Konnichiwa, Konnichiwa! Planeshunter here!
Imagine a Remnant where the one cheating his way into beacon was no good-willed, insecure boy, but an overconfident and lousy girl bearing a striking resemblance with Yang Xiao Long. Where the four times winner of the Mistral tournament wasn't any Invincible Girl, but a certain Seven Coloured Puppeteer. With no "basically a ninja" + happy-go lucky hammergirl combo to be not together-together. Instead we would have a reclusive and cold bookworm, and maybe a flower fairy with an insane obsession for spring.
Maybe some other characters would get swapped too, who knows? But this is the story of four huntresses aspirants. How they got together, what crazy things they were dragged into by her leader, their interactions with other teams… Basically a re-telling of the series, where Team JNPR gets replaced by Team MAPL.
I'm sure FF is full of this kind of stories, so I can only hope mine is interesting enough to grab someone's attention...
That said, MAPL 始まります!
Presenting M
There's an intruder creeping through Beacon grounds tonight. It's silhouette hovers at low height and, maybe because of the scarce light, closely resembles a witch flying in her broom. Little by little, taking advantage of the many shadows to hide from wary eyes, it closes in to the main building, dodging both people and machines. Getting here undetected is already a remarkable feat, now's when the real fun begins. Slowly rising towards a very specific window, it steals a peek inside. As expected, this entrance is overseen by an unavoidable camera, so there's simply no way to sneak in anymore.
After some rustling sounds, a thin laser projects some light over our intruder, revealing a long dress and a pointy hat on long, wavy hair. It also makes the camera, and the window in front of it, explode unceremoniously.
A confident smile paints the face of the girl. Here starts the real deal. With the destruction of the camera, the alarms have activated. She only has few minutes to do her deed, cause some believable incident to cover it out, and get away before the place gets swarmed.
The first is easy. With the shards of glass still falling, she rushes in, flying straight into the building's heart. She only has to drop the multi-purpose Nitori X tool close to the nearest terminal. It will take care of the rest by itself. Now for some convincing show… How about trying to break into the headmaster's office?
The challenge makes another smile creep up her face.
[...]
Well, She obviously wasn't up to the challenge. Sitting now in a well lighted room with only two chairs and a desk, her appearance is as striking as expected. She wears a black witch hat adorned with a huge purple ribbon and a matching long dress under a white apron. We could say her golden hair flows down her back like a wavy cascade, but some hairs just don't work that way. The aforementioned bush of rebel locks simply lacks the elegance for that. Her skin is rough and uncared, the kind of those who spends little or no time caring about it., and her eyes present a peculiar yellow tone, that might seem sickly at first glance, but shine with life and intelligence.
The man in front of her has been skipping through his notes for a while now.
-"Marisa Kirisame" -The name, spoken in a calm tone, finally breaks the silence, making her fix her amber eyes in the man- "Orphan since the age of 5, runaway from her foster family with 9. There your tracks vanish, you are officially still missing, but the authorities assume you're either dead or gangster fodder. And yet here you are, 8 years later. Sneaking into my academy, destroying private property, creating false records in our database, trying to get into my office… What am I supposed to do with you?"
-"Dunno, gimme a medal?" -Her eyes sparkle with glee, far from embarrassing her, enumerating her deeds only fuels her ego- "Ya gotta admit I did a friggin' good job (ze)!"
-"You got surrounded and tried to break through five walls of solid concrete to get away"
-"And I dang fine broke thru three (ze), ya didn't gimme time for the other two, gramps!"
-"Then you tried to put me down and failed splendidly, your broom is quite the original weapon, by the way."
Here she blushes slightly, but tries to conceal it getting more aggressive.
-"Well, sorry for not being able to overpower the friggin' headmaster of the most friggin' prestigious huntsmen academy in the whole friggin Remnant (ze)!" -The old man reacts only by rising an eyebrow and taking a sip from his mug, somehow that effectively hushes her- "Ya gotta admit I almost got ya with that last trick."
-"A flashbang at close-quarter followed by a cloaking semblance, you might've been able to fly away if you didn't let go of your broom at the last second."
-"Hehe, yeah. Ya know, problem with flashbangs in close-quarters?... ya get dizzy as hell too…"
This time the headmaster doesn't answer, he just stands there, casually sipping from his mug, while looking at her over his sunglasses. It finally gets on her nerves, and she asks:
-"Well? What happens now?"
-"Nothing, given your… special circumstances, you'll be treated as a guest until the school year begins. Then you'll be assigned a team and a room, like everyone else."
