Kapitel 794: 137
Chapter 137:
"He's calling again," observed Winter, taking a sip from her tea.
"I know," said Weiss, sighing in irritation, pulling out her scroll and seeing the sigil of her family, above the simple word, "Father". Even if she had set her scroll to silent, she could still feel it buzz, and its vibrations were audible, even within her pocket. Sheesh...did some tech get a completely different education in what "silent" means or something?
"How many times?" asked Winter.
"I've lost count," said Weiss, slipping her scroll back into her pocket. "At least four times a day, maybe more."
"Has he...?" prodded Winter.
Weiss nodded. "I checked my card. It was already blocked by Sunday morning."
"And you're certain you're willing to go through with this?" asked Winter.
"That was going to be the outcome, one way or another," said Weiss. "I know it's earlier than we originally planned. But Whitley got one over on us."
"So I noticed," said Winter. "The tabloids are having a field day, particularly the more opinionated ones."
"I make it a point not to read those," grumbled Weiss.
In all honesty, it was something of a minor miracle that the revelation of her relationship with Ashley hadn't made more waves. She'd been half-afraid that her public announcement of their relationship would be plastered across the news by Sunday evening. There had been a brief mention of it. But it had been extremely perfunctory, nothing more than a brief announcement that she had renounced her inheritance, and Whitley had taken up the reins.
Of course, the networks were quick to react in a much more diverse fashion. Weiss hadn't bothered to look for herself, but had been filled in by a few of her friends.
Faunus-rights activists were divided. Some lauded her for openly revealing her relationship with a faunus, even though such a move had clearly cost her her place in the line of inheritance for the SDC. Others had been quick to declare the move as nothing more than a publicity stunt, put on by the Schnee Family as a whole, in order to placate people protesting the SDC's work policies, and undermine the White Fang. Weiss could understand the latter opinion, given that Ashley being a "charity case" had been the original cover for their relationship.
On the racist side of things, well...the reaction had been pretty much what anyone would have expected. Those who were happy to call faunus "animals" were just as happy to declare her a slut, accusing her of bestiality, and scrounging up whatever other paltry insults their pea-brains could come up with.
But the vast majority of people had apparently looked at the news, shrugged, and then said, "that was a thing," then moved on. All things considered, Weiss figured that was probably natural. Her actions would have been a major scandal, practically any other time of the year. But, during the Vytal Festival, with the tournament still in progress, it was nothing more than a minor background event. Even the fact that she was a teammate of one of the finalists barely did anything to make it register any more widely.
Of course, Weiss wouldn't have put it past Whitley to be subtly moving things behind the scenes to starve the story, so that it could die off as quickly as possible. In the long term, it was best if Whitley did everything he could to put this affair behind him, so that the commotion didn't interfere with business.
"He's not going to soften his blows, however long you wait," Winter pointed out.
"Of course not," said Weiss, taking a bite from one of the finger sandwiches on the table before them. She smirked. "But I hope he'll continue to indulge me a while longer. Just think about it. Several times a day, he drops everything to call me on the scroll, and then sits there, waiting for me to answer. And he's been at it for a week now. Honestly, I think this is the most attentive he's been towards me in years."
Winter let out a very undignified snort, doubling over, hands covering her mouth. Weiss could hear the strained laughter forcing its way out, despite her best efforts to seal her lips. Finally, Winter gave into the sentiment, laughing more loudly than Weiss could ever remember her doing. It was a refreshing sound.
"Wh-when you put it like that, I can certainly see the appeal," she said as she wrestled her composure back under control.
Weiss took a polite sip of her tea.
It was a beautiful day. Weiss and Winter had retired to a spacious gazebo, residing in an isolated corner of Beacon's grounds. This had become something of a favorite spot for them. Whenever Weiss arrived, Winter was always waiting for her, tea and treats ready. They'd done this several times already, since Winter had been tapped to be the chief coordinator between Vale and Atlas. Weiss was going to miss this, when the festival ended, and the time finally came for Winter to return home.
"How is Ashley handling it?" asked Winter.
"She's doing fine," said Weiss. "If anything, her classmates are practically in awe of her now." She smiled fondly at Winter. "Thank you for looking after her and her family, by the way."
"It's the least I can do," said Winter, smiling back.
Once she'd learned that the story had broken Winter had assigned a small security detail to the Forrest Family to monitor them. It wasn't anything intrusive. But Winter had decided to keep eyes on the situation, in case any of the more extreme voices shouting on the networks transitioned from merely speaking, and tried to take action.
In the meantime, from Blake, Weiss had learned that the reaction within the White Fang was rather ambivalent, with Sienna Khan's response to hearing the story of what happened in The Grand Silmaril's ballroom had been, "Oh...That's nice," before moving on to the next order of business. According to Ilia, Sienna was already fully aware that Jacques would cut his daughter loose for something like that, so any reprisal would be counterproductive at best. Ironically, by making herself into the daughter who had thrown away her place in the Schnee Family for the love of a faunus, Weiss had made herself virtually untouchable to the White Fang. Had Adam still been at the helm in Vale, that would not have been the case, of course. But Taurus remained elusive, not having made any attempt to contact the organization since his disappearance.
For the time being, Weiss opted to assume that no news was good news.
The two sisters paused their conversation to partake of more tea.
"I understand that Ozpin is proposing sending your team to Leng for an exchange," said Winter, her tone dropping.
"That's the hopeful outcome of all of this," said Weiss. "Sasame says that she needs to bring Jaune back to Onmyo with her, so that she can work on his healer-training. You could say she and Ozpin decided to make it a package-deal."
"I'm not certain about this," said Winter.
