A chapter that I blocked on six times while I was writing this. Fun fact: I added little tidbits of Blake because I just couldn't. Figure out. What to fahking write.

But here it is, in all of its blocky glory.

And hey. At least I can make another underlying plot. :D

Yang's Arc P. 1: Gooooood morning!

"Rise and shine." Blake pulled away the curtains, and the blinding sunlight blasted through the windows, immediately eliciting a groan from the two other people in the room. Shaking her head at their laziness, she walked over to Ren and stood over him. "Don't tell me you're not a morning person either."

He answered by putting an arm over his eyes.

"It's almost nine you two." No response. "Are you just going to lie in all day?" A mumbled yes came from both of their mouths. Sighing, she gave up her battle and sat back down on her bed, curled up in her blankets and kept reading her mega-novel. "Hope you don't mind if I join you two then."

More mumbling, but Yang was actually able to form a coherent and audible sentence above her. "What time is it?"

"Nine."

Immediately, she jumped out of bed, and nearly planted his feet right into Ren's arm, startling both of the bookworms as they backed up from Yang's descent. "Nine!?" She said with panic in her voice.

"Yeah. What's wron-"

"Can't talk, gotta change!"

"Wait, Yang!" She didn't answer as she said she wouldn't, flipped through her drawer to pull out her usual attire, and ran into the bathroom to change. She didn't even bother combing through her hair… what's up with her? Blake thought.

"Ugh… what time is it?" Ren slowly stirred.

"Why does everyone ask that?" She muttered under her breath. "It's nine, Ren. And Yang just took off in a hurry to change. Do you know why?"

"No idea." He yawned as he propped himself up on his elbows. "That was actually a fairly restful sleep. Is it usually like this?"

Blake's mind shot to all of the times she had been forced to stay awake due to Weiss' incessant urges for everyone to study or train more, Ruby's ceaseless appetite for late-night gaming, or Yang's insatiable hunger for ill-fated parties. "Sometimes," she answered.

"I suppose I got lucky, then." Blinking hard, he slowly started to get up when Yang burst out of the bathroom door, hair looking more Yang-y and every-day clothing put on down to the yellow scarf within thirty seconds, flat.

"Ren, get changed. We've gotta get going!"

"For what?"

"For your day with me!"

"Already?" He shook his head. "Blake said it was only nine…"

"I thought you were an early bird, like Blake! No wait, she's an early cat."

"Just… stop, Yang."

Smirking, she just continued. "We've got an airbus to catch!"

"Airbus?"

"Less questions, more changing!" She grabbed Ren's clothing and threw it into his face, making him fall backwards onto the carpeted floor. "You have exactly one minute, cause' it's leaving in ten!"

"Yang, where are you two even going?"

She smiled. "It's a surprise. You're gonna love it, Ren."

Getting up, he shook his head. "I'm sure I will." Walking slowly to the bathroom, he opened the door only to get shoved in by Yang. "WOAH!"

She shut the door behind him, and plopped down on Weiss' bed. Blake just looked at her, but dropped the case after a minute, deciding that she won't be able to get down to the middle of this mystery location. Besides, I've got a lot of catchup reading to do with you, Mr. Book…

"Hey Blake?"

"Yes?"

"You wanna come with us today?"

Blake actually considered it for a moment. She found Ren to be a tolerable person, and any day with Yang would always prove itself to be interesting. But several incentives weren't there for her. No fish, no fish fries, and no fish filets, she thought to herself. And if I let them go, I can have the dorm to myself for the afternoon… peace and quiet would be mine in the comfort of my own bed.

She made the executive decision to read her art alone. "Sorry, no."

"Are you just gonna' stay indoors and read then?"

"Probably."

"Where's the fun in that?"

She shrugged, eyes still glued to the pages. "It's fun to me." Maybe I can pay my fish a visit too...

"Course it is. But don't you ever get tired of staying indoors all day?"

