***Arslan***

After the mayhem that Neon incited is brought to an end by the appearance of a teacher, the actual battles are almost about to start, so all of our Team and the rest of FNKI – as well as the other participants of our epic battle – hurry to catch the next shuttle to the Colosseum. The six of us actually manage to find the other half of FNKI and still get decent seats, having VIP spots reserved for all the combatants in the Tournament is certainly handy.

As Reese and Neon start trash-talking about which Team is going to win the first battle – our VRDN versus an Atlas Team, apparently the two have a bet running on the outcome – down in the arena Valerie enters before everyone else, as usual. She curiously looks around the Colosseum, waving when she notices us, and my heart skips a beat. Which is stupid, of course, but it looks like I still can't help it.

A good year ago, shortly after starting at Haven, 17-year-old me was completely enticed by this mysterious, almost otherworldly girl, so I ended up asking her out and we dated for a couple of weeks, but it just didn't work out, and we broke up by mutual agreement.

I'm mostly over it, but the black-haired girl with the elaborate pink dress is still oddly fascinating to me. For starters, I still haven't figured out how she moves, much less fights as gracefully as she does, almost as if she's floating on some imaginary wind, with that costume of hers, those oversized sleeves alone. Or what's up with her eyes, if it's just a genetic quirk, or some kind of disease, or an intentional modification. Either way, she can see perfectly well, even if most of what she actually looks at is... a bit odd.

Like right now, she's completely captivated by a butterfly that somehow found its way into the Colosseum, instead of paying any mind to her opponents that are lining up on the other side of the field. It's four boys, one in silvery gray plate mail, one wearing black leather armor, one with dark green robes, and the last one wearing almost casual green trousers and an orange shirt seeming just a little out of place.

Though maybe Valerie is in fact paying attention. It's impossible to be sure, but sometimes she would be just as flighty and easily distracted as ever, but then from the blue come out with a surprisingly sharp observation or suggestion, so maybe it's just an act. ...Then again she would also sometimes miss meetings because she got sidetracked by a pretty bird or flower, or even get distracted in the middle of the fight, among others, so to this day I'm not sure.

I suppose this seeming contradiction is part of what makes her so interesting. Well, on top of the rest of her personality; she's also a very positive, open-hearted and serene girl. It's a shame the two of us didn't work out. Or more like, she just didn't feel for me that way. Too bad, really. I hear she has a boyfriend now, though I don't think I ever met him. But I guess I'm happy for her she's found someone.

Speaking of... I wonder if Reese and Neon are together. Or if they're going to be. They're clearly getting along great and spending practically all their time together right now, and, I don't know, Neon seems just a little touchy-feely. Though maybe that's just how she is, just like Skye. And it's not like a friendship always has to lead to romance. But I'm getting the feeling there may be more, maybe without the two themselves noticing just now. Call it a girl's intuition.

Because despite how it may appear, Reese actually isn't that much of a people person. Sure she can strike up a conversation and get along with people especially if they're Hunters or skaters – and Neon ticks both of these boxes –, but for her to actually open up to someone it takes a fair bit more. The first one or two weeks after ABRN's formation certainly were rather frosty, and only after our first mission as a Team – and a night spent next to each other at the infirmary after we got roughed up a bit during said mission – did my partner finally start to trust me.

And I can tell Neon got her to open up to her far quicker, so it's clear there's some chemistry between the two, though to what extent only time will tell. If they just stay friends, they stay friends, if they become a couple, good for them. I, for my part, am just content on my own for the time being. I have my Team, so I don't need anyone else; feelings just tend to complicate a lot of things anyways. ...Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Altan.

The announcer, well, announcing the Teams pulls me out of my reverie and I hear both Reese and Neon loudly cheering on their respective Teams. Looks like the battlefield for the round is half an urban area and half a rocky field with miniature rivers and geysers. From what I remember of Team VRDN, this is gonna be advantageous to them, though from Neon's commentary it sounds like it will for Atlas' Team too, meaning it adds up to a more or less even field.

Valerie is talking to her Team, either coming up with an astute plan on short order, or telling them about that butterfly she just observed, could be either. Seems like it was a productive Team meeting though, as all her teammates nod and then line up opposite to their adversaries, seemingly each picking their target with Valerie matching up against the boy wearing plate mail, the tallest of the group and probably leader, and curtsying to him.

"Go, VRDN! Beat those guys up!" Reese shouts, and of course Neon is not to be outdone "C'mon, Team PWTR! Kick their ass!"

...Ah, what the hell. "You've got this, Valerie! Show them what you're made of!" I join in and so does Iris "Go, Petros, you're gonna flatten them!" That's gonna be their leader. Is that the one Valerie is facing?

Before Reese can trump Iris again and escalate the whole thing into a shouting match, the announcer counts down, and the battle begins.

"See? I told you your guys had no chance." Reese gloats once the battle is called, and Neon just pouts.

"I wouldn't call that 'no chance'," I interject "The battle was in fact fairly close."

