(A.N: Happy new year everybody! Sorry this took so long to publish, but it's finally out and I want to thank you all for waiting. This chapter isn't as long as the others and is more of a setup leading into the finals, so call it filler, unfortunately. Also, okay wow, wasn't expecting Hajime no Yang to take off as quickly as it did, and I'm happy! That being said, upload schedules will change. I'll be transitioning between a new Into the Dark chapter and a HNY chapter every few weeks, which gives me time to further think about or flesh out each chapter. All that being said, enjoy the new chapter!)

Into The Dark

Chapter 20

The history of the God and the Wizard...

Extra training never hurts!

Ruby

"I mean, did you have to use that much force on Pyrrha?" I asked. Raiden chuckled and actually blushed a bit, scratching his cheek. "Well... I just got really excited by how strong Pyrrha became, and I felt like I needed to get serious. It's kinda a bad habit of mine."

"But still though, you two looked like such badasses when you were fighting!" Yang said, pumped up. "With that new Technique that Pyrrha learned and that final blow that knocked her out... what kinda punch was that anyway? It started like a hook but ended up being a mix between an uppercut and a hook like..." Even with several years of boxing experience up her sleeve, along with a multitude of knockouts (no surprise there), Yang with all her talent had trouble pulling off the destructive punch, making it look awkward in her execution. "What exactly is that move?"

"Well, here's the thing," Raiden began, getting everyone's attention. "When it comes to both weapons and empty-handed combat, how many people are prepared for an assault that comes directly at your center-mass?" Everyone raised their hand. "Now, how many of you are caught off guard when an attack comes angled from below when you aren't jumping in the air?" Everyone promptly put their hand down. Even when in the air, upward aiming attacks were hard to pull off, but incredibly effective as sneaking past most guards. "Here's the thing though, especially in the case of an empty handed attack, it can be hard to pull off something like an uppercut because you have to get quite close to the person. However, with the Smash I can-"

"It's called the Smash?" Oro asked, an eyebrow raised suggestively before Raiden punched him in the gut (of course Oro was laughing even through the pain). "I can utilize the same kind of power you'd get from the uppercut or hook with the range and speed of a jab. When you add aura into the mix, the destructive power isn't just increased, but also the potential range of it as well." Demonstrating, he went into an orthodox boxing stance as he started to bounce lightly. Suddenly, his left dropped low before it shot outward and upward with a quick trail of orange aura and a quick *WHOOSH* sound. "Pretty neat huh?"

"Pretty neat?" Yang asked, "You've got a signature punch of your own! People love that kinda stuff. Besides, I've got my Dempsey Roll and one other thing that I wanna try in the finals."

"Who said you were gonna make it to the finals? Remember, I'm in the tournament too, and if we fight I might just have to go all out." Raiden asked, smirking at Yang. She crossed her arms and smirked right back. "If we do fight, you'd better go all out. It's the only way you have a shot of making it to the finals. And if we fight in the finals, well, you'd better be ready then." He chuckled and held out a hand. "You're on Yang." She took it and they shook firmly, the agreement of a well-fought battle coming their way along with the question as to the victor between the two. "Well, if you two are done talking to each other," Blake interrupted, "I think we should be looking at someone who we'll definitely see in the finals."

She of course was pointing at the two members of Team Dark who were in the doubles-rounds. Kagome of course was the first, but standing behind her was, surprisingly, Rachel. She was dressed in her red and grey samurai armor, her grey katana now having shifted into a simple-looking mace, strangely enough. "They look like they've been struggling in their past fights," I said, wondering why the others were so worried about them. "They're doing it on purpose," Raiden replied swiftly. "They always make themselves look unassuming during the earlier stage of combat while managing to do enough to pass. When it comes to a higher stage like this however... then you'll see why they're as feared as my team back in Mistral."

