Chapter 17: The pieces are (somewhat) coming together
(A couple of days after the attempted 'robbery')
Cardin Winchester opened his eyes to see that he was in a shared hospital room in the middle of the night, and in the other beds, were the members of his team.
"That bastard" he spat out as he struggled to remain even sitting up.
He looked to the rest of his team, Dove looked to be the least injured as he appeared to just be unconscious (whatever had hit him, had done a number on him), Sky had a mechanical left arm that appeared to be directly connected to his body, and Russel had two completely mechanical arms that were connected by a metal plate that covered the entire top half of his back and front.
"You're not in any better condition" a refined and sophisticated voice said from the shadows of the room.
"Who the hell are you" Cardin yelled.
But all the voice did was reply with a hum, "Look to your left" it demanded.
Cardin seethed at the voice, but he did turn, and he saw a mirror on the stand next to him, he then picked it up without instruction, and what he saw made him seethe even more.
"What the fuck happened to my face" he said as the mirror trembled in his hands.
One half of his face was completely scarred, and although it appeared that his eye worked, it was not a pretty sight.
Cardin then clutched his face as his aura faded and pain started to flare, "What the…" he growled.
"It appears that whatever flame burned you, it has burned you in a way that your aura has to be entirely focused on numbing the pain, otherwise you will constantly have have to experience this" the voice informed.
Cardin's aura shone again as it started to dull the pain, but this did not settle the young man, "Who are you?" he questioned as his face expressed contempt and anger.
"Somebody who has a proposition for you fine young men" the voice said (with maybe a hint of irony).
"And what would that be?" Cardin asked as he arched an eyebrow while keeping a scowl on his face.
"Well…" the voice started to state.
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Back at Beacon (Present Time)
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Team MCSZ all looked at the young woman in complete surprise, and before any of them could ask anything, she started to dart her eyes around.
"Is there somewhere we can all talk in private?" she asked as glanced to Luffy.
And after a moment, Luffy grinned, "Sure, follow me" he said as he started to walk off towards the dorms, with them following behind him.
As they walked, the three other guys quickly walked up to their captain to ask something, "What are you doing?" they all whispered at him.
Luffy grinned and chuckled in response, "Ehh, who cares, she wants to talk somewhere private, we'll go somewhere private, something is off about her and I want to know why" he quietly declared to his team.
"Even if she is Dragon's daughter, she still isn't technically your sister" Chopper quietly whispered.
And Luffy shrugged at this, "Whatever" he said with a smile as he started to pick up the pace, with the rest of his team, and the unknown woman running behind him.
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(A couple minutes later)
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The five of them arrived and entered the dorm, and they were greeted by a slightly bloated Fluffy, and a trash can full of bones and bottles.
"Ruuuuuf" the dog lazily barked as it acknowledged them, before he passed out (from what was probably overeating).
As the young woman sat herself down on the window ledge and looked to the guys, Chopper looked at her incredulously.
"You're not actually related to Luffy, are you?" he questioned.
But the girl just smiled as her body took on a more animal like appearance, her ears grew out under the spot where her antlers grew, her snout extended and her nose turned into one similar to Chopper.
"Quite observant, aren't you" she stated.
And this revelation made Chopper start to stutter, "Mi.. Mil…" he said as he started to shudder.
"Haven't I seen you before" Luffy said as held his hand up to his chin, and while Zoro and Sanji just looked on in the utmost confusion.
The woman shook her head, "We have never met, and you are quite right" she said looking to shuddering Chopper, "I am not technically related to Luffy".
"What does that mean" Luffy said with a look of extreme confusion evident on his face.
The girl sighed, and she quickly shifter to look exactly like a reindeer, before turning back to her human form with antlers, "Dragon adopted me when I was young" she muttered.
She then continued, "I was born a reindeer, but I ate a devil fruit that can allow me to transform into a human" she softly stated.
"Oh, so you're like…" Luffy started to say before Sanji covered his mouth and gave him a look.
Sanji then looked to young woman, "Miss, if you don't mind, may I ask you two questions?" he asked.
To which she nodded in acknowledgment.
"What is your name?" Sanji asked first.
The girl looked at Luffy solemnly, "M. Milky" she quietly said.
