Chapter 12: Closing In On Calamity Part II

As the day kicked off, tourists from all four kingdoms began their days, flooding the Vytal Fairgrounds, anticipation strong in the air, for this day was the day of the Vytal Quarterfinal, only 2 rounds away from the big finale on which many were already placing bets as to who would be facing off. Many were already predicting that it was going to be Remmy VS Noir in the Vytal Final, while others were predicting more along the lines of Noir VS Pyrrha, or Pyrrha VS Remmy, and some few were predicting more along the lines of Yang VS Pyrrha, or Yang VS Noir, or Remmy VS Yang. The bets were being placed left right and center, with dozens of people poised to either make a lot of money, or lose it when the Final's matchup was confirmed.

Between the electrifying Team Battles, the mind-blowing Doubles Round, and the explosive Round Of 16 for the One-On-One Finals, the Vytal Tournament was turning into the most watched event in Remnant's history. Ratings were through the roof, any tourist with cash to spend and their rears not bolted to sofas were flocking to Vale in droves to witness the final stages of the massive event, with vendors and eateries and bars working around the clock to keep ovens hot, stocks full, and food and drinks cranking out for customers from all around the world. Some vendors were setting up backup vendors to keep their output going, and with money flooding in from every person entering the Fairgrounds, no one could argue the merits of having multiple vendors at once, particularly the food vendors. Spirits were high, and attendance hadn't been higher for Amity Colosseum, which was seeing its largest audience gathering in decades. Not since the last tournament held in Vale had there been such a turnout, and many people remembered that one very vividly.

Years and years ago, Vale had seen a turnout very much like this one for a tournament that had featured the now-highly revered Team STRQ, featuring Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, and the Branwen siblings, Raven and Qrow. Their progression through the Vytal tournament had been one of the most followed aspects of it, with Qrow turning out to be their representative in the Finals. But followed just as closely was the progression of Team SLVR. Silver Soteria, Lakshmi Gaja, Ventos Janus, and Rah Atum originally hailed from Atlas, but had transferred to Beacon Academy for reasons unknown, and had quickly gained notoriety as one of the most powerful teams to ever attend the academy. When the Vytal Tournament began the following year, Team SLVR had entered and blazed their way through it with near-ease, with their leader entering the tournament finals and eventually facing off against Qrow himself in the Tournament Final. The match was regarded in the present as the greatest 1v1 Tournament Matches in Vytal Tournament History, and to the present was featured at the top of every Sport Network's Top Ten Sporting Matchups of All Time list.

Now, with the present Tournament's contestants proving to be among the greatest in decades, many were eager to see who would reach the top. Among them were names that were now being circulated through betting circles and news recaps the world over. Pyrrha Nikos, winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row and Top Graduate of Sanctum Academy. Yang Xiao Long, Beacon First Year Student and considered one of the best fighters in her year next to Pyrrha, and without question more than earning her spot in the Finals.

It was the names Remmy and Noir Harceleur however that people seemed to discuss and mention the most. These two were a mystery. Remmy was known to be a student of Haven Academy in Mistral, and that was it. No one knew where he was from, where he attended prior to Haven, what his family was like. Nothing was known about anything other than his current choice of educational opportunity at Haven. And yet he was being talked about as a possible contender for the Vytal Final by nearly everyone, thanks in no small part to his incredible performances in the Doubles Round and the Round Of 16. The latter of those, however, came with an asterisk. His opponent was in a coma, reports said. She had a dent in her skull, others said. There was a chance she may not wake up, still others whispered. Remmy was a big question mark at the end of a gigantic question that was, what would be expected from him going forward.

Then there was Noir Harceleur, a young man who was as big a mystery as Remmy in many aspects. He was a student of Beacon Academy, a second-year, and the only student in the tournament who had entered it, effectively, alone. He had no Team, and had used stand-ins, and had won his fights single-handedly. This info aside, no one knew anything else about him outside of his classmates. By now, however, this wasn't new. Since his first fight in the Round OF Teams, anything and everything there was to be known about Noir was known, save his relationship with Yang. Regardless of how much was already known, this only served to call attention to what wasn't known. Noir was already being heavily predicted across the board to advance to the final, regardless of who he went up against in the end. Some were even comparing him to Qrow's opponent years ago, Team SLVR's Leader, saying he would probably upstage her in his fight, though this was only spoken by a select few.

In short, with the Vytal Final seemingly just around the corner, anticipation was high, expectations were higher, and the entire world was tuning in for the excitement. And now, the crowd was once more gathered in Amity Colosseum, the massive floating arena packed with as many people as it could hold, the crowd's deafening roar of excitement louder than before. Scrolls were out in droves to capture raw footage of the excitement to come, and as the sun reached its zenith over the arena, bombastic music began to blare through the arena speakers, with the crowd's roar redoubling in response. It was time.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, AND ALL OUR AUDIENCES AT HOME!" Peter Port's voice blared through the P.A. system, the crowd's roar ever increasing in response, "WELCOME BACK TO THE VYTAL TOURNAMENT FINALS!"

