Chapter 41: The Bell Brothers
(Fire Force OST: Fighting Festival)
The students that were attending combat training was excited to watch Mike and Pyrrha, as they clashed fists and swords in the arena. Pyrrha tried to strike Mike with her sword form of Milò, but had no effect as each attempt was easily deflected.
"Come on Mike!" Kevin yelled.
"Look at them go. To think that she's able to keep up with him." Jaune couldn't help but be impressed.
"I know right?!" Nora said excitedly. "As expected of our four time Champion."
"Remember what Mike said. You may be a champion somewhere else. But that title won't always hold its weight elsewhere." Ren said.
"Hey Nicky? Have they ever fought back at Sanctum?" Yang asked.
"They did actually. A few times. And each time, he came out on top." Nick continued to stare intently at the battle.
"I don't think there's anybody here that can beat him." Weiss said. "To easily defeat four albeit, mediocre huntsmen without breaking a sweat is not an easy task."
"Care to say that to my face ice queen?!" Cardin yelled.
"Certainly. Once Michael comes back up here of course." Cardin kept his mouth shut after that threat.
Pyrrha combined her sword and shield into a rifle, and began shooting at Mike, who easily evaded the shots by flipping to the side. He then rushed in to land a right straight but was blocked by her shield, Akoúo̱. The force of the of strike pushed her back.
"I must say Chrome, your fighting skills have gotten better since our last fight." Pyrrha was breathing heavily. She took a glance at their aura gauges. Her's was at 47 percent. While Mike's was at 73.
"Same to you Pyr. I take it that training Jaune has also sharpened your skills somewhat?" He began stretching his legs.
"Honestly, if I couldn't say any better, I'd say that you're still holding back." Pyrrha had a small smile of her face. "Guren had a hard time fighting me, but you haven't even broken a sweat."
"I didnt earn the title "God of War" by just fighting chumps you know? " Mike placed fire dust into his greaves. "War Style: Blazing Flash." He then launched a flurry of flaming kicks.
"His fighting style is just so cool!" Ruby gushed. Only for Nick to suck his teeth.
"Nick had a hard time with her. But Mike is basically treating this like child's play." Kevin said.
"We get it Kev." Nick huffed in annoyance.
Pyrrha struggled to keep her shield up. Each kick felt like a sledgehammer slamming against her. She then used her semblance to keep his leg in a kicking posture.
"Woah now! Using your semblance, are we?" Mike grinned.
"If I kept taking your strikes head on, my aura would be in the red by now." Pyrrha went to stab Mike, only for him to sway backwards.
"But how?! His leg is in the air!" Weiss said in disbelief.
"I think you should've kept both of my legs in place." Using his free leg, he performed a somersault kick. Which struck Pyrrha square in the jaw and caused her to stumble backwards. He then swept her off her feet before dashing forward. He stopped closed of delivering a devastating mid center strike to her face.
"That's enough!" Glynda yelled. "The winner is Michael Bell!"
The audience, mainly the female students, cheered loudly.
"God... I wish they shut up." Nick huffed in annoyance.
"If I ever had to fight Mike? I'm faking that I'm sick." Kevin said.
"Agreed." Jaune said.
"Hey! You can't take other people's ideas!" Ruby yelled.
"You kidding?! He might be quite the enjoyable fight!" Sun said excitedly. "I guess you could say, I'm fired up!"
"Oh! I see what you did there!" Yang yelled.
"His combat skills is above a seasoned huntsman. He's definitely the strongest." Penny said with a smile.
"Hey! I thought I was the strongest?" Kevin began to pout.
"Only in terms of strength." Penny said with a smile. She didn't understand what Kevin meant, causing him to hang his head in shame. Everybody could see that Nick had a small frown painted acrossed his face.
"Hey Nick... is everything ok?" Ruby asked.
He took a deep breath before relaxing his face. "I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine." Sun said.
"I'm ok guys. Really."
"Your face says otherwise." Weiss added.
"Awww! What's wrong Nicky?" Yang went and pinched his cheek.
Ruby suddenly knew exactly why he was like that. "Yang. I think we should drop the subject." Yang went back to her seat after hearing that.
"Thanks Ruby."
