Welcome to Phase 8 of Still Alive!
I was planning on updating this yesterday, but my Internet was down. Anyway, thanks again for your continued support guys. It means a lot to me.
Now enough of my babbling. Time for us to read!
I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.
-IIXII-
"Do they breathe green fire!? They can breathe fire, right!?"
That was the seventh question Kval had received from the highly energetic Nora for the past two minutes. Heck, she did not even leave any chances for the others to ask him their own questions.
After entering Team RWBY's dorm room, Ren had excused himself to take care of a few things, saying that he'll be back in a few minutes. Thus, leaving his childhood friend alone with the others.
So of course without him present, Nora was free to run her mouth wild as much as she liked.
If a normal person were to ever try to answer all of Nora's never-ending questions, then they would surely go insane in less than three minutes or less.
In truth, Nora was unaware that her friends were currently in a state of slight fear. After witnessing Kval's terrifying abilities, they were afraid of the possibility in which she might anger him in some way, which will undoubtedly cause him to lash out at all of them with his serpents.
Though luckily for them, however, Kval did not seem to mind the questions.
"T-They don't, Nora. That's impossible."
Nora pouted at the answer, before scratching her chin with her gaze upwards. It was pretty obvious that she was trying to come up with another question.
"Sorry I'm late guys. Something just came up."
Ren's calm voice caught their attention.
The silent ninja had somehow entered the room without being noticed. But to them, it was not anything unusual since Ren was always the silent type.
"Hey Ren! It turns out that the snakes couldn't breathe fire! And also-" She stopped herself when Ren held up a hand, motioning for her to stop talking.
"Nora, don't you think you should give the others a chance to ask Kazuma their own questions?" Ren suggested.
Nora simply pouted in response.
"Okay!" Jaune cleared his throat. "So uh…h-how did you do all that?" he asked somewhat nervously, while at the same time feeling curious.
"Oh, you mean this?" Kval tilted his head to one side. And just like that, three large serpents appeared directly behind him. And the way their eyes seemed to glow was full-blown intimidating.
This made everyone move back in slight fear at the sight, but not Nora, funnily enough. She just ran up to one of them without a care in the world, and wasted no time in wrapping her arms around it as if it was a cute little pet you could keep at home without having to risk it biting your face off every once in a while.
"Snakey!" Nora exclaimed.
The serpent looked down at the friendly Valkyrie girl with its glowing eyes, then surprisingly began to rub its cheek against her face in a friendly manner.
"Aw! He likes me!"
"Nora!" Ren called out, a small hint of fear in his voice.
"Don't worry, Ren. They will only be hostile if I want them to," Kval explained, ignoring the fact that Nora was now sitting on the serpent's back as if it was a horse.
"B-But…aren't they like…poisonous?" Jaune asked. He tried touching one of the serpents, but then quickly pulled his hand back when it hissed at him. The darn thing was probably just making fun of him. "G-Good snake!"
"Well, they can…if I want them to," Kval said, scratching his cheek as he did. "But they're really friendly, so there is no need to be afraid," he assured them, thus making the others relax a bit.
Upon taking a closer look at the snakes, it revealed that they were actually smiling. To some of them, the sight was a tad bit creepy.
"A-Are they smiling at us?" Yang squinted her eyes at one of the serpents. The serpent which she was currently staring at only tilted its head slightly in response, which unintentionally made her smile at how cute the darn thing looked. "I guess…they aren't really that scary when they're friendly." Yang grinned. She then turned to her partner. "Come on over here Blake! He won't bite!"
Blake shook her head. "I-I'm not really good with snakes…u-um…kyah!" She screamed when she felt something rubbing itself against her back. With a quick look, it revealed to be one of the serpents. And upon realising that she had just embarrassed herself in front of everyone, Blake began to blush. She glared daggers at the serpent.
"D-Did she just…? No. It must be my imagination." Weiss shook her head, not believing the normally calmed and collected member of their team had just embarrassed herself by letting out a high-pitched scream, and a cute one at that.
