Welcome to Phase 3 of Still Alive!
Well, this story is now my top priority. I got like 157 views, 4 followers, 2 favorites and 2 reviews. Despite it not being that much, it still means a lot to me. Thank you Rebel-Raven4 and...uh...Guest!
I'm really glad to know that you guys are enjoying my story. As thanks, again, I decided to update earlier than originally planned. So with that all said and done, I hope you'll enjoy Phase 3!
As always, I do not own BlazBlue nor RWBY.
There, I said it. You happy?
Don't worry, I was just messing with you guys!
Enjoy!
-IIXII-
Each members of Team RWBY, who were in their casual clothes, continued to stare at him, and that made him nervous. All he could do to make himself feel less uncomfortable was to focus his gaze onto the nearby desk, rubbing his arm with his other hand as he did. "Uh...a pleasure to meet you girls. M-My name is Kazuma Kval. We've met earlier," he said.
"You're that guy who came out of that light!" Yang proclaimed with widened eyes, still pointing at him. This prompted the others to land their eyes on her, giving her weird looks. "What?"
"Congratulations Yang, you won a prize," Weiss muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes. She then eyed the vessel with her icy stare, then folded her arms. "My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
Kval tilted his head to the side in utter confusion, which prompted Weiss to rub her forehead with an irritated expression. It was clear to them that the vessel was further confused upon witnessing the heiress' reaction.
"Does anyone even know who I am?"
"I-I'm sorry," Kval apologised, only to receive an icy glare from the girl in response. "U-Uh..."
Ruby placed a hand onto her partner's shoulder, laughing nervously. "N-Now Weiss, be nice..." She fixed her gaze onto Kval, and later offered him a small smile. "H-Hi! My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose. But you can just call me Ruby." She held out her hand towards him. "A pleasure to meet you, Kazuma."
Kval took a few seconds to gaze at the girl's hand, and later took it with his own. He gave her hand a firm shake and smiled as well. "Y-Yeah. And I truly apologise for being so...sudden." He pulled his hand back to his side, and was unable to resist scratching his head. "It must be troublesome for you girls to have an extra member."
Ruby shook her head, all the while waving her hands around frantically. "N-No, it's okay! Well...sure it was surprising to suddenly have an extra person assigned to our team, b-but no harm was done!" Figuring that he at least understood the gist of what she meant, Ruby turned around and faced the others. "Team RWBY, introduce yourselves to our new member!" she ordered with a bit of pride in her voice, and later added, "Be nice."
Yang jumped down from her bunk bed in an instant, just so she could hold Kval in a headlock. "Gotcha!"
"E-Eh!?" Kval stared at the blonde from the corner of his eyes, caught off-guard. "Wha...?"
"Name's Yang Xiao Long, but you can just call me Yang. I'm Ruby's older sister by the way." Yang grinned a wide grin, and said, "Nice to have you with us, rookie."
"I-Is she always like this?" Kval asked the scythe wielder.
"Yeah...sort of," Ruby answered with a small shrug, already used to her older sister's antics.
As he was busy attempting to free himself from the blonde's unsurprisingly tight grip, only to fail miserably over and over at that, Kval did not take notice of a certain black-haired girl standing right in front of him, who seemed to be scanning his body from head to toe with her amber eyes.
When he finally noticed, however, Kval immediately stopped his struggling and returned the stare with his own. "Um...hi?" he greeted with a nervous smile.
"My name is Blake Belladonna, but you can just call me Blake. It's nice to meet you, Kazuma." She gave Kval a curt nod, her expression nothing but stoic.
"Ah...s-sure..." Kval took note of the black bow on the top her head, and lifted his eyebrows a bit when it suddenly twitched. "Hm?" He tilted his head to one side, causing the black-haired girl to raise one of her eyebrows, before eyeing him suspiciously.
"Is something the matter, Kazuma?" Blake inquired.
"N-No, nothing's wrong," Kval quickly said, chuckling nervously shortly after that. He then shifted his gaze to the blonde who was keeping him in place, and asked, "M-Mind letting me go now?"
Yang's grin grew a tad bit wider, and she answered Kval's question with a simple "Nope!"
"E-Eh!?" Kval exclaimed.
-IIXII-
Ozpin stared out the large window of his office, and couldn't help but enjoy the nice view of his very own academy. He took a quick sip of his coffee to make the feeling all the more better, but thanks to Glynda, who kept pacing around back and forth, he was unable to fully enjoy the flavor of his hot beverage, nor the feeling.
"Ozpin, mind explaining to me the reason why you offered him the choice of learning in this prestigious academy?" Glynda scowled. "I am in need of an answer."
Ozpin sighed. "As I've said before Glynda, I merely chose my decision simply because it was the right thing to do. That young man was clearly not from around here, with no lien. So do you expect me to send him out there to live in the streets of Vale?"
"No..." she muttered. "Fair enough. And I did some research on his old school. However, I couldn't find any information on it whatsoever." Glynda shook her head, and later found herself staring out the large window. "Is it really possible?"
