We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum, VIZ Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.
Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and Traines, as well as Kima Whitehawk Jordan on Facebook. And an incredibly special shoutout and thank you to 501awezome and Mega Ghost on Fanfiction.Net for all your support.
Tiger King and Dragon Queen: Year 1
Volume 1 Chapter 31: Let's Have a Race
The early hours of the morning were a buzz of activity. People were getting ready for the race, preparing food and other inventory for stands and events. Every guest, racer, and local was up well before the crack of dawn hard at work. Azura, Yang, and Weiss were helping Team CROM with their own booth for its morning hours.
"So, let me make sure I have this right. You are going to stay down here through lunch, and then get to the top station for the after party?" Azura asked Red as he fastened down one of the sides of a large red and gold tent.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Red said casually, helping set up refreshments and snacks.
"Red, you motherfucker! I am not wearing this!" Olivia called furiously from the back.
"C'mon, darling. I'm sure you look great." Red said smoothly, coaxing her to come out and join them.
"... Only because you compliment me so damn much." She grumbled as she walked out, revealing a very rustic, yet stunning serving girl outfit, short heels, and an apron to complete the look.
Yang whistled a bit with a grin. "Not bad, Olivia. You make that look good." She told the older girl.
"I don't swing your way, Blondie." Olivia said as she grabbed her notepad and pencil for later.
"Everybody swings my way, 'Liv." Yang playfully replied.
"Call me that one more time and I'll break your lip open." Olivia growled.
"So Schnee Queen, got any plans after the race? Also, please do win. I always wanted to date a race winner." Morgan said, leaning next to Weiss with a smooth smile.
Weiss blushed a bit and glared at him. "Do not think you can woo me with your sweet talk, you dashing rogue. I am a Huntress-in-Training, not some naive princess." She sternly told him in reply.
"Hard to get, I see. Well, I'll just let the race massage that out of you first then." Morgan slyly said before slinking off to help Carter make popcorn.
"Speaking of race, has anyone seen Ruby and Zhan?" Yang asked, looking around.
"I believe that they headed to the station. Something about finishing getting the train ready." Azura replied as he knelt and picked up a box.
As soon as he said that, as if on cue, they heard a loud howling whistle from the engine sheds. Rolling out of the yard came St. Walkern. The little engine's blue paint glistened, its brass shone in the early morning sun, and it chuffed along as if new life had been breathed into it. They then saw the thin arm of Ruby reach over the left side of the cab to wave to them as it trundled off to get the coaches.
"Morning, everyone!" Zhan called out as they reached the points for the railyard.
"... That's what we'll be racing?" Azura asked in disbelief.
"Yep! You get an hour head start! And you'll need it! She's fired up and raring to go!" Zhan yelled back with a grin.
"Let's do it!!" Ruby called as she pulled the whistle twice in excitement, before the engine chugged, almost scampering into the yard to collect its train.
"Get ready to be my butt monkey for the next week, Azu." Yang said with a grin.
Azura grinned back. "Au contraire, my dear. It is you who will be my 'butt monkey,' as you so elegantly put it." He playfully replied.
"Sorry, but I don't do butt stuff on the third date." Yang playfully responded.
Azura blushed at that. "Th-That is not… I-I did not mean…" He stuttered out.
"Ah, young love." Red sighed, which got Olivia to roll her eyes, as if she had seen this one too many times before.
"Alright, kids. Save it for after." Carter interjected, not looking up from the popcorn he was preparing.
"He's right, you two. You can flirt after the race is over." Weiss replied impatiently.
"We're not flirting!" Azura and Yang said simultaneously, blushing a bit.
"Are we taking bets on who breaks their ankles running up that rotten trackside? My money is on the blonde." Morgan asked, looking around at the others, who were patently ignoring him. "Okay, no bets then." he said sadly.
As if divine intervention to prevent Yang and Azura from fighting on the first date, they heard a low rumble. Looking up at the station, they saw Zhan backing the engine down onto the platform with four smartly painted green and black coaches. Behind them was a chocolate brown van with a red lamp on the back. To which, they saw the familiar sight of Trivia walking out onto the platform in a smart blue with the red trim uniform of a guard, complete with a short hat of similar colors. She waved to them, with a green flag waving in place of her hand.
