The quarterfinals!

Round one:

A: Ruby vs Weiss

B: Blake vs Neo

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C: Pyrrha vs Emerald

D: Cinder vs Yang

If Glynda was being honest, the top half of the bracket was a bit lighter than the bottom half. Ruby excelled in grimm-slaying, but a direct fight might favor Weiss. If Weiss could utilize her semblance to contain Ruby's speed, she would win. Blake and Neo were agile enough to dance around each other, but Glynda wasn't sure how well their trickery would carry them past the first round.

On the bottom side, Pyrrha was still the obvious favorite, probably for the whole tournament. However, Cinder and Yang were easily among the top 3 in this tournament. It was almost a shame they would knock each other out, and then likely be knocked out by Pyrrha afterwards. If anyone were to defeat Pyrrha, Glynda had an inkling that it would be Cinder. For one, her weapons didn't contain any metal, neither did her outfit. Pyrrha's semblance would be useless. Still, Pyrrha didn't become a regional champion by relying on her semblance, so Glynda would still favor her. She almost felt bad for how bracket screwed they were, but sometimes that was how life worked.

"We will fight one at a time, going down the bracket in alphabetical order. You will have 5 minutes to decide your forfeits now, and a minute to negotiate on them before your match. If you fail to agree on one, three will be randomly generated and the club will vote on which one is being wagered... I would highly suggest avoiding the random prompts, from personal experience."

True to her word, Glynda gave them 5 minutes to discuss amongst themselves. The groups stuck with their preformed teams to an extent, especially if it avoided their round one opponent. Team RWBY was discussing their ideas. Actually, Blake and Yang were discussing their ideas. Ruby and Weiss were both a bit embarrassed to bring up the first idea.

"So what do you think you'll propose against Neo, Blake?" Yang asked, curious to get an insight on her partner's mind.

"I was thinking, 'Loser only gets to wear a single piece of their outfit for the rest of the night', how does that sound?"

"Oh that's devious! I would say she could just wear her leotard and be mostly covered, but her weapon is also an accessory, so I'd say that has to count too. Unless she wants to be weaponless, she'd be feeling a bit breezy." Yang said with a smirk. By the way Blake's eyes widened, Yang realized she hadn't even thought about that.

"Yang! You're a freaking genius! That's perfect!" Blake was amazed that she didn't consider that, but it made her idea so much better. If Blake lost, she could still be largely covered with her outfit, topless at worst, but Neo's weapon was a piece of clothing!

"Well I try. Personally, I think I'll challenge Cinder to something relatively simple. As tough as I am, I've seen her in combat class. She's tough and I don't want to dig myself too deep of a hole. I was thinking something like, 'Loser has to go topless for the rest of the night.'"

"Well I would certainly appreciate that; I know Weiss would too." Blake said, a touch a lewdness evident in her voice.

"Hey!" Weiss complained.

"Hey! I would appreciate it too!" Ruby said, then blushed when she realized what she'd just implied about her sister, "I mean, when you beat Cinder!"

"What, am I not hot enough for you?" Yang teased with her tongue out.

"Yang, we grew up together, do I really need to explain how common seeing your tits is by this point?" Ruby defended herself, Yang couldn't exactly argue with that.

"I guess you've got a point. Have you and Weiss come up with a forfeit for each other yet?" Yang asked. Ruby shook her head.

"Well, I guessed you'd better do that then, unless you want to face RNGesus. Blake, how about you take Weiss away and try to help her. I got Ruby." Blake nodded and dragged the complaining heiress to the side.

"I know that look, Ruby. What are you really thinking about challenging her to?" Yang asked, now that she had her sister alone.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I? Fine, I was gonna suggest that the loser can't wear anything under her skirt for the next week!" Ruby spit out, a touch embarrassed at her suggestion.

"I actually think that's perfect for you two. Seems like Blake's got her sold on one as well. Lets go see what the Ice Queen wants from you when she wins!" Yang said, blowing a raspberry at her sister, who flipped her off in return.

Team RWBY was back together. There was about a minute left on the clock before Ruby and Weiss would face off. Hopefully, they agreed on their stakes.

