Morning came, like a leaf on the wind, and revealed a new day. Teens from all corners of the academy were looking for any partners to the upcoming dance, giving BRAS the best excuse to get out of Beacon for a few hours. Thank the Brothers above for weekends. Bill wore his usual smirk as he lead them to the landing pad, joining a few other teams along the way.
"What a bunch of desperate buggers, eh lads?" The leader commented as they watched a boy from Beacon approach a girl from Shade and promptly get ignored and mocked.
"Just a bunch of fools." Alex grunted and crossed his arms, leaning against a lightpost. His brother let out a chuckle.
"Basically describing half of Remnant there." Sam said with a wide grin, then quickly followed Raiko's finger as he pointed up into the sky. "Bullhead inbound." The twin stated with a nod, watching the grey aircraft descend towards the large platform. It landed with a whirring hiss, dropping the back ramp for a pilot to walk out. His visored helmet turned around the assembled group and he raised a hand.
"You, you and you. Collect your teams and hop aboard." The man called out, waving the boys' team and two others onto the ship. Raiko took his position near the window, standing firm as the ramp raised up and the bullhead started to lift off the ground. He pulled at the leather vest he wore, his team joining him in less armoured versions of the gear they wore when they beat down CRDL.
Suddenly, his vision was filled by a pair of blue eyes and a head of red hair. The blonde moved his flagpole to his side and raised an eyebrow, watching the chirpy girl bounce back.
"Hi!" She greeted, her voice quite joyful. "Can I touch your flag?" Raiko frowned, shook his head and held his banner just a little bit closer to his body. "Oh, come on! Just a quick poke?"
"Nora!" A voice barked from behind the pair, revealing himself as a boy with a single pink strand among black hair. The chipper girl giggled and hopped away from the blonde teen.
"Sorry Ren, he's just so mysterious!" Nora said cheerfully as she passed the facepalming boy.
"I'm sorry for that, Nora is very… excitable." The teen spoke with a calm and wise voice, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm Ren, pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, extending a hand that Raiko took and shook firmly. "If I remember correctly, your name is Raiko?"
"Yes, you heard from Goodwitch?" The taller boy signed, only getting a confused look in return.
"I'm afraid I don't understand?" Raiko nodded to himself, frowning slightly and waving the matter off. The black haired boy merely nodded and turned to watch the land fly past, until a loud clang forced him to find and fix whatever his friend just broke. "Nora!"
The ride ended with almost everything intact, except for Ren's sanity, and the three teams scattered through the city. Bill decided they needed to go see somebody important, so they headed down through the commercial district. The atmosphere was slightly panicked, with many store owners and shopkeeps ordering and moving packages in preparation for the Vytal Festival.
Alongside the rush for products, the recent Dust robberies had crippled a few businesses. One such store had thrown up a for-sale sign, apparently it had lost a bit too much to continue business.
"This is the reason why the kingdoms should concentrate on creating other methods of energy." Alex grunted with an amused look on his face, shaking his head at the building. "Far too dependent on Dust."
"What do you expect? 'If it works, why change it?', that's all those scientists would say." Sam snorted and looked over to Raiko, gesturing at the store. "Think if enough of these places went out of business, so would the hunters?"
"Not a chance, only if the SDC went down." The blind boy replied with a smirk, causing the other boy to bark with laughter. Bill chuckled before turning back to remark to his friend, only to slam into something.
"Oi, watch where you're going kid." The object demanded in a slurred rasp, assaulting the blonde boy's nose with an extremely strong scent of alcohol. Bill coughed and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Yeah, sure mate, you just take your head out of your glass. Disgusting mate, disgusting." He hissed, glaring up at the man in front of him.
"You got a mouth on you, kid. I'll give you that." The red eyed drunk nodded in some sort of respect, running a hand through his rough black hair. "Watch yourself, eh?" He advised and stumbled through the other three boys, muttering to himself about finding a ride. Bill let the look of disgust hang on his face for another few seconds before shaking his head.
"That was something, eh?" The boy muttered, feeling a pat on his shoulder.
"Yeah, one hell of a way to encounter a full fledged huntsman." Sam agreed, patting his teammate's shoulder again and jerking his head to the side. "You still have to show us where we're actually going, lead the way Cap'n." Bill smirked at the twin and started up the street again, only to stop in his tracks again. He turned and narrowed his eyes.
"Where's Raiko?"
Where was the silent giant? Calmly browsing the suits inside a small store on a street corner with an inquisitive look on his face. The boy held his flagpole at his side as he gently caressed the fabric of each new shirt, ignoring the curious stare from the clerk at the desk. He eyed up a nice jet black tuxedo, simple on its own, but with the red dress shirt thrown over his arm it would fit quite well.
