There was a constant tug on one side of Yang's face as she walked away from the ring, the temporary satisfaction of having pummelled all her opponents into the mat having not faded from her system yet. One hand reached up to drag a pair of fingers across her face, wiping off a smear of blood. Not her own blood, of course, but that didn't mean she wanted to have the red splatter remain.
As she strode over towards the wall where she had spotted Miltia waiting, the waiting fighters that crowded the area parted in front of Yang. There were many different kinds of expressions that the teen could see at a glance through them. Wariness, awe, shock, abject fear, even some anger. Apparently a few were of the notion that a girl shouldn't be in the tournament, despite having watched said girl smashing some guy's face into the mat repeatedly even when his nose had broken. Whatever, wasn't like she cared about them, she just cared about getting paid. And after that little performance, there was no doubt that she would be leaving here tonight without some cash in her hands.
"Enjoy the show?" Yang's grin was cocky as she addressed the other girl, who was regarding the blonde with cool green eyes as she swaggered over. "After that though, I can't imagine why you and Melanie couldn't cut it last year."
"Mr Xiong is waiting for you up on the walkway." Miltia replied, the only sign that she had acknowledged the dig about her and her twin being the slight venom dripping from her voice. "He wants to show off his 'champion' to some of the other people watching the fights tonight." There was no doubt from the way the term rolled off her tongue that the black haired girl would rather call Yang something else entirely, rather than continue to act as a professional bodyguard and mind her words. "It would probably be best for you not to keep him waiting."
A glance up to the walkway hanging from the ceiling, and Yang could see her boss grinning widely and laughing during a conversation with a small group of well-dressed people. Apparently his employee's win had made him quite popular for the moment.
"Heh, in other words, help him gloat in the face of his rivals for the rest of tonight." Still riding on that high of winning, the blonde felt no need to be cautious about her words or who might hear them. "Still, I suppose it is, at least partly, my job to make him look good."
The other girl gave a roll of her eyes as she nodded towards some metal stairs set against the wall that Yang could use to go join their boss. A pair of tall, muscular men stood in front of the steps, obviously there to prevent the fighters and others not considered important from heading up. At first, they straightened up at noticing the blonde girl headed their way, shifting to completely block the stairway from her.
"Ah, there's my winner!" Junior had been coming down the stairs when he first spoke up, stopping midway with one hand on the railing. There was no doubt that grin on his face would be lasting for the entire night, if not for the rest of the week.
There was a pause in the men guarding the stairs, realisation setting in as they stepped out of the way. Yang gave a small smirk as she passed them, only for the smirk to turn into a grimace when Junior slung an arm around her shoulders, effectively pulling her in for a headlock.
"I knew you were a good choice for the tournament!" He said, ignoring her struggles to pull his arm off of her. "And with a qualifier round like that, all those other fighters are gonna be pissing themselves about having to face you!"
"Ewww." She didn't need that mental image, of having to fight on a ring that had puddles of urine all over it. "I don't think even the extra money would be worth having to deal with that." The blonde said as she finally managed to shrug off his arm.
"Feh, I doubt that. Plenty of people would deal with far worse for the pay you'll be getting once you win the next match." Pulling back, Junior focused on straightening out his vest, his jacket having disappeared to somewhere after having adjusted to the smothering heat that crowds of people all jammed into one warehouse could cause. "Speaking of which, you haven't said yet just what you're gonna do with all that money."
"You know me, I'll probably just spend it all on living it up." Yang bluffed. While she might have been working as a fighter for quite a while now, that didn't mean she had to share everything about her life with her employer or those she worked with. Especially the kind of information he might take advantage of if she ever got enough to finally quit and go back to a more normal kind of life. "Maybe move out of that shitty apartment and into a penthouse." She joked, trying to make sure that he didn't try to pry any more.
"Sounds like a plan." As she thought, the man was only half listening now, taking a quick glance back up the stairs towards where an older man with grey hair looking back at them. "Right now though, there's some people I want you to meet. Seems like you managed to impress some of the other leaders round the city." There was a slight swell to his voice when he mentioned that fact, a piece of satisfaction that he hadn't quite been able to hide.
"Hēi." The older man addressed Junior as they came up. "Glad to finally see that you've joined your brothers in finally bringing a good fighter to show off. I was starting to think maybe running a night club was the best you could do."