All of our eyes went back to the two of them, my heart starting to beat a little bit faster as fear started to creep up in me. Just as I felt that, Kagome looked directly at me, her eyes pure black as a grin that I could only call pure evil split her face. It was like there wasn't any distance between any of us, her face right in front of mine. Something else happened: Raiden put a hand on my shoulder and that feeling of fear vanished. Raiden was staring right back at Kagome, aura lightly wafting off of him as a fierce look was shot at her. She scowled and looked back in front, the grip in her spear tightening. "What... was that just now?" I asked him. "It goes under many names. Killer-Aura, Conqueror's Spirit, Surge of Murderous Intent, they all are a bit different for every person who manages to use it. It's difficult to fully explain, but it's like you project your strongest emotion outward. For me, it's my rage. For Kagome... it's blood-lust."

I couldn't really say anything as I looked back at the arena, wondering just what was going to happen...

Artorias

"It's been far too long Artorias, Ornstein,' Our old mentor said with a small smile, firmly shaking our hands. He was still very youthful in appearance, but the amount of scars on his body told an old tale. "Good to see that you're still alive and kicking old man," Ornstein laughed, delighted to see him. "You have all grown very well. Especially you, Artorias." I blushed like a child and muttered, "Thank you." Ciaran of course knew very well how much I looked up to Asura, more than the rest of us actually if I was being honest, and she nudged me with a grin. "But you still lack training!" In the blink of an eye, he flicked all three of us in the head simultaneously, a painful sting that left us clutching our heads.

"Now now," Ozpin chided as he walked into the office. Asura turned and actually flinched, his eyes drifting down in... shame? "I understand that you care very much about your students, but I believe it's time to get to matters at hand, old friend." Asura kept his eyes down as Ozpin pat him on the shoulder, pure kindness in his gesture. So why was Asura acting so... ashamed? "Right... well, for starters," Asura began, "Salem has been commanding the Grimm to stay out of conflicts as much as possible and continue to grow their numbers. Grimm have been getting more and more powerful as time pass, far faster than they should be. The Abyss is growing stronger and stronger as their population continues to increase. I wasn't entirely sure about this at first, so I asked Braxton to come along with me over to Atlas."

"What did you find there?" I asked, this strange feeling of horror setting into my gut.

"...Orion."

Ozpin's fingers gripped the mug so hard that it had begun to crack rapidly. "So that sly devil is still alive, hmm? I suppose that I didn't put him down well enough the last time we came to blows."

"Hold on," Ornstein interrupted, "As in one of the Continental Grimm?" Asura and Ozpin nodded gravely. "The very same. Orion was one of the old kings of Mantle when it was first created. However, he was a mad king whom slaughtered his people if they ever questioned his rule. Like the other Continental Grimm, he had forsaken his humanity and plunged himself into darkness. When Braxton and I went to find him, and we did find him, we fought." Asura pointed to a giant crater-like scar that seemed to be rather fresh on his belly's lower right side. "He managed to nearly punch a hole through me. Even if I wasn't using my absolute full power, it means that I was right. The normal Grimm aren't just becoming deadlier, the Continentals have had an exponential growth in power as well. Even the weakest of them, Tyrant of Vale, is now an even match for the three of you."

"And pray tell Master Asura, why does this make the situation worse?" Ciaran asked.

"Because Salem has plans to send an army of Grimm along with a Continental to destroy each Hunter Academy to find the relic. Don't even get started on the White Fang." The imminent threat at once seemed to bear down on all of us far heavier than before, the crushing pressure not allowing any of us to breathe. Someone who was powerful enough to injure Asura? An entire army of Abyssal Creatures? The scenario seem far too similar to what happened to the fall of Anor Londo. "As it is, Tyrant is to be the one responsible for the destruction and capture of Beacon, that much we found out."

"But you're here now, even if it's an aura-projection," Ornstein said hopefully, "Which mean that you must have beaten Orion." Asura, to all our shock, shook his head. "Actually, we're still fighting him right now. More specifically, Braxton is currently holding him off while I'm contacting you." As soon as he said that, Asura's image began to waver, like wind was attempting to blow him away. "Tch, Orion's actually managing to give Braxton some trouble. I cannot talk for much longer, but I will say this: as soon as we are done dealing with this, Braxton will be over in Mistral while I'll head over to Vale as fast as I can. When I do arrive..." He turned to look at all three of us. "Get yourselves ready, I'm going to be training you three. You'll all need to attain the level of strength that can let you fight the Continentals one-on-one. You've recovered well since the Fall of Anor Londo, but you still have room for growth."

