XSRA's Flame Chapter 10: Big Bird Show Down
Skyla POV
Uh oh…
Allix stood there glaring at me about throwing her food away. "To my defense, Allix, salad is not a food." I said shrugging my shoulders while staring at the mess we left.
She remained quiet but her glare never left its intensity which sorta scared me at the moment considering this is me she's glaring at.
"Hehe." I said.
"Salad is a food." she muttered.
Oh heck naw!
I glared at her and she replied with another glare. We stood there glaring at one another for a while with Xera and Rex sitting back and watching.
"Stop, please stop!" A pleading voice broke the glare battle between Allix and me.
I looked over to see Cardin, leader of team CRDL and biggest jerk of all time. "It's only been a few days since the semester started, and I already hate that guy." Rex muttered after noticing him as well.
"Velvet doesn't deserve to be treated like that, there's nothing wrong with faunus." Allix stated, almost sounding depressed.
"Yeah, I think her bunny ears are actually really cute! Besides, she can take care of herself when she wants to, she did make it into beacon after all." I cut in, hopefully lightening the mood a bit.
Rex went back to eating his chicken, although he still looked a little frustrated, and Allix pulled out a book to hopefully distract herself from the noise of laughing and taunts. Xera hasn't stopped staring at Cardin since he first heard the them.
"Xera." I spoke, trying to get his attention. He continued glaring, not hearing his name.
"Xera!" I spoke up, still no response.
"XERRRRA!"
He flinched at the sudden outburst and turned toward me. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."
His eyes are red, really bright red, I wonder why they keep changing colors? I thought to myself, and then refocused on Xera.
"Are you okay, you were glaring at big bird over there like you were trying to burn him with your eyes?"
Xera couldn't help but give a small smile at my new nickname for Cardin, but it immediately vanished when he spoke up again.
"I'll be fine, I just can't stand people who think its okay to bully the faunus. Especially if their reasoning isn't sound."
Xera clenched his fists as another "Please stop" sounded through the room. He turned back toward bird boy and his goons surrounding Velvet.
"If no one does anything about that in the next five seconds, I will go over there and shove an apple down his throat."
"Xera, it's not worth it, don't even bother with that guy." Allix spoke up now looking over the top of her book at Xera.
"Yeah, there's no point in violence in a situation like this, it will only lead to more violence." I said, trying to stop Xera from doing anything reckless.
Rex still looks as frustrated as Xera, I doubt he's going to try and stop him at all. I thought after noting Rex's silence.
"Please let go of my ears, it hurts."
Oh no, that probably just set Xera off. I looked back toward Xera and he just sighed, as if resigning himself to this fate.
"This is a combat school Skyla…" He said as he stood up, "Violence is the solution here. This place endorses it after all…"
That's not how it works!
He walked away and slowly approached the group. Stopping just a few feet shy of their lunch table.
"For a Winchester, this is pretty low." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he drew the attention of the four boys, "Let her go."
The larger teen smirked and tightened his grip on the furry ear, "What are you going to do about it scrub? Defending something like this isn't worth your time." Cardin declared, still not letting go of Velvet's rabbit ear.
"Try not to piss too many people off here, Cardin. You'll be waging war against forces your small mind can't even comprehend. Especially if her team catches wind of this." Did he know Velvet?
"Why are you defending this 'thing'? It's an animal, she probably snuck her way into beacon anyway." Cardin retaliated, still not letting go.
Xera's eyes flashed a brighter red and clenched his fists even tighter, if that's even possible. "Velvet, do me a favor… try not to move."
In the span of 4 seconds, all of team CRDL was on the ground, clenching different parts of their body. Dove was holding his leg which was oddly bent, and Russel gripped his throat and dry heaving, probably from a quick jab to the wind pipe. Sky was on his knees buckled over and clutching his stomach from a blunt kick, and lastly, Cardin was on his back holding his face, blood pouring from a broken nose.
They were all groaning in pain, but something was off, something didn't seem right. Xera didn't even move he's still standing in front of Velvet, not even lifting a finger or even glancing at any of the downed bullies!
That was freaking awesome! Like it was almost as if someone attacked them and were invisible while Xera stood there! Or Xera has super-duper speed that he moves so fast that we couldn't see it! Or…or…he beat them up with his mind!
Xera turned his head toward Velvet, "Why don't you ever fight back?"
Velvet sat still and rubbed her ears, eyes glancing up at Xera before subtly rolling, "It doesn't solve anything, so I try not to."