It really was, VRDN only won 1-0, with Valerie bringing the fight back from the brink with an impressive double TKO. Really, the whole battle was just spectacular, I suppose that's what you get when you pit two ace Teams against each other. Either of these would've absolutely demolished ABRN in a battle, we definitely still have a ways to go.

"Too close." Iris joins in too "That one unlucky ring-out totally tipped the scales."

"Not unlucky," Reese protests "Superior tactics."

And I have to agree with her. PWTR got an early lead via a pretty brutal TKO and was in a real danger of snowballing the battle from there, but after a 1-1 trade Valerie and Drake managed to send one guy out of the ring before Drake got taken out as well, and then Valerie pulled out all the stops and brought the battle home for Haven; in the end she had like 20% Aura left, so that one was really close.

"Just deal with it, Neon. I win the bet, so we're back to a draw. Of course, if you want, we can bet on the next battle too, there's another Atlas Team in there, right?"

"Think so."

"Yeah, VRML[Vermilion]." Iris adds. "I'm curious if the freshmen put up a better showing than PWTR just now."

I suppose that would depend more on their enemy, PWTR just got unlucky; I feel they could have beaten 90% of all the participants, they just happened to be matched against the last 10%. Much like what happened to us.

"I hope so," Neon says, "But no bet."

"Spoilsport."

Iris nudges Reese's side. "Hey, I don't know what sort of game the two of you are playing, but if want, I'm gonna bet you, say... for an ice cream?"

"Eh, sure, why not?"

"You're on. I bet on victory for VRML."

"Then obviously I say C-R-L- whatever, the other Team will win."

"Got it. Anyone else care to bet?"

"Aren't you getting a bit greedy?" Bolin asks, "Pass, I'll leave it to Reese to get ripped off."

"I'm not getting ripped off! I just won the other bet."

"Yeah, but the chance to lose one out of two bets is 50%, which is twice as high as the chance to win both, so you should just quit while you're ahead."

I'm pretty sure that's not how probability works, but Bolin's point still stands, Reese shouldn't push her luck too much. Though I suppose as long as it's just about ice cream, it's innocuous enough.

The next battle is announced and begins, and ends rather quickly. I wouldn't quite call it a curbstomp, but right from the beginning the Atlas Team had a clear advantage, easily securing a victory and taking only a single casualty to what legitimately looked like bad luck.

"Yay! That's a clear outcome. Neon, you should've bet too, that woulda been an easy win."

"Guess so, but I wanted to play it safe. It's not like I can't just beat Reese in a race later to get back my lead."

"You wish you could, kitty. I'm not gonna lose!"

"You keep saying that, and then you do so anyways, just admit I'm faster than you."

"There's no way in hell..."

Aaand the two are at it again. It's sort of fascinating how the two can get so worked up about so little. And just a little dumb, if we're being completely honest, but I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on them, they're just having fun.

It's lunch break right now, and the plan was for us to spend the afternoon training anyways, I just wanted to see Valerie battle, as did Reese and Neon. "Team ABRN, listen up!" I give Reese time to get in one more remark and the others to pay attention before continuing.

"Like we agreed yesterday, the afternoon is for training, so now we're gonna get lunch and then get to it, let's go. Any of you guys wanna come along for lunch?" I ask Team FNKI, and Neon nods.

"Yeah. What about you, Flynt?"

"Sure."

"We're not hungry," Iris says as everyone's attention turns to her and her partner. "Kyle and I are gonna stay here and wait for you, right?"

"Right." Kyle nods.

Neon did make some vague remarks how he has some sort of issue with eating out, so he generally either prepares his lunch himself or just skips it completely, and Iris goes along with him. What a sweet girl.

"Alright." I say, getting up "See you two later, I guess."

"Later!" After a round of goodbyes the six of us get going to catch the next shuttle.

"By the way," Flynt asks "do you have any place in mind?"

"As a matter of fact I do." I answer before Reese or Neon can even make a suggestion otherwise, "And this time it's proper lunch, not cake or ice cream again."

"Hey! Ice cream is a perfectly valid lunch!" Reese protests and Neon agrees.

"Totally! And so is cake, by the way!" ...Yeah, no comment.

"There you are." The vendor puts the last plate on the counter and I pay up as Bolin and Nadir balance everything to our table. Despite the girls' initial protests against something other than sweet stuff, once they saw the place, they – and everyone else – were all for it. Just as planned.

Not that it was a very hard plan. I know for a fact both Reese and Bolin like meat almost as much as I do. Nadir is okay with it, especially if it's good quality and not just some junk food, and Neon as a cat Faunus eating meat wasn't much of a stretch either, especially considering the amount of sausage and fish I saw her eat this morning. Knowing my luck, I half would've expected Flynt to be vegetarian, but he wasn't, so the grill that caught my eye in passing yesterday was the perfect spot.

And even better, the chef was actually willing to do a bit of a custom order for me, serving my steak beyond even rare in what Reese likes to call 'barbaric raw', but I've been told the technical term is 'blue rare'. Besides, when you're sufficiently sure the meat is fresh, there's nothing wrong with completely raw either, though I will admit that's very much a matter of taste. I think if anyone, Neon would be the only one to share my preferences there. Either way, everyone found something they like, and everyone but Nadir and Flynt also ends up getting seconds, the food is really good.

