THE LAST PART! this is what we've been waiting for! all... one hundred of you! i think.
eh.
anyhoo, here you go everyone. i hope you had fun with this arc, since the next ones are shaping up to be pretty good too.
it's time to live life i guess. by staying indoors and writing fan fiction.
... i'm gonna go before i question my life decisions even more.
Where did our brave hero and heroine leave off last time? Oh, right. They had a kick-buttocks water gun battle.
It was good shizzle.
Alright, that's your recap. Enjoy this final part of Blakey's arc with Ren!
Blake's Day Part IV: The Contest P.3
Since Blake's explanation on why she basically tolerated Ren's presence, time went by quickly. Engaging in another few 'friendly' competitions, this time with no foul play as Ren made her promise, Ren had found himself another, albeit smaller than Blake's, plush fish. Blake had also won a bookmark, the gamekeeper surprised at her picking the first round prize over the grand prize, a certificate for a free weekend at a Vacuan resort. When the time finally came for the contest, loudspeakers that were formerly playing a mixture of music switched to a woman's voice.
"Would all couples please join us at the staging area for the contest? Would all couples please..." The woman repeated the message a few times before ending the intercom. Blake and Ren looked up, back at each other, and gave a tiny sigh.
"I forgot about that," Blake said.
"As did I."
"You think we should still go?"
He shrugged his shoulders, hands behind his back as he walked and talked. "It's up to you. However, if it is a competition of sorts, I do believe that we would have the best chances of winning."
"And why would that be?"
"If it requires physical endurance, we-"
"I." She interjected with a smile.
He continued. "-would likely win, unless we were facing another hunter or huntress in training, which in itself is highly unlikely. If it had to come down to brawn alone, we would hold up against any opponent unless they happened to be a professional weightlifter."
She nodded in agreement. "But what if it involves things that couples do?"
"Such as?"
"Partner activities..."
He gave a tiny frown. "Hm. Well, if it comes to that, we'll see about dropping out."
"Afraid to get your feet wet, Ren?" She added a grin just to add onto the teasing tone.
"Afraid of being recorded and having Nora or Yang find it on RemTube, actually."
"Good point."
The matter settled, they walked over to the nearest map.
"It says here that the grounds are..." He traced his finger around the map.
"That way," Blake pointed, finishing the sentence and walking off.
"Thank you for waiting," he muttered.
"No problem."
After they had decided to stop by some free lockers to put their prizes in, there were at least one hundred couples at the staging area. All of them were holding their tickets and moving back and forth on their feet, awkwardly awaiting the contest that they were lured into. Ren and Blake were standing at the edge of the large couples crowd, and they were content to stay there. Both Ren and Blake checked their scrolls, and it was almost time for the contest to take place.
"Well, a minute left. Think they can start on time?"
"I don't know. From the looks of it, no. There's nothing much on stage, at least." Ren was correct, the stage was empty save for a single microphone on a stand, some sort of machine, and a plain table.
"Should we stay?"
"Let's stay for a minute or two. If there's nothing, then we can leave. I'm surprised to say that this contest has piqued my curiosity."
"Same here," she said.
After scanning over the crowd of people, Ren spoke up. "Someone's walking up to the microphone. A woman."
A loud screeching noise could be heard, and several tapping noises were also made.
"Hello? Is- Is this dust-awful thing working?" A few more screeches were made, and Blake resisted the urge to cover her faunus ears. Ren also winced.
"Ugh, come on. The guys told me it was fixed." More tapping, and the crowd was growing restless. A voice cried out from the rest of them.
"YES, IT'S WORKING!"
"Ah. Thank you, person in the crowd! Now then." She cleared her throat. She looked like a woman in her mid thirties, most notably wearing a plethora of ridiculous fish-themed clothing.
"Is... she wearing a fish hat?" Blake asked.
"Sadly, yes." He responded.
"And... a fish shirt?"
"Yes."
"... is she trying to look like an idiot?"
Ren's answer was drowned out by the woman's voice being projected over the speakers. "I'm sorry for the interruption! Uh, to get you all interested again, here's... here's the prize!" A man hurried up to the stage, security from the looks of him, and handed her a massive cooler.
Both Blake and Ren raised their eyebrows, and the couples around them were similarly confused, talking among themselves about the whole situation.
"They're not going to give us a cooler, are they?"
"Nah, there's got to be something in there."
"You sure? So far this contest is a joke with fish-lady up there."
"Shh! She's opening the cooler!"
A click could be heard over the microphone, the sight that met everyone's eyes was a pleasant surprise.
In fact, she hefted the largest fish that Blake or Ren had ever seen.
"In my arms," she sounded like she was struggling, and the same security man came up to help her hold it. "- Thanks Jim; in my arms is the largest fish known to our world of Remnant! Meet the Mystralian Giant Catfish!" As if responding to it being boasted, the fish flopped in their arms, nearly escaping from their grasp. "Weighing in at... a lot of pounds, if you win the competitions today, you can take this home with you! Feed it! Grow it if it still can! You can even eat it!" At that last mention, Blake's eyes went wide.
This is what I was born for, she thought to herself, eyes focused on the fish. Target Acquired.
The woman onstage put the fish back into the cooler with the assistance of the security man, and shut the locks. "Now that I've hopefully not lost half of my crowd, let's get the contest going! Our first challenge will actually be a luck of the draw. After all, there are, like, a thousand of you." Grumbling could be heard washing over the people, disappointed in the fact that the contest was down to their luck.
