Chapter Seven
Lune Beryl shot up from her bed, feeling strangely disoriented as her heart thudded furiously against her chest. She normally wasn't the type of person to curse, outwardly or inwardly, but what the fuck, man?
Pulling out her scroll from underneath her pillow and checking the current time revealed that it was three in the morning. That meant she'd been asleep for five hours as she'd gone to bed at around ten, but that also meant not much time had passed since she started dreaming, either. She could've sworn she'd been stuck in her own dreamland far longer than that.
Lune let out a soft groan, which would have probably been louder if she didn't have her sleeping roommate in mind.
Speaking of the older girl…
Even if Vanilla was across the air-conditioned room and it was dark as dark can be, the only source of brightness coming from the moonlight beyond the glass windows, Lune's enhanced eyesight let her see things without too much difficulty. Thus, she discovered that Vanilla hadn't stirred because Lune did, thank goodness. Her breathing was even, her body rising and falling from each even breath. Peaceful.
Lune hoped that her dream was leagues better than hers, at least. Because, honestly, that dream messed the faunus up a fair bit. After calming herself down and stuffing her scroll back under the pillow, Lune sank back down to her bed, closing her eyes as she allowed the remnants of her dream to fill her mind.
She had seen… a world that was not her own. A setting that should have been long forgotten. She saw a beach, filled with smiling people who'd talked to her. People who referred to her with familiar ease. They were a man and a woman with fair skin, and… and they were urging her to join the others by the shore.
Lune smiled fondly as her heart completely returned to its normal beat. Yes, she remembered that happening. She remembered having smiled and nodded, walking towards the little girl and the little boy who were building a sandcastle by the shore. They started laughing when, for the nth time, their creation was destroyed by an unexpectedly large wave. And when she had finally stopped before them, the two children's smiles grew wider. She'd invited them to swim with her because she loved swimming and the water in general…
And that was what Lune remembered most clearly. She knew something else happened after that, but her mind drew a blank now.
Ugh, she thought with a new scowl as she turned to her side, pulling her blanket over her head. The feeling was still there, though, and for that one moment, Lune Beryl completely believed she was still Amelie Gauthier, spending a day at the beach with her family. She had a mother and a father who might argue at times, but at the end of the day they remembered that their kids mattered a lot more than whatever they ended up fighting about. She had a sweet little sister whose smile could warm even the coldest of hearts, and a rambunctious brother who always enjoyed a good prank or two.
And now that she realized it was nothing but a dream, she felt cheated.
Nearly ten years ago, back when she'd been nothing but a teenager in an infant's body, she'd been convinced that she was over her death. She'd embraced her new life with open arms, hadn't she? She couldn't put back together what was already broken beyond repair. And, she'd had dreams like this before anyway. She never felt like crying then.
But she felt like crying now.
There were certainly no specific way to describe what it was like to have a happy illusion broken. When she had to think about it, back on Earth she would have been dead for ten years now. And when she had to think even deeper, that meant her old family's been living a life without her. The entire puzzle set would be forever missing a piece, and Lune didn't even know how they'd taken the news of her sudden death. She'd never even gotten to see what kind of life they lead with her gone.
And all this time… all this time, she was actually alive as another person with a different family. With different friends, different everything. She'd been happy when her family would have been sad, even if they eventually moved on. It was… kind of unfair. In a sense.
Stupid, stupid dream, suddenly giving me issues and stuff.
Maybe she was just compartmentalizing after she'd been reborn. She'd always done a good job of minding the more important things instead of dwelling on the rest. Then again, she did remember being way more distracted when she was relearning everything and making sense of things, especially after realizing she'd been reborn in Remnant. And now that things have calmed down a bit, with no bullies around to keep her mind on them and no major annoyances so far about the unfair treatment for being someone of a different race, she suddenly had enough room for something else.
She could keep making one guess after another, but they would all come to the same conclusion: she wasn't as over her old life as she'd thought. Curveballs, ugh.
And I can't allow myself to be like this, she thought as she fussed in her bed.
