Yeah...I've been on a bit of a crack writing binge, huh? I mentioned this idea before and I figured I should write out at least one chapter to see if people are interested. Gimme your thoughts on it if you can :) This fic will probably be about three chapters long. Just a bit of a short crack fic.
Beacon was at war. Not an open war with weapons clashing in the halls or guns being fired. Oh no, it was something far more insidious than that. It was a violent quake rumbling beneath the surface, shaking more and more until eventually, all would be caught in the fissures it made. A battle was coming. Not against the Grimm or even survival or ideology. No, it was for something far more important, something that would change the course of entire lives.
Who would be the one to capture Blake Belladonna's heart?
...
In Beacon's arena, Yang Xiao Long grinned as she smashed another of Beacon's training bots. It was at level 10, the point where a student risked injury and a couple of days in the clinic even with their Aura. It was a setting reserved for teams or particularly confident upper-year students, and yet Yang demolished the machines with an ease that caused the other students to look at her in both awe and fear.
The golden dragon of Vale shook her hands and laughed under her breath. Did anyone seriously think they had a chance of winning? Even on the very small chance that they could kick her ass, she and Blake shared a bond. They were partners and best friends. Going from that to actual lovers was just a formality at this point. They were practically already there!
The only reason she was going along with this was because she wanted to make it damn clear to everyone that she deserved to be with Blake, no one else. Well, that and Yang was never one to shy away from a fight. Considering how important of a fight this was, everyone was gonna give it their all. It'd just make it sweeter when she kicked everyone's ass and swept Blake off her feet.
She took down the last bot and stretched her arms above her head. Oh yeah, she was ready. She was gonna kick everyone's ass then make out with Blake right on top of the stage. All the better to make sure everyone got the message.
She was the one who'd get Blake's heart.
...
Down in Vale, Sun Wukong walked with a purpose. The usually happy-go-lucky look on his face was gone, replaced with an expression of utter focus. Like the others, he was also planning to fight for Blake's love. Really, though, his victory was pretty much guaranteed. Who could deny the chemistry they had? Especially considering all the stuff they got up to like stopping the White Fang and going on that date to the dance.
But he still had to fight for her hand. Personally, he thought it was old-fashioned and like something out of a fairy tale, but them's the breaks. He wasn't training - there was little he could do to improve in the time he had - but that didn't mean he was just lazing around. If he couldn't train his body then he needed to find a way to get an advantage. That meant going to a high-class Dust store that wouldn't let any old ruffian from the street walk in.
So he buttoned up his shirt.
So out of character and serious was it that even strangers who had no idea who he was looked at him nervously, as if sensing that the natural order had been disturbed. His own team had run screaming out of the room when they first saw it, convinced that the end times were coming. Maybe it was, but the end of the world was a small price to pay if it meant winning this fight.
Sun looked up at the Dust store and gripped his wallet. Doing this would cost every single lien he had, but all it took was a reminder of Blake's smile and how her prom dress hugged her curves before he decided it was all worth it.
He was the one who'd get Blake's heart.
...
Deep inside the White Fang's Vale safehouse, Adam Taurus pushed himself to his limits. Wilt was sharpened even more than its already deadly edge and he'd spent the past day consumed in training, pushing his body to its limit till every single flaw was surpassed. Even now he was training, his shirtless body covered in sweat and light bruises as he fought without his Aura.
This fight was foolish. Anyone with half a brain could see that he and Blake were destined to be together. No matter their...disagreements, their love was undeniable and anyone who thought otherwise was an utter fool.
He would participate in the battle for her sake, and to prove to everyone that Blake belonged to him, no one else. It wasn't as if he was worried. Who would he be facing? A bunch of naive students who'd never faced true hardship in their lives. Fighting them would be child's play, but if it proved his love for Blake and made them understand their place, then he would play along with this farce.
He would've preferred if he could just kill everyone, but that would complicate things. It didn't matter. Even with such a handicap, no one could stand between him and Blake. His love would burn away all obstacles in his path.
He was the one who'd get Blake's heart.
...
Across the room where Adam trained, Ilia Amitola was making her own preparations. The young Chameleon Faunus knew that her fighting skills wouldn't be enough to defeat her superior, and likely not even some particular students participating in this battle, so she had no intentions of playing fair.
All was fair in love and war, and the battle for Blake's heart was both.
She studied each and every participant. Many of them were easily disregarded, just fools who saw Blake only for her physical beauty. Idiots. She was more than that. Blake was more than a beautiful girl - though she was that and more. She was a true beauty both inside and out. Brave, determined, and with a firm set of morals that, yes, she disagreed with, but admired all the same.