"Alright Weiss, whats your proposal?" Yang initiated for her sister. She didn't want her sister and friend to run the risk of taking too long to discuss things. Was that a blush on Weiss' face? Yang didn't think she had it in her.

"After talking with Blake, she suggested that the loser should have to sleep naked, in the winner's bed, and the winner can get as handsy as they want... For a week. I agree with her. What was your proposal, Ruby?" Weiss said her proposal with authority, but it was clear that she was blushing fervently. Ruby was completely red at the suggestion. Did Weiss really want to get handsy with her? In all honesty, it did sound a bit nice...

"Seriously Weiss? Ruby's reward for beating you is a handful of your almost-handfuls? I didn't expect that from you!" Yang ignored Weiss' indignant cry following Yang's subtle disrespect of her chest.

"I get cold! And besides, I'm going to win!" Weiss complained.

"Well I was going to suggest that the loser can't wear anything under her skirt for a week... I like your idea better. You're on, Weiss!" Ruby accepted her challenge, just in time too, as the bell rang shortly after. Ruby and Weiss strode purposefully onto the stage. They stood across from each other, both ready to move at a moments notice.

"We've decided that the loser of this fight has to be the winner's bed warmer for a week! Au naturel, of course!" Weiss said confidently. Ruby hated the arrogance that seeped into her partner's voice. Their small crowd loved that they were starting things off with a bang! Some of them even began to rethink their own ideas...

Glynda smiled at their preparedness and began the countdown, "You may begin in 3... 2... 1... Fight!"

Much like Goodwitch had predicted, Ruby began the fight instantly with a blitz. Neither girl had large aura pools, so losing 25% aura could happen in an instant. For Ruby, this meant she wanted to end the fight quickly, before Weiss could get comfortable countering her speed with her semblance.

The initial blows mirrored this idea perfectly. Ruby quickly cleared the gap but was deterred by Weiss. They each grazed the other with a projectile, but the first clash had a neutral outcome. The quickly fell into a few more duels, as Weiss held the center and Ruby radiated around her.

Ruby made the first adaptation, bringing the fight to her advantage. Weiss' glyphs were great deterrents, but they weren't as flexible as Ruby's speed. Once placed, Ruby could translate to a different angle and attack from there. With her new strategy, she drained Weiss' aura in rapid fashion. Weiss was down to 80% aura, while Ruby still had 90%. With the way things were proceeding, Ruby only needed one more successful guerilla attack to win the match.

It was probably because of the fact that Ruby knew she was so close to victory, that she got careless. Weiss had been carefully taking in every move Ruby made, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With her aura only 5% above the losing condition, Weiss knew it was do or die time. Like previous bouts, she set up a glyph to block Ruby's path. However, just out of Ruby's vision, she set up another one horizontally on the ground.

She could only afford a single glyph though. If Ruby chose to dodge left instead of right, Weiss would be completely unable to react to Ruby's movement. She would surely be knocked below the limit and be called the loser of this fight... and Ruby's little spoon. Damnit, Focus Weiss!

Ruby began her charge and Weiss prayed she had chosen correctly, for the sake of herself and her dignity. She saw Ruby break past the first glyph. Suddenly, there was a massive column of ice in front of her that could only mean one thing. Ruby had fallen for her trap! Ruby was thrown straight up into the air and had her scythe separated from her. With the red themed girl defenseless, Weiss launched herself up and struck Ruby as many times as she could. Without being able to brace for the blows, Ruby's aura was quickly knocked below the limit.

"Time! Weiss is the winner!" Glynda called the fight before Ruby even hit the ground.

"Damnit!" Ruby yelled as she managed to land in a roll. Weiss helped her up and they walked off stage, Ruby's face turned redder with each step. Blake and Neo quickly replaced them on stage.

"Where did all that confidence leave you? Naked in my bed?" Weiss teased her partner.

"S-Shut up!" Ruby yelled incredibly embarrassed at what she knew laid ahead of her tonight.

"What was that you were saying about handfuls, Yang?" Weiss said, immediately turning her trash talk away from her partner.

"Well you certainly will be getting a handful tonight! I'm impressed, Ice Queen."

"As you should be!" Weiss said haughtily. The start of the next fight thankfully spared Ruby any more teasing.