-"Huh?"
-"Didn't you want a medal? You got my attention, but you'll need to try harder to get my praise."
[...]
As she leaves the room, still wondering what exactly just happened, she overhears someone saying.
-"The headmaster should stop recruiting the kids from jail…"
Presenting A
-Darkness-
Mistral is the public. This, her performance.
-Breathe-
This is no tournament, just another stage.
-Breathe-
She is no "favorite", she's the artist.
-Breathe-
There's no opponent, just secondary players.
-Breathe-
There's no pressure, only the spotlight.
-Breathe-
"Victory" is not enough, the aim is "Elegance".
-Breathe-
There are no weapons, only friends.
-Breathe-
tug
The darkness dissipates as the girl opens her eyes. In front of her, a mirror reflects the perfect features of her doll-like face. Round, blue eyes, lacking any expression. Pale and clear skin that looks like porcelain. Gloss golden hair, styled in short locks and held in place with a red ribbon.
She stares at her own reflection, without showing any emotion, until she feels another tug. Then she looks down, where a doll is pulling the frills of her blue and white dress. Behind it, another one is carrying a book with metal reinforcements, that seems heavier than it's tiny bearer.
-"Oh, it's time to go?" -As the doll who looks almost alive nods, the girl who looks like a doll finally smiles- "Thanks, Shanghai, Hourai."
[...]
-"Aaaaaaaaaand that's another victory for our Seven Colored Puppeteer, Alice Margatroid! She did it, ladies and gentlemen! This is her fourth tournament and a new record!"
The roar of the multitude drowns the voice of the announcer. The show is over, and the favourite didn't let them down.
-"[...] but, as the expert, what would you say is our champion's most remarkable feature?"
-"Well, Rob, since you ask… I would say it's her elegance. I mean, she doesn't only win, no matter the opponent, she never seems to lose her cool," -There's no opponent, only secondary players- "and always performs beautifully" -Victory's not enough, the goal is Elegance- "Sometimes I wonder if she has ever bothered to try hard."
If you try your hardest, you have already lost.
It's hard to tell, but as the army of little dolls bow with her, even back before, when they tugged her dress and handed her the book, the fingers of the girl who looks like a doll never stop making small movements, directing every action of the dolls who look alive.
Because it's all make-believe, and the girl of perfect features is completely alone.
Presenting P
A perfectly brewed tea steaming in her hand, a night-infinite library extending around her. A fascinating book full of unknown, turning into knowledge as she scans through the lines of text. Can a girl ask for anything else? Is she dead and in heaven?
-"Patchouli-sama." -The perfectly elegant voice of the house's head maid interrupts her reverie- "Dinner is ready, Ojou-sama insists in her invitation."
The girl closes the tome with an exaggerated sigh. She doesn't mind dinner with her friend, even enjoys it, to be honest. But she hates to leave a reading halfways. What's wrong with eating after finishing the book? Hopefully, her friends won't have any problem with her bringing the book there.
[...]
She was wrong.
Being scolded by a twelve years old girl felt as embarrassing as one can imagine. Even worse with her nine years old little sister repeating everything, and the perfectly elegant smile of the head maid in the background. What's more, she has found her friend tense during the whole dinner, awfully silent and studying her with poorly disguised anxiety. She's no expert in social interactions, but you don't need to be a genius to smell trouble in the air.
-"How was your evening, Patche?"
-"Interesting" -only after the desserts are served, does she attempt some small talk, suspicious…- "I won't bore you with the details, but this book..."
-"Other book? Patche, you have done nothing but reading since you finished school."
-"I can't very well go play in the garden, sorry for having a frail body."
-"Staying in a dusty library is bad for your asthma! You need to get out!"
-"Thanks for worrying, but I can manage."
-"No, you can't!" -Her friend stands, hitting the table and knocking down some glasses- "What do you plan on doing next year? You can't possibly stay cooped inside forever!"
-"Well, now that you mention it…" -The tone irritates Patchouli. Mostly because, deep down, she knows she's right- "That's exactly what I plan to do."
-"Well, you can't. You are one of the best talents I have ever known, and I'm not going to let you rot in MY house. You are enrolled in Beacon, I received the acceptance letter today."
-"Are you kicking me out? After everything I did for you?"
-"Patche" -The eyes of her friend bear a strange intensity. The outrage that was gushing out gets stopped on it's tracks before that scary gaze- "I'll never forget everything you did for me. How you stood beside me when our parents passed away, how you juggled with law to keep my uncle's claws away from the family's inheritance. Even with my sister's… issues, you managed to keep everything in order, so we could have a future. And I'll never thank you enough for it."