Ilia scoffed. It was obvious the two of them were destined to be together. After she left Adam - she was pretty sure leaving the White Fang counted as breaking up - Ilia was the best option she had. They'd known each other for years, they were united in their fight for equality, and Ilia understood Blake better than anyone else on Remnant. The only reason they weren't together yet was because of their...difficult circumstances, but she was sure that they'd already be in a relationship without it!
And so she planned and schemed and tried to stack the deck to her advantage down to the most minute detail. By the time it was over, everyone would realize how stupid they were for even thinking they had a chance to win the heart of someone as perfect as Blake.
She was the one who'd get Blake's heart.
...
In the dorm room where she was forced to stay for her nefarious plans, Cinder Fall seethed. All her planning, all her preparation, and she was being upstaged by that...that stupid catgirl!
It was insane. The school was abuzz with whispers about how everyone was planning to fight for her affection, and all Cinder could think of was 'why'. Why her? Why was everyone so obsessed with a girl who spent all her time reading smut in a library corner? She wasn't the most beautiful and she had no charisma to speak of, and yet so many of these fools worshipped her like she was a goddess.
Cinder was loathed to admit it, but she burned with jealousy. Why did Blake Belladonna get all that attention while she was ignored? They had similar features - dark hair and amber eyes - with Cinder far and away being more alluring between the two. And yet the only on lapping at her heels was Emerald while what felt like dozens of students fought amongst each other even for a scrap of the Faunus' attention.
And now they were fighting in some twisted battle royale for the sake of her affection. It was enough to make her seethe. If anyone deserved to be fought over like that, it was her, not some...perverted catgirl!
So she joined the tournament. Not because she cared about getting the girl's affection, but because she wanted - needed - to find out what exactly drew so many people to her. Such power was much more useful in her hands than in some reticent bookwork.
She was the one who'd get Belladonna's power.
...
In the cafeteria, Jaune Arc was having a late dinner. He'd spent a couple of extra hours training and completely missed how tense the atmosphere around the school. Even if he did notice, he would've chalked it up to festival jitters and excitement. After all, what could be bigger than the international tournament four kingdoms were fighting over?
He was alone for now. Pyrrha had to meet with her manager for something and both Ren and Nora went to the zoo for their new sloth exhibit. Even Team RWBY was gone. The only one he'd run into was Blake when he had to study in the library and she looked mad about something. He tried to ask, but she'd just sighed and said something about how people were idiots who acted like cavemen. Weird.
Jaune finished off his dinner and made his way back to his room when he noticed something. A signup sheet on a bulletin board asking for any last-minute participants to a trip to some island. He glossed through the entire thing (who actually read the whole form anyway?) and hummed. Apparently, it was an optional trip to some kind of island. Weird, he would've thought that it would've been announced. Or maybe Professor Port told them and he just missed it.
Oh well, it sounded like something he should get into. And so, without any fanfare, he took the nearby pen and signed his name into the list. There were a lot of people there. Some he recognized like Yang, but others were complete strangers. Hopefully, it wouldn't be like his trip to the Forever Fall. As awesome as it was, he didn't like the idea of fighting a big Grimm all by himself so soon.
Jaune returned to his room and went to sleep soon after, blissfully unaware of what he'd gotten himself into.
When Jaune woke up the next day, it wasn't to the sight of his dorm room or Pyrrha sleeping on her bed half-naked. She assured him that it was absolutely a Mistralian custom she just so suddenly remembered and that she was in no way cold so she didn't need to wear blankets. Weird, but he had seven sisters and both she and Nora were practically family, so he put it out of his mind.
Right now a half-naked Pyrrha was the last thing on his mind, especially now that he was freefalling at terminal velocity.
"WHAT THE HELLLLLL?!" Jaune screamed, flailing around in a panic. Was this a dream? No, he still had his pants on. He looked around frantically and saw that he wasn't alone. There were dozens of others freefalling through the air around him and down below was an island surrounded by a deep blue ocean. He had Aura now, but he wasn't sure that would be enough to survive a landing like this. He wasn't Yang.
Speaking of the other blonde, he heard the sounds of Ember Celica firing through the rushing air and saw her grinning at him, "Hey there, Vomit Boy! Didn't think you'd be here!" she yelled. It was hard to hear her.
"AAAHHHHHH!" Jaune said, mostly because he was still falling.
"I just want you to know that I'm still gonna kick your ass, friends or not!" Kick his ass? What the hell was she talking about?! "So if you don't wanna bow out, you should probably use your parachute!"