And Luffy gave her a confused look, "Wouldn't you have the same name as me?" he asked.
But Milky shook her head, "I never wanted to be someone that was compared to Dragon, and I do not think that I deserve to be a Monkey D., even though he thinks I should use the name" she said with a sad smile.
"Does he know you are here?" Zoro questioned.
Milky nodded, "I wanted to become a huntress and experience the world, and he let me, I was his child, not his soldier" she said.
Luffy looked at her agitated, "Why do you care if anybody thinks you are related to Dragon or not" he said.
To which Milky shrugged, "I just wanted to go about my life plans, and not have to deal even more problems" she said.
Luffy was about to retort, but Sanji put a hand in front of him, "Sorry captain, but I have to ask my second question" he said as he gave Milky an inquiring look.
"How do you know about devil fruits?" he asked.
Milky shrugged again, "I told Dragon I ate a weird fruit when I was a young reindeer, and he immediately deduced my situation, and told me what I needed to know" she explained.
Chopper, Sanji and Zoro all shared an impressed look in regards to Dragon's knowledge and capabilities, and then they turned their attention back to Milky.
She and Luffy were just staring at each other (him with confusion, and her with relaxation), "You are definitely his son" she said.
And Luffy raised an eyebrow, "Don't really care" he replied.
Milky chuckled at this, "Definitely his son" she said.
She then looked to the wall to her left, "I wanted to ask you so many questions, but it seems I will just have to obtain them from observation" she said as she stood up and looked at the various items that were located on the wall.
"Are these what devil fruits look like?" she asked as she looked at the remaining fruits, to which everybody nodded.
"And is this what I think it is?" she asked as she pointed to Yoru.
"What, exactly?" Luffy, Sanji and Chopper all asked confused.
But Zoro scoffed, "Yeah it's supreme grade, but it's not up for sale" he said.
Milky chuckled, "And why would you think I was interested in it?" she asked.
"Because", Zoro started to say, "You already have one supreme grade sword on you" he said as he pointed at her hip with the sheathed Wado Ichimonji.
She then pulled the sword out of it's sheath, and with a squeeze, the blade ejected, "The Shodai Kitetsu; a cursed sword, the highest grade Kitetsu, and a supreme grade" she said.
Chopper paled a little at the thought of even more cursed blades existing, Sanji wondered why'd she even have the sword, Luffy just had stars in his eyes, and Zoro glared.
"Also" Milky started to say as she removed the collapsed bisento from her back, "I have another one".
As she properly held the bisento, it extended out to it's proper length, and while it did, Zoro looked on in fascination, Chopper in confusion, Sanji in indifference, and Luffy in realisation.
"I've seen that before" Luffy said.
And this made everybody look at him, but he then shook his head, "Never mind, I was thinking of something else" he quickly said.
Milky shrugged at this, and while holding the bisento (and after having sheathed her sword), grinned at the guys.
"The supreme grade blade, Murakumogiri" she said as she twirled it a couple of times, before she collapsed it and placed it back on her back.
"I've wanted to collect every supreme grade blade ever since I found the Murakumogiri in a temple just after Dragon adopted me" she said.
"You just found it in a temple" Zoro asked as he gave her cynical look.
And she shrugged, "It was abandoned, there was a painting of one of those" she said as she pointed to the devil fruits, "But I figured it was a weapon that was left behind by a previous owner, since it barely had any dust on it".
"Hmmph" Zoro scoffed as he gave the girl a look, "And are you going to just take Yoru?".
Milky looked at him, and then the others, "I'm not a thief, I respect the blade, and I can not take a blade that is meant for someone else" she said as she started to walk to the door.
"What do you mean, for someone else?" Luffy questioned.
But Milky smirked at this, "It was good to finally meet you" she said as she gave him a small hug, "I'll see you all around".
And as she walked out the door, she gave them a cheerful smile and closed the door behind her.
("What, was, that?") all of them thought at exactly the same time.
The list of devil fruits also started to glow as they thought this.
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Milky left the building, and headed out towards the grounds of the academy.
"I'm guessing that neither of you want to talk to them yet" she said as the twin tailed girl, and the one with the very long green ponytail appeared beside her.