She was Lune Beryl now, bunny girl and future badass. Maybe. And she had her classes to focus on in the morning… which, frankly, she wasn't looking forward to because she liked sleeping in whenever she could. She was now a faunus whose goal was to become a Huntress and minimize her chances of dying in a more dangerous world. Not a college girl looking to finally graduate and pay back the kindness and understanding given to her by her parents.
And, okay, as a future Huntress, she also had her obligations to help the world and its people, too, even if they were jerks to people like her. But that was already a given. She would do her duty without complaint.
(Compared to Ruby Rose's reasons of becoming one, though, she had to admit that her own reasons were selfish in comparison. But Lune couldn't help what she thought… Oh well. She was never meant to be a good example in the first place anyway.)
She wasn't who she used to be any more, Lune reminded herself. Amelie was gone, gone, gone. The now was what mattered the most. Her family had surely recovered from the loss by now, and they were probably trying their best to be happy again. It's been ten years since, for God's sake. And, again, she really should go back to sleep. Being awake like this was putting a dent on the amount of time she'd usually spend sleeping. She wasn't about to let some dream get the better of her.
She was going to stop thinking about this whole thing right now. Full stop. She wasn't going to resume it, and if she had to keep compartmentalizing, then so be it. Get knocked down, get right back up.
Lune stilled and closed her eyes, forcing her thoughts elsewhere. Sleep wouldn't come to Lune anytime soon, but when it finally did, it was blessedly a more dreamless one.
"Um… Lune?"
The faunus stirred, feeling a hand lightly move her shoulder. But she didn't open her eyes just yet. The fog in her mind was still thick, and a part of her refused to let it clear. Lune gave a short grunt instead and moved away from the hand.
"We have classes today, remember? We've got… Intro to Combat, eight in the morning. And then there's our Dust Studies after that, and… yes."
Lune continued ignoring the voice. Sleep. She needed more sleep… and the thought of anything physically active made her want to get out of bed even less. She felt like crap and she didn't want to deal with anything right now.
"It's seven-forty-five now… you're going to be late."
"Just tell the teacher I'm indisposed or something…" Lune mumbled. Something inside her perked up at that fact, but it was still overwhelmed by her desire to stay here and do nothing. "S'not like anyone wants me there, probably…"
"I… uh…" the girl, Vanilla, didn't know what to say. She was at a complete loss as to what she could do. Lune's ears picked up the sound of a faint gulp and a nervous, backward step. "I see. But please get up soon. I'll have to get going now, though—I don't want to be late. Sorry."
Without opening her eyes, Lune outstretched a hand and made a shooing gesture. She heard the sounds of fading footsteps and a door closing soon after.
(Thirty minutes later, it would finally occur to Lune that she indeed had a morning class to attend and she slept in because her dad wasn't there to force her up. The resulting hell as Lune hastily prepared herself while chanting I'm late, I'm late, I'm late like a certain white rabbit in a certain bookwas one to be remembered for the days to come.)
Lune wasn't expecting a miracle or anything, but somehow she'd still felt deflated upon reaching her classroom and finding her class to be currently in session. She'd stopped right before the door, and if she hadn't been physically fit, she would have been panting and leaning against the wall. Regardless, she'd still perspired, and it didn't help that her pale yellow uniform had to be thick and long-sleeved. She pulled out a handkerchief from her uniform's skirt pocket, dabbing at the beads of sweat rolling down her face.
Okay, she told herself, straightening up and mustering whatever dignity she had left to carry her through the entire session. She stared at the door intently.
Standard protocol, Lune. Open the door slowly, greet the professor if he or she greets you, and make your way to an empty chair as calmly as possible. Don't keep your head bowed; that just makes you look guilty. And pathetic. Act like normal, and just… fit in so nobody pays too much attention to you. Yeah, you can do this.
Lune steeled herself, placed a hand on the door handle, and pushed. She stepped inside with her neutral expression in place—which involved a half-lidded stare and a relaxed smile—and awaited what she expected would come down from being a tardy student.
No pressure, she thought.
But then her eyes met her teacher's, and whatever calm facade she'd put up started fracturing in places.
"Nice of you to drop by, Beryl. Let me guess, either you got lost along the way, forgot you had a morning class, or you woke up late. Maybe a combination of the three." There was no mistaking that slurred voice from anywhere, if that spiky gray hair and those red eyes weren't enough to indicate who exactly her teacher for the morning was.
