Quick thing, my phone broke. So no Instagram posts until it's fixed. I can still see, like, and comment on your pics off my laptop, though, so i'll still be seeing your stuff. And now, story time!
The two ex-criminals made their way onto the field, the chatter of the crowd in the background. The students were excited. There were some in the crowd that Reaper didn't know were apart of rehabilitation programs from the other schools, and they were cheering even harder than others. While part of the tournament, this had also turned into a bit of a political move. It was one of the few times Reaper and Neo genuinely felt that all eyes were on them.
Making their way towards them were their opponents for the match. "Hey there, Reaper! Got it that time!"
"Sun, are you always going to say that?" Reaper scolded, although a smile was on her face.
"It's weird, but it's how I remember." Sun explained. Next to him was his team's titan, Sage.
"Hello, little one. I'm Sage. What's your name?" He asked, extending his hand. Neo shook it, but obviously didn't answer herself.
"Her name's Neo." Reaper answered for her.
"A quiet one?" Sage asked.
"You could say that." Reaper answered for her lover again.
While the friends were speaking, the arena randomized around them. Ocean, plains, desert, and stormy mountains raised around them. Sage stared down Neo, intent on attacking the one who he (falsely) assumed would be easy. Neo's size was less than intimidating, after all. Reaper knew Neo could handle the tank, and decided to play along and let them be. She knew from experience that she could beat Sun. Judging by the fear on his face, he remembered as well.
The buzzer sounded, and Sage immediately smashed his blade down onto Neo, the image shattering instead of falling. Sun tried to warn his partner, taking his eyes off Reaper. He quickly regretted this when he was launched across the arena before he could speak a word. Neo appeared from behind Sage and grappled him, throwing him into the plains. Sun stood at the base of the mountain, and saw rose petals flying towards him. He panicked right up the side of the cliff.
Sage landed on his feet and looked up in time to raise his blade, blocking Neo's next kick. He swung up, and Neo went with it, flipping and landing naturally. Her acrobatic skill was something he failed to anticipate, and he realized this would be much more difficult than he assumed. He would swing, and she would dodge, and never attack back. She was taunting him, and he was playing right into her hands.
Sun made it to the top, and saw rose petals in hot pursuit. He finally pulled out his staff and swung at them, feeling contact as he blocked the scythe Reaper swung as she exited her semblance. Sun just wanted to stay upright, blocking attacks left and right. But unlike Neo, Sun wasn't playing defensive. He was backed into a corner. Reaper saw an opportunity to break his guard and swung up, expecting him to swing his staff down to block. She was right, and his staff bounced right back up… right as the environment shot lightning down, and his staff made an effective lightning rod.
Sage kept swinging, his attacks getting less and less focused. Neo released her whip suddenly, wrapping it around his blade as it swung out of control behind him. With a flick of her wrist, she added to its momentum and sent it flying from him hands. What followed was a brutal barrage from the silver bladed wire that Sage couldn't have possible avoided. Neo spotted Sun coming into the center of the field, flying off the mountaintop where Reaper had struck him down. A small fire was coming off his hair like a candle.
The weary monkey looked up and saw Sage in trouble. With a flash of inspiration, he jumped forward with his staff in hand, catching the whip. It wrapped around his staff tight and he held it there. Neo was caught off guard, and ended up locked with Sun's weapon. "Sage, switch out!" Sun yelled. "Don't let Reaper's build fool you! That girl's a powerhouse!"
Sage nodded and ran to his weapon, picking it up as he saw Reaper walking across the field. He smiled and ran into the desert, hiding around the corner of the large plateau. The scythe master smirked and followed him around the corner. Neo and Sun were in a struggle, trying to pry each other's weapon away without losing their own. Sun soon realized he was getting nowhere… he had more leverage, but Neo's whip had flexibility. He eventually decided to detach the halves of his staff, letting them fall into nun chuck mode while the whip slipped right off the divide.
Reaper rounded the corner of the desert biome and was nearly taken by surprise. She barely managed to avoid Sage's weapon with a duck. She brought Brutal Thorn back up and was blocked. She frowned. The large man wasn't necessarily fast, but he maneuvered his great sword with enough finesse to make up for it. Reaper decided the best course of action may be to ditch her weapon. Her attempt at hand-to-hand was met with Sage's out fists, and the resulting melee showed Reaper still had a thing or two to learn about fighting without a weapon. With the inhibitor belt, a good chunk of her available aura was taken by Sage.