"We do not wish to overburden them with information, we will talk to them soon though" the green haired one said as they walked off.
"Yeah," the tailed girl also said, "but would they even believe us".
And Milky shook her head at this statement, "Do not hesitate, do or don't" she said as a golden aura emanated from her for a split second.
"There goes our leader, using 'that' ability again" the tailed girl said.
Milky smirked, grabbed the two of them by the arms, and walked off in the direction of the guest dorms, "Let's go look for our very uninformed, and uptight fourth member" she said as she dragged them.
The tailed girl, and green haired girl both chuckled, but they also had looks of uncertainty, "Should we quickly tell them about the duds" the twin tailed one said.
But the other one shook her head, "We'll tell them when we are ready to explain everything" she said with a hint of regret.
Milky looked at her teammates and smiled, ("I wonder what circumstances could have lead to so many coincidences occurring at once") she thought as they walked off.
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A bit after Milky had left, the guys had regained some composure (although Chopper still looked extremely confused), "Well that was informative" Sanji said as he lit a cigarette and leaned against the door.
But Luffy had a look of awkwardness about him, "I have seen that weapon before" he stated as he looked to his team with serious look they had never seen from him before.
"Where?" Zoro inquired.
"Whitebeard had a something extremely similar to it, maybe a a lot longer" Luffy said as let out a weak chuckle.
And Zoro and Sanji chocked at this, "Whi..., Whi…, WHITEBEARD" they both exclaimed.
"And there was something else" Luffy said with his hat covering his eyes as he walked over to the list which had finished glowing, and with an uncharacteristic seriousness, Luffy glanced at the list.
"Oh, well, crap" he blurted out with a weak laugh as he turned the list for everybody to see, "I knew something was off about that bisento".
The list had two new entries in it:
Paramecia: Gura Gura no mi (Murakumogiri) (Sealed)
Zoan: Hito Hito no mi (Model: Goddess) (Monkey D. Milky)
"Well that proves she's your sister, and being adopted doesn't mean shit" Sanji said as he gritted his cigarette.
And Chopper broke out of his stupor as he eyed the list, "She has to have eaten a mythical Zoan" he said, "And what does sealed mean".
Chopper then pulled on his goggles as he continued to eye the list (much to the confusion of his teammates), "How is it that a weapon has anything but a Zoan" he exclaimed dumbfounded.
Luffy shrugged, "Ehh, does it matter?" he said with his smile reappearing on his face.
And Chopper paled and sagged, "Wahhh" he sobbed as he held his hand in his hooves.
"But I wonder why Miss Milky is also in this world" Sanji said as he tried to change the topic.
Zoro then gave him an annoyed look, "Probably a coincidence" he said as he sat down on the floor and started to fall asleep, "I mean she couldn't have had that much influence that she survived, and since she was unknown on that list, I think it's safe to assume that nobody could have predicted this".
He then fell asleep, much to the irritation of the chef and his 'partner", "I do not know what my darling Robin sees in you, but seriously…", Sanji muttered as he walked off into the kitchen.
Luffy chuckled at his teammates, then with a look to his own partner, he walked over to Chopper, who was just looking at his hooves and muttering.
"Yo, Chopper, you good?" he asked as he crouched down and threw an arm around the human-reindeer hybrids neck.
Chopper looked away from his hooves, and to Luffy, "Does none of this concern you?" Chopper quietly inquired.
But Luffy shook his head and grinned, "So I've got more family that I didn't know about, doesn't matter, and as for the other stuff, guess we've just got to roll with it" he stated.
"I guess you're somewhat right" Chopper weakly stuttered as he gave a grin back.
He then looked out the window with a long stare, "I wonder if she is…" Chopper started to mumble as a visible grin appeared on his face.
Luffy got up, patted Chopper's head and walked over to where Fluffy was and sat on the window frame next to him.
"You're gonna reach a point where you need something or someone to help you reach a higher point, it doesn't need to really improve your abilities, but you can't allow yourself to stay at a level, find your own way of training yourself" Pseudo-Garp exclaimed as he kept smashing Luffy's head into the ground.
"What the hell are you talking about old man" Luffy shouted as he threw a fist at the old man.