"Today we begin the second stage of the finals, the Round Of 8 Quarterfinals, and without question, we have seen one spectacular spectacle after another!" Bartholomew Oobleck concurred, emphasizing his pun by lowering his glasses for a moment with wide grin. "And I am genuinely excited to announce that this Vytal Festival's Tournament has been officially labeled as the most-viewed in the history of this historic celebration!" The crowd roared in approval.

Meanwhile, Noir Harceleur sat on a bench in the men's locker room, awaiting the announcement of the first matchup for this round in the tournament, fully garbed in his battle gear now and looking far more fresh and rested than he did earlier that morning in his dorm. His talk with Yang had given him new motivation, and at her insistence he'd made sure to eat plenty in preparation for the fight he felt was soon to come. He was fully prepared now, Schwarze Klinge's blade perfectly polished and sharpened, his shurikens ready for use, and his armor pieces were fully cleaned. Noir was combat ready, and felt more confident now in his true reasons for entering this tournament, after his talk with Yang that morning. He stood and took a moment to fully relax, mentally readying himself.

"AAAAAAND NOW!" Port announced, "WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IT IS TIME TO ANNOUNCE OUR NEXT MATCH-UP!" The crowd roared so deafening in response that Noir could hear it from the locker room, and sighing a bit, he exited the locker room and stood outside it, watching the holographic roulette wheel from afar, his eyes narrowed. The wheel began to spin, and the entire crowd fell silent. There were only 8 fighters now, and the wheel was cycling through their faces faster than ever before as the crowd waited with baited breath. It spun faster, and faster, until the the faces were blurred, as though the technical team knew that it would increase the tension the crowd felt. As it began to slow down, everyone held their breath, with the left wheel slowly coming to a stop.

Pyrrha Nikos.

The crowd could barely hold it in as the right wheel, after spinning for a few more seconds, also rolled to a stop, and the crowd completely went ballistic at the match-up displayed on the hologram above them. The world over, spectators at home stared wide-eyed, and anticipation skyrocketed with excitement felt in the arena itself.

Pyrrha Nikos VS Noir Harceleur.

Noir and Pyrrha walked out onto the arena floor, with the crowd's roar of excitement creating a massive wall of sound that surrounded the both of them as they approached one another, Pyrrha smiling at the irony of the match-up, and even Noir was sporting a small grin. They had made a pact to not hold back on one another should they face off once more, and now that they actually were, both of them seemed rather amused at the prospect of owning up to it. With only an inch's difference in height, Noir and Pyrrha were able to look one another in the eyes without any trouble, blood-red meeting emerald-green for a long moment as the center platform they stood one began to rise into the air.

"Looks like it's come to this, hasn't it." Pyrrha remarked with a wide grin, and Noir returned the grin confidently.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't see this happening sooner or later. You would challenge me to a rematch either way, tournament or no tournament." Noir replied Pyrrha chuckled for a moment.

"Indeed I would. Promise is a promise, as Jaune would say." Pyrrha bowed in respect to Noir, a gesture he returned before drawing Schwarze Klinge and taking his signature stance.

"Then let's uphold it, shall we." Noir stated. Pyrrha nodded in response and promptly whipped out her xiphos Miló, donning her shield Akoúo and taking her stance as well as the crowd went ballistic, ready for this fight to get underway.

"COMBATANTS! GET READY!" Port declared, and as the crowd roared, Noir tuned out everything, honing his focus on Pyrrha and Pyrrha alone, his red eyes narrowing and his expression going blank and unreadable. Pyrrha's grip on her weapons tightened slightly as she saw the emotion drain from Noir's face, before relaxing once more, steadying her breathing. Everything seemed to slow down around them. Pyrrha found herself wondering if Noir would employ the same strategy as before, before dismissing this, as Noir's style of fighting in his last few matches had been anything but.

"THREE..."

Noir's stance shifted slightly, his muscles relaxed as in his mind the crowd disappeared, and the fight became all that existed.

"TWO..."

Pyrrha's breath steadied, the tension in her muscles gone, and the fight became all that mattered.

"ONE..."

In the stands, Teams RWBY, CFVY, ACVR, and the other members of JNPR all tensed in anticipation. Teams SSSN, NDGO, BRNZ, ABRN, and FNKI watched from their own spots in the stands, each of them also waiting in anticipation for this bout. Remnant, along with Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury, sat in the stands as well. They weren't going to miss this fight for the world, and Remnant in particular was eager to see how this would go down. Even Qrow, Glynda, Winter, and Ozpin were watching with interest from the tower.

"BEGIN!"

Pyrrha wasted no time jumping into action, and charged forward, Noir charging forward to meet her, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks. Pyrrha forced Noir back with Akoúo, aiming a slash at his legs that he promptly avoided by jumping into the air, his wings levitating him for a moment as he then dropped down towards her with a downward slash, that struck Akoúo with a metallic clang! Noir then pushed off Pyrrha's shield and executed a backflip onto his feet as Pyrrha charged him again. Noir waited until the very last possible second and then rolled to the side, sticking out his leg to take Pyrrha's feet out from under her. Pyrrha somersaulted and got right back up, whirling around in mid-air and hurling Akoúo in Noir's direction. Noir dodged the projectile and responded in kind by flinging 4 of his shurikens at her. Pyrrha blocked them with Miló's blade, converting the sword into a spear and using its added range to her advantage, once more charging forward as Akoúo came sailing back to her via her polarity semblance. Noir this time held his ground as he waited for Pyrrha to get closer, his aura output increasing as he crouched lower to the ground.