"Anytime Nick." Ruby had a huge smile on her face.
"That was a good match." Mike held his hand out to which Pyrrha accepted. He then lifted her up.
"To think that even four years later, I still can't hold a candle towards you."
"There's not that many people here who can fight me like you can." Mike said with a smile. "Until then, you and Nick need to keep improving. Speaking of Nick?" The God of War whispered something into Pyrrha's ear, turning her a bright scarlet.
"Wha... wait... what?" Pyrrha stuttered. She covered her face in embarrassment.
"You'd better hurry. There's only a month left before someone else comes along." Mike said with a grin. Glynda then walked up to the two.
"You two put up quite a spectacular match. I would like for you two to head to the headmaster's office after classes."
"You got it Ms. Goodwitch." Mike then went to the lockers room.
"Certainly Ms. Goodwitch." Pyrrha also went with Mike.
"I wonder what Mike said that got Pyrrha all flushed?" Jaune wondered.
"I might have an idea or two?" Kevin smirked towards Nick's direction.
"There's enough time for one more match!" Glynda yelled. "Anybody would like to-"
Nick's hand shot up in the air before Glynda could finish.
"Nicholas? Well it certainly has been a while since your last fight." Glynda had a small smile on her face. "Come down with your huntsman attire."
A few minutes later Nick was in his attire. Numerous students were cheering when he appeared. He was bouncing on his heels to keep himself focused.
"Hey guys."
Mike and Pyrrha were back in their uniforms
"You two were great!" Yang went and hugged Mike.
"So Nick's finally fighting huh?" Mike looked down towards the arena to see his brother concentrating.
"Voluntarily of course." Weiss added.
"I wonder who's going to be his opponent?" Jaune looked around and saw plenty of the students with nervous expressions on their faces.
"I don't know... But I've been hearing that nobody wants to fight either of you." Torren said.
"Would anybody like to participate?" To Glynda's surprise, nobody answered. "Ms. Belladonna?"
Blake slammed her book shut and stared wide-eyed at Glynda. "Huh?"
"You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you -"
"I'll do it."
Everybody looked at Mercury. Who stood up with his hand in the air.
"Isn't that Cinder's teammate? What was his name? Marcus?" Kevin whispered towards Mike.
"Mercury is it? Are you certain you want to combat against Mr. Bell?" Glynda was more worried for Mercury than Nick. Especially when he's riled up.
"I'm positive. Besides, we kinda owe each other a rematch." Mercury smirked as he tried to size Nick up. Onky to recieve a glare back at him.
"Yeah. Last time I nearly pounded your face into the pavement." Nick soon had a smirk. "This time, I'll really make sure to do so."
(The Rising Of The Shield Hero OST: Dusk: GAMESTART)
"Something's... off with Guren." Pyrrha could tell that Nick was not himself.
"I think he's trying to impress his big brother." Cinder had a small smile on her face. "It's honestly adorable."
Mike glared at Cinder. "He has no reason to impress me. You should worry about whether your boyfriend's gonna be able to walk again after this match."
"Sheesh, you two are like cats and dogs." Yang soon stepped in and had her arms around Mike's shoulders. "Sorry about him. He's not always like that."
"It's fine." Cinder smiled at the two.
"Good luck Nick!" Ruby yelled out.
Nick and Mercury then got into their fighting stances. "Are both fighters ready?" They both nodded at Glynda. "And FIGHT!"
Nicholas Bell(The Ashura) VS Mercury Black(The Kickboxing Assasin)
Nick charged forward and tried to strike Mercury. However, it was blocked due to Mercury lifting his leg up.
'That feeling again.' Nick backed away. 'I'm definitely certain... that's not bone I struck... that's-'
"I guess you already figured it out huh?" Mercury got back into his fighting stance. "Well let's see if it's enough to handle you!" He charged forward and began launching a flurry of kicks towards Nick.
"Ashura Style: Ryūjin" Like flowing water, Nick began deflecting each kick.
"Wow... your friend's doing pretty good to be able to keep up with Nick." Ruby said to Emerald.
"I know right?" Emerald gave Ruby a fake smile. Once she turned her head, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "So... why did you want Mercury to battle the runt?" She whispered to Cinder.