"It's more of the latter two, Professor Branwen," Lune admitted calmly. Though on the inside, she was entertaining thoughts of hiding under a rock forever because she had just made a bad first impression in front of Qrow Branwen the Teacher and the entire class. The other kids were even looking at her, oh my God. Vanilla was apologetic and guilty, and Yang was… palming her face. Whatever message the blonde was trying to tell Lune through eye contact afterward was failed to be understood.
Qrow gave Lune an indescribable kind of stare and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I guess we can't all be punctual. But you're still not making a good first impression here, kid. And I'm not just talking about me."
"I'm aware of that, sir," Lune said. Despite her chill demeanor in play, she was fairly sure she was blushing at this point. The air around her felt hot.
"I can see that you are. Looks like you've lucked out, though, because I'm not really one to be strict about tardiness. Just show your face and prove you've got what it takes to plow through this class, and we won't be having any problems." Qrow said. After Lune's silent nod, he said, "Go on and get seated so I can continue where I left off."
"Right."
Lune ended up sitting herself at the back of the class, on a chair that actually looked pretty haphazard to sit on. Fortunately, it didn't collapse the moment her butt made contact with the wooden surface. Unfortunately, the vandals on the desk attached to it wasn't exactly… of a decent sort. There might even be a piece of dried gum stuck underneath it, if she had to peek. Typical. She mentally sighed in defeat and directed her gaze towards the front of the classroom.
"Well, with Miss Beryl here having just come to class, give me a moment to repeat what I've told you guys earlier. Bear with me," Qrow began. Lune might have sunk down on her seat in embarrassment. Just a bit. "Anyway, just like your handy little timetable says, this class is an introduction to the fine art of combat. If it's somehow not obvious, we'll be doing to be doing a lot of moving. And hitting, striking, whatever you wanna call it. Passing this course basically requires you to perform decently enough in every exercise and examinations. I'm not about to say when they happen; just be ready for them anytime. I know I don't look like much, but I will notice if anyone ends up slacking off in the middle of the class."
Lune could only give a small nod as Qrow's eyes briefly rested on her. Some students seemed to catch onto the implication and snickered, heads turning towards her before swiftly focusing back on the teacher in front.
Committing seppuku suddenly felt like something the faunus wanted to do right now.
"And, obviously, we're not starting this term by beating each other up. Hell, there's a good chance of that not happening anytime soon. You'll get to learn first about handling many different kinds of weapons, as well as a few basic exercises and maneuvers to get you kids on your way to being actual fighters."
Qrow noticed a student who had moved to raised his hand, and apparently, he seemed to know what the person meant to ask because he then said, "And, no, before you ask about the yearly Vale regional tournament, where you get to kick someone's ass for recognition"—he actually scoffed at that—"that's only open to third years and higher. Which actually brings me to what I was meaning to say next."
Another student raised her hand and asked, "That's the one Headmistress Blackthorn wanted you to talk about, isn't it, sir?"
"Bingo. Your super-scary headmistress wants me to tell you hopefuls that you can join in on the fun. The catch is, we get to decide whether you're eligible for entry or not. And the slots are limited, so we can't allow everyone to get the affirmative. As such, you'll be evaluated based on your overall class performance. So try your best to be the best fighters among your class, kids, 'cause that's the only way you have a shot at competing. It should be a given that you already have your own weapons crafted by then. And even more obviously, this'll be included in your transcript. You know what that means."
Oh hey, competition, basically.
Lune went to consult her timetable and, among the sea of subjects more academic in nature (she still had subjects like science and maths, apparently), she confirmed that she did have a class that involved weapons crafting this term. It was more conceptual than practical, so obviously, she wasn't about to start building up her own in her first year here. But she was pretty sure that her flowchart indicated that she would be having classes that dealt with the construction of one. Kind of like the class Lune had witnessed when she was five.
Baby steps. That's fine.
"So it's like, we'll be competing against each other for the chance to join the regionals," a student beside Lune murmured to his seatmate.
"If we wanna, anyway. D'you think there's going to be some kind of ranking involved?"
