AN: I had a rather nasty writer's block, so I'm sorry that it took so long for this bit to get out. On better news, this is a double update! As the title suggests, these are two interconnected chapters occurring at the same time.

Year 2: Two Stories: Dragon's Eye

Haley's POV

"Don't worry Haley, this year you'll take first without a doubt!"

I was waiting alongside Jason and Azure before the Mistral Regional tournament started up this year.

Only a few more minutes before they reveal the lineup. "Thanks. I put in a lot of work in the last few weeks, but I doubt any of the others were slacking off themselves. Not to mention Pyrrha is going to be defending her title today."

Jason nods. "She's the one to beat. I have faith in you, though."

Azure smiles. "Especially since you have your Semblance working now. Just be sure to save it for a tight spot. The first reveal will be certain to trip people up, but they'll expect it after that."

Finally the time comes and the tourney brackets are shown, I scour the list for my name, finding it and my first opponent.

Haley Onyx- Pyrrha Nikos.

They both look at me, and Azure voices their concern. "First round with her..." She quickly smiles again. "Like I said, you'll take the whole event. The best fight just will be happening in the first round!"

My scroll vibrates and I check it to see a message from Rex. 'Saw the results. You have this, Haley. Break a leg out there. Preferably Nikos'.'

"Well good to see he cares."

Anticipation filled me as I watch the tournament commence. Soon enough, my turn arises. As I walk towards the field, I run my fingers across my tattoo. Hope you two are ready. We have quite the fight ahead of us.

My head slams onto the table. "First round. All that training and I get eliminated in the first round."

I feel someone place a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I see it was Azure who put it there, with Jason and Rex behind her. "You still gave Pyrrha Hell though."

"I was eighth place last year. Eighth out of over 250 fighters. Then I get dead last. I must be pathetic."

Jason shakes his head. "You know its not like that. It was just a bad draw, Haley. Someone has to end up facing the eventual winner in the first round."

"I know that in my head... but I still feel horrible."

"Okay I am sick and tired of this moping. The two of us are going to have a girl's day, now." Azure grabs my shoulder and starts dragging me. She turns to look back at the guys. "Play nice and don't destroy anything."

Clothes shopping, really? "I really don't get why you are doing this."

Azure leans around the rack she was looking through. "Simple- I'm going to make sure you don't get a chance to focus on the tournament until you get over it."

"And in your boundless creativity, you decided that the best choice was picking out a new outfit?"

"Isn't this what girls do to hang out?"

"Hold up." There is no way she actually- "Are you actually basing this off of cliches?

Azure blushed. "Kind of? I... didn't really have friends. I'm kinda grasping at straws for ideas. I mean, I like cloths, cliche or no, so I thought it might be nice."

"Alright... I think I got something together."

We head to the changing rooms and put on the new outfits.

I look in the mirror and spin to get a good idea of what I looked like. I had taken a black shirt that only had the right sleeve, leaving my dragons visible. White and faint red accents brought some color into the shirt. In addition, I had some black pants with a pair of white lines running down the side of my right leg.

I think this passes the test. I smile and wait for Azure, wondering about what she picked out for herself. As soon as she walks out, it was obvious she did not disappoint.

Her shirt was a dark grey that was close to black. It had a lower cut top, but not enough to be considered tempting. Over it she wore a deep blue jacket with a flared collar that was left completely open. Her pants were a lighter blue that matched her eyes and accentuated her legs.

She was playing it up as well. She added a confident stride, and she had sly smirk that stated 'look but don't touch.'

Noticing my gaze, her smirk grew. "I see this had caught your eye. Looks like I made a good choice." She takes a glance at my outfit and nods. "Very nice."

We go to pay for the clothes, and I'm surprised that Azure pays for both of us, despite my protests. She insists that its a gift from her, but I still feel uncomfortable with her paying for it.

Our next stop was a Dust store to pick up ammo.

"Okay, I admit this is just a chore I needed to do at some point, but I keep putting this off. I'll make up for this, I swear." Azure looks over several boxes before grabbing some.

I look at what she grabbed. "I don't think I've seen you use your rifle since our fight at the beginning of our first year."