Blake was now on her bunk bed, not tearing her eyes away from the large serpent which had just rubbed itself against her back a few seconds earlier.
"So, what are they made of, exactly?" asked Pyrrha. She was currently eyeing the snake Nora was riding on, and was unable to help the urge to giggle at the adorable sight. "Nora, be careful. They aren't pets."
"Well, they are all made out of my energy." Kval held one of his hands up and began engulfing it with said energy. The smile on his face grew wider upon seeing them all staring at him in amazement, minus Nora of course. She was too busy playing around with one of his serpents for that.
"Oh you're a good boy!"
Nora's loud and cheerful voice managed to catch their attention. Looking at where Nora was, it showed that she was currently hugging the snake's large head, while at the same time rubbing it affectionately. The look on the serpent's face told everyone that it enjoyed the experience.
The sight made Kval somewhat happy on the inside, but he immediately brushed those feelings aside.
"Alright, time for them to go."
The bubbly bomber looked to him in total shock. "B-But can't he stay!?" she begged. "Please? Pretty please?"
"S-Sorry Nora, but they all can't." Kval smiled sheepishly when Nora started hugging the serpent tightly in her arms, pouting at him all the while. "Uh…"
"Nora." Ren walked up to Nora and gave her a pat on the shoulder, smiling at her. "Please."
"Fine…" Nora muttered. She proceeded to unwrap her arms from the green serpent. She then gave the serpent a sad smile, as it slowly faded away along with the other two. "I miss him already…"
Kval was about to go and comfort the Valkyrie girl, but was unable to when a certain someone decided to zip her way in front of him, her face filled with excitement.
"Kazuma! Can I see your weapon!?" Ruby practically yelled into his face.
Kval cocked an eyebrow. Seeing no harm, he pulled out his knives and held them out for Ruby to see, but the sudden shake of her head confused him. "Eh?"
"The other one! The one that came out of that black portal!" Ruby explained.
At this, everyone seemed interested to see Kval's weapon up close.
"Well, I guess it won't hurt to show you guys," Kval said, which earned him a cute squeal from Ruby. That behavior of hers will never fail to make him chuckle. "Now, stand aside Ruby," he instructed, in which she quickly did. Judging by the look on Ruby's face, he could tell that she was very eager to see his weapon.
Making sure that Ruby was at a safe distance, Kval called upon the black portal which he had used to block Cardin's attack earlier during Combat Class.
"Ouroboros."
The very same chain which they had all witnessed from before came shooting out of the black portal, much to everyone's surprise.
"Whoa!" Jaune exclaimed, watching as the chain spiraled itself around Kval. "Now that is a cool weapon."
Ruby was literally jumping around like a small kid who had just received a present, while the others were staring at the chain in amazement.
"Oh Dust! How did you managed to forge this!? It's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed. She proceeded to examine his weapon, without touching it of course.
"Well, I didn't exactly created it," Kval explained, embarrassed.
"Huh?" Ruby turned to the embarrassed Kval, tilting her head slightly after that. "Oh. But it's still awesome! It could even move around on it's own!" she said, keeping her eyes on the chain as it slowly moved around in the air. "How cool is that?"
"So, what's the name of your weapon?" Blake asked, not tearing her eyes away from the moving chain.
Kval smiled. "Geminus Anguium: Ouroboros."
His friends came staring at him in confusion, not understanding a word he just said.
"Ouroboros for short," Kval quickly added with a nervous laugh.
Ruby zipped her way over to Kval's side, grinning widely. "That is so cool! Can I hold it for just a moment?"
Kval quickly shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't."
"Please?" Ruby begged. Desperate times calls for drastic measures, and so, she gave him her cute puppy dog eyes. It would work on him, and she was sure of it.
Though unfortunately for her, it somehow did not.
"Cute, but no means no, Ruby," Kval said, smiling as he did so.
