Chapter 36: Explanations - Store
They continued walking, heading for Kala's store, along the way, they began talking about the tournaments. "About your fighting style," Ruby asked Gris, "Is it really like dancing?"
"A little bit," Gris answered, "I have to take careful steps and watch my blades so I don't accidently hit myself or trip over. My usual way of fighting keeps me almost off my feet as i have to spin sometimes."
"I wonder how you not get dizzy when fighting like that," Yang said.
"Loads of practice and training," Gris added.
"Changing the subject," Weiss cut in, "We heard about your semblance abilities but how do they function in battle?"
"Well against people, it's easy, I could be blinded physically but I could still 'see' them," Gris said, "Against Grimm, however, it's a little hard since thye have no aura at all."
"How do you even sence them, then," Blake wondered.
"I found out they just leave a void wherever they stand," Gris answered, "So, i look for that."
"And about your channeling abilities," Weiss began.
"I usually use it for channeling into my weapons," Gris answered, "As you know, it adds more kick to my strikes but it work on my bullets, and it leaves me vulnerable."
"How should we know if you're channeling it," Weiss said.
'So many questions,' Gris thought and said aloud, "You'll hear a distinct hum and see my weapons glow depending on their names. Shadow, my left sword, has a dark glow, and Light, of course has a white glow." He demonstrated as he extended his weapons and concentrated as he channeled his aura into them. As he said, they hummed as though resonating with his aura as a faint glow emitted from them.
Matt and Kala smiled at him. "He really could pack a punch with those when he channels," Admitted Matt, "When I took a direct hit from that, one time, I found my world turned upside down as I found myself face first in the ground and the air was knocked out of me."
"I'm surprised you still remember that," Gris added, "You took quite the fall that I was worried about you having a major concussion. Thankfully, you came through with a few bumps and you were just winded. Also, I could only channel my aura into my weapons and keep them in there for a few minutes."
Kala asked, "I always wondered, can you channel into people?"
"To be honest, i never tried that," Gris admitted as he shrugged, "I guess, in theory, I might boost their current aura or awaken dormant aura."
"Impressive," Blake said, "I'm glad you came with us, and went with me."
Gris smiled at her and held her hand, "Yeah, I wouldn't trade this for the world."
Everyone smiled at them with Ruby feeling slightly jealous but she accepted it.
As they approached Kala's store, Kala said, "Mom and Dad are holding a stall at the festival so they have to stay at the nearby hotel."
"Huh, well then," Gris said, "I bet Uncle Tal and Aunt Ula saw you fight there. I hope they're proud."
"Wait," Ruby said, " Uncle and Aunt?"
"I told you we were that close," Gris said, "I was surprised as well when i first met them. Kala's adopted, two months before I was born, in fact. The parents are Faunus as well which explains why she sympathized with the Faunus."
"Hold on, what," Yang is clearly confused more than the rest of his team.
"I know it's confusing but bear with me," Gris said, "I also found that her adoptive father is my mother's older brother back then."
Kala smiled and said, "Can't be any further from the truth, though technically we're cousins but not directly related in any way."
Gris nodded as they entered the store, and headed upstairs. "We have a couple guest rooms for anyone who wants to stay," Kala says as she shows them there.
As they checked out the rooms, Ruby decided that they could choose where they'd sleep on their own which Blake suddenly yet expectantly went with Gris as he brings her closer to him. "Well then," Matt commented, "Who else didn't see that coming?" Everyone had a laugh as they had something to eat. The food was mostly re-heated leftovers but was well made and it really satisfied everyone. As everyone ate, the table was alight with conversation after conversation. "Kinda takes us back, doesn't it," Gris said.
"Yeah," Matt answered," Only that it was you, me, and Kala during lunch."
"Those were the days," Kala said thinking back, "Now, it's all of us."
Yang chimed in saying, "Was it always like that?"
"Pretty much," Gris said, "But now that I have you four, it's even better."
Apparently, everyone was listening and smiled at him as he said it. "Good to know that he is with people that could take care of him other than us two," Kala said with a hint of jealousy in her voice, "I can tell you've all grown quite attached to him."
Matt caught that tone right away but decided to leave it at that for now. In truth, Kala's relationship with Gris, from her side anyways, goes beyond just step relatives. Of all the times they spent together, one would guess that one of them would grow to really love the other. Kala silently objected at first about Gris' relationship with Blake and the bonds with his team but decided to tolerate this for now. "Anyways, about the tournaments," Matt said changing the subject around, " I hear it's going to be team matches for the next round. School teams are default placements for competitors but that's all I heard."
"Well, that's going to be interesting," Gris commented, "but it makes sense, because, for some reason, i felt that the first round was a test on certain skills. I guess the same kind of stuff will go for the last few rounds."
Ruby spoke up with a smile, "I heard of people talking about us, i guess team RWBY+ will be everyone's favorite."
"Is that so," Gris said, "Well let's not disappoint them."
"Yeah," Blake smiles as she says, "Let's give them all we got."
Weiss cut in, "Not wanting to burst the bubble, or anything, but we shouldn't get too confident. Some of the people we saw fight and win looked pretty tough."
"No worries," Gris says with a smile of his own, "I think we can take them. We work as a team to take down our opponents, remember? I say, most of what we need is strategy and skill. So, let's give 'em a good fight." Everyone cheered in unison, round two is tomorrow so, hopefully everyone will be ready.