Once everyone's done, Neon and Flynt return to the Colosseum to watch the last two battles, while I have to shepherd the rest of the Team back to Beacon for some training, with the promise of Neon finding us after the battles to make sure I'm not pushing Reese too hard because she still needs her energy for skating. Like that'll ever happen, the skater girl may well have just as much stamina as I do. Also apparently Neon had a "super awesome idea for tomorrow" she's planning to tell us about later this evening. Now I'm curious.

Our training passes relatively quickly, with overall mixed results. Nadir has improved his melee a bit more and Bolin is at least paying a little attention to his footwork now, but Reese is still pretty inaccurate with her guns at anything past close quarters range. She keeps saying she doesn't really need the ranged stuff if she can get into melee fast enough, which she promptly demonstrates by getting to a row of targets and running them over with her board in about the same time it takes for Nadir to transform his weapon and shoot all of them, so I have to agree with her just a little. Though it'd still be nice if she at least tried to improve, at some point she may just need it.

After Neon arrives to drag off Reese to go skating – and undoubtedly have another race or something –, Nadir returns to our room to read a book, Bolin goes explore the town, and I decide to meditate in the spot I found yesterday.

This time I'm left alone, and completely finish my forms without any socially awkward, beanie-wearing girls attempting to ask me out – if that's what she actually was up to. I mean, yeah, May was kinda cute, even with half her face hidden under that beanie, so I suppose I might even have said yes, but let's be real. She probably really just came to apologize for her rudeness, and then ran off because she just really isn't good with people.

Why would I even be hoping for that? I don't need anyone, I'm just fine on my own. ...Who am I kidding? Reese would probably say I need to get laid, and she might not even be wrong, but physical intimacy is no substitute, not that I need- Stop it. I'm on my own, and I'm better off that way, and that's all there is to it. Period.

After that unnecessary train of thought I take a fair bit longer meditating and only get back to Beacon when dinner is almost over, having missed the others by over an hour. I just grab something to go and return to our dorm, finding one more person there than I expected.

Neon is there – which was fully expected – and as she reveals her "super awesome idea" is to go party tomorrow evening, in light of the first round of the Tournament being over, to which end she brought in a Beacon student for advice, one highly fashionable individual by the name of Coco. Coco Adel, as in the Adel designer brand, created by her mother as she explains. Neither Reese nor I are the type for fancy jewelry or brand-name clothing, but a few of the girls at Haven are, and we have at least heard of it.

Apparently Coco is Beacon's resident socialite and knows her way around Vale, so she would be the one for Neon to ask for advice, though I have no idea how Neon found her. Whatever works, I guess. As it turns out, Coco quite likes the idea, and of course she knows just the place. A large club right in the center of Vale that's particularly welcoming to Hunters because the owner's wife is a Huntress herself, so she very much knows just what they're putting on the line every day just to make sure there is a safe tomorrow for everyone else. All it takes is a single phone call from Coco and the place is booked. Not 'private function' levels of booked, but Coco assures us there won't be any problems even if we were to show up with the entirety of Beacon in tow, so I guess we're good.

Apart from that, the only thing left is getting the word out. Neon says she's gonna put some fliers on the notice board downstairs, but someone should still go around just telling people. Coco volunteers to inform the Beacon students and Reese gets 'volunteered' to talk to the Haven students, leaving Neon with Atlas and Shade.

The evening passes uneventfully, with Coco joining us in a mostly inconsequential conversation for a while before taking her leave, followed shortly by Neon who wants to catch some people to invite them to the party. I end up accompanying Reese when she goes down the hallway a bit later, knocking on every door and telling people of the party. No big surprise, Skye and Keira are in, as is Valerie, Sun and his Team, the entirety of Team CSTL, and then some, all in all, like 80% of Haven students. If the others are similarly successful, tomorrow is definitely going to be good.

AN: Once more, I apologize for not showing the food fight, especially after leaving off like that, but I just had a complete writer's block regarding that scene, and after almost a full week of accomplishing nothing I decided to give it up for the time being as to not delay the entire rest of the story even further. I'm sorry T_T

Contained herein are some more hints to maybe figure out the reference in the previous chapter, as well as more shoutouts to the same source, in the shape of side character designs and names. Also to clarify, the Team names are not code or something, but if you figure out how to sound out all of them, the names should be familiar to anyone who played video games during the late 90s (yes, I'm a nerd, I know). I'll give the solution in the next chapter, try to guess the outcomes of the other two battles.

Arslan is right, probability does not at all work like Bolin thinks it does. I'm a bit of a math nerd, so I could launch into an explanation as to what he's getting wrong, but I know nobody else likes math, so I'll save it, just take my word for it. And "blue rare" steak is indeed a thing, which I didn't know either until I looked it up.

Not much more to say here, stuff happens. I swear I'm going somewhere with this.