But the fist was easily caught, and Pseudo-Garp used it to drag Luffy towards him, "Those who remain of your crew, the ones who know of the value of strength, they will find a way to do the same thing, but you will all have to find your own way" he yelled at Luffy as he dragged him closer.
"But that doesn't make sense" Luffy screeched as he struggled against being pulled.
'Garp' grinned at this, "IT WILL!" he shouted as he threw the arm back that was grasped around Luffy's, and with a mighty yell, he pitched Luffy straight into a large boulder.
Luffy slightly shuddered at the training he had received from his fake grandpa, and then his mind wandered to the people he had met while he was in Beacon.
("I can't help that guy with Ace's fruit, he needs to figure out some stuff for himself, but maybe I should go apologise for how I've acted") he thought.
And then he raised an eyebrow at this thought, ("Everybody's had to change some things about themselves, maybe I've got to start acting like an actual leader") he thought as he got up, gently patted Fluffy, and exited the room.
("Now, where was his room?") He thought as he looked up and down the hallway in confusion.
He then started to walk down it, ("This might take a bit of time") he thought as he walked.
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Ruby and Weiss stood apart from Yang and Blake, "Why are we doing this again" Yang whined as she threw her hands up.
"Because" Weiss started to say as she gave Ruby a knowing nod.
And Ruby nodded at her, "Those guys have told us the basics of how to improve our abilities, now's it up to us to advance them" she declared as she threw a fist in the air.
"And what exactly are we going to do?" Blake questioned as she held Gambol Shroud in her hands.
"Umm, well…" Ruby muttered as she poked her fingers together in embarrassment.
But a flustered Weiss put a hand on her shoulder, "You and I will be sparring, and as will her and Yang, as these seem to be the best matchups" she stated.
"Alright then" Yang stated as she shifted to her hybrid form, "You ready to do this sis".
Ruby nodded at her, and then looked to Weiss and Blake, "Good Luck" she said with a thumbs up as she ran off, followed by a charging Yang.
"I assume you have a plan for us two, in regards to our similar abilities" Blake said as smoke started to lazily bellow from her feet.
Weiss nodded, "According to those guys, and from what I've managed to ascertain from having this ability for a short time now, we should both be training ourselves to reflexively change our bodies".
She then pointed Myrtenaster at Blake, "And the best way to improve said skill is through combat" she declared as she activated a glyph to push herself forward at an impressive speed and straight at her.
Blake saw her coming, and chose to instead dodge out of the way, using the smoke to fly her up and over Weiss, landing behind her.
Weiss quickly stopped and turned around to face her, "Why'd you dodge?" she asked.
"Well I'm not going to just stand still and let you hit me" she said with a lack of emotion.
"That's the point though" Weiss said as she pointed her sword at Blake again, "What if you get attacked from behind, you should be able to train your body to instinctively transform, and make it so that is as normal as breathing".
But Weiss failed to notice Blake had disappeared, and before she could react she felt a shot in her back, which since she hadn't properly reacted, she had instead used aura to block it.
"Well I wouldn't consider that turning into ice" Blake snarked as Weiss turned around again.
"I see the point you're trying to make" Weiss stated as she calmed herself, and her aura stopped glowing.
Weiss put Myrtenaster back on her hip and clasped her hands together, "I guess we've both still got a lot to learn" she said as her arms glistened and transformed into ice.
Blake smirked, and after putting away Gambol Shroud, she held the both of her palms open and at Weiss, they then started to change into smoke and gently let pieces fall to the ground.
"Care to go again" Weiss said as the ground around her started to freeze over.
"Sure" Blake said with a smile as she shot forward with her smoke trailing behind her.
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Yang in her hybrid form was throwing fist after fist at Ruby, who was struggling to dodge each of the fists as both her eyes glowed, and rose petals trailed off of her.
"Yang, huff, huff, Yang, I need a, breather" Ruby croaked as she barely jumped over another fist, but to her shock, another furry fist collided with her stomach and sent her crashing down.
"Oww" she moaned as she held her arms around her stomach in the small indent that had been created from her impacting in the ground.
"Sorry Rubes" Yang said as she changed back to a human and offered her sister a hand.
Ruby's aura glistened as she grabbed the hand and was hoisted up.