She managed to push herself off, but was caught in a decision to pick up Brutal Thorn or continue with her fists. She had a half-second to decided, and her instincts were too slow. She rocketed her hand out for her scythe, leaving her gut exposed to Sage's sword, which the man had already retrieved. She was spun around him, the blade digging in and draining her aura, until she slipped off it and was thrown across the arena, crashing into the marooned ship in the ocean biome. Neo saw Reaper fly across the arena, and frowned. She found opening enough in her combat with Sun to check the screen. 16 points left… Wait… what?
Abruptly, bits of the ship were sent all over the arena as the interior exploded. The center of the flames stood the scythe master, her eyes burning like hot coals.
Weiss shot up in her seat. "She's never had access to Yang's fire!"
"What the hell?" Blake agreed.
And to top it all off, the outburst of energy had overloaded the inhibitor belt. On the screen, Reaper's aura began rising, settling at a few points above half. The flaming figure smiled. Ember was in control, had unlocked Yang's fire, and had all the strength Sage had been giving the ex-criminal the whole match. The outcome was obvious to Sage. "I'm fuc-"
Ember burst forward in a flurry of petals. As she flew past Brutal Thorn, she split into three separate trails, one of them picking up the scythe as it blew past. They spiraled back into each other in the image of a fiery drill that exploded into Sage before he could finish his statement. Ember slid flat-footed across the desert sand for another hundred feet while Sage trailed behind her. Still in momentum, Ember turned and jumped, planting Brutal Thorn's handle into the ground. Swinging around on it at high speed, she let go and launched herself back off it and in the other direction. Flying towards Sage once again, she reached out and grabbed his face. Bringing it down, she planted her feet and ran, dragging him along the cracking earth face-first.
His aura died below 15 points and Ember slowed down and let go, turning to face Sun. The monkey faunus didn't like his chances. Before he could try to do anything to salvage this match, Ember split into three petal clouds again, stretching out and circling her opponent. They spiraled in, trapping Sun. By the time they met in the middle, Sun had accepted his fate. His painful, painful fate. He was grabbed by the throat and tossed into the air.
On the ground, Neo cartwheeled over Brutal Thorn, picking it up in the process. This led into a back flip into Ember's waiting arms, who then threw her pint-sized lover up to meet Sun. Neo crashed into Sun and spun around him, getting above him. With the barrel pointed down, Neo fired Brutal Thorn. The kick was a lot more than she ever anticipated, and it served her purpose. Sun fell back to the arena floor like a comet, causing a crater as his aura broke. The victory buzzer sounded. The duo had won.
Ember stretched her arms out and caught Neo bridal style. Neo had dropped Brutal Thorn during the fall so her arms could drape her arms around Ember's neck appropriately. Red eyes closed, and the pairs' lips came together. The two barely noticed the scythe spiking into the ground behind them. When the broke apart, silver eyes opened. They both smiled brightly as the crowd cheered.
Reaper and Neo were taking a much-deserved rest on a park bench at the campgrounds. They had been congratulated by several students already, some of them revealing themselves to be Rehabilitative Custody students at a couple of the other schools. Now the ex-criminal pair were almost asleep when they had another visitor. Taiyang approached his daughter and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, kiddo."
Silver eyes blinked groggily. "Hey, dad…"
"Tired, eh? Yang was just as wiped out the first time she used her fire." Taiyang explained. "I thought you didn't have that, though?"
Reaper stretched, waking up Neo by accident in the process. "So did we. Maybe the belt had something to do with it. Trying to hold back a power that wants nothing other to exist can't be easy. The extra push to break through the handicap could be what unlocked the fire."
"Speaking of." The familiar sound of Ozpin appeared from behind Taiyang. "Reaper, there is something we need to discuss."
Reaper had anticipated this. "Look, I didn't break it on purpose! It just broke, and I was too into the fight to worry about it."
"We understand." A gruff voice spoke behind her. Reaper turned and laid eyes on Ironwood.
"You…" Reaper said, getting ticked by just the sight of him.
"I'm not here to start any conflict. I'm here to accompany my school to the Vytal Festival, that is all." Ironwood explained.
'What about the tournament?' Neo signed.
"Right. The council agrees that the belt malfunction was an accident. Despite the argument that it was the turning point of the match, they have agreed to let WBRN progress." Ozpin stated.
"Under one condition." Ironwood clarified.
Reaper's face fell. "It has to be Neo. I can't continue. Not without the belt." Reaper correctly guessed.
