Chapter 151: 53
Chapter 53 – Blake-beard's Ghost
It was only two days until the first bouts of the Vytal Festival, and by everything above did Blake know it. Ruby had turned into something of a taskmaster recently, the dreaded whistle from first semester having returned with a vengeance, except that this time it came accompanied with barking and slobber. Sadly, it didn't then result in canine murder on account of the fact that the stupid mutt had a good sense of self-preservation and would hide behind Ruby's legs on seeing Blake's expression.
And thus Blake had just finished being subjected to the most rigorous morning of training she'd experienced since the White Fang. Yang hit harder than her instructor ever had, however, something her muscles were all too keen to remind her of.
"It's times like this I'm thankful my death doesn't mean I'm stuck in your head all the time," Jaune said, drifting above the ground where she was sat. "Exhaustion and pain are two things I'm glad to be without."
Blake swatted a hand towards him, for all the good it did. He laughed as it phased through him, sticking his tongue out. In truth, she was glad he wasn't piggy-backing in her head either, though for markedly different reasons.
She could still remember the sensation of him within her mind, not too hard since they had practised it a few times since the first. Each time she had tried to ignore the niggling suspicion in the back of her mind, but typically that had made it all the easier to notice. The way he would become happier when her name was mentioned, the ugly sensation of jealousy whenever Sun tried to talk to her – the almost giddy pleasure whenever they read together. Maybe that last was one the content of the books more than anything, but it didn't help when she had the idea stuck in her head.
Jaune Arc, undead ghost and occasional stuffed animal, had feelings for her… some kind of feelings.
That was… complicated, to say the least. Relationships had never been her strong point, something that was obvious looking back on her time with Adam. He had been friend, leader, mentor and lover all in one, which was probably not a healthy or good idea now that she thought back on it. Things had been hectic back then, however, life shorter and filled with risk.
It had also gone up in flames when she had run away, which was about as "It's complicated" as a relationship could ever get.
Blake was forced to admit that she probably wasn't a very good girlfriend, if that's what they'd ever really been. She didn't think she would be a good one now, either, whether that was to Jaune, Sun or anyone else. Too focused, too individualistic, she wasn't the kind of person who wanted or needed companionship like that. At least she didn't think so. She hadn't actually been lonely since Beacon began, but then again loneliness wasn't actually possible for her anymore, was it?
Unbidden, her eyes flickered over to Jaune, who was lazily watching the sky with a contented expression. She could never be alone so long as he was with her, and the same vice versa. That was why sometimes they wouldn't talk, but rather just enjoy the silence. They were together 24/7… talking all the time would have just annoyed both of them.
Was that why he had developed feelings for her? Not the lack of talking, but rather the isolation. In a very real way to him, she was the last person on Remnant. If he didn't have feelings for her then he would be alone forever. Hell, if they hadn't become friends or had clashed harder than they had, then he might have been stuck for eternity as nothing more than a silent figment of her imagination. Emotionally and phys- well, emotionally and spiritually, she was pretty much his everything. He didn't have a choice in that.
Which begged the question… were his feelings real – or at least, he surely felt so. But did he actually have a choice in the matter, or was he settling for her because subconsciously he felt there was no other option?
And was there?
"Lien for your thoughts?" he asked.
"You don't have any."
Jaune grinned, "You could say I'm dead broke."
"Please don't," Blake sighed. "I already have one Yang."
"I'd hate to try and take her spot in your life. Especially since I want to be watching when you lose control and ravage her." Blake rolled her eyes at that. "Still, you seem worried… what's up?"
"I was thinking about Mercury Black," she lied. "The possession… it isn't going as well as we'd hoped."
"I'm trying my best."
"I know," she comforted, "I know. Maybe it just doesn't work as we thought it might." Even after a day or two of practice, Jaune's ability to possess her was limited. Occasionally he could take an arm, once even both of them. He was getting better at it for sure, but she knew it was happening every time. She was awake and aware each time too, and while she was sure Mercury still wouldn't be able to hear Jaune, there was no way he wouldn't feel himself losing control of his own body. "He's our only lead though," she went on. "Well, him and his team as a whole. If they have anything to do with Torchwick then I want to know what. They'll leave after the Festival, which means time's limited."
"I get it," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. It didn't really make sense how he could brush his locks aside, but the motion was there. "Can't we just knock him out?"
"You mean me?" She raised a brow as he shrugged. "It's not that I can or can't, or that I'm unwilling to… it's just that what happens if it fails, or if he sees and remembers me?" There was too much risk. If she had a sure fire way of taking him out, then fine – she would go for it. But she didn't know his semblance or his abilities, which meant she would be relying on complete guesswork. Not good odds.
Naturally even a hint that she had attacked a random transfer student and she would be in trouble.
"Make up a rumour that he wants to bang Ruby and wait for Yang to find out?" Jaune suggested. Blake smirked as she imagined that. It would definitely end with the guy unconscious.
