Relic of the Future: Chapter 142

Jaune lunged suddenly, throwing aside all pretences of chivalry and sending his fist crashing in toward Raven's surprised face. So sudden was the assault that he clipped her as she leaned back. His knuckles scraped her cheek but did so with force enough to make her stumble. Continuing his momentum, he slammed a foot down to draw him toward her and steady his footing, then brought his other fist up right into her kidneys.

Raven's feet left the floor. Spit flew from her mouth as she cried out. Her hand deflected the next haymaker, but she had to throw herself away to escape him, and she was limping as she did, clutching her side.

"Gah. I see that bitch taught you how to fight dirty. Shit."

"That bitch was one of my best friends." Jaune snarled. "And your-"

"Can it!"

Raven roared and flung herself forward. This time, she was prepared, swaying and ducking under a one-two and pulling across Jaune's body, driving her knee into his ribs. Before he could recover, she slapped both hands up to prevent him attacking her, then drove both fists into his stomach.

Having the air blown out of you would have staggered most people. Jaune brought his elbows down on her shoulders, driving them into her muscles to deaden them. Face scrunched up in pain, he tried to grapple and throw her – to use his height and weight against her – but Raven brought a knee up between his legs and her head up under his chin.

"Arghhh!" Jaune cried, and Cinder didn't know which hurt him more.

"Is that all she taught you, or were you too busy staring at her knockers to learn? Hah! I guess she died for nothing!"

"Shut up!"

Jaune's attacks became more savage, more furious. Raven couldn't dodge them all because he flew into a berserker rage, swinging, punching, kicking, snarling and slamming his body into her. Somewhere along the way, he caught her nose with a fist and blood flew. The crowd went wild. Cinder stared, eyes shining with excitement.

This wasn't anything like the fights in Beacon. This was primal, cruel and savage. They weren't fighting to win but to cause as much damage and pain to the other as possible.

Oh, she knew why. They were both people of action, and Jaune was grieving. Raven had offered herself as an outlet and would goad him on to expend all the rage and fury he couldn't at Watts and Salem. Most women would have offered sex as an emotional outlet, Cinder thought. Raven offers her body and blood. I'm not sure which is more exciting.

Raven's fist buried itself in his neck. Jaune choked and gasped for air. His fingers entwined in her hair and yanked her head back so hard he was giving her an amateur facelift. In answer, her fingernails scraped across his face, carving red lines down it and forcing him to let go.

"Yeah!" the crowd roared. "Raven! Raven! Raven!"

Their fists met. Cinder had seen movies and shows where that would cause a shockwave as fist met fist, but here it brought agonised sounds from them both as bone and cartilage crunched together. They retracted their hands as one, faces pinched. Jaune threw his other fist and this time Raven wasn't prepared to risk breaking another hand and caught it instead. Pulling the arm past her, she made to drive her elbow down on the back of Jaune's and snap his arm like a dry twig.

Jaune answered by throwing his body into hers, bowling her over and pinning her down to the mud on her back. The awkward position with Jaune on top of Raven would have normally brought an end to the fight. Jaune wasted no time in linking both hands together and hammering them down onto the woman's face.

Raven blocked them with her arms, grunting with each hit. Her legs kicked up behind Jaune, struggling the first few times but eventually finding the right angle to wrap one leg up and around his face. All she had to do was straighten her body and Jaune would be yanked off her. Jaune's face was hidden behind Raven's thigh.

"Arghhh!" Raven cried out suddenly. Yanking her leg down, she threw Jaune off her, then gripped her thigh and glared at him. "You bit me! You mother fucker! Rarghhh!"

The crowd cheered as Raven tackled Jaune down, this time sitting on his stomach as she punched him once, twice, three and four times. Her fists worked like pistons. Up, down, up, down, up, down – grabbed, twisted. A yelp of pain and Raven rolling off to avoid her arm being pulled out its socket. Boots scattered and smeared mud aside as they both lunged to their feet, shaking, panting and covered in mud and streaked blood.

Despite that, their eyes, red and blue respectively, glared intently at one another. Their bodies tensed. Raven ducked low. Jaune stepped back, falling into a stance.

"Just fuck already!" a lone voice shouted.

Jaune stumbled.

Raven twisted around, face red. "Who said that!?" she roared. "Get down here and say it to my fists!"

Cinder was sure no one would dare, even if she herself was smirking somewhat. There were sniggers from the other bandits as well, and that did nothing for Raven's mood. Sadly, it also did nothing for her awareness. While initially as shocked as she, Jaune wasn't going to pass up being offered his opponent's back.

"Well!?" Raven snapped. "Who dared say-"

A gentleman might have tackled Raven to the floor and subdued her.

Jaune smashed his elbow into her lower spine. Raven's entire body bent inward, stomach pushed out and back arched as she sprayed spit forwards. The pain must have been incredible, but that was only half of it. Without missing a beat, Jaune grabbed her neck as she was bent back, pulled it down and also kicked her heels out from under her.

Raven flipped backwards, driven down by Jaune's hand until she struck the ground. Mud splattered and her legs kicked up. Before she could recover, he placed his foot on her neck and held a fist high in the air.

[...]

"Tch. Would have gone on longer if someone didn't cheat for him."

Amusing to see that even though Jaune was the one with the reasons to be furious, Raven managed to be the sore loser. She eyed Jaune, pleased to see him more relaxed than he had been before. The fight had been good for him – better even than the sex the tribe joked about. He was too spent physically to cling onto his rage. Adrenaline was always a powerful weapon like that.

"Thanks for this," he told Raven. "I needed it."

"Don't let this win go to your head," she spat, squeezing mud from her hair. "I'd have won if we didn't have an audience. Your form is awful. Aside from brute strength, you don't have a lot going for you."

"My teacher got away with it."

"She'd been training for over ten years," Raven pointed out. "And she supplemented the damage done with her weapons and Semblance. You need to think more."

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 142