The thought of training with Asura again both excited and scared me to no end. "Rei! Tell my Son and Daughter that I love them, and I'm coming over soon." He quickly wrapped his hand around her waist and kissed her deeply, his wife reciprocating instantly. Ciaran blushed and averted her eyes from the scene while I coughed into my hand, both of our eyes meeting with a knowing look. Even embarrassed, Ciaran still spared a grin for me. "Right then," Asura said after they had... ah, finished, "I'll be off. Take care of yourself and... goodbye Ozpin." Again was that face and attitude of shame. Ozpin looked almost touched, a small, genuine smile on his face. "Come back in one piece, old friend."

With that, the God of Wrath vanished, leaving the five of us in the room. "Allow me to cover the Goliath in the room," I spoke after a bit. "Why was he acting that way?" Having greatly looked up to Asura, it upset me to see someone so strong have such a look on their face. Ozpin himself turned a bit sad, turning his chair so that he was facing the great window. "You are all aware of my curse, yes?" The three of shuddered slightly as Ozpin formed a small pinprick of aura at his fingertip. Though it was small, it radiated the power of countless powerful warriors whom Ozpin had been reincarnated from. "You should also do well to remember who brought such a curse upon me."

It didn't take us long to figure out what he was implying, and the thought rocked my core. "Wait, you mean to say that Master Asura was the one to place that curse upon you!?" Ciaran asked, shocked and conflicted like the rest of us. "He wasn't the only one to do it obviously. Your Lord Gwyn had also done the same along with a few of the other Gods." I honestly didn't know what to say; for Asura, for our own Lord Gwyn to do something so cruel to an ally, even if he couldn't stop Salem in his first life made no sense. "However, I do not blame Asura. The more powerful Gods at the time had to find someone to blame when Lord Grimm took up an apprentice, and as the wizard whom was constantly warring with Salem, they chose to heap the fault on me. Asura during then was... misinformed, lied to by his fellow Gods, and in a fit of wrath, he took part in cursing me. He may not have been a major God back then, but he was a young, immensely powerful one, no doubt."

Ozpin sighed quietly, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "When he found out that I was simply the scapegoat, he came rushing to me with tears in his eyes, begging forgiveness and attempting to rid me of my curse by himself. When he found that he was unable to do it, he went to war with the Gods whom cursed me. Even to this day, he searches for a way to rid me of my curse, be it through his training, through magic, or through any other means at his disposal." He shook his head and stood up. "He practically tortures himself for what he did, even when I tell him that I bear no ill will for his actions, the poor man. Besides... having an immortal soul does have quite the number of benefits. I do have a task ahead of me, and while my time in this body is running out, I'll do as much as I can until I find another successor. Until then however..." He turned to the four of us with a grim smile. "Before Asura returns, I suppose that it's up to us to ensure that nothing happens to the students of the school."

Kagome

"Ma'am, so you're sure about giving me the permission to no longer hold back?" I turned and leveled a smirk at her. "Just ensure that they do not die. Put them into the hospital, show Raiden and his new friends what he's up against." Rachel nodded and grinned savagely, giggling like a hyena under her breath (granted, that was her Faunus trait). I breathed out and stretched, telling myself to relax, my heart starting to beat out of my chest as I began to feel lightheaded. This always happened to me before combat, and not out of fear: out of excitement. That look of fear from that silver-eyed girl enticed me to no end, even if it was spoiled by Raiden. Speaking of which... 'He's most certainly gotten stronger. The Deity within him always leaks out when he becomes enraged, but now it's become much more... prominent. Has he reached his Awakening as well?'

I kissed my teeth in annoyance and smirked again. 'No, he doesn't have any knowledge of an Awakening. He only recently unlocked his semblance anyway, and it takes years of training to reach the next level. I am stronger than him, stronger than anyone here!'