"That would get Yang in trouble," Blake shook her head. "Like the idea, just not the aftermath." Not to mention Ruby, who would probably go from embarrassed to horrified and then all the way back when she found out it wasn't true.
"Tell Sun that Mercury groped you?"
Blake sighed, "Can we come up with a plan that doesn't involve pitting innocent people against him?"
"Then you'll just have to knock him out yourself," Jaune said. "I don't think there's some magical plan where we can knock him out without you being the one to do it."
"Yes, I know… the point I'm making is, how do I do it in such a way that it doesn't get us all in trouble? It's not like I can just wail on him as much as I like."
"Actually…" Jaune paused to stroke his chin. She didn't feel confident when he smiled. As much as he might tease her, his plans weren't exactly much better than her own. "You can fight him… and more than that, it would be totally okay for you to knock him out."
Blake caught on quickly enough.
"The tournament?"
Jaune nodded.
"That's all well and good if we get him in the first round," Blake sighed. "But what if he doesn't make it through – or what if he does? It's Weiss and Yang going into the doubles, and then Yang in the singles."
"Then change their minds," Jaune shrugged. "The team wants to win. If you make it seem like you've got a better chance, then they'll be happy to let you fight. As for his team… it doesn't really matter which makes it through, I can possess any of them."
"True…" They'd been focused on Mercury because he was a guy, as was Jaune, but in truth it could be any of them. He just needed to listen in, go through their stuff and see if he could find anything out. "And if their team loses before they reach us?"
"If they lose, then they lose," Jaune shrugged. "We can try and think of a different plan at the time. Besides, they might be knocked out anyway if they lose."
He… he was right. It was all they had, and more than that, it wasn't a bad plan. If they actually were dangerous then they'd get through the stages without too much trouble… or at least they would get to Pyrrha without too much trouble. If they lost to anyone else, then they were probably too weak to be much of a threat anyway.
And while the rules for the tournament weren't until knock-out, it wasn't like that would be much of a problem. A little over-eager blow, maybe an attack when they're low on aura… who could blame people their age getting lost in the moment?
"I just need to convince the others to let me go into the 2v2's," she said.
Jaune nodded, crossing his arms as he floated aroiund her.
"How hard can it be?"
"Didn't we already have the teams sorted?" Yang asked, raising one eyebrow but not seeming actually offended by the request. "We wanted Weiss for her control and area of effect, me for the hard-hitting and staying power." Ruby and Weiss nodded in agreement, the four of them sat on their beds in their sleepwear. It had seemed the best place to bring it up.
"We did," Blake agreed. "I was just thinking about how best to get an advantage."
"You think you'd be better?" Again, Yang didn't seem upset, just curious.
"Say yes."
"I think you're stronger than me," Blake said.
"Uh… Blake? Is my voice on, can you hear me?"
"I think you'd be better against most opponents too," Blake went on. "But I was thinking about the elephant in the room… or rather the Goliath in the tournament."
"Pyrrha," Yang frowned. "Yeah, trust me… I've been thinking on that nightmare too."
"Let's be frank," Blake said. "If we're going to try and win… at some point we're going to run into her. Whether it's in the first, second or last stage – someone is going to have to deal with her."
"Good luck with that."
"And you have an idea on how to beat her?" Weiss asked.
"Tactical missile?"
"Not so much an idea," Blake sighed. "But rather I was thinking how if you meet in the 2v2's, you and Yang aren't going to be the best choice."
"No… I forgot about her semblance. Holy crap, she could literally turn a missile against you."
"The thing is," Blake continued, "Whether it's Pyrrha and Ren or Pyrrha and Nora, the best bet is going to be one person distracting Pyrrha while the other deals with her partner, then double-teaming Pyrrha afterwards."
"You could literally crash a Bullhead into her face… and she would shrug it off. That's kind of bullshit really…"
"Your clones," Ruby piped up, realising where Blake was coming from. The faunus nodded.
"Exactly… Yang gets stronger as she's hit, but Pyrrha knows that. More than that, she's been fighting you all year in class. She has you dead to rights." Yang sighed but nodded. "Me though, she's less used to. I'm not saying I can beat her, but I can definitely survive her longer than you can. That might be enough for Weiss to deal with the other one."
"And wait, isn't the Amity Colosseum itself like part-metal?"
"I see where you're coming from," Yang nodded and smiled, and for a moment Blake dared to hope. "I guess there's only one way to find out, though."
"Naked mud wrestling?"
Blake shot his ghost an irritated glare, Jaune, she tried to send the message telepathically – for all the good it did. Will you shut up already?
"A fight!" Ruby cheered, clapping her hands together. "You can fight Yang tomorrow Blake. Winner goes in."
"Bet you wish it was naked mud wrestling now." Jaune said smugly.
Yes…
Yes, she did.
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