The Cockerel Festival!
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to Weiss Reacts. Only two things to say now, really.
The show must go on.
Monty, this whole next arc is for you.
You gave us badass battles, so now it's our turn to give back.
DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth.
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
Ruby burst into RWBY dorm, panting and breathing heavily. Yang, Blake and Weiss looked up from their game of Munchkin- judging by the cards on the table, Blake was losing heavily to Weiss, who was spamming monster cards against her, while Yang was in the process of stealing all of Weiss' cards.
"Guys! Guys! Guys!" The reaper chirped. "Guys!"
"Yes, Ruby, we heard you the first few times." Weiss said, sighing. "What is it?"
"Did you see the decorations?!"
"Decorations?" Blake raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"
"You know, those weird red and black banners they're putting up, with the rooster pictures!"
Ren, of course, happened to be running past, carrying one of those banners, before looking into the room.
"The rooster...oh!" He snapped his fingers. "Of course, that."
Weiss crossed her arms, sighing. "Ruby, don't you know what time of the year it is?"
"...Valentines! Which I totally have chocolates for you for!" Ruby looked at Weiss hopefully. The heiress sighed irritably.
"No, no...no..."
"This festival happens to have great significance to me." Ren said, smiling. "You'll need reminding of what time of year it is, won't you?"
Ruby pouted. "...I suppose...you have a point..."
"You forgot it's the Feast of the Cockerel today, Ruby." The gunslinger said, wagging his finger.
Ruby blinked. "Huh?"
"Oh come on, Rubes!" Yang complained. "You don't know what that is? I always used to tell you the story about it!"
"...then maybe you'll just have to retell the story. Pweaaaase?" Ruby begged, looking at Yang with puppy dog eyes.
"Oh, fine..."
"No, Yang. It's fine." Ren chuckled. "Let me."
Pulling up a chair while tucking his banner away, Ren stretched his fingers, clearing his throat.
"I haven't told a story like this for a long time. Nora loves me telling this one."
"Oh goody, a story!" Ruby cheered happily. "I love stories!"
"Once upon a time, or so the legends tell, we were not known as the kingdom of Vale. Before so the legends say, we were once ruled by a kingdom that had as its flag, a red toothed cockerel. They were loved by all, for they were mighty and yet benevolent.
There was also a great bard. A bard who loved to tell stories of battles- great, epic battles the likes of which the world had never seen before. He was once a wanderer, known throughout the land for his beautiful imagination and the stories he always told, but the king of the cockerel kingdom once heard his tales, and, awed by his skill, asked him to reside with him. The bard, overjoyed by the offer, could only accept.
For a while, the kingdom was ecstatic! They had among them a bard known for his beloved tales of earth-shaking battles. The kingdom was satisfied, and the king and his subjects never found themselves lost for entertainment during the long, cold nights." Ren took in a breath, preparing to continue. Ruby looked at him eagerly, waiting for him to continue.
"But then? There's always a but, right?"
"...you asked for it. I don't like this part of the story." Ren admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "It was always the saddest part that Nora would cry at."
"Pweaaase, Ren?"
"...but then, one day, the bard...was taken away from them. Not by any evil enemy, nor by any magic, but by cruel fate.
The kingdom mourned his loss- the king, his subjects and the common people- and they mourned him long, for his voice was silenced long before his time. They mourned him, as was the custom, for a year and a day.
On the last day, however, a band of bards came again to the kingdom, coming to them in the middle of their loss. They asked of them, "Why are you sad? Why not be mirthful?". The people, anguished, responded "For we have lost one dear to us, that is why we weep."
The bards could not tolerate it. They, too, had known the bard and loved him, but they could not stand by and see his kingdom weep.
So they stood up and gathered the people around fires, and with their heads held high, they told new stories, ones that seemed like and yet also unlike the ones the great bard had told. They told them until the people became happy once more, forgetting that they had wept for the bard, realising instead, to hold mirth in his name was only right, as he had brought mirth.
Understanding this, the King at once asked the bards to sing songs of the man and his achievements, and to sing him high into the heavens above, amidst a great feast in his honor. They could only oblige.