"I'm still curious as to what his semblance actually does." Cinder kept her eyes on Nick, who threw a side kick as it was avoided.
"Doesn't it just gives him a power boost?"
"That's only as much I know. But... I feel that there's more to it."
"Come Nick! Kick this guy's ass!" Kevin yelled.
Mercury continued to launch his kicks until Nick found the right time to redirect the strike. "Ashura Style: Shidare Yanagi" Nick redirected Mercury's kick. Causing him to spin out of control. However, using the momentum, he was able to land a blow on the Ashura's face.
"You thought you had me off balance. Didn't you?" Mercury charged forward. Performing numerous cartwheels before trying to strike Nick with a flurry of bycyle kicks.
"So he fights using only his legs?" Mike saw that not once did Mercury throw a punch.
Nick was on the defensive as he continued to weave Mercury's various different styles of kicks. He then found an opening. "Ashura Style Ultimate Technique: Hibashiri" He created an afterimage. Grabbing Mercury's arm and placing a leg on the front and back of his neck before slamming him on the ground. "Ashura Style: Nejikiri Jizo".
"A submission move huh?" Cinder was amused by what Nick had performed.
"Nice one Nick!" Ruby yelled out.
"A constance reliance of one style can be your downfall." Nick had a smirk on his face as he leaned back. Mercury could only grunt in pain as he felt his arm breaking. "I can keep this hold until your aura runs out."
"Is that so?" Mercury bent his foot back towards Nick's back, who suddenly heard the click of a trigger. His instincts went into full affect, as he got up and rolled off of Mercury as he let off a shotgun blast from the side of his boot.
"I was right." Nick then stared at Mercury's legs. "They're made of metal... aren't they?"
"Yep." Mercury knocked on his legs as a metal sound was heard. "Don't tell anybody, ok squirt?"
"I fought a smug bastard like you before. Now he's eating through a feeding tube." Nick crouched down and expanded his leg muscles. "Ashura Style: Bakuenjin" He crashed into Mercury like a speeding bullet. Sending him flying to the wall.
"Nice one Nick!" Jaune yelled out.
"Ok... wasn't... expecting that." Mercury got up and started wheezing.
"For a runt, he sure packs a punch." Emerald said.
"I think... that's enough messing around." Mercury stretched his legs. "How about you show me your semblan-" Mercury couldn't finish his sentence as he was delivered a powerful uppercut to the gut.
"He moved so quickly!" Ruby said in shock.
"If you wanna see it that badly?" Nick soon had a huge grin on his face as he activated Witching Hour. "I'd be happy to oblige."
"I... give..." Mercury coughed up a bit of blood as he fell to his knees.
Nick had a look of surprise on his face as Witching Hour deactivated. "...What?"
"I give..." Mercury wiped his mouth as he struggled to get up. "I know... when to fold my cards..."
Glynda breathed a sigh of relief hearing that. The last thing she wanted to see was a student getting badly injured. "The winner is Nicholas Bell!"
Students applauded loudly for Nick's victory. However, he wasn't satisfied with such a victory. He was going to go all out. Only for Mercury to suddenly give up. All that smack he was talking and all of a sudden, he quits.
'Damn runt... even with my aura, i felt that. That shit felt like i was struck by some type of ballistic missile. I hope you're happy.' Mercury looked up at Cinder, who smiled back at him before looking at Nick who walked away towards the locker room.
"I guess there's a next time."
After getting dressed, Nick was back into his uniform. Where he was praised by his friends.
"Nice job Nick!" Ruby cheered.
"You were great out there Guren." Pyrrha smiled at Nick, but felt something was wrong. As a matter of fact everybody felt cold looking at him. His facial expression was that of pure rage.
Rage that he was suddenly stopped from teaching that smartass a lesson. However, he soon calmed down before sitting down. Everybody could only look at him in shock.
"Nick?" Ruby worriedly said.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Care to say... what that was about?" Weiss continued to shiver a bit.
"I'm just a bit annoyed that I didn't get to win properly... that's all." Nick took a deep breath.
"Come on Nick..at least that'll teach that smug bastard not to challenge you again." Mike said with a grin.
"That's the problem." Nick stood up. "Nobody wants to challenge me."