Weiss frowned. "You're not still suspicious of the Mibu, are you?"
"I wouldn't say suspicious, but...we've chosen to look the other way, with regards to them, for a reason," said Winter.
"Not just national pride?" asked Weiss.
"I don't think so," said Winter. "The Mibu have power. We can't ignore that anymore. But...when I look at them, I feel that 'power' might be all that they have. I suppose that, if they can get along without Dust, then that's fine. But...as they are now, there's no way they can join with the rest of the Kingdoms."
"Because they lack the CCT," guessed Weiss.
Winter nodded.
"And if they continue to disdain Dust, then they'll never really be able to implement it," continued Weiss.
Winter nodded again.
"Then maybe it's a good thing we'll be going over there," said Weiss. "Thanks to Ruby and Sasame, we already know what the Mibu have to offer to the world. But this is our chance to show what the rest of the world has to offer them."
"But will they want it?" asked Winter.
"According to Ruby and Sasame, their leaders do," said Weiss. "Their people might be apathetic to the idea. But that will never change if they never engage with people outside their purview. If we don't reach out to them, I don't think they'll be inclined to reach out to us."
Winter found herself giggling. It was such a light sound, one that Weiss hadn't expected to hear her sister uttering. "Is that something strange?" she asked.
"No, I was just thinking..." Winter sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I abandoned my position as heir, lost my inheritance, and embraced serving under Ironwood in the military. And now there's you. Even though you set aside your place as heiress to the SDC, you've already embraced a more significant role, one that will lead this world into the future."
"That seems a bit...grandiose," commented Weiss uncertainly.
"Yet fitting nonetheless," declared Winter. "I'm proud of you, Weiss."
Weiss' heart soared at those words. The two sisters enjoyed their tea for a while longer, secretly wishing that these blissful days would never end.
With the arrival of Monday came the quarterfinals of the Vytal Festival Tournament. Upon arriving at Amity, Ruby felt as though the excited atmosphere from before had multiplied exponentially.
"Pretty crazy," commented Jaune, looking around dubiously.
"At least you seem fine," commented Oscar, glancing sidelong at his own companion.
"Well, it looks like this is gonna be tons of fun!" declared Natsuki, practically shivering with excitement. "I get to fight the best people here!" She gasped. "What if Ruby-chan's my opponent?"
"I guess that would make things awk-" Oscar began to say.
"That would be sooooo cool!" declared Natsuki, leaving Oscar gaping at her enthusiasm. Turning about, she fixed the widest possible grin on her face, pointing imperiously at Ruby. "I'm gonna beat the pants off you, Ruby-chan!"
"It's a combat skirt," deadpanned Ruby.
Jaune and Oscar shared a look, stifling their laughs.
"Th-that's not the point!" declared Natsuki, flailing her arms childishly. "Today is the day our rivalry will be settled!"
"We have a rivalry?" asked Ruby, canting her head.
An abrupt silence fell over the group as everyone saw Ruby's quizzical remark completely steal the wind from Natsuki's sails.
Ruby...that's kinda harsh, thought Jaune.
"Also, it might not be today, you know," Ruby pointed out. "If we aren't paired off during the quarterfinals, then the earliest we could fight would be the day after tomorrow."
"Or we could even wind up facing each other in the final round," declared Natsuki. "That would be the coolest-Wait! Why are we talking about this!? How dare you make light of our rivalry. Don't you remember what our score was?"
"We were keeping score?" asked Ruby, tapping her lip.
Another awkward pause fell over the group. Then Natsuki slumped. "No, not really," she admitted.
"Do they have a rivalry or not?" Blake asked Miyu in an aside.
"Not really," said Miyu. "They sparred quite a few times. But they were mainly training under different masters, so they didn't exactly compete all that much. Besides, Natsu-chan may not be acting like it now, but she's not actually all that competitive."
"So why is she acting so competitive now?" asked Pyrrha, joining them.
"Natsu-chan can get into roleplaying," said Miyu.
"Well, she is in the quarterfinals of the tournament, so I suppose that's not a bad thing," commented Pyrrha.
"Well then, whether or not we face one another today, I declare you my rival, Ruby-chan!" announced Natsuki, pointing at Ruby again. "That means, even if we don't fight each other, if I go to the next round, but you don't, I win."
"I...guess that's how it works," said Ruby, shrugging.
Natsuki slumped. "C'mon, Ruby-chan...can't you get into this at least a little?"
"That's a little too awkward, Natsu-chan," said Ruby, grinning sheepishly. Then her smile softened, becoming a more confident one. "But, if I face you in the ring, Natsu-chan, then I'll fight to win."
Natsuki grinned exuberantly. "That's my Ruby-chan!"
"Natsuki was just playing around, wasn't she?" Oscar softly asked Setsuna.
"Yep," agreed Setsuna. "If you're planning on being with her, you're in for a rough time."
"I guess..." said Oscar, before his cheeks turned bright red. "Wait a minute! Who said anything about that?"
Setsuna was already pretending not to have heard him.
"RUBY!"
The sound of Penny's voice was the only warning Ruby got before the android's heavier-than-it-looked body slammed into her from the side, knocking her over completely.
"Peeeeennnnyyyyyyy..." groaned Ruby, finding herself compressed by Penny's vice-like grip.
"Oooh! That was good Suppression," commented Natsuki.
"I just wish...there were less...bone-breaking ways...to put it to use," gasped Ruby, forcing herself up, after Penny had finally let go of her and gotten off.
Penny grinned, folding her arms behind her back. "I am so excited," she declared. "I cannot wait to face you in the ring, Ruby."
"It is still another half an hour until the first match," commented Rain, as the rest of Penny's team came up from behind to join her.