Yeah, that'd be a good idea. See how my fish is doing. "I got enough of the outdoors yesterday. It was pretty nice, I guess." She flipped a page, eyes nor tone belying an interest in the conversation.

Yang rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant, Blake."

"I know," she smirked.

"Oum Blakey, can you stop being sarcastic for one day?"

"I consider it dry wit."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You can keep reading your smut book,"

"Wha-!"

"- I'm gonna go check on Ren. I was done in like, less than a minute and I'm a woman! Aren't guys supposed to be faster than us or something?" Standing up, she knocked on the door. "What's takin' so long in there, Ren?"

"Nothing! I'll be out shortly." Actually, there is a big problem. Rather large, at that.

"You have thirty seconds before I open this door."

"I'll be out soon." Oumdammit this is really bad. Lie Ren was being faced with a predicament. The bundle of clothing that Yang had thrown at him didn't include a key part of his outfit. I would really rather not go commando all day. But do I ask her for it? I think I should. Just… make it quick. "Uh, Yang?"

"Yo." She was still outside the doorway from the sounds of it.

"Could you grab me my undergarments?"

Silence for ten seconds. Ren worried for a second that he had crossed some forbidden line that he didn't know about. Little did he know that on the other side of the door, Blake had already covered up her faunus ears with her hands, and Yang was about to burst of laughter. He was about to ask again when she started to laugh hysterically, hands pounding on the door that made him flinch back for a moment as the thunderous laughter went unhindered by said door and reached his ears.

"Is that a yes?" Of course it's a yes. She's loud, but she's not loud and rude. She kept laughing, her breath audibly coming back to her in ragged pants. Well, I hope not.

"Yeah, yeah, lemme go grab it for you. Oh, oh I can't believe you almost went commando the whole day! Especially for where we're going…"

Where we're going?... He didn't have much time to think when opened a small crack in the door, and the underwear was tossed onto the counter. "Thank you," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it… whew…" She turned towards Blake. "Wasn't that funny?"

"Very." She turned another page.

"Oh, Blakey… you're hopeless."

She said nothing as she kept reading, Ren emerging from the restroom fully dressed, inner and outer layers comfortably completed.

"Should I prepare anything in terms of meals for us?"

"Jeez Ren, it's like you're a butler or something. Nah, we'll be fine where we're going. We might need some lien though. You got some on you?"

"Not much. I have about fourteen or fifteen left on me."

"Ooo. That's probably not going to be enough."

"This begs the question, Yang. Where are we going?"

"Secret! Can't tell ya'."

"Here." Blake had the one-hundred denomination lien card in her hand, Ren raising an eyebrow as Yang happily plucked it from her fingers.

"Thanks Blakey! I'll be sure to get you some nice treats with this!" She winked, but Blake seemed unfazed as her hand returned to the side of her book.

"Ignoring the fact that you're making multiple racist jabs at my heritage, please don't."

"Lighten up. We'll be back in a few hours!" She gave two thumbs up coupled with a signature Yang-style grin, and walked towards the door.

"If you don't hear from us before nine, call the police," Ren deadpanned.

"Gotcha. Have fun." She looked up for a split second, and he wasn't sure if she was either joking, bored, or pitying Ren's unknown plight. He followed Yang out of the room, and Blake was left alone in the dorm room.

Finally.

Peace, quiet, and smut. Oum, I've been waiting to do this for so long… She reached out from where she was to where the bed met the wall, and moved her hand around. Eyes narrowed as her hand scoped the area, and they lit up once they found their target. She pulled out a dark, opaque bag, and smiled. "Hello again, old friend." Opening the bag, she pulled out a small fish-shaped chew toy, and bit down on it, half of the fish hanging out length-side from her mouth as she bit down gently, eliciting a small squeak from the toy. She gave a content smile, and redirected her attention to her book, everything in her world falling into place for a while.

i'm just gonna come in here and break the immersion for a second, but can you imagine Blake with a wittle-bitty toy in her mouth? i'm sorry for the blatant characterization of her acting like… well, a pet animal, but hey. cute wins over all. sue me. (pls don't.)

