"One more time!" Tawney yelled as she charged at Yang who blocked the first several punches and returned with her own, her thrusts given an extra bit of power from Ember Celica and Tawney attempted to hold her ground, but always found herself being pushed backward, her feet unable to maintain the ground they'd claimed. She blocked with her tonfas, Yang landing a punch that sent Tawney flailing back and she used her tonfas to blast herself to her feet as opposed to falling onto her backside. Yang anticipated as much and give even more power to the follow-up, forcing Tawney to opt for rolling across the ground as she took the blow.

Her hands dug in and she finally came to a stop after a long couple of seconds, knowing that Yang had kept up with her step for step and made a quick adjustment with the flick of her thumbs, the fire dust now chambered into the tonfas and she blasted Yang back, giving herself enough space to leap to her feet. She bounced on her heels, ready to attack and Yang charged in, using her gauntlets to increase her speed, flying at the girl hard. Tawney leapt, firing below herself which gave her enough clearance to avoid Yang's attack and as she spun around she fired again, a blow pounding Yang's back and forcing her off of her feet. As Tawney went in for the finishing blow Yang turned her body, snatching Tawney's arm and repositioning away from her face, her eyes now red.

The misfire did little to hurt or help either of them, and Yang held tight to Tawney as she landed her own final blow to Tawney's chest. She released the girl as she left her feet and landed flat on her back.

"You're getting better," Yang assured her as she helped the girl up. Tawney and Yang both brushed themselves off and Yang handed her a water bottle as she wiped her own brow with a towel. "By the end of the year, I'm guessing that you'll be one of the best that I've ever taught."

"I'm hoping that I can get that good before the end of the year," Tawney said with a slight pang of rejection in her voice. Yang glanced at her and sat on one of the stumps as she removed her scroll and checked it for any unread messages.

"I'm guessing that you heard about Neela?" Yang asked her. Tawney chuckled as she sat across from Yang and drank half of the bottle she'd been given.

"Who hasn't?" Tawney asked. "Eliana has to make sure that everyone knows how amazing Neela is, and that Eliana is going to train her to the strongest that she's ever been, and so on and so on. You know, it almost seems to me that Eliana is way more excited about Neela being chosen than Neela is." Yang laughed and nodded her head.

"That's pretty accurate," Yang agreed. "But you seem kind of bummed about it. Aren't the two of you friends?" Tawney rubbed the back of her neck.

"Friends. Rivals. A little bit of both I guess," Tawney told her. "I just always wanted to be the best, but knowing that Neela was chosen for the tournament and I wasn't, it makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to beat her." Yang stood and stretched as she watched Tawney drink the rest of her water.

"Do you really need to be better than her?" Yang asked. "Back when I was at Beacon, we all wanted to be considered the best around, but sometimes it's just more important to fill a role. There was no one who was better than Ruby, still isn't to this day. When she calls on me now, and even when she did back then, I was flattered that she thought that I'd be able to help her out. Neela didn't get where she is now on her own, she's had Titus, Eliana, and Ilia by her side." Yang rubbed her shoulder. "Academy can be tough, and I'm sure that one day you'll find something that you can best Neela at, but for now, just enjoy yourself. Be the best Maniac you can be." Tawney laughed and nodded as she stood.

"Of course! Thanks!" Tawney replied as they walked back to the campus. Cobalt was waiting for her at the training bulletin board in the middle of the green and lit up as he saw her, meeting her halfway and throwing his arm over her shoulder. Yang glanced at them and went her separate way as Cobalt tried to lead Tawney back towards the dorms.

"Hey there Tawney! How is my favorite overly aggressive teammate?" He asked her. She shrugged him off and stopped, looking him in the eyes and shaking her head. "What's wrong? I thought that we were 'super tight', you know? We're for sure closer than Bái and Lykos… I mean…. Not like how close they are to each other, but closer than we are to either of them… Right?"

"What did you mess up this time?" Tawney asked. He flushed and rubbed the back of his head, looking around and turning away from her.

"What?! Mess something up?! I would never do anything like that, and I'm a little surprised that you would even think such a thing," Cobalt told her looking over his shoulder for her reaction. She'd started walking away. "Wait!"

"You said that you didn't mess anything up, so I don't know what you could possibly need help with," Tawney explained. He hit his knees and she rolled her eyes at him.

"So Ilia invited me to go along with her and Vin on a date and I was like, 'Hot damn, this will be my chance to finally get to talk to that Faunus girl who has the white wings on her back,' but then Ilia said that she'd prefer that Ivory doesn't come along because Ilia gets the impression that Ivory still has feelings for Vin and I was all like, 'Damn, that really puts a damper on that idea I guess,' and so then I said that I'd rather not, but Ilia said that she was nervous and wasn't really sure that she wanted to go on a date by herself. I asked her, 'Well, why don't you see if Bái and Lykos want to join you or if Titus or the lovebirds on your team would like to tag along?" She said that she doesn't want Titus to go with because he'd probably tease her the whole time, Neela and Elli are busy with training and Bái and Lykos don't really talk to her that often," Cobalt detailed. "And I really don't want to be a third wheel."

