A/N: This is a Fangrai piece (with an appearance from Seven and Sice) that I'm making good on my word to Metz0 – aka HoorayImUseful. Fang is a professional gamer who convinces Lightning to come to one of her tournaments – where the brunette comes out a big winner in more ways than one. Both pairings (Fang/Lightning and Seven/Sice) are them dating, with Fang and Lightning being very serious; Lightning and Seven are cousins.
Not an Ordinary Tournament
Lightning clearly is in a foul mood while driving Fang, Seven and Sice to the McCormick Place for the latest tournament - a part of her wishes that her longtime girlfriend didn't convince her to attend one of her many gaming tournaments, but with Fang being Fang... and that her younger cousin Seven instantly agreed to come with her girlfriend Sice, who was also in the tournament but on the opposite side of the bracket from Fang, meaning that they would only meet in the final round of the entire tournament, Lightning didn't have much else of a choice BUT to accompany them. It was the infamous "Serah Farron" pout that made the older Farron relent and agree to support Fang and Sice at this particular tournament, which made Fang the happiest woman in all of Gran Pulse. Sice and Seven were sleeping like babies in the back seat while holding hands, not caring about the bitchy mood Lightning is currently in. Thanks to the music that Fang picked for the long drive, which is why Seven and Sice are sleeping in the back of Lightning's car, the older Farron has a relaxing and smooth drive to the venue. Once at the venue, however, it takes 15 minutes to wake up the younger pair in the back so that Sice doesn't have to forfeit her time, which the white haired woman couldn't help but glare at the brunette as a result of the matter, which Fang couldn't help but laugh at. Oddly enough, Lightning also glared at her girlfriend, effective in putting the brunette on edge just before the tournament started.
"May the best woman win, Light..." Seven declared to her older cousin as they shake hands, knowing that this day long tournament will give the winner a monetary amount that was in the eight digit range for two reasons: one, it's the longest running tournament of its kind which has gotten so much attention in the last few years at the same venue, hence the increase in the prize money over the years. Two, Fang is the five time reigning champion, while this is Sice's first time taking part in this tournament. The white haired woman's luck in the qualifiers earned her a spot at this tournament, which wherever she finishes, Sice is guaranteed to be able to fully pay for culinary school on top of Seven's schooling. Finally - there was a specific reason why Fang wanted Lightning to come to this particular tournament, something that Seven and Sice both know about: regardless if Fang will win it this year or not, she plans on popping the question to the older Farron, as Fang and Lightning have been a couple for the past four years, and was an inspiring factor in Seven and Sice becoming a couple. Due to her maternity leave from the birth of her newborn son with Snow, Serah was unable to make it, but was given a live feed of what goes on in the tournament. Vanille, Hope and Sazh were all helping Snow and Serah with the baby, and Noel was doing the video for the tournament with Caius, who was the emcee this year with his kid sister and Noel's girlfriend, Yeul.
The older Farron won't see the marriage proposal coming.
XXX
"Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the 13th Annual Soul Calibur V Tournament! I am your new host for the tournament, Caius Ballad - Paddra Nsu Yeul from last year joins me in my first time emceeing. This year will have a mix of veterans and some new faces, for it will be a tournament to remember. Oerba Yun Fang, the five time defending champion, will seek to make this six years in a row that she has won this tournament, while Sice Beckham, a first timer whose skills earned her a ticket to the big show, is said to have the best chance of dethroning Fang and become the new champion of the Soul Calibur V Tournament. Who will come out on top and win the 30 million gil prize? Make sure you stay tuned to find out!" Caius introduces himself to the crowd, who are all happily cheering as he was the one who Fang convincingly dethroned in the same tournament six years ago, and was on a non stop tear ever since, with the Oerban native winning every year after, and the income at the Yun-Farron household getting steadier by the month as Fang is beyond savvy with managing her finances. The brunette had to applaud at his introduction, as he sounded like a pro for his first time emceeing the noted event.
