RWBY 1. Chapter 1

There was an eternal stench of beer and stale cigarette smoke to the dimly lit room, enough that it would make those who weren't regular patrons of the back alley club gag upon entering. In fact, there was a veritable cloud of second-hand smoke clinging to the ceiling, a testament to how many of the men crowded into the confined area couldn't hold back their habit for the hour or so that they gathered here nearly every night, pushing against each other to get a better view of the fighters contending with each other in the square raised platform in the middle of the room, tattered rope connected to poles in each corner of it the only thing keeping the brawlers from flying out into the crowd.

The bare light bulb dangling on a cable over the ring flickered for a millisecond as one of the fighters, a young shirtless man who had been eagerly showing off the muscles he had packed on his stomach and arms a handful of minutes ago, was slammed heavily into the thin mat, the fall met with a fresh cheer from the attending audience. A spot of fresh crimson blood flew from his mouth on impact, joining many rust brown patches already on the covering as he struggled to get back up to his feet.

He had barely managed to prop himself up with one arm when a fist wrapped with tape lashed out to his jaw, the sheer force of the blow jerking his head to one side as he paused, stunned, before flopping back down the mat, eyes rolling back into his head as he sunk into unconsciousness. Another cheer from the crowd, though mixed with heckling this time. Panting for breath, the woman who had delivered the final blow straightened back up, using both hands to throw back her long blonde hair over her shoulders as a bell rang out, signalling the end of the entertainment.

"And there you have it folks!" A ringside announcer called out, voice ringing louder than the bell he had just used. "The Dragon wins again!" Some were grinning gleefully now that the fight was over, holding their hand out to others who weren't so happy about the outcome, grumbling with sour expressions as they handed over wads of cash to the winners of private bets. Others simply chose to start streaming out the room and up the stairs, intent on getting another drink now that they couldn't keep watching people beat the shit out of each other.

The woman didn't care, leaving her opponent out cold in the ring as she slipped under the rope barrier. Clad in black shorts and a bright orange tank top that was short enough to show off the muscles gleaming with sweat on her midriff, the woman headed straight over to the announcer, not caring about the grime clinging to her, and the streak of blood coming from one corner of her lips. Not when she wanted to get paid and get out of here before some of the more drunk patrons would start to hit on her, as they always tending to do after the match was over. Apparently, the fact that this was a girl who had just knocked unconscious a man taller than her just moments ago never seemed to dissuade them. Worse, some of them seemed to like that.

"Ah, Yang!" The announcer noticed her, turning away from his conversation with an orange haired man in a white suit, who promptly chose this as an opportunity to leave. "Another great fight! Though maybe, you could have dragged it out a bit longer. You know, give the people their money's worth." The announcer was a man in his thirties, with a full head of dark hair that ran from sideburns to beard and moustache without any spots left bare, wearing a white dress shirt, covered with a black vest and bright red tie, and pressed dark pants. A pair of glasses with red lenses hung idly from one gloved hand as he addressed her. "It's hard to keep them coming back when they're only going to get barely more than fifteen minutes of entertainment."

The blonde simply crossed her arms over her chest, amethyst eyes boring into his as she waited, the both of them knowing exactly what she wanted. A little uncomfortable with the cold stare, he coughed into a hand, clearing his throat of dryness before talking again.

"Yeah yeah, I know, your pay for the evening." Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a stack of green bills, a rubber band wrapped several times around the centre to prevent any from slipping out from the rest. Taking it from him, Yang proceeded to flip through the bunch, making sure each that she had been promised from the beginning was accounted for. "Still, you should keep in mind what I said. If you keep finishing up so fast, pretty soon there'll be no one who'll come to watch. And then how am I supposed to pay my reigning champion and the chumps brave or stupid enough to go up against her in the ring?"

"...Hmm, I'll think on it." She eventually responded, giving a shrug of her shoulders along with the answer. The main reason the woman kept on doing this was for the money after all. It was in her best interests to at least compromise to keep the flow of green coming her way, even if she didn't want to spend a moment in this dirty club any longer than she had to.

"Yeah, well, make sure you do that." Trying to make sure it looked like he had authority over the girl who could kick his ass if she felt like it, and had on the night they had first met, the announcer blustered through his order, striding off with a clap to Yang's shoulder as he passed.

There was a groan from the ring behind her as the blonde finished counting up her cash, satisfied that she hadn't been short-changed. Looks like he had learned from the first few attempts he had tried to do so with her. Not wanting to wait around and see if the dumbass she had been sparring with would realise the fight was over now that he was coming round, she bent down to push a hand through a ragged curtain circling the base of the ring, retrieving a long tan trench coat from under it. Making her way towards the stairs up to where the normal, legal, section of the bar was, Yang wrapped the piece of clothing around her, not wanting to deal with lecherous stares coming her way. Junior did hate it when she ended up taking a patron outside to bash his teeth in.

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The gentle beeping sound that would repetively echo down the sterile hallway made Yang anxious as she strode down the shining linoleum. It had been some hours since the fight now. Enough for a decent sleep, and to scrub the stench of alcohol and smoke off her skin. Her hair, which could have almost been compared to straw when in the club, was now gleaming like gold, soft curls flowing freely down her back. Her boxing outfit had been changed for a pair of black jeans, a sunflower yellow t-shirt, and a tan jacket over the top of it.

A pair of boots scuffed the floor as she kept on walking past a patch of sunlight painting the tiles cream, coming in through an open door nearby. Under one arm was tucked a small piles of various books, that one could tell were brand new if they looked close enough. Clasped on the opposite side was a bouquet of red roses, their blooms just starting to burst wide as the petals spread out. Lilac eyes counted off the numbers of the white doors she passed by, her mouth moving from a determined line to a gentle smile as she got closer to the one she was looking for.

And there it was. Room 219. With the door left open just enough for Yang to peek through and see a small figure lying in the bed that took up the middle of the room. A book was held open by a pair of pale hands, silver eyes eagerly eating up the text in it as another page was flicked over. Yang's smile grew into a grin, although she had to slightly force it to get so far.

Deciding she was ready to make her entrance, the door flew open, the younger girl in the bed jumping in shock from the sudden motion.

"There's my baby sis!" The blonde called out cheerfully, dumping the books she had been carrying at the foot of the bed in order to envelop the dark haired girl in a giant bear hug. A squeak was heard from the girl as she squeezed tight around her, the open book dropping from her grasp as she tried to struggle out from the strong grip on her.

"Ah, Yang! I can't breathe!" Chuckling, the woman let go, drawing back in order to let the other catch her breath. "Do you really have to do that every time?" The girl whined, noticing that the book she had been so attentive to before had slipped off the bed and onto the floor. Not that she could reach down for it, not with the short distance of movement that the tubes attached to her nostrils allowed her. Instead, the taller of the pair bent down to retrieve it, adding it to the stack that she had brought with her.

"So long as I come to visit every day, I will." Yang promised gleefully, earning a tired sigh. "But hey, I've got you some new books and fresh flowers to make up for it!" The books went onto the nightstand next to her bed, where her sister could easily reach them, the roses replacing a bunch in a vase also on there, the older floral arrangement starting to wilt and die. Those went straight into the bin by the door, Yang dusting her hands as she returned to a stool next to the bed, perching upon it. "How's it been, Ruby? Did they say anything new?"

Maybe it was too much to hope for that the mystery illness had been beaten right into dying off, that they would both be able to return to their small home together soon. Maybe, but that wouldn't stop Yang from hoping each and every day that things would get better. That their medical insurance wouldn't stop giving the majority of the payments needed for the much needed treatments to fight the illness off to the pair to take care of on their own. That she could finally stop having to find methods of earning extra money that weren't exactly approved by the law. When hope was all she had to hang onto, she would cling to it until all chances had been extinguished.

"The nurse said that it looked like the treatments were working well." Ruby answered, a smile pushing her lips up as she reached over for the book she had been reading to put it back onto her lap. "And I haven't felt sick for a good while now!" Holding her hands out in front of her, she pulled her fingers back into her palms to make tight fists that she jerked slightly back to herself as they came together. "They also said, if it manages to keep up like this, maybe I can go home by the end of next month!" There was a gleam to her eyes that Yang hadn't seen for a long time, widening her own grin unconsciously.