"Looks like the race will be starting soon." Weiss said.
"Last one to the starting line is a rotten egg!" Yang replied chipperly.
"Oh no you do not, Yang! You are not getting a head start on me already!" Azura replied.
"Just go, you morons! The sooner you're done, the sooner I get out of this stupid turkey suit!" Olivia snapped in frustration.
"I mean, I'm not complaining." Red said, blatantly looking at her barely covered hips.
"OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT!!" Olivia yelled as she turned to look at Red.
As the three raced off, they saw the rest of the contestants slowly make their way over. The towns folk crowded around as well, and quite rapidly things got ready. Local figures made speeches, people cheered, and even a band played. Yet none of that mattered to the contestants as they got into the zone. They knew the track, they knew it was uphill, through farm fields, creeks, rocks, and woods. Even if they got an hour head start, the train was relentless and had a much easier way to get up the hills. An official looked over the line and raised a starting pistol.
"Contestants! On your marks! Get set! Go!" The official yelled as they fired the starting pistol.
As soon as the starting pistol was fired, the contestants bolted from the starting line like bats out of hell exploding out into the sky. As the morning sun beat down over the town, people cheered as the contestants ran full tilt to make the most of their hour-long head start over the train. Immediately, a few favorites were seen in the race. Azura, Weiss, Yang, and Blake led the pack with the others trailing not far behind. From the platform as they disappeared into the woods just outside the town, Ruby and Zhan stood in the engine cab in a moment of silence.
"So, what now?" Ruby asked Zhan confusedly.
"Well, we got to sit here and wait an hour before we start out." Zhan answered simply.
"OH, COME ON!!" Ruby groaned in frustration, showing she got too hyped up from the opening ceremony.
Up ahead with the Racers
As the racers ran along, the nice walking trail turned into a rough, well-worn trail. Most were able to handle it well. All except a certain blonde team leader, who tripped on an out jutting rock, and fell flat on his face.
"Rotten road…" Jaune grumbled as he got himself up and brushed himself off. "I can't even go five feet without falling over. Just great."
"Don't worry, Jaune. Just keep going and do your best." Pyrrha told him, stopping to check on him.
"Don't kid yourself, Magnet Girl." A passing Rena shot at the red headed champion.
Pyrrha glared at Rena as she passed before looking back at her partner. "Ignore her, Jaune. Winning isn't everything. All that matters is giving it your all." The redheaded champion told him.
"Right. I guess." Jaune said before starting again, starting to run alongside Ember.
"No point pushing yourself too hard at this stage. We have an hour before the train starts, and the route doesn't get any easier." Ember said to the two members of Team JNPR.
"I'M UNSTOPPABLE!" Nora's voice roared out from further up the pack.
"Nora, get down from the trees! You're going to fall!" Came the concerned voice of Ren.
"NO WAY, REN! THIS IS WAY FASTER!" Nora's voice called back.
"How are you even doing that!?" Ren called as he looked up at her swinging from tree to tree.
"REJECT HUMANITY! RETURN TO MONKEY!" Nora roared out as she kept swinging from tree to tree like a chimpanzee.
"Well, she's being more civil than the lovebirds up front." Blake said from behind Ren.
"You're not beating me, Blue Prince!" Yang called out from the front of the pack, trying to shove past Azura as they ran.
"I beg to differ, my dear Blonde Bombshell! I will be the one winning between the two of us!" Azura replied, shoving back as he ran ahead of her.
"Will you two just fuck already!?" Weiss called from behind the two, keeping her distance from the carnage in front of her.
Back at the Station: One Hour Later
"Is it time yet…?" Ruby groaned, using her hat to beat back the sweat of being in a hot cab.
"We are about to start the first part of our race, Ruby. So yes." Zhan said, holding back annoyance from Ruby constantly asking.
"Finally!" Ruby yelled excitedly.