Penny's face didn't change, but there was the tiniest of pauses before she spoke again. "It seems we will have to wait."
"Yep," agreed Ruby.
"Well dang, everyone's getting all worked up," commented Yang, stepping forward. "Well, I'm not gonna lose to any of you girls, got it?"
"Well, someone's going to have to," Natsuki pointed out.
"Hey! Wait a second!" protested Yang, staring at Natsuki with wide eyes. "Weren't you the one all gung-ho earlier? I thought you were getting into this hot-blooded-rivals stuff."
"But, if we're talking hot blood, we can't hold a candle to you, Yang-chan," Natsuki pointed out, Ruby and Penny nodding in unison behind her.
"Well, you've got a point there," conceded Yang, before flinching. "Hold on! Why are you calling me Yang-'chan'? I'm older than you, aren't I?" She paused. "That's not how it's supposed to work, right?"
"Um...sort of," said Ruby.
"But what should I call you then, Yang-chan?" asked Natsuki. "I mean...calling you Yang-san seems too distant, since you're Ruby-chan's sister."
"It worked for Sasame," said Yang, confused by the Mibu system of honorifics.
"That was my way of showing my respect to you as one who was also Ruby-chan's older sister, but who had not yet agreed to become my little sister," commented Sasame, stepping out to join the group.
"Well, if that won't do then call me..." Yang struck a proud pose, lifting her face up triumphantly, taking a deep breath...only to freeze... "What should she call me?" Yang asked, glancing sidelong at Sasame.
Sasame giggled, rising up on her tail. She placed her lips next to Yang's ear and whispered an answer, masking it with a hand to keep Ruby and the others from reading her lips.
"Oh!" gasped Yang, upon hearing the answer, before picking up where she'd left off, mannerisms and all. "Call me Yang-'senpai'!"
Natsuki mulled it over for a moment. "Hmmm...But I like Yang-chan better."
"Come now, Natsu-chan," Sasame admonished her playfully. "This is Ruby-chan's beloved older sister after all. This is the least you could do...or you could call her Yang-'sama', just like you do me."
"N-no...I couldn't do that!" protested Natsuki.
"Yang-'sama', huh...?" mused Yang, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "That sounds important. I like it. Call me that."
Natsuki sighed and slumped. "Yang-senpai is fine."
"Awwww..." protested Yang halfheartedly.
Everyone broke into a round of laughter.
"Looks like everybody's having a good time," commented Sun, sauntering over, his team not far behind him. "Let me get in on this too."
"Yes! Join the circle of eternal rivals!" declared Penny eagerly.
"Uh...It's just for the tournament," Ruby pointed out.
"Oh...I thought we were going back to hot-blooded declarations," said Penny, grinning cheerfully at Ruby.
"Uh...That was something Natsu-chan was doing on her own," Ruby replied.
"Oh...It looked like fun. Can't I do it too?" Penny gave Ruby a plaintive look.
Ruby sighed. "Fine..."
"Well, not that it matters," declared Sun. "I plan on taking home the win, you know."
"We'll see about that," declared Yang. "You think you've got what it takes to beat me, Mr. Stowaway?"
"Stowaway on one ship, and no one lets you live it down," Sun muttered petulantly.
"That wasn't your first time, though," Sage commented from behind him.
"Shut up, man!"
Wearing a grin that promised mischief, Piper sidled up to Blake, elbowing her gently. "So...Blake...Sun's your boyfriend, right?"
"Y-yes..." stammered Blake, blushing. She supposed she and Sun had never made their relationship "official", but there was no way she could deny that there was a relationship.
"And Yang's your partner...?"
"That's right..."
Piper's grin widened. Her next question was spoken loudly enough that everyone in the group could hear her. "So...if Sun and Yang end up matched up...who are you gonna be cheering for?"
Blake froze, her spine going ramrod straight. Piper's question wasn't the reason, in and of itself. The main reason was that, the moment said question had reached their ears, Sun and Yang had frozen in place, then turned their heads in unison to stare pointedly at Blake.
Nora sidled up next to Piper. "You're mean," she commented.
Piper's grin widened a little more. "But you knew that already," she said.
"Yep," agreed Nora.
"Are you complaining?"
Nora glanced at the tableau unfolding before her, and adopted a grin of her own. "Nope."
Blake found herself backpedaling before the stares of Sun and Yang, the pressure of their gazes flustering her.
A second later, Yang zipped in, quickly clasping Blake's right hand in both her own. "Blake, we're partners and best friends, right? You're gonna cheer for me, right?"
"W-well, I..."
Then Sun was clamping her other hand in his own. "Blake, you know my heart belongs to you, which means that I'll be dedicating my every victory in the ring to your glorious image!" He gave her a pleading look. "You'll cheer for me, right...my dark and broody goddess...?"
"S-Sun!" sputtered Blake.
The others looked on, watching the humorous drama played out, Yang and Sun taking it in turns to beg Blake to cheer for one over the other, all while Blake was too flustered and embarrassed to get a full sentence out.
Weiss, who'd held her tongue all throughout the ridiculous affair, heard a soft crunching noise from beside her. Looking over, she saw Ashley, who was completely engrossed with the whole display, holding a tub of popcorn, munching enthusiastically. Feeling Weiss' gaze on her, Ashley paused, then slowly moved her eyes to meet Weiss' her mouth still stuffed with the latest handful. After a few seconds' pause, Ashley finished chewing, then swallowed.
"Want some?" she asked.
Weiss mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. "Sure," she said, holding out her hand.
The playful banter came to an abrupt end, as the scrolls of the five contestants (save for Natsuki) lit up, displaying the official summons for them to report to the coliseum's locker room.