"Let the match begin!"

My first opponent, a bulky man in full blue Cobalt Armor and a red broadsword rushed at me, fast for his size. 'His aura is concentrated more towards his legs, but the lack of auric defense is made up for by the armor.' It meant absolutely nothing to me as I summoned G-W.A.T, the Stand swatting the blade away as it was thrust forward and countering with a right. The punch shattered his helmet and blinded him as I made my move, dashing in and bringing my spear down on his head with a spine-tingling *CRACK* sound. As he was reeling away in pain, I held my hand out as my black aura coalesced into my palm. "Auric Arte: Deadzone Blast!" Flinging it at him, the explosion sent him tumbling into the Ruined City Sector. He stood up, looking confused as he pat himself. "That didn't hurt!" He laughed, gripping his sword as his own aura poured into the blade. "Soul Geyser!" Stabbing the blade into the ground, the floor beneath me rumbled and I quickly leaped away as a spout of pure aura erupted.

I still hopped around quickly avoiding the other streams of aura that exploded from the ground, keeping an eye on him. 'Hmph, wide open!' I thought as I sprinted forward in a zigzag motion. "I have you right where I want you Kuroken!" He yelled as I was about a meter away, ripping his sword from the floor and up into my chin. "WORTHLESS!" I roared as G-W.A.T appeared and grabbed his arm, savagely twisting and breaking it like a twig. He screamed in pain as he fell to a knee. "H-how!? My aura is still...!"

"Because of my semblance," I cut him off as I put my heel on his chest and stood on him. "Your auric defense is 'Gone Without A Trace'. Now, be eliminated!" G-W.A.T grabbed him by the neck, lifted him up and promptly threw him into a building with a resounding *BOOM*, the structure falling crashing down upon him. His aura without its defensive ability could only drain itself to heal him, and with the several broken bones and lacerations through the chinks in his armor, his aura practically vanished, all but 2% remaining. 'Look at that, down in fifteen seconds. A new record for me, I guess.' The crowd cheered as I raised a closed fist, a pose that spoke of pure dominance and victory.

"RAAAAAGH!" I looked over to my left where Rachel was fighting her own opponent, whom was downed and vulnerable. "MYSTIC ARTE: EARTH-BREAKER!" Her mace covered in scarlet aura smashed into her opponent, and I instinctively jumped up. The blow shattered the ground like glass and tore through her opponent's aura like paper. The very air itself was split with cracks from her power: the ability to create and control an earthquake. Entire boulders were thrown into the air, trees ripped from their foundation, hell the foundation itself being crushed into dust. When said dust settled, Rachel's opponent's armor had basically disintegrated, their body twitching from the overload of damage. Even from the distance I was at, I could see some broken ribs and a leg. 'She held back, thank the gods,' I sighed a bit in relief. The last thing we needed right now was a premature death.

"...L-ladies and gentleman, we appear to have a new record!" The fat professor said, still immensely stunned. "This was the fastest ever match in the entire history of the Vytal Festival, lasting a total of Twenty seconds: to the winner, by brutal aura-depletion, is Rachel Bloodhound and Kagome Kuroken of Team DARK!" I smirked and looked back up to where Raiden and his ever-so-jolly crew, and while they all quickly filed out, Raiden had stayed standing, his arms crossed as he stared down at us. "Do you want me to deal with him?" Rachel asked, cracking her neck and gripping her mace. I quickly looked back at her, making her freeze in place with a sharp glare. "Do not. As powerful as our team has become, you are still no match for Raiden. Besides... he's mine."

I licked my lips and looked back at Raiden, a small scowl on his face. Without effort, I leaped right up into the stands, landing directly in front of Raiden. Though his fists were clenched, I could tell that he wasn't stupid enough to attack me. "Alright, what do you want now?" He spat. "I'm already really tempted to punch you in the face, but I'm in a pretty good mood today." I purred a bit and put a hand on his shoulder, his eyes looking at it like it was a stain. "Walk with me." As we walked to the exit I had begun talking to him. "Raiden, please reconsider my offer I made a while back. You can come back to Haven Academy, with me at your side." He snorted in pure disgust. "Why would I want you of all people at my side? You already got me thrown out Haven because you knew I became stronger than you. That old bastard Lionheart didn't hesitate to expel me and my entire team too, so why should I trust you? Hell, why are you even bringing this up now?"