In the meantime, Blake and Neo were discussing punishments. It was a bit one sided. Although she could conjure signs saying whatever she liked, once Neo heard Blake's suggestion, she simply agreed with her.

"The loser of this match gets to only wear a single piece of her outfit until this tournament ends tonight." Blake announced to everyone. The audience got a bit loud at that one. Although Weiss' forfeit was more erotic, they wouldn't get to see that. Blake's forfeit had guaranteed them a show. It seems like they were hoping for a Neo victory to get a glimpse at the Bellabooty.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!" Glynda called once the girls were ready.

To an outside perspective, this fight was absolute chaos. Both girls had semblances specially designed to fool their opponents, the audience had to deal with both of them. The fight was a whirlwind of acrobatic close combat, with only the occasional ranged attack thrown in by Blake, to shatter Neo's illusions. Despite both girls being considered agile and somewhat frail, the indirect nature of the fighting seemed on pace to cause this fight to outlast Ruby and Weiss' own fight.

Neither girl was taking directly blows, even if they had to literally bend over backwards to avoid a hit. Furthermore, half of their attacks didn't even connect with their real target. Neither girl could create moving illusions, so the fight turned incredibly defensive as both girls continuously struck at shadows.

Even Glynda wasn't perfectly following along. If she had to guess, Ms. Belladonna was winning, if only by a margin. Both girls were still above 90% still. Neo's semblance was very impressive, but it would work best against a slower opponent, like Yang or Ms. Valkyrie. Against another trickster, their semblances basically cancelled. Blake's weapon and stature would give her the advantage, should Neo allow it to be a battle of attrition.

Most amusingly about the fight, perhaps, was how frustrated both girls were getting with each missed blow. Blake was nearly screaming in frustration by this point and Neo had a visible snarl. This frustration peaked as the pair clashed in a brutal melee that ended as quickly as it started. The bout was over as quickly as it began; once Neo pulled on Blake's hair, the black-haired girl tossed her back in rage.

The quick clash didn't do anything to sate their frustrations. Glynda could see the determination boiling in the pink haired girl's eyes. She was going to end it in a single blow, or lose trying. Similar to Blake's semblance, Neo left an image of herself and the wall behind where she was standing. From Blake's position, it would appear as if she'd only left a clone, and give Neo cover to conceal her movements. This took a lot of her energy to do, and if it failed, she would be in a precarious position. With her illusion covering her movements, she dodged as quietly as possible around the rear of her target (And what a rear it was!).

There was just a single, simple, deadly flaw in Neo's plan. Her plan relied on Blake relying on her vision. The entire time, she had been limiting usage of her semblance to just a clones, to avoid giving away too much. Now, she would use that advantage to catch Blake on her flank.

The problem, was that Blake _wasn't _relying on her vision. As a closeted cat faunus, Blake had excellent hearing, and she'd heard Neo's every move. Neo moved for the kill and Blake was ready. In what should have been her moment of victory, Neo found herself ripped from the jaws of victory and at Blake's mercy, as the faunus effortlessly countered her pounce. Her riposte was effective enough that Glynda had **** but to call the fight, with Blake still at 90% aura.

Neo slammed her fist into the ground in frustration, still not understanding how Blake had detected her. She had enjoyed the fight, sure, but she would have enjoyed it more if her plan had worked! Blake stood over her with an outstretched hand. Neo gingerly accepted it. Once they were standing it turned into a full handshake.

"That was a good fight, Neo. Your plan could've worked. Should've worked, honestly." Blake tried to complement the smaller girl, who just gave her a glare and began walking off stage.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Blake asked with a grin. Neo stopped instantly.

'Is she really going to make me do this on stage?' She thought to herself in frustration. Neo gave a huff, then reluctantly began removing the outer layers of her outfit. Blake had a cheshire grin on her face as Neo shrugged off her jacket, baring her shoulders.

Blake's grin shrunk a bit with guilt as she saw how embarrassed her opponent was once she began unbuttoning her pants. Was she really willing to embarrass the poor girl further, by claiming her umbrella was part of her outfit? Blake looked to her teammates to guidance. Ruby shook her head fervently, seemingly terrified of the poor girl. Weiss was trying not too look, but Blake could see the girls eyes occasionally turn to soak in the long legs slowly being exposed. Yang, on the other hand, smiled and gave her a wink.