"Well, I guess this is it," said Ruby, turning to Jaune. "Can I get a kiss for good luck?"
"You don't need luck," Jaune pointed out. "But you can get a kiss for a kiss's sake."
With that, he pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her deeply.
Blake smiled, watching the interplay between the couple, only to feel the hand Sun was holding be squeezed. Looking over, she saw him staring at her with a desperate expression.
"Dork..." muttered Blake, playfully rolling her eyes. "Fine." Leaning in, she planted a lingering kiss on Sun's lips.
"Well that makes me jealous," commented Yang, resting her hands on her hips. Glancing around, her eyes came to rest on Ren.
"I'm not kissing you," he said.
"I don't want Nora to kill me, so I wasn't gonna ask," Yang pointed out.
Oscar smiled, not even feeling a pang of jealousy anymore at the sight of Jaune and Ruby kissing. He was distracted by a gentle tug on the sleeve of his jacket. Turning to look, his eyes widened as he saw Natsuki was giving him a pleading look.
Oscar's jaw dropped slightly. "Um...I...that is..."
"Pleeeeeeaaaaaaasssse!" begged Natsuki.
Oscar sighed. "All right..."
Natsuki grinned, then turned her head to present her cheek to him.
Oscar smiled, leaning forward, reflexively closing his eyes. Because of that, he didn't see it when Natsuki smiled playfully, then turned her face back towards him. So it was that, instead of feeling his lips against her cheek, he felt his lips against her own. Oscar's eyes snapped open wide, his entire body freezing in place, unintentionally drawing the kiss out.
Natsuki pulled away, leaving Oscar completely thunderstruck. Taking in the look on his face, Natsuki's cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink, then she grinned awkwardly. "Thanks."
Then she was gone.
Setsuna gently patted Oscar on the back. "Like I said...you're in for a rough time."
Oscar sighed...slumping forward a little. "I am, aren't I?"
"She's worth it," Setsuna promised him.
"Yeah...she is," agreed Oscar.
Not much later, the eight finalists were assembled in the arena, staring up at the crowds filling the stands above. Aside from Ruby, Yang, Natsuki, Penny, and Sun, there were three young men who also filled out the ranks of the quarterfinalists. There was one, dressed in leather, with a broad-brimmed hat, with a feather sticking out of it; a boy from Atlas, wearing white, futuristic-looking armor over his torso; and a dark-skinned young man with a black, hooded shawl, and a gold-colored armored gauntlet running all the way down from the shoulder of his right arm. Together, all eight of them made up the people who had made it through the gauntlet of the past two rounds of the tournament, representing the best and brightest from all four Academies, and their respective Kingdoms.
The format of the remaining rounds of the tournament would be different from the first two. The quarterfinals would be held today. Afterwards, there would be a day's break, before the semifinals were held, followed by a break of another day, and then the final round. Unlike the first two rounds, where the matches had been spread out across the day, the quarterfinals and semifinal rounds would be held nearly back-to-back, with only a short pause being made to change out the ring in preparation for the next match.
That was the other major departure from the previous rounds. This time, there would be no biomes. The match would be confined to the boundaries of the octagonal inner-ring of the arena. With no environmental factors to utilize, the outcome of each match would come down entirely to the skill of the combatants, and their ability to utilize what they brought into the ring with them. The one major thing that remained unchanged from the previous two rounds was that the match pairings would be randomized. Only the two finalists, on the last day of the tournament, would go into the match knowing who their opponent was.
Ruby shivered, the excitement in the air thrumming through her bones. The voices of Port and Oobleck, who were working to warm up the crowd in preparation for the matches were pretty much lost on her. At this moment, all that really concerned her was the question of who her opponent would be, and when she would be going.
Up above, the screens displayed a rotating selection of pictures, like the rollers of a giant slot machine, revolving through the eight contestants on display. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screens, waiting to see just who would be matched up first.
Watts leaned back in his seat, sipping his coffee as he stared up at the holo-screen in front of him, watching the beginning of the final round of the tournament with a smile.
"While this is lovely entertainment, are you sure that it's fine to just watch?" asked Morgan from where she stood, in front of the command console for their battleship.
"There's no issue," said Watts. "The plan won't take effect until the last day of the tournament."
"Wasn't there supposed to be a build-up to it though?" asked Morgan.
"There was," agreed Watts, taking another sip. "Cinder and her cohorts were to enter the tournament, make their way through the rounds. Then, right here, at this moment, a number of disgraceful 'lapses' were supposed to occur to stir up negative sentiments, and begin drawing in the Grimm. Cinder and her posse would stir things to the boiling point, triggering a mass Grimm attack, and then use the crisis of them overrunning the Kingdom to locate the Fall Maiden, and then the Relic."
"Is that all?" wondered Morgan.
"There were a few more bits to it," said Watts. "But they were but embellishments on the larger tapestry for the most part, ways to make the Fall of Beacon and Vale have aftershocks that would resonate throughout the rest of the world."
He sighed in disappointment. "But Cinder went and got herself killed, her little peons got themselves captured, the Fall Maiden regained the missing portion of her power, and has been regaining her strength. On top of that, Demon Eyes Kyo is residing at Beacon, ensuring that, even if we could have managed to stir up enough negativity, there wouldn't be a single Grimm showing its face. Honestly, if Jester hadn't found us the Spring Maiden, we'd be all the way back at Square One."
"And you think we can manage the same results while procrastinating all the way to the end of the tournament?" asked Morgan dubiously.
"Jester has said that he can manage things," said Watts, his own tone dubious.