Closing the door behind them, Yang was already ready to go with a smile. "We're gonna have to up the pace if we wanna catch the airbus. Ready to hustle?"

Of course I have to 'hustle.' As if I didn't get enough of that when I had to fight off the combined forces of two hunters in training yesterday. "Always," he replied dully.

"Good. Let's go!" She took off in a jog towards the right of the hallway, Ren attempting to simply speed walk to keep pace until he realized that he didn't have longer legs than those of Yang's. Shaking his head, he started to jog as well, closing the distance rather quickly. The hallways were a bit busier than yesterday, several students simply chatting with one another and enjoying the company while others looked geared and ready for the last day of the weekend before school, responsibility, and homework.

After a minute more of jogging through twists, winds, and empty hallways, they got to the main gate and flashed their scrolls. The guard, the same man from yesterday, gave Ren a curious look. "Leaving so soon, kid?"

He nodded. "I'm afraid so." The guard just snorted, and waved him on.

"Don't have too much fun," he said as the two walked out. After walking for another thirty seconds, they both started to jog again, Yang looking down at her scroll to gauge their time.

"Get to it Ren! We've got seven minutes and thirty seconds! We miss this airbus, we miss our opportunity for fifteen extra minutes of fun!"

He wasn't getting tired yet, but morning jogs still weren't his thing. "Did you not set an alarm so that we wouldn't be so pressed for time?"

"Alarms don't work with me. Just ask Blake later." Ren slotted that into his mental file cabinet, and kept jogging, going a bit faster to jog side by side with her.

"You could've asked Blake to wake us up earlier then," he replied.

"I like to cut things close. Makes it feel all the better when we make it there at the last second."

"I..." He let out a deep breath, slightly trembling with each step that he took. "... See."

"Besides, I thought you'd be awake way before me." She glanced down at her scroll. "Almost there! Just a bit longer."

"Are we staying in Vale?"

"Yep. Going by the sea this time around. We're going to go visit a very popular tourist attraction."

"Sounds interesting enough."

"Oh, it'll be interesting. Trust me."

"I trust you, for lack of a better reason."

A few breaths passed as they kept jogging. "Don't say it like that, makes it sound dangerous or something."

"With you, I can never be too cautious," he said without much tone in his voice.

"I'm hurt, Ren!"

"My apologies. I'll make it up to you later today," he deadpanned.

"Ooo, really?" She raised her eyebrows up and down a few times, and Ren just shook his head, turning to look forward.

"Too blunt, Yang."

After more jogging and endless verbal jabs from Yang, they had made it to the airbus launch pad, Yang not breaking a sweat and Ren only looking slightly tired out thanks to his aura giving him the stamina needed. Finding the flight quickly at one of many launch terminals provided, they quickly boarded their flight, yet another Atlesian Airliner. Taking a seat that was closer towards the front, Yang sat back with her hands behind her head and Ren folded his hands on his lap.

The same, feminine, robotic voice chimed over the intercom, thanking them for flying Atlesian. Soon enough, they felt the thrusters underneath them start to hiss, and within a few more moments they were in the air, soaring away from the iconic multi-tower view of Beacon Academy.

Ren looked around. The average crowd was on the bus, meaning that it wasn't packed but it wasn't an empty airbus either. Many of them were of similar age to him, several faces vaguely familiar to him as a fellow student of Beacon. Looking back over at Yang, her eyes were glued to the window, gazing over the city.

I guess it's time to ask the burning question... "Yang?" She snapped out of her trance, and looked at Ren.

"What's up?"

"You said last night that later you would tell me why your partner was acting so strangely."

She blinked a few times. "Wait, do you seriously not know? Like, you're not joking."

"I'm afraid not."

"Well, you know how faunus don't share anything with their animal other than physical traits, right?"

"Of course."

"That's... not one-hundred percent true."