Blake was still a bit conflicted as Neo finished stripping. With Yang encouraging her and Ruby desperately trying to avoid being on the end of Neo's ire, Blake was split down the middle... then she remembered that Neo had nearly pulled her bow off her head-- along with a handful of hair. The girl had fought dirty, which made Blake's decision a lot easier to justify.

Blake turned her amber eyes towards her defeated opponent, who stood defiantly in her leotard. It was hardly the most risque outfit Blake had ever seen. Besides showing her proportionally long legs in their entirety, it was mostly decent. Unfortunately for her, Blake was about to change that, especially after seeing Neo's attitude. She had her arms crossed in rebellion and an expression that Blake desperately wanted to wipe from her face.

"No underwear under there? We did say only one item after all." Blake asked with a smirk. Neo rolled her eyes and slightly tugged the top and bottom of her leotard sideways to show that she was in fact, telling the absolute truth. Once Blake nodded, Neo began walking off the stage, umbrella in hand.

"Professor Goodwitch, wouldn't you say an umbrella is part of her outfit?" Blake asked their supervisor in the most innocent teacher's pet voice she could muster; as if she had just reminded the teacher about a test she'd forgotten about. Neo stopped instantly. Blake couldn't see her face, but she could imagine what her panicked eyes must've looked like. There were some murmurings from the other club members, discussing the merits of Blake's claim.

"Hmm, I do see what you mean. Normally, a weapon wouldn't count... but Ms. Neopolitan's is technically an accessory that contributes to her outfit. Yes, I would say it does count." Glynda said in an amused tone.

"So I guess she hasn't completed her forfeit yet after all. I guess she'll have to choose then." She turned towards Neo, "Do you want your umbrella, or your dignity?" Blake's heart raced as she delivered the line that Yang had suggested while they discussed forfeits. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake!

Neo turned back towards Blake. Her eyes were absolutely murderous. They did not inspire any confidence at all that Blake hadn't just made a huge mistake. Still, Neo seemed to realize that for now, she'd been outplayed. Her **** would have to come at a later day. Now though, she would have to face the consequences of her loss.

In an attempt to preserve her modesty, Neo yanked down her leotard and quickly covered herself with her parasol. In all honest, Blake didn't expect her to actually keep her weapon. She must be seriously attached to that thing...

Neo tossed her leotard into the pile of clothes at Blake's feet and walked off stage. Between her blush and her attempt to maintain modesty with a semi-transparent parasol, she looked pathetic. Blake knew that the memory of Neo's exposed perky ass walking across the stage in completely humiliation would be sticking with her for a long time...

Blake rejoined her team standing just off stage.

"Way to represent team RWBY! Did you really have to antagonize her like that though?" Ruby cheered. Blake could still see a hint of blush across Ruby's cheeks, probably a result of her thinking about how she would be sleeping tonight. Blake could understand her **** about provoking a girl who seemed to exude mischievousness.

"You put up an impressive showing. Although don't think I'll go easy on you in the next round!" Weiss commended her, although she seemed more pleased with how it would affect Team RWBY's reputation. Blake smiled at the reminder that they would be facing off next. She would have to come up with a fitting forfeit for the heiress.

"I'll be honest, I have absolutely no idea what happened in that fight... but nice work Blakey!" Yang congratulated her with a fist bump.

"Thank you, guys. Let's just hope I don't regret doing that to her." Blake admitted. In the meanwhile, their professor was readying the next fight.

"Ms. Nikos, Ms. Sustrai, are you ready to battle?" Glynda said with incredible composure, as if she'd seen the sight of a nude girl walking away in humiliation hundreds of times. Considering this was only their first day and she'd seen it once already, she probably had seen a similar sight that often.

"Y-Yes Professor Goodwitch." Pyrrha said, a bit distracted at the sight she'd just witnessed. Emerald just nodded and walked towards the stage. They took up opposite sides of the stage from each other, weapons at the ready.

"What do you got for me, Nikos?" Emerald said, trying to persuade Pyrrha to name her forfeit idea first, so she could adapt her own to fit.