As soon as Lightning heard the amount that is on the line, she realised that Fang goes above and beyond to make sure that they were well taken care of, and even helped the families she gave a damn about: Serah and Snow, Vanille and Hope, Sazh and his family - Fang helped them all out in times of need - the brunette also covered Seven and Sice's high school graduation fees three years ago, a year after she and Lightning started dating. It was this particular trait about Fang that had Lightning fall in love with her all over again, just like she did seven years ago. The older Farron and Fang have been talking about marriage for the last two years, but varying circumstances outside their control prevented them from taking further action on it, which worried Serah and Seven to a degree. It was Snow who helped get those circumstances out of their way as he wanted his sister-in-law to wed the woman she loved for so long. To Lightning, Snow is Serah's idiot, but a good man all the same. After all, it was Snow who set Lightning up with Fang in the first place, therefore the older Farron greatly owes that damn oaf for giving her the love of her life the way he did.
Fang and Sice get to their respective areas and greet their opponents, knowing that if they go far in this tournament, they'll only face each other in the final round for that 30 million gil prize. By being in this tournament, Sice is guaranteed to win at least 3 million gil - enough to get herself through culinary school and help Seven finish her studies at university, which prevents Fang from further helping them out. As for Fang, she kept on starting at the lump in her pocket, for it kept a beautiful and shining ring inside. Fang wants Lightning's hand in marriage, and the brunette spent a decent amount of gil have it made by hand just for the older Farron. Apart from the ring and helping those she gave a damn about when needed, which wasn't often, the only thing the Oerban native did with the winnings from the tournaments she's done is put them into savings, to ensure that she and Lightning have a ways to pay the bills should Lightning ever lose her job with the Guardian Corps, which Amodar demanded that Lightning attend the tournament to support her woman as she hadn't been able to take a day off this year so far, due to scheduling conflicts from Jihl Nabaat and Yaag Rosch.
Lightning wouldn't be let down.
XXX
Sice and Fang get through the first round without breaking a sweat. Sadly for Sice, she was ousted in the third round for questionable reasons in Caius' eyes, for he knew that there was a malfunction in a few of the controllers, and he suspects that someone swapped their controller with Sice's, which her usual controller was in pristine condition as it was a birthday present from Hope, who got the idea from Seven of all people, and said controller was gone before Sice was able to start the third round. For now, he won't question this suspicion of his, although he knows that Fang was beyond devastated when she saw what happened and she knew for a fact that poor Sice was without her usual controller when the third round started. In an odd twist of fate... Lightning beat Fang, Caius and Sice to the punch about it: the older Farron got a text from Rygdea, who was there doing security for the event, which the text confirmed that the white haired woman's controller was swapped a short time before the third round started and his team has video with proof, which would help those behind the tournament in an announcement that would come before the final round of the affair. The older Farron was able to take a quick leave to help retrieve said controller and gave Sice the hug that Seven gets when she's feeling down. "Thanks for getting my controller back, cuzzo..." Sice mumbled into the older Farron's shoulder, relieved that she got her expensive birthday present back in her hands.
"No problem, Sice. You're dating my cousin. Thank Rygdea for the tip. Whose arse do I need to beat up?" Lightning asked in response, causing both women to laugh, making Seven smile, knowing that her older cousin looked out for Sice when needed the most. This exchange inspired Fang to win it all this year, to win for not only herself and Lightning, but to also avenge Sice's untimely and unfair loss, as the brunette was beyond irate with how Sice lost in that round. Fang herself tore through the second and third rounds, winning each without a single loss. The quarterfinals of the tournament, which is the fourth round, saw Fang in slightly unfamiliar territory: she was one of only three people from last year in the quarterfinals, as the rest of the eight are first timers, one of whom handed Sice that untimely and iffy loss in the third round. With a hour between the third round and the quarterfinals, everyone was allowed to step outside to stretch their legs and get something to eat. Oddly enough, Lightning made a hearty five course meal for herself, Fang, Seven and Sice to eat in the area where the food court was. The older Farron felt it was unwise to spend money on the food there, and Lightning made sure that Fang's meal had the right amount of salt in it, knowing how the Oerban native is when there's not enough salt in her food.
It was things like this that helped Fang make the decision to pop the question to Lightning at this year's tournament regardless where she finishes, as Lightning put the needs of others ahead of her own. The brunette was touched that Lightning was able to get a live feed of the tournament for Serah and Vanille, who were watching it on a PC from the Villiers residence along with Snow, Hope, Sazh and his family.
Fang is more glad than ever that Lightning came to this year's tournament.