"After Trivia checks everything's good and blows the whistle." Zhan explained.
"You tease!" Ruby snapped.
Looking across her large partner, she saw a line of young children, ranging from three to six years old, at the start line. An official set himself to start a race as Ruby, out of the corner of the engine cab, saw parents at the end of the station halt. Strangely, she also saw Olivia at the end as well.
"Zhan, what's going on?" Ruby asked.
"When we set out to start the race, the kids get a shot to race us to the end of the station. The kids get a chocolate medal with the winners getting bigger ones." Zhan explained with a smile.
"... Damn it, now I want chocolate…" Ruby muttered.
"I'll get you one after the race. I know a guy. But don't come crying to me if it makes you feel funny." Zhan answered with a smile.
"Racers! On your marks! Get set! Go!" The official yelled, however instead of the racing pistol going off, it was the guard's whistle from Trivia, signaling the start of the journey.
Zhan blew the whistle twice and eased open the regulator in front of him. Steam shot through the pipes and into the cylinders on the sides, getting the iron workhorse moving. Ruby noticed that unlike yesterday with the trucks, Zhan made the train accelerate far slower, so as not to bump the coaches full of people behind them. As it began to slowly build speed, the little kids scampered along as best their little legs could carry them. One young boy leapt forward to just barely beat the train. However, instead of hitting the pavement, he landed in the arms of Olivia. She set the boy down gently and gave him a pat on the head, then a high five.
"Nice catch!" Zhan called out to Olivia.
"Thanks! You guys put Blondie and Blue Boy in their place, okay!?" Olivia called back out to them.
"We'll give it our best try, don't you worry!" Zhan yelled back.
"You better start running scared, you guys! Here we come!" Ruby yelled as she blew the whistle while the train made its way out of the town, slowly building speed.
Back With the Racers
The onlookers from the first station, Darylin Station, named ever so cleverly after the town of the same name, saw what effectively looked more like a fight than a race. Yang and Azura, the clear front runners up to this point, had gotten their blood pumping. Weiss, Blake, and Rena stayed far away from the feuding rivals as Azura and Yang got onto the pavement.
"First station, Azura. You can always stop here and admit defeat." Yang said with a smirk.
Azura smirked as well. "What is wrong, my darling Delilah? Afraid of a little proper competition?" he asked playfully.
"Blake, please tell me none of your books are like this." Weiss groaned, annoyed at the antics of the two frontrunners.
"I could, but I would be lying." Blake said with a shake of her head.
"Then it's time to engage in Plan B. Nora! Commence with Operation Flying Blonde!" Rena yelled back like a drill sergeant.
"Yes, Commander! Get over here, Fearless Leader!" Nora yelled, ominously turning her head to look at her team leader.
Jaune, barely paying attention due to the run, only then looked up from the ground. "Wha…?" Was all Jaune got to say before Nora hoisted him over her shoulders.
Getting into a sprint, Nora then hurled Jaune forward with the gargantuan blonde simpleton beginning to perform a frontward roll in the air. Screaming like a terrified banshee, Jaune's flight path took him between the quarreling crushes and began a front-facing roll through the street. Not of his own volition, mind you.
"Heeeeeeelp!!!" Jaune yelled as he rolled out of sight up the raceway.
"Jaune's getting a head start on the next part of the race!" Azura called out, pointing after the blonde rolling knight.
"After him!" Yang yelled, before barreling after him.
"You are not getting ahead of me that easy, Yang! You nor Jaune!" Azura called back, taking off in a sprint after his crush.
"A perfect bullseye. Excellent shot, Nora." Rena said, giving a small, rare smile.
"Wow. Who knew a himbo in armor could get that kind of distance?" Nora replied, peering off in the distance as Jaune kept going from her throw.
"Jaune!!!" Pyrrha cried out in horror as she rushed off to save her team leader.
"Finally, some peace and quiet. About time that idiot was useful for something." Weiss said with a content sigh.
Ren ran up, panting lightly. "I wish… those two… would just kiss already…" The long-haired martial artist groaned in exasperation before he drank some water from a water bottle.
