you?"
"She's the one who's using me in the first place and she didn't need my help. Besides, she's so damn stubborn that she'd have hit me for even trying to lend a hand while she's down," the Reaper grumbled. He then noticed Rojo starting to chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"Heh, let's just say with your attitudes, you and my daughter got more than a couple of things in common," the defending champion told him as he held his fists out to tap. "Guess I have to knock the crap outta ya to make sure she doesn't get interested."
"Tch, ten minutes of getting to know me and that wouldn't be a problem," Ragna darkly assured as he tapped fists as the two took their places on their sides of the fighting ring.
(Cue Dragon Ball FighterZ OST Bardock's Theme)
"HERE WE GO! THE FINAL MATCH OF THE NIGHT! EVERYTHING'S ON THE LINE FOR BOTH TEAMS! ROUND THREE! FIIIIIIGHT!"
Blasting off at the strike of the bell (not necessarily the sound), Rojo swerved to Ragna's left since he judged to his opponent to be right dominate. He was right in his assessment, but as he moved at supersonic speeds, he could barely believe himself as he noticed... Ragna's eyes were following him. Rojo quickly got over his surprise and back stepped to avoid an attack from his opponent, the sound of the bell then resonating around the room.
"And Rojo steps out of his initial strike! Why on earth would he have called it off!?"
'There's no way... unless of course he's a Speed Semblance user too,' Rojo thought to himself before activating his semblance and rushing forward a second time. This time he went for Ragna's right side to get his attention, then zoomed around to his left side and winded back a punch. Having faked his opponent out, he went a 270 degrees around his opponents to Ragna's back, trying to get to his back right before-
WHOOOSH!
"What the-?" Rojo exclaimed as Ragna's backhand came close to making contact with him, but the Rojo managed to dive back at the last instant. 'Okay, so his eyes can keep up with my semblance, but is his body too slow or...' A terrible feeling hit the experienced fighter as Ragna only glared at him and kept his fists ready. 'Can this kid actually match my speed?'
Despite the frightening prospect of his best strategy being thrown out the window, Rojo couldn't help but chuckle. He was used to fights getting tough and gritty from time to time, but this newcomer was about to make things interesting for him. Blasting forward in a powerful z-formation blitz, he delivered a lunging jab which Ragna had to guard against to keep it from colliding with his head. Using his speed semblance again, Rojo avoided Ragna's counter strike before twisting his body around in mid-air and causing his foot to collide with his head. Ragna lurched from the strike, but retaliated once more and hist Rojo with enough force to send him back a short distance.
"And there's our first trade-off of the match!" the announcer shouted. "Already the newcomer's showing that he won't go down easily, but I think that welt on his face is enough to tell anyone that his opponent's got a small edge over him!"
'I can't heal here just yet...' Ragna thought to himself as he felt the sting of the impact. 'If I do, then...'
"Don't get distracted," he heard Rojo remind him, just as he was forced to lean back to avoid another blow to the face. "Your mind better be on the fight, otherwise I'm going to knock you out in two seconds."
With Ragna already dodging back from the first strike, he tried to capitalize on it with a follow-up attack to the back of his head, but Ragna managed to flipped around with a chaotic kick that managed to keep Rojo back so that he could regain his footing. As soon as he did though, Rojo blitzed forward and the two traded off with powerful jabs to their opposing heads. Ragna recovered from that attack to his face quickly enough and then managed to smash his fist into Rojo's ribs and caused his opponent to lurch before smashing his head into his opponents.
'Well now... Swarming, Out-Boxing, Brawling, and even some traditional martial arts to boot? This guy's actually trained seriously for this,' Rojo thought with a smirk as he shuffled around his opponent trying to keep his distance. 'I might not have a lot of room for work with, but-'
Giving one last smirk, he disappeared from sight, running around the entire arena at top speed creating a complete red circle around Ragna. The Reaper didn't know what was going on, only that after as Rojo managed to break out of his circle that he needed to guard this attack, though when he did a second strike hit him on the opposing side a brief instant later.
"THE RED TORNADO! I can't even tell you how badly this crippled the last man Rojo pulled this out on! It was three months before the poor bastard could walk again! This match is just about over!" The announcer claimed as Ragna was pummeled again and again from ever angle, not even given an instant to get his footing back.