"Take a look at your tickets! At the end of the ten digit serial code on the top of your ticket, there should be four additional numbers in blue. Our first group of people will be the lucky pair in group..." She turned on the machine, and four zeroes popped up in the glass display. Pressing the button, the numbers spun until they slowed down, and stopped. "It looks like we're going to be taking nine-five-one-three! Nine-five-one-three, anyone?" Ren and Blake looked down at their tickets.
"Not us," he said.
"Next, we're having..." She pressed the button again. "Six-zero-zero-two!"
"Still not us."
"One-two-eight-seven!"
Blake and Ren just kept looking at their tickets.
He looked at Blake, who seemed like she was actually hoping to be called, a wince almost formed on her face each time the numbers didn't match with theirs. "Blake, the chances of us actually being called are astronomically low."
"I know."
"Two-seven-six-three!"
"Do you want to go? There's plenty else we can do at this festival."
"Nine-eight-zero-two!"
"Let's stay until they're done calling numbers."
He sighed. "Alright."
"Seven-seven-seven-nine! Ooh, lucky sevens."
Shaking his head, he spoke again. "Come on, Blake. We should get going."
"Two-zero-five-zero!"
Pursing her lips into a slight frown, she looked at the fish in the cooler with longing eyes. But I want that damn fish, she thought to herself. "Let's wait."
Ren just shook his head. "I think I'm going to go. You can find me at the nearest restaurant. I'm pretty hungry."
"Six-four-nine-three!"
As he was turning to leave, he froze.
Wait a minute. Is... that?
Ren looked down at his ticket. Back up at the machine. Back down. And threw his arms up into the air. "Well color my hair blond and call me Jaune," he said, exasperated by their luck. Blake, on the other hand, was already smiling with excitement, eyes widened, and the urge to squeal being suppressed by the remaining flecks of self control that she had.
The rest of the numbers went over their head as Ren still stood there in disbelief. "Did... she actually call our number," he asked.
"Yep," popping the 'p'.
He sighed for what must have been the millionth time that day. "We're staying, aren't we."
"Oh, definitely."
"Well. We better make our way to the stage, then."
"Yeah, you're right." She went onto the edges of her toes, trying to spy the best route.
"We should probably align ourselves with the center of the crowd. It seems as if people have made a makeshift pathway for contestants there." He pointed, and Blake nodded her head in confirmation.
"Alright. Let's go."
They speed-walked towards the outer center of the crowd, and started to worm their way through. Couples were already dispersing from the edges, and the task didn't prove itself to be a gargantuan one until they got closer to the center. As they got closer to the center of the crowd- half way to the stage- numerous catcalls and whistles could be heard from various people, all of which Blake and Ren tried to ignore with down-cast eyes.
"Why is it that everywhere we go, people do these kinds of things?" Blake seethed between her teeth from behind Ren.
"Blake, be honest." Ren was disrupted by a woman bumping into him, muttering a small apology before continuing on his way again. He was fairly sure the woman did it on purpose, but he didn't say anything. "We both qualify as visually attractive people."
"True."
As they entered the center of the crowd, people around them were starting to give the two space as they made their way forward, couples looking at them with envy or jealousy.
"Ugh, look at those two. It's like they're trying to be perfect or something."
"Hon, calm down."
"I can't calm down! Look at how... perfect they are! And it's like that guy's an exact replica of Oum or something!"
"Wha- hey! I'm right here you know!"
"Oh, shut up you idiot."
Upon hearing the argument, Ren tried to walk a bit faster in order to get away from the commotion. Blake just chuckled lightly from behind him, hearing the argument as well, and he spared a glance over his shoulder to raise an eyebrow.
"We have a stronger relationship than those two, and we're not even together."
That garnered a chuckle from Ren as he shook his head. Standing straight up to try and get a better view of where they were, he found them about thirty feet away from the stage. Gesturing for Blake to follow him, he kept walking forward, snaking his way through people to try and make himself as inconspicuous as possible to the people around him. If I could recommend training for a younger me, I would suggest trying to evade people in a crowd rather than swinging clubs on a tightrope, he mused to himself.
The woman, apparently finished with calling numbers, spoke up over the speaker system. "Alright, I see that a lot of you are actually staying! Thank you! We should be receiving our last few contestants shortly, so please bear with us. In the meantime, have you tried our new Fish-dogs? They're like corndogs," she flourished her hands, "but better. And if you stay here until the end of the contest, you get a free box!"
They reached the small staircase that led them up to the stage, the woman still advertising several fish themed items above them. Ren gestured for Blake to go first, to which she gave him a look.
"What a gentleman," she drawled.
"Why thank you. I do try." Putting on a gentlemanly air, standing straight up and putting a hand behind his back, he bowed and gestured.
"Sarcastic. Oh boy." She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, and went up to the stage. She was immediately met by bright lights and a light-headed sensation, nearly knocking herself off-balance. Ren was also taken off guard by the sensation, shaking his head and putting his hand up over his eyes. Blinking hard to register the spotlight, she heard the woman on stage call out once more.
"Ah, our last pair!" She came up to give Blake and Ren a handshake, to which they shakily obliged. The woman turned her microphone off, and spoke again. "Passes, please?"