"Aw…" Ruby pouted. "But why can't I?"
Kval offered the pouting girl a small apologetic smile, then said, "I have my reasons."
Now grumpy, Ruby looked to the side with her cheeks puffed out in response to his words, crossing her arms afterwards. "Fine…" she grumbled.
"Hey, how does this thing work anyway?" Jaune inquired out of the blue.
"Well, it hits whatever I want it to hit. Also, Ouroboros is a never-ending chain if you're all probably wondering."
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.
Feeling somewhat curious, Ren cleared his throat and decided to ask his own question.
"So you're telling us…that the chain has no end?"
"There is an end to the chain. But what I'm saying is that it could make itself longer," Kval explained, who nodded in understanding.
"So where does this portal leads to?" Yang asked, pointing at the black portal with her thumb.
"Well, I don't really know. The only thing that is able to enter that portal is Ouroboros itself. You will also get shocked if you try touching it. Only I am able to touch it without getting hurt," Kval explained. He took note of Nora, who was now backing away from the black portal with a sheepish grin on her face.
"So, any other questions?" Kval asked, and the sight of them shaking their heads confirmed everything. He was about to send Ouroboros back into its portal, but soon changed his mind when one of the bags in the room started moving on its own.
Team RWBY began to panic when they noticed Kval looking over at the mysterious bag with curiosity written across his face. Upon receiving its order, the chain wrapped itself around the small rucksack and carried it towards its wielder.
Kval eyed the bag for a moment, and took note of it shaking quite a bit.
"Kazuma, don't open the bag!" Ruby yelled out in panic, but she was too late.
Bark!
Bark!
The entire room went silent.
Kval simply stared at the dog with a dumbfounded expression.
"What is a dog…doing here?" the young vessel found himself asking.
Reacting quickly, Ruby immediately took the small corgi away from the chain and stood beside her sister.
Weiss sighed, shrugging. "Well, it looks like he found out."
"Don't tell anyone about him, okay?" Ruby begged. She held the small corgi tightly in her arms, staring at the ground in shame. "And also, sorry for not telling you about this, Kazuma…"
"That's our dog. His name is Zwei," Yang explained with a sheepish grin. "Crazy, right?"
"I was obviously against this though," Blake added, earning a glare from the blonde brawler.
Kval remained silent as he stared at the small corgi, unsure of what to make of this whole situation. And why was it staring at him like that? Surely he did not look terrifying, did he?
"Your secret is safe with us, Ruby!" Nora exclaimed all of a sudden.
The other members of Team JNPR shook their heads in response to Nora's words, right before giving Ruby their smiles.
Jaune sighed. "We'll keep it quiet. You guys can count on us." He had to admit, the small dog looked kind of cute.
"Thanks guys!" Ruby looked to each and every one of them with a cheerful smile, then turned to a still quiet Kval. "You're going to keep this quiet too…right?"
Everyone turned their attention to Kval.
"I guess…it wouldn't hurt," Kval found himself muttering, still unsure.
Nevertheless, Ruby grinned. "Thanks Kazuma! You're the best!" she exclaimed.
And boy did that made him all flustered.
Having the whole day without classes sure was a wonderful experience.
After Team JNPR had excused themselves to do some other things for the day, Kval found himself killing time by watching his teammates playing around with Zwei. Though, Blake had other ideas, and the reason for that was obvious.
To be frank, he felt pretty much left out because of that canine. But that all changed when someone decided to get his attention by poking him at the back of his head. Turning around, Kval was then immediately greeted with the sight of Blake, who was still on the top of her bunk bed.
"Hey," Blake greeted. "You seem awfully lonely."
"Yeah, I am. I have to admit though, you've all done a pretty good job at hiding that dog from me." Kval chuckled, and Blake could not help the urge to roll her eyes in response to that.
"That dog is really annoying," she muttered.
Kval suddenly felt pretty bad for the Belladonna girl. She was a cat faunus, after all.