"That's great!" The older sister reached out with one hand to swiftly ruffle Ruby's hair, despite the protests that came right on cue. "It's just like I said, isn't it? If we both keep on being strong, we'll get through it all." Even if at the time she had told the younger that, she herself hadn't been so sure that this was something they could get through and then back to normal life.

Yang had worked hard to make sure that she wasn't getting too deeply involved in the underground fight scene that she was using to pay off her sister's medical bills, and for a small apartment that she lived in nearby. But even with that, they might not be so willing to simply let her walk away once Ruby was all better. Their strongest champion in years, the money-maker of Junior's (the announcer at the fight) so-called club, there would be hell to pay when she would announce that she was leaving. But what could they do to her, when they didn't have anyone else who seemed to come close to beating her?

A knock at the door interrupted the close conversation the sisters were having, the blonde looking over to see a nurse with long brunette hair looking nervously in, not at all comfortable with having to interrupt them. Velvet, she recalled the name of the nurse who had been in charge of Ruby for most of the time that she had been in the hospital for since a few months ago. There was some irritation threatening to boil up inside of her at having her precious time with her little sister being barged into, though it simmered down once she noticed the expression on Velvet's face. There was something important she needed to say. And most likely to Yang alone. The blonde turned back to Ruby, the grin on her face never leaving for a second.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Ruffling her sister's hair again before she could get a response, Yang strode out with the sounds of Ruby grumpily fixing her hair behind her as she closed the door behind herself, buying her and the nurse a little privacy. Once it was closed, the grin dropped, her face becoming more solemn. "What's up? Ruby said everything was going well?" She questioned Velvet, tone sliding to becoming defensive.

"Yes, the therapy is working." A timid voice replied, eager to make sure that what she had to say wasn't about that. "...As well as it can on its own." The admittance brought on a raised eyebrow from the taller of them, Yang crossing her arms as she waited.

Velvet paused for a moment, wondering if she could actually go through with telling her this, with how much hardship the pair of sisters had been under just to keep up payments on the hospital bills. Well, there wasn't any other way around it, she needed to know. "The doctors think they have found the cause of the illness now." Yang's eyes shined, and her mouth opened as she went to say something before being cut off once more by the nurse.

"But, to make sure, and then to actually remove the cause if they're right, they need to operate on Ruby." The blonde paused, the realisation of what that meant trickling into her head. On the one hand, it meant there was a chance that her baby sister could be coming home sooner rather than later. But on the other hand, surgeries of any kind never came cheap... and they certainly weren't the sort of thing that their cheapskate insurance would even be willing to entertain the idea of covering for them.

Yang's mouth set into a thin line as it dawned on her. Given how much she earned from each fight she did at Junior's place, it was out of the question to be able to pay for much more than the bills that came each week. And unless she could convince Junior to start running more than one match every couple of days, it would remain that way. Even scrimping and pinching every penny would only go so far, possibly taking years to save up what would be needed as payment for the surgery.

"I'm sorry." The nurse had only to glance at the expression on the older sister's face to realise the dilemma she had delivered onto her. Clasping her hands together tentatively, she shyly directed her gaze to the floor, not knowing what else she could do but apologise. "I wish I could offer better news than this."

"It's alright, it's not your fault." Yang mumbled, unable to pull her chipper mood back up to reassure Velvet. That's right, no one was at fault here. Not unless she could find out who decided that medical treatment should cost so much. Then she would be quite happy to grab their neck and strangle them until she felt better. Silence fell between them, the blonde trying to keep the anger now rising inside of her tucked away, and the nurse not sure what she should do now that the news had been delivered.

"...Well, I should get back to my duties." She eventually excused herself, still not making eye contact as she rushed through the words. "I hope you have a good day." There was a bad aftertaste on her tongue as she said that, however polite she was trying to be. Not wanting to sink herself deeper into the hole she had carved for herself, Velvet scurried off down the hall, to where the nurse's office would be.

Yang leaned against the wall next to the door back to Ruby. A hand by her side tightened into a fist the longer she lingered there, lips curling back into an angry sneer even as she fought to keep it all in. Raising her fist away from the wall, she violently slammed it back into the plaster, the stinging sensation that came to her skin helping to clear her mind and make her focus, even as she pulled the hand out of the indent that she had caused.

Breathing deeply, the blonde counted each inhale and exhale that she made, feeling the helpless rage ebb away with each movement of her lungs. Soon, she was able to drag the earlier smile back onto her face, even if she didn't feel like there was anything to be happy about. Her shoulders, which had tensed up, relaxed and sunk down, the earlier fist that she had made now reaching for the door handle.

It may have looked like Ruby would be stuck in the hospital for ages if they couldn't afford the surgery, but maybe there was a way around. Yang could always ask Junior if he would be willing to give her a loan on the promise that she would eventually do some fights for no money, or there was trying to bet on herself for the matches. Though if she got caught, then her payment would likely get halved as punishment. Not to mention that Junior would probably say no to her request for a loan. But there had to be some way.

Even as the door opened to reveal that Ruby had gone back to reading her book while waiting for Yang, oblivious to the conversation that had happened outside her door, all the older sister could think about was how to find a way to make her better. Even if she had to take on more challengers, there would be no hesitation in jumping on the opportunity for more cash.

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It was noon when the cop car pulled up on the curb, icy blue eyes, one with a scar running down through it, peering out the passenger window at all the graffiti alongside the buildings nearest to them, including the one closest that had a neon sign above its door, labelling the place as 'Junior's'. What they saw made them narrow in disgust.

"Ugh. Do we really have to be out here?" A prim voice spoke up inside the car, the owner of it not yet moving to even take off her seat belt, let alone open her door and get out.

"If by that you mean, do you have to do the assignment that was given to you, then yes." A similar, though older voice corrected her. This was the detective who had driven them both to the area, which was known for having an especially high notoriety when it came to illicit activities taking place around its streets. Blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, the driver pushed back a pair of thin oval spectacles on her nose as she pushed her door open. "Now come on, we've got a job to do."

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	2. Chapter 2

Blazing Dragon, Roaring Panther - Chapter 2

Running a hand back through her mane of golden locks, Yang took a deep breath as she stood outside Junior's club in the early afternoon, having come from the visit to her sister and trying to psyche herself up to not take no for an answer. There had to be some way to earn the money they needed. And if there was anyone that would have a way for her to earn that green fast enough to get Ruby's surgery, it would be Junior. The guy was a bit of a dick sometimes, and had tried to rip her off when she had first been approached for the fighting, but if it meant he'd get a cut of the cash, he'd be the one to help her out. Balling up her strength and holding it in her chest, she walked on through, pushing the door roughly open with one hand.

Surprisingly, with no patrons yet in the bar and sunlight flowing through the windows, the place didn't look as seedy as it had last night. Instead, it looked just grimy and old. There were patches on the walls where the white paint had chipped off to reveal grey stone walls, those same patches growing each night by club-goers shoving each other up against the paint, to either lock mouths madly together as they grinded like mindless animals on each other, or in the midst of a brawl. Wooden tables that had seen better days were spread around near the windows on the walls that were left and right of the door, no chairs with them. Junior had learned early on that they just gave drunks an extra weapon to grab at when the bouncers were trying to chuck them out. The positioning of the tables gave plenty of room for the crowds that normally formed around the counter of the bar, which itself took up almost a quarter of the room.

The old planks of darkened wood that made up the floor creaked under Yang's feet as she walked through, heading towards the bar. Not noticing her yet, Junior was busy trying to buff out a mark left on the counter top with an old rag, growing more irritated as he failed to make any progress in it. Perhaps it was because the rag was as dirty as the mark and in need of a good wash itself. As of right then, they seemed to be the only people in the building, but there was a floor above them, and the basement below, so she wasn't counting on that to be a sure thing. Needing to get his attention, the blonde coughed into one hand, relieved when he stopped rubbing the spot almost right after. Upon seeing who it was, his eyebrows creased in confusion.

"It's a bit early for you to be here, Yang." He said, both hands resting upon the bench top. "The first fight doesn't even start for a couple of hours more." It was out of habit for the girl to show up when she didn't need to, and that normally meant she turned up half an hour before her matches to get ready, and then left straight after she got her pay. Just like last night. Her hand returned to her hair to worm its fingers through the mane.

"Well, you see-" Junior cut her off before she could get much further.

"Actually, this is good. I wasn't sure if I was going to have the time to talk to you about something if you had shown up like you normally do." He twisted to one side to chuck the rag into a bucket nearby momentarily. "There's this big event coming up, and I want you to be in it." This time, it was Yang's turn to furrow her features, a little anxious as to what this could mean. It wasn't pole dancing, was it?