Raiko hummed and took the coat, laying it over his arm, before moving for a pair of pants. A question continued to hang in his head. Why was he doing this? Getting an entire suit for a dance party, just for a girl. Some little girl? Why? The boy paused in his stride, looking at his shoes as he pondered the question. Was it something she saw it him? Perhaps it was nothing, just a little crush.
"Can I help you with anything?" It was the clerk, looking up at the giant with a puzzled expression. Raiko blinked and waved off the girl, shaking his head free of confusing thoughts. He looked at the clothes in his arms one last time and made his way to the counter. He could at least humour the girl.
The trio of boys were almost ready to split up to find their wayward friend when the tall blonde appeared from thin air, surprising Bill.
"Dah! Bloody hell, Raiko!" The boy cried, stumbling away from the towering teen. "Where on Remnant have you been?" Bill snapped, scowling at him.
"Shopping." Was his single 'word' reply. "Needed a suit for that dance that has everyone running about." Raiko explained, getting an eyebrow raise from the smaller blonde.
"You're going to that thing? Never would've thought that I'd see you there, mate." Bill admitted, shrugging and crossing his arms. "Hope you've gotten everything everything you wanted, we've wasted enough time looking for you."
"Lead on then." The blind boy gestured to the street around them, staring down at the boy with an expecting stare. Bill merely shoved past the teen and marched further down the street, towards a large building with massive shattered window facing them. The team glanced at their leader as he walked towards the building, either he was curious about the broken window or that was where his 'important' friend was hiding.
"He's on a mission, eh?" Sam chuckled, following the blonde with a grin. His brother leaned closer to Raiko.
"Keep your head on a swivel around here." Alex murmured, slowly making his way after the pair. Leaving the blind boy to take a long look around before moving towards the shady establishment, pondering how quickly it would take for somebody to get into a fight. Bill stopped in front of a pair of suited goons, raising an eyebrow.
"Howdy, lads." He greeted, giving a two fingered salute. One of the men pushed himself off the wall and scowled at the teen.
"Club's closed, kid. Take a hike." He ordered in a low sneer, doing little besides putting a smirk on the blonde's face.
"Junior's club never closes, that's a fact. Don't lie to me." Bill chuckled and started towards the doors, getting halted by the goon's hand latching onto his shoulder.
"You deaf? The club's closed, now get lost-" The blonde sent an elbow into the man's liver, winding him and dropping him like a sack of potatoes. The second guard shot to his feet and raised a red machete, finding a fist flying into his throat before he had even opened his mouth to shout.
"Well done, you just beat up a pair of random guards." Alex grunted with an annoyed frown. "For doing their job." His leader shrugged.
"I want in, so I'm going in." He replied without an ounce of regret, flicking a thumb to the now guardless door. His smug grin faded when his eyes passed over Raiko's stoic glare, turning into a look of unease. Bill snapped his gaze back to the double doors, stepping forwards and throwing them open.
It was immediately obvious that the club was closed for a reason. Glass lay shattered, suited goons sat about with bruised wounds and Junior along with his bodyguards slouched at the ruined bar. The blonde whistled and started down the stairs, glancing around the dancefloor.
"Damn, this place got smashed." Sam noted, looking at the completely destroyed wall of glass. He elbowed his twin's arm. "Guess they had one hell of a party, eh?"
"Might've been gang related." The other brown haired teen suggested with a grunt, getting a shrug from his brother. Team BRAS attracted many eyes as they moved towards the bar, though the hateful stares turned to curiosity at the towering Raiko and his banner. The blind giant turned his gaze towards a man behind the counter, leaning against the bartop with a bottle in his hand.
Raiko veered off, leaving the trio to stand in front of the namesake of the club. Junior raised an eyebrow at the smirking blonde, narrowing his eyes at the boy's clothing.
"I thought the two guards at the door were telling everyone that we were closed." The man spat, flinging his hand around and gesturing to his ruined establishment. "You hunters have already done enough."
"Hunters!?" Bill snapped and slammed a fist against the counter, baring a snarl. Alex's hand landed on his leader's shoulder, giving a firm pull to reign the boy back. The blonde glared at the suited man, slowly leaning back and pulling his hand from the sizable dent in the bartop. "What… do you mean by hunters?" He asked calmly, leveling his gaze upon the older man.
Junior swallowed and adjusted his tie, jerking his head at the many weapons aimed at the trio of teens. "A girl came in here, think about a week or so ago. She destroyed everything and as you can see, we're still trying to rebuild this place. Bloody girl wanted information, so she wrecked my club." He explained, barely holding back a venomous tone. "Now you come in, after shaking my men up even more, for what?"