I paused at that. There was no way I was going to tell him about everything, but I didn't see the harm in teasing him just a little. "Well... let's just say, I have big plans, plans I'd hope that you'd join me with. You're useful, and I hate to see someone like you go to waste. Besides... you'd be smart to know when someone has you outmatched." He raised his brow with a cocky grin. "You sayin' you're stronger than me now?" I smirked and let just a touch of my awakening reveal itself, the skin on my hand turning grey with black, vein-like markings. Raiden's smile was wiped off of his face very quickly, every part of his body tensing up before he quickly stepped away, his hands up in a defensive posture. "Scared?" I laughed before I saw the look on his face.

He was far from scared. His eyes were slightly wide and his pupils smaller than normal, a massive grin on his face. This was the look of Raiden ready to enjoy a fight. "Looks like I underestimated you Kagome," He said with an excited voice. "You've gotten really strong." His hands dropped back down to his sides as he managed to reign himself in. "Heh, I'm impressed, I think we might finally be even when it comes to raw power. I don't know what you just showed me, but whatever it is, I'll be looking forward to facing it. Still though, fuck you and your deal, whatever the hell it is." He put his hands in his pockets and began to walk away, while I could only stand there, shocked. "You aren't the only one who's got a new level of power, so be very careful with who you try to threaten."

My nails bit into my palm as I clenched my fist hard, blood spilling soon after. "...Bastard...!"

Ciaran

"...Master Asura could never do something like that," Artorias said stubbornly. Even though we were sitting in the lounge, the three of us felt far from relaxed. "Artorias, get your head out of your ass," Ornstein snapped, "He did do it, it happened, Ozpin's existence is just proof of what he did. I don't think I can ever forgive him for something so... low." Artorias shot out of his seat with an angry look on his face. "Asura was the one who taught us how to be righteous, to respect all mortal life!" I sighed and interrupted the two of them, "Both of you, stop bickering." The two of them quickly shut up and looked at me. "...Look, I am as shocked as the both of you are about it. But..." I turned to Artorias and spoke, "You have to understand that Asura did curse Headmaster Ozpin, and he did break the rule of a God cursing a mortal. Brother," I turned to Ornstein this time, "You have to understand that it was an accident, a mistake. We all saw the remorse upon his face, and we all know what he'd never do something like that unless he genuinely believed that his actions would benefit all of mortality."

I breathed and continued, "Yes, what he did was wrong... but he did it for the betterment of mankind. If he hadn't done that, who's to say that there would've been anybody to truly halt the Age of Dark? If Headmaster Ozpin wasn't given an immortality, who's to say that the Four Relics wouldn't have fallen into Salem's... into Manus' hands? Imagine: the souls of the four strongest beings in Lordran, combined with the power of Manus. Had Ozpin not existed, we wouldn't have a world to look forward to." Both men deflated and looked a bit ashamed, and I had to hide a smirk at the fact that I was the one to get them under control. 'Gough would be proud.'

"I'm... sorry for my biased thoughts, my friend," Artorias said.

"No no," Ornstein coughed awkwardly, "You weren't in the wrong, I simply jumped to conclusions rather blindly." Artorias smirked a bit and cheekily said, "You do have a tendency to do that."

Ornstein rolled his eyes but muttered under his breath, "Fair enough, cheeky bugger."