-"You give me too much credit…" -Patchouli blushed slightly, remembering those times, only two years ago- "I was just a kid then, without Sakuya's and Meiling's help, I would have been powerless too."
-"But now's the time for me to protect you." -Her eyes are even more intense- "Go to beacon, live, learn, not from books, from experience. And in four years, after you become the wonderful huntswoman you can be, my library's doors will be open if you still want to spend you live there."
Patchouli says nothing. What can one say, confronted with the monstrous charisma of this twelve-year old girl, who has held the reins of her own fate for the last two years with sheer willpower alone?
Presenting L
Life's always good in Kamishirasawa's School for gifted childs. Even if the headmaster is a bit… headstrong. The kids grow up in a benevolent environment, isolated from the worldly noise and surrounded by nature.
-"Is good to see you again, Miss Goodwitch" -The blue haired woman seems absorbed into looking through the window, but the blonde teacher knows better- "What brings one of my brightest students to my humble facilities? Surely this isn't just a courtesy visit to an old teacher."
-"Meeting you again after all this time is worth the travel, Keine-sensei" -Only those who know the stern woman can appreciate how rare the warm smile she's exhibiting really is- "But you are right, I'm here on Ozpin's behest."
-"So, after he fails to personally persuade me, he sends our favorite pupil in hopes of softening my heart? Oh, Don't look so surprised!" -She adds while turning around with a smile- "As much as he might trust his little inner circle, you're the only one he keeps at his side, isn't he?"
Glynda opens her mouth to protest, visibly flustered. But she thinks twice before raising her tone. It's hard to forget Keine-sensei's lessons on proper behavior.
-"Anyway, I share his opinion in the matter" -She says instead, fixing her glasses- "Your fairies would benefit greatly from higher education in Beacon. And so would we from their presence."
-"Fairies? That's a nice way to put it. Noise, plagues, vermins… the insect faunos have been specially mistreated by society, be it being physically abused for their small frames, hunted down for the alleged magical properties of their body parts or exploited for their frequent flight capability" -Keine turns forwards the window again, looking at the children playing in the garden- "I built this place to protect them from the humans' racism. Why would I allow for someone, even if it's Ozpin, to pry them away from my embrace?"
-"Because they need to learn how to fend by themselves in the outside world, and Beacon is leader in the fight against faunus racism" -Her gaze, reflexively hardened, softens again- "You won't be here to protect them forever, sensei."
Keine sighs, and signs her old pupil to get closer to the window. Outside, five kids throw small energy projectiles against another one, clad in white. This other laughs and dodges, answering with her own projectiles.
-"That's no bullying. Remember the game of danmaku? five for one is the minimum for the game to be fair" -Another sigh- "Her name is Lily White. She's bright and cheerful, willing and friendly. She'll turn sixteen soon, and is always ready for a new challenge. Treat her well, and I might consider sending others."
[...]
It's already night when Goodwitch leaves the premises. Interviewing the kid -A promising one, albeit way too active for her personal tastes- and finishing other formalities took up a lot of time.
But it has been worth, she thinks, while looking at the bright full moo… Wait, full moon?
A chill creeps up her spine as some traumatic memories from her childhood raise from the dark corner of her mind she had relegated them to and stretch their metaphorical limbs. How could she possibly forget? She should leave before… A thump behind her triggers a short shriek, as she feels herself returning to her youth.
-"All this bargaining with my students' future has left a bad aftertaste, miss Goodwitch" -Here it comes, the green-haired, red-eyed, bull-horned Keine-sensei's harsh love- "Why don't we have a private lesson, for the good old times, to sweeten the deal?"
And here we end! Since the very start of the series, I have thought of Yang as a mix of Marisa and Mokou, so the idea of mixing both series has been rounding my mind like, forever. And then I saw there were only 5 crossovers of this particular series and felt outraged! There are so many possibilities!
Putting the team together was easy, because the naming rule. I mean, because I came in terms from the beginning with not being able to completely fulfill the criteria. So I just had to pick between MAPL and MAFN (Marisa, Alice, Flandre, Nitori). Because the acronym was a must, and I found no convincing way to fit Marisa, Alice, Patchouli and Flandre. Well, that and no inspiration for Flandre's adaptation to this world either. Maybe she'll do something nice later on... maybe.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this!
Bidding farewell:
-Planeshunter.
PD: For people waiting for Kaleidoscopic Grail War… progress is happening, just… slowly.