They handed her their couples pass and she looked them over. After a few seconds, she smiled and gave them back. "Thanks you two! Best of luck!" She switched the microphone back on, and made a grand motion with her free hand. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our last two contestants! Please, hold your applause."
As per requested, no one clapped. Ren and Blake aligned themselves with the nine other couples on stage, standing at the very edge.
"Thank you, thank you," the woman continued. "Now that we've assembled you all on stage, my name is Jenna. Could we have your names, contestants?"
Blake twitched an eye. Of course they need our names. "I told you," whispering to Ren.
"Mmph."
As she went down the line, Blake started to fidget, and Ren bumped her. "What's with you?"
"Flake doesn't want to say her name out loud, that's what's with me."
"We can leave if you want."
Blake's mind and eyes shot to the cooler, reminding her of her true task. "No."
"Alright, then I'll say mine first so they can laugh at mine more. How about that."
The woman was two pairs over from them now. "So you admit that the names are ridiculous."
"Yes. I admit it."
"And you two?" The woman was, as all the employees were, unnaturally energetic and excited. This was only amplified when they were close enough; seeing each tooth shining in their wide grin was a fairly unnerving sight.
"I'm Bie Len," he said with the straightest poker face that Blake had ever seen in her life. He didn't even make eye contact, and kept looking forward.
"Got it, Bie Len." The woman, along with the man at the ticket stand, didn't seem to grin at the comical names. Or in the woman's case, change her grin. "And you, young woman?"
She smiled at Ren, a happy expression that had fangs hidden underneath. "Flake Shelladonna."
"And Flake Shelladonna! Everyone, give them a warm round of applause!" Unsurprisingly, not many people clapped, making for a sparse noise. The couples before them had received more applause, and both of them knew exactly why. "Okay, moving on! We're now going to start on the activities for the contest! Exciting, right?"
Crickets chirped.
"Yup! Alright, our first contest will be a solo activity! Ladies, do you mind if I steal your man for just a few minutes?" She gestured for them to come towards her, and one by one, they started to walk.
Blake nudged him forward, much to his fake ire. "I thought you cared about me," he said, voice nearly dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, I guess you were wrong. Go." She couldn't help but grin. Ren walked towards the woman, and lined up with the rest of the men. Yet again, he was at the end of the horizontal line, the only person next to him being a burly-looking man with red hair and what could've been accurately described as poor clothing choices.
"Alright! Do we have sixteen men up here? Alright, good good. Our first contest will be that of strength!" Ren leaned over a bit, and looked over his possible competition. Other than the man right next to him, none of them seemed to be especially built.
I'll be fine as long as I don't get this... The man next to him snorted. ... Hunk next to me.
"You will be facing off against each other in a single elimination round with the man next to you. Start splitting up into your groups! Tables shall be provided." Waving her hand over the plain table, it unfolded into a large, feast-sized one.
Of course I get Mr. Big guy, he thought before he felt someone punch him on the shoulder; it would've knocked him off balance if he didn't have years of training on how to stand upright against Nora's constant and random bear hug tackles.
"SMALL MAN GOING TO ARM WRESTLE BIG ME," the behemoth bellowed.
Eugh, his breath is rancid.
"Yes, I guess I am. Shall we?" The behemoth didn't seem to think much of the overly polite behavior, and walked over to a table, slamming his elbow down and putting his fist up.
"COME ON SMALL MAN, BIG ME WANT THAT FISH," he yelled again. "HURRY UP SO YOU CAN LOSE."
"I'm coming. You need not rush." Ren, in turn, gently put his elbow down on the table, and assumed the posture.
"Alright! Has everyone found a table?" A general murmuring of confirmation went to her ears. "Okay, perfect! The rules are simple. Only one round, and whoever's hand touches the table first loses! Fair and simple. Guys, it's all up to you! If you lose, your partner loses too!" She switched off her microphone and made a show of fixing it while she spoke to the contestants. "There are sensors in the table to detect contact. We will know if you are lying." Flashing another smile, she switched on her microphone again. "Alright! The contestants are ready! Let the battle... BEGIN!" Throwing her hand down as if throwing down a flag to signify the start of a race, the sounds of struggling men surrounded her as they tried to prove themselves worthy of their women and a large fish.
Ren, however, waited for a few moments, much to the large man's disappointment.
"WHAT'S WRONG SMALL MAN! SCARED NOW!?"
He replied calmly and coolly. "No. Just preparing myself."
"TO LOSE."
Ren chuckled lightly. "Sure." Alright, I have to do this carefully. Can't be detected... As he went into hand-to-hand man-combat, he gently trickled his aura into his arm to keep it reinforced in case of a sudden burst of strength from his opponent. As he expected, the man didn't wait for a confirmation or a ready signal, and went straight to trying a quick victory. Ren felt the strain on his muscles, but refrained from using more aura until he absolutely needed to. His opponent was still in a deadlock with Ren, face reddening as he held his breath, trying to eek out more strength to defeat the green-clad young man but to no avail.
"HRRRRRGGGG!" The man was obviously straining himself, eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. If Ren wasn't trying to win a fish, he would've found humor in the man's face. But as the man was pushing his limits, so was Ren. He was slowly losing the battle, and the man seemed to notice; leaning his body to the side in order to gain better leverage, Ren struggled to keep his arm up. Making the executive decision to use his aura, he let it flow into his arm, soothing already-aching muscles and gifting him with a burst of strength that his opponent was clearly not expecting, only a twinge of magenta aura visible for a split second. Then, in one swift motion, Ren swung the momentum of the whole match, bringing his fist above the half-way point and across. His opponent nearly lost their balance as Ren slammed their hand into the table, a victorious smile on his face.