"I didn't think you could get any stronger" Ruby sardonically chuckled as she held her hands behind her head.
"I was holding back a lot" Yang said with a smirk as the both of them sat on the ground.
"Wow" Ruby said with a shocked face as she rubbed her stomach again, "I wonder what your full strength combined with your semblance could do".
"No idea" Yang said with a whistle as she lied down on the ground, "I don't exactly want to try it out and for it to go horribly wrong, I guess we'll just have to wait and see".
Ruby looked down at her, "Yang, do you think Sanji will actually be willing to teach me how to be faster?" she quietly asked.
And Yang sat up and punched her fist into her palm, "Well you went and asked him again didn't you, what did he say?" she inquired.
"He said to give him a bit of time, and I don't really understand why, is it because I'm a girl or something like that, and he doesn't see me as strong?" she asked.
Yang threw an arm around Ruby's neck and gave her a side hug, "That guy is weird, as are his whole group, but I think they want to help us get stronger, and judging from what we've seen them do, I honestly think that you should just wait for his answer" she stated.
"And what if he says no" Ruby hesitantly asked.
Yang grinned at this, "Then I'll smash him into the ground" she said.
And Ruby just chuckled at the brashness of her sister, "Want to go again?" she said as she stood up and her eyes slightly glistened as she smiled at Yang.
Yang grinned and stood up, before changing to her full bison form, "Let's see if you can keep up with a charging beast" she huffed as she scrapped her front right hoove against the ground.
Ruby calmed herself, fully extended Crescent Rose, and aimed herself at Yang, "Let's go" she said as she twirled into rose petals and headed straight towards her sister.
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Luffy had spent a somewhat longer time than he should've looking for Team JNPR's dorm, and it must have been pure luck that the moment he did find it, he had completely forgotten why he was looking for it, but he knocked on the door anyway, and they were actually in it.
"Yo" he said as Ren opened the door for him.
"Is there something wrong" Jaune hesitantly asked as he looked at Luffy (who was still in the doorway).
Luffy looked at all of them and rubbed his head in confusion, "I was gonna say something, but I can't remember" he said, which made everybody pale in shock.
"How can you not remember" Pyrrha said in disbelief as she crossed her arms, "Why would you decide to do something if you can't remember why".
And Luffy shrugged while giving her a grin, "Ehh, it's how I roll" he said.
But he then gave Jaune a look, "Oh wait, I remember" he said hit his fist into his palm, "I wanna talk to you" he stated.
Ren and Nora gave him a hesitant glance due to his previous interaction with Jaune, Pyrrha glared at him, and Jaune stiffened.
"About what?" Jaune hesitantly stuttered.
Luffy had already turned around and was walking out the door by the time Jaune had replied, "Come on" he said as he motioned his hand.
Jaune looked at his team and then down at his hand (which was emitting a small amount of tiny embers), "Okay", he said as he stood up from where he was seated.
"Wait" Pyrrha said before Jaune followed after Luffy, and Luffy instinctively turned around to face her.
"What is it" he lazily replied.
"I want to have a talk with you later as well" she declared as she eyed Luffy with judgement.
"Sure" Luffy then replied with a smile as and Jaune walked off.
Pyrrha shut the door behind them, and turned around to look at Ren and Nora, "For some reason I don't trust that guy" she muttered as she looked at the two of them.
And Ren looked at her, "Pyrrha, although I understand where you are coming from, I can also understand the reason for Luffy's actions, that fruit was the last thing he had of his brother's, you cannot blame for how he has acted" he said to her.
"Yeah" Nora said, "And I'm sure he wouldn't actually go after Jaune without a warning" she morbidly said.
Pyrrha glanced at the two of them, and then out the window as she noticed Jaune and Luffy walking off to another part of the grounds, "But there is something else about them I don't understand…" she muttered as she looked off into the distance.
Ren and Nora simply looked at each other and nodded, "We'll give you some time to yourself" they said as they also got up and started to leave.
Pyrrha watched them leave, and with a sigh, she leaned back against a wall and slid down to the ground, "Something bad is going to happen, but I don't know what" she said as she continued to sigh and hold her hands over her knees.
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Luffy and Jaune sat on one of the terraces that were located on the top of beacon.