As Pyrrha neared him, Noir's aura suddenly exponentially increased in output, and ashes began to emit from his trench coat, much like how Ruby's cape emitted rose petals. Noir then took out a vial of vivid red dust and popped the cork, showering himself in burn dust as Pyrrha began to slow down. What was Noir doing, exactly? Pyrrha's attack only slowed for a second before she charged once more. Noir smirked and then dissolved into a double-helix of ashes, this time enhanced with burn dust, and flew directly at Pyrrha in a deadly spiral of fire that, instead of burning the ashes to nothing, instead propelled them forward. Pyrrha's eyes widened as she promptly leaped out of the way with a yell, the vortex of fire missing her by a hair's breadth, the heat of the deadly attack almost stiflingly hot. Noir reformed from the ashes as the fire expended itself, and then once more flung shurikens at Pyrrha, this time infused with burn dust. Pyrrha once more was forced to dodge, the deadly projectiles passing her at high speeds as she regained her footing, converting Miló back into a xiphos.

The crowd going absolutely ballistic, their roars of excitement drowning out the action on the stage, and even the commentary coming from the P.A. booth high up in the stands. Viewers down in Vale were going crazy as well, with every tv screen in every business that had one tuned in to the match.

Pyrrha took a moment to reevaluate the situation before charging forward once more, determined to put Noir on the ropes, this time leading with her shield in front of her as Noir unleashed a flurry of dust-enhanced shurikens, the fiery projectiles bouncing of her shield harmlessly, albeit leaving scorch marks where the intense heat made contact with Akoúo. She kept her shield in front of her this time as Noir once more drew Schwarze Klinge, engaging Pyrrha in a duel of the blades that seemed to move faster with every moment and every clash. Pyrrha, for the first time, witnessed Noir's unique sword prowess upclose, his movements almost random and improvised, and yet flowing from one to another, his weapon changing hands as he spun to avoid blows from Pyrrha's shield, always striking at any open spot where he could get past Pyrrha's defense. Pyrrha found herself also improvising, forced to change her tactics due to Noir's lack of pattern, something that, now that she saw it up close, would make Noir difficult to counter on any level. She wasn't about to take it lying down, however, and began using her polarity to subtly manipulate Schwarze Klinge's trajectory so that it missed her shield and sword, allowing Pyrrha to attack Noir's vulnerable torso. Noir grunted as Akoúo slammed into his face, with Miló's pommel nailing him in the gut followed by a slash that sent Shwarze Klinge skidding across the arena stage.

Noir instantly dissolved to ashes, rapidly gliding to his blade, reforming and picking it up before it fell off the edge. He growled in irritation as Pyrrha charged him, looking far more confident now. It was time to fight magnetism with magnetism. Noir activated his magnetic leg guard and attached Schwarze Klinge to it, taking a stance that kept one leg in the air, his balance maintained by his wings. Pyrrha didn't hesitate and attacked him head on, only to find herself dismayed for a moment as Noir's magnetic leg guard negated Pyrrha's polarity effect, allowing him to renew his attack in earnest. Pyrrha's strategy was backfiring, with Noir using a fighting style she'd only witnessed him use once, and it was driving her back. Combining his acrobatic style with his wings, Noir was able to keep his balance, leaning back impossibly far and slashing with his right leg while using his now-free hands to continuously throw more shurikens at her, forcing Pyrrha on the defensive. Pyrrha once more converted Miló into spear mode, and using its firing mechanism, sent it rocketing towards Noir's face from behind her shield. Noir was forced to avoid it, backflipping to dodge it only to see Pyrrha, using Akoúo as ground, jumped straight forward over him, catching Miló out of the air and attacking with a flurry of blows that allowed Pyrrha to gain some distance, keeping Noir at bay more easily now as he switched Schwarze Klinge back to his right hand.

The fight's continuous escalation in tension was palpable to the audience, who were all falling quiet now as they watched the combatants go at one another aggressively and relentlessly. Neither was backing down, fighting with a level of ferocity and speed that made their movements a blur of motion. Watching from his spot in the stands, Remnant was frowning as he focused hard on the fight, following every move with a trained eye. Both were impressive fighters for a fact, but Noir was bothering him immensely. He'd seen Noir's unique style of swordplay before, but it was Noir's use of dust in combination with his semblance that truly bothered Remnant. He knew it was possible for some, such as Blake Belladonna, to use different forms of dust in conjunction with their semblances, effectively turning defensive moves into offensive moves and creating almost endless possibilities, but this? This was different. Noir's semblance involved him literally dissolving his body into a cloud of ashes, moving from one spot to another like wind, and reforming with ease. To combine dust with such required insane concentration on Noir's part to keep his dissolved body from burning up, as well as to move and reform without dissipating. Noir had a level of discipline Remnant hadn't expected to this point, and yet he still felt like he was holding back. He was fighting far more aggressively and offensively, for a fact, but Remnant still felt that the full extent of Noir's prowess was yet unseen.