"Information." Bill answered with his usual smirk, a cheerful glint in his eye. The other man sighed, waving the twin girls from his side. "Ah, right. You two, go find something to do." The blonde ordered, flicking a thumb over his shoulder. The brown haired teens stepped back from the pair, moving towards their taller friend who was distracting himself with a number of liquor bottles in front of him.
"You're kidding me, Raiko." Sam exclaimed, snatching one of the empty bottles and glancing at its label. "Atlas Scorch? This stuff can start forest fires." Raiko shrugged and took another swig from the whiskey in his hand, shifting his other hand to itch at his throat. Sam chuckled. "Fucking maniac." The twin glanced up and found his brother talking with a grunt nearby, both sat next to a bear head.
"You had a huntress problem?" Alex greeted as he watched the man sip away at a glass of orange liquid.
"Eeyup, just my luck that I'd get my arse beat by a busty blonde." The goon sarcastically answered, dryly smirking to himself. "She didn't even stick around to see she had killed anybody, typical."
"Typical?" The brown haired teen echoed with a raised eyebrow, getting a grunt from the man.
"No offence, but hunters are bloody useless when it comes to actual people. Like, do they forget that we aren't Grimm? We don't just disappear, not like that." He snapped his fingers, looking sideways at the boy. "You're not arguing." The man noted.
"No need, I'm no hunter." Alex responded with a cold stare.
"Heh, a huntsman-in-training, right?" The goon chuckled. "Listen, I'm just a DJ, but do me a favour and don't be a dipshit, yeah?" The brown haired boy grunted.
"Consider it done." The man looked up with a raised eyebrow before barking with laughter.
"You're a sharp guy. Name's Harold, DJ for the local gang." He stated with a nod and a raise of his glass.
"Alex." Was all the teen said, getting a scoff from the man.
"Nothing else? No titles?" Harold asked, leaning in with a grin. Alex snorted and shook his head.
"Just a normal teen in Vale." Came his reply, igniting another fit of laughter from the DJ.
"I'm just about the most exciting person in this conversation. I got thrown from up there-" He pointed to a wrecked booth above the dance floor. "-broke a rib or two, watched the twins get their teeth pushed in and Junior booted out the window." The twin blinked in shock.
"A huntress hit a civilian through a window?" He asked with a surprised grunt.
"Eeyup." Harold replied, nodding as if it was a normal day. Alex shook his head and leaned back on the stool.
"Typical hunters, always causing a mess." The pair let out low chuckles, continuing their own conversation as Raiko drank like a desperate man while Sam looked on in mock disappointment. Leaving only Bill as he spoke in low tones with the boss.
"No."
"Junior-"
"No." The man snapped, planting a finger against the bartop. "You could've asked for anyone else, literally anyone in Remnant. Of course, you chose her." He glared at the smirking teen across from him.
"Come on, Junior, pal. You know everything, you should know a bit about the witch herself." Bill said, sending the suited into a state of red faced annoyance.
"Don't say that around here, she has ears everywhere." Junior hissed, getting only a laugh from the teen.
"Scared of fairy tales, mate? You should've grown out of those old stories, everyone else has." The blond smiled sweetly. "So where did the witch come from? An old cave? The swamp?" The other man sighed, dragging his hand down his face.
"All I know is that she came into town with a pair of henchmen, came up with a deal with Roman and apparently she even has the White Fang in her pocket." Junior whispered, glancing around in an overly cautious way.
"That's all you know?" Bill asked with a doubtful expression, getting only a grunt from the man. "Guess I should've expected that, eh? She always was mysterious. Hell, during our first meeting all she did was smile and stand on the sidelines." The blond explained as he reached for a glass, shaking it for a refill. Junior rolled his eyes and pulled a bottle from beneath the bartop. "Cheers."
"Don't mention it." The older man as the boy downed the drink, stood up and whistled loudly. Sam and Raiko slipped from the bar and marched over to their leader swiftly, Alex took his time saying his goodbyes but soon appeared next to the trio.
"Let's get moving, boys." Bill twirled on his heel and led the way back up to the doors, leaving Junior to nurse his head as he realised he might've made more trouble for himself.
The boys in brass reached the landing pads within a few minutes, finding it empty except for another team waiting for their ride home. Bill leaned against a nearby bench and crossed his arms, looking back at the city. He felt something appear next to him and found his giant friend looming over his shoulder.
"Yes, Raiko?" The shorter blonde asked, adopting a frown as the blind boy glared at him.
"You should hold your tongue in these unfamiliar lands." Raiko signed with a scowl, causing the other boy to recoil in confusion.