And so, it was that after the feasting and the remembrance was over, the night the bards consoled the people of the Cockerel Kingdom was forever known as the Feast of the Cockerel." Ren finished, sighing and smiling a little.
"Now, Ruby, do you remember?"
"Oh! Now I remember..." Ruby nodded. "And mom always used to take us to the parades during the Feast!"
Weiss smiled in spite of herself, shaking her head. "Ruby, sometimes, you astound me with how much like a dunce you can act."
"H-Hmph! Meanie!" Ruby crossed her arms, pouting.
Blake rubbed her chin, thinking. "Now that I think about it, wasn't the school going to run a tournament today to celebrate the festival?"
"That's right." Ren nodded. "I was on the committee for setting it up, after all."
Yang smirked, cracking her knuckles. "FINALLY! I get to bust some heads and show off my awesomeness. It's like, the first year we're allowed to go!"
"That's right!" Ruby snapped her fingers. "Only third and fourth years are allowed to do the tournament...after spending two years watching it, now we get to actually FIGHT in it!"
"You mean your pervertedness, Yang. I doubt anyone would consider that attribute 'awesome'." Weiss quipped.
"Nothing wrong with showing people that, dear Weiss~"
"Can you not be a pervert for once?" Weiss snapped irritably.
"Nah. That's boring." Yang said with a giggle, before turning to Ren.
"So, where do we sign up for this tournament?"
"I hear they're taking people up right now." The gunslinger stood up, picking his banner up. "If you get down there now, you should still be able to get in. They're letting outside Hunters in, too. Limited spaces, you see. I'll see you guys there!"
With that, Ren walked out, humming This Is The Day We've Waited For to himself as he walked away.
Blake stood up, adjusting her bow. "Well, what are you waiting for? We get the chance to show just how awesome our school is to a bunch of outsiders! I've been DYING to fight for once!"
"Maybe because you keep losing to apparently 'inferior' moeblobs and tanks." The heiress remarked.
The catgirl glared at her. "T-those were unfair losses and you know it."
Ruby adjusted her cape slightly. "Guys, what're we waiting for? Let's go! Time's running out!"
Team RWBY walked through the front courtyard of Beacon, which was alive with activity. Various food stalls in the red-and-black colors of the Cockerel Feast were selling everything from ice cream to toffee apples. Some of the first year Huntsmen and Huntresses were going about and offering people tickets to spectate the festival's tournament, which was being advertised on digital boards and posters throughout the grounds.
Yang stretched her arms, yawning. "Maaaan...this place is packed!"
"No kidding." Ruby looked around in wonder. "I bet half of Vale piled in to see the school celebrating it."
"Well, the school have had a tradition of throwing really big celebrations during the Feast." Blake admitted, shrugging. "It's not unexpected that everyone would come to see them, right?"
"Still, I bet you I could own any pansy newbie that comes up here." Yang said with a cheeky grin. "I'm just too badass and hot to lose~"
"We'll see about that." Weiss remarked. "I bet you anything I can beat you in a fight."
"We've been through this, Weiss. I'm just too awesome!"
"Let's prove that, then!" Weiss yelled. "You, me, tournament, now!"
"Ohohohoh...looks like you did inherit your dad's hotbloodedness~" Yang said with a giggle. "Let's go sign up then~"
"Where is it, anyway?" Blake inquired, scratching her head.
Ruby pointed with a shaking finger in one particular direction. "There! It's the big stall where everyone's lining up!"
Team RWBY turned to see a large stall, a large sign labelled "FEAST OF THE COCKEREL TOURNAMENT", where people were lining up- everyone from team JNPR, Ren included, team CFVY, Norn, to team SSSN and even team CRDL. Even the rarely seen team MLDY were around, with their leader Melodia, known for her unique fighting style involving footwork and yoyos, squeeing at the chance to fight against Ruby again, and her partner Fionn sighing and shaking his head at it.
At the front was Professor Port, laughing uproariously, signing in two girls- one clad in blue, with short, brown hair and a pair of guns at her waist, and the other in typical ninja garb, with bright red hair and a bust to rival Yang's- into the festival roster.