"There are things that even we don't know, Glynda," Ozpin stated. "The world itself is a mysterious place."
Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose and resisted the urge to sigh. "That being said, will he really be allowed to use it in his classes? I am against the idea, Ozpin."
"Well, he seems to take quite a liking to his own uniform. So why bother forcing him to change when he likes it so much?" Ozpin chuckled. "Besides, the uniform looks rather good on him."
"Fine. But why Team RWBY?" Glynda turned to her superior, quite curious.
Ozpin smiled. He went to his desk in order for him to set his empty mug there, and later made his way back towards the large window, staring outside. "Team RWBY seems to get along with everyone, Glynda," he stated simply, ignoring the glare which he was currently receiving from the strict woman.
"That's it?" Glynda asked through gritted teeth, her left eye twitching slightly in anger.
"Show some trust in me, Glynda. I assure you that the decision I made was not a mistake. In fact, the girls were delighted when they received the news." The mere thought of Kval receiving weird looks from the four girls back in their dorm room made Ozpin chuckle. If he could, he'd go and install a camera just so he could watch the whole thing.
"If you say so." Glynda shuddered, if only for a bit. "That boy just...puts me on edge every time he looks at me."
"The way I see it, Kval is a kind and gentle young man, but he certainly needs to work on his social skills. The young man himself reminds me of Ruby Rose, although a lot more quieter in comparison." Ozpin chuckled once more. He then turned to Glynda, and offered her a small smile. "Now, would you be so kind as to pour me another cup of coffee? I'm empty."
All Glynda could do was roll her eyes at the request. She picked up Ozpin's empty mug from the desk, and later began filling it up with his favorite coffee.
-IIXII-
"So you don't have any extra clothes to wear?" Ruby inquired with a tilt of her head.
"I guess not. All I have are these." Kval gestured to his clothes with a sheepish smile. He grew rather uneasy when they stared at him. "I-I can buy my clothes tomorrow..."
Weiss sighed. "I doubt you have any lien in your pockets."
Kval raised an eyebrow at that, seemingly confused. "Lien? What's that?"
The girls stared at him in complete shock. Kval seriously didn't know what lien was, and whether if he was being serious or simply joking, they honestly couldn't tell.
"You...serious?" Yang questioned, shocked. And not only her, but even Blake was equally shocked. Heck, Weiss was no different.
But Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be taking it quite smoothly, oddly enough.
"Lien is money you dunce!" the heiress snapped, which made Kval flinch unintentionally.
"M-My apologies. I'm not from around here." Kval avoided Weiss' icy gaze and scratched his head. "But...thank you for clearing that up. Who knows what might happen to me in the future if you hadn't."
Weiss didn't know why, but the look which was plastered across Kval's face made her feel guilty. Though, it probably has something to do with him being docile. With how he acted, it was hard to scold him, especially if he kept acting like an innocent child who wouldn't stop blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault in the first place. "It's...okay. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that," she said.
Kval shook his head and smiled. "No, it's fine. Really."
"I knew it..." Ruby mumbled, gaining everyone's undivided attention.
Kval turned to Ruby, before raising an eyebrow. "Knew what?"
Ruby kept her gaze locked onto the floor, her eyes hidden under her hair. "I knew it the moment Professor Goodwitch took you away. Falling out of that light, not knowing what lien is..." Then all of a sudden, her expression sharpened. She pointed her finger at the vessel. "Kazuma!"
Kval was seriously frightened for a second there, but what came out of the girl's mouth made him blink. Twice.
"You're an alien!" Ruby accused.
The entire room was filled with silence.
Seconds passed by, but it felt like hours. Ruby was beginning to regret saying what she'd said, but the sound of someone laughing made her think otherwise. The girls of Team RWBY looked to one another, and later turned to Kval.
"T-That's ridiculous Ruby!" Kval covered his mouth in an attempt to stop his laughing, but his efforts were all in vain, unfortunately. Though, he sure seemed to be enjoying himself there. "M-My word..."
Weiss, Yang, and Blake looked to one another for a brief moment, only for them to smile and giggle shortly after. Thinking about it now, the thought of Kval being an actual alien was downright ridiculous.
Ruby, with her cheeks red, wasted no time in turning away from the others in pure embarrassment. She pouted to herself, but was startled a bit when a hand made itself comfortable on the top of her head.
"You're pretty funny for a team leader," Kval commented. He began to ruffle her hair like how a loving person would to a child, and that made Ruby blush even more.
"D-Don't treat me like a kid, Kazuma! I'm your leader! Your leader!" Ruby practically yelled at the vessel's face.
Kval chuckled. "Got it."
Yang elbowed Kval in the ribs, a wide grin plastered across her face. "Making a move on my little sister already? You're a bold one."
Kval took a moment to process what Yang had just said. His cheeks flared red once the pieces came together, and he immediately pulled his hand away from Ruby. "N-No I'm not!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah yeah..." Yang waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, about your bangs," she started.
An uneasy feeling settled in Kval's stomach. He didn't like where this was going. "W-What about them?" he asked.