Ren added two and two together. "Are you saying that Blake still has... some of the mentality of-"

"A cat? Yeah. From what I've seen, she loves fish, stretches like one, and she..." She chuckled. "Promise me you'll never tell anyone else this."

"Of course." Ren wasn't sure what was so important to keep a secret, but his mind urged him to find out.

After a few more chuckles, she spoke. "She likes to play with boxes."

He rose an eyebrow. "As in?"

"She just... jumps in!" She started laughing, garnering the attention from everyone within a three row radius of them, much to Ren's embarrassment. "Oh, you should've seen it. I didn't get to record it, so Ruby and Weiss won't believe me, but she just..." Her laughter continued, unhindered by the increasing amount of eyes being directed upon her.

"I believe you, Yang. But could you quiet down a bit? We're gathering unwanted attention."

"Oh, come on. Why can't I laugh a bit?"

"You can laugh once we reach our destination and depart the airbus, somewhere in the open where we're not surrounded by people." She looked around, and several pairs of eyes were still on her.

"Oh." The smile was slightly diminished on her lips as she sat back into her chair. "Whoops."

After a minute of silence, Ren looked over the headrest of the seat in front of him to see the flight status indicator. "We still have sixteen minutes until we reach our destination," he said.

"Great! That means we'll get there before they open. We can get ourselves a good spot in line!"

"Yang, where are we going?" He asked with an exasperated tone, the answer being denied the past few attempts he asked.

"It's a surprise... can't tell ya! But I'm thinking that you and Nora might've gone there before if she's the adrenaline druggie that I think she is."

"You're not really giving me much to work with here."

"That's on purpose." She smirked. "Now, I'm gonna grab some shuteye. Wake me up when I get there, cuz' I'm not interested in a round trip to Beacon and back." Closing her eyes, her breathing slowed and the muscles in her face relaxed.

"Can't tell me... Nora and I have been there..." He said to nobody in particular other than himself, gears in his mind whirring and churning as he tried to solve the puzzle. "Sea side..." I'm clueless, he thought to himself. Sighing and leaning back into his chair, he closed his eyes as well, deciding to wait out the remaining fifteen minutes to reach his destination instead of trying to figure it out on his own.

Getting off of the airbus was easier than last time with Blake. For one, we didn't have a crazy old woman trying to mush us together, he thought as feet touched solid ground once more, the robotic feminine voice wishing them to have a nice day fading away. Yang had awoken without Ren's assistance a minute before they had touched down, just in time to see the docks and various boats from the four nations. She looked even more energized than before, rushing down the staircase while Ren took his time with it, the energy reminiscent of his own partner.

"Alright Ren." She was at a map now, pointing with her index finger and tracing along some path while frowning in concentration. "We've gotta get to... here." Her finger stopped, and she tapped a few times on a large, purple dot.

"And where's here?" His eyes scanned on the map for a key, but to his surprise, he found none. "Don't see any indicator for what it is..."

"Did you and Nora seriously never go here?"

He shrugged.

"Woooow. Alright, then I guess it's up to me to get'cha up to speed then." She smirked. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"No."

"Good. Cuz' I'm gonna introduce you to Remnant's best amusement park!"

"We're going to an amusement park?"

"Yeah! It's been forever since I've gone, and since you looked like you were so bored yesterday, I thought I would pump some life into that flow of yours!"

"My... flow?"

"Yeah! Like your attitude and everything. It's pretty dull."

"... Thanks."

"Yeah!" She replied, obviously not listening to Ren as she walked off. "Alright, this way my companion!"

He just stood at the map for a second, looking on at the wild mane of blonde hair bouncing behind her. Sighing, he called out. "Yeah, wait up."

Blake was panicking at Beacon.

Her fish was missing.

"No, no, no! Where is it..." She was digging through the fridge, cafeteria lady behind her looking on in confusion.

"Sweet'art, what're you looking for in there?"

"Last night, I had put a very large giant catfish into this fridge to preserve it. Now it's gone! Did anyone come in here?"