"Don't you already have Pyrrha for those kinds of-" He cut her off again with a brisk wave of his hand and a shake of his head.

"Not that kind! This is different! And much more important!" A pause, Junior casting a glance over towards the front door to check if anyone was coming in, before leaning forth on folded arms across the counter. "Every year, there's a city wide tournament." He laid out to her. "Just like the fights you've been doing so far, but much bigger. I've told you about there being different leaders for different sections of the city, yeah?"

"I... vaguely remember that talk." Maybe she should have paid more attention to those times when the man would ramble on and on. Mostly it was boring, but he did know a few things about the underbelly of Beacon, being the son of a major mob player, and a leader of his own area. Still, she was all ears now, and what this tournament could mean for her. He rolled his eyes before continuing, not expecting much different.

"It's sort of a test, in many ways. Of the strength that can be found in each area's members, and of the leader's abilities to find talented people and keep them." Ah, that explained why he was talking so seriously about it. He had only been a boss in his own right for around a year now. "You have a winning candidate in the year's contest, you get respect wherever you go. If you don't participate, or have one that drops out in the preliminaries, you're seen as weak, and potential targets ripe for the conquering. And I don't aim to have a bullseye painted on my back this time."

"What about Melanie and Militia?" She asked, curious as to why the pair of bodyguards hadn't been his first pick for this. There wasn't anything concrete, but the word out was that the twins had been raised as assassins for a good chunk of their lives, so they should have been much better choice for this than her.

"Them? They tried last year, didn't end well." His mouth was sour at the memories popping up in his head. "Those two may be good, but their specialities are subtlety and surprise. The tournament matches are straight up brawls, which is not their best field. The both of them got tossed out onto their asses just during the fights to make a shortlist out of the dozens entered." Yang winced at what that would have meant for Junior. In a moment of frustration, he gestured around the room with both arms. "Why else do you think I run the shittiest bar in the city? And barely have more than two blocks of territory near the Beacon docks? Cause no one would actually want to fight me for this crappy piece of land, that's why!"

That, and his dad had wanted to make sure his youngest son at least had something left, had been another rumour floating around. Not that Yang went around asking for information like that, it was just... hard to not overhear people when they openly gossiped in the bathrooms while she changed in a stall near them.

"And that's where you come in." There was a slight thump as Junior slapped the wood with a open palmed hand. "I want you to enter into the tournament. Even just getting past the preliminaries would be an improvement over last time, but I want to aim high. I want to get to the damn finals, and you're gonna be the one to do it for me."

There was an excited grin to his mug, though he tried to keep it toned down. This was a serious affair, there was no time to just think of all the other bosses faces dropping when they saw his Dragon in action. Maybe he would even show up one or more of his older brothers along the way. That would be golden for him. Yang wasn't about to jump straight into this though, not without something in it for her. This was sounding like a definite big step up from fighting chumps in the basement.

"So, what reasons exactly are there for me to want in on this?" She asked coyly as she crossed her arms, knowing there was something he would give her. The man was definitely holding something back from her, waiting to see if she was interested. "I'm not about to jump into the ring with people that could be seasoned killers, not for the pay I get for taking down egotistic dock workers."

"That's the beauty of it." So there was more, and it was a good one judging by the way his grin widened. "The preliminaries... eh, the pay from that will only slightly higher than normal." He gave a careless shrug with the words. "But, the fights after that, the cash prizes get bigger and bigger. A good chunk of it will go to me, as leader." Taking pride in that, he straightened out the black vest he had on, pulling the hem down with both hands. "But you'll still be getting a percentage of it for being the winner. Which means the first normal match could land you about... double your normal payout?"

This almost seemed too good to be true. Here Yang had been, about to beg Junior for some kind of loan or for a chance to earn the extra money through other means (she still didn't want to do any kind of stripping, though) and a golden opportunity had been held out in front of her without even a word from the girl.

Double what she had got last evening, for just the first one on one match? Part of her remembered that the surgery was meant to be damn expensive, even if she hadn't gotten the exact figure off of the nurse. So, if she at least got to the finals, she would be almost there to making her sister better, if not having just enough? Her mind seized on that thought. This was it, this was their way out. And nothing was going to stand between her and getting what she wanted.

"You've got a deal!" Yang eagerly accepted, a determined grin on her face as she held out a hand across the bench. "Here's to winning this tournament then." Junior's own expression mirrored the blonde's, reaching out with one gloved hand to shake the one offered to him.

"They're not going to know what hit them."

"Who's getting hit now?" The new voice rang out as the front door creaked open, the pair turning around as they need to peer at the source of intrusion. Two women, one middle aged, the other looking around Yang's age, and the both of them wearing that unmistakeable navy blue uniform of the Beacon police, had decided to come in at the end of the conversation. It was the older one who had spoken up, yellow hair pulled back in a bun, bright green eyes peering through oval glass frames.

"Hey, club's closed till five o'clock." Junior said, moving to walk around the counter and towards the pair of cops. Yang hung back, not wanting to get any more involved than she needed to. She didn't need nor want to risk her chance of getting a better life for her and Ruby, and messing with the police while being involved in illegal organised brawls, would certainly do that. "If you read the sign on the door, you would have known that."

"We did. But we're not here for drinks, we're here to talk." As the older officer talked some more, Yang couldn't help but peer round to the second, smaller girl. She certainly was small. Couldn't be that much taller than Ruby, maybe a couple of inches more. And that silver hair was in a ridiculous side ponytail, with an extravagant hair tie for it. What kind of cop went around wearing a piece of jewellery like that, that was certain to get ripped off her by some bold thief? "We've been getting reports about certain activities taking place here. Ones that you don't hold a license for, and some that you wouldn't have been able to obtain one for anyways."

"I've said this before. You're welcome to look around... if you have a warrant on you." Junior stuck his hands into his pant pockets, puffing up as the woman didn't respond to that. They wouldn't find anything if they did anyways, the blonde girl remembering how quickly they cleaned up each night and took anything incriminating away to be stored offsite. "You never do though, you just have these 'reports' that you keep talking about. If I remember right, this could be classified as police harassment, right?"

"Coming in to have a chat would hardly be called harassment, Mr Xiong." Her calm tone hadn't wavered for a second. Apple green eyes flickered over to Yang, taking in the girl's appearance. "Have you taken up a new employee since we last met?" The girl tensed, not liking being suddenly under scrutiny. Before it seemed like she would have to speak up though, Junior was cutting in again, a dismissive wave of his hand drawing the officer's attention back to him.

"Her?" A shrug of his shoulders. "A friend of one of my workers, had to come in with a message that he was sick and couldn't make his shift today. But you're changing the subject, as you always do." Drawing in close, he pointed a finger right in her face, not even hiding the hostility that came with the gesture. "If you keep doing this, I will take this up with your superiors. Don't think I won't. I'm sure they'd be interested to hear how much time you take to 'visit' me so often."

The younger cop bristled, and opened her mouth to snap at the man. A hand swiftly held up in front of her by her partner made her pause, the pair joining gazes for a second. Sensing it was time to end this before things got any more tense, the older nodded, turning back to Junior and showing no reaction to his gestures.

"Very well then. If we're annoying you so much, we'll take our leave for now." Still calm as ever, the woman turned towards the door and strolled towards it, a hand on her partner's arm making the other follow her lead out.

"Feh!" Junior let out a noise of disgust as the door closed behind them. "That detective Goodwitch, always sniffing around for trouble! Too bad she's never found anything that she can actually use."

His frustrations vented, the man idly at the edge of his beard on one side of his chin as he continued to face the door. With everything she had needed already out of the way, Yang thought it best to leave for now. She had left her fighting gear back at home after all, so she would have go anyways. Pushing off from the bar, the blonde made her goodbyes and left out the front door, not thinking that an idling police car at one end of the street would take notice.

Even though she knew the fights ahead would likely be a lot more difficult than what she was normally getting, Yang couldn't help the grin on her face as she stuffed the clothes into her backpack. It had all come together so easily! It was like a dream that she hadn't woken up from, though she wasn't sure if she would want to if that was the case. If all went well, and she could make her way up to the finals of this tournament, Ruby could be out of the hospital in a month's time, and she could quit working for Junior. They could finally get back to a normal life!