"What? Why? Because I'm curious about our very friendly ally?" He snapped in return. The taller boy took a step forwards, towering even taller over Bill.
"Danger lies everywhere in this place, do not make unnecessary enemies." The pair stared at each other for a moment, eyes locked in a silent battle. Luckily, their staring contest ended when both the third team and the bullhead approached the landing pad. Raiko watched his leader stomp away, ever so slightly frowning as the boy shoved aside Sam.
Besides the confrontation on the ground, the trip back to Beacon went smoothly. Even the redhead valkyrie didn't cause too much hassle, besides almost giving her friend a heart attack twice. Either way, the boys were back in uniform and scattered around the academy, wasting time in their own ways. With the gentle sounds of piano echoing through the halls, the song escaped as a faint whisper into the grounds outside.
Both of the twins were sitting in the gardens, one whittling away at a hunk of wood and the other calmly listening to the distant piano. Sam flicked a loose bit of wood from his knife before hunching over and gently slicing a sliver from the rounded chunk of oak, quietly humming to himself as he worked. His brother was staring at nothing, his eyes locked forwards.
The pair were unfortunately joined by a not so friendly group of boys, leading the way was a particularly angry fellow. "Hey you!" He barked at the brothers, interrupting their peace and quiet. The knife wielding twin glanced up and smiled at the other teen.
"Why hello there. Fancy seeing you around these parts, eh?" Sam greeted the brown haired bully, mockingly bowing at him. Cardin just sneered at the boy before turning to Alex.
"You. You did something to Dove, now you're going to fix it." He ordered, poking the seated twin's chest.
"No." Was his only response, inciting an angry huff from the bigger bully who decided to try his luck at intimidation.
"Listen here, you little shit. If you don't help my friend here, I'll make your life a living hell." Cardin threatened, raising and poking a finger into Alex's chest. All he got was a deep chuckle from his 'victim'. Alex stood up and looked at the shivering boy behind Russel, grunting at the boy.
"The fear will disappear in another day, you will suffer through it." With that last comment, the man of few words walked away. Leaving a smirking twin and an infuriated brown-haired bully in the gardens, still catching the faintest sound of piano from the academy's halls. Opposing the peace were the sounds of heavy punches coming from the gym, a place where sweat was mass produced.
Five punches flew at a padded bag, another two came from the left and the next swung from the right. The blonde clenched his teeth and threw one last punch, snapping the chain and throwing the punching bag across the floor. Bill cracked his neck and stomped over to the bag, throwing it onto his shoulder and moving it towards the edge of the room. He slammed the padding down with a thunderous bang, making a few of the other boys jump.
"This stuff is useless, well and truly useless." Bill said with an amused smile, looking around for something else to do. His gaze landed on another blonde who was staring at him with a certain glint in her eye, she waved him over. "This is trouble." He muttered and approached the girl, and the ring she stood in.
"I see you punched that bag pretty hard, want to hit something else?" She questioned with a wink, wearing a cheeky grin. Her eyes still holding that taunting look within their purple orbs.
"Let's hope you can take a hit, lass." Bill sneered as he vaulted over the ropes, slowly walking past the girl and striping his singlet off. The other blonde whistled, though the boy ignored it and turned on his heel to stare at her.
"Already getting undressed? You haven't even asked me out to dinner." Yang giggled, raising her arms into a boxing stance.
"Rules?" BRAS' leader asked, only getting a smirk for an answer. Bill shrugged and extended a fist, keeping his other arm up to guard his face. The pair stood glaring at each other for a moment, then the fiery blonde lunged forwards with a furious haymaker. Her grin was unbreaking as she swung, her fist nearing his exposed right cheek.
Then she was on her back, breathless and heaving. The girl curled into a fetal position as Bill retracted his fist, held at just the right height to smash Yang's liver. He sighed and shook his head at the winded girl.
"I thought you could take hit, lass. My mistake, sorry." The boy said sheepishly, leaning down and offering his hand. She took it and, with a groan, clambered to her feet. Bill was halfway down to grab his shirt when Yang flicked out her scroll and shouted.
"How the-? My Aura's in the red?!" Her eyes were locked on the boy when he turned back around, very angry and red eyes. "What did you do?" She hissed at the other blonde.
"I hit you." Bill answered calmly, in a very matter of fact tone. The girl started towards him, stopping only when he raised a finger. "You should know your own limits, lass. I only gave you a lil' love tap." Both teens stared at each other, frowning and glaring. Until Yang snorted and Bill cracked a grin, the pair exploded with laughter.