Xera then relaxed a little, "Even if it hurts you? You're more than capable."
"And yet you still come in and help me. You're still the same as you were when you were younger, Xera." Velvet responded with a smile, her voice smoother than the finest of silks due to her accent.
"I step in because you refuse to do it yourself." He sighed, finally turning away.
Xera looked back at our table, causing Velvet to do the same. I gave her a wave and smiled. Allix waved too, and Rex gave her a nod with a kind smile.
"My table's open, in case you need a place to sit. It sucks that your schedule places you in a different lunch than the rest of your team."
"I know, and thank you. Again. You really don't have to though."
"But I want to anyway, if it helps."
Velvet spared a small smile before brushing her ears a final time and standing.
"Ha, you're not off the hook Velvet, just wait until tomorrow." Cardin spat through a nasally voice, still trying to stop the blood coming from his nose.
All of a sudden, Cardin jerked and gasped for air, buckling over and clutching his stomach. Almost as if someone stomped on him.
What just happened? Xera still didn't even move, how did Cardin get hit again? I thought with wide eyes, still watching to see if Xera makes a move.
Xera's gaze dipped before he walked over to Cardin, picking up a nearby apple as he passed the end of the table and shoving it between the downed guy's teeth, "When I last checked, the Winchester family had a standard for some amount of honor."
Cardin's eyes suddenly narrowed, before he tore the apple away and growled, "My family is none of your business."
"It is my business if I've helped sign deals with them before." Xera then leaned in a little, "Dealing with an anti-faunus company is bad for business. It'd be even worse if news got out that the Winchester's heir was consistently bullying a faunus on a daily basis."
As Xera stood up, Velvet gave him a quick hug and walked off, keeping her head low from the rest of the cafeteria.
Someone started to clap and pretty soon, the entire cafeteria was roaring with applause and hollers. Xera's let out a small breath before he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, trying to avoid all the attention.
Why is Xera leaving, he's literally a hero now. I thought as he left.
"Now THAT was definitely worth it." Rex finally commented as he watched his friend leave.
"I have to admit, I'm feeling a lot better now that Cardin and his team were finally stopped, but I'm still not sure what happened to them." Allix jumped in, still thinking about how Xera was able to beat up team CRDL without even moving.
I need to ask him about that later, I have to know how he did it. I was pulled out of thought when team CRDL got up and started rushing in the direction Xera went.
"Oh no, they're going after him." I took off down the hallway, chasing after the students who were looking for revenge.
Allix and Rex followed me, all of us ran after the group. We stopped at the entrance to a courtyard.
My eyes widened as I saw Xera surrounded by Cardin and his goons. All of them holding their weapons and ready to gang up on him.
I was about to rush in when Rex put his arm in front of me, blocking my path. "Wait."
"What? We're his team, we need to help-"
"Skyla, take a good look at Xera, tell me what you see." Allix said gesturing toward my partner surrounded on all sides.
I took a closer look at Xera, focusing on his face and noticed something, my eyes widened as realization struck me. "He's completely calm, he doesn't even look fazed!" I exclaimed after turning toward my teammates.
"Hey scrub, those were some pretty cheap shots you pulled back there, too bad we're prepared this time. There's no way you can beat all four of us." Cardin taunted with a smirk across his bloody face, "You have no right talking about my family like that."
"Yeah!" "Right boss!" Dove and Russel declared.
Xera still didn't respond, but his red eyes started to glow a little, giving off a light red hue. Still paying no attention to his ambushers, Xera pulled out a small book and started… reading?!
He's reading, he's freakin' reading even though he's surrounded by lethal weapons and angry faces! I stared wide eyed and confused at his actions.
"Pft, you aren't even going to fight back? Fine with me, you'll regret that after I'm done with you." Cardin sneered and took a step forward, ready to slam his mace down onto Xera.
I flinched as he swung downward, slamming his mace through Xera's body and straight into the ground. The man's eyes went wide as Xera's form then disappeared.
"What the…" My eyes went wide as I saw Xera appear beside the embedded weapon. My leader then slammed the edge of his book into Cardin's throat, forcing him back with a constricted windpipe.
Dove and Russel charged Xera's flank after a moment of pause, taking their swings at his exposed back only to phase through him yet again.
Their weapons, instead, made direct contact with Cardin's coughing body. A leader and his minions soon tumbled to the ground in a heap of bodies.