Luffy was just looking over at the sun as it was setting, and Jaune just looked down in anxiety.
"I probably wasn't going to do anything with it" Luffy said as he kept his gaze focused on the sun.
Jaune reacted to this by looking to Luffy, "Pardon" he stuttered.
"I said that the fruit used to belong to both of my brothers, did you ever think about that sentence?" Luffy said.
Jaune's eyes widened slightly as he properly processed this, but before he could respond, Luffy spoke again.
"The Mera Mera no mi has a legacy, not many people know it, but it is strong" Luffy said as he quickly wiped a tear from his eye, "And it's gonna be up to you to decide what you add to that legacy".
"I'm sorry" Jaune said as he held a small flame in his hand and looked at it.
"For what" Luffy said as he turned and had a giant smile present on his face.
"I don't think that I ever could match up to that" Jaune said as he closed his fist around the fire.
And then he felt a smack to the back of his head, he saw Luffy's arm pulling back from behind him.
"I may not properly act like the leader I should be" Luffy said as smirked, "But I can tell you one thing, from one leader to another".
"And what's that" Jaune said as he hung his shoulders.
"Never falter" Luffy bellowed as he shot his arms up sporadically.
Jaune looked stupefied at this, and he then looked at his fist which turned into flames, and then at his sword on his hip.
He then also grinned, ("So this is your brother") he thought as Luffy returned his body to normal.
Luffy then smashed his fists together, which resulted in Jaune breaking out of being in his own mind, "Now I've got a couple more things to do before this day is over" Luffy said as he grabbed Jaune and started to run towards the balcony.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Jaune shouted as the two of them went over the edge.
"Taking the express way down" Luffy laughed as the two of them plunged to the ground.
("Luffy's brothers, I think I might die before my time comes") "Jaune morbidly thought as the two of them fell.
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Sanji hesitantly watched as Yang and Ruby fought, "She needs to work on relying on her instinct" Sanji muttered as he chewed on a cigarette and watched Ruby slightly struggle to dodge Yang's attacks.
Sanji's observation flared a warning as he looked at Yang about to land a punch straight in Ruby's face, and within a split second Yang was thrown back by a blinding silver light, and straight into Sanji.
A second later, the two of them fixed themselves up, "Oh, it's you" Yang said as she shook her head and tried to regain focus.
Sanji stared at her for a second, and then he looked to Ruby, who had a circle burned into the ground and surrounding her.
"Miss Ruby" Sanji said as his mouth widened and the cigarette fell out of his mouth.
Yang, who had managed to regain her faculties, also looked to Ruby, and she shared the same reaction as Sanji.
And Ruby just looked at them in confusion, "What's wrong?" she asked in confusion as she eyed the burn marks in the ground surrounding her.
"Ruby…, your eyes" Yang stuttered.
Ruby gave her an even more confused look, but Sanji quickly disappeared and reappeared with a shard of glass, "Look" he softly instructed her.
And as she did look at the mirror, she slightly gasped at the situation her eyes were in.
Her eyes were pure silver, and as she looked at them, she felt a wave of pure exhaustion wave over her.
As Ruby collapsed to the ground, she was caught in an instant by Sanji, "She's fine" he said as he laid her down.
Yang, who had just looked on in pure confusion and anxiety gave him a nod, "I'll take her to the infirmary" she said.
But Sanji shook his head, "You and I both know that this has to do with her devil fruit" he said as he picked Ruby gently up in his arms.
Yang glared at him, "Then where would you suggest we take her" she inquired.
"Chopper of course" Sanji said as he started to walk off.
And Yang ran up to him, changed back to her full human form, and tried to question him, "I know what skills you all say you have, but what if something is wrong with Ruby?".
"Chopper's knowledge is not something to dismiss" Sanji retorted as the two of them soon approached where the dorms are located, "And lucky for us, he is at our dorm relaxing with Fluffy".
Yang huffed, sighed, and then sagged, "Okay, but I'm not going anywhere" she stated.
Sanji nodded at this, and the two of them made their way into their building.
And soon enough, they reached the guy's dorm, and with a kick, Sanji opened the door.
"Chopper" Sanji said as both him and Yang entered the room to see Chopper and Fluffy leaning against a wall and sipping from a large smoothie.
