The Wastelanders immediately knew that the next class would be much more to their liking than history. A small arena was set below rows of elevated seats, the floor marked with occasional burn marks and small craters. Raziel exchanged grins with his team as they took their seats, all of them very much hoping that their suspicions would be confirmed. The teacher strode in promptly at the bell and took her place in the center of the arena. "I see we have four new students today." She said, her voice cold.
"Hello." Axel said with a carefree grin. "Happy to be here."
"Hm." She said, studying them individually for a moment each. "You do know how to fight, correct?"
"On occasion." Axel replied.
She gestured down to the arena and said, "Well then, one of you may start this class off. Please, choose your opponent."
Axel got to his feet and rolled his shoulders in preparation. Raziel grabbed his friend's cloak and muttered, "Don't go all out. Not unless you absolutely need to in order to win."
"Oh don't worry." Axel laughed, striding away. "I shouldn't need to."
He sauntered down the row of seats and leapt onto the arena, landing easily. He turned back to the students in the class and looked over them with interest. "Hm…" He said as he searched. He sighed and gave an exaggerated shrug with a shake of his head. "I just can't decide. I'll fight anyone."
A gray haired man stood up and slowly made his way to the arena. He jumped down to the arena and smiled at Axel. "Sounds like fun." He said with a deadly serious smile.
Axel's eyes narrowed immediately, studying his opponent in his entirety. The greaves on his legs were clearly his principal weapon, but unlike the other students Axel could not begin to guess what his semblance was. "Aah, Mr. Black." The professor was saying, her riding crop in her hand as she crossed her arms and studied the match. "Very well, take your positions."
They made their way to the opposite sides of the arena and Mercury took a defensive stance, his feet spread shoulder length apart. Axel began to sway slightly, his grin growing slightly manic. Mercury frowned at his opponent as they began to slowly circle one another. "What?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. "No weapon?"
Axel laughed and wagged a finger at Mercury. "I doubt I will need it against you." He admitted, but he raised his arms to shoulder height. "But who knows? Maybe you will surprise me!"
In the stands, Raziel smiled as flames began to dance around Axel's outstretched arms. The temperature in the room began to rise very quickly and soon it was sweltering in the class room. Ruby hopped her seat over until she sat next to Raziel and asked, "What's going on?"
"Just watch." Raziel told her, gesturing towards Axel.
The flames around Axel's hands began to form a shape and soon two crimson red and snow white chakrams were held loosely in his hands. The flames seemed to drip like water from the chakrams although the fire vanished before it could hit the ground. Axel's swaying grew more pronounced, something that obviously unnerved Mercury. He made a sound of annoyance before leaping towards Axel with a savage kick aimed towards the red haired man's head. Axel threw one chakram towards Mercury and it connected with one boot. Mercury kicked the weapon away, landing in a crouch before swinging his legs around to aim for Axel's legs. The second chakram came down, spinning against the marble floor, and Mercury's attack was blocked. "Burn!" Axel roared with the same manic grin he had been wearing for the duration of the fight.
Mercury's eyes widened and he was only just barely able to catapult himself into the air as a pillar of flame sprang forth from the center of the circular blade. Had he not moved Mercury knew without a doubt he would have been incinerated. As he leapt into the air he heard something cutting through the air behind him just as Axel grinned. Mercury twisted his body and managed to take the brunt of the first chakram's return to his arms. Axel looked up and snapped his fingers and the pointed blades of the chakram began to burn, creating a spiraling flame that sent Mercury crashing away. The gray haired man slammed into an opposite wall and slid to the bottom, smoking and clearly unconscious.
"That's enough!" The professor declared, quickly making her way over to Mercury. Axel gave a disappointed sigh and shook his head. She pointed her riding crop towards Mercury and the burns on his arms quickly began to heal. Satisfied with this, she turned back to Axel and raised her riding crop threateningly. Axel summoned both chakrams back to his hands and raised an eyebrow. "You! That was far too dangerous. Were you intending to kill him?"
"If you aren't ready to die you shouldn't fight." Axel answered back savagely. The chakrams vanished and he shrugged. "I guess you capital people don't think like that."
Mercury's team carried him out of the arena and presumably to the medical office. "Perhaps one of your team mates should be taught a lesson in manners. Maybe that will teach you. Ms. Nikos, please join me on the stage if you will."
Professor Goodwich looked over the other members of Team ARRC before focusing on Raziel. "You." She said, motioning for him to join Pyrrha in the arena. Raziel got to his feet and smiled slightly as he dropped down into the arena.
Axel chuckled softly as he walked past Raziel. "Don't have too much fun." He whispered.
"I plan to." Raziel answered the same. He pulled one sword free, revealing a red and black blade. "I hope you are as good as I think you are." He called to Pyrrha who had drawn her sword/spear combination and shield.
Raziel let the tip of his sword drag the ground as they circled one another, an occasional spark flying up from the contact. Pyrrha attacked first, leaping forward and cutting at Raziel's chest. He stepped back and returned the blow, aiming for her exposed arm. He wasn't at all surprised when she brought her shield up to counter the attack, but he was surprised when his sword stuck to the shield for a moment. He was momentarily thrown off balance and nearly was knocked off his feet as she swung a retaliating blow to the back of his legs. He fell on to his back before pushing to his feet again and cutting a backhand towards his opponent, frowning as he worked out her ability. His backhanded cut passed by her harmlessly as she leaned backward. He felt his sword shake slightly and his sword continued traveling just slightly farther than he had intended it to. Only when he ripped his second sword from his scabbard was he able to stop Pyrrha's attack against him. The second blade was beautiful, the white and blue mixed blade seemingly at odds with the malevolent black and red sword.
As the match continued, Axel watched with interest as the second blade appeared. "Looks like Pyrrha has some serious fighting ability." He observed aloud. He glanced up the fighter's respective aura levels and saw that Pyrrha's was still nearly full.
"She's a world class fighter." Weiss said dismissively. "Your friend doesn't have a chance. I'm surprised he's managed to fight her for this long."
Axel's laugh seemed to annoy Weiss and intrigue Ruby. However it was Yang who asked, "I bet that this Raziel guy has some serious skills."
Axel raised an eyebrow as Pyrrha and his teammate exchanged a series of blows almost too fast for the eye to follow. "I've never seen him lose." Axel said when he realized that they were waiting for a response of some sort. "The problem with Raziel is that he doesn't like using his semblance otherwise this would already be over."
"Did you not hear me?" Weiss asked irritably. "Pyrrha is a world class fighter. Your friend might be strong but she is stronger."
Axel stared her down for a long minute before he said, "If Raziel uses his semblance here, she dies." He said bluntly. "I've only seen him use it once. It nearly leveled a mountain."
"Whoa." Ruby said, her eyes filled with awe. "I wanna see it!"