The faunus felt inclined to nod as the two boys started talking in soft voices. She wasn't sure if she'll be interested in joining the tournaments herself, but she guessed she had to at least try. Maybe. But considering how she had yet to discover her semblance and master her control over dust… yeaaaaaah, she still had a long road ahead of her.
There was also this one particular thought about that... but she didn't want to think on it. Not now.
"That's it, honestly. If you've got any questions, just come to me after class." Qrow finished, nodding at the students. "So with that aside, let's move on to today's agenda: gauging your skills so I know where to actually start this whole thing. Not everyone has a Huntress or a Huntsman for a parent, right?"
Lune noticed a few nods from some of the students. The ones who entered Signal had surely done their best to be physically fit, as was required. But as Lune had learned, those with Huntsmen as parents tended to have the upper hand because they were trained far more properly and thus knew more about the profession than the average Joe. Which was a boon, in her case. It wasn't like that glaring fact divided the students from each other and made them treat each differently, but everyone knew a skill gap did exist and they just simply didn't act upon it.
(But when it involved a faunus, though… what was equality, right?)
"Alright. Let's go to one of the sparring rooms, then, because unlike your other teachers who will undoubtedly do nothing but introduce themselves and the subject they teach, we're starting something on day one." Qrow said.
No one had the sense to object to that, not after the we're-doing-this-no-matter-what look on the man's face.
This was pretty much everyone's cue to get up, take their things, and make their way towards the sparring room down the hallway. After the students filed out of the classroom until there was practically none left, some giving her weird looks before they did so, he motioned for Lune to come to him. The faunus picked up her bag and strapped it over her shoulder, instantly obeying.
"Yes?" Lune asked.
"I'm pretty sure you've been in a hurry earlier, kid, so you probably didn't realize that you don't have to wear a uniform for this class." Qrow informed her after he watched the last student, Yang, exit the room after nodding at her uncle and at Lune. Her lilac eyes seemed to linger on Lune's feet for a second, but upon realizing that the faunus hadn't caught on to what Yang was indicating, the blonde sighed and walked away.
Okay. What's going on? The faunus looked down on her clothes… and promptly considered melting into a puddle.
She couldn't believe how she didn't notice her classmates wearing anything but a uniform. Also, her knee socks were apparently mismatched and that might just take the cake for the most embarrassing thing Lune did for the day. No wonder Yang was looking so bothered. And no wonder the other kids were barely holding themselves back from openly ridiculing her.
"I see." Lune sounded cool and composed. But thanks to her blush, there were no illusions of what emotion she was hiding.
Qrow actually chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so. Don't worry, they'll forget all about it eventually. Kids will be kids." He gestured towards the door with his head. "So enough with the awkwardness, alright? You'll only end up looking worse. Just go on and get changed. You'll probably have… five minutes before I follow the class myself and get started on things."
No wonder Ruby liked the man so much, Lune thought just then. He could make himself seem like a hopeless drunk, but at the end of the day, he was someone… pretty cool in his own way.
"Thirsty, sir?" Lune decided to ask, forcing out a dry tone.
Qrow smirked knowingly. "You know it."
"Right." Lune said, moving towards the door. "I'm just… gonna go. And you didn't see any mismatched socks on me, I hope."
"I'll call it a hallucination," Qrow said, pulling out his flask. "If you claim you didn't find me raring for a drink right now. Idrisa's going to yell at me again if she finds out—and that woman's got one hell of a voice box."
Lune nodded. The deal silently made, she hastily made her way back to her dorm room while the hallways were clear of any students. The last thing she wanted was to make any further embarrassment of herself as the day went on.
It was already bad enough that last night's dream had her feeling like she was on tilt.
By the time Qrow's class ended, Lune was fairly sure she was going to be sore the next day.
The exercises the man made her and the entire class do, in a word, was insane. There were push-ups double the amount that Lune usually did, curl ups, stretches, even a bit of running up and down the stairs because the sparring room was a mini-stadium on its own and it had them. Ugh. Just, ugh. Lune liked to think she was competent in areas concerning physical fitness because of her father's training regimen, but apparently, she would have been ranked in the middle of the entire class because so many others performed way better than her—Yang included. Maybe Vanilla, too, because not once had the shy girl ever complained about the workload.