XXX
The quarterfinals and the semifinals turned out to be a walk in the park for Fang - like the rounds beforehand, she won every single round, with Caius and Yeul surprised at the fact that Fang is going for a complete PERFECT for this year's tournament, something that no other competitor has ever done before. "If Fang wins every round in the finals, she'll be the first ever champion to have a perfect record at the tournament. She never won the trophy without suffering a loss in her reign, does that sound right Caius?" Yeul asked her older brother while delivering the news of the tournament's progress. "That is the case, Yeul. When she dethroned me, she had a few losses in the early rounds. It seems like that she's getting better and better each year, as she's getting fewer losses along the way. She'll be putting her streak on the line against Roseanne Arnold, the very person who ousted Sice in the third round. I do wonder if Roseanne has what it takes to dethrone a seasoned veteran of the circuit that is Oerba Yun Fang. Anyone from Oerba doesn't go down quietly, and Fang is no exception to the rule."
"Caius, I just got word from the officials on Roseanne and what changes will be made to next year's tournament..." Yeul announced, which the tone suggested that she is to make the announcement before the final round begins, shocking Fang and Roseanne both, but bringing a light of hope to Sice, Lightning and Seven, all of whom are still absorbing what had happened to Sice back in the third round.
"What is going on, Yeul?"
"I got the official word from the judges that Roseanne Arnold will be forced to forfeit the purse accumulated to final round minus 4 million gil to Sice Beckham. There was video that was brought to the judges' attention that a controller swap took place prior to the third round, which Sice Beckham's original controller was swapped with a defective one, causing her to lose the way she did. Roseanne was the mastermind behind the controller swap, according to the video obtained from Guardian Corps Security. Furthermore, Sice Beckham gets a free ride to the third round in next year's tournament."
"Fang is probably the happiest woman on Gran Pulse right now with that announcement, Yeul. She wanted Sice to go down fairly, not the way that she did. Sice Beckham and Seven Farron are in the audience with Fang's longtime girlfriend, Claire "Lightning" Farron, cheering the Oerban native on. Yeul, I'll have to admit that I owe Lightning for this second chance with this tournament. Although I can't play anymore due to injury to my good hand, she did get me through to emceeing this tournament. If I had to pick, Fang will keep her title. With that said, the Oerban native shouldn't overlook Roseanne despite what happened to Sice - she's a formidable player in her own right."
"As for next year's tournament, there will be more security in the venue when this comes back. For those of you who are wondering, it's not because of the controller swap before the third round in this year's tournament, but it is because of the official ruling from the Calvary on security measures for special events from last Friday that goes into effect tomorrow, something that we and the judges both have zero control over."
"Thanks for the clarification, Yeul. Let the final round of the tournament begin. We have the five time reigning champion from Oerba, Oerba Yun Fang, facing off against a first timer who managed to get into the final round on wit and skill, Roseanne Arnold. Give them some applause!" Caius finishes the announcements for the crowd who are at the event (as well as Serah, Vanille, Sazh and their families watching from the Villiers residence). Surprisingly to the crowd, Fang shakes Roseanne's hand before getting to her controller, which was a custom made one for the Oerban native that Lightning paid Vanille and her company to make for the brunette as a Christmas present which was allowed in the tournament due to it looking and feeling like a console controller instead of an arcade controller. Ever since Fang started to win tournaments and began her streak at the Soul Calibur V Tournament, it was one controller Fang never left without. It was her constant reminder of Lightning and the love they share for so many years, before and since they started dating.
The final round of the tournament begins.
XXX
"Come on Fang, win this for us..." Seven mumbles, which Sice and Lightning both hold the silver haired woman in anticipation upon hearing Seven's plea for Fang to win it all for them. True to Caius' prediction so far, Fang was on a roll, and won the first three games in dominating fashion, winning every round in each game. This being a Best of 7, unlike the Best of 5 from the previous five rounds, with the winner needing to win three rounds to win one game, Fang had to up her ante this time around. She knows that Roseanne sabotaged Sice's run in this year's tournament, and a few times it was Roseanne who was close to handing Fang a loss a few rounds in two of the games, but it was Fang's past experience in the tournament that prevailed for the Oerban native, ensuring that Roseanne would lose fair and square. Lightning, however, was impressed with Fang's skills and saw why Fang would be a professional gamer instead of a huntress going after animals for food. For the older Farron, she made it a point to attend any video game tournament Fang was a part of from this moment forward, putting a smile on Seven and Sice's faces, knowing that it would feed the brunette the positive energy she desperately needed to keep the trophy at the Yun-Farron household, knowing what happened to Sice earlier today.