Team RWBY approached him, their leader waving at him happily.
"Ah!" Port clasped his hands together. "Miss Rose! To what do I offer the pleasure today?"
"We'd like to sign up, professor!" Ruby responded happily. "We wanna fight too!"
"And we and Weiss here have to settle a bet." Yang placed her hands on her hips with a confident smirk.
"Very well then, Miss Xiao Long!" Port laughed, writing down the names of team RWBY into the pad at his table. "I must say, you realise your mother and father are attending?"
"What?!" Yang and Ruby stared at him. "...MOM AND DAD?!"
"And yours too, Misses Schnee and Belladonna."
Weiss' eyes quickly darted about, instinctively looking for her father Siegfried- similarly for Blake.
"Ahah." Port smiled. "So, you'll do your best to fight, huh?"
"Damn straight." Yang smiled readily.
"I'll have to prove I can stomp Xiao Long!" Weiss declared. "To FINALLY settle this stupid argument!" Yang yelled, bending down to shove her face in front of Weiss'. "Bring it!"
Weiss stared her straight in the eyes. "I. Will."
Blake rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I think Weiss and Yang are more like girlfriends than Weiss' actual girlfriend..."
"S-shut up!" The heiress snapped. "I would never go out with this perverted idiot!"
"Besides, Blakey..." Yang smiled at Blake seductively. "...I want you."
The catgirl gulped, blushing.
"I-I...see..."
Port chuckled. "Now, now, girls, this is not the place for such lewd acts! Save it for the bedroom, eh?"
"P-Professor!" Weiss looked shocked at him.
Ruby, meanwhile, was ignoring the vaguely romantic interactions behind her.
"Hm...I wonder how Norn's going to compete..." Ruby rubbed her chin. "I'm pretty sure she's just a household helper Persocom, right?"
"Ohohohohoh." Blake smirked. "Trust me, fairly recently, I made some updates to her hardware that should make her capable of battle- and remember, she's a ninja maid, after all."
"I wonder what updates those are..." The reaper said, curious. Blake merely wagged her finger.
"You'll just have to wait and see, Ruby. Wait and see..."
Port looked at an old pocket watch, rubbing his moustache.
"My, my, look at the time! It's about time you got into the big tent!"
"The tent?" Weiss looked up to see that there was, indeed, a large tent behind Professor Port.
"The competitors will likely be gathering inside there already, team RWBY! I would advise you to get a move on!"
Yang looked around at her team. "Well, what're you doing, sitting around like a bunch of lemons?! Let's go!"
Minutes later...
Weiss, Ruby, Blake and Yang lined up with the other competitors- varying from familiar faces in Beacon, to people hailing all the way from Mistral, Vacuo and Atlas- in the large tent, in front of a massive screen that had only the Beacon coat of arms on it. The rest of the competitors sat around the screen, where Glynda stood in the middle atop a podium, waiting for everyone to pay attention.
"Ahem!" The instructor drew a bullwhip and cracked it in the air to get everyone's attention- and judging by the various heads that snapped towards her that instant, it worked.
"Hm..." Glynda muttered under her breath. "It seems one of Cinder's weird tricks does work." Shaking her head, she coiled the whip and hung it at her side, clearing her throat before pulling out a microphone.
"Welcome, one and all, to Beacon Academy." The instructor announced. "Today, I am honored to open the 74th Annual Feast of the Cockerel Tournament. As I am sure, you are all aware of the tradition from which this hallowed tournament has stemmed from, a tradition which Vale has honored for centuries upon end.
Today, we come together to honor the Great Bard, by feasting in his name and sharing stories, but also to show off the combat skills Hunters from all the four Kingdoms have honed. Visitors from all over the world have arrived to witness the Feast's tournament, so, I will end this opening with a simple 'do your best'!"
"Psst." Cardin whispered over to Yang over the din. "Yang."
"Huh?"
"You know that idol group, AKB0048?" The warrior inquired. "Yeah. 'Pparently they're playing the tournament too- came off their Japan tour just to come in. They want to give a good show."