While they seemed like they could go on much longer, Lune felt like she wanted to lie down and sleep for a millennium. Maybe two.
"It's not that bad," Yang later said as she and Lune entered their next class after a shower and a change into their uniforms. "It's true Uncle Qrow really knows how to really push it, but I can totally see myself doing more of this the next day. I'm all fired up!"
The look Lune gave her was that of tired incredulity as the blonde raised an enthusiastic fist.
"…What?" Yang asked as the faunus dragged her feet towards the chair at the back of the room, seating herself down limply. The blonde promptly took her place beside Lune.
Vanilla would probably take the empty chair to my right, then, Lune thought idly. That would make the faunus end up squeezed between her friends later on… not that there was any problem with that arrangement. So far, the shy girl had yet to make an appearance after she ducked into the shower rooms, which had happened after Vanilla apologized profusely for saving her own skin by going to class early without her rabbit friend. Geez, Lune would have done the same anyway.
"…Are you sure you're not draining everyone's life energies so you could be happy and active the entire day?" Lune said, several seconds later.
"What, like a vampire? Nah, there's no way," Yang said.
"Okay then," Lune said. She slumped forward on her desk until her chin collided against the piece of wood. Ow. "'Cause honestly? I feel like death."
"Aw, come on, don't be so dramatic," Yang shot back, patting the faunus on the back with a grin. "It's just the first day. Things will get better!"
"I know that. But that doesn't change what I feel right now. I can't feel my arms, my legs are on fire, and I think my vision's dimming..." She grimaced. "Ah, death, my old friend."
"Now you're just being dramatic and ridiculous."
She made a dismissive gesture to the blonde without even looking. Or moving the rest of her body. "Oh, shush. Just give me this moment to rest. At least this Introduction to Dust class would be much more relaxing in comparison. It's all reading and writing, and not a single ounce of running. Or flipping. Probably some activities or two involving the Dust themselves, but knowing my aura problem, I'll cross that bridge later."
"…You do know that you're gonna have to slack off even less if you want a shot at joining the Vale tournament, right?"
"Implying I even want to join."
"I'm not about to take no for an answer—oh hey, Vanilla. Lune's over here." Yang would have said more about the tournament, but then she'd noticed Vanilla approaching, her footsteps slow and steady. The older girl stumbled on her own words as she greeted Yang back.
And when Lune finally looked up to greet the girl herself, she found that Vanilla looked pretty… serene, considering what just happened this morning. Not a single strand of hair was sticking out of her braids behind her. Her face wasn't even flushed and, upon noticing the way the faunus was looking at her, Vanilla simply flashed Lune an awkward smile before quietly sitting down on the chair beside the rabbit girl.
Sighing, Lune straightened up from her undignified posture. Looking aside at Vanilla, she asked, "I don't suppose you're just as tired as me after that session?"
Vanilla blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the question.
"Um, it reminds me of my sister's drills, actually," Vanilla said softly. Sheepishly. "By which I meant I could go on and on and on if need be."
Not her, too. Darn. Lune was pretty sure she could make a storm cloud materialize and hover above her head right now. It'd be nice and dark and thick, raining fat drops over her as it openly announced to the entire world her current mood. And, after seeing who had just entered the classroom and wrote his name on the white board, later turning around to grin at the class who'd promptly gone silent, the rabbit girl came to the conclusion that the world really hated her right now.
"I see we're all in attendance today! That's a good sign, I think. The name's Vert Beryl—Professor Beryl to you students—though you most likely already know that—and welcome to our Dust class!"
After that, things pretty much happened like clockwork. A course syllabus was handed to the entire class, several sheets of stapled paper dictating how the weeks were going to go and what kind of lessons they should look forward to.
Just as Lune predicted, the class really was more academic in nature, with a mid-term, a final examination and some other activities being the basis for her grade. Lectures were a thing, and maybe there might be some recitation involved. Typical school stuff, really. Practical applications would happen in the course of the year, not entirely this term.
Also, fortunately, her dad wasn't going to be the kind of person Lune feared he was going to be with his own spawn in one of his classes. While still retaining his usual, cheerful attitude, the man was actually acting like a professional. He didn't give Lune any kind of special attention. Didn't even make any jokes at her expense like the way most dads did. He just talked about the subject he'll be teaching like the way any teacher would.
In this classroom, Lune was nothing but a student like any other—and he will flunk her if she so much as performed poorly in class. That was one important point Vert Beryl raised as he spoke: anyone who didn't reach the minimum grade requirement would fail.
Okay, so the world didn't hate her that much, after all.
Just as Lune was starting to completely give her attention to her dad-slash-teacher, a piece of paper was nonchalantly placed on the surface of her desk. She read the contents and the first thing she felt was a a tinge of jealousy. Because even Yang, of all people, had a much prettier handwriting than her.
We'll talk more during lunch break. Look forward to it.
Lune gave her blonde friend an unamused look. Yang really wasn't about to let the faunus ignore the tournament, wasn't she?
Qrow had been right about the classes during the first day… mostly.
Yeah, Lune's dad simply stopped his session after the students were well-informed of how the class was generally going to go. There weren't any diagnostic tests or the like, just an awkward moment of students introducing themselves to the class, one by one.
Lune managed to go through that without any awkwardness, flashing her classmates a lazy smile and tossing a passive-aggressive remark towards someone whispering about the "stupid bunny girl with mismatched socks" ("If you happen to find a well somewhere, you have my permission to fall into it."). It made her dad raise his eyebrows, but he didn't do anything. Yang, on the other hand, had blown through her introduction with the kind of confidence that could make a crowd go quiet and stare at her all day long, resulting to a good number of students thinking she was a really cool person. Vanilla had stumbled through hers but somehow managed to make some boys think she was cute. Lune heard.
Then they left class with an assigned reading for the next day. Nothing too complex, considering their age. But it was still work, and Lune could feel her laziness threatening to overcome her because all she'd ended up thinking was sleeping the rest of the day away once her classes were over.
Yeah… she could already imagine her family's conversation during dinner time. Dad would poke fun at her having forgotten to read her assignment, and Mom might just end up scolding her.
(It suddenly reminded her of her past life and her previous parents, somehow, because she remembered that her old family liked sharing all sorts of stuff during mealtimes.)
Lune promptly dropped that thought like a piece of hot coal.
Anyway! Right now was their lunch period, and Lune and Yang—and Vanilla, after the faunus found the girl sitting by her lonesome in another table—were currently finishing their own meals amidst the loud chatter filling the large canteen. As Lune finished her own meal that consisted of mostly vegetables, she idly wondered how a Signal Academy food fight happened. More food-tossing and less makeshift weaponry, probably.
"So, now that we've got our chance to talk…" Yang said after she swallowed down the last of her own meal, putting down her fork and knife. "Let's talk."
"Oh, look, there's a dragon Grimm flying outside the window," Lune said in a deadpan voice, not even attempting a real misdirection tactic. "I think his name's Kevin. Kevin says hi."
Vanilla ended up falling for it, though, glancing at the nearby window with widened eyes. She soon realized that Lune was joking and she ended up finding her half-finished meal extremely interesting.
"Gee, if you're going to try distracting me, try harder than that," Yang said, shaking her head. "But seriously, Lune. We should set a goal for ourselves, don'tcha think? I mean, think about it! A tournament where we can show our skills and make our records shine like diamonds. What's not to like?"
"Nothing, I guess," Lune said, leaning back on her chair. She raised her pointing finger as she said, "On one hand, keeping our eyes on the tournament is definitely going to make us to improve in the long run." She then raised her middle finger alongside the other, forming an almost V sign. "On another…" She sighed. "I dunno. I'm not really aiming to be in the spotlight. You, on the other hand, you're practically born to be in it. Besides, I'm pretty sure the training during Professor Branwen's class earlier is enough of an eye-opener. I've got leagues to go before I'm even going to be qualified."
"So what? We've got three years to get ready for it. You can pace yourself well when you really put your mind into it," Yang pointed out.
Yang, admittedly, had a point Lune couldn't rebut. Improving herself tenfold would help her survive through the future Beacon attack. "But—"
"Just give it a shot, will you? Think of it this way: if you trained yourself as hard as you can but still didn't manage to be one of the combatants, you're not really losing anything but an opportunity. We're not looking to win this thing—okay, maybe I'm looking to win this thing, but just like Uncle Qrow said, just participating in the tournament would be enough to add to our records." Yang said in the most convincing tone a girl her age could muster. The blonde shrugged. "Well, winning would be better than just being there, but yeah."
"Um, i-if I may add my thoughts," Vanilla then interjected, clearing her throat. She smiled politely at Lune. "I really don't see why you shouldn't at least try. I, um, have every intention to do my best, too. But if it's not enough… then it's not enough. Don't you want to make your family proud?"
Lune stared at Vanilla, then at Yang. Geez, these two…
If she was going to be honest with herself, Lune wasn't aiming to join the regional tournament because the effort involved would be too bothersome. She knew that some things had to be prioritized over what she really wanted. And, okay, a part of her was still competitive enough that the thought of becoming better than the rest just to secure a goal was an exciting one.
But then, well, when she thought about it, she could end up doing so well that…
That she could end up facing Yang in a real duel someday. Vanilla she was still ehh about because she wasn't that close to the girl, but still. This was the thought that nagged at her during class earlier.
It probably wouldn't mean a lot if she voiced this to the blonde, but here was the truth laid bare: Lune didn't want to end up upstaging Yang.
Sure, you could say that you doubted Lune was going to be able to go toe-to-toe with the blonde anyway and she'd believe it one hundred percent, but the possibility was there; one could never tell what could happen in the course of seven years. So if that possibility became real, she'd feel like she was going against some law of nature. Because, even though she'd been a Remnant girl born and raised, the fact that she wasn't originally one would always come to mind.
Okay, she was going to put it bluntly: if this entire world was a stage, she wasn't supposed to be one of the actors involved. She wouldn't even be part of the cleanup crew.
It was already enough of a fluke that she was here, that she was friends with Yang and Ruby and was going through her second life the best way she could. Lucky enough that out of millions and millions of people on Earth, she was chosen to end up here. She felt like there was some unwritten law that she should forever stay in the shadows of the people who'd be, in another world, considered as the leading actors or actresses of this particular play.
She wasn't looking forward to find out what would happen if she stepped past that red line separating her from them. It scared her.
"Geez," Lune mumbled as she crossed her arms. "You guys really know how to convince me."
"It won't be so bad," Yang said, grinning. "Whatever happens, happens. You could kick my butt and I'll be okay with it."
Easy for her to say. To Lune, it really was more complex than that. "Yeah right. I'm just asking to be murdered the moment I accidentally pull off a few strands of your hair or something."
"My hair is my treasure. God have mercy on the poor bastard who messes with it." Yang said, stroking her hair fondly. "So, will you please think of joining this tournament with me?"
...On the other hand, she was here now. Nothing would change that, no matter how much her dreams would reveal how much she really missed her old life. It probably wasn't doing her sanity any good if she had to keep holding herself back just for the sake of not pissing off whatever was watching her right now. And then there was the fact that her option to stay as far away from the "canon" had been long since shot to hell, even though what had happened wasn't exactly her doing.
Maybe what I need to do is a balancing act, Lune thought. Make compromise of sorts. Might as well appease the powers that be, right?
"Ugh, fine. I'll try my best, but don't expect excellence," Lune said, finally caving in.
"That's more like it!" Yang said, and her smile became just a hundred watts brighter. "It'll be fun. If there's one kind of opponent I'd want to end up facing, it's you."
Lune could only offer an uncertain smile at that one.
Well, whatever. Like she'd said before, only time would tell. For now, she'd rather focus on not flunking any of her subjects—especially the academic ones.
A/N: One week of thesis-focusing and much studying later, I finally completed this chapter. About damn time, honestly. I'll probably proofread this again in the next couple of days; I've got one last research paper to finish and I just wanted this chapter uploaded instead of delayed.
So, anyway, that became a thing. I mean, if Mistral had its own regional tournament, Vale could too, right? I thought I'd make the Signal arc of this story a bit more interesting. Though I wish I could get to doing some action scenes soon; I need the practice because that's, like, something I'm pretty weak at. Nothing too character-focused this chapter, unfortunately.
Anyway, thank you, as usual, for those who reviewed, followed, and faved my story! You guys are awesome.