"I can chuck Yang at Azura next time. I'm confident enough in my aim." Nora said with a smile.
"Let's… save that… as a last resort, Nora…" Ren panted out, slowly catching his breath.
"IIIIII'M STIIIIILL ROLLIIIIIING…!!!" Jaune called out from off in the distance.
Back With the Train
"Come on! We barely got past the first halt! I thought this thing was fast!" Ruby groaned as she shoveled another chunk of Dust into the firebox.
"You do realize we are pulling real people in those coaches back there, right?" Zhan asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Those are coaches? I thought they were cattle trucks." Ruby asked, confused.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Zhan said, shaking his head.
As the train made it down the track, Zhan could not help but think how nicely the run was going so far. No wheel ship, the engine kept its steam, and the coaches gave them no trouble. They did not even have to stop at any of the crossings. As they neared the last halt before the first station, they heard in the distance a faint screaming sound.
"What was that?" Zhan asked, looking out of the cab. "It sounded like a scream."
"GETTIIIIING… FUCKIIIING… DIZZYYYYYYY…!!!" A familiar voice yelled out far off in the distance.
"Ruby. Is that what I think it is?" Zhan asked, confused.
"It sounds like Jaune. I hope he's okay…" Ruby replied in concern.
"He'll be fine. He's pretty tough." Zhan said as he waved to some onlookers near the track. "We should keep pace with them. It doesn't sound terribly far ahead. Only past the second station."
"I hope Yang and Azu aren't overdoing things." Ruby said, thinking about her big sister and their friend.
Zhan felt like he should say something, but he refrained as he began to break the train for the stop at the first station. He knew that the two could get competitive, but, knowing his boss, he would keep his head on his shoulders. And it was not like they could go that far in the name of a race…
Back With the Runners
"I'm surprised you're still keeping up Big Blue! You're a stamina machine, you know that?" Yang said playfully to Azura as the two kept trying to push past each other while running at close to Yang's top speed.
"I can do this all day, Blonde Bombshell! Compared to sensei's training, this is nothing!" Azura replied with a grin, trying to push past Yang in equal measure.
The two heated competitors soon ran past the crash site of Jaune. After his great tumble, he lay stomach first on a rock, his brain still rattled from being launched and rolled.
"Hey, Jaune! Nice hustle!" Yang called out as she and Azura ran past.
"Well done, Jaune!" Azura called out as well as they began retreating into the distance.
"Can the ten of you keep it down!?" Jaune yelled back in pain.
As they ran past a sign making note of the monastery station within the mile, Yang got an idea. She smirked devilishly as she then parkoured off a fence post directly in front of Azura's running path. Seeing the blonde get in front of him like that, Azura had to screech to a halt quickly to prevent bowling her over. Yang then landed and ran off, smiling that her ploy worked.
"Come on, slowpoke! Surely you got more than that!" Yang called out cheekily.
"That is not fair, and you know it, Yang! Two can play at that game!" Azura replied as he took off at top speed.
To Yang's surprise, Azura quickly closed the distance between them and began running along the rocky wall of a nearby cliff face as the path began to narrow. Giving a playful wink to the blonde brawling beauty as he passed her, Azura quickly kicked off the wall, front-flipped, and landed in a crouch before sprinting off and taking the lead. This sudden change left Yang in surprise as she tried to close the distance.
"You want a race then, Blue Boy!? You got one now!" Yang growled as she gave chase.
All of this did not go unnoticed, however, as the rest of the pack got a good look at that going down. While it got them to worry, Pyrrha suddenly stopped as she got up to Jaune, still on the rock.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, slowly helping him to his feet.
"I'm okay, Pyrrha… why are there five of you…?" The woozy blonde knight replied.
"Don't move too fast. Let's just get you to the next station. I think our race is over." Pyrrha said as she began to help him along.
"Probably a good idea… I could use a nap…" Jaune dizzily replied.
"That might be a bad idea, seeing as you might have a concussion." Pyrrha said concernedly, attempting to gauge just how bad he was now.