"Seriously?" The brawler's eyes widened. "Maaan...I need to get a ticket to the show..."
"It should be after today's matches over, so don't worry 'bout it."
"And now, to go over the rules." Glynda continued. "As some of you are newcomers to the festival's tournament, I will need to go over how the tournament is to be run.
There are four venues in which the tournament shall be run," The instructor announced, pointing to the screen above her, where images of the venues were displayed. "The Ruined City, the Desert Plains, the Field of Justice, and the Pillars of Balance.
The format of the tournament will be as follows- the first round will be a tag-team round- a random pair of two against another random pair, where one will be able to tag their partner in if needed. The next couple of rounds will be ordinary, one-on-one duels until the finals.
There are four ways to win a match- the opponent being disqualified, the enemy calling for surrender, total depletion of one fighter's Aura, or making the opponent exit the arena by any means.
The teams for the first round will be as follows!"
The images on the screen were replaced by a large list of teams in a tier structure leading up to the finals. At once, chattering began to fill the tent.
Yang blinked. "Huh, I'm with Nora. Cool."
Weiss rubbed her chin, nodding slowly. "So...Ren is my partner. This should be interesting."
"I'm with some guy called 'Chartre'." Blake stated quizzically. "He looks like a pansy..."
"I'm with Jaune!" Ruby pumped her fist, cheering. "Sweet!"
"The first matches will be as follows." Glynda stared.
"On the Field of Justice, Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc against Maeve Arc and Cordelia du Vent!
In the Ruined City, Adam Taurus and Dove Bronzewing against Melanie Malachite and Otto Dracomorde!"
"What?!" Blake looked up in shock at hearing Adam's name, spying Adam's familiar Grimm mask next to his name. "He's here?!"
"Adam..." Weiss looked somewhat confused. "I wonder how he got in..."
Blake muttered quietly to herself. "Yes...I wonder why he's here..."
"On the Pillars of Balance, Blake Belladonna and Chartre Alcole against Pyrrha Nikos and Aspasia Arc!
Finally, on the Desert Plains, Weiss Schnee and Lie Ren against Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie!"
Yang and Weiss immediately locked eyes, staring at each other.
"You ready to get wrecked, Weiss?"
"I believe you should be asking yourself that, Xiao Long." The heiress remarked. "I can't lose, anyway. I can easily beat someone like you, after all."
"Let's see about that, eh?" The brawler retorted. "Let's do this."
"Please make your way to your venues immediately." Glynda ordered. "Everyone who is not competing in these matches, please make your way to the spectator stands, where you are free to watch your teammates fight."
Blake stood up, looking up at the chart again as everyone began to leave the tent.
Sure enough, underneath where Norn and Elsa were partnered, Adam was still there, seemingly glaring down at her.
The catgirl muttered under her breath. "...what are you doing here, Adam?"
At the Desert Plains...
The venue itself was outside the school, in a large purpose-built stadium of chrome and glass, with the stalls fully surrounding the arena itself, where, true to form, it was nothing but flat sand kept in by energy shields marking the border of the arena.
Weiss was standing atop a floating chrome platform over the plain, hand on Myrtenaster, and watching her opposite number check Ember Celica's load, flexing her fingers and readying herself for battle.
In the crowd, Siegfried and Freya Schnee sat, waving at Weiss, along with Elsa and a tall, white-haired woman Weiss recognized.
'Winter?'
It was her indeed her biological sister Winter- currently on break from her fourth year assignment with the 101st Huntress Squadron. An elegant girl, with long, white hair kept open and unbound, she had inherited her father's piercing grey eyes, standing in harsh contrast to Weiss' deep blue. She wore a glittering silver dress, standing out among the crowd like a beacon, and she was currently clapping with a small smile on her face for her sister.
Weiss sighed, gripping Myrtenaster tightly.
"Very well, now I have more reason to beat Yang." The heiress declared with resolve. "I have to prove myself."
"Alright, ladies and gents!" Cinder, the referee of the match, called out over the crowds. "It's about time to begin the first match of the whole tournament!