After standing back up straight and flexing his fingers, he spoke. "Good match."
"Urrrgh... little man wins. But how!" He didn't seem to be very boisterous now, head slumped forward in defeat and breathing hard. "Your muscles aren't even as big as mine!"
"Size isn't everything."
Shaking his head, the man slowly stood back up and turned around, muttering something about how 'he says that in the bed too' as he lumbered back to his wife. Rolling his eyes, he walked back to the line with the seven other victorious men, all of which looking awfully tired out by the arm-wrestling match. Standing again at the end of the line, he looked back at Blake, who shrugged, looking unimpressed. Turning back around, he directed his attention to the energetic woman that was directing the contest.
"Ah! We have our remaining eight winners! It appears that we've started to separate the wheat from the chaff, now have we?" She laughed to nobody in particular. "Okay, next comes the women! Men, if you could please return to your places?" She gestured, and they walked back to their former spots in line. "This competition will rest on your shoulders now, ladies! You're gonna engage in a contest of the tastes!" Blake immediately started to join the women who were walking into formation, eyes widening in hopes already. "You're all here?" She turned around and counted with her index finger. "Good! Now, what would a fish festival contest be without fish!" At that moment, several people carried on covered platters of what one could assume to be was fish. "In these lies a specific type of fish filet. It's up to you, girls, to figure out what kind of fish it is! They are all grilled, and only seasoned with a light sauce that will not dilute the natural taste of the fish. " She snapped her fingers, and chairs rose from the bottom of the stage to rest at the side of the tables. The attendants rushed over, set down the platters, and opened them, revealing a fairly medium sized piece of fish, along with a pair of silverware. "After all, if you're a true fish lover, you're going to know this fish right away." She smirked, and Blake nearly did as well.
Oh, you have no idea.
Only adding to her delight, Blake immediately knew the answer the moment she laid eyes upon her prey. Swordfish. I should thank that woman from a while ago... the taste, size of the steak...
"Okay ladies! You have three minutes to cut in, and GUESS! THAT! FISH!" She waved her hand towards the fish platters, and Blake held herself back from dashing to the nearest one. Seating herself at the end of a table, she looked down at her meal. She smiled.
And in the next second, it was gone.
Of course, nobody around her noticed, as they were all focused on cutting into the fish. The contest's host was off chatting with some of the men, but Ren was attentive, and noticed the sudden disappearance of the fish. He tilted his head to try and look underneath her chair or the table, but he saw no fish. Still not connecting the dots, he tried to hiss Blake's name.
"Blake!" She turned around with a wide grin that he would never think he would see on her face in his lifetime. Satisfied, and happy; the smile said it all. He resisted the urge to twitch his eye, or face-palm, and resorted to shaking his head. She turned back, leaning back in her chair a bit. Around her, women were still taking tiny bites of their food, chewing slowly and thoughtfully.
Too bad none of them love fish as much as I do. Well, I guess I'd better tell her the fish.
Blake stood up, and walked over to the woman, much to her surprise. "Oh, hello... Flake, right?"
She didn't twitch her eye, but her hands opened and closed into fists for a second. "Yes, that's me. I know what the fish is."
"Oh, really! That's great! Are you finished with your fish?"
She nodded.
"Alrighty! Can you wait..." She checked the timer on her scroll. "Two more minutes?" Without waiting for Blake to respond, she continued. "Thank you!" Turning back to continue her previous conversation, Blake walked back and sat down. The crowd had slowly died down in the staging ground, a few dozen couples still eating fish-dogs and other fish products while chattering amongst themselves, not really paying attention to the competition at the moment.
After a few more minutes of uneventful waiting, the woman finally returned to center stage. She tapped the microphone a few times, and the crowd slowly turned their heads to look at the next event. "Okay! Now that our contestants are finished sampling their fish, they will now whisper what they think it is into my ear! If they are correct, I will give them a thumbs up. Incorrect, and they get a thumbs down, and are eliminated! We're going to go from left to right."
She started at the left end- the farthest away from Blake- and bent over to have a woman cup her hand over her mouth and whisper the answer. Nodding with a smile, she gave a thumbs up, and gestured for her to walk to her male counterpart. She repeated the process with the remaining women, weeding out six of them and giving only one other woman the thumbs up. When she got to Blake, she smiled. "Alright, Flake. And you?"
"Swordfish," she said plainly, not even bothering to whisper as she was the last one to answer.
"Correct!" Again gesturing, she turned back to the crowd. "The fish steak was swordfish! Known for their meaty taste and year-round availability, it's also available here at the festival at our free sampling kiosks! Now then. We're down to..." She counted them with her finger again. "Two couples! Oooh, how exciting, right everyone?"
More crickets. Someone burped.
"Oh, I know right? I'm almost jumpin' out of my fish boots! Available for nine ninety nine at the souvenirs store. Okay, that means that this is our grand FINAL!"
More crickets.