"Is that so?" asked Morgan, frowning. "Isn't that odd?"
"Indeed," agreed Watts. "Just what does Jester have that he could leverage to accomplish in the space of a single day what would have taken us weeks of preparation to achieve?"
"That's not what I mean," said Morgan, her frown darkening. "How long has Jester been with Salem?"
"I know not," admitted Watts. "He was there before my time, and implies that he has been there far longer than a normal human ever could be...even going so far as to imply that he is of the same nature as Her Grace herself, an immortal being."
"And yet...if that was the case, and if he has the means to enact this plan without any further preamble than what we've already done...why bother with Cinder at all?" wondered Morgan. "Was there any need for such elaborate, complicated plans, when Jester could have done it all himself?"
"That's..." Now Watts was frowning.
Morgan had hit the nail on the head. Watts had been dubious of Jester's means. However, the troubling thing was that, if Jester had such means, had there been any need for all the convoluted schemes, the backbreaking effort, the sacrificed lives...? If Jester had the means to do everything himself, then why had Salem needed other agents to begin with? No! Why had Salem's war with Ozpin dragged on for this long at all then? Surely Jester could have brought everything to a head generations ago, assuming he wasn't lying about how old he was.
And, if there was some reason that he hadn't acted before...then why was he acting now? What had changed that made this time differ from all the others?
"Jester is a deterrent," rumbled Hazel's voice as he joined the group on the bridge.
"Against the Mibu, yes," agreed Watts. "Because of that, they have not interfered with Her Grace's work, before now."
"Ah!" gasped Morgan. "So that's it! The Mibu are acting. Their people are in the Kingdom, actively interfering with our plans. Demon Eyes Kyo himself is keeping the Grimm at bay."
"I see..." mused Watts. "So, the Mibu crossed the line first, and Jester has moved to counter them."
"Yes," agreed Hazel. "Because...he was never on Her Grace's side to begin with. He took a role solely to counter the Mibu, leaving Her Grace to manage the conflict with Ozpin on her own."
"I see..." grumbled Watts.
"That being the case, this is certainly a momentous occasion," mused Morgan idly. "But why are things coming to a head only now?"
"That is a good question," agreed Watts. "But it may be one that only Jester can answer, assuming he's inclined to." He sighed. "Still...there's not much else to do at this point. All we can do is wait until the appointed day.
"So...for now, let's enjoy the spectacle of this tournament. After all, it's guaranteed to be the last."
The first of the holographic slots rolled to a stop, displaying a picture of Yang. Everyone waited with bated breath to see who Yang's opponent...only for their jaws to drop when the rotating selection of images came to a stop on the other blonde.
Yang would be fighting Sun.
In an instant, their heads swiveled in unison, their attention heading for the stands, homing straight for Blake, where she was seated, somehow finding her without the need to glance around.
Blake was sitting in the front-most row, a deadpan expression on her face, a small, yellow pennant in each hand. In her right hand, she held a pennant exclaiming "Go Yang!" In her left was one proclaiming, "Go Sun!"
She's totally chickening out! Yang thought.
Where'd she get the pennants? wondered Sun to himself.
Everyone else who knew about the situation had the same thought. She's probably made the safest decision possible.
Still moving in unison, Yang and Sun's gazes snapped back to one another. Then they sighed and slumped in near-identical gestures. Finally, Yang gave Sun a rueful grin. "Looks like we're on our own, down here."
"Guess so," agreed Sun, matching her grin.
"Ah well," said Yang, pumping her arms, prompting her gauntlets to activate, "let's do this thing."
Reaching behind himself, Sun pulled out his staff, its segments joining together as he twirled it artfully, settling into his own stance. "You're on."
The other contestants having already left the ring, there was a jolt, accompanied by a clang, then the inner ring began to rise upwards. At the same time, one of the lighting rigs descended from above, powerful spotlights streaming down to illuminate the ring, allowing everyone to see the contestants clearly.
At Oobleck's signal, the pair of them rushed one another, and the crowd roared. The tournament's climax was fast approaching.
"My thanks for allowing us to watch in person," said Kyo, smiling politely at the two men before him and Amber, the two of them bowing their heads.
"Given the service you've rendered us for the past few weeks, arranging this was the least we could do," said Ozpin, nodding towards the windows of the skybox that he and Ironwood had reserved to enable Kyo and Amber to watch the final rounds of the tournament.
"I'm surprised that you managed to make it up here without attracting notice," commented Ironwood.
"Winter-san was quite helpful," said Kyo. "Of course, since I can use Suppression, there's no need to worry about me attracting undue attention for at least a short time."
"A 'short time' being the key term there," noted Ozpin. "Considering that, I'm sorry that you won't be able to watch the proceedings from ringside."
"Ah well...I suppose that's the price I pay," said Kyo, grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. He turned towards Amber. "I'm sorry that you can't watch the match from closer up."
Amber merely smiled, wrapping her arms around his own, and pulling herself up against him. "Well, I can't go without my bodyguard," she said happily.
"I'm glad you feel that way," he said.
Ozpin chuckled at the interplay between the two of them. "At the very least, I am reassured by your presence, Kyo. Thanks to that, any concern about the Grimm has been swept away for the period of this festival."
"Well...I have certainly never attended a festival that has lasted this long," commented Kyo.
"If we could adopt your methods, we would not need to worry so much," commented Ironwood. "If deterrents, like you, could be installed in each village and settlement, that would drastically reduce the threat of the Grimm."
"So very pragmatic of you, General," said Kyo, his smile fading. "Sadly, such an arrangement is impossible."
"Is it?" asked Ironwood.