On the left hand side, we have the Heartless Ice Heiress, Weiss Schnee, and the Enigmatic Cold Gunner, Liieeee Ren!"
Weiss glared at Cinder irritably. "I resent being called 'heartless'...I bet Yang paid her in burritos to say that about me."
"And to your left, we have the Blazing Blonde Bombshell, Yang Xiao Long, and the Queen of Pancakes herself, Nora Valkyrie!"
Yang waved to everyone as they clapped. "Please! I'm here all day!"
Weiss stared at her in disbelief. "And SHE gets complimented? I smell bribery."
"And now that we've gotten ourselves acquainted with our combatants..." Cinder lifted herself out of the arena. "LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUMBLE!"
In the sky, a screen was lifted up by several rotors, showing a camera feed of Yang and Weiss to everyone in the area. A countdown from three ticked down.
"3! 2! 1! FIGHT!"
Weiss leapt elegantly off the platform, drawing Myrtenaster. Yang did the same, somersaulting and firing Ember Celica behind her, making a three-point landing in front of Weiss with a wink.
"Ready to play, Weiss?"
Weiss merely swapped her weapon's output to 'ice'.
"I suppose I am, Yang." Weiss flipped her hair, readying her sword. "I suppose I am."
Yang smiled briefly, before throwing a punch at Weiss with a yell.
"Haaaaaah!"
Ember Celica collided with a raised Myrtenaster, sending a resounding CLANG throughout the arena. Weiss deftly moved the rapier underneath her arm, pointing it at Yang's chest, preparing to fire, but Yang was prepared. With a swift kick, the heiress' arm was jolted by the brawler's knee, before she twisted around and kicked Weiss in the chest, shoving her back and forcing her to plant her sword in the ground to stop her from flying back further, leaving a cloud of sand where she'd skidded.
"A painful strike, to be sure!" Cinder called. "But will she survive that one?"
"Heh." Weiss wiped her mouth to remove the sand that had flown in her face, watching Yang approach her with an unflinching walk. "Good one, Yang."
"I'm just getting started." The brawler responded, cocking Ember Celica and pausing for dramatic effect, before pointing one gauntlet behind her and firing, launching at Weiss with the other fist drawn back to hit her as hard as she could. Weiss spawned a pair of glyphs underneath her, sliding away just in time to dodge the impact, which left a fist-shaped crater where Yang had struck.
Weiss immediately whipped her sword around, hurling several blasts of blue Dust at Yang, who ducked to avoid them, ignoring the pillars of ice that had formed behind her. She kicked off the ground, launching herself at the heiress and attempting to slam into her with as much force as possible. The heiress, in response, somersaulted into the air, avoiding the tackle and landing in a crouching position, turning around only to be slugged in the face and sent backwards by Yang's fist.
"Oof!" The heiress landed, shaking her head to get rid of the pain. She grabbed Myrtenaster, which had clattered away from her hand in the mess, and looked over at Yang, who was by now running straight at her.
"HAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Not on my watch!" Weiss stabbed the ground, causing a line of ice spikes to emanate from the spot and fly towards Yang, until a large column opened up from the ice, throwing Yang off of her path and hurling her to the side.
The heiress took advantage of the situation, managing to regain her balance, to get out of Ember Celica's range and ready for her next attack-
That was, if she wasn't punched again by Yang, who leapt at her and grabbed her. Weiss cried out in surprise, but it was already too late- the brawler lifted her up and punched her repeatedly, yelling.
"Eat! This! Weiss!" She roared, punctuating every word with a blow. Weiss, biting her lip to ignore the blows, shifted her arm and slashed her with Myrtenaster, forcing her back and making her drop Weiss to the floor.
"Agh!"
"I'm going to end this now!" The heiress yelled, before spawning a black glyph underneath her opponent, making her float upwards helplessly.
"Dammit!" Yang struggled, but now Weiss had the advantage. Pointing her sword at Yang, she sprinted into the air upon small glyphs and slashed at Yang repeatedly, using deft and agile strikes to dodge Yang's retaliatory blows, before stepping above her, pointing her rapier down.