"Because you take this seriously. Like it's life or death." Kevin shuddered.
"Life or death? I thought this was combat training?" Penny asked quizzically.
Nick raised an eyebrow at Penny's idiotic response before taking another breather. "Let's... just forget I said that." He then stood up.
"Oh! That's right! Me and Pyrrha have to meet up with Ms. Goodwitch." Mike stood up.
"We'll catch up with you all later." Pyrrha patted Nick on the head before walking off with Mike.
"I wonder what it could be about?" Torren asked.
Once classes were over, everybody left the arena.
"Don't forget! The upcoming dance is in three weeks. Until then, make sure your clothing is presentable!"
"The dance?" Nick raised an eyebrow at that. "As if I wanna go to some stupid dance."
"I can agree with that." Blake was still into her book.
"Oh? Nervous that you might not get a date?' Kevin smugly said to his partner.
Ruby hung her head a bit hearing what Nick and Blake said.
"Don't be that way Nicky." Yang placed an arm over his shoulder. "I'm sure if you have the "right" dance partner, it might be fun."
"Yeah... sure..."
"Well... this will be my big chance!" Torren had a huge smile on his face.
"You're gonna try to ask her out?" Kevin asked.
"You think she'll say yes?"
"The hell would I know?"
"A dance?" Penny asked. "Am I invited?"
"Are you-Yeah! Of course! Everybody that's everybody is gonna be there!" Kevin said excitedly
"Everybody? Even me?"
"Yeah!" Kevin draped an arm over Penny's shoulder. "Think about it? Me and you. Dancing together. Winning Prom King and Queen."
"Ummm excuse me? But me and Mikey is gonna win!" Yang said. "Or... maybe Ruby... and a certain someone."
"Yaaaaaaang." Ruby put her hoodie over her head in embarrassment.
"Hey, Blake!" Blake took noticed of Sun, who ran up to her. "You uh, doing okay?"
Blake closed the book she is reading to respond to Sun. "I'm fine.
"So I heard there's this dance going on in a few weeks... ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?" He was pointing at Blake and him.
"What?"
"The dance! This following month! You wanna go, or what?"
Blake took a deep breath of that was something along the lines of aggravation. "Look... I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." She then walked away past everybody as Sun sinks from his rejection.
"What the hell's her problem?" Kevin asked.
"I could've swore she'd stop thinking about them after what we did two weeks ago?" Torren said.
"Slippery slope much?" Nick muttered. As they continued walking, he suddenly took notice of all of the girls surrounding him as Ruby and the others kept walking. "Uhh... guys?" A first year female student clung onto Nick's arm.
"Hey Nick! Got a date for the dance?" She was soon pushed away by another girl.
"Nick go to the dance with me!" Suddenly the circle began to close in on him.
"Wait... what-"
"Please Nick!"
"Nick pick me!"
"Back off! He's going with me!"
"As if! ugly!"
"Flat-chested!"
The girls started taking out their weapons. As if it they were going to battle over the right to take be the Ashura's date for the dance.
"Don't... I have a say in this?"
"No!"
"Woah... look at that?" Torren took noticed of all the girls arguing over their teammate. "A cat fight... or is it a cat brawl?"
"Go in there Ruby." Yang whispered. She pushed Ruby into the circle. "Win your man!"
Nick nervously tried to find a way out. "Shit... shit.. shit!" He suddenly had a wild idea. "Uhhh. Look! Mike has his shirt off!" Nick pointed in another direction. Causing the girls, including Yang to turn, giving him a clear path to escape. "Ashura Style: Rekka"
"Nick!... wait... up." Ruby hung her head a bit as she watched Nick dashed off.
"Who would've thought that Nick can get shy?" Weiss said.
"How lucky can a guy get?" Jaune hung his head a bit. Ren and Nora patted their leader on the back to comfort him.
"We would like to move you two up to second year combat training classes." Glynda said to Mike and Pyrrha.
"Wait... what?" Mike raised an eyebrow at what was just said.
"Honestly. Your combat skills warrant you two to be moved up to fourth year level. But seeing as we want to gauge how well you do against other students, You will be there until further notice." Ozpin gave the two a warm smile. "Consider this a good opportunity."