"Our last contest will be a couple activity. They will require cooperation between both members of their relationship," Blake and Ren both looked at each other awkwardly, "as teamwork is everything in a great relationship. Contestants, are you ready!?" Turning around, she had that same open-mouthed smile. The two couples nodded and mumbled agreements before their host took over matters yet again. "Great! First, pair up with your competition."
Ren and Blake tentatively walked towards the two remaining contestants, who were walking hand in hand. The woman was a fairly bulky one, early twenties, purple haired, and of average height. The man was skinny and tall with auburn hair, aged similarly to his partner. They extended their hands, and made greetings while their host waited for them.
"Flake."
"Len."
"Hong," said the man.
"Violet," the woman said in turn. After a nod of the head and a shake of the hands, their host continues.
"Alright! Now that we've met each other, time to introduce you to the next challenge!" With another wave of her hand, a loud, whirring mechanical noise could be heard from underneath their feet. The crowd looked confused as well, and gasped when suddenly, pillars began to raise from the ground of the contest floor, stretching up at least ten meters. All four of the remaining contestants jumped back immediately, making Ren think for a moment.
How did they react so quickly? His thoughts were pushed out as a large humming noise could be heard, opaque black force-fields that connected the pillars. A loud, finishing thud could be heard, and their hostess spoke up again.
"Hah! This'll get everyone's attention! In this series of pillars lies an intricate, dastardly labyrinth!" The audience 'ooh'-ed, entranced by the sudden change in pace from dull games to mazes. "Inside, I have put the fish cooler at a specific place in this maze. Finding it will not be enough; you will have to find an exit with the cooler as well!"
Ren rose his hand. "What if we encounter somebody else? Such as the opposing couple?"
"Well, then. You're going to have to find some way to keep the prize, won't you?" She turned towards the contestants, and flashed a different smile than anything else. A sinister smirk was shown, reminding Ren of how Blake had shown a fang-filled smile. She spun back around. "This is no ordinary final contest! If you're one for watching intense, fast-paced chases and possible fights, then you'd better glue your eyes onto the closest screen or the stage."
Blake whispered to Ren. "This is new."
"I agree."
"The mechanics of this labyrinth make it so that after ten minutes, you will be ejected from the maze." She chuckled. "In a rather comical fashion. Now then, who wants to see a wild-fish chase?" Using a play on words with a goose-hunt, the crowd cheered. "Good to hear! Now then, in you go my contestants." She shooed them behind the pillars, where she shut off her microphone again, and smiled. "Stand on a square each please... thank you! Now then. A little reminder. You leave without your partner with the cooler, and you lose. This is about teamwork. Understand?" They nodded. "Good. Give Ozpin and Xander a good show, would you?" Winking, she apparently vanished from sight, leaving the contestants with no clue as to what just happened.
"Wait. Did... that woman just?..." The purple haired woman started.
"How did she know?" Ren said, mostly to himself.
The auburn haired man opened his mouth, but was cut off by a loud, intercom system. "CONTESTANTS! FIVE SECONDS UNTIL THE START! I'd recommend spreading out, no?" Another laugh, and an audible noise of the intercom shutting off.
"Spread out? But there's only one doo- AAHHHHH!" The auburn haired man's shout was joined in by three others as they were each launched into the air... and into the labyrinth.
"Ladies and Gentleman across the festival grounds! Redirect your attention to the screens above if you wish to watch this oh-so impressive performance being taken on by four skilled Hunters and Huntresses!"
Blake landed on her feet, crouched and ready to pounce at anything that came at her. I guess cats really do land on their feet, she wise-cracked to herself.
The interior of the labyrinth was well-lit, black force-fields emanating a low light, white pillars serving to amplify it slightly. Taking a full three-sixty degree look around her, she noticed a drone buzzing several meters over her, camera directed right at her. Looking back down, she made the observation that she landed in the corner, with only one avenue of movement available. Taking a deep breath, she grit her teeth and slowly started to creep through the pathways carved by the pillars and force-fields. From shadows, she thought to herself as she slipped into the darkness that awaited.
Ren landed on his feet as well, grunting as the brunt of the impact was absorbed by his knees. Hands up for CQC, he scanned around him for possible threats. The only noise he heard was the cheering of the crowd outside, albeit muffled by the pillars. Looking up, he saw a drone hovering silently, camera directed towards him. He gave a small wave upwards, and refocused on the task at hand.
I need to find Blake. Her senses could make or break us winning this... Looking to his left, then his right, he decided to go down the left side, hands still raised.
Extend yourself outwards. Rely not on your sight, but your instincts. Memories flooded into his mind as training from his younger days resurfaced, and he obliged. Channeling aura outwards, he scanned the area around him for danger with each step, his eyes no longer providing sight, nor ears gifting hearing. Placing his trust in his instincts, he slowly went about his way the labyrinth, not daring to speak a word.
Slam. A fist connected with nothing but the hard stone of a pillar as another punch was thrown, dodged expertly by what seemed to be a shadow in combat.
"Slow down, would'ya girl!?" He threw another punch, followed by a back kick to try and catch her off guard. She twirled to the side and made a side sweep, knocking him to the floor with a thud. "Urgh!" Standing back up, he shook his head and got his hands back up into a boxing stance, ready to fend off any threat that presented itself. "Come back, girl! Scared!?" He lowered his hands for just a second, and that's all it took for Blake to seize the opportunity.
Golden ember flashed in pitch-black, predatory glint shining in their pupils.
