"Ho ho! It seems we have another astonishing bout ahead of us. Wouldn't you agree professor?"

Professor Peter Port's booming baritone voice echoes throughout the large stadium, broadcast over the arena's sound system carried from the commentator's booth high above the audience.

"Doctor." Oobleck says annoyed. "And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be one of the closest we've seen in the four on four rounds of the tournament."

The Doctor's words cause you to laugh. No doubt he was attempting to remain unbiased, but any experienced fighter could tell the match was anything but close. Though Haven's Team ABRN was definitely putting on a show, that's all it was, a show. Bolin and Nadir, the two male members of team ABRN, were clearly lacking in their combat abilities. Neither really paid much attention to their surroundings, and a well-placed shot from Ruby managed to freeze Nadir in his tracks, leaving him an open target for your girlfriend, Yang. You winced slightly as Yang pulled back her fist, ready to punch. You almost felt sorry for Nadir, knowing just how painful a blow from Yang could be. Fortunately, he was saved at the last second as his team leader came forward to distract Yang. Meanwhile, you watched as Bolin snuck up upon Ruby, only to be sent flying across the stage by Weiss.

Reese Chloris seemed to be doing well, managing to go toe to toe with Blake, while at the same time looking after her teammates. It was Team ABRN's leader, Arslan Atlan, who really caught your attention though. Her garb was very similar to those worn in Sun Zhang, and you wouldn't be surprised if she had similar training, the way she fought. She used a simple length of sturdy wire as her weapon, and she wielded it well, using it to tie up Yang's limbs, leaving her defenseless. Yang would probably have been out of the running if Weiss hadn't chosen that exact moment to trap Bolin and Nadir in a giant ice ball and send them rolling towards the edge of the ring. You saw Arslan give an annoyed shake of her head before changing course, positioning herself directly in front of the massive boulder of ice. Her feet spread, her stance dropping, and with one powerful strike, she shattered the ice, freeing her teammates. It was an impressive feat, but unfortunately the resulting chunks of ice sent flying through the air distracted them long enough for Team RWBY to hurl them out of the ring by one massive punch from Yang.

In the end, the crowd seemed pleased with the show, but you couldn't help but think how much of a joke the fight seemed. Team RWBY was bound to win from the start. Their opponents just didn't have the same coordination as them, and while teammates are supposed to make up for each other's shortcomings, Bolin and Nadir were just too much deadweight for Reese and Arslan to carry. If the other competing teams were as uncoordinated and poor of fighters, you had little doubt that your friends would make it to the top.

"And that's the match." Port's voice sounds over the microphone. "Team RWBY is victorious."

You watch in amusement as Ruby jumps high into the air, tackling her teammates to the ground in a large hug. Smiling, you rise from your seat and make your way out of the arena, headed to greet them. Spectators weren't allowed backstage, so you would have to find them on the fairgrounds instead. After a breakneck trip back to the ground, you wandered the different booths, finally finding them seated at a noodle stand, manned by the seemingly ever-present shopkeeper of Dust till Dawn. You sometimes wondered if the old man had any twins, as you seemed to see the man everywhere. Approaching from behind, you overhear trouble as you see Weiss' card being thrown back at her, the old man pointing to a screen reading 'DENIED' in big red letters.

"What?" You hear Weiss say confusedly. "How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance."

Blake looks panicked, slowly trying to pull the bowl closer to her, but the shopkeeper, with his many years of experience, catches her, and quickly yanks the bowl from her hands.

"Perhaps I might be of some assistance?" You suggest, announcing your presence.

The four girls turn in their seats to see you approaching.

"(F/N)!" Yang says with a smile, jumping down from her stool and running up to you. Throwing her arms around your neck, she pulls you down for a quick kiss on the lips before walking the short distance back to the booth, your arm wrapped around her waist.

"Aww, you don't have to." Ruby says with a wave of her hand.

"But he could." Blake says quickly, a hungry look in her eyes.

Chuckling, you reach into the inner folds of your robes and produce your own card, handing it to the grey-haired man.

"It's no trouble." You say. "Gotta spend my inheritance on something."

Just last week, your birth father, Chandler Amadeus, the richest man in Vale, had passed away. You had attended the funeral, though lurked in the trees as to avoid being seen by the crowd. As your half-brother, Solomon stood at the podium to deliver his eulogy, he looked up and saw your obscured figure. The two of you exchanged a quick nod before he resumed his speech. Chandler, succumbing to a bout of compassion in his final months, and had reached out to you the month before, informing you that you would be inheriting a sizeable portion of his assets. Since then, you'd enlisted Weiss' help in opening a bank account and hiring a trustworthy financial advisor to help oversee your newfound wealth.

Just as the shopkeeper was about to return your card, Team JNPR approached as well, and you offered to cover their meals in addition to Team RWBY's and your own.

"So (F/N)," Ruby says through a mouthful of noodles, "did you see our match?"

"Of course I did." You respond. "Wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Yang blushes as you place a soft kiss in her hair.