"I'm sorry... but I am going to have to refuse." Pyrrha said. "I'm happy to hear that my skills are praised enough to be moved up a year. But... I want to stay with my friends."
"That's quite commendable Ms. Nikos." Ozpin turned to Mike. "What say you Mr. Bell?"
Mike knew that by doing this, he'll be one step close in combatting Ozpin. At least he thinks. "I'm... gonna have to think about it."
"Understood... this isn't a decision that should be made now. You have plenty of time to think this through." Ozpin pressed a button on his table to open the door. "Should you change your mind, feel free to come back to talk me."
"Thank for your time headmaster." Pyrrha bowed.
"Sure thing Oz." The two walked out the door. Closing behind them.
"I can understand Ms. Nikos. But to hear Michael say that he had to think about it is quite surprising." Ozpin took a sip of his hot chocolate as he glanced at Glynda. "Is there a reason as to why Nicholas was not included?"
"While his combat skills does warrant him a place in second year level. His... social skills can use some work." Glynda sat down. "Plus there's his semblance."
"How would you gauge its power?"
"It was as if i was in the presence... of a powerful being." Glynda thought back to their bout. Had Nick not ran out of time during that moment, things would've been different. "I don't want him accidentally killing someone the moment he enters a match."
"Knowing how close the two are. Should he find out what he was up here for? He's not going to be happy."
"I will take full responsibility for it should that happen."
"I'm quite surprised you did not jump to the offer." Pyrrha said to Mike as the left out the elevator.
"Well this is a huge opportunity. This is something i have to think avoit before jumping on into it." Mike placed his hand in his pocket. "Let me ask you something? What do you think of Ozpin?"
"I think he's a wonderful headmaster."
"Do you... think he's strong?"
"He's not headmaster for no reason Chrome."
"Anybody can be a headmaster. I mean, look at Jimmy for god's sake."
"Who?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"Nevermind." Mike was silent for a moment. "I actually fought him once."
"Wait! You did?!" Pyrrha couldn't believe her ears. "When?!"
"Before we came to Beacon. Nick didn't tell you?"
"Guren only told me that you two lost a bet."
"Well... a bet was made between the three of us. And us losing that bet was the main reason that we're here." Mike said. "Never... have I fought someone who was... basically untouchable. His speed, power, reflexes. They were... beyond superhuman. It was the first time I tasted defeat."
Pyrrha couldn't believe her ears. Mike has fought and won against every opponent in Sanctum, alongside some of the teachers. And won every single match. To hear that Ozpin was able to soundly defeat him, while not mindblowing, it was quite surprising.
"But if I take this chance. I might be sble to learn a bit more about different fighting methods. And hopefully one day fight him and kick his ass." Mike cracked his knuckles in excitement.
"That's not going to be an easy task. But i can only wish you luck in doing so." Pyrrha replied. Since they were alone she can finally ask him. "Earlier, about what you told me? " Her face warmed up as she tried to get the question out. "Were you... serious?"
Mike raised an eyebrow before realizing what she was asking about. "Oh... about that? As serious as princess' belief that she can make a funny joke."
"Well... how long... has it been?"
"About 3 years."
"3?!" Pyrrha's eyes widened a bit at the response. "I thought... it was only recently."
"Of course not! Come on, I'm his brother! Not by blood of course, but still. I know him more than he knows himself! And I can tell you that he's been crushing on you... hard!"
"Guren... really likes me?" She remembered declaring her love for him at the hospital. She wasn't sure if he felt that way about her. Then again, when she told Guren that she like Jaune, his reaction should've said otherwise.
"Look...I'm not going to play matchmaker with you two. So I'll say this. It's either going to be you? Or somebody else. Cause they're gunning for him just as hard as you are."
Their conversation was cut short as they saw the person who they were talking about. Hiding in the corner. "Speak of the devil. Hey Ni-" Nick dashed forward and placed a hand onver his mouth.
"Shut... up." Nick nervously looked around.
"Guren?!" Pyrrha's face began to change red as he was the last person she expected to be here. "What are you doing up here?!"
"Hiding out. I'm being chased around by all these girls asking me to be their date for the dance."
"Told you..." Mike whispered towards Pyrrha.
"What?" Nick asked.
"Nothing."