"Father, what kind words you have for your youngest son who had to start off with the least of all your children." The younger approached with arms flung wide open. To some, it might have seemed that the words suggested resentment on Junior's part, though the twitch of his lips as he spoke was something that Yang noticed. "A piece of crap corner of the docks, and I still manage to find a contender a year after having lost in my first attempt."
He stopped in front of the elder, the barest twists of a smile on both of their faces. It almost looked like a mirror had been put in front of Junior, albeit one that showed an aged reflection. Other than a slight duck in height thanks to a stoop that made the elder rely on a cane, and the completely grey hair and other signs of advanced age, the head of the Xiong family clearly had the dominant share of genes given to his child.
"Hmph." The elder Xiong turned from his son to look out over the railing, towards the current fight taking place right underneath them. "I guess you even did better than your brother Bùlǎng this year. I put him in charge of how the fights should proceed, and he makes this chaotic mess. I suppose it does have the benefit of helping us finish before the unbribed police can catch wind of this, but what's the point of having the fights so short that you can't enjoy them before the next takes place?"
"It's only the prelims, father. Not the most exciting part of the tournament normally." A glance over his shoulder back to Yang. "Save for a few standout moments that can happen."
"Like the 'dragon' here that you've been boasting about this past month?" Another man interrupted the conversation as he strode over. Like many of the others up on the walkways, the man with skin the same hue as hickory was wearing a black pressed suit. Though unlike others, it seemed that either his tie had gone missing or he hadn't turned up with one, the top two buttons of his white shirt undone and his collar had a few wrinkles crumpled into it. One hand held a brown bottle, condensation beading along the glass. Warm brown eyes regarded Yang as the other two turned to face the intrusion.
"For all your talk of her, I don't think you ever actually managed to say what she looked like. Let alone that she came with a giant mane of gold." The unknown man teased lightly, lifting a hand towards the girl in question, offering a handshake. "Yang, I presume?"
"Ah, yes, that's my name." She responded, although a little wary of just how much Junior had said of her to this new stranger. There was something vaguely familiar about him, even though Yang knew that she had never met him before. It was almost as if she had seen his picture on a regular basis somewhere for some reason.
"I managed to see your fight down there." He continued, a warm smile on his face. Yang could feel almost the same warmth through the skin on his hand, despite the rough calluses on it. "Don't think I've ever seen a takedown that brutal before. Then again, this is me and my companion's first time at this tournament."
The vigorous handshake ended, the man moving over to the railing to place one hand on the metal bar. As he looked other the fights below, a flicker of movement on his head drew Yang's gaze back up to his head. A pair of ears adorned with fur as black as the man's hair they emerged from, large enough that the blonde questioned why she hadn't taken notice of them before, even if now she was getting a clue on just why he seemed so familiar to her.
"It's too bad the fights move so fast from one on to the next." His eyes were idly fixed on the rings below them as he took a swig from the bottle in his other hand, where the current fights were underway. "There's less time to focus and enjoy them before being distracted by another."
"Blame it on my brother, Fenrir." Junior came up on the other side of him, also placing both hands on the railing. "But I'm sure that being able to enjoy a good fight is the least of your concerns right now. I'm surprised to even see you here tonight."
"Ah yes, I suppose I could be putting the time I'm spending here to better use on paperwork. But a friend of mine wanted me to come along with her." Another swig of the bottle. "Apparently she has contenders that applied for tonight's prelims."
"And it looks like neither of them will have any problems making it to the next stage." Another new voice, this time low and dark. The repetitive clack of heels on metal came towards them, all of the men plus Yang turning to see who this next intrusion was. Long dark hair pulled over one shoulder, a red dress with gold embroidery patterns trailing down the arms with the skirt part only falling to mid-thigh, and amber eyes that were gleaming under the harsh lighting in the warehouse, there was definitely nothing familiar about this woman to anyone. Other than the man called Fenrir, who smiled broadly at her.
"Cinder! I was wondering when you were going to come up and watch." The liquid in the bottle he held was disappearing at a rapid rate with the amount of swigs he was taking from it. "Did you get tired of watching from the shadows?"