Glancing up at a clock hanging in her apartment, the blonde realised it was getting close to the time she would need to take off. Another day, another chump to beat unconscious. Wasn't the best way to earn money, but it was relaxing to take her frustrations out on another, she had to admit. And she couldn't say that her opponents weren't willing, after all, not when they clamoured at a chance to earn a wad of cash if they beat her. Not that that would happen. Not now, not ever.

The doorbell chose to ring at that moment. Strange, shouldn't be any reason someone would come visit her. Maybe it was the landlord? Almost tripping over a pile of discarded clothes on the floor as she basically ran to the door, Yang managed to avoid a face plant narrowly as she pulled on the door knob. Her prior happy expression dropped when she saw who was waiting for her.

"Hello, miss Long." Goodwitch greeted her pleasantly, though there was nothing pleasant at all at finding two police officers at her apartment. "I believe we need to have a chat."

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	3. Chapter 3

"...I don't have any need to talk to you two." Yang finally spoke, swiftly realising that she wouldn't be able to stay in stunned silence the entire time. Crossing her arms, she leaned against one side of her doorframe, blocking the entrance into her apartment. "I don't know what you came to Junior about before, but I've got nothing to do with any of it."

"Ah, but you and I both know that is a lie." Glynda never raised her voice, speaking as calmly as if she was simply chiding a child into being honest. "Might we come inside and talk further?" She waved a hand to the room behind Yang that could be seen over her shoulder. "I doubt you'd want to have everything done out here in public like this, where any of your neighbours could pry." The walls here in the rundown building were on the thin side, but they would allow them some privacy. Especially with most of the tenants still at work for the day.

Reluctantly, and not wanting to get arrested over something arbitrary, the blonde pushed herself off of the frame and walked back into her apartment, not especially wanting to let the cops in but having no reason not to. It wasn't like Junior asked her to hold drugs, weapons, or anything else illicit here for him. All she did was fight in his basement, and they couldn't prove that without actually catching her there, could they now?

The flat was cramped and tiny, the front door leading into the miniscule living area of the apartment. It was also untidy, discarded clothes lying all over the place, whether they were draped over an old couch that had holes springing up along it, hanging off the banged up coffee table that was stained with mug rings, or just abandoned onto the threadbare carpet that covered the floor. Up the back of the living room was the kitchen, the only separation from the two areas being a long counter, a pair of chairs that looked almost ready to fall apart dragged up to it. There was a pile of dirty dishes stacked high in the sink, a window above it letting in sunlight to glimmer on the cold water covering those actually in the metal basin. A few empty boxes of Chinese takeaway that she hadn't gotten to chucking into the bin yet were scattered along the counter. To the left of the living area was a closed door, leading off to Yang's bedroom and the bathroom adjoined to it.

The girl made no apologies for the mess as the police walked in and closed the door behind them, noticing how the silver haired one raised the corner of one lip into a disgusted sneer as they looked around, choosing to stand instead of risking getting any filth on her. Goodwitch, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice, nor care, about how the place looked, opting to gracefully sit down on the couch, ignoring a dirty t-shirt hanging off the back right next to her position. Yang, wanting some space to herself, dragged one of the chairs by the counter over towards them, straddling it instead of sitting on it properly, propping her arms up on its back.

"So." She made sure to say it loud enough to catch both of their attentions. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" The sooner she could get them out of here, the better. Junior wasn't about to take away her chance for the tournament with her being his strongest contender, but if she too late tonight then she would miss a chance to earn some pay between now and then.

"Feels a shame to start off the conversation without properly introducing ourselves." The detective said, dodging the blunt question. "Maybe you got my name when we met at the bar, but I'm detective Glynda Goodwitch, and this," She waved a hand towards the still standing officer, who had proceeded to cross her arms. "is my partner, officer Weiss Schnee."

"Schnee?" That distracted Yang for a while. That couldn't be right. Why would there be an officer with _that_ name? "Like the name of that giant company, the Schnee Corporation? You're of them?" Weiss sniffed at the question, the narrowing of her eyes showing off her displeasure as she fixed the other girl with a glare.

"It's my father's company, but yes." She confirmed. The blonde paused for a moment, almost not believing the situation she had here. This was ridiculous, and it eventually got to her, leaning back to let out an exasperated laugh. One eyebrow on Weiss's face twitched as the sound irked her. "And just what is so funny?"

"Nothing, princess." Yang answered as the laughter died away into mere chuckles, smirking as the officer grew more irritated. "Just didn't think that times were so bad that even a heiress like yourself had to get a job just to survive." One of Weiss's hands clenched into a fist, though she strove to not rise to the bait.

During the little goading, Glynda had been busily studying from afar some papers that had been left folded up on the coffee table in front of her. The letterhead to one of them bore the name 'Schnee Medical Aid'. They had been kept from unfolding thanks to a picture frame that had been propped up on top of them, a photograph of the blonde holding a smaller dark haired girl in a head lock with one arm, using the other hand to mess up the other's hair even as it looked like they were yelling. The grinning and carefree face that Yang displayed in the picture was a far cry from how she seemed now, serious and cynical.

"I'm guessing that this is your sister in the photo with you?" The detective asked as she wrapped her fingers round one side of the frame, lifting up to herself for a better look. Despite her apparent attention focused on the picture, she didn't miss the sudden rising of Yang's shoulders when she saw what the woman was doing. "Funny, this seems to be a one bedroom apartment, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of another person living in here with you..." The unasked question was left hanging in the air, though there was enough for her to figure out exactly what was going on. The building was only two blocks away from a hospital, after all.

"That's none of your business." The answer came out as a growl, even if Yang had not been intending to do so. Every nerve in her body was demanding that she march over to the couch and snatch that frame out of the woman's hands, even though the rational part of her knew that would only make things worse. Then again, they had no warrant, or any other official piece of paper saying they had the right to be in here whether she liked it or not. She could make them leave any time that she wanted to. "And you still haven't answered my question. What did you come here to talk about?"

"I suppose we've done enough small talk for now." Glynda gently placed the photo frame back where she had picked it up from, bringing her hands back to fold them together neatly in her lap. "We know that you're involved in what goes on in the basement of Mr Xiong's club." Yang scoffed openly at the statement, waving a hand to one side as she let off some steam. That was what this was about?

"I don't have anything to do with the fighting, you're wasting your time here." If they did have anything, anything at all, then not only would she be in jail for taking part, Junior and the rest of his men would be in there with her for setting the matches up. As it stood, they were just poking their noses around the bar, trying to get a whiff of anything suspicious that they could use as a foothold.

"I never said that it was fighting that went on." Yang froze at the words, a chill slipping down her spine as she realised too late what a mistake she had just made. "And yet, that's instantly what you thought we were talking about." Those bright green eyes hiding behind a pair of spectacles had turned sharp as they gazed at the younger girl, all facade of friendliness gone. "Of course you would though, you do take part in those fights nearly every other night, don't you?" It was barely phrased as a question, the intonation on the sentence making it sound like fact.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Yang blustered, desperately trying to backpedal from her mistake. The panic was clawing away inside of her, even as she fought to keep her cool. She couldn't afford to be taken in by the police for more questioning. If Junior even got a whiff of that having happened, she would be out of the tournament, and out of any regular fights at all! And then everything else that the girl had worked so hard for, Ruby's treatments, the apartment, it would all crumble out from underneath her. "It was just a guess! I could have very well said that there could be drugs or prostitution going on down there!"

"No, it wasn't." There was no room for argument, not with that cold tone. And this time, it was coming from Weiss. "We've had an officer manage to get in for a couple of weeks now. From his reports, we know exactly how many times they have matches down there, and even what days this week you've been fighting. Which would be..." She raised a finger to her temple, as if needing time to bring up the details. "...last night, Monday, and also Thursday." Her smirk grew as Yang's mouth dropped open. "Tell me if I'm wrong."

Yang wanted to scream, to flee from the room as fast as she could. But doing that would only confirm what they knew, and give them a chance to outright arrest her. Wait. The word stilled her, taking in a breath as she rolled it over in her head. If they knew all this, then why weren't they already arresting her? They knew that there were illegal matches in the basement, that Yang took part of them, even had the days she did it on. And yet, no handcuffs were appearing in either one's hands. The panic died back as she used her brain.

They wanted something from her. Something that they couldn't get with her rotting away in jail.