"You're not too bad." The fiery blonde admitted, nodding at her fellow blonde in admiration. "But my jokes hold a bit more of a Yang, eh?" Like that, Bill was scowling again.
"That was truly despicable, one of the worst I've ever heard and I'm the comedic genius." He stated as his opponent giggled to herself.
"How did you manage to hit me hard enough to knock me into the red?" She asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow, amused yet curious.
"Hmm? Oh, that was easy, lass. We've been training for awhile now, few decades you'll be tearing limbs off." Yang blinked in surprise, recoiling as she played back what she just heard.
"Decades?" The girl echoed, frowning firmly as she realised something. "But you're only eighteen."
"Aye, probably." Bill nodded, promptly jumping over the ropes and walking off. Yang watched the boy with a narrow gaze, very much suspicious of the strange teen. She huffed and vaulted the ring, jogging over to the changing rooms. Maybe she'll figure out this feeling later, maybe.
The music hall soon fell silent and Raiko was roaming the halls, stomping past hordes of students from the many schools around Remnant. His towering presence made it very easy for the boy to move through the school, like a knife through butter the crowds parted before the banner. His gaze was locked dead ahead, until a glint from outside blinded him. The blonde turned and found the shining object in question, a piece of golden metal poking out from behind a tree.
Raiko paused before turning around and marching back up the hall towards the exit, his face now unexpectedly excited. His banner was gently swaying in the breeze as the giant marched towards the oaken tree. The man sitting below the leaves glanced up with a startled grunt, placing a golden coin into his pocket and quickly standing up.
"Ave!" He greeted with a salute, slapping a closed fist against his other forearm, forming something similar to a martial arts bow. Raiko smiled and returned the motion, only hitting his other fist; currently locked around the flagpole. "Great to see you again, sorry but it's just a report." The man said with a apologetic smile, pulling around a satchel hanging from his shoulder. He dug around for something then yanked out a letter. "Well, this was the most difficult delivery yet. Hope that report is about something good."
"Hopefully, take care out there." Raiko leaned in and whispered, nodding at the messager with a look of extreme respect in his clouded eyes. The other man flicked a two finger salute from his brow, adjusting his hood and grinning.
"Good luck." He said and glanced left to right before running off, leaving the blind boy to look at the letter in his hand. Raiko smirked as he walked back towards the doorway, sliding the half read report into his shirt pocket. Now he was hungry. The giant made headway and appeared in the cafeteria, his frame surprising the few teens that were still in the hall. His journey for food ended quickly with a tray of food in one hand, he sat at an empty table
His meal was already halfway down his maw when somebody joined him, seating themselves across from him. The boy swallowed his mouthful and gently wiped his lip with his thumb, finally sitting straight and staring at his company. It was a familiar face, one hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.
"We meet again." Coco stated, a serious frown on her face. She lowered her glasses with a delicate finger and frowned. "Listen up, hun. Velvet seems very interested in you for some reason. Now, while I wouldn't give a damn if it was anyone else, I do care about what my teammates are doing." Raiko silently stared at her with a bored gaze. "I'll cut to the chase for you."
Suddenly, the girl was in his face, leaning over the table. "If you hurt her in any way, I will end you. Got that, hun?" Her warning was heard, and promptly ignored as the blonde teen gave a small smile. Coco narrowed her eyes and hopped off the table, raising her glasses onto her nose. "Make sure she has a good night." She finished and stormed off, still feeling that hateful glare locked on her head.
Luckily, the mood was cheery with the twins of his team. Their strides in sync as they waltzed through the gardens.
"I'm assuming that kid bothered you after I left?" Alex started with a sneer.
"Aye, thought him and his gang were tough guys. He got all huffy when I flicked him and his boys the bird, like his face was proper red." Sam laughed and patted his brother on the back. "Think that guy you hit will recover?"
"Probably." The twin grunted in return, shaking his head a few times. "He deserves it, hopefully it puts something in his head."
"What? Regret or something?" Sam grinned, watching as his brother chuckled deeply.
"What else?" The pair looked at each other before erupting with laughter, turning down another stone path as they giggled to themselves. Alex wiped a finger under his chin before humming. "I think Raiko's planning something." The other brown haired boy frowned in confusion.
"He's always-"
"No, I mean with Bill, remember his face when we left the club?" Sam grunted.
"Yup, something scary in those eyes." The conversation ended, though not by simply dropping the subject. Instead, the pair were dragged into the bushes to the side of the path. Alex was midway through throwing a punch when he realized it was a student who had grabbed them, a blonde girl with large assets. He narrowed his eyes at her raised hands.
"Easy boys, I just had a few questions about your friend." Yang stated quickly, getting the boy to at least lower his hand. The twins exchanged glances before properly dropping their tense stances, with Sam crossing arms and jerking his head at the girl.