Noir, on the defensive now, took his time to hold off Pyrrha's attacks with Miló whilst watching her carefully, focusing on her stance. Time slowed down in his mind as he watched her very closely. She was a fighter through and through, with a stance that was wide and low to the ground for maximum defensive capability. She was powerful, and yet agile, and was more than capable of holding off multiple people at once, let alone one, and she left nothing open. She'd barely taken any damage during the fight, and Noir was realizing now that his light, speed-based attacks weren't going to break through her defense. He needed to be more strategic, and use attacks that would disorient her. Noir, timing speeding back up for him, reached into his coat and pulled out two dust-infused shurikens, one of them burn, the other one force. Timing his throw perfectly, Noir ducked under Miló's length and flung them at Pyrrha's lower body. Reacting quickly, she blocked with Akoúo, but was suddenly knocked back as the shurikens made contact with her shield at the same time, the resulting miniature fireball completely unexpected for her and disorienting her for a moment. That moment was all Noir needed, using his semblance to transport himself behind her while she was still recovering from the close-proximity blast. Noir then attacked head-on, landing multiple blows on Pyrrha's armored torso with Schwarze Klinge's pommel as well as his own armored forearms, and even landing a spinning kick on the side of her face, actually knocking her off balance. Pyrrha was disoriented but managed to recover enough to change Miló back into a xiphos to counter his attacks.

Despite her quick recovery, Noir had already figured out the strategy to defeat her: disorientation. Noir simply repeated his previous combo a second time, using fire and force dust shurikens to force Pyrrha back with miniature fireball blasts that threw her off balance, attacking her before she could recover. Her aura level was dropping drastically, and Noir had her on the ropes, forcing her to retreat from his onslaught of fire and force. She wasn't taking it lying down however, and still valiantly fought back, continuing to slash at Noir with Miló, but each time she tried to fight back, Noir doubled his pace, moving faster and faster until Pyrrha was forced to hold off an onslaught that had her fighting for every inch of ground she could even hold. Noir was relentless, maintaining his onslaught despite the burning he was starting to feel in his arms from the sustained assault, not caring how tired he was making himself and focusing on ending this fight as soon as he could, and as he continued to wear Pyrrha down, he finally caught his opening.

Noir ducked under a slash from Milò and landed a vicious left hook on Pyrrha's chin, knocking her back and then following it with a pounding blow into her gut with Schwarze Klinge's pommel, a knee in the chest, and then a spinning kick that got her right on the side of the head, knocking her several feet across the arena and depleting her aura dangerously close to the red. Pyrrha groaned in pain as she pulled herself to her feet, determined to go down swinging, and converted Miló to rifle mode, and threw a vial of burn dust in Noir's direction, shooting it in midair. The resulting explosion knocked Noir back hard, sending his own aura level dangerously close to the red as well. It was all down to who could land the next blow first, and Noir, growling in irritation, got right back up and charged Pyrrha head on, with Pyrrha charging as well with Miló back in sword mode Their blades met, sparks flying, in a flurry of blows that had Pyrrha pressing for ground, Noir refusing to give it, and the two combatants pressed in opposite directions, each trying to drive the other back. Their blades locked, and for a moment, Noir and Pyrrha stared one another down, literal sparks between them as sweat poured down their necks, Noir's red eyes narrowed in an aggressive scowl, very different from his blank expression at the beginning of the fight, while Pyrrha's expression was determined, refusing to go down easily, regardless of what Noir threw at her.

The tension was suddenly broken as Noir dropped his guard and then slammed his forehead into Pyrrha's collar, just below her neck, sending her aura into the red and putting her flat on her backside as the crowd roared in response. The fight was over.

"OOOOOH! IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST UPSETS WE HAVE YET SEEN IN THE TOURNAMENT, NOIR HARCELEUR IS THE VICTOR BY AURA LEVEL!" Port shouted in bombastic declaration, the crowd going absolutely ballistic as the center platform slowly lowered back down to the main stage. Noir, panting harshly, stood where he was before dropping to one knee, supporting his weight on Schwarze Klinge as Pyrrha, dazed, remained on the ground, holding her head a bit as paramedics rushed out to see if they were alright.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Noir insisted as he waved them off. "I'm just tired, is all."

"Well, get plenty of rest, then sir, you've had quite a bout." One of the paramedics said, and the others tended to Pyrrha, who appeared slightly concussed from her head hitting the arena floor after backside.

"Ma'am, can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" Another paramedic said, holding up three fingers.

"Three..." Pyrrha answered, dazed, but otherwise alright. The crowd, and Noir, clapped as Pyrrha got back up, and Noir pushed himself to his feet, shaking hands with Pyrrha to show sportsmanship. "Well done, Noir, I haven't fought that hard for a long time."

"Likewise, Pyrrha." Noir replied with a smile. "You certainly made me earn that victory, for a fact. Well done." The two fighters nodded to one another as the crowd roared in approval, Noir supporting the dazed Pyrrha as they walked off the arena together.