"And what if that's true?" She spoke up. It was with some glee that she noted the smirk fading off Weiss's face, though she kept that inside. This was the time to be careful, not to push her luck. "You seem to know everything already, so why not chuck me in the back of a police car and take me to the station?"

A pause, to be met with no answers. So they didn't want to arrest her, even though they had the opportunity to do so.

"No, you came here for something else than to simply arrest a brawler." Her arms crossed once more, she drummed one set of fingers along the other arm, her purple eyes fixed firmly on the detective sitting on her couch. "What do you want from me?"

Glynda held the gaze between them for a handful of seconds as the tense silence stretched on. Before long though, she broke it off, choosing instead to glance back at the picture in front of her.

"What we need, is an informant." One of Yang's eyebrows rose up as she let the woman continue. "We know of the tournament coming up. The department has always known of the annual flexing of power that takes place in the criminal underground. They've just never been able to prove it exists, and any attempts to do so thus far have always ended up with the officers investigating found dead and dumped out by the docks."

Well that was a great way to make someone say yes to playing spy for them. Tell them that anyone else who'd tried had been found out and killed. They be jumping to their feet to join up after that! Yang squashed those thoughts that she was tempted to turn into words coming out of her mouth, listening further instead.

"That's why we need someone who has already been trusted and working for one of the leading figures for a while. Someone who won't be questioned on how they got in." Glynda stopped looking at the picture frame, straightening up as she returned her gaze to the girl still watching her. "We didn't have anyone that could fit the bill, until we found you." And had a weakness that could be exploited, but that was something that was best left implied instead of outright stated.

"So, while the matches are going on, you want me to snoop around for you, see if I can find any information that you might be interested in. Is that the drift I'm getting here?" Yang asked as she tilted her head to one side.

"Yes, that is the basis of it." The detective agreed with a nod, pleased that this seemed to be going well. "There are specific details that we wish to find out, but those can come later once it gets closer to the date it starts on."

"Okay, so we've sussed out what you get out of this deal. But what about me?" Yang was growing bolder, feeling safer with the knowledge that she had something that they needed from her, the chance to get inside the most secretive event of the underworld. "What do I get in return?"

"How about not getting thrown in jail and put on trial?" Weiss interjected irritably before Glynda could make her own answer. "Shouldn't that be good enough for a cretin like you?"

"Sorry princess, but when someone asks me to stick out my neck for them, I expect more of a reward than not getting punished." Weiss's mouth pulled into a tight line at the nickname, wanting to go off at her for insulting her. But, as Yang knew full well by this point, they needed her. "So unless you have something more to offer, then you can just throw the handcuffs on right now." She may have looked confident, but inside her stomach was contorting itself into knots, unsure of if they would actually give her something for her troubles, or just decide it would be too much effort to convince her to do their dirty work for them.

"...There would, of course, be full shielding from the fallout that would happen once the tournament is over and we get all the information we need, such as moving you and your sister into the witness protection program if need be." Glynda added, though this was something that was given to all informants of worth anyways. "But I suppose, we can come up with something else to make it worth your while. I'm sure there should be room in the budget for some monetary reward or otherwise to send your way, especially if we get something worthwhile out of this exchange."

"Alright." A grin grew across Yang's face. This was a dangerous game she was about to enter into. But if she pulled it off, she would reap not only the money from the fights, but benefits from the police as well. She stood to lose anyways if she said no, it was either do or die from this point onwards. "Let's talk about what you really want me to get during the tournament then."

* * *

Her fist slammed into the young man's temple, sending him stumbling backwards and into the rope behind him as he fought to keep conscious and stop his vision from spinning around on him. Bouncing back on her heels to gain some room, Yang grinned cheerfully as he tried to push himself up onto his feet, slipping instead and falling back onto the rope. This was almost too easy, like stress relief after what had happened earlier today.

The crowd around the ring was either cheering or booing at this point, though their sounds faded into the background to her, used to it by now. This was to be her last match before the tournament was due to start, she had found out when she had shown up an hour prior. The sooner the better, the blonde thought. With her nerves pulled taut by the visit from Goodwitch and her partner, she needed to get it all over with as soon as possible, before her courage could start to waver on her and make her question if she could actually pull this all off. Make it to the finals, and listen in on the underworld leaders that were certain to show up to the tournament? It was a lot that was expected of her, and what a weight on her shoulders it was proving.

Still, it was nothing that the feeling of her knuckles crashing into flesh couldn't relieve her of, if only for a while anyways. The man had gotten back up while she had waited, the crowd either taunting him or inciting him to go on the attack. Unable to back out if he wanted to save face, he lunged at her, the sloppy right cross striking only thin air as Yang simply leaned to the right and out of the way.

Sensing it was time to finish this after having added in some showboating to pad out the fight's time, and with him barely able to swing straight, she brought her left fist up from her side into an uppercut. It was a solid hit, smacking the other fighter under his chin. His eyes rolled back in their sockets as his head jerked backwards, collapsing onto the canvas with a loud thump. When he failed to move or even twitch within ten seconds after hitting the ground, the match bell rang out loud and clear.

"Winner by knockout yet again, ladies and gentlemen, the Dragon!" Junior called out above the clamour as people ran to collect their bets or groaned over the loss of their money. There had been a beaming smile on his face as he had watched the night's brawl. With a fighter like this on his hands, he was bound to get results this time around at the tournament. And maybe some respect to go along with it.

Panting from the exertion of the fight, Yang raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. Her eyes glancing around the people still in the room, her gaze connected with another's. Amber eyes observed her quietly, the girl they belonged to leaning against a wall. Long, wavy, black hair cascaded down to the middle of her back. The most that Yang could see over the heads of those in front of her was what was on her upper half, a half buttoned up black vest, with a white undershirt showing clearly through it. A small obsidian scarf was wrapped around her neck like a collar, and while both arms had dark straps wrapped several times around each forearm, only her left had a similarly coloured sleeve covering most of it, a silver band going across it near her shoulder. And the one thing that Yang couldn't miss, a pair of dark furred cat ears perched on top of her head.

A faunus? Wasn't she a long way out from safety? The area near the docks was also known for infamous incidents of racial violence taking place here, and yet here this girl was, out at night, in a club filled with drunks and other people that would be itching for a fight, and her animal attributes out in clear view.

Noticing that the fighter now had her sights fixed on the other, the girl blinked once, before heading towards the stairs out of the basement. Yang watched her go, still confused as to why she had come out to watch a fight in such dangerous territory for her kind, and a little bit concerned over what might happen to her as she left. Hesitant to just let her leave like that, without anyone else with her, Yang took a step towards the steps to follow.

"Yang!" Her head whipped back to look at Junior, who was waving an thick envelop up at her from the ringside. "Come down and get your pay already! Don't you normally like getting home early?" He chuckled as he added that, surprised by that habit of hers not showing tonight as promptly as it had on all others.

By the time she had turned to look back at the stairs, the girl was gone, swallowed up by the crowd with no trace left behind. Dammit. There was probably nothing she could do now. An uneasy twinge going through her, the only thing she could do now was slip down under the rope and collect her money. Despite thinking that the girl was bound to run into trouble, Yang couldn't help the idea that they would see each other again in the future, even if she had no clue why.

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**Hope you like the chapter! If you did, please consider leaving a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

A violent bout of coughing could be heard along the hallway as the heels of Weiss's boots softly clicked along the tiles that made up the floor. The glare of sunlight made her wince as she passed by a window, its rays bouncing around the corridor's tiles to light it up further than the fluorescent lights ever could at night. A soft beeping could be heard as she made her way through the top floor of the hospital to one of the largest single rooms they had available. Of course he would be in there, it was set aside for him especially when he ran himself into the ground so far that he actually needed medical care to get back onto his feet.

She hadn't changed out of her police uniform before the visit, there hadn't proven to be time enough for that. Still, there had been time for the silver haired girl to stop by a florist and buy a pre-made bouquet. He probably wouldn't care about the gesture, but she felt her father would be pissed more by a lack of formal respect. Weiss had barely even glanced at the white and yellow arrangement to tell what flowers had been used in it.

"I don't care what they say, you have to close that deal!" The coughing had ended to be replaced by a rasp, the man's dry throat not stopping him from barking orders down a cell phone. Salt and pepper hair sheared short and brushed back into a straight line on his head was the first part that Weiss noticed when she approached the door and waited for him to finish ranting at the poor employee on the other end of the line. It had grown out since she had last seen him. Other parts of him, from the weathered and tanned skin, to the intense lines written into his skin from stress and frustration over the years, hadn't changed one bit.