"We could certainly answer some questions, just need a name first." He cheerfully added with a grin.
"Your leader, Bill. How does he hit so hard?" Her question flew at the brothers, almost shocking them.
"Really? That's easy to answer, he trained." Sam answered easily. "We all did, trained for a good couple years and now we hit like 'roided Goliaths. It's how we beat those bastards in class so easily." The blonde had a look of concentration on her face, then she asked another question.
"Could you teach me how you hit so hard?" It was Alex who answered, simply grunting in amusement.
"We can't do that, Raiko could. Maybe. Though he wouldn't do it for free."
"So what you're saying is I have to beat him in a fight, right?" Both of the twins blinked in blank confusion.
"I-I guess?" The other brother hesitantly answered, watching a grin spread over Yang's face. She nodded a few times before turning on her heel.
"Guess I gotta find the big lug, eh?" Like that, she was gone and the twins were left flabbergasted. Only one exchanged look and the pair were sprinting off to find their giant of a friend, and hopefully convince him not to punch out a stubborn girl. Bill already knew what was coming when he saw the blonde appear before him, her eyes alight with something dangerous. He raised an eyebrow at Yang before finally speaking.
"You need something, lass?" The boy asked curiously, grinning at her with a smug look. "Don't tell me you want to try your hand at another spar." The blonde shook her head firmly.
"Nope, I want to have a team on team fight. RWBY versus… what's your team's name again?"
"BRAS, the metal kind." Came her answer, nice and simple. Yang waved her hand through the air.
"So you against us, you in?" She asked impatiently, tapping her fingers against the table. Bill leaned back in his seat and frowned.
"Shouldn't your leader be organizing this with me, why do you even want a fight?" The girl merely shrugged.
"Ruby won't mind and do I really need a reason? Come on, unless you're too chicken?" She taunted, getting a laugh out of the blonde boy.
"Sure, why not. Give me five minutes to gather the boys, we'll give you a show lass. Don't be late." Bill cheerfully warned and stood up, flicking out his Scroll and marching out of the cafeteria. In his wake, a grinning blonde girl with a deathwish. Elsewhere, about a minute later, a trio of boys were storming through the few students still in the halls.
"Alright, I'll admit that I think this is a bad idea." Sam said in a surprisingly nervous voice, his brother grunting in agreement. The giant they flanked let out a mute huff.
"Which part? Bill calling us to the arena, or the fact there's apparently a suicidal girl wanting to fight me?" Raiko signed sarcastically, glancing back at the pair. Alex shrugged.
"I'd say that girl is desperate." He said, adding his own two cents into the conversation.
"Aye, especially if she wants to fight you." The other brown haired boy hit Raiko's shoulder, causing the taller boy to shake his head.
"Either way, we'll put an end to that desperation. Hopefully." He signed as an afterthought, shoving aside another huntsman-in-training with his blank emotionless face. The group found that they weren't the first to the arena, as the all girls team stood to the side and Bill leaned against one of the benches. He immediately stood up when the door opened, approaching them with an evil smirk.
"Righto lads, here's what's happening-"
"The blonde wants a fight, so she dragged her team into it." Raiko interrupted with a narrow gaze. "So you let her drag us into it." The shorter blonde scoffed and shook off the accusation.
"I thought it'd be a good bit of exercise, beat up a few more hunters and ruin somebody's day." He explained, only to have Alex grunt in annoyance.
"You've ruined my day." The inevitable confrontation stopped when they heard an angry cry from the other team, Bill turned back to his own group with an expression of impatient irritation
"It's too late to back out now, boys. You can have a go at me after this, yeah?" His friends hesitantly nodded, growing a smile on the blonde boy's face. He returned the nods and twisted around. "Oi! Are we doing this or not, girlies?" His taunt instantly turned heads, and the girl in the red cape pouted.
"Just a second!" She called back, turning to her team and no doubt trying to do what BIll just did. While it took a moment longer, eventually her team all turned and started towards the changing rooms. Bill looked at his friends before muttering.
"Give 'em a fighting chance, lads. Seven minutes, tops." With that, the four teens made way to their locker rooms. Plates of brass firmly locked together, straps of leather latched and helmets covering faces. Weapons shone in angry fists and breaths came in misty vapour, the team was ready for a fight.
The darkness might've hid their forms, but it did nothing to hide their heavy footsteps and rattling chainmail. Raiko saw the girl in red flinch with each echoing footfall, all in harsh, disciplined sync. He felt the light cover his arms as his stomped out of the dark, banner held in an iron grip and denting the ground as it dropped with every second stride.