In the stands, Team RWBY was cheering, Team JNPR was torn between cheering or feeling down that their teammate lost, Team CFVY was cheering with varying levels of enthusiasm, and the visiting teams were excitedly applauding the fight as well as its outcome.

Higher in the stands, Remnant was applauding politely, but he was deeply bothered now by Noir. He knew for a fact that a lot of people bet on Pyrrha's victory, and Noir had upset expectations and come out on top, and had displayed a level of fighting prowess yet seen by anyone. And yet, Remnant still felt that Noir was holding something back, that there was more to him and his style of fighting, and everyone had yet to see what Noir was truly capable of. Regardless, Remnant's eye would not be leaving Noir Harceleur following this fight, for now Noir was Vale's most popular contender for a Beacon finalist, with only one other Beacon student left to fight for the final.

Noir Harceleur was proving to be full of surprises, as was the tournament as a whole.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Noir groaned as he reclined on a red couch in the student lounge following his fight with Pyrrha, exhausted to no end. The tv in the lounge was showing the highlights of the fight, and since every student in Beacon was at the Colosseum, he was able to watch it blissful silence, without a roaring crowd there to damage his ears beyond repair. Yang sat next to him, having won her own Quarterfinal match mere minutes prior, and was now supporting him as he leaned against her right shoulder, smiling at him as she ran a hand through his hair, chuckling a bit at his tired groan. She wasn't even winded from her own match and in fact was chipper as ever as she sat with Noir is the lounge.

"You seriously need to rest more, babe." Yang remarked as she continued to stroke his hair, his head resting against her shoulder as he looked up at her.

"Couldn't exactly back out of it, could I?" He said in a soft, tired voice that rattled his throat a bit, and Yang giggled as she kissed the top of his head.

"Yeah, but you could have just slept before the fight." Yang grinned as Noir groaned audibly.

"Ugh, are we having this discussion again?" Noir groaned and Yang lightly bopped him on the arm with her left fist.

"Quit your whining, Batman, you're such a girl sometimes." Yang giggled as Noir gave her an upside-down expression of mild amusement.

"If groaning about resting more makes me a girl...then what the dust does that make Neptune Vasilias?" Noir asked with a tired grin, and Yang couldn't help but giggle.

"The dude's afraid of water, so...a total pussy?" Yang giggled at her own reply and Noir grinned.

"Cats hate water, makes sense to me." Noir smiled as Yang burst into an all-out giggle fit, Noir's head slipping off her shoulder and falling into her lap, causing him to groan again due to his soreness and stiffness from the fight.

"Oh, sorry, hehe." Yang giggled as she gently placed a hand on Noir's forehead, and Noir smiled a bit.

"View's fine from down here, I think I'm good." He replied, and Yang smiled down at him before playfully covering her chest and pouting.

"Don't stare, perv." Yang grinned as Noir rolled his eyes.

"Last I remember, you were the one who pinned me down, so, who's the real perv here?" Noir inquired, not even changing his tone of voice and saying it so flatly and casually that Yang blushed in mild embarrassment.

"You do know I could crush your balls in this position, right?" Yang shot back and Noir just grinned.

"But would you?" Noir's grin widened...until Yang planted a light, but still painful punch in his gut, causing him to groan louder in pain. "Okay, you would, you definitely would...ow..."

"Damn straight, I would." Yang smirked at him before giggling and gently rubbing where she hit him.

"Geez, it already hurts to move..." Noir stiffly pushed himself into a seated position next to Yang.

"Heh, sorry about that." Yang smiled and put an arm around Noir's shoulders and kissing him on the cheek, making it his turn to blush, eliciting yet another giggle from the blonde. "Really? You fucked me a few nights ago and a kiss still makes you blush?" Noir just turned even redder at this statement, and fidgeted a bit as Yang laughed at his expense. As though to spare himself the embarrassment, he grabbed the remote and unmuted the tv.

"...highly anticipated, if not guaranteed contender for the Tournament Final!" Port was saying. "With such an impressive run in the Tournament so far, we believe Noir Harceleur may very well end up representing Beacon Academy and the Kingdom of Vale in the Final, and the best of luck to him on all counts."

"Very much agreed, Peter, but I would be remiss to not mention his fellow Beacon student Yang Xiao Long, who herself has seen an impressive run in the Tournament so far as well, especially with her very much impressive quarterfinals match today! In fact we may see those two competing for a spot in the Final in the coming days, but no one knows for sure!" Oobleck put in. Noir and Yang looked at one another at this particular statement.

"I hadn't considered that..." Noir admitted; indeed, now that he thought on this, it had been a possibility from the getgo, but only now had anyone even thought to consider the possibility.

"Me neither..." Yang admitted, but then grinned. "I won't lie, after watching that fight with Pyrrha today, I honestly wanna fight you, balls-out, no holds barred."

"Heh." Noir grinned a bit at Yang's confession and considered for a moment how it would be to fight Yang in a tournament setting. All things considered, from her semblance to her tenacity to her utterly relentless attitude, it would be a fight he'd have to use his head for, and in truth, the concept intrigued him a little. "You know...considering how you fight, I'd be interested to see how that would turn out, myself."