"Anyways, mind if I walk with you guys?"
"What? Of course! It'll be just like Sanctum again!" Mike had a huge grin on his face. "Come on!"
The three of them soon began walking. They talked about the short lived but fun times they had at Sanctum.
"Wait, so you actually ran into some of them?" Nick asked.
"Yeah... let's just say, they're not happy with the fact that I'm with Yang." Mike rubbed the back of his head.
"I think Yang is definitely someone that keeps you grounded." Pyrrha said.
"Oh, well maybe you should find somebody to keep grounded." Mike said with a sly smile on his face. Nick and Pyrrha's faces lit up at what he said.
Nick finally decided to asked the two. "So... what did Goodwitch wanted to talk to you guys about?"
"Well... she wanted us... to move up." Mike tried to put it in the best way possible.
"Move... up? Us?"
"Well... not exactly." Mike twiddled his thumbs a bit. "She wanted me and Pyrrha to participate in second year combat training classes."
Nick's eyes widened at what was just said. "She didn't ask me... and why you two?"
"Well... I declined her offer because... I wanted to continue being around you all." Pyrrha said as she continued to blush.
"And what about you?" Nick turned to Mike.
"I... well... I told her that I'll think about it."
Nick couldn't believe what he just said. "Think about it? You should've said no!"
"No?! I mean what's wrong with saying, I'll think about it?"
"Because it's basically saying "I'll say yes" at a later date. You're not allowed to leave! Especially since you haven't beaten me yet!" Nick grabbed Mike by his collar.
"Nick, we're on teams now. You're still thinking about fighting me after all this time?"
"Yes! I never stopped thinking about it!" Nick tightened his fist against Mike's collar.
"Come on Nick... let go." Mike grabbed Nick's wrist.
"Please you two... let's not fight about this." Pyrrha pleaded. She can tell that Nick was beginning to get a bit angry at being left out.
"So you think you can just go and leave without a fight huh?" Nick and Mike both glared at each other. The air around them began to warp.
"There they are!" Pyrrha turned to see Kevin and the others walking up. "Yo!"
"You guys." Pyrrha ran up to the group. I... I think they're about to fight!"
"Wait... who's about to fight?" Weiss asked.
"Guren and Chrome."
"What?!" Yang rushed over there.
"Nick... you and I both know that you can't beat me. Again, it's not set in stone whether or not I'll take the offer." Mike had a smirk on his face.
"That was years ago when I couldn't lay a finger on you." Nick began glaring at him. "How about we settle this now?" Nick let go of Mike's collar and got into a fighting stance.
(Fire Force OST: Company 8 Special Fire Force)
"Fine." Mike also got into a fighting stance.
"Nicky! Mikey! What are tw-" Yang stopped as she couldn't move. What she envisioned was the physical manefestation of their aura. From Nick it was a six armed being with three heads. From Mike was a monstrous flaming demon with with flame horns.
"Guren! Chrome! Stop this instant!" Pyrrha yelled.
"What are you waiting for? Throw the first punch." Mike said with a smirk. Neither of them were moving a muscle.
"Nick! Please stop!" Ruby yelled.
"Stay out of this Ruby!" Nick didn't look her way not once. "Back then, the levels between us were far too great. But today's different."
"Well we won't know that until you throw a punch."
"Nick! Michael! Stop this now!" Weiss yelled.
"Yeah! Come on man! You two are brothers! You shouldn't be fighting each other!" Sun yelled.
"Please don't fight!" Penny pleaded.
The two were completely ignoring the pleas of their friends. As if an alarm went off, the two struck each other square in the jaw. It was strong enough to push the both of them back.
"There we go! Just what I wanted to see!" Mike's lip was busted while Nick was bleeding from his nose. Nick threw a roundhouse kick to which Mike avoided. The God of War tried to launch an uppercut, but it was stopped midway.
Nick lauched an elbow square into Mike's jaw. However, Mike spun around and caught him with a spinning heel kick. The strength of the attack pushed him back.
"Is that all you got?" Nick spat out some blood.
"As if!" Mike dashed forward and launched an uppercut into Nick's stomach. He grabbed Mike's head and launched a knee into his face.
"We need to get Ms. Goodwitch!" Ruby yelled.