Even in a medical gown and lying in a hospital bed, he was still the same businessman, focused on nothing more than making his already prodigious profits expand even further. Never mind that the Schnee Corporation was one of the largest companies around the world now thanks to his efforts and that of those working under him, and that this habit of aggressively pursuing further ventures even when not at work had already caused his health to nosedive a few times before. Overworking did tend to do that to people.

Leaving him to keep yelling down the phone line, Weiss paced quietly through the doorway and to one of his bedside tables. The shouting faded into background noise for her as she picked up an empty vase to place the bouquet in, casting a glance towards several others almost just like it spread around the room. Some had small cards attached to them, brief cookie cutter messages wishing her father well printed on them by the companies that had made them, the only personal touch to them a signature at the end in either blue or black pen.

"Just do it!" There, that was the familiar ending to one of his orders. Sure enough, the cell snapped closed in his hand just before he tossed it to one of the tables nearest to him, a growl slipping out with the motion. Although Weiss's father had only been ranting at the man, his shoulders rose and fell in a quick rhythm as he panted for air, brows still firmly pulled together to crease the skin in-between. "A bunch of goddamned idiots, the lot of them."

"Maybe, but I think they can handle the company long enough for you to get your rest and bounce back from whatever it is you caught this time." Weiss spoke up from arranging her flowers, not needing a greeting before engaging in a conversation with him. "Speaking of which, what was it this time that they decided to hospitalise you against your will for?"

"Pneumonia, they said." A coughing fit interrupted him before he could continue, forcing him to pause momentarily with one fist over his mouth as he bent over. "I still don't believe it's bad enough to call for me to stop working, not with this big deal on our doorstep to take care of."

"Well, I'll believe that when your cough stops." The flowers propped as best as she could manage, she turned to face her father, arms sliding smoothly to cross over chest as she leaned backwards against the table. "The only reason they make you stay here is because if they left you alone, you'd be likely to work yourself to death."

"That isn't true." But they both knew how much of a lie that statement was. "Not like it matters where I am, with those fools still calling me up at least once a day to check what I would decide on in their situations. It's like I can't even rest for one day without them thinking they'll mess everything up. Which they probably would without me."

"Relax, I'm sure you'll be out of here within a few days at worst." Weiss's eyes slid up and to the right as she tried to remember how long pneumonia normally landed a person in the hospital for. She knew it wasn't a long stay, so long as they weren't elderly or kids. But that was in normal circumstances. With the head of the Schnee family, it was likely he would continue to stress over the deal that he kept talking about and wind up making his stay longer. "And then you can get back to yelling at them in person."

He huffed over the way she viewed his directing of the workers under him, but didn't disagree outright with her either. At least now he seemed to be relaxing, shoulders dropping slightly now that he completely recovered from his coughing fit.

"How's your stint in the police force coming along, Weiss?" He asked, leaning back onto the mound of pillows perched at the head of the bed.

"It's been good. I've been partnered up with detective Goodwitch, and it looks like I'll be a part of some big operation already." Perhaps she wanted to impress him with that. Given the need for secrecy in their work, the officer wasn't supposed to even mention their little sting they had going, using that brawler as their spy into the underbelly of this city.

"Good, good. At least this little venture into community service isn't proving to be just standing on a street and directing traffic." Though the dismissive line about what the head of the Schnee family thought she would end up doing caused a bubble of irritation, Weiss did not show. Her training on how to act in... prestigious company had taught her better than to show negative emotions easily. "And if all goes well, it'll be another shining achievement to add to your list once you decide to join the company."

It was no secret that the heiress had been in training from day one to take over from her father eventually. In fact, most people expected it normally. The reasons for it however, might have slightly different than what ran through their heads. Other families that owned large shares or companies often had their children raised into the same careers as them to use the family name to make sure that they would be successful. In his case, it was so that the company that he had raised from the ground with his own two hands would be left to someone that he could trust to keep it going. If there was one lasting impact that he would leave upon this world when he died, it would be the Schnee Corporation, not a child raised to be the best in everything. Even if his endeavours towards the first had also created the latter.

"Hopefully." Weiss's eyes flicked over the rest of the large room. Whereas on other floors, such a room might have housed at least two patients at any one time, being the owner of the hospital allowed him to have a room always specially reserved and prepared for him. Even the bed was larger than the cots used for general patients. It was more akin to a hotel stay than a trip to the infirmary any time he fell sick. "We'll still have to wait and see how it turns out first." There was always the chance that Yang could turn traitor if there was a way out of the deal and into a better one. But Glynda had a safeguard against that, didn't she, knowing that there was a sick sister they could use against the blonde.

"I wouldn't expect anything else other than golden results from my only child." Rubbing one hand on the rough stubble coating his chin, Weiss's father raised a remote with the other. The snap of electricity moving through a flat screen TV embedded into the opposite wall could be heard moments before an image flickered onto it. Red and green stats of companies rolled across at the bottom of the screen as a reporter took up most of the space left, the buzz of his talking taking away what quiet there had been before. "I'm sure it will all fall into place."

"Hmm." Talking to him while he was fixated on hearing the latest news about his rivals and market changes was useless, unless she actually wanted to get him annoyed. "I suppose I should head off, this was only supposed to be a short break before I go back on another shift. I'll try to come see you again later in the week."

The most response the officer got as she walked out the door was an unfocused grunt, his gaze firmly following the stats as they went along.

Once she was far enough down the corridor to the elevator that she was sure that no sound would drift back to him, Weiss let out a sigh, her shoulders rising and falling along the rush of air through her mouth. Of course he wouldn't stop to think that maybe, she had asked to join the police because it was something that she wanted to do, not just to gain another embellishment on her record to show off later down the track at a business meeting or such.

Not that actually saying so would change his mind about her future. Needing something to occupy her hands with, the heiress reached for her tie, straightening up the knot as she waited for the elevator doors to open. If she recalled right, there was a coffee machine down on the 20th floor. And god knows how much she needed some liquid caffeine goodness before heading out on duty. Especially if she wound up dealing with a bunch of rowdy delinquents like last time.

With a quite loud ding, the metals doors slid apart to let the heiress enter the box and ride it down a few floors. They had only half opened at her destination before she was striding out of it, her mood sinking fast into vexation as she kept letting the thought of her predetermined future roll over in her head. Her eyebrows knitting together as the edges of her mouth turned down, most of the nurses and visitors on the floor skittered out of her way and avoided all eye contact as she marched past, not wanting to set her off.

209, 210... The numbers on the rooms along the corridor seemed to blur as she walked past. The sooner she could get some coffee or such into her, the better.

And there the machine was, stood near to the numberplate reading 219. Maybe the sight should have made her somewhat relieved, if it wasn't for the annoyance of finding someone else already using it.

Weiss's blue eyes flicked over the short dark hair with shades of red towards its ends, and down over the medical gown draped over a smaller frame than her own. The girl had a finger paused before the buttons that chose the drink the vending machine would hand out, hovering for a moment before moving to the next, constantly shifting position but never actually pressing anything. Waiting as the patient further deliberated on what to do, Weiss gritted her teeth. She didn't have time for this.

"Are you even allowed to have anything other than what the nurses give you?" The thought had turned to words and was out her mouth before she could stop herself. Not that she would have, that instinct was only for while she was around people her father would want to impress.

A jolt ran through the girl's body, and her head turned round to face the officer. The sight of silver eyes made Weiss pause. That... was something you didn't see every day.

* * *

Tonight was the big night. The start to the fighting tournament. Despite herself, Yang took in a deep breath as she tried to keep her nerves from getting the best of her.

She should be happy, excited even. This was her big chance to earn more money, get Ruby her surgery, and get out of this life for good. So why was her heart thumping around in her ribcage like a frantic rabbit?

Instead of fighting down in the basement this night, Yang had turned up to the club once it was dark to find Junior waiting outside with a car running, his special pair of bodyguards along for the ride. As the engine purred away, she glanced out the window, face propped up on one half formed fist, no clue on where they were headed. She could recognise parts of the dock area out the tinted glass, so they hadn't gone far.