"Looks like it's all over now." Weiss remarked. "HAAAAH!"
She plunged the blade into Yang, pushing her down into the plain below and covering her in a billowing cloud of sand, before somersaulting back onto the ground, sheathing Myrtenaster.
"So, Xiao Long..." The heiress flipped her hair again, looking into the cloud. "Still cocky now, huh?"
No response from the cloud.
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Don't tell me I beat you so easily. I thought you said you were too awesome to lose."
Still no response. Weiss was getting worried.
"...Xiao L-"
"RAAAAAHHHH!" Suddenly, Weiss was thrown backwards by a shot from Ember Celica with a grunt, as she curled up and clutched her stomach. Yang strolled out of the cloud, her hair and eyes glowing red, cocking her shotgun-gauntlets, a determined smirk on her face.
"Like I said, Weiss. I'm only just getting started." The brawler adjusted her gauntlet. "Now, let's begin the REAL fight!"
Cinder gasped in surprise. "My...it seems the tables have turned! Will the Ice Heiress still have a chance to win against the Blonde Bombshell, now that her Semblance is in play?"
Weiss blinked, looking up at her and widening her eyes, before she rolled out of the way of a boulder that was flying at her.
"What the-" The heiress was cut off as she realised that Yang was kicking boulders up from the ground, before kicking them at her as a ranged weapon.
"Damn it!" Weiss jumped back, looking for an angle to hit her from.
'Yang's too powerful for me to do anything now...' Weiss mentally noted, checking the Dust magazines in Myrtenaster. '...what do I do...think, think! Gah, what would Ruby do?
She'd do something stupid! Something unexpected! Something out of the box...wait...out of the box! That's it! Beat Yang by ring out! That's the only way I'm going to win this fight...
Very well then...let's do it.' Weiss smiled with renewed determination, before looking around to see if there was a convenient border to ring Yang out with.
To her left, the leftmost border was present.
'Perfect.'
Yang charged at her, roaring.
"LET'S END THIS!" With that, she unleashed a barrage of punches at Weiss, which the heiress managed to dodge with equal speed. This, however, only made Yang grow angrier.
"STAY! STILL! SO! I! CAN! HIT! YOU!"
"Not on your life!" Weiss leapt over Yang with a flip, placing Yang between her and the border. The brawler whirled around, drawing her fist back to smash Weiss down, just as Weiss placed down a column of ice.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
An explosion ensued as her fist collided with the column, and the billowing cloud filled the entire arena and the feed.
Siegfried stood up, staring into the arena. "Weiss!"
Freya grasped his shoulder. "Honey, sit down! You're going to make a scene!"
"I..." He sighed, looking down and obliging. "I...I'm sorry. I just thought...she might be hurt."
"She's a big girl." The idol sighed, smiling. "Weiss can handle herself. You know that about our daughter more than anyone."
"I hope she's alright." Winter chimed in. "I'm really rooting for her to win this one."
"We'll just have to wait for the dust to clear..." Siegfried muttered, looking hopefully into the cloud.
After several tense moments, the dust cleared.
Weiss was on her knees, panting heavily and grasping Myrtenaster. The ice column lay shattered in front of her. Yang, meanwhile, was ready for more, breathing heavily, but still glowing red...
...but her leg was crossing the border. Cinder raised her hand to interrupt the fight.
"What a turn of events! Yang Xiao Long has been eliminated from the competition by ring-out!"
"...oh come on!" Yang cried, dropping her pose. "Seriously?!"
Weiss winked. "Just as planned."
"...d-damn you...Weiss..."
Siegfried, meanwhile, cheered from the audience. "Yes! That's it, Weiss! Nothing less!"
"Never fear!" Suddenly, Nora tapped Yang's shoulder and tagged herself in. Unleashing Magnhild's hammer form, the berserker smiled cheerily at the exhausted Weiss.
"You're just going to have to lose now. Sorry!"
"Oh, Dust help me." Weiss sighed, trying to pull herself up but being unable to.
'I-I'm...doomed...'
"...no. You aren't. Not yet."
"Huh?" Weiss felt a hand on her shoulder, tagging her out.