Chopper immediately shot up from his relaxed position (while Fluffy just continued to drink the giant drink), "What happened to her?" he said as he grabbed his goggles off of the bench and pulled them on.
Sanji was about to explain, but then Yang did, "We were training, and as I was about to land a hit on her face, a bright silver light sent me flying back straight into him" she said as she pointed to Sanji who had placed Ruby gently on a stretcher that Chopper had suddenly pulled out of nowhere.
"And then when the light disappeared, we looked at her, and her eyes were pure silver, and almost immediately after she saw what had happened to her eyes, she passed out" Yang said in a very concerned tone.
Chopper gave her a slight nod as he pulled on his goggles and looked at Ruby, "Everything is functioning normally" he said in a confused tone, but then he got to her face.
Chopper paled at what he saw, and after shifting to heavy point, he gently lifted Ruby's eyelid to look at her eye.
Both Yang and Sanji gave him an anxious look, but he didn't notice as he just kept looking at where Ruby's eyes were.
"Well, umm, shit" Chopper muttered as he looked away from Ruby and to Sanji and Yang, "Do you want the full explanation, or the simple one?" he asked.
"The simple one" Yang demanded.
And Chopper shifted back to Brain Point and started to fiddle his hooves together, "Yeah, those eyes aren't turning back to normal" he said.
Yang paled at this and Sanji's eyes widened, but Chopper quickly started to shake his hooves in a defensive manner, "But for some reason, they're functioning like completely normal eyes again" he then explained in a very confused manner.
Yang shot up and embraced Ruby, "But is she okay?" she asked.
Chopper shrugged in response, "It appears that something caused a genetic shift in her body, I don't know what, but it was a somewhat natural process, and as such, the only bad thing that has truly happened to her, is that her eyes won't turn back to normal" he declared.
Yang looked at him for a good second, processed what he had said, and then hugged Ruby again, "I'm just glad she's alright" she said.
Next Sanji walked up next to Chopper, "So what, it had nothing to do with her devil fruit?" he inquired.
Chopper gave him a slight shrug in response, and then he quickly looked around, and shrugged again, "It allowed for an acceleration, and possible mutation of a natural body process" he explained.
He then walked over to Yang and tugged at her leg, to which the girl turned away from her sister and look down at him, "Just take her back to your dorm, and lie her down on one of the bottom beds, she just needs plenty of rest as her body adapts to a change" he instructed her.
Yang nodded slightly at him, but before she could turn around, Sanji had already scooped Ruby in his arms and started to walk away,
He gave her a look, and she also gave him a look and followed after him.
Before they left, Chopper gave them a wave and shut the door behind them.
The two of them only had to walk a short distance to reach Team Rwby's dorm, but before they entered, Sanji sighed and looked at Yang.
"Tell her, when she wakes up, I will train her" he said to Yang.
And Yang softly smiled at this, "So she's piqued your interest" she said with a sly grin.
Yang then opened the door, and Sanji followed after her, "Even though I never thought that I could bring myself to instruct a young lady on how to fight, I came to a realisation" he said as he placed her on Weiss's bed (which had been opened by Yang).
"And that is?" Yang asked as she pulled the covers over Ruby.
"That if Miss Rose has to fight, she'd better be able to take on anyone that could maybe bring harm to her" Sanji quietly declared as he started to leave the room.
"Hey" Yang quickly called out before he left.
"Yes Miss Yang" Sanji quickly said as he spun around to face her.
"Thanks" she said.
Sanji left the room after that, and headed back to his own, "I wonder where Chopper and Fluffy managed to find a cup that big?" he said to himself as he walked down the hall.
And Yang, after making sure that Ruby was nice and comfortable, had a quick realisation, "I forgot to call Blake and Weiss" she said as she started to fumble for her scroll.
.
The moment Luffy and Jaune got back to Team JNPR's dorm, Pyrrha was sitting against the door, waiting for them.
Jaune saw her and after noticing an unfamiliar look on her face, he gave Luffy a wave goodbye and entered his room.
"I challenge you to a duel" Pyrrha stated as she looked at Luffy.
Luffy tilted his head slightly at this, "But didn't you want to ask me something?" he asked.