"How about this." Yang adjusted her position so that she was facing Noir directly. "Let's promise one another to not hold anything back if we do meet in the Finals!" Noir, with a groan, also adjusted how he was sitting to face Yang directly, and smiled.

"Agreed. Nothing held back, no holds barred." Noir smiled at her and Yang held up her right pinkie. Noir locked his own with, and Yang grinned widely.

"It's a promise." Yang declared, and Noir nodded, the young couple releasing their hands after a moment and turning back towards the tv.

"...and indeed so far we have definitely seen spectacular spectacles that no one would miss the opportunity to spectate!" Oobleck was saying, "And yes, I made that joke already, but that doesn't make my statement any less true!"

"Indeed not, Barty." Port agreed and turned back to the camera. "For now, let us return to the Vytal Quarterfinals! We are about to roll for our next match-up now!"

x-x-x-x-x

Up in the air, at the Colosseum, Remnant leaned against a support pillar, his two swords strapped to his back, typing on a new scroll he'd purchased earlier that day, listening to the commentary in a bored manner. That professor was irritatingly loud, even without the PA to amplify his voice to deafening levels of volume in a floating arena. The other prof-oh, sorry, doctor, as he kept insisting he was, was just flat-out irritating, with his rapid-fire talking that made him sound like he was freebasing caffeine pills and chasing them down with a 8-espresso-shot frappe every 5 seconds, not to mention his atrocious puns. Spectacular spectacles to spectate? Even Yang Xaio Long the Pun Queen would cringe at that one.

For all the smarts this academy is supposed to have, the teachers certainly sound like a load of absolute morons. Remnant thought to himself, adjusting his chain belt before taking a moment to wipe his shades clean. Between bombastic bragging and horrendous puns, you'd think they were the average high school student trying to impress the Cheer Captain so they could fuck her. Stupidity. Remnant snorted aloud, his new scroll buzzing and catching his attention as a new text message popped up. It was Ruby.

"Good luck today! Kick butt and take names!" it read, and Remnant couldn't help but smile a bit. He still didn't know what it was Ruby made him feel, but he wasn't exactly fighting it anymore at this point. He still wanted to figure out what it was, without question, but now it didn't bother him quite as much, and this was odd for him, considering how much he'd been fretting over it mentally that morning. Now, he found himself just rolling with it, whether because he was just okay or he was merely focused on other things, he didn't know. All he knew right then was that he simply rolling with it for the time being.

Fact was he had to focus. After his previous match against Penny Polendina, nearly every eye had turned to him, and he could feel that people were keeping a close eye on him now, as though afraid he was going to injure someone else. He'd given Coco Adele a bad concussion, as well as put Penny, ahem, "in a coma", as the official story read, and now everyone was eyeing him as though waiting for him to actually kill someone. Fat chance of that, considering how much he knew about the human body and what it was capable of taking in terms of physical trauma. He may have lashed out in rage at Adele, but he knew that a blow to the head wouldn't nearly be enough to put her down permanently. Penny, he knew she wouldn't be out forever, but because of how adamantly the Atlas Military was keeping her nature as an artificial person a secret from the public, they couldn't afford to awaken her too soon. It would immediately arouse suspicion if a comatose person suddenly woke up and was on her feet like nothing happened within seconds, and Penny's entire existence was predicated on the secrecy of her nature and the public "knowledge" that she was a normal individual.

Remnant sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Noir Harceleur had made it to the Semifinals, after a match against Pyrrha Nikos that everyone was calling one of the most intense matches of the tournament thus far, and Yang Xiao Long had made it as well, after a rather brief match against Haven Academy's only remaining contender aside from Remnant himself. She'd knocked him off the ledge of the arena with ease, and she was already being talked about as possibly fighting against Noir in the Semifinals for a spot in the Final. Remnant was jerked back to reality as Port's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"We are about to roll for our next match-up now!" The crowd roared as the holographic roulette began to roll. Remnant sighed and replaced his new scroll in his bag along with his other two, and stretched for a bit, loosening up to prepare for the match at hand. He was confident he would win once again, but he didn't want to assume anything too early. The roulette was rolling faster and faster now, and the crowd was holding their breaths in anticipation for the next match-up. After the explosive match that opened the Quarterfinals and its intense if admittedly brief followup, the crowd was itching for another fight that would keep them excited, and Remnant as it happened was starting to feel that itch to go crazy. The roulette was slowing down, and the crowd held their breaths as they watched intensely, the left panel rolling to a stop on the first combatant.

Remmy of Haven Academy.

An air of unease immediately went up in the air, and a moment later the right panel also rolled to a stop on his opponent.

Remmy of Haven Academy VS Raiko Ao of Shade Academy, Vacuo's final contender for the Final. The crowd roared as Remnant, continuing to loosen himself up a bit, walked out onto the arena floor, with Raiko himself walking out on the other side.