Kyo nodded. "The Grimm keep their distance from me because they sense my strength. The level of power one must achieve to be perceived as an existential threat by even the youngest, most reckless Grimm is...substantial. I don't mean to brag, there are a scant handful of people in the entirety of the Mibu Clan who presently hold that level of power and, barring myself, they are all to be found within Onmyo, so that particular arrangement is unique to our capital as well."
"So, not even your settlements can benefit from that?" asked Ozpin.
"Not for long," said Kyo. "Between Father and the Taishiro, the aggregate of their collective presences is what has allowed Onmyo to spread out as far as it has, without the need to worry about the fixed defenses or military forces needed to protect such a large perimeter from the Grimm. One or more of them departing for a brief period of time is no issue, so long as public order is good. But it is impossible for us to station a 'deterrent' like me in even our own settlements."
"And yet, by your account, your own settlements regard Grimm as little more than pests," Ironwood pointed out.
"That is because our military is essentially our Huntsmen," Kyo pointed out. "Our people's Auras are unlocked from the beginning, and those who choose to fight in defense of our people receive the training necessary to utilize their Auras properly to that end. In that sense, our military training facilities are our Academies."
"Meaning you have multiple ones," mused Ozpin.
"Yes," said Kyo. "Also, it makes our equivalent of Huntsmen and Huntresses an extension of the Kingdom's power. They are agents of our government, and loyal to the Mibu specifically. We lack anything similar to the unaffiliated Huntsmen and Huntresses that are typically produced by the Kingdoms. The closest to what we have would be the Atlesian Specialists."
"Hmm..?" mused Ironwood, finding a strange affirmation in the fact that the Mibu used what was, essentially, a larger-scale version of his own idea.
"In order for you to employ the same methods, or even similar ones, large-scale systematic change would be necessary," Kyo continued. "It would not be something you could implement over a short period of time. Even Atlas, and Ironwood-dono, who are furthest along in that respect, would have to make a great many changes to reach the point where you could institute changes on that scale."
"So, even if-or when, rather- the Mibu open up to the world, we wouldn't have access to the 'Huntsmen' your clan produce," said Ironwood disappointedly.
"I'm afraid not," said Kyo. "Given that they are our military, that would essentially entrusting the protection of your people to a foreign power. Of course, we could, in all likelihood, dispatch a few as advisors to help you develop your own training programs to build up similar forces, and begin schooling your soldiers in our methodology. However, that is something that I cannot say too much about, as it would be the responsibility of O-Kaa-san and the other Elders to arrange such things."
"I hope we get the chance to discuss those arrangements soon," said Ironwood.
"That is all well and good," said Ozpin. "But let us not waste too much time speaking of such heavy matters. For today, let us enjoy the matches. Ms. Xiao Long is fighting currently."
"Ah yes, I wouldn't want to miss Ruby-chan's sister's match," said Kyo cheerfully, while Amber giggled alongside him.
Swinging a gauntleted arm, Yang warded off a strike from Sun's staff, the boy whirling through the air over her head acrobatically, using his spinning flip to bring his weapon around in a strike that would have landed against the back of her skull, had she not turned to intercept it. Even as Yang blocked with her left gauntlet, she punched out with her right, sending a bolt flying right for where Sun was about to touch down. With her aim and timing, the bolt would have slammed right into Sun's stomach. However, Sun had used the rebound of his blocked strike to send his staff into a spin, the blurring flash of red and gold intercepting Yang's shot, prompting it to explode harmlessly.
Before he'd even finished spinning his staff, Sun charged forward, right through the smoke and scattering sparks of Yang's blocked shot. Yang stepped in to meet him, but now found her eyes tracking two whirling blurs, rather than just one, Sun having gone straight into separating his staff into its twin gun-chucks. Whirling them swiftly, he brought one swinging in at the side of Yang's head from her left. Yang brought the gauntlet on that side up to ward off the swing. However, the other end of that gun-chuck was pointed right at her chest, so that, even as his swing bounced away from her gauntlet, Sun was in the perfect position to pull the trigger and send a shot slamming home into Yang's collar.
With a yelp of pain, Yang staggered back, while Sun advanced, both weapons whirling. Rather than just two, Yang found herself faced with four separate avenues of attack as Sun swung one end of a weapon, and fired from the other, the complex spinning patterns he executed with both weapons enabling him to reload and chamber new bullets in a continuous attack that kept Yang on her heels, forcing her back across the ring. She defended as best she could, but Sun's attack was as relentless as it was bewildering, and she found her Aura dropping as she took hit after hit.
Of course, Sun was wary as well. Having spent so much time with Blake's friends, Sun was well aware of how Yang's Semblance worked. The more hits he landed, the more dangerous the end-phase of the match became. Once Yang engaged her Semblance, Sun knew he'd find himself facing overwhelming power; which meant that his options were to rush it, and force her Aura down past the critical range before she had a chance to activate her Semblance; knock her out of the ring before she could activate it; or disengage when she did activate it, and hope that he could play for time until she ran out of juice. Enacting any of those strategies was a tall order, even when he knew what was coming.
That being said, keeping an eye on the screen, and monitoring the level of Yang's Aura wasn't possible. Instead, Sun knew he'd just have to keep watch for the moment Yang made her decision.
Unfortunately for him, it came a lot sooner than he was expecting. Abruptly, Yang's eyes flashed red, and her Aura exploded outward furiously. The surging shockwave staggered Sun's offense, disrupting the continuous spinning of his gun-chucks, and managing to send him stumbling back a step.
Crap! Sun was fully aware of what would be coming next. Abandoning any attempt at offense, he rejoined his weapons back into their staff-form, bringing it up just as Yang surged forward with a punch from her right arm, which was shining like a star. At the same time, he jumped up and back, desperate to kill as much of the force of Yang's punch as he possibly could.