Junior, as opposed to his contender's anxious mood, seemed over the moon that the night had finally come. He had his best black suit on, dry cleaned and pressed earlier that very day, the only marks of colour against it being the white dress shirt, and the new ruby red tie that lead own under his vest. It was if he had spent the day grooming and preparing himself, ready to look his very best when Yang triumphed over the brawlers put forth by other gang bosses in the city. It was easy to get that idea about his intentions, when he kept wearing that cocky grin on his face, both sides of his mouth pulled back at all times to show off his teeth.

"I can't wait." Yang's attention drifted from the buildings passing by outside to where he sat in the driver's seat. "This night alone determines the top half of the best fighters in Beacon." Even more teeth showed as he paused, the blonde figuring that he was probably envisioning the look on the other leaders' faces when he actually got someone that would make it through this round. "This won't be like last time, where we barely lasted a minute before getting knocked out."

"We're right here, you know." Miltiades interrupted from the front passenger seat, though there was only barely a flicker of anger that broke through the boredom written on her face. She looked just like any other time that Yang had run into her. Crimson strapless dress with a black sash complete with bow, red gloves, and some black fur piece that hung down from the back of her neck. Red wings of eyeliner only served to highlight her bored attitude, eyes partially closed and looking off out the window.

"Maybe I would stop mentioning it once we actually have some success at this thing." The bodyguard huffed, but said no more. "I should warn you now, Yang. For some of the guys you'll be facing, they'll be having a lot riding on making it through to the one-on-one rounds. And if the chips are looking down for them, and they think they can get away with it, they will pull something dirty."

"I thought there wasn't going to be any rules?" Yang said. The idea of crime lords actually wanting their champions to fight fair seemed a tad ironic to her. Especially if they were going to start with a group brawl by the sounds of it. "I thought the only rule that would be applied here would be 'no weapons'."

"Well..." Junior scratched at his beard, knowing he couldn't quite disagree with her there. "It's more 'you can cheat so long as you don't get caught.' So, you know, anything could happen out there." Well that was calming to hear. "Anyways..." The engine gave one last whirr before clunking as it died, the car itself lurching slightly as it came to a stop. "We're here."

Pushing the door open, the blonde could see that they were on the very end of the docks, dark water ebbing below around the concrete platform that they stood on. A large warehouse was to one side, light overflowing from every window that could be seen, and the large crack in the metal entrance that people were being ushered through. Scanning the handful of thugs that were scattered around the door, Yang could see markings of nearly every big name mob in the city on them. A tough crowd to impress tonight. And a far cry from the drunks and lechs that would gather in Junior's club.

"Well, it's time." Junior tugged on his jacket to ease out any wrinkles as his small group gathered behind him. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a pair of red shades, opening it up with a flick of his wrist and sliding them onto his face. His grin hadn't faded for a second. "Time to show them just what competition we brought this year."


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah, this was a long time coming. My only excuse is that I'm a lazy shit who procrastinates on even things they enjoy. Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The inside of the giant warehouse was brightly lit, and quite spacious. The whole building had been emptied of any crates or other cargo that might have been stored in there during the day, leaving room to make several large square fighting rings down the length of the warehouse. The floor around them was filled with people from all the gangs in the city, most of them chattering excitedly amongst themselves as they awaited the start of the night's activities. There was a walkway set above their heads, that ran round the edges of the building. Although the view from up top would be undoubtedly better, there were less people up there for some reason, and most of them better dressed than those down below on the ground floor.

Yang had a good look at the rings as they walked in, the small group mixing in with the crowds of loud people eagerly shifting around, the reek of spirits and other alcohol starting to rise up in the air. At least she could say for certain that this was a lot cleaner than the basement of Junior's club. Especially with fresh sea air wafting in from the rest of the docks outside, the tinge of salt helping to mask the smell of tobacco and booze that was beginning to waft around.

Still looking around as Junior led the way to a guarded stairway leading up the walkway, the blonde was forced into an abrupt halt by the larger man pausing before the first stair, Miltia a couple of steps up before him and Melanie waiting beside Yang.

"This is where we part ways until your round is over." Junior informed his contender as her violet gaze swung his way. Both his hands were at the base of his neck, fidgeting with his tie as he sought to remove any little crinkles in the material he had already spent ages fixing before even leaving his house this night. "There should be a guy wearing a bear head round here that'll direct you to where your match will be." He gave a nod out towards the crowd on the ground floor.

"Shouldn't be too long then." Yang replied with a shrug of her shoulders, her face stuck in a bored expression despite the butterflies dancing around in the pit of her stomach. This was what she did best, bash the hell out of anyone that stood in between her and her pay. So why did she feel so anxious about being here?

Ah, right, the deal with those police officers.

Perhaps it was best then that they wanted to save putting a wire on her until the next round of matches. Masking her feelings wasn't a skill that Yang was particularly adept at, and having actual proof that she was a spy for the police on her would have only made her nerves worse this night. And who knew how long it would take for someone to question her why then.

Junior looked back up the stairs, spying an older version of himself, complete white hair and beard, glancing his way from a small group of people. A couple of others joined in looking the same direction he was, a tall muscle-bound man in a suit and a pair of black wolf ears poking out of his similarly coloured hair, and a woman whose dark hair was pulled to one side where it flowed down in waves over one shoulder and onto her red dress.

"Just remember, I'm counting on you to at least make it past the preliminaries." He continued, breaking off his gaze to look back to her. "We need this, if only to make us look better in the eyes of other people round town." With a pat to his tie's knot, he stopped his fidgeting, straightening up as he tried to steel himself for the socialising that was imminent. "I will not stand to stay at the bottom of the ladder any more."

Barely waiting for Yang to give a nod of acknowledgement back in response, he turned away and started to head up the stairs, his bodyguards in tow as he headed towards the older man now waiting for him. Watching after him long enough to see the pair exchange a firm handshake, the blonde also turned away to start her search for the man with the bear head.

That didn't take long, the man in question turning out to be on the other side of the warehouse, other people that looked ready to fight pressed around him as he made ticks with a pencil on a clipboard of names. The bear head in question looked to have been ripped straight from the outfit of a theme park mascot, a large fluffy head with small round ears. The man underneath was probably wearing it in order to be easily seen across the building, a plan that had worked given the people queuing up en masse near him to get signed up for their matches.

Pushing her way through the crowded lane between two of the rings, Yang forced her way up to join those waiting to be checked off. Given that a large chunk of them were buff and thickly built men, she almost wound up squashed a few times as she tried to weave through the gaps and to the bear man, but she eventually managed to pop out in front of the crowd. Noticing her, the man tapped his pencil against the paper, the costume head bobbing back and forth as he turned to face her.

"Name?" He bluntly inquired, not having time to waste with any pleasantries. Not when he was expected to get about a hundred fighters all sorted out and all set to throw down with each other.

"Uh, Yang Xiao Long." She answered back, placing her hands on her hips as she watched his pencil drift down the paper. There must have been a lot of names on that clipboard, given that it took him a minute to find where she had been placed.

"Ah, the 'dragon'." He mentioned her nickname as he made a tick next to her spot. "You'll be in the third ring from the right when the matches start, and the third group to start, so be ready for when the bell goes."

Well, that was all settled. And there was nothing else left to do other than to psych herself up for when they started, and to eye the competition. Raising her arms up to cross them behind her head as she moved away from the man, Yang shifted them from side to side as she mused on how she might take down her unknown opponents, feeling a few pops along her spine as she stretched.

"Name?" He was talking to another fighter now that had pushed up to the front, giving a quick twirl of the pencil round one finger as he waited for an answer. Idly, the blonde brawler glanced back to who had come after her, doing a double take almost immediately.

"Blake. Blake Belladona." The dark haired girl that had been in the basement of Junior's club answered promptly, the pair of cat ears poised on top of her head swivelling around to take in all the noise around her. Her face was a blank slate as amber eyes slowly came to look Yang's way. As the bear man continued to knock more names off his list and tell people where to go, the girls stared at each other, Blake's tail drifting behind her as Yang's arms slowly lowered back down.

"You..." It came out barely more than a mumble from the blonde's lips, a thought that had slipped out through her mouth instead. "You were at the club the night before, weren't you?"

The attempt at starting up a conversation seemed to fall flat, the only response that Yang seemed to earn being a flick of one feline ear as Blake attempted to walk straight past her. A rough hand grabbing at her shoulder gave her reason to pause and look back.

"Hey, come on." Yang spoke in a jovial tone, and had a grin to match, but the flicker of irritation in her eyes hinted at her real feelings of being brushed off. "Just because you were only there to check out the competition, doesn't mean we can't at least talk a little." It would certainly give her something to do while waiting for that bell the guy mentioned to go off.