"Did you see how awesome we were?" Ruby continues excitedly. "We kicked butt out there!"

"Yes, I saw." You chuckle in amusement. "Though I must say, I don't think you were facing much of a challenge."

"What do you mean?" Ruby says, looking a little downcast.

"Don't get me wrong, the four of you were phenomenal. All I'm saying is don't expect the rest of the competition to be so... effortless."

Once everyone's bowls had been cleaned, the shopkeeper cleared them away in a blur, stacking the dirty dishes on top of one another and rushing them to the back to be cleaned. Teams RWBY and JNPR were patting their now full stomachs contentedly, the food making them lethargic. Standing with your arm draped around Yang, nothing sounded more appealing than a nice nap wrapped in each other's arms.

"Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asks in concern.

"Of course." Pyrrha assures. "It will give us energy."

You're about to say something, but close your mouth, realizing that Pyrrha probably has more experience in this area than you do. After all, most of your life consisted of three meals a day at a predetermined time. Pyrrha however, had made a name for herself fighting in tournaments just like these, and if she said eating before a fight would provide energy, you figured she must know what she was talking about. Pyrrha's reassurance seemed to provide little comfort to her teammates however, as Jaune dropped his head into his arms and Nora went on a long-winded rant about the consequences of losing. Even Ren seemed more disconcerted than usual. It seemed Pyrrha was the only one not suffering from nerves, which was to be expected, given her background. It was only when Professors' Port and Oobleck's voices rang over the megaphones around the fairgrounds, reminding Team JNPR of their upcoming fight, did the two groups finally split; JNPR heading for the bullhead to take them to the arena, RWBY and yourself boarding one for audience members.

Team JNPR's fight was far more engaging than Team RWBY's, their opponents far more coordinated, as well as a heavy amount of pressure being applied from Team BRNZ's resident sniper. If anything, you felt Jaune handled the situation quite well issuing a retreat, though you felt the team huddle in the middle of the fight was a little unwise. Nonetheless, they managed to secure Beacon Academy's second victory of the day.

Following Team JNPR was Sun and Neptune's team, Team SSSN. You couldn't help but smile at the name, it seemed Team RWBY wasn't the only team that shared a name with its leader. SSSN's opponents, Team NDGO, was an all-female team, thus providing eye candy for every person in the audience. Yang scowled as she looked around the audience at all the guys drooling over the members of NDGO, but a smile soon crept upon her features when you wrapped your arm around her shoulders, holding her close and assuring her that they didn't hold a candle to Yang's beauty. Quite frankly, you were surprised that Team SSSN managed to pull off a victory, NDGO being far more coordinated, and their members arguably more skilled.

Now was the time you were waiting for. With a quick kiss from Yang and a goodluck from the rest of Team RWBY, you rose from your chair and made your way backstage.

"And that concludes our 4 on 4 matches of the day folks." Professor Port's voice announces, reaching your ears even down the corridors of the backstage of the arena.

"Yes, yes. Quite an exciting turn of events." Oobleck agrees. "But don't go anywhere yet folks, we still have one match left."

"That's right Barty." Port says. "For those of you just tuning in, allow me to explain the rules of today's final match. While the majority of the huntsman academies students are placed on four-man teams which fight their way through the standard 4 on 4 bracket before moving onto the duos, and finally the singles, there are some exceptions. Occasionally the schools see transfers across Kingdoms, or else an odd number of applicants any given year."

"That's where these unique rounds come into play." Oobleck explains. "Those individuals who are not designated a team but who still attend one of the academies are still given the chance to prove themselves in the Vytal Tournament through way of the knockout rounds."

"These rounds are almost exactly like the single matches of the tournament, however only one of these students may move on to compete with the representatives of the four-man teams. Whichever student claims victory in a standard one on one bracket and proves themselves the most skilled of the odd men out, will have the chance to fight against the other competitors in the singles matches."

"A fun bit of history," Oobleck says, "this unique system was first introduced to the Vytal tournament quite recently, only sixteen years ago, when the number of unpaired students was at an all time high. This year however, there are only a handful of students not on a four-man team, and each day of the team and duo fights will conclude with a single one on one fight between them."

At this point you have reached a small room just outside the arena. Your meteor hammer, Rhino's charge has been delivered by the tournament staff and is waiting for you in its locker. Opening your locker, you find a post-it note from Yang stuck to the inside of the metal door.

Goodluck. See you afterwards for you 'prize'.

-Love Yang

You feel yourself blush as you smile to yourself, folding up the note and sticking in your robes. Grabbing Rhino's Charge and slinging it over your shoulder, you hear Oobleck's voice over the loudspeakers.

"For our final match of the day..."

That's my cue. You think. Turning, you begin walking down a dark tunnel leading to the arena. The light at the end grows bigger and bigger with every step you take, the voices becoming louder as the crowd cheers in anticipation.

"Wilhelm Schwarz of Shade Academy, against BeaconAcademy's (F/N) (L/N)!"