"How about the loser has to make breakfast for the winner's team?" Pyrrha proposed innocently. Whether it was because she was embarrassed to say her real ideas aloud or if she was just giving Emerald an out was unclear. Still, Emerald scoffed at the proposal.

"That's boring! Besides, I'm a terrible cook!" Emerald shook her head, "No, I think the loser should have to streak through the dorms tonight!" Pyrrha's eyebrows went to the roof and the crowd gasped. Pyrrha was sure Emerald was a competent fighter and all, but was she really that confident? Even against her? Suddenly, she was significantly more excited for this fight.

"Well you certainly sound convinced. If you're so confident, then so am I! Are there any other rules you had in mind?" Pyrrha asked. Emerald thought about it for a second.

"The loser has to strip outside, walk through all four floors, and ding-dong ditch a room on each one!" Emerald said, increasing the stakes and potentially digging her own grave. Both girls shook on the dare and got into their ready stance. Glynda called the fight with her usual countdown.

The fight began with Pyrrha charging... and missing? Team RWBY blinked when they saw the rare blunder from the best in their class. From there on, the fight became somehow even stranger than Blake and Neo's.

From the outside, it looked like Pyrrha was in a rarely seen poor form and fighting incredibly sloppy. Her movements and attacks were as fluid as ever. The problem was that she just kept missing. Every action she took seemed to be the wrong one, as if she were reacting to something different than was actually occurring. Pyrrha was rarely distracted mid-fight, but it seems this was one of those rare moments.

Emerald was avoiding every blow that Pyrrha threw out, but her perfect dodging didn't make any sense! She didn't have nearly as much agility as Blake or Neo, but somehow avoided every hit! It made for an incredibly confusing display, especially considering that if the fight continued like it was, Emerald would be the first to defeat Pyrrha Nikos in nearly two years!

The fight was wildly different from Pyrrha's perspective. From the moment the fight began her eyes were playing tricks on each other. For starters, her opening charge had gone right through Emerald! The shock of her failed attack compounded further, and soon she was on the back foot. The fight was quickly spiraling away from her. She would make the correct moves to counter Emerald's attacks, only for her to somehow attack through her guard from a different direction.

'Is her semblance the ability to become incorporeal? All my attacks are going right through her!' Pyrrha thought in frustration.

Pyrrha felt herself drop below 85% aura. She hadn't even managed to connect a single attack! It was the most humiliated she'd ever felt in a fight and that wasn't even considering how humiliating walking nude through the dorms would be! Was the invincible girl really about to be defeated so completely? Emerald's team certainly thought so, as they cheered on their representative.

Team RWBY looked shocked at the display, but it wasn't directed at Emerald, it was directed at her?

"Will you just hit her already!" Yang yelled at her.

'What? They think I'm missing her? How can they not see that my attacks are phasing right through her? Unless... they aren't? Could she be deceiving me somehow?'

Pyrrha rarely like using her semblance in obvious fashions, but it had a useful minor effect. She could use it to locate the rough positions of metal around her. Usually, this wasn't much use, but in this situation she could use it to find Emerald's true location through the metal in her weapons.

A ghost of Emerald charged through at her again, but this time Pyrrha reached out with her semblance. Pyrrha gasped as her theory was confirmed: Emerald's weapons were not where they appeared to be. Instead, they were off her right flank. She didn't have enough info to attack from, but she did carry a shield for a reason. She waited until she felt the signal get close, then slammed her shield into its direction.

She felt a satisfying 'clunk' against her shield and heard her opponent cry out in surprise. Suddenly, the ghost that she previously thought was Emerald completely dissipated. With the semblance shattered, she could finally see the real Emerald, who she had just knocked to the ground.

Determined to not let up her momentum, Pyrrha threw herself on top of her downed opponent and brought her fists into play. She got a few good hits in before Emerald's appearance morphed before her eyes.

Suddenly, Pyrrha had her fists raised against her teammate, Nora Valkyrie. Pyrrha threw another punch. When it collided, she was swinging next at Lie Ren. She threw another. Emerald's last gambit was the one that worked, as she made Pyrrha see her partner and crush beneath her. The hesitation the distraction caused was enough for Emerald to slip out.