And then she zipped past him. Wait, parachute! Jaune fumbled for where the strap should've been and, with a deep breath, pulled as hard as he could. The blonde found himself being jerked back suddenly and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally started slowing down. Looking around again, he caught sight of dozens of other figures all opening their chutes, leaving a multicolored trail as they all fell as one.
Jaune braced himself as he got closer to the island, "Ugh, ow, damn it!" He cursed and hissed as he crashed through thick trees before finally slowing down. His chute snagged on the tree and he was left hanging precariously off the ground.
It reminded him of Initiation. At least he was alone this time.
Jaune fiddled with the straps again and crashed to the ground after unclasping them, "...Really need to get a landing strategy one of these days." He groaned and patted himself down. All his limbs were still intact and Crocea Mors was at his hip. He knew Ozpin was crazy, but did he seriously kidnap him from his room and kick him out of a ship while he was sleeping?
His pocket buzzed and he pulled out his scroll. Ozpin's face dominated the screen, "Good morning, students. I trust you're all prepared for the task ahead." Jaune almost screamed out a refusal before he saw that he, and presumably everyone else, was muted, "I'll admit that I'm surprised by how many and how...zealous the clamoring for this was, but let it never be said that I don't listen."
"So, to all the participants, hear me: The Belladona Brawl has arrived!"
Jaune blinked down at his screen. Did...Did he mishear that? Belladonna? That was Blake's last name. What did she have to do with this? And...why did he hear cheering even though he couldn't see anyone? Jaune looked around expecting someone to just pop out, but he was still alone even as the cheers continued.
"First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Schnee for lending us this venue. The island is devoid of Grimm and has more than enough fresh fruit and water in order to sustain everyone."
Now Weiss was involved with this too?
"To all our latecomers, here's a quick refresher of the rules. You and forty-nine other participants will be tasked with eliminating one another until only one remains. For those who might get any bright ideas, elimination is only until Aura hits fifteen percent or less. Any attempts to go further will result in elimination, possible jail time, and not being able to see Ms. Belladonna for the foreseeable future."
The cheers were gone, replaced with a foreboding and heavy silence as if everyone acknowledged how devastating the punishment truly was. Alright, so Blake definitely had something to do with this.
"While elimination requires lowering someone's Aura, it does not mean that open fighting is required. You may use any tactics you wish - combat, stealth, using the environment - in order to achieve victory. The event will last for the next three days and if there's no winner by the time of the deadline any remaining participants shall participate in a more confined battle royale in order to determine the victor."
This...wasn't a field trip, was it?
"The contest will begin in five minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, remember what you are all fighting for. Remember what is at stake, for the winner of the Belladonna Brawl will capture Ms. Belladonna's heart. Fight as if your lives depend on it. May the brothers watch over you all."
The call ended and Jaune could only look down, mouth agape and barely processing what had just happened. All this - being kidnapped from his room, shoved out to a freefall, and having to fight fifty other people on a deserted island - was just to figure out who got to date Blake? He would've laughed if it wasn't so stupid. Yeah, Blake was pretty and all, but were fifty people really willing to go this far just for a date? He didn't even know this was what it was, so he didn't count!
He was so busy trying to process everything that he missed the five minutes passing.
Jaune's head snapped up at the sound of rushing footsteps and he barely ducked away from the greatsword that nearly cleaved his chest, "Woah!" Jaune stumbled back and looked at his attacker. He didn't recognize him, but the crazed look in his eyes was enough to tell Jaune that he didn't want to. He took another step back and grimaced when his back collided with the tree.
The student hefted up his broadsword again and bellowed his battle cry.
"The Bellabooty will be mine!"
Jaune was almost too stunned to duck past the next hit. Fight or flight kicked in and he chose to fly, running away from the student screaming that he 'couldn't get away' and to 'take his beating like a man'. Nope, nope, nope! He might not have cared if he got to date Blake or not, but he'd be damned if he was gonna get his butt kicked by a bunch of rampaging simps!
High above on Weiss' personal bullhead, Blake cringed as she watched the multiple screens of people fighting and screaming about their devotion to her while Port and Oobleck gave commentary. She'd tried to stop it, tried to do everything she could to not let it get this far, but here they were. What did it say when this was the best option they had? It was either this or open warfare in Beacon's hall. At least this way it could be contained.
She only hoped someone sane would win this crazy thing so she could finally get some peace and quiet.
Poor Jaune. Poor Blake too, since in a somewhat rarity for me, she's actually share the Only Sane Man role with him while almost everyone else has fallen to the allure of Blake's mid-level charm.
So yeah, gimme your thoughts on the chapter and tell me what you might want to/are expecting to see in the next chapter. The Belladonna Brawl has just begun, after all.