With this being the fourth game in the final round, it was a potential tournament game for Fang to win it all, in which Roseanne needed to win in order to not only stay alive, but to prevent the brunette from achieving the complete PERFECT for the entire tournament, which gave the winner an additional 10 million gil on top of the 30 million gil prize. It was because of Lightning's smile, the same smile the Oerban native fell in love with, that fed Fang the drive she needed to win it all. Fang proceeded to win every round in the deciding game and won the entire tournament, with the complete PERFECT finally achieved. Caius and Yeul were both floored that not only the complete PERFECT was finally a reality, it was done by a woman, especially one that dethroned Caius to begin her reign as the Soul Calibur V Tournament Champion six years ago, with this the first year that Fang achieve the complete PERFECT. "Holy fucktoids, we just saw history tonight, ladies and gentlemen! Oerba Yun Fang is the first player ever to achieve the complete PERFECT at this year's Soul Calibur V tournament! No one else has achieved this feat throughout the history of this very tournament!" Caius loudly announces with pride, knowing that his fellow Gran Pulsian won it all and nailed the one achievement he could never get.
Fang was presented with her trophy and a cheque for 40 million gil - 30 million for winning it all, 10 million more for achieving the complete PERFECT in the tournament, setting the bar VERY high for next year's tournament. It would be Fang who has something to say to the crowd. "I want to bring my beautiful girlfriend Claire "Lightning" Farron to the stage...please..." Fang begged, to get Lightning on the stage with her to share this victory together as a couple. "About fucking time, Snaggles!" Sice loudly announced, causing the older Farron to raise an eyebrow to her girlfriend. However, this only encouraged the Oerban native to say what she wanted to say to the pinkette, who was constantly blushing as Fang gently held her hands with her own.
"Claire...Light...we've been through a lot together for so long, and I'm so glad that you came to this year's tournament to support Sice and I. You don't know how much this means to me that you're here. We've known each other for more than a decade, but dating for four years...I treasure each moment that I spent with you and your family. It means the world to me that you, your sister Serah and your cousin Seven took Vanille and I in as a part of your family. As of today, I want to return the favour. I know that Serah and Vanille couldn't be here to see this in person, but I want to continue to make you the happiest woman in all of Gran Pulse, just like you make me the happiest woman in all of Gran Pulse each and every day that my heart beats, which it only beats for you, my one and only Sunshine..." Fang started, which had Lightning crying happy tears by Fang's affectionate ramble. The Oerban native wiped the tears away, although Seven and Sice were crying buckets of happy tears, for they knew what was coming next. Lightning put a hand to her mouth for what she saw next.
The Oerban native dropped down to one knee, revealing a small black box with a shining and beautiful ring inside. "I got the okay from Serah and Snow before doing this, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Sunshine. Claire "Lightning" Farron...will you marry me?" Fang finished her marriage proposal to the older Farron, the cause of Lightning going completely speechless, with the crowd cheering for them both. Lightning could only nod at the proposal as she was at a loss for words, accepting Fang's marriage proposal. It would be after they share an endearing embrace and Fang putting the ring on her finger that the older Farron finally said anything. "My dearest Oerba Yun Fang, you better believe it that I'll marry you." Lightning said as she put the ring she was planning on proposing to Fang with on Fang's finger, shocking the audience in the best way possible. Lightning and Fang are now engaged to be married, and Sice would get more money from this year's tournament than she thought. The most surprising announcement was that Fang would not be taking part in next year's Soul Calibur V tournament as she'll be focusing on her wedding to Lightning as well as move on to other video game tournaments scattered all over Gran Pulse, so that others like Sice have a chance at the trophy.
Lightning forever is the best prize Fang has won in her life, and the world now knows.
FIN
A/N #2: "Ninja Warrior", based on the global show of the same name, will be a Sebusai centered piece that features Lightning and Fang, which is not only a sequel to this piece, but it's also a gift to Blanc_Tide on AO3 (thank you again for the Sebusai piece) which will also feature Kurasame and Ace as a pairing!