With Emerald's previous game plan ruined, she was **** to adapt it. No longer would she be using her hallucinations to flank her. The name of the game was distraction now, and thankfully for Emerald, Pyrrha had given her the perfect ammunition.

Pyrrha fell back the moment she'd lost Emerald to regroup and find Emerald with her semblance. This time, Emerald didn't create an images. Instead, she was exactly where it appeared she was. Knowing she had a moment, Pyrrha looked at their aura meters. She was at 82%, while Emerald was at 80% after her vicious punches. The next clash would probably be their last.

Pyrrha fired a few shots, which Emerald dodged. Emerald didn't return fire, instead she used the ammunition Pyrrha had given her previously. In an instant, the entire arena was covered with images of her crush in very distracting poses. She couldn't even see the crowd anymore with how many Jaunes had been placed around.

Some of them were dressed in his every day attire, but some of them were very indecent!

In the crowd, Team RWBY whispered to each other in confusion, "Is she... blushing?" Weiss asked in disbelief. The rest of the team was stunned speechless.

Emerald saw that her distraction was working and upped the intensity. She might have have a massive semblance hangover from this, but it would be well worth it if she **** Pyrrha Nikos to run naked through the dorms. Especially because she planned on having Mercury cause absolute chaos in the hallways just beforehand, so that all the doors would be open!

Pyrrha blushed even further as images of her and Jaune 'coupling' were flashed all around the arena, in a variety of poses and acts. In all of them Emerald had portrayed Pyrrha as being the submissive one, as if saying she was figuratively and literally fucked. Emerald had gotten a few things wrong about her naked body, but it was realistic enough to fool her if she let it. She wouldn't.

Satisfied that she knew all of her opponents tricks, Pyrrha was determined to end it. She charged her opponent, making sure she knew her location with her semblance. Emerald still tried to dodge, but it wouldn't be enough to get away. The distractions had only made Pyrrha angrier. Emerald had given away her rouse, and now Pyrrha would deliver the consequences of showing your hand too early.

Emerald barely had time to throw her weapons up before Pyrrha clashed into her with a rage no one present had ever seen on the girl. From there, Pyrrha ended it in two swings. Glynda called the match with Pyrrha still at 82% aura.

"Fuck!" Emerald cursed at her loss. She had been so close to beating the strongest girl in the club. As incredible as her semblance was, her normal combat skills were unfortunately subpar; hence why she'd joined the club. This had been her only chance to actually notch a victory against Pyrrha. Now her gimmick was blown, and Emerald had probably lost her chance to beat her in direct combat.

Pyrrha took a moment to calm down from the heated battle she'd just had. She hadn't had such a unique fight in a long time. She'd had to adapt on the fly, which thrilled her. As pissed as she had been at Emerald's dirty tactic, she was absolutely giddy about the fight she'd just had. Her reward for winning was the cherry on top.

She moved to help Emerald up, but the girl had already begun to stand on her own. Still, she held out her hand to applaud her on a fantastic duel. She reluctantly accepted the shake and the pair began walking off stage together.

"I've never fought against someone like you. You should be proud!" Pyrrha tried to raise the girl's spirits, but she just shook her head.

"I would've been much more proud had I won..." Emerald said a bit downtrodden.

"I didn't take you as one to care so much about beating someone with my reputation." Pyrrha said, slightly surprised with how hard Emerald was taking this lost. Emerald once again shook her head and laughed.

"I didn't care about the reputation! I wanted to humiliate you! I was going to parade you naked through the dorms in front of everyone, so they knew that _I _was the one to finally end your streak! Now I'm at your mercy..." Emerald admitted honestly.

"Oh... I see. I guess you are at my mercy now, aren't you?" Pyrrha said like it was just now hitting her. This feeling in her chest... Pyrrha had never felt anything like this before. Now she was really looking forward to later tonight.

Emerald broke off and went back to her team. She expected a disappointed look on Cinder's face, but she actually seemed surprisingly impressed with Emerald's handiwork. Neo was still pouting after her loss. It seems Cinder was the last hope to stop team CMSN from being completely humiliated and winless tonight. Cinder gave her a brief nod and then walked towards the stage for the last fight of the quarterfinals.

