Author's Note: I'm SO SORRY this took so long to get out. I've had a bit of writer's block recently, and I'm also indecisive. Those two things combined do NOT make a writer. I think this will focus on Tsukino a bit more. More specifically, why he avoids teams. For those who have seen SAO: Yep. I'm pullin' this. Sit back and feel all the feels. Also, Sib, if you ever get this far: You should know doubly what this'll turn into. Like, uh, Historia, maybe? Enjoy the chapter, lovely Seraphim~~

I sat with Serah and Lily. Normally, we would be out following the school curriculum with everyone else. We all want to, cuz they were doing high octane sparring sessions. But, today was a bad day for us. So bad, Serah had to go to Ozpin for permission to not participate because Lily and I couldn't move an inch. Today was the day we were destroyed back in our world..

Today… Today was the day the three of us died.

~Flashback...~

"Hey," I shouted as I blocked another foe's weapon easily with Silver Lining. "Watch your six! Three of 'em, all mace wielders!" I wanted to help, but I had my own problems. A saber user and three warhammer users. I parried the saber, sending a fatal slash across the wielder's jugular, and sidestepped one of the hammers, only to be blindsided by another. I felt my breath leave my lungs twice, once from the blow, and the other from being thrown into a tree.

My teammate managed to kill her enemies. She tried running over to help me, but was jumped by the hammer wielders. I tightened my grip on Silver Lining, and struggled up. Clumsily, I swung my blade around, leaving gashes on the hammer wielders while they were busy fighting her. After what seemed like endless hours (In reality, it was probably 20 minutes), we killed the hammer users. Hey and I both were covered in cuts and bruises, and more than likely had broken bones. We decided to take a break, and we let our guards down. I heard a rustling in the bushes or the trees, and I realized I only had time to pick between the two.

I picked the wrong one.

9 people jumped from the trees, aiming bows at us. Or, more accurately, ME. The next seconds were stretched into unbearable eternities. The arrows flying through the air, the smell of the blood that splattered all over the grass, and the sound of steel piercing flesh and muscle, all of those things still haunt us.

Her body fell over, and she had a sad, but content smile. I screamed in fury, and slaughtered the archers, uncaring about the arrows that now decorated my arm and leg.

I noticed a girl kneeling above her, trying to stop the bleeding. She was so desperate to save her. I knelt next to her. The girl had tears in her eyes, and was shaking her head.

"It's okay, Lily… There's nothing you can do to save me… Please, don't cry for me, Lily. You still have things to smile about." My partner said weakly. Then she looked at me. "I want you to promise me two things, Tsukino. Make sure they don't join me too early, ok? That goes for you as well."

The girl, Lily, cried out. "This isn't fair, Venus! You can't leave us! You can't leave me!" Her head hung down, the tears falling quickly. "I can't smile without you, Venus.. Don't go!"

My vision got blurry as I started to cry as well. I didn't want her to leave either, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do. "Damn it, Venus.. Why? Why did you do this?" I couldn't even ask the question without getting choked up. It got worse when she smiled wider, and pulled my face closer to hers.

"Because, silly," she whispered, "I love you. I always have." And then, before she could do anything else, the Light faded, and her eyes glazed up. Her hands fell to the earth, and she exhaled her final breath. I refused to believe it. Venus Verron was dead.

~Flashback End~

I felt liquid running down my cheeks. I was crying again.. I wiped the tears away, and noticed Lily had buried herself into Serah's chest. She was crying her eyes out as well. Serah looked at me, and she was on the verge of tears herself. I hated seeing the two of them like this, but I knew not to interfere for good reason. I think, deep down, they still blame me for Venus' death.

I was content to just sit and watch, but then someone challenged me specifically. Professor Goodwitch was about to tell them I was sitting out, but I cut her off. "Sure. I'm down for a fight."