"Come on!" Weiss yelled. She, Pyrrha and Ruby ran to the headmaster's office.
"Mike! Stop this!" Torren and Yang went to grab Mike while Sun, Jaune and Kevin grabbed Nick.
"Nick, why are you two fighting for?!" Jaune asked.
"Yeah! Just what the hell's going on between you two?!" Kevin said.
"That bastard's planning on leaving us!" Nick glared at his brother.
"Leaving?! I haven't even said anything about leaving! And it's only one class!"
"Wait what are you talking about?!" Yang asked.
"Tell them Mike! Tell them how you and Pyr got accepted to participate in second year combat courses!"
"Is that true?" Yang looked at Mike, who turned his head away.
"I told them I would think about it!"
"No! You won't do it at all! Not until you beat me!" Nick pushed Kevin and Sun out of the way. "You've always looked down on others. Like you was untouchable!"
"That's because I am!" Breaking free of Torren's grasped, he struck Nick in the face. Sending him flying into a wall.
"Nick!" Ruby yelled out.
"Mike! What the hell?!" "Kevin yelled.
"Son of a bitch!" Nick dashed forth and struck Mike in the jaw. Freeing him from Yang and Torren's hold as he flew back.
"Look at that? Looks like you can throw a punch after all." Mike taunted while holding his jaw. "Wanna know why you wasn't accepted? Because you can't control that god damn temper of yours when fighting!"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Nick yelled. "You... we were suppose to do this together. You were suppose to be my brother!"
Everybody looked at Mike. It was for a quick moment. But his face contorted into something, that sent chills down everybody's spine before becoming normal. "You don't think I'm your brother? After everything... eveything I did for you?! I saved you! I nearly died for you! I made sure that bitch gave you every single lien! And you don't think I'm your brother?!"
"I didn't ask you to do that! I couldn't give a shit about that! And I said what I meant. You're not my brother! You never were!"
"Nick, why are you-"
"Well fuck you!" Mike yelled. The two of them walked up towards each other.
"Fuck you!" As they were about to clash fist, they were both sent to the wall telepathically.
"That is enough!" Glynda, alongside Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha came out. She took notice of Nick and Mike's faces. "What is going on?! I want answers now!"
"There's nothing to talk about!" Nick said. "Besides, I said enough." Nick activated Witching Hour to break out of Glynda's semblance.
"Guren... please don't do this." Pyrrha grabbed Nick's arm but he brushed her off.
"Know that I've always hated you." He looked directly at Mike, who also gave him a venomous glare before walking off.
"Nicholas! Do not walk away while I'm trying to talk to you!" However, Glynda's words fell on deaf ears.
"What happened?! Wasn't everything just just fine?" Ruby was nearly in tears. First Blake didn't want to go to the dance. Now Nick and Mike were fighting each other. It was like the events of the docks all over again where everybody was splitting apart.
"Yeah. That's right! Run off! Coward!" Mike yelled.
"That's enough Michael!" Yang yelled.
"Chrome please stop." Pyrrha pleaded.
"Fuck him! Ungrateful little bastard!" Mike yelled. "I never needed you! You needed me! Remember that!"
"I thought... brothers werent suppose to fight each other?" Penny sadly looked at the split between the Bell brothers.
"Sometimes... these type of things tend to happen." Kevin was also sad. He never would've thought the two of them would even reach this point.
Unbeknownst to everybody, tears streamed down Nick's face as he ran off. Mike was then released from the telekinetic grasp.
"Michael, I want an explanation as to what happened between you two this instant." Glynda tried to help him up, but he slapped her hand away as he got up on his own.
"Just get the hell away from me." Mike had his head down as he walked off also to which nobody stopped him from doing so.
"We have to find them!" Ruby said. However, Yang held her hand out.
"They... need some time to themselves Rubes." Nobody but Yang took notice of the tears falling down from her boyfriend's face.
The following few days had everybody walking on eggshells. Nick and Mike have been avoiding each other like the plague. Seeing that he wanted nothing to do with him, Nick has been cutting classes.
"Still no signs of him, huh?" Sun took notice that Nick was nowhere around.