As Pyrrha helped Jaune along, the rest of the racers kept their pace. Weiss remained determined, despite being behind the two frontrunning, bickering "lovebirds." Blake took notice of this and was both surprised and impressed with her teammate.
"I didn't think you'd be the sanest person here when it comes to competition. I would have thought you'd want to win at all costs." Blake said to Weiss as she ran alongside her.
"I do, but you know what they say. Slow and steady wins the race. It's best to save most of your energy for the final sprint to ensure victory." Weiss replied to her teammate as they kept going.
"Considering how those two maniacs are up there, they'll either keel over from exhaustion or trip and kill themselves. There's a gorge up past the third station that could get them if they're not careful." Rena warned sternly, looking up higher into the hills.
"Don't be so melodramatic, Rena. They're competitive, not foolish. I'm sure they'll put their differences aside and act less recklessly when they come up to the gorge so that neither of them gets hurt." Blake replied, giving her friends, especially her partner, the benefit of doubt.
"Are we sure we are talking about the same people here?" Weiss asked.
"For once, I have to agree with Weiss on this one." Ember said, somewhat trailing behind the small group.
"We'll see. Honestly, I'm surprised that you're still in this too, Ember. You're barely taller than Weiss, so you use up more energy than the rest of us to go at the same speed. You must have a lot of stamina." Blake noted, looking at the shy farm girl.
"When you grow up in Vacuo and work on a farm, you get used to lots of physical activity. I just don't like the hills here." Ember answered as she wiped the sweat off her brow with a handkerchief.
"On that, we can agree." Rena grumbled in agreement with her partner.
"Nora, slow down!" Ren called out from further back.
"NEVER! I WON'T LOSE TO AZU AND YANG!" Nora roared out cheerfully as she came zipping past the rest of the pack.
"They're too far ahead, Nora! You're not going to catch them at this rate!" Ren called ahead fruitlessly.
"WATCH ME!" Nora called back to the normally calm and composed martial artist.
"Oh, we are watching. About to watch her wipe out, anyway." Rena remarked in a snarky tone, watching the short, energetic demon rush off.
An Hour Later: Third Station
The loud shrill whistle of the locomotive rang through the valley as the blue steam engine rolled into the third station. The platform lay in the middle of an old monastery town, surrounded by even more ancient and quaint buildings than at the starting station. Each one with sheer white walls accented by dark wood from high in the hills. Looming over them all was the imposing, squat stone facade of the monastery. Austere in the extreme, it cast half the town up to the station in a dark shadow. Perfect to keep the onlookers out of the sun, of which Jaune and Pyrrha were now a part of as Jaune held an ice pack to his head while Pyrrha brought him some nachos.
"Jaune? Pyrrha? Why did you two stop here?" Zhan asked as the engine whooshed out steam at the platform.
"Rena had Nora use me as a human projectile to break up Azura and Yang's annoying, competitive flirting…" Jaune bitterly replied, gently pressing his ice pack to his head.
"Aww… I missed Operation Flying Blonde…" Ruby groaned as Trivia walked up beside the engine.
'That would have been fun to see.' She sighed, which got the two a dirty look from Pyrrha as she handed Jaune his cheesy chip dish.
"It's not so fun when you're the living projectile. Believe me, I speak from experience…" Jaune replied, taking the ice pack away from his head to start eating his nachos.
"So how far are they now?" Zhan asked curiously, keeping his eyes on the real prize.
"The lovebirds in flight are probably nearing the gorge by now. So about two miles up." Pyrrha explained.
"Good thing we stopped for water back at Cold Creek. We may yet have a chance. Ruby, time to put those skinny arms to work. We are about to pour on the power." Zhan said sternly to his partner in crime.
Ruby grinned happily. "Finally! It's about time we get to the good part!" She cheered, stretching her arm muscles out.
'Aren't we supposed to go slowly through the gorge?' Trivia asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"We are. But after the gorge, if we got a good head of steam, we could gallop past everyone at the steepest part of the race. Especially considering everyone's gonna be tired by that point." Zhan explained.
"Wait… you planned this?" Jaune asked with a surprised tone.