"You're going to owe me," she told him.

"Please say yes! I don't want to seem like a total… Wait, what?" Cobalt asked as he stopped mid-rant.

"You're going to owe me," she repeated. He leapt to his feet and puffed out his chest.

"My body is yours," he shouted. Other students looked at them and she covered her eyes, turning away.

"No," she replied.

"Yes…" He hissed in her ear. She sucker punched him in the gut and began walking away as he chased after her wheezing. "So that was a yes then, right?"

"What time do we need to be ready by? Where are we meeting them? Where are we having this alleged date at?" She asked Cobalt. He rubbed his hands together and rolled his head from side to side as they entered the building.

"Well… you see… I didn't think you'd agree, so I didn't actually ask her any of those things yet," Cobalt replied. He furrowed his brow. "You don't have to pretend like it's half a date. It can be an actual one, it won't kill you. Aren't you the one that said we do stupid things and forget about it later while you were straddling me half nak…" She slammed him against the lockers in the hall and watched people pass by staring at them.

"I think that you're already overlooking the part where I said that we forget about things after we do them!" She sneered. She dropped him and walked away slowly which gave him ample time to catch her once more.

"Any chance that we might get to… you know… after the date?" Cobalt suggested.

"Are you always this horny?" She asked him. He shrugged.

"Maybe?" He answered. "I've never actually done it before." He flushed again and looked at the floor as they rounded the corner and he glanced at her.

"And?" She asked.

"And?! I feel like that's a pretty big deal!" He declared.

"I wouldn't say that," she said trying to cheer him up. "We're only seventeen."

"Only… Listen, you're the one who told me that at academy you're supposed to just screw around and forget about the consequences," he reminded her.

"That's not quite what I said, and I've only done it twice if that makes you feel better," she told him as they left the main building and headed for the dorms.

"Guy or girl?" He asked. She looked at him and looked away. "Oh come on, nothing?"

"Don't you need to call Ilia?" She asked him. He fumbled with his scroll.

"Right. Right."

"How do I look?" Ilia asked as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair was curled and came down to the small of her back, different than the usual single ponytail that she wore normally, and her makeup screamed seduction despite being subtle. Titus's jaw unhinged as he stared at her but stayed composed as he looked her over. An apparent new pair of jeans. Her body oiled lightly. "Titus?" He blinked hard and looked her in the eyes, his face red.

"Going… going all out, aren't you?" He asked her.

"Is it too much?" She asked. He leapt to his feet.

"No!" He stated. "No, you look stunning!" He softened and sat back down, watching her check herself out in the mirror as she slowly turned. "I just… Wow…" She looked at him and rolled her eyes, admiring her backside in the mirror. "Is this the first time the two of you have gone on an official date together?" She nodded.

"It will be. We've done a lot of hanging out so far, but we haven't made it official that we're a thing yet…" She stopped and thought her words over. If Vin asked you out, what would you say? "I think that tonight might be the night." Titus nodded at her and turned back to his school work at his desk. His mind was filled with thoughts of going it alone before flooding with Natalia. "I decided to invite Cobalt with just in case things go south," Titus smirked.

"Cobalt has a thing for Vin?" Titus asked. Ilia broke out into laughter, her eyes watering as she struggled to compose herself so that her makeup wouldn't run.

"No, no. I just wanted someone to go with me in case something does go wrong. Then I won't feel like I have to do it on my own," she told him. She looked at him momentarily. "I would have asked you to go along but I didn't want to trouble you or for you to intimidate Vin on purpose or on accident." He nodded.

"Understandable," Titus told her. There was a knock on the door and they both turned to look at it, neither of them moving before Titus cleared his throat. "Maybe you want to get that?" She nodded slowly. She did, but she didn't. She hadn't made this large of a commitment in such a long time and she was nervous that something, anything, would go wrong if it was able to. "Ilia…"

"Right! Right!" she startled. She moved to the door, opening it to reveal Tawney and Cobalt.

"We're here!" Cobalt declared as he took a step in. He wore his Beacon Uniform, opting to lose the vest and wearing a black tie instead of red. Tawney wore the same small red dress that she wore to the dance.

"Well you two went all out," Ilia told them.

"Cobalt said that we were going to a pretty expensive restaurant," Tawney replied.

"I never said that," Ilia said. Tawney turned to Cobalt who shrunk and waved his arms.

"Cobalt…" She began.

"I can explain!" He shouted.

"Whatever," Tawney told him waving him off. He grumbled and stood dejectedly beside her. "Where are we actually going then?"

"Vin just wanted to go for a walk on the beach," Ilia told her. Tawney's face grew even redder as she balled her fists and shook them at Cobalt.

"This is a joke right?!" Tawney yelled at him.

"You look nice though!" Cobalt exclaimed. "That should count for something!"