It was enough...barely. It seemed as though Yang's extended gauntlet barely rapped against Sun's staff, but that mild contact was enough to send Sun flying backwards across the ring, heading for the edge at dangerous speed. His arms burned furiously from the exertion of fending off that one, light blow. Desperate to kill his momentum, Sun thrust downwards with all his strength, actually managing to drive the end of his staff into the surface of the ring, his arms now burning from exertion in the opposite direction, as his momentum had the staff ripping a line through the plating that formed the inner-ring. Groaning with the strain, Sun barely managed to arrest his backwards flight at the very edge of the ring.
With the distance opened up between them, Sun felt safe enough to check the Aura-gage on the screen, only for his eyes to widen as he realized that he'd only whittled Yang's Aura down by a little over a quarter. He definitely had the edge, when it came to their respective remaining Auras, but his mind locked up in confusion. Hang on a minute...if I didn't do all that much damage, then where did her Semblance get that power? Given what he knew of the strength of Yang's Semblance, there shouldn't have been a way for her to exert so much destructive force after taking the relatively small amount of damage he'd inflicted.
Meanwhile, Yang was grinning happily. Well...I guess I'll have to thank Kyo after all, she thought as she moved to press the attack.
In the weeks since she'd had her conversation with him, Yang had done her best to apply Kyo's advice, when it came to developing her Semblance. Just as he had suggested, she'd taken the time to practice its use, while turning her awareness inwards, using her awareness of her Aura, which she'd cultivated through the training Ruby had been giving both teams, to feel how her Semblance functioned, and learn how she could affect it.
Thus, Yang's approach had been two-fold. Her first objective was to work out how to build her Semblance's power without necessarily taking damage. The second had been to increase the output of her Semblance, with respect to the amount of power she took in. Training it to that end had required multiple sessions of standing in the ring with her friends, and allowing them to whale on her, so that she could feel how the power built up within her. It hadn't been the most pleasant form of training. But, with Kyo's advice to go off of, it had proven fruitful.
Truth be told, with the shots and hits she'd been taking, Yang's Aura should have been much lower than it actually was. After all, she was taking shots from Sun's guns at point-blank range, multiple times. However, by channeling the absorption aspect of her Semblance through her Tempered Aura, Yang found that it was actually working like a cushion, or shock absorber, stealing the power of Sun's attacks before they could inflict damage, drastically reducing said power so that they had much-less impact on her overall Aura, all while those absorbed shocks built up within her, stoking the fire of her Semblance with their power.
Added to that, Yang had developed the internal awareness to work out how to multiply the power she was absorbing, to the point that, with the little power she'd built up, she was able to unleash a much more potent attack than she previously would have. All of that, combined with using Flow to concentrate and channel that power through her arm, resulted in a punch that had blasted Sun across the ring, despite only making light contact with his weapon.
And those weren't the only tricks in her bag, thanks to her training with Ruby and the others, as Sun was about to learn. Even while Sun had been flying away from her, Yang had charged after him in pursuit, trying to close the distance as quickly as she could, before Sun could find a chance to regain his footing. She was helped by the fact that Sun had allowed his curiosity to get the better of him, and he'd hesitated, in order to check the Aura-gauges.
Still, even with that lapse, when Sun returned his attention to Yang, there was still enough time for him to get back into position...or there should have been. However, the next time Yang's foot touched down, her body flickered, and she suddenly seemed to cover the rest of the distance between her and Sun in a single step, appearing to almost teleport.
Wait! That's Ruby's-! was all Sun had time to think, before Yang's fist was barreling at his face. This time, it wasn't shining with the power of Yang's Semblance. But, this close to the edge of the ring, Yang's normal power would be more than enough to knock Sun clear out.
Ruby had taught the members of Team RYNB the basics of Shukuchi, just as she had her her own team, though she'd had less time to work with them. Still, Yang had practiced diligently, even as she'd worked to refine her Semblance. At present, two steps was the most she was capable of, but it was more than enough for the purposes of this match.
With a yelp, Sun fell over backwards, his face falling out of the way of Yang's fist. Sun had already pulled his staff free of the ring, so it fell with him. With that angle, and overbalancing as he had, Sun had a ticket for a one-way trip off the edge of the ring...or so it seemed.
Yang's smirk faltered as she felt something tugging at her ankle. Looking down, her eyes widened as she saw the blonde fur of Sun's tail, wrapped around her leg. In the act of falling, Sun had looped his tail around Yang's ankle to keep from falling out of the ring. In the same move, he pulled. Yang was too well-rooted for him to pull her feet out from under her, but that actually worked to Sun's advantage, as he instead pulled himself away from the edge of the ring, sliding on his back past Yang. Another tug allowed him to turn his body around, so he could sweep a leg through Yang's own, knocking them out from under her, and sending her falling back. Sun followed through by thrusting up with his staff, aiming to hit Yang in the back, and propel her out of the ring.
It worked, and his hit launched Yang forward, threatening to send her flying headlong off the edge of the ring. However, even as she found herself in the open air, Yang simply grinned, and punched ahead of herself with her gauntlets. Their recoil reversed her momentum, sending her arcing back up and over the edge, avoiding a loss by ring-out. In the process, Yang imparted a roll to her body, allowing her to bring her right fist around so that she could punch straight down at Sun, who barely managed to roll back out of the way of the bolt her gauntlet fired, getting his feet back under him, which bought him just enough time to raise his staff in a block to ward off the axe-kick that Yang descended with.