Ren smiled at her as he tagged her out, drawing StormFlower.
"Not about to leave you out to dry, Weiss." The gunslinger helped her up, patting her on the back and lightly pushing her out. "Leave it to me."
"Awww...Renny!" Nora cooed. "That's sweet of you! Now it's just you and me, huh?"
Ren nodded, watching Weiss limp off the arena, where Yang took her back to the bench to recuperate.
"Yes, Nora. Yes it is." He smirked. "Don't expect me to hold back just because you're my girlfriend, though.
I have to win this."
"And why's that?" Nora hefted her hammer behind her back, grinning.
"Let's just say there's someone I owe a lot to. Someone who, if I'm honest, I wouldn't be around without." The gunslinger cocked his pistols. "But enough talk."
Nora grinned, before saying the next line in unison.
"Let's fight!"
"My, my!" Cinder commented. "What a change of events! The lovers are now fighting each other! This should be an interesting match!"
Nora and Ren stared at each other for a moment, studying the other for a while. For a moment, the atmosphere in the arena seemed tense.
The spell broke, however, when Nora whirled Magnhild into grenade launcher mode, firing at Ren indiscriminately.
"YAAAAAHOOOOO!"
Ren jumped and ducked to avoid the explosions, firing back with StormFlower to force Nora to dodge herself and reposition. The berserker, however, was prepared, and with a deft movement of the hand, she pointed Magnhild behind her, launching herself upwards and at Ren, before shifting it into hammer mode and rolling towards him.
"SUPER WHIRLY-BURLY BALL OF ADORABLE DEATH!"
Ren, however, was even more prepared.
With an even louder CLANG than Weiss and Yang's earlier clash, the blades of StormFlower met Magnhild's head, as the gunslinger held Nora in that position, locking eyes with her.
"Heh..." Nora smiled. "You're stronger than the last time we trained, Renny~"
"I work out." With a deft push, Ren forced Nora back off of him, adjusting his pose to fire as many bullets at her as possible. The berserker immediately spun to deflect them, releasing laughter all the way.
"Wahahahahahahaha!"
Ren immediately reloaded his guns, watching Nora's moves carefully.
'I'm gonna need to think this through.' The gunslinger thought carefully. 'She's a lot harder to hit than I thought, but if I can just get in, I can use my Semblance to finish this fight easily.'
"FOR THE PANCAKE GODS! GEODUDE, I CHOOSE YOU!"
"Huh-" The gunslinger only had time to look up before a large boulder hit him in the face, launched by Nora's hammer.
Cinder cringed, looking slightly worried. "Oooh! That had to hurt! Will the Enigmatic Gunman take the hit? Or will the Queen of the Castle claim the day?"
"Ow..." Ren pulled himself up, the boulder having lobbed itself several meters in front of him. He shook his head, dusting his clothes off.
"...I should've expected that one, I guess..." He then saw Nora running at him, hammer in hand.
"COME OOOOOOON REEEEEEEEEEEN!"
'I see my opportunity!' Ren thought, pocketing one half of StormFlower, leaving his hand bare for his Semblance.
"I'm sorry, Renny!" Nora called. "But I HAVE to win this for the pancake gods! You'll understand, right? You won't withhold cuddles like a meanie, right?!"
"No." Ren smirked. "But I am going to win this."
As Nora made contact and swung Magnhild at him, the gunslinger took his opportunity.
He swept underneath Nora's arm, before activating his Semblance.
His bare palm began coursing with Aura, glowing white. Ren slammed it into Nora's side, throwing her off.
"Waah!" The berserker's hammer was thrown out of her hands, leaving her unarmed and disorientated. Ren saw his chance to finish the job.
Pocketing the other half of StormFlower, he unleashed a barrage of glowing Aura-charged palm strikes at Nora- the one area where Nora had never been able to best him at was hand-to-hand combat, where his Semblance was god.
With one final powerful strike, Ren slammed his palm into her chest, sending her flying back and skidding into the sand.
"I...love...pancaaaakes...urgh..." Nora's eyes shut and she fell into unconsciousness, her Aura depleted.