I shook my head and laughed at the familiar absurdity of the situation, Artorias and Ornstein joining in soon after. "Anyway, who else is excited for Master Asura's training?" I asked sarcastically. All of us shivered. "I still remember getting chased by three dragons in nothing but a pair of pants for 'endurance and speed' training," Ornstein said. "I remember having to use a damned tree as a sword while Asura had a pack of dog-sized demons claw at me. I think I still have the scars," Artorias chuckled. "What about you Ciaran?" I hummed and thought for a bit before I came to a particularly unpleasant memory of training under the God of Wrath. "...well, he once forced me to dance." Both men's faced contorted into horror. "He... forced you to dance?" Ornstein asked in horror, and for good reason. Unless it was with Artorias, I absolutely despised dancing. "While I was in an active volcano, no less. I'm almost one-hundred percent certain that Asura is trying to kill us."

"Is that supposed to surprised any of us?" Ornstein deadpanned, eliciting another laugh from all of us. "Fair point. Still though, I'm not going to lie, I am quite excited to see what we'll do when we start training with him again. Hell, we might get a lesson or two on the uses of aura, seeing as we're now able to use it." Artorias opened his hand and let his midnight blue and dark purple aura swirl on his palm, fascinated by it. "I'm still quite surprised that we Deities had unlocked our aura so long ago, yet we never knew it could be used for defensive purposes. Come to think about it, we have gotten much stronger ever since our recovery. I'm interested to see what happens when we're finally given the chance to go all out."

"Well, you have to remember," I spoke, "We've basically just come from a war about two months or so ago, constantly fighting in our worst condition. In a way, we're now used to fighting in such a terrible state and have grown greatly from the experience."

"...would you like to test that out?" Artorias asked.

"Eh?" Both Ornstein and I asked.

"There's most likely nobody using the Combat Room right now, so I don't see why we can't go down and have a spar, like good-old times."

Ornstein leaped out of his feet and whipped out his spear in its dormant form, grinning from ear to ear. "Hell yes! We still have a score to settle Artorias, and I'll see to it that we settle it now." Artorias was caught off guard from Ornstein's sudden burst of gusto before he grinned as well getting up and taking out his own dormant sword. "Well, I don't see why we can't." Even I was getting a bit excited, smirked and putting my hands on the hilts of my Tracers. "It's settled then. Let's go, shall we?"

"I will be the one supervising you three," All of us turned to see Glynda standing at the door, a cup of steaming coffee in her hand. "Just to ensure that you don't end up destroying the school while you three duel it out." Well, all looked very, very swell.

Raiden

"Nine-hundred and ninety-nine... one-thousand!" I breathed as I came down from my hand-stand push-ups, having worked up a light sweat after my warm up. That vast, consuming power that Kagome had showed me was not something to underestimate. 'She's grown so ridiculously strong in such a short period of time. The amount of aura she contained...' I shook my head to clear the thought away, only focusing on how to get strong quickly. 'Professor A is a like my dad, something big is going on behind the scenes, and suddenly Kagome shows up with a brand new level of strength that could beat even me going at full-throttle. What are the odds of that? If my Wrath-Burst isn't enough to keep up with her, then I'm in deep shit. I can't improve my physical strength that much while we're competing, that level of training will drain me. I need to focus on taking my semblance to the next level!'

With that, I yelled, "Wrath Burst!" Aura exploding around my body as a rush of power flowed through me. I wasn't currently at 100%, maybe thirty or forty at most. Even under my old teacher, I never really studied the power that I had worked so hard to achieve. It was my anger turned into raw power, both in aura and in physical strength, it's part of what defines me, my soul projected outwards. It was dangerous, risky, and utterly glorious to feel. Even now, I could feel the slight strain it was putting on me, but it was a strain that I was used to, feeling more like a slight ache through my muscles. 'Alright... now what?' I was stuck, unsure as to what to do. I didn't want to wreak my body by going at 100%, but I had no idea where to take it.

"...Umm...?" I hummed to myself. I couldn't really 'get angrier', even now I wasn't able to call upon the full power of my semblance mainly because I wasn't that angry. Honestly, it was fairly hard to just fly into a rage when I was by myself, even if I pictured Kagome right in front of me. Maxed out, I increased my power three times over, but right now it was at most just two times. 'What if I-?' I started before the door to the Combat Room suddenly opened, a subtle wave of power washing over me as Professors Ciaran, Ornstein and Artorias walked in wearing casual, loose clothing right next to Headmistress Glynda. "Ornstein and Ciaran will be fighting first. Then we'll have-" They all paused when they all turned to look at me, my feet freezing in place.