She looked at me. "Mister Shinoha, are you positive you would like to spar? Do you feel well enough to?" Ozpin told her more than I wanted. Damn you and your over concern for your students.

I nodded. "I'm doing this solo. You two stay here," I ordered to the girls. Lily nodded slightly, and Serah gave me another look. 'Are you sure?' they asked. 'You aren't completely here, either.' She seemed more concerned. It's confusing because she straight up hated me for 2 years after Venus died. "I'll be fine. If I do lose it, Goodwitch will stop the match. You remember what to do, right?" She nodded, and I walked up on stage.

My opponent was some skrub from CRDL. Cardin, I think his name was. From what I understand, this guy was a total jackass. Egotistical, a major bully, and a racist to boot. He wielded a mace that's about 60% the size of his body. 'I can use that to my advantage. The swing is probably leaving him at Gravity's mercy.' I took a deep breath, and got into a relaxed stance. Cardin readied his mace, and he had a triumphant grin on his face.

"You're fighting now, against me? Man, you MUST have a death wish or something. Get ready to lose, punk!" He taunted. Pyrrha and Weiss were right, this guy IS an ass. Oh well, all the more reason to mop the floor with him.

The match started, and Cardin wasted no time, rushing me with his mace ready to crush me. At the last second, I sidestepped to the right. I didn't even feel the need to put any effort into this. I planted a kick on his back, sending him sprawling across the floor. I shifted my weight onto my left leg, and stomped on his back as hard as I could with my right foot. "Now, that may not have done a lot of damage, but DAMN did it feel good." You should've seen the look on his face. This dude went from overly cocky to overly pissed in three seconds. He got back up, glared at me, and threw his mace to try and distract me from his charge. I decided to play along, and dodged the mace, only to find a fist halfway to my face.

Yeah, no.

I caught his punch, twisted his wrist hard enough to nearly break it, and tossed him away like a doll. He struggled to get up, but he did, and grabbed his mace. "I'm gonna knock you into next month for that, loser!" he shouted, using his Aura to heal his wrist and he charged me again. He swung vertically downwards, and I caught it by the head mid swing. It briefly turned into a strength contest, before I forced the head away and sucker punched Cardin in the gut. He stumbled backward, and I spared a glance at the Aura Bars. I had taken more Aura damage than he had, but he was more tired than I was. Better even this out quickly before I'm knocked from the match.

I decided to forsake defense and went all out, using my magic as a melee booster. My hands were cloaked in an amalgamation of the elements, draining Cardin's aura faster than a King Taijitu crushing you could. I landed one last punch before my mana gave out, and I glanced at the Aura bars. I barely had the upperhand, but he had a weapon.

This should be interesting.

I went back on the defensive, dodging all of his attacks, letting him tire himself out. "Come on, loser, fight back! I've got you on the ropes!" he shouted at me. As if. Then, he swung and missed again, but he used his momentum to send a more powerful swing at my head. I ducked, grabbed his arm, and threw him against the floor. He dropped his mace, and I picked it up. "Too dense," I commented, "Top heavy. But it's all I'm gonna need to drop you in one hit."

And with that, I slammed it onto it, depleting his Aura into a dangerous area. I won, but it didn't help me feel any better. I walked off stage, and back to Serah and Lily. They were both watching me, making sure I wouldn't lose my mind and go berserk. When I sat down, they both sighed, and Lily separated herself from her sister, sitting next to me. "You did really good, Tsukino! I don't think we had anything to worry about at all."

"Yeah… Nothing to worry about." I muttered to myself. I wasn't sure how tonight would work, but I figured I was ready for anything.

Boy howdy was I wrong…

A/N: Yeah, Yeah, I know. Cliffhangers and (in my biased opinion) a badly written backstory. If you believe me wrong, then leave me a review saying that I'm wrong and that you enjoyed Tsukino's backstory. Also, follow the story for more uploads, I'll try not to put so much time in between chapters, promise.

Tata for now~~!