Finally recovering from his shock, Sky charged Xera's back. Xera seemingly sensed the attack and ducked under Sky's wide swing of his weapon, creating an opening. Xera took the opening instantly and kicked the back of the guys knees.
Throwing him down into a forced kneel before putting pressure between his shoulder blades.
A flood of aura then caused Xera's hand to glow at the point of contact.
"Not many people know of this pressure point, but it's a direct line to the spine. I do hope you're okay with being paralyzed for the rest of your life."
Sky froze in place after he felt the hot rush collide against his own shield, "No wait, I surrender, alright? I give. I was just following my boss's lead." He blurted out, trying to save himself from a world of pain.
Cardin and his team stood up quickly, but didn't immediately charge in.
"Good. Velvet's a good friend of mine. It's a good idea not to mess with her." Xera spoke calmly, "It's an arduous task to stop what you guys enjoy, but I'm asking you to try. Or we'll be doing this more often. Do we have a deal?"
Sky nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, deal. We won't bully Velvet or gang up on anyone from now on. I promise." Sky stuttered, looking like he was gonna pass out at any moment. His words caused Cardin to tighten his grip on his mace.
"Good, a few nurses will be here any minute." Xera stated.
"W-wait, but no one got hurt-"
Xera suddenly disappeared again, his form fading as he reappeared in front of Cardin. Our leader then kicked out Cardin's steady stance, spreading his legs unnaturally wide then put a little pressure on his upper body.
With the loss of balance, Cardin's eyes had time to widen before falling backward. Luckily, or is it unluckily, his two teammates caught him.
"They'll be here to make sure your leader doesn't die. Maybe then he'll know to hold back." Xera said calmly, before covering his book with his aura and slamming it into Cardin's abdomen.
The force was enough to cripple Cardin's form, crumpling him inward against the strike. My eyes widened in shock. Cardin's aura should've deflected that! Instead, the aura glowing across Xera's book was a direct match to Cardin's own.
Before the struck bully could retaliate, Xera lifted then jabbed the book's spine into Cardin's throat again, before turning it in his hand and slamming the binding down onto big bird's head.
Knocking him out of his teammate's grasps and onto the ground to groan.
"Don't go back on your word. And please, for the love of Oum, stop smothering your potential. You guys can fight, you just like to pick your battles." Xera sighed as he pocketed his book and walked off, letting the rest of team Cardinal huddle around their leader.
They were quickly ushered away by an angry grumble.
"How do the nurses know about this already?" I asked, still a little shocked.
Xera only smirked, giving me an amused look, "I called it in when I noticed them following me, and I kinda figured they would need medical treatment if they planned on attacking me."
"Woah, not gonna lie but I'm a little impressed right now." Rex stated.
"Yeah, I'm happy that you didn't lethally hurt any of them and you still got the point across… with a book no less" Allix chimed in.
"That. Was. AWESOME!" I yelled, happy that big bird and his goons got what they deserved.
"Come on, let's head back to lunch." Xera said while gesturing us to follow him.
Xera was greeted like a hero when he walked back into the cafeteria, everyone turning their attention to him and cheering his name.
"Yeah! Xera, you're a hero and everyone is gonna look up to you now!" I yelled, happy to see that everyone appreciated what he did for Velvet.
"On second thought, you guys go on ahead. I think I forgot something in the courtyard." Xera stated while sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Oh no you don't! You're going to enjoy the spotlight whether you like it or not!" Rex exclaimed while pushing Xera toward our table, cheering "Let's hear it for XERA!"
I couldn't help but giggle at Xera's attempt to get past Rex and avoid all the attention.
"Why are you so embarrassed Xera? You're literally a hero now, why try and avoid the attention?" Allix asked, covering her amused smile with the book she was carrying.
"I just don't like being the center of attention guys. It's just something I don't like." He answered still embarrassed by the constant praise he was receiving.
"Well, too bad for you because you're not getting out of it." Rex stated while lifting Xera up onto his shoulders, completely against his will.
Yup, I love my team. I thought while watching Rex embarrass Xera even more. Don't ever change guys.
Yea, Cardin gets beat up! So, a few hints about Xera's Semblance, which will be revealed in the next chapter.
Anyway, Favorite and Follow the story, leave a REVIEW, have a good one guys.
*Hehe, this entire scene has been reworked! So, I think it's cooler and more practical. This also showcases his semblance, yes. But it shows so much more than that… which you won't actually find out about for a while. You will find out about his semblance though!
Cya XP