Though in his opinion, the sight of Blake jumping around every time Zwei barked for no reason was actually kind of cute, but telling her that would be an act of suicide. So he decided to keep that to himself.
With that aside however, right now he needed to get something off his chest…
"Hey, remember that question you asked me after that dining hall incident?" Kval suddenly said, though his eyes remained locked on his other teammates.
"Hm?" Blake was now focusing her full attention on Kval at this point. "Which one?" She took note of the faint little smile which was displayed across his face, and she was not quite sure if she should take that as a good thing or a bad thing.
"You asked me what I was, remember?"
Blake narrowed her eyes.
"Well, I want you to keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone else, alright?"
Blake was now confused, but she just nodded anyway.
"Unlike you, I was created," Kval stated, unintentionally causing Blake to stop breathing due to shock for a brief while.
"W-What do you mean?" Blake whispered.
Kval crossed his arms, pausing in order to pick his words carefully. "I was created…as a vessel."
"A vessel? For what?" Blake pressed on further, curious.
Kval went silent for a few seconds, before quietly answering Blake's question with, "Something dangerous…or someone. That's the best answer that I could give you for the moment." He then turned to Blake, tilting his head slightly with a smile on his face. "Keep this quiet, will you?"
Blake immediately looked elsewhere, however, upon noticing the sad look in his eyes. Even then, she nodded. "I…I will."
"Thanks. It really means a lot to me." Kval turned his attention back to the others. "Where I came from…is a dark place if you want to know," he muttered.
"S-So…you're not human?" Blake just wanted to confirm, that was all. She was curious about that part, after all.
Kval turned to her one more time, and the worried look she was giving him made him chuckle a bit. "Are you worried about me?"
Her cheeks slowly turned red, and Blake found herself looking elsewhere once more. "I can't say that I'm not…" Blake mumbled.
"Don't worry about me, Blake, but thanks anyway." Shoving his hands inside his pockets, Kval looked up and started staring at the ceiling. "And to answer your question earlier…no, I'm just a vessel."
That was when Blake decided to poke at his head again, gaining his attention once more. "But you'll still be human to all of us, no matter what happens," she said.
Blake stared into Kval's yellow serpentine eyes with her amber ones, and she stayed that way for a brief moment. In truth, staring at those pair of eyes still scared at her, but she wanted to prove her point. Besides, it was not like his eyes would gobble her up or anything.
"You're never alone, Kazuma. You have us," Blake said to him.
"Huh…" Kval, noticing Blake trembling despite still having her eyes locked with his, decided that enough was enough. He knew just how terrifying his eyes could be to others, especially when it came to girls, so he slowly closed them up and smiled, if not for Blake's sake. "Thanks. I'm glad you guys think of me that way. But one question though."
Blake looked to him curiously, awaiting his question.
"Why keep that bow on your head? Doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"
The unexpected question immediately made her uncomfortable.
"I guess…I just don't want people to know who I really am. That's all," was Blake's answer.
"Ah." Kval chuckled. "You should reveal them though, because those extra pair of ears you have looks pretty cute on you. Not joking."
"H-Huh?" Blake's cheeks were on fire at this point. She quickly turned away, and yet found herself asking, "R-Really?"
"Of course! B-But I'm not forcing you or anything." Kval laughed nervously. "Like, who am I to do that, right?"
"Oh. W-Well, thanks Kazuma, but I'll just keep my bow on. I'm already used to wearing it anyway," Blake explained, smiling slightly.
"D-Don't mention it," Kval said, shrugging.
-IIXII-
I hope Phase 8 was enjoyable, and I do apologise if it seemed boring. I just needed Kval to explain a bit of his powers to Team RWBY and Team JNPR.
But anyway, thanks again for reading. Also, from now on, I'll probably update twice, or maybe when I feel like it, trice a week. It would be a lot more easier for me that way.
Anyway, I'll see you guys later in Phase 9!