"Oh, hello Ryuka," Professor Ciaran spoke first. "If you don't mind, we're going to have a little sparring session. You can stay if you want to."

"Stay?" Glynda hissed, "But...!"

I raised a hand, stopping her respectfully. "Don't worry about it, I already know. Remember, my dad's a Deity and I'm kinda used to the aura. Besides, this might be a learning opportunity for me." Artorias grinned and gave me a thumbs up, Ciaran's eyes shooting up in surprise and Ornstein nodding with an amused look on his face. "Learning eh? If that's the case..." He strode over to the arena and took out his impressive spear, gilded in brass and crackling with electricity... before he promptly threw it away, putting his fists up in an orthodox boxing stance. "Fight me then! That'll be a good learning curve, even if I'm not using my weapon."

"Absolutely not!" Goodwitch barked.

"I don't mind," I said quickly with a grin, taking my jacket off and throwing it into the stands. "Like I said, It'll be a great learning lesson for me." Goodwitch froze me with such a harsh glare I actually shuddered a bit. She was silent for a while before she finally relented. "If either of you are seriously injured, I will not be taking responsibility for it, are we clear?" Both of us nodded and got ready, my gauntlets whirring and clicking as they covered my arms. "Begin!"

Ornstein was by far the fastest I ever fought, putting Ruby's speed to shame as he seemed to blur to my right and swinging his foot in a casual kick, forcing me to leap over it in a hurry. He punched me right in the gut and I could already tell he was holding back a lot, even as I crumpled to the floor. He didn't show any mercy as he swung down, fist tearing through stone and into my hasty guard, blasting me all the way to the edge of the arena. 'Shit, my arms...!' They were completely numb, even if I could move them, I wouldn't be able to throw any good punches. "100%, FULL POWER!" I roared as I leaped to my feet, focusing some aura into my arms to heal them. Ornstein grinned and danced towards me, feet bouncing off the floor in an expert fashion. "All out from the start huh? Wise choice Ryuka. I'll show you a small portion of what I have to offer!" Small sparks flew off of him, but his power shot up so high that I knew that I didn't stand a chance. He'd probably just used about 1% against me just a moment ago, and now he was tapping into his potent aura by just a small margin, taking a handful strength out of an ocean of power.

'This just got exciting,' I thought with a grin. I quickly shifted forward and threw out a jab, Ornstein barely swaying away from it as he countered with his own, blasting into my cheekbone. 'Stand my ground, don't give him an inch of space. He's bigger and hits harder, but I can throw faster, two while he's throwing one!' Again he threw out a sharp cross, but I managed to barely slip under it and slam a sidekick into his ribs, following up with a quick hop and right uppercut into the chin. I had to stretch for it though, he was pretty tall and his chin felt incredibly solid. I slipped under a casual left hook meant to drive me away, trying to counter with a right of my own. I was only met with a shock of pain as I was blasted away from him again, realizing that he shocked me with his own lightning. The Deity didn't wait another second, grinning as he sped towards me with is fist raised.

"Enough!" The two of us quickly froze as Goodwitch's voice boomed over us, a purple aura stopping Ornstein's fist. I breathed out as I suppressed my power, the stress going away as I relaxed. "I'm sorry, but if I let this continue any further, Raiden is going to get very badly hurt." I couldn't help but hang my head in a bit of shame that I wasn't able to really try anything or do any real damage. Ornstein held a hand out to me, a grin on his face. "You're quite good for a half-human, best that's fought me in a long time." Surprised at the compliment, I took his hand and he heaved me to my feet with ease. "You know, you should join us more when you decide you want to train." He leaned in and whispered, "In secret through, I'd rather not have Lady Goodwitch there slap me again."