"Not that I know of, hun. I've been in here startin' at six, and I made sure to lock the door after you and your friend came in here."

"It can't have just... vanished..." She put two fists in front of her mouth, propping her elbows up on the top of the lower freezer door. "It had to have been a person."

"Who would've taken a fish though?" The woman asked.

Blake thought as well, and it didn't take long for her to think of the culprit. Embers burned golden yet again, animalistic glare returning as she identified her prey in her mind. She turned around, and the cafeteria lady backed up a step, surprised by the sudden intensity in the quiet girl's demeanor. She hissed one word, and one word only.

"Cardin."

"So Nora's never gone to an amusement park?"

"Well, we did once. It was not a fully fledged park, but there were a few rides."

"Where was it?"

"It was when Nora and I were still children," he said. "A travelling circus had brought their contraptions with them, and they were making a tour around the outer towns."

"You lived outside the city?"

"Yes."

"Ouch. That sounds... rough."

You have no idea, he thought. But he didn't tell her those words out loud. As of right now, he only trusted Jaune and Pyrrha with that secret, and it would only dampen the conversation if he were to bring it up.

"Yes, it wasn't a comfortable life all the time. But I digress." Yang nodded as they walked, passersby not sparing a glance at the duo. "They were kind enough to let us ride on their animals and their rides, which Nora enjoyed highly."

"And you? What'dya think about the rides?"

"I could live without them."

She punched him on the shoulder, not knocking him back but eliciting a strange look from Ren. "Come on, can't take a bit of energy in your life?"

"May I remind you that I live with energy."

"Oh yeah."

"Mmm." He looked over at her. "And you? How have your experiences with amusement parks gone?"

"I learned that if Ruby gets her hands on cotton candy, she'll bounce off the walls. Literally."

Ren gave a single light chuckle with a noise from his throat and an exhale of air from his nose. "That must have been quite the sight."

"It was. More scary than cool, but yeah, it was funny to watch. Especially when the staff tried to get her to calm down... oh, that was a golden moment."

"I'm assuming you've gone to this amusement park before then?"

"Yeah, when Ruby was ten we went there once. She didn't even have her semblance yet, but she almost ran completely out of sight once she saw the first ride." She laughed at the memory, garnering a smile from Ren as he watched her regale her own memories in her mind.

"I suppose taking her to an amusement park is out of the question with her next week, then."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. Speaking of next weekend, who're ya' planning on crossing off your list first? If you ask me, I'd pick Ruby."

"How come?" He was going to choose her first anyway, it would allow him to have the opportunity to ask her about what Weiss would enjoy, but he wanted to hear Yang's explanation.

"Well, there's this weapons convention that'll be going on next weekend, and she's been begging each of us to go with her since her uncle got her two tickets. I... uh... didn't really wanna go, and neither did any of us, so she got a little down about it. You going with her would be able to perk her right back up! And it would take the whole day too, so that works out in your favor."

"I guess it does. What will you and Blake be doing next weekend?"

"Can't get enough of us already?" Ren opened his mouth again to protest, but she just waved a hand. "Relax, I'm joking. It's kinda my thing if you haven't noticed yet."

He gave a small forced smile. "Of course."

"Blake n' I are planning on doing that same partner mission thing that Ruby dragged Weiss into."

Ren looked at her. "Why didn't you just go with them this weekend?"

"The supervisor only takes one couple at a time. After all, it's couples training, not team training. So Blake and I get our turn next weekend."

"I see."

"Yeah." They turned another corner, and kept walking, Ren with his hands behind his back and Yang slightly sashaying in the way she always did. "So what was your favorite ride when you were little?"

"To be honest, I don't remember much of the rides. My memories mainly consist of Nora attempting to mount a hippopotamus."

"She tried to ride a hippo?"

"Full-grown."

"Jeez, you need to introduce me to her Ren! I think her and I will get on like lightning and gasoline!"

That's exactly why I don't want you two to meet. I'd rather not have to change academies because you two blew it up, he thought to himself. "I'll see too it," he lied.