Leaping from the shadows, she started a flurry of low and high kicks, catching her opponent off guard as he blocked each hit with an aura-reinforced elbow or shin. He tried to fit in counters, but each was blocked by a perfectly aimed kick, fists meeting boots with flashes of all-consuming black and fiery red aura meeting each other in combat. After another kick landed, the man slid back, hunched over after the strenuous and aura-depleting scuffle he just endured. Breathing hard, he looked up.
The last thing he saw was two circles of burning gold.
Closing the distance with a clone, she finished with a spinning back fist. The strike made contact with the man's face, and knocked him into the pillar, a crack barely visible from the force. He groaned, tried to get up, and slumped back down, head lolling and mouth agape as he was knocked out.
"Don't call me girl." Blake said, before walking off, clone dissipating into wisps of shadow as she disappeared into the dark once more. My hunt begins, she thought. I'm coming for you, fish...
Creeping about, he continued to extend his senses. He had already avoided a possible interaction with what he assumed was the female part of the enemy duo, and it was quite obvious that she was on the hunt for him. She was following in his path, and he wasn't sure how she was doing it. His breathing quiet, he turned the corner-
And found himself face to face with a purple haired girl. They immediately threw a punch, and both landed, blowing both of them back. She slid on her feet down the hallway, while Ren hit the force-field behind him with a loud thud.
"I've been lookin' for you, kid! You know, you're good at hiding." She rolled up her sleeves, revealing muscled arms underneath. "So let's see if you're any good at fighting."
With a groan, he stood back up and rose his hands to face his opponent. Strong punches, he thought to himself. "Then come on," motioning with an open hand towards him.
Grinning, she got a running start at him before he brought a hand up, and stopped the fist with magenta aura emanating from his hand. A challenging glare was shot in her direction, and his opponent threw another punch. Ren spun around her and rolled away, standing back up immediately to raise his hands into an open-handed stance, placing his feet wider to compensate for the strength-gap.
"Fancy trick. But let's see how long your shield can hold up!" She ran at him again, and prepared himself. Before the punch got into his guard, he channeled another shielding burst of aura, and made a palm strike to her open midsection, the force causing her back up a bit with an 'oomph.' Running again, she let out another battle cry.
Ren just smiled and sidestepped, tripping her. "You could work on your temper," he said.
"ARGH!" Standing back up to face the green-clad young man, he was already in another stance, feet narrower, right behind left, and fists closed; a stance ready for combat. "So you actually want to fight now? Is that it?"
He didn't move, eyes trained on his opponent. She rose her hands as well, and changed her tactics. Shuffling forward with one foot at a time, she edged closer. She threw out fake punches to see if she could break Ren's composure, to no avail. Twitching her eye and deciding that she was done playing it safe, she let loose another right jab, and time felt like it slowed for Ren.
It was a rehearsed technique, something he had learned years ago when his father was still among the living. A fast, quick counter for a punch. Moving to the side, he brought his right hand across his body, blocking the hand away with dark purple aura meeting magenta, similar colors clashing for a moment. As the punch followed through into thin air, he slid his hand down to her wrist, chopped at the back of her head, and slammed her down with a pull in one smooth motion. She collapsed without another sound, face down as he brought his right foot about him, sliding back into the same stance in case she didn't get back up. He stayed there for a good ten seconds, holding completely as he watched her, looking for any signs of movement. When she didn't stir, he finally relaxed his guard.
Ren dusted his tunic off, looked up, and bowed to the camera. The people outside reacted, eliciting a sudden, muffled cheer from the crowd. I've got to admit. That was pretty cool, he thought to himself, smiling as he went looking for Blake.
"Ren."
He spun around, but didn't put his hands up. "Blake?"
"You sound surprised."
Shaking his head, he let the fact that she slid by him without his noticing it. "Nothing. Have you found the cooler, yet?"
"I was hoping you did."
"Hmph. You couldn't pick up anything?"
"No. Cooler must be sealed air-tight."
"I see. What do you suggest?"
"We shouldn't split up. We can only win if we leave here together."
He nodded. "Right. Well, I already traced my steps, and I estimate that I've covered about a quarter of the maze."
"Same here." She gestured behind them. "This way then?"
"Sounds good." He went first, hands lowered but still ready to flash upwards if need be. Blake followed close behind, walking nearly back to back as she watched their trail.
"Did you run into the other one yet?" Blake asked.
"Yes, actually. I'm assuming you did as well?"
"Yeah. He knew how to channel aura."
"As did my opponent." He stopped abruptly, and so did Blake. Pausing, he kept walking. "They're training at Haven."
"How do you know?"
"Our hostess said, 'Give Ozpin and Xander a good show.' Xander Frehelm is the Headmaster of Haven."
"So we just beat up two students from Haven Academy?"
"I think so."
"Huh. It was..."
"Easy? I agree. But I ensured that she would be out of the fight for the rest of our search."
"Same here."
Ren stopped again, and Blake followed suit. "Intersection. Left or right?"
"Right." He moved, and was met by a pleasant sight. "Found it."
Blake's eyes went wide as she went in front of Ren, and jumped onto the cooler, hugging it as if it were a giant teddy bear. Finally! Finally I found you!
"Blake?"
"Yes?"
"How do I say this. Now might not be the time for... celebrations..." His voice trailed off as he took a few steps towards her.