"Well, you remember Rex basically saying I was idiot for using a sniper rifle at point blank and all that? The problem was while both of us use high yield rounds for that extra kick, I simply have a more powerful gun. Rex can use those rounds because a pistol puts less energy into a bullet than a rifle will. These are much weaker, meaning I can use them in spars. I won't be restricted to my daggers anymore."

I smile. "I look forward to seeing what you do with them."

She pays for the ammo before talking to the man at the counter. "Excuse me sir? My friend recently put in an order for some specialty rounds under the name 'Rex'. Are they ready?"

He pulls out a box from under the counter. Azure gives a quick glance inside it before nodding and paying for the bullets.

As we walk out, a devious smile grows on her face. "And with that I own the favor advantage over Rex."

"You seem way too excited about that."

She shrugs. "Maybe it's just a thing for us, but this is the first time in 8 months he owed me. Anyways, I said I'd make up for this, so I know this nice place to eat and I'm paying."

We sit down our table and order our meals. While we wait, I ask her something that's been bothering me. "I know you're doing this whole 'treat me to a nice day' thing, but you've been spending a lot of money and I don't want you spending it all on me. My family left behind a lot of money."

"It's completely okay, Haley, I'm not going broke anytime soon."

"Where are you getting the money? You've said you used to live on the streets."

She looks around before staring at me. "This stays secret. And by secret, I mean tell Jason and they'll find the body in Atlas secret."

Not Rex? "I promise." I reach for the water the waiter left for us.

She blushes a little. "Remember that bet I made with Rex back during finals week?" She continues after I nod. "Well the thing was, if I won, Rex would spend the summer break as my butler."

My mind conjures the image of Rex wearing a tuxedo and serving Azure. Huh. He'd probably be able to pull off the stern butler routine quite well, actually.

Azure sighs. "I lost."

"So I'm guessing you had to be his maid or something?"

She shakes her head. "Not quite... Turns out there are maid cafes in Mistral."

I start coughing up water after that. It was so out there I couldn't actually process the thought. The idea of Azure, who alternates between a shadow in the corner and in your face, working in a maid cafe?

"What?"

She gives a weak smile. "They give really good tips. Combine that with my scholarship and the fact I mooch off of Rex when possible, I can splurge on occasion. Rarely."

I can't help it. I start laughing, although I calm down after seeing her glare. "You done now?"

I let out another small chuckle. "I'm done."

Her glare shifts into a smile. "Glad that you look happy again."

I stop for a second. I was still upset over the tournament, but Azure opening up like this starts to feel more important than it. "Thanks."

"Not a problem for a friend." She stumbles a little at friend. I don't know what just went through her mind, but the way she smiles as she said it makes it clear that it was meaningful in some way. "So you said your family is wealthy? Can I ask just how much?"

I laugh. "We're rich. It's not like we could buy out the SDC, but I'll probably never run out of money in my lifetime."

Azure smirks. "Well, just keep me in mind whenever you need a favor done."

Our food comes and we eat, laugh, and joke. I also manage to convince Azure to let me split the bill.

We head back to Sanctum and run into Rex and Jason drinking tea together. I note that their faces are bruised. They got into another fight, but why are they smiling?

Azure facepalms. "I thought I told you two to behave."

Rex shrugs a bit. "Jason and I had a heart to heart."

And apparently a fist to face.

Jason nods. "I think the both of us are much closer. You guys?"

I chuckle. "She help get my head on straight again."

Azure starts stalking towards Rex. "We had a pretty decent talk ourselves." She makes an attempt to steal the cup out of Rex's hands, but pouts as Rex stops her.

He sighs before saying he'll make more, much to Azure's cheers.

WN: I have to give credit to Phoenix Commander on Dragon's Eye for the Haley/Azure combo name. It had stumped both me and CPF12. Shipper's are now welcome to Tweet their fanart of the two to me with the proper hashtag! Joking, I ain't no homewrecker. That and CPF might kill me if they get it as well.

Edit: CPF12 has okayed Dragon's Eye fanart... If you have the skills and desire, unleash the shipping!

Fashion is not my thing. Hopefully you guys found the outfits I described appealing.

The maid cafe thing got stuck in my head eight months ago. So not sorry. She still owns the uniform.

Azure's stumbling over her words is pretty big. From her side, she's admitting to herself that she has friends now, which she has long considered just another vulnerability.

Part one completed. Please continue to part two.