But Pyrrha had already started to walk off in the direction of the training grounds, "To truly understand a warrior, you have to fight them" she said as she continued to walk.
And Luffy sighed and quickly walked off after her.
(A couple of minutes later)
Pyrrha stood on one side of the field, and facing her was a slightly confused Luffy, "Umm, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.
But Pyrrha ignored him as she readied Miló and Akoúo̱, and changed Miló to its' Xiphos form.
Luffy then realised he wasn't going to get an answer, so he activated his weapon and changed it into spiked knuckle dusters, "Guess I don't have a choice now" he exclaimed with a sheepish smile.
It took a couple of seconds, and then Pyrrha gracefully charged at him, but Luffy quickly saw this and jumped over her.
"Your grandfather was a hero of the people, and your father is a leader of a legendary group, who are you" Pyrrha said as Luffy was suddenly sent crashing into the ground (and a black outline disappeared from around him).
Luffy quickly pulled himself out of the ground, and after a second of confusion, he shot an arm forward at Pyrrha.
But she tried to stab at his elongated arm, but she found her weapon to just bounce off of his skin.
Pyrrha then noticed as Luffy's arm retracted that it had quickly turned a glossy black colour, and then back to its normal black colour.
"That wasn't aura" she said as she steadied herself and faced Luffy once again, while he just held his fists up.
"No, it wasn't" Luffy said as he threw his arm to the side, causing the skin on it to ripple and then straighten out, and as it did, his body became slightly shiny and started to emit steam.
"It's been a while since I've had reason to fight at this level" Luffy said as he held his hand up as if to aim with his other fist.
His weapon then entirely shifted to his right hand, and then morphed into a large spiked gauntlet, "Gear second" he stated as he eyed Pyrrha.
And Pyrrha just looked at him slightly shocked, "There's something off about his appearance now" she quietly muttered, "just because it is out of the ordinary, doesn't mean I should underestimate him".
"People always talk about Gramps, or Dad, and you wanna know something" Luffy said as he eyes glinted for a second, "WHO CARES!".
"GOMU GOMU NO, PIERCING JET PISTOL!" Luffy shouted as Pyrrha was unexpectedly hit straight in the chest, causing her aura to instantly break apart, and her to fall to a knee.
"Gahhhh" Pyrrha exhaled as she coughed up bile as she tried to steady herself, "What was that, I didn't even see his arm move from the position it's at".
Luffy's weapon changed back into a cover for the both of his hands as he walked over to Pyrrha, "You had an ability that grabbed me, so I had to think of a way around it" he said as he reached his hand down to her.
Pyrrha took his hand, and slowly stood up, "The strength behind that punch, it was inhuman" she said as she shakily regained her footing.
But Luffy smiled at her in response to this, "A lot of people say that about me" he said.
"You are a strong warrior, and you figured out a way to counteract my semblance, but I still have one question for you?" she stated as she glared at Luffy.
Luffy looked at her, and she continued, "Who are you?" she asked.
And Luffy's hat casted a shadow over his eyes as he heard this, "I'm somebody who lost a lot, and I'm not going to lose anything else" he said.
Luffy then raised his head and gave her a grin, "Is that it?" he asked.
And Pyrrha calmly nodded at him, Luffy then gave her an even bigger grin, "Come on then, I've got something I want to ask your team about" he declared as they started to walk off.
"And what would that be?" Pyrrha asked.
Luffy continued to look walk as he smirked, "Oh, just a bit of training" he said, to which Pyrrha reacted with a shocked expression.
.
Here's probably the last chapter for the year, (unless my insomnia comes back), so I want to say thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows for my story, honestly I didn't expect it.
Anyway, so yeah, I think you can guess one of the reasons why Milky is in the story, there are many other reasons I wanted a 'mink' in the story, but I think at least one sticks out.
Team CRDL will return, and with them a myriad of problems will airse.
As for the Glare Glare fruit and Ruby, I figured something could come about from her silver eyes, but the full extent of what has happened will come later.
Also, as for Team JNPR, they will start to have more of a presence in the story as I've done all the introductory things I've wanted to, so look forward to that.
Comments, criticisms and questions are always welcome,
But besides that,
Peace Out