She was still hugging the cooler. "Why?"
"Them." He pointed, and she looked up to see two very angry, beaten up people glaring at them from the end of a long hallway. "That's why."
Setting down the cooler, she stood back up. "You're back?"
"YEAH, WE'RE F**KING BACK!"
"She seems very irritated," Ren noted calmly.
"I didn't notice," she deadpanned.
"GIVE US THE OUM DAMN COOLER, GIRL. DON'T MAKE US BEAT YOU UP!" He yelled, shaking a fist in the air.
"How exactly did that go last time?" She called back.
The man on the opposite side growled, and shouted again. "OH, I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THAT ONE, GIRL!" He ran at them, and his female counterpart did the same, both letting loose loud battle cries. What was different, however, is that their auras became visible, and seemed to fuse together to form a blinding mix of bright fiery red and dark violet.
"Get behind me," Ren said sternly. Blake struggled at first, but he won out as she saw the two barreling at them. He bent his knees slightly, and widened his stance again. "You're gonna want to get ready as they make contact. Understand?"
"What about you?"
"I could use a challenge." He solidified his stance, bringing his right foot back a little farther as he gathered the aura necessary to block the duo's attack. "Grab the cooler." She tried to lift it, and it took two tries before she could. "Get ready."
She nodded, not saying another word, formulating a plan in her mind.
The two students from Haven getting closer by the second, Blake used a clone to leap away right as they made contact.
The ground shook as they collided. It was a glorious light show, bright magenta meeting the combined forces of red and violet, the colors meeting in the center as they pushed against each other for leverage. Ren could see the snarling expression on their faces, only vaguely reminiscent of Grimm as they started to win the battle. It was obvious that they didn't care about the cooler now; they just wanted Ren. Bright magenta was slowly fading away, and Ren losing ground as he was slowly being pushed up against the wall. He tried to push back, only achieving a standstill yet again as he felt the strain on his muscles and his aura reserves. He heard a distinct beeping noise from his scroll, notifying him that his Aura levels were at ten percent already; the point where duels would end. But he kept pushing, knowing that Blake was going to shift the scales soon enough.
As if answering his prayers, Blake leapt from the same direction they previously came from, and slammed the cooler into the female's head, knocking her into the man and into the wall. The blow not being shielded by aura, they were knocked out instantly against the wall in a jumbled heap. Ren immediately let his hands drop, and another shock-wave was felt through the ground as the lop-sided duel ended. Breathing hard, he got out three words.
"We won, right?"
Then Ren collapsed, falling face down onto the floor. Blake set down the cooler, relieving the strain on her muscles, and ran to his aid, scanning his body for serious injuries. Much to her relief, he wasn't wounded; he was suffering aura depletion. Looking at Ren, then the cooler, she realized that she wouldn't be able to carry both of them at the same time. Sparing another glance at the fish, then back down at Ren, she made the executive decision to not be an asshole for today. Shaking her head, she picked up Ren, surprisingly light for his height, and started to carry him out.
"I told you that you have terrible stamina," she told an unconscious Ren.
Finding the exit took less time that she expected, and she dropped Ren unceremoniously, much to the crowd's surprise. She leaned back onto the wall, and slid down slowly as she rested. She heard a 'whoosh'-ing noise, and looked up to be greeted by their hostess yet again, this time dressed in much different attire. A flowing, black cape adorned her shoulders, and her fish-themed shirt was replaced by a black blouse, black fluttering ribbons adorning the collar-bone area. Ridiculous fish pants were replaced with pure white, slim flare pants that didn't open up at the bottom, finished off by a pair of black and white heels. She offered her hand, and Blake took it without question, feeling invigorated the moment she took it.
She blinked hard, and shook her head, feeling brand new. "What did you just do?"
The woman chuckled, a different one from the previous laughs that she did while she was the crazy-fish woman. "I've been trained on how to reinvigorate others with aura. Comes in handy when you have an academy full of students that like rowdy play."
Blake opened her mouth again, but she stopped her with a finger to her lips. "Questions later. I've got a show to finish." She strolled back into the spotlight, and Blake peeked out. Apparently, the crowd had grown by tenfold, and there was now a sizable audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! She flourished her hand towards Blake and Ren, who was still lying on the floor, and the spotlight shone on them. "Don't worry, the guy is fine," she added on.
Blake didn't know what to do, so she just waved awkwardly.
In the crowd, there was an old woman with a child. She just smirked and smiled.
"Those two aren't a couple, my old wrinkled butt."
"We have already medivac'd the remaining contestants. Worry not! Now, let's go for an interview with the winners." She zipped to Blake, and held the microphone to her mouth. "How do you feel about your win?"
"Tired."
"Wonderful! And you, sir?"
"Urrghhhh..." He was still coming to, slowly regaining consciousness from the strain on his body.
"Even better! Now, my dear audience, I must thank you for sticking with us until the end! Please, give these winners another round of applause!" The audience clapped as requested, screams and proclamations of love discernible from the cheering. "Alright, that's all the time we have for tonight! Remember to pick up your free box of fish-dogs when you leave! On behalf of myself and everyone here, have a wonderful evening." She bowed, and the spotlights turned off, shrouding the stage in the dying rays of light from the sun. The shattered moon was already visible in the sky, and the hostess walked back over to Blake. She waved her hand, and mechanical whirring noises could be heard yet again, moving the pillars slowly back underneath the stage, and deactivating the force-fields.