He was around 6'4'', garbed almost entirely in black, samurai-esque armor that was lined with glowing electron-blue highlights that made him look like a walking motherboard, with a bo staff clutched in one hand that he was spinning in rapid circles in anticipation. Neither Remnant nor Raiko said a word to one another, standing a few feet away from one another and staring one another down as the central platform began to rise once more. Raiko was staring Remnant right in the eyes with that same scrutinizing stare that Remnant had seen Noir give, only this one wasn't the kind that made you feel x-rayed. This one gave the impression that Raiko was memorizing Remnant's eyes themselves, an odd way to preoccupy one's attention, but who was Remnant to judge? The crowd was roaring in excitement, but the air of unease was still in the air, and Remnant could sense it. He drew his twin swords and spun them as he took his stance, ready to fight as Raiko took his own stance, spinning his bo staff in a rapid flourish before pressing a button, activating the staff's electrified tips with a crackle of energy. Remnant almost yawned at this. A shock-tipped bo staff, wielded by a cyber-samurai who didn't speak. He'd seen far worse.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, BEGIN!" Oobleck's voice rang out, and Raiko instantly charged forward, his bo staff humming as he spun it rapidly, aiming a powerful blow at Remnant's head. Remnant dodged the blow easily, ducking under it, and the leaping over the next blow that came a second later, landing a hard blow of his own on Raiko's right shoulder, the latter growling as his aura and armor managed to stop the blow, but it apparently still hurt. Remnant then leaped back, a wide smirk on his face as Raiko chased after him. This was almost too easy, or so it seemed. Raiko growled and a moment later Remnant was blinded by a white flash that obscured everything from view.

"FUCK!" Remnant yelled as his eyes squeezed shut trying to shut out the blinding brightness, and a moment later his body convulsed violently as his torso was hit once, twice, three times, four times by Raiko's shock-tipped staff. The fourth blow sent Remnant across the arena floor, and he immediately stabbed one of his blades into the arena floor, stopping himself from going off the edge mere feet from it. Remnant opened his eyes again, but now everything was black. He immediately went still, his green eyes darting back and forth searching for any sign of Raiko, who seemed to have disappeared with ease. Remnant also noticed now that there was no noise, none whatsoever, and Remnant realized what this was: the Shade Semblance. An illusory semblance that warped one's opponent's perception of light by attacking the eyes. Raiko had seen Remnant's eyes close up before the fight had started, and this had allowed him to gain the knowledge he needed to target Remnant's eyes.

A web of lightning came out of nowhere and blasted directly at Remnant, who dodged the blast deftly as he whirled around to search for its point of origin. Raiko was nowhere to be seen, and as Remnant stopped moving, a second blast hit him in his right side, blasting him in the air and causing him to hit the arena floor hard. Remnant growled, getting irritated, and as he stood back up he closed his eyes once more, this time using his sense of hearing to figure out where he was. Everything around him was utterly silent, and there was no light to be seen from anywhere. But there were still smells, and he could sense that he was near the edge of the central platform, for the air was clearer behind him, and he could sense the height of the platform he was on. Raiko was close, Remnant could smell the scorched air around the shock tips of his bo staff.

Fighting in the dark with only hearing and smell to rely was nothing new for Remnant. It was as though he was made for it, and though it admittedly had been a very long time since he had actually fought in pitch darkness, it had a feeling of familiarity now as he focused his senses, remaining perfectly still as his grip on his blades relaxed, and he smirked confidently.

Unexpected. But welcome. Remnant crouched low to the ground as he focused on the sounds around him, and for a long moment the world was utterly silent, nothing happening, nothing moving, nothing even breathing save for Remnant himself. The fight, having kicked off in a manner that had gone from zero to an all-out proverbial shotgun barrage in the face, was now slowed to a crawl, and Remnant could sense the crowd holding their breaths. How ridiculous it must look, Remnant simply standing in one spot, Raiko doing dust-knows-what, with absolutely nothing happening after a few explosive seconds of action. All that was about to change.

Then Remnant heard it. The humming of Raiko's bo staff as he began moving, and REmnant could tell just where it was. Holding his ground until the last possible moment, Remnant gripped his blades, and then, his eyes snapped open, flashing vivid purple as he swung his left blade hard, catching Raiko right in the gut with a loud roar. The light returned to Remnant's vision, giving him a clear view of where Raiko was, and Remnant smirked. This fight was over. He immediately charged forward with a yell, landing blow after blow after blow with the pommels of his swords, as well as the flats of the blades, and as he landed blow after blow, he began moving faster with each one. Raiko was trying to block the onslaught, but to no avail. Remnant was relentless, and as Raiko's aura dropped rapidly, Remnant began yelling at him.

Abandonner!

Vous avez perdu cette bataille!

Tu n'as plus d'importance!

Vous ne pouvez pas prévaloir maintenant!

Abandonner!

Fuck tout ce que vous avez combattu pour!

Grovel à mes pieds maintenant!

Vous ne vous lèverez plus jamais!