"Sweet! Finally, someone who understands my explosive tendencies. Eh? Eh?" She nudged him with an elbow, unfazed as he kept walking with a shake of his head.

Cardin was a strong guy, but he wasn't that strong. Looking down at the opened cooler after he tried to pull it from the fridge, he couldn't believe it. Not only did he find something that he couldn't lift, but he actually had blackmail material on Blake Belladonna, the exact girl who had embarrassed him last night. Rubbing his cheeks as the phantom pain returned, he dialed up his team for some help. After Sky picked up and told him that they'd be right there, he put his scroll back and made an evil laugh.

"Oh, this is gonna be good, Belladonna."

Within five minutes his team made it to the lunch room, and he gestured for them to come in through the open doorway.

"So... what's this?" Russell asked with a confused tone.

"It's a fish, dumb ass. We just went to a festival full of them yesterday," Dove answered.

"I know it's a fish, but why's it so big? And why's it here?"

"Maybe if you idiots stopped asking so many damn questions, I could answer a few of them for you," Cardin said, irritated at his group already. "That Belladonna girl on RWBY. You guys know her?"

Russell spoke up first. "Yeah, quiet, good-looking one right?"

"Russell, all the girls here look bangin'." He nodded in agreement. "But yeah, she's the quiet one on their team, right? Always see her with a book too," Sky finished.

"Yeah, yeah that's her. She and her friend from JNPR messed with me last night, and I've got just the token to get back at her." He kicked the cooler, flopping noises reacting to the sudden trauma. "This."

"This?" Dove asked. "This is a giant catfish. What the hell do you think's gonna give us leverage over her with a big fish?"

"She defended this thing with her life. Trust me..." Gold flashed before his eyes, and he resisted the urge to shudder. "... I know."

"Sooo... what. We're gonna steal this thing?"

"No, I wanted you all to get a nice look before I ate it all. Of course I want to steal it, idiot!"

Dove just put his hands up a bit. "Woah, alright. I gotcha, we're stealing it. So are we gonna put it in our dorm?"

"Yeah, we're gonna do that."

"But it's gonna look weird for us just lugging around this giant cooler, won't it?"

"Russell, I don't know if you've forgotten, but almost everyone here is scared of us. Scared of me," Cardin continued with a proud puff of his chest. "We're not gonna be gettin' any questions."

"Alright then. Sounds like a plan," Sky agreed.

"Course it sounds like a plan. It's mine."

Russell and Dove shared a look at each other, but they shrugged either way. "Yeah, let's go."

"You still have the one-hundred lien gave you?"

"Yeah, right here." She patted a small pocket on her brown shorts, lien card visibly sticking out. Noticing Ren's skeptical look, she stopped walking and made a pose. "Staring already Ren?"

Ignoring the flirtatious attitude, he stopped as well and gestured with an open hand at the lien card. "That hardly counts as a pocket."

"And why's that?"

"I can see the denomination on the card sticking out."

"Yeah, so? It's not like anyone's stealing from us. I mean, look at us! We look bad-ass compared to everyone around us." She made a wide gesture with her hands, bystanders that were within earshot turning to look at her for a moment before dismissing her. "Nobody's getting close to this." Shaking her hips a bit, she continued walking as Ren fell in step with her yet again.

"I just advise caution. In such a crowded place like an amusement park, it's easy to lose things in such a... vulnerable place."

"Trust me Ren, these hips are not vulnerable."

"I was not addressing your hips, Yang. I was addressing the pocket."

"Oh. Figures."

"Mmm."

"Why're you so cautious about this stuff anyway? You don't look like someone who loses stuff, sure, but it's still a bit overboard."

He shrugged as he walked. "Concern never hurt anyone. And with Nora, it became a life-saver."

She inhaled a bit of air through clenched teeth. "Ooo, yeah. I can see that."

"Have you ever needed to exercise such caution with your younger sister?"