Blake, regaining her bearings, asked. "Who are you?"
"Charlotte Chauvon, Headmaster of Shade Academy. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Blake Belladonna."
She widened her eyes. "You're the headmaster at Shade?"
"Why yes, I am."
"Why are you here? How do you know my name? How did you know I was attending Beacon?"
"I really, really, really like fish. As in, I absolutely adore it. Also, Ozpin told me. And Ozpin told me." She counted each point on her fingers.
"Of course he did."
"Don't harbor hard feelings towards him. It's his duty to inform us about the students he has enrolled each year, regardless of background or race."
She nodded. "I know." Looking towards Ren, she remembered that he wasn't exactly on top of things on his own. "Could you help him?"
Much to Blake's surprise, Charlotte just shrugged her shoulders. "He's fine."
"Urgh..."
Blake looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"See? He's not dead."
After Ren woke up and they had remade acquaintances, Charlotte explained why she attended the festival, and how she came when she was much younger. The matter of finding each other, however, was pure coincidence, and she had reassured the two students from Beacon of that.
"So that's why I'm here."
Ren spoke. "I see." Everything made sense to the two now, but it still didn't make the situation less strange. "So, are you attending the festival next time as well?"
"I plan on doing so, yes. And you two should as well. Such a cute couple."
Ren opened his mouth, but Blake spoke first. "Thank you. Now, about that fish..." She finished the sentence meekly, pursing her lips and ducking her head a bit.
Charlotte just laughed. "You can have the fish, of course. Not like we can do anything with it."
She smiled. "Thank you!"
"Don't mention it. Besides, you two won, anyway. Blew the other two out of the water, if I do say so myself." She sighed. "Oh, if only you two had come to Shade... it would've been grand. But I can daydream another time." Offering another smile, she bowed to them. "Now, I need to disappear."
"Why?"
"Ms. Belladonna, I have an academy to run! I'll see you all in the future. I'm sure of it. Ta ta!" With that, she vanished into a plume of shadow. Blake ran her hand through it, and the wisps dissipated into thin air- save for a note written in cursive.
"Your prize will be awaiting you at Beacon, Ms. Belladonna," it said.
"Ugh, Blake, where are you?" Yang had already checked her bed, the library, and the roof. "I wanted to embarrass you more tonight! Come out, come out wherever you are!" After a few more minutes of searching around the empty hallways of Beacon, she finally gave up and returned to her dorm room, jumping up and onto her bed. "Ugh..."
Putting her hand over her eyes, she tried to get some rest. Blake had disappeared when she had woken up, and hadn't gotten any word from her since. It was uncommon that Blake would go anywhere without telling her first, especially after that incident after she ran away from them, and it was getting on her nerves. She didn't text her though; she was afraid that she would be intruding on some private affair.
"I swear to Oum Blakey, if you ran away again I'm going to punch you so hard." She was talking to nobody in particular when she heard a knocking. She immediately sat straight up, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling. "Blake?" She jumped down, and opened the door. "I'm comi-," she opened the door, "-oh." In front of her wasn't Blake, but a random delivery man, and he seemed to be struggling with something. However, Yang made the quick observation of the Shade Academy logo on his shoulder, but didn't think much of it.
"Is this Team RWBY's dorm?" He managed to squeak before nearly losing his grasp on the massive cooler.
"Uh. Yeah, it is. Why?"
"Delivery- oh dear oum- Delivery for a Blake Belladonna?"
Yang's eyes went wide. "Yeah, uh, this is the place."
"Okay. If you can just sign here..." He motioned with his chin to a clipboard attached to the top of the cooler, and bit a pen from his shirt pocket, tossing it between his teeth to Yang. Holding it with a slight look of disgust, she quickly signed, and the delivery boy dropped the cooler onto the floor, making a loud thud noise.
"Alrightthankyoubye," he rushed. Before Yang could say a word in edgewise, the delivery man sprinted off towards what Yang could only assume to be either the roof or the main gate.
"Alrighty then... let's see what's in you," she said, tossing the guy's pen into the trash bin in their room. When she tried to lift the cooler with one hand, she found that she couldn't. "Ooof. You're heavy." She used two hands, and dragged the cooler inside, bringing it to the center of the room before she plopped down, a single bead of sweat rolling down. "What in Remnant's in here?"
Hands finding locks, she unclasped them to find nothing other than the most massive fish that she's seen in her life.
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Blake busted into the room with two fishing rods in hand, nearly breaking the hinge on the door. "Yang! What's wro-"
"PPPFFFFFTTTTHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Ren poked his head in. "What's so funn-"
More thunderous laughter came from Yang's mouth, and Blake motioned for Ren, holding both plushies, to come in before closing the door behind him. Telling him to stay there, she walked up to Yang, and found that she was rolled over onto her side... next to the fish cooler.
"BLAKE, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS? Oh, oh I'm crying..." She wiped tears away from her eyes, and kept laughing.
"I can explain, Yang." She put up both hands.
"I thought there was something... fishy about you being gone all day!"
That's a wrap, folks. Next is intermission between Blake's arc and Yang's, and then it'll directly segway into the arc of Yang Xiao-Long herself.
I hope you guys have all enjoyed this first arc of my story. I've worked long and hard on this, and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Much love, much love~
Derp.