"Hm, perhaps. But perhaps I was also curious about this new fighter who seems to have caught everyone else's attention." For a moment, the blonde was curious as to whom she meant, until she realised the older woman had come to stand right next to her, and her gaze was fixed on Yang. "Surely she has a name?"
"Uh, Yang. Just Yang." There was something unnerving about the woman quietly looking her over with a half smile on her lips. "...And you are?"
"Just Cinder, 'Just Yang'." Great, a sense of humour. The amber eyes moved away from her, though the smile didn't budge as her gaze rested downwards instead. "Looks like Mercury had no problems with his match."
Below them, a cheer went up as the crowds clapped and yelled, as a teen with slicked back silver hair did a fist pump above his head, a group of unconscious fighters around him in the ring. They were too far above to really see anyone's faces down on the floor, but Yang could have sworn the boy wore a smirk that was close to being a sneer as he glanced down at those were groaning and trying to crawl out of the ring. Just as it had been with her bout, smears of blood decorated the area around him.
"Where's that other one that always hangs around you though?" Fenrir went to take another swig, only to pull the bottle away from his lips with a confused look, as if wondering why it was suddenly empty as he shook it around to make sure there wasn't a single drop left. "That one with green hair, and a name like it." A slur was creeping into his voice. "What was it... Lime, Olive, Moss? No, it was some kind of gem... Emerald, yeah?"
"She got placed in one of the last matches for tonight." The smile dropped almost imperceptibly. "But it's not like I needed to see either of them fight to know they will make it through."
"Sounds like I might have a challenge on my hands then." Yang jested, feeling a bit odd at all this talking around her. The corners of Cinder's mouth twitched back upwards at her statement.
"If you live up to the nickname that Junior gave you, then maybe not." She said, eyes locking onto the faunus man. "But it looks like I need to go and toast my first victory of the night. You are going to accompany me, aren't you Fenrir?"
"Tsk." He pushed himself from the railing to walk over. "Guess I might as well, if I can pick up another beer along the way." For a moment, it looked like he was frowning as his brows drew together, before the broad grin broke out again. "I'll see you some other time, Hei. Enjoy the rest of your night." A small wave, almost sarcastic in how his fingers furled out from the small spin of a wrist, and the wolf faunus followed after the clacking heels of the smaller woman.
"...Never knew you kept company with politicians." Yang remarked, once she was sure enough that they would be too far to hear her over the noise of the crowds around them, even with wolf ears.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting him to be here either." Junior gave a shrug of his shoulders as he watched them go. "As far as I know, he's just the regular politician. You know, a few dark ties here and there to keep him in power. But no real reason to be here." His head tilted to the side for a moment, before jerking back upright. "Anyways, we've got a win to celebrate tonight! Next week will be the first proper stages of the tournament, and we're finally in for once!" Gloved hands clapped together as he grinned. "Drinks at the bar, on me!"
"Funny how a turn of good luck makes you not stingy for a change."
"Hey!"
"But I think I'll pass on that." She said, shrugging one shoulder back as an ache made itself known. The drinking age was still twenty-one in Vale, wasn't it? Wouldn't be wise for her to put herself in another possible situation to get in trouble with the police, even if Junior didn't even know her age yet. "I'm just looking forward to getting a good hot meal on the way home, and then a soft bed to fall onto."
"Heh, suit yourself. Just make sure to come by the club tomorrow morning for your pay for tonight. With a bigger crowd of cretins around than usual, wouldn't be wise to hand it you right now." Yeah, she couldn't really argue against the larger chance of getting jumped and mugged of her winnings. A grunt came from him, looking at where his father had wandered over to another group of people on the walkway and was waving over his son. "You gonna head home now?"
"Nah, not just yet." She replied, crossed arms leaning over the railing lazily. "Might as well check out the rest of the people I might be up against next week."
"Smart girl." He complimented alongside another grin as he fixed his collar. "Just make sure to get yourself home safe and sound, yeah? Some of these people don't take losing too well." Another tug of the creased shirt, and he was off to play the honourable, smiling politely, son alongside his father.
Yang remained where she was, glad that no one was coming up to bother her now. Especially now that she could see a pair of cat ears perched on a certain contender's head as she slipped into one of the rings towards the end of the warehouse.