Raiko's eyes widened as a feeling of utter hopelessness dominated his entire being, his heart encased in ice-cold fear as Remnant continued to wail at him, growling his words like a demon out of Hel, landing hit after hit and forcing Raiko to the edge of the central platform. Raiko, realizing where he was, dug his feet in, tears rimming his eyes as he tried to fight the feeling of impending doom upon him. Unable to take his defeat lying down, Raiko valiantly tried to fight back, blocking some of Remnant's onslaught and delivering some blows of his own, his teeth gritted as he tried to fight back with everything he had. Remnant simply repeated the words he shouted, louder and more vigor, and Raiko tried to shut it out as he squeezed his eyes shut, his mind a blur of sound and colors. It was all to no avail.

Remnant broke through Raiko's guard and landed a vicious kick right in the middle of his gut, knocking the final contender for Shade Academy off the platform and down to the ground below. The crowd roared as Remnant pumped his left fist in victory, unleashing a victorious yell like a lion that conquered a challenger for the role of alpha.

"AND THE VICTORY GOES TO REMMY OF HAVEN ACADEMY!" Port declared bombastically as the crowd roared in response, the central platform lowering back down to the main arena. Remnant inhaled deeply and sighed as he finally calmed down. He looked around at the people in the audience roaring at the result of the fight, and he smirked a little. Now they were cheering for him. Now they were showing respect. Whatever. Just because he didn't cause his opponent any serious injuries. At least, none on the outside, that is. Inwardly, however was another story. Remnant smirked as he walked off the arena floor, knowing in his mind that Raiko Ao would not be the same mentally after that fight. Perhaps that's how he should have approached this from the start, using his semblance to manipulate his opponents into believing they will lose, but no, that was too easy, and not nearly as fun. He enjoyed the thrill of the fight too much, frankly, and that made it all the more satisfying to defeat tough opponents, but in this regard? Raiko tried to use a tactic that would have left any other opponent humiliated by blinding him. So Remnant had responded in kind with tactics that had a similar effect on Raiko, only far worse.

It felt good to win, Remnant conceded, but it felt so much better to overpower.

So why then did he feel like he just did something...wrong?

x-x-x-x-x

Back in the lounge, Noir watched the fight unfold with narrowed eyes. The outcome had been what Noir had expected, but Remnant had ended this fight very quickly, and this was no easy feat for anyone facing Raiko Ao. Noir had seen Raiko's previous fights, and had seen how deadly and powerful he really was, but in this fight with Remnant, one would have thought he was a pushover with no sense of defense. Remnant had utterly humiliated, first breaking through his illusory semblance and then attacking with a level of ferocity that had given Raiko no time to recover, and Noir had seen the expression of helplessness on Raiko's face. Raiko had been scared, terrified in fact, and just like that had gone from hardened fighter to teary-eyed blunt-force-fodder in mere seconds. Remnant had utterly destroyed him, and not just physically, Noir could see.

Raiko was in his final year at Shade Academy, and Noir had seen him go toe-to-toe with a final-year Student from Atlas and come out on top like it was nothing, and yet this unknown kid from Haven had just beat him down like he was nothing but a total pushover, and Noir had seen the tears. Yang hadn't, he knew she hadn't, but he'd seen them, he'd seen them clear as day. Tears, from the eyes of a final year student from the country whose philosophy was "Survive or Die"? It made no sense.

"Noir?" Yang's voice brought Noir out of his train of thought, and she looked deeply concerned. "You okay?"

"..." Noir's first impulse was to deny that anything was wrong, but, remembering his talk with her that morning, Noir took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering. "That kid, Remmy...he bothers me."

"Why?" Yang looked back at the screen, and then back to Noir, wondering what could possibly bother Noir so much about Remnant.

"I don't think he's being entirely honest about who he is, or what he's capable of." Noir replied, looking at Yang with a grim expression "In fact, I think he's hiding something. I just don't know what...or why."

"Huh..." Yang looked back at the screen, showing Remnant's final combination of attacks that had resulted in Raiko's humiliating defeat, and she looked back at Noir. "What do you plan to do?"

"Watch him." Noir stated, looking at the footage, seeing the flash of purple in Remnant's eyes before launching his attack on Raiko, and narrowing his eyes into slights. "Watch him very closely and carefully."

Yang looked at Noir with concern and then back at Remnant on the screen, and couldn't help but wonder: What made Noir so suspicious of Remmy? Why was he looking at Remmy like a police officer watching a criminal suspect?

"Ugh..." Noir sighed and switched off the tv after a long moment, slowly pulling to himself with a groan and supporting himself against the sofa, his stiff joints and sore muscles making it a little painful to move as he struggled to the door. "But for now...I need to sleep...you were right, I should have rested before that fight..." Noir yawned widely and Yang giggled as she walked over to him, putting an arm around him and his arm around her, supporting him as she walked him to his dorm room.

Noir's mind was hazy from fatigue, but he knew in his gut something was off where "Remmy" was concerned, and he was going to find out, one way or another, what it was.

And even as Yang laid Noir down on his bed, climbing onto it with him and cuddling up to him, Noir could feel a sense of ominous foreboding, as though the air itself was getting uneasy about something.

Noir knew in his gut something bad was coming, and he knew Remnant was connected to it. He just couldn't figure out what, or how.

Yet.