"I work here, remember? I know this route like the back of my hand. Even Azura and Yang are gonna be gasping for air by that point." Zhan explained "Trivia, get everyone on and ready stat! We've got a race to win!"
Trivia nodded and hurried people along. The passengers noticed the stakes involved and rushed into the coaches, closing the doors firmly. Going up and down the train to check that everyone was in, and the doors were closed tight, Trivia got into her van at the end. Raising her green flag and blowing her whistle loudly, it was all the signal Zhan needed.
Ruby shoveled lump after lump of low-grade Fire Dust into the firebox before slamming it shut. Checking the water gauge and getting a good reading, she gave the thumbs up to Zhan.
"Come on, old girl. Come on." Zhan said to the engine as he eased open the regulator.
As the handle went down, steam shot into its pipes and into its cylinders. Soon the side rods forced the drive wheels forward and, like clockwork, the locomotive was in motion. The coaches, almost eagerly, began to follow behind as the engine almost mimicked what Zhan said with its chuffing. A steady "come on, come on" could practically be heard.
"Look out, you guys. Here we come." Zhan said with a smile as they finally gave chase.
Half An Hour Later: With the Racers
Nearing the cresting altitude of the line, both the mountain trails and the line ran close to a gorge. Formed by tectonic movements long ago, it was deep enough to be considered a clear hazard. While a guard fence was placed, it was not too much of a stretch for one to, if they were reckless, still take a tumble. As Yang and Azura neared it, they ran past a sign that stated, "All engines must slow down through the gorge." Which gave the two even more confidence in victory, thinking the steam engine could not catch them. Weiss and Ember watched as the two continued to play a precarious, and outright reckless, dance with each other.
"You should probably slow down, Azu! Things could get risky here!" Yang called out from behind the azure samurai with a smirk.
"I should be saying that to you, Yang! Considering how you love jumping in front of me today!" Azura shot back with an equally playful smirk.
"Ooh! So, someone's up for doing something crazy today, huh? Yang likey when you get frisky!" The blonde beauty purred, trying to get Azura to trip up to give her an opening to pull ahead and retake the lead from him.
Azura blushed red and stumbled for a moment. However, that one mistake gave Yang her opening. The only one she needed. Running at top speed to get a good start, Yang leapt up towards the cliff face. As soon as her feet made contact, she kicked off from the cliff face and flipped over Azura. Landing on her feet with a smirk, Yang turned with a grin and blew Azura a kiss.
"Better luck next year, Azu!" Yang called out with a giggle as she took off running.
"Not on my watch!" Azura yelled back, beginning to sprint after her.
"Can you two stop flirting near a death drop gorge!?" Weiss yelled from behind them.
Yang looked back at her teammate with a grin. "Oh relax, Weiss! What's the worst that could happen?" She called out, not watching her footing as the path narrowed a little too much.
As if to show the blonde sun dragon her folly, the universe finally decided to screw her over. As Yang's foot stepped on a loose rock on the road, her foot slipped on the rock, causing her to lose her footing. Skidding along the dirt path, the blonde beauty was sent crashing into the fence with a thunderous impact. Left dazed from the collision, Yang failed to notice the fence beginning to give way as she leaned against it.
"Yang! Get out of there!" Azura called out in concern, rushing to try to help her.
"Azura, don't get too close! You might fall too!" Weiss yelled as she and Ember passed by the two.
"I don't care!" Azura called out, running full tilt to try to reach Yang as the fence gave out beneath her.
Yang's eyes finally regained focus only to see the gorge before her. "OH SHIT!!" Yang screamed, flailing her arms in a vain attempt to stop her fall.
At that moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As Yang began to fall down the gorge, she swore she saw her life flash before her eyes. Her first memories of her father, Ruby's birth, her first-time baking cookies with Summer. All of this and so much more flashed through her mind as it set in for Yang. She did not have her gauntlets on her, so she had no way to propel herself to safety. She was going to die like this, falling into a bottomless gorge.