"Oh, yeah, all the time. But it wasn't ever for someone stealing from her; she was the fastest kid I knew and still know. But I did have to keep her from running into trouble, literally and figuratively."

"I see. I suppose we share common memories then."

She chuckled, not one full of mirth but still one of humor. "Yeah, I guess."

They passed the next few minutes in silence, oddly comfortable for the blonde of the two as they simply absorbed the seaside atmosphere. It really was picturesque; seagulls were squawking their songs, standing in groups or by their lonesome on posts made of aged wood. Boards were taking in ships of all ages and sizes, new Atlesian carriers to rickety Vacuan junks. Seamen were managing the ropes, and the distance from which the city's paved sidewalks to wooden docks connected was minuscule at best. A blue, radiant sea of possibility laid itself right in front of their eyes, bright coloring not belying the aquatic Grimm that lie beneath the waves. In the distance, a large, red Ferris wheel spun slowly, the hallmark of Vale's amusement park.

"That's where we're heading," Yang said after she had listened to the waves crash against rocks and piers alike while they walked.

"I see it. How large is it?"

"It's pretty big," she said as an indirect answer.

"Yeah." A few more seconds of silent walking passed by. "So what is our first stop once we get into the park?"

"I'm probably gonna get some cotton candy. I haven't had any in years, and it's about time I get to know my best friend again."

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about the fact that Yang had addressed her food as a person. "So after you eat your fill of empty sugary treats,"

"Hey! It's not empty! It's full of joy and awesome, thank you very much."

"- What's our first ride?"

"I dunno. We'll just roll with it and see where it takes us."

Ren was confused at best. "Roll... with it?"

"Yeah. Just let the waves take us where they want, and we'll get on whatever ship presents itself."

"So we have no plan going into this park."

"Hey, did you and Blake have a plan when you went to Forrester yesterday?"

"Yes, actually." Until they crashed into Old Lady Mountain, he thought. "It was to go fishing."

"Yeah, but how'd that go for you two?"

"It was only a minor setback. And we traced our path to each destination."

"Oh, but that's boring! Come on, man! Live on the edge for once!"

"I've lived on the edge wi-"

"Nope."

He brought his head back slightly in confusion. "What?"

"We're not gonna involve Nora in this. This weekend, today, you've been given a free pass to do what you want, Ren. Take a break from the routine, the same old same old." Yang put her hands behind her head and nodded her head to some invisible, gentle beat as she walked. "Have some fun."

He thought about it. Well, yesterday was fun. And I didn't plan everything... especially the part where I was forced to attend a festival instead of fish for a relaxing day. I didn't expect to become involved in a fight against two students from another academy. I most definitely didn't plan meeting the headmaster of one either... and I guess I did have fun.

"Huh," he said out loud.

She looked over, elbows still sticking out. "So whaddya say?"

He looked over. "Yeah, sure. Let's do it."

"Sweet! Alright, first step, relax."

"Wait, we're starting now?"

"Yeah! Now relax. This walk is perfect. Just listen to some calming stuff like the waves or something. It works pretty well for me; reminds me of my home."

"Listen to something relaxing," he repeated. "That's all it takes?"

"For me, yeah. Just live in the now. You've only got one today everyday." She shot a smile, and Ren didn't really think that phrase worked. He opened his mouth to speak, but he held it back.

Instead, he opted to listen to her."So be it." He tuned himself into the sounds around him. At first, he heard a spectrum of noises. The squawks of seagulls. The commotion of hefty, hardened seamen or light, dainty townspeople. Doors opening and closing, horns blaring in the distance. But he focused on the waves.

How they crashed on the waves with a constant rhythm. How they never ceased to stop with their loud, yet comforting noise. And soon enough, Ren found himself walking with the salty sea breeze, eyes looking around with a serenity that he hadn't felt in a long time. He envisioned an easier world, where he could simply relax with all of those dear to him. Drifting to another reality, he thought of what it would be like if he were to live on a beach forever with his friends.