Yang pushed off, flipping away from Sun, using a gauntlet to ward off a thrust Sun countered with. Landing on the ring, Yang immediately closed with Sun again, who responded by separating his staff again, launching another barrage of blows with his gun-chucks. However, Yang was better prepared this time, though she largely found herself on the defensive, rarely finding an opportunity to counterattack, which Sun warded off just as expertly as he was attacking.
Now their exchange was beginning to take them on a circuit along the edge of the ring, both of them literally inches away from defeat as each employed both power and finesse to try and force the other out. Their current fight ran counter to the typical logic of a fight under such circumstances, where both fighters would make an effort to remain as close to the center of the ring as possible, in order to reduce the threat of a ring-out. Of course, all this only made the match all the more thrilling for the audience, who were on the edge of their seats, cheering wildly.
Sun realized that he was at a disadvantage here. Because the recoil of his guns was less than those in Yang's gauntlets, he didn't have the mid-air recovery abilities that she did. As such, using his tail to latch onto her was his best hope of keeping from being knocked out of the ring entirely. Of course, he also realized the other disadvantage he was at.
The power of Yang's Semblance was building again. Sun could practically feel the growing sense of threat with each hit that Yang blocked. Her power was increasing, even though she wasn't taking damage anymore. Little by little, she was building up power that would be more than enough to send him sailing out of the ring. If she hit him with their current positions, then he would have no hope of recovering this time.
In an effort to avoid that, he'd continually tried to circle around Yang, to put her between him and the edge, so that any such blow she unleashed would send him across the ring in the other direction, at least ensuring that he had time to recover. But Yang was wise to that strategy, and continually moved to check him, the result being that they continually circled around each other as they fought along the edge, trading positions almost as quickly as they traded blows.
Sure enough, Yang made her move. Her eyes flashed red, and her Aura surged outwards, threatening to stagger Sun and knock him away again. This time, he was prepared though. He lunged forward, abandoning all semblance of technique, instead lunging straight at her, swinging his arms around as though he were trying to wrap her in an embrace. To the audience, and Yang, it looked as though he'd given up on trying to attack, and was simply trying to tackle her off the ring. They were positioned at an angle where, either way, one of them could be forced out, positioned at one of the octagon's corners.
Sun's vision went gray as Yang's fist slammed home in his undefended stomach. He'd prepped himself as best he could. Even though he hadn't received the training in Flow that Yang had, Sun's Aura had at least responded to his will, concentrating in his stomach to kill as much force from Yang's Semblance-empowered punch as possible. On top of that, by closing in as much as he had, Sun kept Yang's arm from extending fully, which helped prevent her from unleashing the full force of her blow, throwing off the timing of her Flow as well.
Still, that seemed relatively pointless, as Sun was still sent flying backwards. Yang felt a sense of triumph well up within her. She hadn't been able to strike from the angle inside the ring, but her blow was still angled along the ring's edge, ensuring that the ensuing flight Sun was sent on would carry him well out past the angle of the ring's circumference, and past the point of no return.
That sense of triumph lasted a fraction of a second.
Yang suddenly saw stars as something hard struck her in the back of the neck, just below the base of her skull. At the same time, she felt something wrapping tight around her waist, while the object that had slammed into the back of her head remained in contact, also yanking her forward.
What had looked like an attempted tackle by Sun had actually been carried out to allow him to extend his arms past the sides of Yang's head. Right as her punch landed, his gun-chucks rejoined to form his staff so that, when he was blasted backwards by Yang's hit, he wound up pulling the shaft of his weapon straight into the back of her neck. Combined with the fact that he'd also wrapped his tail tight around her waist, Sun's counter allowed him to pull Yang along with him, both of them tumbling inelegantly out of the ring.
This would be the end of the match, victory settled by which of them wound up touching the floor outside the ring first. In the scant few seconds they had left, each of them did their best to ensure that they would be the one on top.
Sun kept his tail wrapped around Yang in a grip that would have put a python to shame. If he allowed them to separate, then Yang would use her gauntlets' recoil to arrest her fall, ensuring that he would touch down first. Using his tail as an anchor, Sun pulled himself around Yang, managing to circle around behind her, trying to plant his hands and feet on her back to keep her beneath him, the circling movement also enabling him to slip his staff around the front of Yang's neck, where he would be able to use it to choke her.
Yang's response was to punch out at an angle, firing a shot from her gauntlet to impart a spin that would flip them around, so that Sun was now beneath her. Sun, of course, attempted to flip himself around to her front to keep on top of her, which Yang had anticipated, punching out with her other fist, aiming right for his face as he swung around. Sun barely managed to keep from slamming his cheek into her fist, though it still scraped past, the discharge of her gauntlet searing his head, and making his ear ring.
Gritting his teeth, Sun clung gamely on, realizing that Yang's missed punch had set them both spinning again. Their continuous tumble had turned into an airborne grappling contest, each using every trick in the book in an attempt to get on top and ensure victory.
The sound of Yang's gauntlet firing was met with a loud clang, and Sun's staff was sent whirling away through the air. Sun found them parting from each other. Yang grinned, cocking back her fists, preparing to take advantage of their separation to change her angle, then arrest her descent by just enough that Sun would land first.
Sun's hands came together in front of him. A second later, both fighters were obscured by a blinding flash of gold, dazzling the eyes of the onlookers.
The buzzer rang.
The first match of the quarterfinals had just been decided.
But who had won?
At the critical instant, the audience's view of both fighters had been disrupted, so hardly anyone had managed to see who'd landed outside the ring first.
After a moment's hesitation, Port's voice boomed out through the speakers. "The winner is Sun Wukong!"
The audience roared.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein