Chapter 52. Beacon Days 33
It was a long, hard-fought struggle, but they have at last reached the zenith of the night.
"Are you seeing this, people of Vale? Are you seeing this!? What a show!"
Jaune paid little mind to the emcee shouting into their microphone. His muscles groaned and creaked at the strain he was putting them through, shifting in ways unnatural but oh so necessary as he faced what must, without a doubt, be his greatest battle to date. A single slip of attention could spell his humiliation, his defeat.
"M. B. F! M. B. F! M. B. F!"
The crowd roared for him, the Mysterious Blond Fighter known as Jaune. They may have witnessed his prowess in earlier matches, but none of it came close to what he displayed here and now.
"A-dam! A-dam! A-dam!"
Adam. Mysterious Faunus Samurai A. Whatever name the stranger went by, Jaune's opponent across the way has garnered his own supporters. This far into the contest, he had yet to even break a sweat. Standing straight, feet together, the horned Faunus looked down his nose at Jaune, a scoff exposing his apparent derision. The disdain spoke great volumes; he believed himself superior, and Jaune a negligible threat.
The audience loved his attitude and they screamed their approval as Adam readied the next move in his arsenal, the cheers redoubling in strength when he aimed the attack at them, a simple turn of the head to take in the people sitting in stands. One fist clenched, he exhaled a shuddering breath; the mask he wore could not hide the raw anger he held for his watchers. It should have been a blunder that would alienate them, yet…
Fluttering sighs erupted from dozens of female admirers in every direction, because they saw it.
Deep within his scornful expression laid a dark hurt, a look they have only ever thought existed in romance novels and movies. Yes, that was the best way to describe it; before them stood a real-life main love interest, complex and redeemable. The same idea flashed across their minds, converging to one certainty.
I can fix him.
Jaune reeled back, composure shattered in the face of one who would dare to pander in so shameless a manner. The edgy take seemed to have come straight out of a story for young adults. Effective, but awful nevertheless, deserving of nothing but contempt.
Even that, though, would not be Adam's greatest crime.
No, that sin was found in the black suit of fine quality. The slight swagger in the set of his shoulders. The undone buttons and the choice to forgo a tie. That stylized half-mask, too! Only the blind would fail to see what was happening here. Mysterious Faunus Samurai A was jacking his style!
Although, the man's clothes featured far too much red on display. In Jaune's mind, it was reminiscent of the Red Axe mooks and really gave him that 'small fry' energy. Blue looked infinitely better.
Contestant number two: No originality. A poor imitation of the actual Yakuza in the room. 0 out of 10 points.
Unfortunately, in their merciless battle of posing, his opinion did not carry the final say. The spectators will decide who wins the epic clash to shake the foundation of Vale.
There was also this brawl or something going on in their periphery between a pretty blonde and a swole Faunus, but hardly anyone paid attention to that. The duel of Jaune and Adam had pride on the line. It mattered more.
His brows furrowed as he spied the briefest of smirks on the other man's face. The self-satisfaction gleaned in that one moment decided his course.
Pheh. Let's see how he likes this.
Three long strides cleared him some space to allow the audience on all sides a better view. His fingers interlaced, and a twist of the hands pointed his palms outward as he stretched both arms high above, and behind, his head. His nimbleness came into play, back slightly arching to further showcase his lean musculature, bare abs revealed through strategically undone buttons at the bottom of his untucked shirt. In this pose, Jaune sucked in a breath and rolled his belly, activating the critical muscle groups that let him flex his abs in an undulating wave. A rumbling of impressed whispers passed over the crowd, soon drowned out by shrieks of delight.
Pure physicality. The mainstay in the battle for appeal. Say what you like of complicated inner character or broken birds, looking fit and dishy topped them all. It was Jaune's turn to sneer at his opponent. The annoyed growl sounded as sweet as a song.
Oh?
Changing tack, Adam finally left his spot, finally put in effort. He strolled forward on a course for Jaune. Unguarded. Undaunted. Inviting an attack. What a power move.
Two can play at that game of chicken.
Posture straightened, check. Chest puffed out, check. Fearless grin, check. Left hand in a pocket, the right swinging by his side, Jaune approached the copycat. Tension flared higher with every step taken.
They were of a height, Jaune noticed. Identical, too, in the length of their strides. And, as one, they halted just before crashing to leave a gap of inches between their bodies. Yet another stalemate.
The flurry of activity gave way to absolute stillness, the jarring transformation such that the warehouse fell to a momentary hush. Past the slits of Adam's mask, different-colored eyes peered out into the world. Jaune returned the glare, tilting his chin upward in a show of disrespect. Their staredown lasted an eternity. Who will blink first?
"SQUEEEEEEEE!" The Emcee disregarded the question in favor of screaming into their mic. "Those heavy breaths- the heated gazes- This is the pairing I didn't know I needed!"
Blink. Blink. Humans and Faunus both lost the round, unable to help the expressions of utter befuddlement as they stared up at the announcer box.
"Get closer! Kiss! Please? I can make it rain if you want me to!"
Please stop.
The emcee did not stop. Their gushing over the two men reverberated to the corners of the warehouse. It filtered through every pair of ears. The things that were said…
"I'm going to kill that rabbit," Jaune murmured.
"An excellent idea," Adam agreed.
They stood in awkward silence for a bit. Jaune tried for a pose, but gave up halfway.
"Well, the moment's gone. I'm just not feeling it anymore."
Adam nodded. "The thing up there has thoroughly ruined the sense of gravitas."
"What now?"
"I suppose we must proceed to beat the everloving tar out of each other."
"Hmmm. I don't know, isn't that rather classless after-RAAHHH!" Jaune reared back his head then slammed it forward—*crack!*—only to bounce off a forehead coming from the opposite direction; the two enemies stumbled apart.
Once he recovered, Adam roared, "You craven double-crosser!"
"Don't pretend you're any different," Jaune drawled, before smirking maliciously. He was also clutching his throbbing forehead, which detracted somewhat from the image he wanted to project, but let's not mention that. "Where did that cool act go? Look at you, resorting to violence the second you realize you can't top me in style."
" —EEEEEE!"
"Phrasing, human."
"My bad. And 'human'? Odd word choice to call a guy." Jaune responded as he circled his opponent, searching for openings. The most notable flaw was the tendency of Adam's left hand to settle on his hip, fingers curling around something that was not there until he remembered and corrected it. A swordsman's habit.
Meaning, he might suck pretty bad if it came down to a fistfight, right? Jaune chanced rushing in just to eat a boot to his face.
Nevermind. Ow.
Plan B—no, C, then.
Eyes on Adam, he called out to one of the two people fighting off to the side. "Y! How's the Semblance?"
An explosion was his answer as Mysterious Blonde Fighter Y burst into fire. Crimson eyes shining, she yelled back, "Ready to rock!"
Adam spotted his intentions a split second before Jaune pivoted to the left. An Aura-overloaded leg stomped against the ground, and Mysterious Blond Fighter X zipped off in a blur to rejoin his partner. When the world returned to focus, he jumped high, legs tucked in. The huge Faunus had not seen him yet, making it the perfect opportunity to dropkick the back of his skull. As the man staggered, Jaune landed and skipped a couple of steps to end up next to Yang.
"Thanks for buying time, dude," Yang said, clapping Jaune on the shoulder.
"You're welcome."
Her Semblance, Burn, had always been a risky play. The condition for its activation went hand in hand with Aura depletion, requiring that she took damage. Multi-personnel brawls were her worst matchups for all that she loved them best, merely because one too many errant attacks from a blindspot can knock out her remaining Aura reserves to render the efforts thus far wasted. With him distracting Adam to keep her from becoming overwhelmed, she faced just one person, and worked towards amping up at a steady, controlled pace. The end result? Their side now possessed one hell of a showstopper, something big and flashy that can win them the round and clinch their invite to bigger tournaments.
How wonderful, when a plan came together. The final step was to win the fight tonight.
"Stay behind me."
"Not fucking likely," Yang said with a feral grin.
Damn berserker maniac. Jaune argued, "You're the only ace in my deck, but a few good hits can remove you from play so it's my turn to be the meatshield. Go with it and I'll get you chances to land the decisive blows." Yang brightened at the prospect, and Jaune knew he had her. The blonde moved behind the blond. They were ready.
Adam and Smasher have likewise reconvened. Instead of standing close, they split apart to grant each their space.
The speakers crackled. "Boo! Get that hot girl outta my guy fantasy!" The Emcee laughed. "Ah, well, looks like we're gonna start in earnest. You need a signal? I got a signal! BEGIN!"
Adam made the first move, dashing around their team to pin them with a two-pronged attack. His lumbering partner charged from the front, bringing his arms up high, ready to drop like a guillotine.
Jaune feigned a yawn at the tactic seen a hundred times prior, done better in every way by his teachers. Reaching back, he grabbed an arm.
"Y, go low," was his instruction before he flung her through the gap between Smasher's legs, leaving himself as the nice, juicy target to draw their opponents' attention. In a bad habit so typical of Beacon students, Yang failed to take advantage of the obvious weakpoint, waiting until she skidded clear to punch the big man right as the massive fists swung down, Jaune meeting it with a guard. The weight akin to a hammer rattled his bones. Nothing he hasn't experienced.
The giant, not as lucky, received the equivalent of a cannon shot and went flying at Jaune, who set himself in a horse stance and drove an elbow into the man's belly, pinballing him back to Yang. The sound of footsteps alerted him to the second man approaching. Turning his body, he protected his face with one arm, striking out with the other in a blind swipe; the fist was stopped by a foot, then shoved aside, Adam following the momentum into a spinning heel kick. Jaune twisted to catch it on the biceps.
"Jaune– X!" A little late, there. "Incoming!"
Forewarned, he changed direction again, blocking a hard punch before snapping again to the other side, flicking a jab at Adam's nose to slow him down. Catching a motion at the corner of his eye, he hopped over a low sweep and rammed into Smasher to push him at Yang, then pivoted to Adam just in time to get the air knocked out of him. The redheaded man landed lightly on the ground while Jaune stumbled, regaining his balance when he slammed into the wall that was the bigger Faunus, who was busy staving off Yang.
Well, here's an opening.
Jaune kicked behind him right at the back of the man's knee to break his form and undermine whatever he was doing. A devastating cross-straight from Yang lodged in his gut a moment later. Jaune ducked, allowing the large frame of the man to roll over his back. Midway, he pushed up with both legs to throw the body at Adam before regrouping with the second blonde.
"Whoa. See that, Y?"
"Yup. Stone cold. I would have caught him if he was on my team."
"Same here. How does he expect to win without the power of friendship? By the way, did you get hit any?"
"Nope. Still got Aura, Semblance is locked and loaded. I'm okay to continue. "
"Very good, because we're going to need you for him, too."
Him being Adam, Mysterious Faunus Samurai A. The man growled, walking towards them as he left Smasher to pick himself up.
A sudden burst of speed carried him within range, and he launched a quick one-two combo—Jaune blocked the first with his palm, and batted the second aside—culminating in a heavy downward strike. That one, Jaune snagged and hung on to, keeping Adam in place. A fist wreathed in gold Aura blasted past his hip, hitting the Faunus straight in the belly, with Jaune adding to the attack with a gut punch of his own.
"And a great counter from the blonds—Uh-oh, but Adam's returning fire!" The emcee announced with glee.
That has to be the most bloodthirsty little bunny in the universe.
Jaune's idle thought cost him. Adam clamped his hands on either side of the blond's head and, with a grin of deep satisfaction, pulled down to crack it on his knee.
For a second, everything went blank. Jaune reopened his eyes to a world now sideways. On his right, the sight of the approaching floor; on his left, a mane of fire crossed his vision. Yang smashed her fist into Adam's face to wipe away that smug look. He went down, too, as Smasher arrived.
Human and Faunus crawled to hands and knees as a battle between their partners raged above them. Adam was trying to stand upright, making Jaune scoff. Did he think this was some kind of honorable duel where they get time to reset? The correct action to take right now would be what Jaune was doing, i.e. lunging at his unbalanced enemy and tackling him back to the ground. Straddling the torso, he began whaling on his foe. Adam responded in kind, but was hampered by his position on the floor.
Jaune taunted, "Too easy! Too easy! Too easy! You're a sitting—" Mid-swing, his fist was captured. "—fuck."
Adam did not say a word as he launched himself up in a headbutt, this time angled so his two horns stabbed into Jaune, nearly getting his eyes. In that moment where the blond was distracted, Adam shoved him off and rose to his feet. Jaune followed suit, rolling to a standing position. They both searched for their partners.
Only one other person was upright in the arena. Mysterious Blonde Fighter Y posed with hands on hips and a leg on the back of the prone Smasher.
"Hey, looks like my team is winning!"
Adam scowled. "He was the weaker one between us. You must still contend with me."
"I have been, and you're not all that. What's a good way to put it… ah. You're no big deal. " Jaune mocked.
"Grrrr. If I had my sword, you would be eating those words." Instinctively, his hand moved to where a blade should be, clutching empty air.
"Pffft. But you don't. A swordsman without a sword, how scary~ Admit it, you're at the end of your ropes."
And, oh crap, so was Yang. The girl drudged over to him, eyes flickering back and forth from red to the normal lilac. Her hair shined golden, but lacked the flames of earlier.
"Do you need to drop out?" Jaune murmured as she drew near. Yang shook her head.
"I'm running on fumes, but there's a bit left in me. What's the plan?"
"He can't be much better than you in terms of Aura, so I say we go for a frontal charge. How does that sound?"
"Perfect."
"I can hear you, humans," Adam said, growling.
While Yang cursed at their blunder, Jaune shrugged and replied, "Yeah, but can you do anything about it?"
"Tch."
Pheh. Thought so.
With little need to say more, Jaune broke into a run, Yang hot on his heels. He went high as she went low, his leap meant to provide cover more than actually dealing damage.
Adam ducked his head, then flicked it upward to gore Jaune with his horns, followed by another jerking motion with the neck to throw him to one side before being put on the defensive against a series of ferocious blows from Yang. Jaune used the chance to kick him in the back, and Yang rang his bell with a haymaker. Adam crashed to the ground.
Jaune and Yang shared a look, their thoughts arriving at the same place. She showed a measure of reticence at the prospect, so he demonstrated the next step for her.
Kick him! Kick him while he's down!
Their shoes rained down blow after blow on the fallen man, leaving footprints all over the black suit. Serves the copycat right for stealing his motif.
"Hahaha! Behold the power of our bonds!" Jaune happily shouted, "No matter how strong you are, so long as you fight alone, we'll win by ganging up on you!"
Yang cut in. "Uh, I don't think that's what the phrase means."
"My teachers said it was, so it must be true."
The power of friendship = numerical superiority. Lesson #25.
In a last ditch effort, Adam hurled himself at Yang, latching on to her leg and punching at whatever spots he could reach. Rather than struggling, which would make it harder for Jaune to land a hit, Yang repositioned to give him a clear shot so he could continue the assault.
Her Aura broke ten seconds later. Adam's lasted a further five.
"And. THAT. Is. MATCH! We have our winners! Mysterious Blonde Fighter Y and Mysterious Blond Fighter Jaune!"
The warehouse erupted into cheers and applause. Yang accepted it with an excited whoop, over the moon at the victory, but Adam seemed unwilling to end things there, hand still gripped tight around one of Yang's ankles as she tried to shake him off. Jaune watched him carefully until, with a huff, the Faunus man released her and shooed them away in a dismissive gesture. Only then did he bask in the adulation of the crowd.
A section of the stands were filled with people who have sprayed-painted their heads yellow, their ardent fans that the pair picked up along the night; they cheered the loudest, just ecstatic to see the two win. Money was changing hands, and as many of the people taking part in that were cursing their names as praised them. A lot of the gangs, too, did not appear pleased; they watched him with wary gazes, gauging his place in the dynamics of the Valean underworld now that they had a firsthand look of the Xiong's young master.
Jaune spied some familiar faces scattered among the people present. Students of the Academies, out for a night on the seedier side of town. Meeting their eyes, it grew obvious that they recognized him and Yang in turn. That may spell a detention awaiting him in the future, then, but also that his reputation on the campus would rise. An acceptable result.
The noise level of the warehouse redoubled in intensity when four women in skimpy bunny suits entered the arena—Yang was a tad put out by that, grumbling under her breath about fairness and guys in speedos. One of them carried a suitcase. Their winnings. Jaune and Yang high-fived each other as their sights zeroed in on the case.
*Wee woo wee woo wee woo*
And then there were the police…wait, why were there the police?
The upbeat mood transformed in a blink to panic as the sound of sirens filtered into the building. The windows located high on the warehouse walls became lit in a flashing red and blue glow to confirm the presence of the law. For whatever reasons, the cops have shown up to the party.
On a silent signal, everyone started scrambling for an escape, running every which way in increasing desperation. Criminal types high-tailed out of the room first, the top bosses in their tailored suits and cigars looking as dignified as the lowest gangs' members. The barmen and vendors stayed long enough to gather their earnings and inventories. More than one of the event's spectators used the moment to attempt a robbery. The majority chose to stampede for the front doors, braving the police as they relied on the simple game of chances; with so many people, more would escape than be captured.
Standing at the center of it all, Jaune and Yang scratched their heads, wondering how it came to this. One second they were the stars of the night, and the next nobody paid them any mind.
"Of all the things to happen, I did not count on the police finding this place," Yang complained. "How many do you think there are?"
"Going by the amount of flashing lights, thirty or forty cars in my professional opinion."
"Wooow. They really came out in force."
Yes, and that did not sound right no matter how one sliced it. The VPD should be conveniently incompetent. The criminals of this city were very careful in ensuring that.
"Someone squealed," he realized. "One of the eliminated tournament fighters, maybe?"
True or otherwise, he was not sticking around to find out. The prize money, his prize money, was evidence now, destined for confiscation if found by the police.
Rushing over to the bunny girl brigade, he held out his hands. "Hey, mind passing me my winnings?" He half-expected a backstab since this whole operation had gone out the window, but the flustered woman practically hurled the suitcase at him before sprinting for the doors along with the rest of her scantily-clad team.
What an outfit. Figure-hugging. Low-cut, with choice sections further removed. The fishnets—each woman in a different color—added that certain erotic something to complete the image. Can he convince the twins to… not the time. Focus. Horny brain go to sleep, please.
The two blonds detoured to retrieve their equipment, then followed the thickest pack of runners. At the first available chance, they ducked into one of the numerous alleys that dotted the district. The police had not managed to secure a cordon yet. May never, considering the wider paths can net them more arrests than they were able to handle. Jaune and Yang slipped through one of these gaps, skulking in the dark as they headed for the opposite direction of the sirens, taking a couple of turns just to make sure they would be safe.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the humans I am searching for."
Nevermind. Someone found them. Sighing, Jaune stood from his crouch and turned to the voice.
"You know, your lesson really stuck to me, so I thought I'd put it into practice. Meet my friends." Their previous opponent in the final round swaggered down the alley, an entourage in tow. A straight, katana-looking sword was clasped in his hand, blade resting on a shoulder.
…Again that was Jaune's pose the guy was stealing! Was there no end to his shamelessness!?
Still. The blood-red blade. The masked White Fang members at his back, in their ensembles of white and black. The implicit disdain in calling Jaune 'human'.
"I thought you looked familiar. Adam Taurus."
Mysterious Faunus Samurai A, aka Adam—now unexpectedly revealed as White Fang Terrorist Adam Taurus—leaned forward, head tilting slightly, and said in a mocking tone. "Oh, was that not obvious? Did the fact that I am a bull Faunus wearing a Grimm mask not register?" His free hand made a gesture, and one of his subordinates proceeded to set fire to an object—a bottle stuffed with a rag— and lobbed it through the windows of the warehouse next to them. Something inside soon exploded, presumably reacting to the flames. "How about that, does it scream 'White Fang' to you?"
The pair of blonds stared at him, mouth agape.
Jaune recovered first. "Hey, uh, you're being a little crazy there. Just saying."
Yang spun a finger around her ear in emphasis.
"Crazy?" The Faunus man asked. He was heaving with each breath, as if struggling to rein in his emotions. "Crazy, are you two not recognizing the most wanted man in two Kingdoms. Crazy, is that idiot woman asking me to catch Grimm alive. Crazy, is this madhouse of a city that wiped out ninety percent of my people within a fucking week of our arrival!"
He paused to take a great gulp of air, the moment of silence seeming to help him regain a semblance of composure. His shoulders untensed, and he smiled. It was not a nice smile.
"I want to be far, far away from here," Adam said, pointing with his sword at the suitcase in Jaune's possession. "That prize money was to pay for our journey home. You won, though, so I suppose I'll have to take it from your corpses."
Jaune ventured a suggestion. "Or you can just…ask for it?"
Adam mulled on the idea, then shrugged. "I would, but on a personal level I also prefer your kind dead. You can see how it aligns quite neatly with the current plan."
"Yang, I have a feeling that we're not going to convince him otherwise," Jaune whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, I got that impression, too," Yang murmured in reply. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Run that way?"
"Run that way."
Spinning on their heels, Jaune and Yang sprinted down the alley in the other direction.
"After them!" they heard Adam yell. At the same time, the police sirens increased in volume, making a beeline for their area in response to the burgeoning inferno blooming from the adjacent warehouse.
Even as they ran for their lives, Jaune could not resist making an observation.
"This is your fault. You know that, right?"
"Bwuh-what!?" Yang sputtered.
"Yeah, I mean, it's a disaster. Again. And you were present. Again. They say three is a pattern, but this is, what, the fifth time?"
Yang opened her mouth, and was about to voice a protest when an expression of uncertainty stole over her face.
"It…I am always there. Why am I always there?"
The girl spiraled into an existential crisis, remembering how each time a major piece of trouble reared its head in the last few months, she would be in the thick of it.
On Jaune's part, he nodded in satisfaction. Recognizing the problem was step one on the road to fixing said problem.
Step two can wait for later, though, because the police and the White Fang have made contact behind their group to kick off a battle, while still chasing them. And, judging by the sound of the explosions, they were catching up.
It took until the morning has come and gone for them to escape their pursuers.
Author's Notes: After so long, another battle of posing.
Lesson #25 came from all the way back in chapter 4.
Blake? Nah, Yang's the real trouble magnet, ever since the Yellow Trailer. At every crime scene, she's always there!