"He's right, you do look nice," Titus said.

"While I'm flattered Titus, I'm half tempted to leave him here with you," Tawney told them.

"No!" Cobalt cried.

"Please don't," Titus interjected dryly.

"Hello?" Vin asked standing in the hallway. They all looked out at him and he entered, creating a gap between Tawney and Cobalt. He wore his same usual button up attire, and Ilia wondered if the man knew the definition of the word casual. "Ilia you look amazing." She blushed hard and traced her foot on the floor.

"Thanks," she replied. "You look nice as well." Tawney glanced between the two of them for a moment before grabbing Cobalt and dragging him out into the hallway.

"We'll just be out here until the two of you are finished, don't want to put a damper on anything," Tawney called back into the room closing the door.

"Why did we have to leave?" Cobalt complained loudly from the hallway. She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him down the stairs.

"Because unlike the two of us, they might fall in love and enjoy themselves tonight," Tawney reminded him.

"The night's young, we might at least enjoy ourselves tonight," Cobalt told her. "Feel the sand in our toes. Let the tide wash over our feet."

"Sand and water is your idea of enjoying yourself?" she asked.

"Honestly I haven't been to the beach since I was a little boy, so it sounds like a great time," he told her.

"Really?" She asked sarcastically.

"Really." Sincerity. There was something that she didn't normally find in anything he said and she softened. After a couple of minutes, they were joined by Ilia and Vin, taking one of the few airships that were left heading back into Vale for the night. They left the ship and headed towards the beach where Vin's place was, leaving their shoes behind and taking a stroll down the coastline.

"How long have we been hanging out with each other?" Vin asked Ilia. She walked next to him, looking at the shells that they passed by in the sand and glaring out at the ocean from time to time. She looked back at him, his eyes soft as he smirked and looked out at where she was staring. The moon reflected off of the ocean and in turn, off of his eyes and she swallowed hard. He was kind and amazing. She felt safe around him. She had no reason for her nervousness or to hesitate.

"A couple of months," she told him. "Why?" She tried to seem coy, but he didn't quite buy it.

"I was thinking that maybe we could take things to the next level," he suggested. She looked at him, her eyes quivering as she stumbled over the words.

"What do you mean? Like leaving a toothbrush at your place?" She asked. He threw his hands up and laughed.

"Woah!" He declared. "That would be a little fast even for me. I was thinking of just making it official. Becoming an item, Vin and Ilia." He took her hand in his and intertwined his fingers. "Maybe holding hands…" He stopped her and she looked at him, the moon still shining in his eyes. "Maybe an occasional kiss…" She had nothing to fear. She had nothing to fear. She drowned out the sounds of her father telling her that she was useless and good for nothing, and she closed her eyes, moving in and kissing him gently on the lips.

The regret and doubt were wiped away and was replaced with euphoria, she melted into him and kissed him gently several times before he broke it off and caressed her chin.

"I'd like that," Ilia told him.

"Maybe we can enjoy ourselves back at the beach house later," Vin suggested as he brushed the hair out of her face. She grabbed his arm and lowered his hand, giving him a stern look with a grin.

"Let's take this one step at a time, shall we?" She asked. She looked back at Cobalt and Tawney who had fallen quite a bit behind and gave Tawney the thumbs up. Tawney replied with the same gesture, nudging Cobalt with her shoulder.

"Looks like our work here is done," Tawney told Cobalt.

"And you thought that you weren't going to enjoy yourself," Cobalt replied giving her a playful push. He kicked some water at her and she laughed as she pushed him back. "I know that you've been stressed out recently because beating Neela would mean the world to you right now, but sometimes it helps to just take your mind off of things and relax." He cracked his neck to each side. "It doesn't even have to be with me."

"You're a confusing man sometimes, Cobalt," Tawney told him. "A lot of the time you put on an act like you're a completely different person, and then other times you're like this. I see the real Cobalt, and I like him. He's down to earth and he's normal. Why? Why are you always acting like the other guy?" Cobalt looked away from her and stared out at the horizon.

"The normal guy doesn't become a hero. The normal guy doesn't get the girl," he told her. She wanted to argue the point, she wanted to tell him that the only reason that she'd tried to jump his bones that night was that he was acting normal for once, but she didn't want to bring it up again. It was something she probably shouldn't have done, but as she had told him before, it's what kids their age do. She could have had a fling with him and moved on with her life… but maybe she couldn't have. Not if she'd known that this was the real Cobalt. "So I choose to be the wacky, slightly lovable, alter ego."

"But Cobalt," She tried to argue but he turned back to her, a smile on his face.

"It's my dream to become an amazing hero that people will never forget!" He declared. He moved in and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in. "How's about we head back now so that I still have time to strip that off of you?" She smirked and pushed him back.

"Not a chance."

Vin and Ilia are officially an item! Next week, Neela and Raven finish their investigation in Chapter 62 - Two Birds, One Goal!

A big thank you to Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!