"We just want to take a good look at your eyes," Blake sounded from right behind him. How she got there so quickly, Kval would never know.
Kval scratched his cheek. "I...rather not."
"Come on rookie," Yang grinned as she took a step forward. "I just want to see what color they are."
"Yang, I'm being serious here." Kval held up his hands in front of him and shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with showing my eyes to others."
"Come on, just for a little while. I won't bite or anything," Yang teased as she took another step forward.
"I. Said. No."
Kval stepped forward, and that alone was enough to make Yang stop her advances, back away even. Judging by the look on the blonde's face, it was quite clear that she hadn't expected him to act like this just because of his eyes.
In truth, Kval wasn't really mad at Yang, or any of them for that matter, but rather he was scared. He just couldn't find it in himself to imagine what their reactions would be if they were to know of his serpentine eyes. It honestly scared him.
Deep down, however, he knew that they'll find out eventually.
"I...lost myself there." Kval offered Yang an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, Yang. I went too far."
"It's...fine." Yang made a guilty look with her face and scratched the back of her head. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I...shouldn't have done that," she mumbled.
The entire room went silent at that.
"Alright, how about this?"
The girls looked to him.
"I'll show you girls my eyes..." Kval took in a deep breath, then continued, "...after you take me to the dining hall. I'm quite hungry."
The members of Team RWBY looked to one another, and later nodded in agreement.
"We agree," Weiss said.
Kval simply stared at them in total disbelief. "You girls...really want to see my eyes that badly huh?" He yelped when Yang came in and secured him in a headlock.
"Of course we do! And it's a deal!" Yang exclaimed.
"Deary me..." Kval sighed at the situation he was in, only to be suddenly released seconds later, much to his confusion.
"Now," Yang grinned. "get out."
"Eh?" Kval gave the blonde a puzzled look. "Why?"
Yang's grin grew somewhat wider than it was before. "Because we're going to change into our uniforms. You're not thinking of peeping on us, are you?" she teased, giggling when his cheeks turned a slight shade of red.
"O-Of course not! T-That being said, I'll be leaving now!" Kval took a few steps back, only to bump himself into Blake by accident. "I-I'm terribly sorry..." he apologised. He quickly made his way to the door, and left.
"Well...he's a shy one," Yang commented as she began to remove her vest.
"You really need to control your teasing Yang. You saw how he acted..." Blake warned as she also changed.
"I-I know," Yang mumbled. She moved her gaze over to the door, and frowned a bit. "I still can't believe the fact that he apologised..."
"Who knows? He probably has a good reason for not wanting to show us his eyes," Weiss sounded, already in her uniform. "But I have to say, earlier he looked a bit...scared."
Ruby narrowed her eyes, already dressed in her own uniform. Like always, her red cape was attached to her back. "Really? From what I can tell, he looked pretty angry."
"Could be." Weiss shrugged. She then turned to Blake and Yang with a questioning gaze. "Are you two finished?"
Blake nodded in response.
Yang grinned and gave Weiss a thumbs up.
"Okay then. To the dining hall!" Ruby exclaimed with a fist raised, as excited as ever.
"No need to be so loud you dunce!" Weiss scolded.
Ruby laughed, albeit sheepishly. "S-Sorry..."
Weiss huffed. "You better be."
-IIXII-
Kval was beginning to grow tired of the stares he was receiving, courtesy of the other students.
At first he thought that waiting outside was going to be an easy task, but boy was he wrong. When he first exited the room, students who had been passing by immediately stopped what they were doing and started giving him their full attention, not that he actually needed any of that anyway.
And Kval really disliked being at the center of attention.
But why?
Was it because of his uniform?
Was it because of his hair?
Well, he did came out of that light which appeared out of nowhere earlier today. Guess that explained everything.
Great.
In the end, all Kval could do was be patient and wait for the girls. Though, with the stares and all, it was pretty hard in his case.
After what felt like forever, the door leading to Team RWBY's room opened up, revealing the four members in their uniforms.
Yang looked to Kval and sent him a thumbs up. "Ready to go, rookie?" she asked.
Kval offered the blonde a sheepish smile. "Y-Yeah, I'm ready."
Yang took a moment to scan her surroundings, and later giggled. "You brought quite a crowd, Kazuma."
"I-It's not my fault that they're staring at me," he mumbled under his breath.
"Just ignore them. Now come on," Weiss sounded.
"That's...what I've been trying to do." Kval sighed, only for him to smile moments later. "Anyway, lead the way."
Blake nodded as a small smile graced her lips. "Just don't end up getting lost or anything."
Kval chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"To the dining hall!" Ruby exclaimed, whose head received a sharp smack from Weiss not long after that.
-IIXII-
And that's that!
I hope this Phase was okay...
I'm always a bit paranoid. Don't judge. And as for Phase 4, the members of Team JNPR will finally appear. How will they react when they hear of Team RWBY's new member?
Well stay tuned to find out more!
Also, thanks to all of you who reviewed and followed. It...really means a lot to me. I'll do my very best, so please keep on supporting me!
Well, I'll see you guys again later in Phase 4!