It was amazing how little it took for that almost half lidded gaze of the faunus to narrow into a glare, eyebrows barely shifting as one hand reaching up to the one on her shoulder.

"No." Blake said as she removed the blonde's hand, a firm grip around the wrist. "I don't care about being friendly. Not when we're all here just to fight." With the hand now held several inches in the air away from her, the faunus girl dropped Yang's wrist. "I don't bother talking with people that are bound to wind up with my fist in their face. If you even make it that far."

Before either of them could talk any further, speakers set into the walls around the warehouse crackled into life, the loud recording of a bell strike booming through it. The chatter of the mass of people around them stopped, dozens taking off in all directions as the cue for the contenders to get to their squares echoed around the building. Some guy pushed himself through the gap between them as he rushed to his position, giving the faunus the perfect opportunity to vanish while Yang's line of sight was broken. Glancing around, the blonde eventually spotted her walking off to the opposite end of the warehouse, flitting through the people also headed that way.

"...What's up her ass?" Yang mumbled to herself once Blake had disappeared amongst the crowds. "I only tried to be friendly." Wait, what was she doing standing around and grumbling for? She was supposed to be at her ring and ready to fight!

With so many others with the same idea in mind, another tough struggle of squashing through narrow gaps between people was ahead, angry shouts and smacks of fists into flesh already ringing out from the first match underway. Reaching the ring she was assigned to, Yang was just in time to hear a cheer from the walkway above roar as one man was sent sailing over the ropes and into the crowd watching on the ground floor, taking a pair of audience members down with him amidst others screaming and rushing to get out of the way. A full blown melee was underway with the ten fighters that had been thrown into the first fight, and at least three were down by the time the blonde grabbed onto a pole set in the corner of her ring to haul herself up onto the edge of the platform to see better.

With everyone scrambling to attack the first person they locked eyes onto, the first match was nothing more than pure chaos. At a guess, maybe that was due to the fact that most of the brawlers were little more than thugs who had been thrown into the tournament for the first time to be little more than cannon fodder. Didn't matter to the crowd, who rejoiced in each twist that took place as the ten contenders punched, kicked, or head butted each other in a desperate struggle for victory.

But as the fight dwindled to its inevitable end, it was one man who had hung back out of the way while the others had been quick to waste their energy on each other that wound up taking the match. All it took was weaving and ducking to avoid any hits, and then a quick grab of the other last fighter standing's collar from behind to throw him bodily out of the ring. A few boos went up from the crowd at the cowardly display, but they were barely heard over the cheers over the result of the first match, some even chanting the man's name. But even with the victor just made clear for the first ring, that bell recording boomed again, sending the next ring off into their brawl.

Glancing up to the walkways above, the blonde scanned the few well dressed individuals above for where Junior and his bodyguards had gone. She spotted him leaning on the guard rail with his arms, fists clenching and unclenching as he watched the next brawl taking place, neither a smile nor a frown on his face as the muscles in his jaws would make themselves known every interval or so. He was flanked by two of the other members that Yang had seen before, the faunus man, and the woman. The wolf faunus was grinning broadly as he watched those in the ring below smack each other around, but there was only the barest trace of a smirk on the woman's lips, giving little outward sign of what her thoughts could be.

The second match lasted longer than the one that had kicked the night off, but it was only a matter of minutes before only one was left standing in the ring, and that recording rang out through the crackly speakers. Jumping over the ropes and into the actual ring, Yang was a bundle of tension, raring to lash out at the other nine that had made their way in as well. Just her luck, every one of them were guys, little more than buffed up goons. Whether or not they would be like those in the first ring though, was something that she was going to have to find out.

Well, at least one was, that was proven quickly as one young skinny guy sporting a blonde mohawk threw the first punch. It was a wild swing that was swiftly ducked under by the one he threw it at, a man sporting a handlebar moustache and burly enough to send the kid flying with a single shoulder charge. Slamming into the ropes back first, he had only a little time to wince in before another took the opportunity to rid an opponent from the match, lifting him up by the feet to topple over the edge and into the crowd.

Yang had her own problems to deal with as people scattered from where the kid landed, dropping into a duck as someone reached out to grab her by the shoulder. As he tried to recover, she surged forth with a right punch, her fist twisting from palm up to facing the ground as it launched to smack into his stomach and knock the wind from him. Buckling over, his moment of weakness soon drew attention from others, meaning Yang could dart back as two others came to pummel into him.

Reeling in the adrenaline pumping through her veins, sending her heart beat skyrocketing, the blonde ignored the slight sting of scraped skin along her knuckles as she took advantage of another fighter's distraction while circling round the ring. If she thought about it, this was just like every other fight she had done up to this night, except that she was facing more than one at a time. Swerving to avoid any blows, and honing in on any weak spots that would open up, except that there was little time for grandstanding with this many opponents around. Even while she knew she should be taking this seriously with so much riding on her making it past the preliminaries, a toothy grin broke out across her face without her knowing.

The group was thinning out quickly, or at least that's how it seemed to her. Soon, there was only her and two others left standing, all of their breathing noticeably more shallow than when they had begun. And all of them a lot more wary as they edged slowly around the ring, no one eager to throw the blow that would break their relative stalemate, even as the audience jeered for them to do anything, something. Yang could practically feel Junior's stare boring holes into the back of her neck from above. This was it, one misstep and it could all be over in an instant.

An inhale of air, and the tension snapped. The moustache man from before lunged at the other still in the ring, his target moving to defend himself as the blonde lurched in to execute a swift hit on the attacker. A fist crashed onto a raised forearm, forcing the defender up against the ropes near him. Moustache went to strike again, but failed to realise that winding his arm back left his face open for a swinging punch to come crashing right into that vulnerable nose of his.

Yang couldn't help but wince out of sympathy even as she felt cartilage crunch underneath her knuckles. He reeled backwards with a gurgled scream, bright red blood already streaming from the broken hunk of flesh on his face to splatter as drops across the platform's surface before two hands could clamp over the area. Which only left the rest of him exposed for even more beatings. Bouncing back on one foot, the blonde took a moment before diving right back in, laying out some rapid sets of jabs as she pushed him over to another side of the platform, her grin broadening as his back finally touched the ropes. And with him still trying to stop the gushing of blood, a nice strong right to his head was all that was needed to send him right over the top of the ropes.

A rush of elation was her reward for knocking out one of the last opponents. Until she gained a sharp reminder of the last one stuck in the ring with her. Sharp, as in the sting of a chunk of hair being yanked out from her scalp.

Some of the audience, those who had come to see her fight in Junior's club, grew quiet when they saw what had just happened, their jaws dropping open. All prior happiness flowed out of Yang even before she started to turn around to see what the last man had done, growing numb and cold inside even without having to see the long golden strands of hair left clenched in one of his hands, a failed attempted at trying to yank the blonde's head back in a dirty move. Those lavender irises stared at him as the colour sank into red, a sight that made him take a step backwards.

* * *

"That's enough!"

More blood splatter had joined that of the moustache man, the individual sprays only distinguishable by age having made the earlier ones lean to rust while the bright crimson of the man now lying unconscious on the platform lay over the top of it. The cry from the bear head man from earlier caused Yang to finally halt, midway through sending another blow to the already broken, bruised, and blood covered face of the guy who had dared to pull out her hair. The red slipped from her eyes as she came back to normal, and rose up from her knees.

Who knew how long she had been leaning over him on the floor, making sure to leave him a remind of every strand that had been yanked out. Long enough for the bell to have rung again without her hearing it in her lost state, and to have the ring next to hers already in their own brawl.

Giving a quick glance over herself at catching sight of some red on her arm, Yang was relieved to see none of the blood sprayed across her shirt and arms was that of her own. Not to mention, that with the unconscious and barely recognisable thug being dragged out of the ring by two others, she was the last one standing, the winner.

She looked up, knowing whom she would find staring right back at her.

And there he was. Junior was wearing the biggest grin she had ever seen on him. Like that of a kid that had been let loose in a candy shop and told that anything they picked out, would be bought for them.

Which was almost the same feeling Yang was having right now. This had only been the first step towards getting all the money she needed, but she didn't care right now. Not when that dream felt so in reach after so long of struggling in the dark. And no one was going to stand in her way.


End file.