However, fate had other ideas. As she fell, a scar-covered hand reached out and grabbed onto her wrist. Azura, using all his remaining strength from the race, held onto Yang for dear life. Yang looked down at the chasm beneath them as she dangled from Azura's grasp, trying desperately to hold on despite the sweat from the race slicking both their hands and her arm.
"Azura…?" Yang asked in sheer disbelief.
"Hold on, Yang…! I will pull you up…!" Azura grunted, clearly tired from the race.
Reaching down with his other hand to provide leverage, Azura used his legs to try to pull her up. Trying to ease her up, the strain held him back.
"We're both going to fall at this rate, Azu!" Yang called out in concern, worried for his safety.
"Not on my watch!" Azura growled as he gritted his teeth due to the strain.
Drawing upon his Semblance, Azura began glowing with a lightning-like aura as he pulled Yang up with everything he had in one short, mighty burst. However, miscalculating on how far he pushed it, Azura accidentally pulled too hard. Stumbling back as he pulled Yang up, the two hit the ground hard as the busty blonde beauty landed on top of him as his Semblance deactivated. Groaning, the two felt something pressing against them as they opened their eyes. To their shock, they found their faces less than an inch away from each other, a mere fingertip's distance away from lip-to-lip contact.
"Are… are you okay, Yang…?" Azura asked, a red blush spreading across his face like wildfire.
"I… I wanna say yes… but I saw my life flash before my eyes… kinda put things in perspective…" Yang replied, an equally red blush spreading across her own face.
"I… I know the feeling. But I am glad you are all right…" Azura answered with a small smile.
Blushing a bit deeper, Yang sat up in his lap with a surprisingly shy smile. "Thanks to you, Big Guy. I appreciate it…" Yang told him, nervously moving a bit of hair behind her ear.
"Well… I guess we both lost. Weiss and Ember ran past us as you nearly took a tumble." Azura said with a hint of regret.
"Even if we don't win, we can still finish. Wait… why do I feel something hard pressing against my ass? You didn't break something saving me, did you?" Yang noted, shifting a bit as she looked down at him in concern.
"No. Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing at all and totally not a hormonal change in the human body." Azura nervously and rapidly said.
"Wait, what're you… Oh…" Yang replied, blushing redder than Ruby's hood as she realized what it was.
"We should… probably get back to the race…" Azura nervously said, trying to change the subject as fast as possible.
"R… Right… good idea…" Yang replied just as awkwardly as she tried to get up off Azura's lap.
As the two got up to brush themselves off, Yang felt a jolt of pain shoot through her from her right foot. Gritting her teeth in pain, she looked down at her foot and tested a bit. Gritting in further pain, she realized that, in the process of nearly dying, she got a sprain in her ankle.
"Damn it…" Yang cursed under her breath.
"What's wrong, Yang?" Azura asked worriedly, walking over to her.
"I sprained my ankle…" Yang admitted regretfully.
Azura took a deep breath. "I… have an idea of how we can both finish the race… together…" He told her.
"What are you… whoa!" Yang said before being cut off by what Azura did next.
Grabbing Yang, Azura gently hoisted her onto his back in a piggyback. Trying to grip her thighs and avoid grabbing a hold of her butt for leverage, Azura blushed ever so slightly as he felt her breasts press into his back. 'Th… they're so soft… but somehow also firm…' He thought before shaking his head to refocus.
"Are you blushing?" Yang asked, sensing a great amount of heat coming from his cheeks.
"N-No! I am fine!" The azure prince nervously replied, trying to focus on anything other than the luscious mounds pressing into his back.
At that they heard the loud and unmistakable sound of the whistle of the train. With long, heavy chuffs it came into view, though at a much slower speed. Ruby poked her head out as they neared them.
"What happened over here!?" Ruby yelled in concern.
"N-Nothing! Everything is fine!" Azura called out in a nervous panic, starting to take off in an attempt to keep pace with the train.
"Must be real nice to help a pretty girl out, huh boss?" Zhan teased from the other side of the cab.
"YOUR SILENCE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, ZHAN! / SHUT THE HELL UP, BLACKSMITH BOY!" The two yelled back in response, each blushing as red as a cherry as Azura began picking up speed.