"You're looking pretty happy there, buddy." Yang was smiling at the sight of Ren staring at something in the distance, eyes focused yet dilated as he stopped worrying about everything Nora, and started putting more towards himself.

"Quite." He maintained his same walking stance, hands behind the back, but the steps were more leisurely, less rushed and more steady. But what took the cake for Yang was the slight smile that had stayed on his lips for the past minute, the same feeling of seeing Blake smile for the first time coming back to her.

Guess I've finally made a way for the stone statue to smile, she thought as she kept walking, Ren still taking his time with his surroundings as he let himself unwind from all the stress of having to deal with unknown factors.

"Yang, a part of me is telling my brain that this is very dangerous for my ability to perceive threats."

"Ah, you'll be fine." As if reacting to her statement, Ren tripped over a small pebble, catching himself with his hands but landing with a groan anyway. Yang just laughed, much to Ren's ire.

"You were saying?"

"Alright, alright, sorry. Next time I'll watch your surroundings before I say that nothing'll hurt you."

He dusted off his tunic as he shook his head with chuckle. "I'd better hope so."

The room was darkly lit. A single chair was in the middle, a man with a spiked shoulder pad lolling his head back and forth as gold eyes burned in the darkness, body obscured by the shadows. Her name, Blake Belladonna. And she was on the hunt for something dear to her heart.

And stomach.

As the light flickered for a moment, obscuring the room in darkness, gold eyes suddenly went face to face with shaded blue, breath-length from each other.

"I'll give you another shot, Thrush. You can tell me where my fish is. Or you're going out the way your friends did." This elicited a groan from the corner of the room where his teammates, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark were lying in a messy heap of body parts, each knocked out by an expert blow to the back of the head.

Russell didn't say anything, but he managed to croak a bit before coughing.

"That wasn't an answer." She kicked the side of the chair, knocking him over with a groan.

"One more shot before I make you pay the consequences."

"Please... no..."

Gold remained unwavering. "Not an answer." She was about to kick the chair again before Russell frantically shouted.

"NO, wait wait wait! Please, wait..."

She stopped for a moment, and bent over to meet his eyes. "Then tell me."

"Cardin."

He spun around, glaring as he recognized the voice. Reaching for his weapon on the table next to him, he spoke. "You. What did you do to my teammates."

"Oh, nothing." She was twirling her ribbon on her finger. "Just had to get some information from them. I didn't hurt them too badly."

Back inside...

"DID SHE SERIOUSLY LEAVE US WITH POKEMON GO IN THIS ROOM?"

"Dude, it could've gone worse."

"DON'T DUDE ME!" Dove shoved his scroll into Sky's face. "I HAVE TO PACE AROUND IN THIS ROOM FOR DAMN HOURS JUST TO GET THIS EGG TO HATCH!"

Russell winced. "Ooo, that's rough dude. And I can't catch anything in here! Well, there's a pidgey. But that's the twentieth damn pidgey I've caught!"

"AAAAAUGH HATCH ALREADYYYYY!" Dove started running circles around the room as Sky just looked at him.

"You retar- HOLY SHIT A CHARIZARD!"

Everyone in the room froze.

"You know what this means, right?"

Russell nodded. "I do."

"Me too."

Suddenly, they pulled out baseball caps from their... somewhere, and put them on in the corniest fashion ever, turning said caps backwards in what looked like the funniest yet most sad thing that someone could witness.

They shouted in unison. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A POKEMON BATTLE!"

"Well, they might be mentally hurt. But it's nothing aura can't fix."

Cardin clenched his teeth and his fists, his aura manifesting itself already as a dark black-red. "You're gonna pay for this."

Blake returned the glare, bringing her weapon about her as she unsheathed the blade, dual-wielding stance at the ready. "I didn't bring my wallet. Guess I can settle it another way."

He snarled, and charged.

Notes: not the funniest chapter or most action-packed, but stuff like that is coming next chapter.

'sides, i had to set the stage! :D

thank you all for the support, and i'll see you in the next chapter!