Alex was beside him, the most faithful executioner. His squarish sword was almost attached to his shoulder, leaving his fist free to pound at his chestplate with dull, sharp clanks. The other twin, Sam, mimicked his leader; praising the heavens with his halberd held upright and preparing to lay judgement down. Bill merely assisted with the beating, smashing his fist against his left forearm for a chattering jury. His twin swords at his sides.
Their helmeted vistages were already a stunning sight, now the wave of vapour that escaped appeared almost monstrous. Like a bull, raring to charge its prey. The giant made one last step before planting the banner into the floor at his side, staring directly at the black haired girl with his chest held high and slowly moving with heaving breaths. Alex hauled his blade from his shoulder and took his place, fingers tapping the grip as he stared down the shortest member of the enemy team.
Sam was less formal, taking his weapon in both hands and leering at the white haired heiress, barbaric in stature. Bill himself took position right next to Raiko, flipping the latches on his sheaths off and gripping the handles. His eyes were locked on the blonde girl opposite him, her sights on his giant ally. Both teams glared at each other, waiting for the automatic timer to buzz the fight into the arena. It came without warning, though there was no hesitation in either team as they made their moves.
Almost off the bat, Bill twisted around his taller friend and lunged at Ruby, throwing himself right in front of Weiss' incoming thrust and wiping her sword aside with his mystical cloak. Alex took his chance to fling his greatsword across his body, sending a sweeping blow against the remaining three girls in their way. Putting the black haired teen of RWBY in Sam's warpath,who thonked her forehead with the blunt of his polearm. Her eyes glowed with surprise as the boy twirled through the air, raising the halberd high as he came back down to crush her.
Yang attempted to get a punch off at the frozen form of Raiko, only to feel a cold arm appear around her waist and yank her backwards. The blonde's eyes widened as she stumbled back, narrowly punching the descending blade coming from the other twin. She scowled and charged forth, trying her best to get close to Alex. Unfortunately, he was little interested in having close contact, and he heaved his blade for a mighty blow against the girl's abdomen; once again sending her away from the fight.
Her gaze flicked to her sister, who was dashing away from the other cloaked teen; his weapon blurring through the air as he chased Ruby down. It shifted to the Ice-Princess, who seemed to be on her own against the slowly approaching giant. Weiss was rapidly throwing her glyphs around the boy, each time another appeared Raiko banged his banner against the floor, letting the haunting echo distract her from forming the strange symbols. Finally, the white haired girl lunged forwards with a surprise thrust.
Unfortunately, the giant was all too happy to latch his free hand around her wrist; halting the thin sword inches from his chestplate. Her surprised gaze turned upwards to his visor, just moments before she was brought closer then promptly discarded into the air; right into Sam's swing, the strike throwing the teen into her teammate, knocking the pair into a pile while their leader let out a cry of shock.
"No! Monochrome!" She cried, ducking under a swift lunge from her fellow huntsman. "Ah!" The girl felt her Aura recoil from the unexpected kick that flew immediately after the missed strike, its weighty contact sneaking into her ribs. Ruby narrowed her eyes and rolled backwards, firing her sniper rifle directly into Bill's leg. The boy grunted, barely stopping before he brought his longsword down in an attack that would clearly miss. If not for the recoil, Ruby would've felt the sting of his cape flapping into her face. "Stop that!"
Bill cracked his neck and stomped towards the tiny girl, shifting his swings from left to right as he bore down upon the huntress. Ruby's Aura flashed with each blow, falling closer and closer to the red until she threw out a wild swing with her gigantic scythe, already knowing she had just made a grave mistake. The blonde boy swirved under the curved blade and returned with a furious uppercut, right to the smaller girl's gut. Barely a minute into the fight and the Aura bell dinged once, signalling that Ruby was out of the fight. The sound distracted Yang for a moment, just enough time for Alex to release one of his hands from his mighty sword and deliver a swift but harsh backhand to the sister's cheek.
The blonde fell and started to rise again, only to feel a hand grab a handful of her mane and a following knee smash into her jaw. With rage and stars clouding her vision, and ringing filling her ears, Yang could do little except cry out in defeat as the twin that stood above her raised his guillotine-like sword and come down with a crushing strike from the flat of his blade. Again, the bell rang.
"Blake, be careful. Stay together." The white haired girl warned as the remaining pair moved closer, with Weiss taking position in front; staring down the entire team of armoured teens-no… these were monsters, and they were the prey. Her rapier flicked out at the incoming twins, flashing against their prodding blades. Sam let out a bark of laughter, planting his polearm into the floor in a fit of excitement.