"Shut this up!" Zhan yelled before blowing the train whistle.
Once the two parties made it past the gorge zone, both man and train picked up speed. However, much to Ruby's chagrin, a man such as Azura can accelerate faster than a train can. With great bounding strides he rapidly regained ground, soon approaching Ember. His shy teammate was caught off guard and nearly tripped as Azura barreled past her with Yang on his back, making sure to sidestep out of the way of her.
"Azura?" Ember asked in confusion as she saw the duo speed past.
"No talk, Ember! Explain later!" Azura called back in response as he focused on running while trying not to jostle Yang around too much.
The sign for the top station came into sight. Old Dunstun, an idyllic town by a mountain lake, was in proper view. Grinning, Azura put every ounce of power he had into his stride. Practically leaping onto the pavement, he ran past the spectators at a speed most had never seen a man run at before. Even the onlooking Team CROM was a bit surprised at his pace. However, it only lasted just long enough, for as soon as he got to the station, he collapsed face first, sheltering Yang from the ground with his body.
"Are you okay, Azu?" Yang asked him as he panted heavily underneath her.
"I will… be fine…! Just need… to catch my breath…!" He panted heavily.
"What happened to you two?" A familiar voice asked them and, looking up from the ground, the two saw Weiss staring back at them.
The two groaned in frustration. "Of course you got here first…!" The two moaned in protest at the sight of her.
"Unlike you two, I didn't perform any unnecessary and reckless stunts." Weiss said with an annoyed huff.
"You're never gonna let us live this down, are you…?" Yang grumbled unhappily as she and Azura tried to catch their breath.
"Nope." Weiss said as Morgan walked up behind her.
"Well done, Mon Beau Cristal de glace." He said smoothly.
"Why thank you. I believe you wished to be in my presence after I won?" Weiss answered with a smug smile.
As the hour dragged on, all the contestants eventually made it to the finish line. A ceremony for the winners was held, with the head of the railway handing a bronze medal to Ember, joint silver to Azura and Yang, and a regal gold medal to Weiss, who beamed with insufferable pride. After the ceremony, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and AZRE sat down for a well-earned meal. Morgan, who was supposed to be helping with catering, got an exemption from Red to join Weiss. Olivia, who was carrying the racers their drinks, was less than enthused by the development.
"If any of you say anything, I will kill you." Olivia growled, as she was still stuck in the maid outfit.
"It's quite alright, dear." Weiss said, waving it off as Olivia scowled, not wanting to endanger her tip, put up with it. Barely.
"You were only a half an hour ahead of us, Weiss. Don't get cocky about it." Ruby said sternly as she grabbed her orange soda glass.
"I disagree. I outraced the train, and everyone else as well. I think I have earned the right to be." Weiss answered haughtily.
"You're doing great, 'Livia!" Red called out to Olivia.
"Are you sure the tip is worth it!?" Olivia called back.
"Yes!" Red sternly yelled back.
"I hate you!" Olivia shot at the well-dressed bartender.
"Love you too!" Red called back, before going to shake a drink.
"Good on ya, Weiss!" Carter said with a laugh as he approached, a drink in his hand.
"Why thank you! Nothing is impossible for someone with sufficient determination." Weiss replied with an outpouring of pride.
"Let's hear it for our champion." Carter said, raising his glass and chugging it down.
"To a victory well earned!" Weiss cheered, raising her glass high for a toast.
Azura and Yang rolled their eyes as they raised their glasses. "She's gonna be insufferable about it for the next three months, isn't she?" Yang quietly asked the azure daimyō in annoyance.
Azura took a deep breath, before sighing in annoyance. "Regretfully…" Azura groaned.
Sighing, Yang smiled and gave Azura a kiss on the cheek. Turning to look at her, a light pink blush crossed his face like a slowly spreading fire as Azura saw Yang give him a wink.
"That's for being my hero today, Big Boy. But, next time, I'll be the one saving you." The brawling beauty playfully told him.
To Be Continued…