Pyrrha walked up to where team RWBY was gathered.

"How did I do?" Pyrrha asked them. They had conflicted looks on their faces and Pyrrha couldn't blame them. If they couldn't see Emerald's hallucinations, she must've looked incredibly foolish indeed.

"We were worried about you for a minute there, if we're being honest." Ruby reluctantly admitted, not wanting to appear to be lacking faith in her friend.

"Did I really look that bad?" Pyrrha winced.

"You looked a bit lost." Weiss conceded politely.

Pyrrha could've defended herself by explaining exactly why she had looked so foolish; but should she? If she gave up Emerald's semblance, team RWBY would have plenty of time to prepare a counter for her. With the way the standings would work, why should she give them such an advantage. Besides, Emerald needed all the help she could get. If she took a few points off the other talented fighters in the club, it would only help cement Pyrrha's place on the leader board.

"I'll admit, I was a bit distracted. I reigned it in towards the end thankfully. I guess the mood of the night got to me." Pyrrha lied. In truth, the casual nudity had distracted her a bit, but not nearly as much as she'd just claimed.

"Ah, I didn't realize you were such a prude." Yang teased.

"Don't you have a fight to get to?" Pyrrha countered.

"I guess I do. Wish me luck!" Yang said. Once she'd gotten her luck (and claimed she wouldn't need it), she turned and began strutting towards the stage.

When Cinder and Yang stood across from each other on stage, not a single eye could look away. Both these women had presence. Yang in a fiery way, Cinder in a cool way. Both women exuded confidence and turned heads wherever they went. There was no one in the house that could claim one had an advantage on the other. Even Ruby wasn't confident enough to call it in favor of her sister. Ruby was a bit afraid for the stakes the battle would be fought over. Speaking of...

"Stakes?" Cinder asked shortly.

"Loser ditches their top for the rest of the night." Yang proposed, but instantly felt like she hadn't gone far enough when Cinder glared at her for wasting her time.

"Why, with how slutty you dress, you'd barely be showing any more than you are right now! I want real stakes, Yang!" Cinder challenged, only stoking the fire further.

"Why you little-" Cinder cut off Yang's anger with her suggestion, now that she'd pissed her opponent off enough to accept.

"Loser has to take a shower in the men's locker room," Cinder said, drawing closer to Yang and pointing a finger into her chest, "Completely," She poked, "And absolutely," she poked again, "Naked."

"Well of course, how else would I shower?" Yang shot back cockily, but internally she was panicking that she was getting drawn into stakes she wasn't willing to lose. She could back down and be a coward, or stall time and possibly face worse. Either way, Cinder would get what she wanted.

"Yang! That'll ruin your reputation!" Ruby yelled at her from below. Ruby knew her sister. She was painfully aware of how easily she could be baited if angry. She just hoped she didn't accept such stupid stakes.

"That's the point, darling. There is really only room for one of us at Beacon. This fight is the perfect way to settle it! One of us will continue to be known as the queen bee, and the other," She looked directly into Yang's eyes, "Will be known as a whore."

The two women gazed into each other's eyes with smoldering intensity, until Glynda broke them up.

"You have twenty seconds left until a dare is randomly generated. However, if I may introduce a proposal, Valoress does have plans based around this exact scenario. In our armory, which you may tour at a later time, you'll find masks that perfectly conceal your identity. Your body will remain unchanged, but the mask will make your hair and face completely and utterly typical. As long as you return them, you may use them as you wish. Do you agree to that stipulation?"

"I do. Loser showers in the men's locker room after the next combat class, wearing one of those masks!" Yang finalized her stakes.

"Fine, I accept those terms."

The two shook on it, and Glynda began the countdown.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!"

The previous fights had all been a bit slow paced. The fighters had danced around each other, dealing only non-conclusive blows. This fight was different. Neither woman was willing to accept a drawn out battle in this fight. It would end in a single definitive clash, and that would be the end of things.

Through the smoke, cursing, shards of glass, and explosions it wasn't clear who would come out on top. Yang's anger gave every hit devastating potential. Considering they only had 25% aura to work with, there was no way Cinder would survive a direct hit. She was being **** to dodge or deflect every blow possible as she continued to hack and slash away purposefully.