"I am sorry. I tried my best, I know what this meant to you. But you simply have too much power." Ozpin explained apologetically. "Especially now that you seem to have unlocked Yang's full semblance. If we could fix the belt or get a new one in time… unfortunately the finals are just around the corner. I'm truly sorry, Reaper."
Neo took Reaper's face and turned it so the scythe master was facing her. 'Don't worry!' Neo signed, a huge smile on her face. 'I can handle one person at a time! I've got this!'
"Neo, it's not about winning. It's barely even about the tournament." Reaper explained. "It's about the freedom. Being able to fight. Maybe you didn't need it as much as we did, but with our… situation, combat is therapeutic. I suppose we should be happy we got what we got, but… if nothing else, there was someone we really wanted to face in the finals."
Neo frowned. Again, why is this stuff so hard!
"But…" Reaper found her smile. "That's no reason to be mopey. I go dealt a bad hand, it happens. All I should worry about now is cheering you on!"
Neo blinked, caught off guard that Reaper had fixed herself this time. It didn't last long, and she was soon smiling too. 'So what's my prize if I win?'
"Besides the trophy?" Reaper asked, and thought for a moment. "Well… there is that thing you always wanted to use… that thing I didn't let you use on me?"
"Hey now!" Taiyang shouted. "I don't need to know that stuff!"
Ozpin and Ironwood seemed to vanish at this turn in the conversation. Neo only smiled. I'm definitely going to win now.
"So, when are we taking off?" Taiyang asked.
"What are you talking about?" Reaper asked.
"Blake messaged me a few days ago. Apparently, you two are hanging out with me tonight, in Vale." He informed them. "You didn't know?"
Neo and Reaper flashed each other mischievous grins. "We do now. Let's go! I could use some food that's not cafeteria food."
Weiss made her way to the dorm, her nerves rising. The closer she got, the more she wanted to abandon this. But she wouldn't let herself. She needed to go through with this just as much as Blake. She came up to the junction where WBRN and JNPR dorm sat at either end. Weiss nervously entered JNPR dorm, where Pyrrha was waiting to let her in. Pyrrha's face looked as red as Weiss's felt. "The door will lock behind you." Pyrrha informed her. Not knowing what else to say in the situation, the golden fighter simply left.
Weiss let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and changed. Feeling rather exposed, but trusting that Blake had figured everything out, Weiss exited and crossed the hall. The WBRN door was open just enough to keep it from locking, but not revealing what wait inside for the heiress. She pushed it open and stepped inside. The room had been re-arranged for this night. There was only one bed tonight, and it sat in the center of the room. It was surrounded by candles, and perched on the bed was Blake wearing only her yukata. The fact that it was slightly open in the front made it obvious.
Weiss was about to speak up, but remembered the letter said 'no words'. She swallowed and stepped forward. Blake giggled, finding the nervous wreck that was her girlfriend rather cute. But now it's time for me to take control. A curled finger beckoned Weiss onto the bed. The heiress complied, almost without realizing just how much control she was handing Blake. When Weiss finally crawled fully onto the bed, the couples' lips met softly. It charged the both of them with the energies that had been pent up all day. Nervousness was forgotten. They were both ready.
Weiss slipped the Yukata off, trailing a hand down her lover's body until it draped on the prosthesis. Similarly, Blake slipped Weiss's nightgown over her head and rested her hand on the heiress's scar. The last soft kiss of the night was placed on the red mark. After that, both girls were acutely aware that they were fully exposed to each other. And somehow, it felt right. Weiss's hand started to come up towards Blake's center, but the faunus quickly snatched the hand away and threw the heiress onto her back. Weiss had given her full control, and she intended to make the most of it. She was going to cram as many fantasies as possible into this one amazing night.
By the time they were done, it was clear to both girls that Blake was right all along. It was a primal, carnal act, but it somehow strengthened the existing feelings they had for each other. And it was quite possibly the most amazing thing either of them had ever felt.
Here, i feel the need to thank somebody, and anybody who has enjoyed this little monochrome sub-arc should thank him as well, as it wouldn't have happened without his review. Drake187 said 'I've never been much of a monochrome man, but you are starting to convince me'. Truth is, i wasn't really planning on expanding and progressing Weiss and Blake's relationship in the BRAU, but his review got me thinking... what if i did? What could i do with them as they exist in my story? A few other things i wanted to do got pushed aside, but i'm grateful. it was fun to write. and i hope you all enjoyed the little break from Reaper and Neo.