"Sorry, Nora." Ren apologised as he brushed off his palms. "I'll make you some pancakes later, I promise."
"Lie Ren has won by knockout! Nora Valkyrie has been eliminated from the competiton!
Weiss' team has won the first match!" Cinder announced proudly. "A round of applause, please!"
And the stadium obliged.
Siegfried, from the crowd, cheered over the din.
"YES! EXACTLY AS EXPECTED! I KNEW YOU WOULD WIN!" The man roared. "YOU ARE TRULY WORTHY OF BEING CALLED MANLY!"
Freya giggled. "I doubt our daughter wants to be manly, dear."
Cinder drew both Ren and Weiss into the arena, lifting their arms into the air.
"Let's have it for our first winners!"
"Nicely done, Weiss." Ren nodded at her. "I'm proud of you."
"You too." Weiss smiled back. "Glad to have you as a partner."
"So. I guess this means we'll be fighting each other later, eh?"
"It does. May the best Hunter win." Weiss stated.
They both knew it wasn't over yet. It was just the first match, and there were many more to go.
Ren, Weiss, and the other spectators were then allowed to watch the other matches.
Ruby and Jaune had advanced, as had Blake and Pyrrha, along with Adam and Melanie. Aspasia, Chartre, Dove and Otto had been taken out in the first round by their opponents, along with Maeve and Cordelia.
'Truly,' Weiss thought. 'It's only just begun.'
...
Later, at the first AKB0048 show...
"And please welcome...Chieri Sono!" The MC roared over the crowd's cheering, as the blue-haired idol stepped on stage, waving at everyone, with the background of the setting Vale sun, as the last of the day's matches ended and everyone piled in to see her and her group perform.
"This is awesome!" Ruby cheered. "And take a look at the program for the next couple of nights! Risette, Inori...oh my Dust, they got Kalafina to perform." The reaper squeed. "This is gonna be great!"
"Speak for yourself..." Yang sighed, defeated. "I just want to go hide myself right now..."
"I told you, don't get cocky, Yang." Weiss stated, smirking. "I warned you."
"...I feel so pathetic..."
Blake nodded. "I'm still wondering what Adam's doing here. It's just not like him to show up like this."
"Just get over it, Blake." Weiss said, shrugging. "Even he has to enjoy the Feast, right?"
"I suppose...but I just have a feeling..." The catgirl looked at the crowd suspiciously.
"...and I sense that something unmanly is going to happen..."
Siegfried suddenly wrapped his daughter in a bear hug.
"Weiss! Congratulations!"
"Ahh! Father!" The heiress yelped. "D-don't do that!"
"Hah, but I'm just happy to see you! Congratulations on your victory!"
And so, the night went on.
END
A/N: I hope these fight scenes did justice to his legacy. I will promptly slap myself if it does not.
This'll be a longer arc- about four or five chapters more. I had to compress Weiss and Ren's fights into one chapter to keep the pacing without problems- this'll be the longest chapter in the arc.
Next fight, Norn versus Velvet. Yes, the two ensemble darkhorses of the fic. This had to happen.
So, I hope you enjoyed that, leave your ideas, comments, thoughts, suggestions, reviews, criticisms and I hope you have a GREAT day! Until next t-
STINGER
"Heh." Adam scoffed as he saw Weiss enjoying herself in the crowd, talking to her friends and father.
"...so...that's the target, huh?"
"Indeed." The man he was speaking on the phone with gave him an affirmative answer.
"So," The Faunus looked around. "Why do you want her gone?"
"I have my reasons.?"
"I... Fine." Adam sighed. "I can take her out now. Do you want me to?
"No! Save her for me. I have plans for her.
For now, you are to spy upon her and tell me what her weaknesses are, and where she is most vulnerable."
"Tch. How dishonorable."
"I have my reasons."
"...fine." Adam looked at his phone. "...but let it be known, this disgusts me."
"And yet you do it anyway."
"You drive a hard bargain." Adam stated.
"Indeed," The Faunus repeated, shaking his head. "Siegmund Schnee, you drive a hard bargain."
END