The audience was **** to take a few steps back from the heat radiating from the fight; not to mention the projectiles. In less than 20 seconds, both contestants had dropped their aura into the 80s. Rather than try to make their aura's last longer, the fiery combatants threw themselves back into the fray.

They both got their wish of the fight ending in an explosive finale, as they threw themselves against the other one more time. Yang landed her last blow across Cinder's jaw and prayed it would be enough. She had to overextend to get her hit in, and it left her exposed to Cinder's final volley of cuts. Just as they went for follow up blows, the fight was ended.

"Cease!" Glynda called, both girls backed up and looked to the screen believing they'd won.

Cinder Fall- 75.1%

Yang Xiao-Long - 74.8%

"Ms. Fall is the winner!" Glynda declared decisively, even though the fight had been won by the slightest of margins.

"A-Are you kidding me!" Yang cursed. There was no way she'd only lost by 3%! She hadn't even been knocked down! Reluctantly, she brought her eyes up to meet her opponents. Cinder wore a killer smirk, but soon covered it with her typical scheming smile.

"It was a good fight... for a whore, that is." She said cruelly as she **** Yang into a handshake.

"You are such a cu-"

"Be careful with what you are about to say. I did just beat you after all." Cinder said.

Yang knew she would regret it if she allowed herself to say a word. Instead, she began stomping off the stage. Unfortunately for Yang, Cinder decided it was a good time to take **** against team RWBY for Neo's sake.

"Oh, and Yang? It looks like you're going to get your wish after all! The winner is topless for the rest of the night." Cinder's words caused Yang to look down with a panic at her shirt. Sure enough, Cinder had absolutely shredded the straps with all of her slashes. The instant Yang looked down, Cinder used her semblance to roughly withdraw the single piece of glass she'd slipped into Yang's shirt between slashes.

It sliced through the only remaining important fabric on her shirt on its way out, and somehow found her bra strap. Yang shrieked as her top coverings fell away, leaving her half-naked in front of her newly found club. Yang ran off the stage covering her chest as Cinder laughed with blatant malice.

Yang ran into the cover that her teammates and Pyrrha provided.

"What the hell was that, Yang! I thought you were going to keep it lower stakes!?" Ruby chastised her for being so utterly stupid in her anger.

"I-I almost won!" Yang tried to argue, but Ruby wasn't having it.

"And what did almost winning get you? A trip to the men's showers?!" Ruby complained.

"I'm sorry." Yang said. Now that the anger was fading, she knew Ruby was absolutely right. She had been a fool to be baited perfectly into following Cinder's terms. She had played by Cinder's rules and paid the price for it.

"This is a lesson you've had coming for a long time, Yang. You've never listened when dad tried to teach you it in practice, and now you're suffering for it. Just be glad that it happened in training, and not against a real opponent." Ruby said softly, bringing her sister in for a hug, who was still crossing her arms across her chest.

"R-Ruby, I'm-"

"Shhhh, I don't care," Ruby pulled away from the hug and took Yang's arms in her hands, "What I do care about though, is making sure you don't ever make this mistake again, when it could really cost us. Thankfully, I know the perfect way to do that..." Ruby **** Yang's arms to her side.

"R-Ruby! They'll see my chest!" Yang fought against her.

"You should've thought about that before you charged in! Now, keep your hands at your side for the rest of the night, and let the lesson really sink in." Ruby teased her. Yang could tell that she wasn't being totally serious. If she wanted to, Ruby would definitely let her cover, but did she really deserve to? She had completely embarrassed herself and her team by acting so recklessly. And besides, Cinder had won fair and square... 'To the victor, goes the spoils...'

Yang dropped her hands to her sides, letting everyone present see her. As embarrassing as it was (and don't even get her started on her real forfeit...) Yang actually considered the night pretty successful. She had grown closer to Pyrrha and her team, made a new nemesis, but most importantly, everyone had improved as a fighter!

"You have ten minutes until the Semifinals begin. Ms. Schnee will face Ms. Belladonna, and Ms. Nikos will face Ms. Fall. May the best huntress win!" Glynda called, officially ending the first round of the tournament.