Enlightened, I chuckled and shook hands with him. "It didn't last long, but thanks for the experience Professor." He nodded and yelled, "Ciaran, get in here! You still owe me for that coffee you stole from me." Said Professor just appeared in front on me, scaring the life out of me at the same time. "I did it because you stole my lunch." She turned to me with those piercing black and silver eyes, but her smile was genuine. "Back away for now Ryuka, and watch me if you really want to see what a battle between Deities looks like." I quickly walked over to the seats and sat down next to Artorias, who was also watching with great anticipation. 'One step at a time I suppose,' I thought as I got comfy.

Blake

"...Yang, I swear, if you keep at it with those push-ups, you won't be able to feel your arms tomorrow," I sighed as Yang just kept on going. "Eh, I'm almost done my set anyway, just ten more." Yang did just that, leaping to her feet as soon as she was done and, surprisingly, she looked almost completely fine aside from the gathering sweat. 'Wow, looks like that extra training with Raiden really did help her a lot. Those small tips he gave me were good as well.' Idly, I waved my hand around and willed a Shadow Clone of it to follow by movement, a slight delay between the real limb and the shadow. I burst of wind-pressure made me look up as Yang called upon the full extent of her aura. When I was in the White Fang, Adam personally taught me about the properties of aura and trained me with it, so now after training even more with it, I was able to get a small sense of how powerful aura-users were.

Yang was strong, incredibly strong, it felt like I was close to a miniature sun. Honestly, it was a nice feeling too. "Hmm, I haven't gotten much stronger," Yang said, clearly annoyed, and I rolled my eyes. "Yang you were already strong enough to flip cars without your gauntlets, now you could probably bench-press a bus. Or two." Yang chuckled at that and flexed, the definition in her arms more noticeable than before. "Why do you feel the need to get stronger? The tournament's at least halfway done, and you're already a force to be reckoned with when you go all out." Yang clenched her fist and the cheery expression dropped from her face a little, a much more serious look on it like when she talked to me in Port's classroom some time ago.

"You saw how fast Kagome finished her opponent, right?" I nodded grimly, I was at the noodle-stand when I saw it. "I know she's going to pull something. I'll end up fighting her at some point, and if I'm not in the least bit prepared...she'll gladly beat me to death for it." I shuddered at the words and at the thought of Kagome. Yang wasn't pulling this out of thin air either, Kagome always gave her that well hidden but certain murderous look, the same look that Adam ever gave every human he looked at. "I need to at least be as strong as Raiden. If I get that strong, I'll be able to tackle anything the world can dish at us!" She looked at me with a smile of her own. "You've gotten stronger too Blake. Hell, everyone's been getting stronger and stronger, and I feel like we're going to need it too. The White Fang arming themselves to the teeth, the Breach on Vale, and now Gods just randomly falling out of the sky? Something is going on, that much we know... we're going to need every bit of strength we can spare for what's to come."

Thinking on that, it would be very hard to find a disagreement to that argument. "I might sound like a bit of a hypocrite here," Yang spoke after a moment, "But I just want to be ready." Her fist clenched tightly and threw a sharp punch, cutting through the air and actually blowing the hair from my face. "I don't ever want to be caught helpless ever again, like that time when Ruby and I were kids. So, I'll keep getting stronger." She sat down and crossed her legs, eyes closing as she began to concentrate, my eyebrows raising in surprise at the relaxed posture. 'She's meditating? Guess there's a first time for everything.' Her aura surrounded her once more in a thin but roiling film like flaming oil on a flat surface. "You can meditate?" I asked, surprised.

Closed-eyed, she grinned and replied, "Don't take me for the kind to meditate, huh?"

"You punch people with your fists stuffed up a Turkey," I said dryly, "No Yang, I do not take you as the type of person to meditate."

"Well then, care to join me?" Chuckling, I sat down next to her and closed my eyes, raising my own aura, feeling Yang's burning power next to mine. 'One step at a time.'

(A.N: Not really much to say, except that I hope you enjoy... well, as much as you can enjoy a filler. Next chapter we'll be getting right into the good stuff: The Finals of the Tournament! Stay tuned, leave a follow and Fav if you're new and like what you see. Bye!)