"Raiko! Lock 'em down for me, please?" He begged in a sarcastic voice, looking back at his giant friend and shaking his free hand; like he was trying to get rid of a stinging pain. Raiko merely stared forwards, locking unseen eyes with the heiress' own, and gave the floor a single, loud tap of his flagpole. His hand extended from the banner's shaft, pointing at the last two girls with a threatening authority.
Weiss felt her legs seize up, glancing down she found one of her own glyphs on the ground. Her eyes instantly snapped back to the silent bannerman behind the knightly trio, his gaze just as unfeeling as his cold armour. Sam let out a loud laugh and reached his free hand back, imitating a javelin thrower's pose. His armour shone golden as sparks of orange lightning burst from his hand, forming an entire spear in his palm.
"W-what?" Was all Blake could stutter before the brown haired boy threw the bolt at their feet, saying one last word as the lightning left his hand.
"Catch." Four minutes, four dings and four teens wiped out, this was a victory for BRAS. The lights snapped on, bathing the groaning girls in white light. Bill pushed his blades into their sheaths and yanked his helmet off, smiling and offering a hand to the nearby Ruby. She took it and found herself upright within seconds, not helping the aching pain in her torso.
"Sorry about that lass, forgot my own strength for a moment." The boy apologised with a soft grin. Fortunately, the younger teen accepted it.
"It's ow-fine, I was just surprised!" She stated, pouting at the chuckling blonde. "That was a good fight."
"Aye, you put up quite the fight, lass." Bill nodded in respect, patting the caped girl on the shoulder. "Just need to work on moving away from the danger." He joked, taking the punch the pouting girl threw at him. Behind him, the twins were assisting the shaking pair of girls off the floor.
"You all good? Heart fluttering? Heart even going?" Sam was questioning Blake, glancing at her with a cheerful expression. The girl shuddered and glared at the boy.
"I-I'm fine." She hissed, almost immediately feeling a shock run over her already low Aura. Next to them, the other brown haired teen was being hounded by the white haired Weiss. Her anger at their downfall may have been directed at Raiko, though Alex was a fine scapegoat.
"Your friend cheated! Your friend's Semblance is throwing lightning, there's no feasible way that he can create glyphs! That's been in the Schnee family for- forever!" The heiress snapped, flicking a finger to the taller teen's helmeted face; her eyes locked with where she thought the twin's eyes were.
'Raiko doesn't cheat." Alex grunted with an amused tone. "He brings victory." That did little to simmer the smaller girl's rage, at least her words were directed at him and not the blind giant. The mute teen marched over to Yang, who sat cross legged on the floor. She wore an expression of both shock and suspicion, glaring at the floor until his brass boots entered her vision.
She tilted her head up and stared at the boy, silently fuming with narrow eyes. Raiko flipped his visor open, gave the blonde a grin and lower a hand towards her. Yang raised an eyebrow at the action, giving the taller teen the sneaking suspicion that the girl would hit him, then she smirked and grabbed the offered hand.
"That was a pretty cool move." She whispered and started to lean closer to him, eyes slowly closing. Raiko shoved the blonde back, an echoing grunt escaping him. Her eyes snapped open, mouth hung open in surprise. His eyes were blaze, rage clear as day. The arena went silent, all eyes on the boy as he turned and swiftly marched into the locker rooms. Thanks to him, nobody saw the shadowy figure slip back out through the door.
Raiko paced inside the music hall, each step echoing with an audible clang. He stopped, twisted on his heel, then took off in his angry stride again. His mind ran with muddled thought. How dare that girl think she could do that? It wasn't natural, it was simply wrong. Thankfully, his mind was put to rest when the door opened and another pair of boots entered the room.
"So, you're him." The newcomer stated, his voice a uniquely accented rumble. "Never thought I'd meet the head of this little faction, not this early at least." The blind boy turned and gave the visitor a nod.
"And I thought I'd never meet our first Mainland soldier before he died." He said calmly, letting a respectful smile bloom across his face.
"Yet here I am." The other man said with a shrug, crossing his muscled arms.
"Yet here you are." Raiko echoed. "From White Fang grunt to a respectable individual, a welcome change isn't it?"
"Heh." The man scoffed, leaning against a nearby piano. "It is a… acceptable change. No more needless bloodshed in the name of some ignorant idiot, no more faunus blood spilt for him."
"But now you shed blood in the name of a foreign army?" Raiko noted, getting another shrug in return.
"Not innocent blood." He grunted in return. "Captain wanted me me to explain the rest of the report, said to 'Add the fun details'." The blonde chuckled and nodded a few times, fishing out the letter from his pocket.
"That does sound like Glare, let's hear it then. From the top, what happened on that mountain?"