'Risky, but this'll get the job done!' Rojo thought to himself in the middle of his hellish dash. 'But I gotta finish this quick... time to speed up!' Rojo then increased his speed, going a full twenty times faster than he'd already been going when he was already in his Red Tornado, every side of Ragna's body was being punished by a sudden attack with enough force that he was being pushed into the air. 'You pushed me good kid, but I like my place as champion too much to give you anything less than my best.'
Then Ragna managed to thrust one of his feet to the ground and barely managed to keep it there as he was pummeled. Turning on what little contact his foot could make, Ragna roared a he swung into his classic roundhouse kick, catching Rojo square in the gut. The champion gagged at the sheer force at the impact right before he saw Ragna's rage filled and bruise covered face. Then Ragna delivered a devastating uppercut to Rojo's chin, sending him high into the air and out of the top of the ring's 30 foot tall cage walls.
(End Theme)
"Th-th-th..." the announcer stuttered over the mic as the rest of the arena was deathly silent. Ragna then brought his arm up and wiped off the blood trail emerging from his mouth, his breath heavy as he shakily stayed standing. "THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE! THE BEST MATCH I HAVE EVER SEEN IN THIS FIGHTING RING! I DON'T KNOW HOW THE HELL HE DID, BUT THE NEW COMER JUST TOOK OUT OUR ULTIMATE CHAMPION! THE WINNER BY AN OUT OF THE RING KNOCK OUT IS RAGNAAAAAAAAA!"
There was some cheering from the crowds, but not as much as Ragna would have though he'd have gotten due to the erratic announcing that he'd just gotten.
"I guess not too many people put money on me," Ragna joked weakly as he fought to stay standing, noticing Yang heading his way with that same cocky smirk on her face. He grimaced at the hard tap she gave to his shoulders. "Sheesh! What the hell did you just see me go through!?"
"I dunno! But we managed to get the prize money didn't we?" Yang asked him with clear cheer. "SMILE!"
"Sm-?" Ragna was about to question before Yang threw her arm around Ragna's neck. He gritted his teeth through the pain as the blonde put her scroll up in front of the two. Trying to use the last instant he had to keep a neutral face, Yang snapped a quick picture of the two; bruised, slightly bloody, but still winners.
Later
Yang's motorcycle pulled up to the entrance of the academy, slowing down just she got to her regular parking space. Ragna then leaped off of her favorite mode of transportation, scroll in hand as he landed on the with a type of rough grace. He'd been playing it the entire bike ride back from the arena, and he'd still been yet to come close to getting the cards he needed to win a match... he was starting to debate whether or not to delete the app.
"So, have a good time?" Yang asked him as she locked up her bike.
"...Tch, you never got me dinner," Ragna told her with something of a smirk on his bruised face.
"Right, kinda late to bring it up now though, isn't it?" Yang asked, only for Ragna stomach to rumble. "Maybe not..."
"Whatever, I can hold out and find something to eat later," he told her as he started heading for the dorms.
"...Actually, I heard of this place that's open late on Fridays, might be a little crowded, but I think I can find a way to make room for us."
"Do I want to know?" he grumbled as he shook his head and put his scroll away. It was still going, but he knew that he'd already lost the match anyways.
"I'm not that unbearable, am I?" Yang demanded as she leaned against her bike. "I know I'm a little..." She hated Ozpin for putting the word in her mind. "Spunky, but you're not that bad of a guy to be around, even if you can be a little moody at times." 'Erk, too close to home! Dang it Yang!'
"...At times?" Ragna retorted with an actual chuckle. "Alright, you got me. Let's hit this place and grab a bite. We both earned a celebration after what we just went through."
"Burgers and Fries here we come!" Yang chanted with excitement. Ragna gave a small chuckled, only for it to be interrupted by the vibration in his jackets pocket. Grabbing the device out of his pocket he took a look at the screen.
'YOU'VE LOST THE MATCH! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!'
"...Well my luck's not that good," Ragna chuckled as he headed to Yang's bike. "I'll just take what wins I can get then."
Author's Note
...Being sick SUUUUUUUUCKS. Seriously, that's the main reason why this chapter took so long to get out. Sorry about that, but my update/hiatus month is over, so you can expect more regular updates from here on out... once my sickness ends of course.
So I got a bit of an odd review, one that I'll address here since I won't be doing author reviews this one time due to sickness. Apparently someone thought I was going too 'hard' on Ragna in this story... which sort of surprised me with the way I usually write the character. I just got a bit of chuckle with the thought but after going back and re-reading... I at least decided to put him in his element.
'Till next time! Ciao!