"Same for Blake. She's been so obsessed with finding out info of the White Fang, that she hasn't been hanging out with us." Yang sadly looked at Mike, who haven't said not a single word. Jaune then walked up to Weiss, with a guitar in his hand.
"~Weiss!~"He yelled out. His strumming of the guitar was completely offtune. "~Weiss Schu-nee, will you accompany me, to the upcoming dance!?~"
"Really Jaune?" Weiss glared at the blonde. "Do you really think this is the right time for this?"
"Uhhh... yes?" He said with a sheepish smile
"No."
Jaune sadly dragged the guitar across the floor.
"Hey Jaune! Lets make a bet!" Kevin yelled out. "If you can't find a date by time the dance comes, you gotta wear a dress!"
"Wait what?!" Jaune stepped back in surprise.
"What... chicken?" Kevin began making clucking sounds which cause Penny to laugh.
"~You're onnnnnnnn!~" Jaune sang proceeded to walk off. "I'll keep trying Weiss, until you finally say yes!"
"Ugh..."
"I bet he won't even find a date by the time it comes, right Mike?" Kevin looked at his teammate, who looked completely dejected.
"It's... kinda sad seeing him like that." Weiss said. "I'm used to seeing him smiling."
"Well... he and Nicky were always together." Yang sadly looked at her boyfriend. "I wish there was a way to cheere him up."
"Let me try." Kevin took numerous items from around the table."Hey look Mike! I'm juggling!" He juggled numerous utensils in the air.
"Kevin, put the damm items down before I throw them at you." Mike's aura flared up, causing The God of Lighting to tense up and drop the items.
"That was amazing Kevin!" Penny applauded the performance.
"Thanks Penny." He said in a deadpanned tone.
Pyrrha couldn't help but worry about Nick. Seeing that they had the same group of friends, Nick had been avoiding them also because of the falling out.
"Hey guys!" Everybody took notice of Coco, who saw how tense their table was. She then saw the look on Mike's face. "What's up with handsome? He look so... down in the dumps? And that's definitely not normal." Coco asked Yang when they saw that Mike wasn't speaking to anybody.
"He... they got into a huge fight."
"Wait? They? Who?"
"Him and Nicky."
"What?! But they're always together! I'd expect hell to freeze over before they fight!" Coco couldn't believe it. Never did she think that the two of them would get into a fight. Especially how Mike would alway talk about his brother like he was a proud parent. "Velvet is so not gonna believe this!"
"Do me a favor? Just shut the hell up." Mike glared at everybody. Surprisingly they did just what they were told.
"Mikey, you two should make up. I don't like seeing either of you this way." Yang went and rubbed Mike on his back.
"Fuck him. Save his life and this is how he wanna act? Maybe I should accept the offer. See how he acts then. Or maybe I should've left him there to die that day."
"Michael! You don't mean that!" Weiss exclaimed.
"What do you know princess?" Mike glared at her.
"I know that those type of hurtful things can't be taken back." Pyrrha sadly looked at Mike as he kept his head down.
Torren and Kevin couldn't help but look at thier teammate.
Yang had enough of Mike's attitude. She never knew he could be this stubborn. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed him by his button up collar and dragged him off.
"Hey wait! What the hell are you doing?!"
"We're gonna talk Michael." They both then left the cafeteria.
"Is... he gone?" Jaune peeped out to see that Mike had left. Brrathing a breath of relief, he then took out his guitar. "Time for round two."
Ruby could only look at the empty seat next to her as she wiped her eyes.
Nick was in the training room. Which was completely destroyed due to him taking out his anger. Little did he know, Blake entered the room and saw that he was completely destroying a training droid. An extremely high level one at that.
"So this is where you were these past few days instead of class, huh?" Nick turned his head and saw Blake, who had bags were under her eyes due to a lack of sleep.
"You look like shit."
"I could say the same about you." Blake took notice of Nick's red eyes.
Nick took a bottle of water and guzzled the entire worth. "So what do you want? Don't tell me you came to make me apologize. Like I told Pyr, I don't owe that bastard anything."
"No... I didn't." Blake sat down. She watched as Nick completely dented in the head of the training droid. "In fact... I'm going through my own things to care at the moment."
"Like what, Torchwick? The White Fang? Akakabuto? Seriously, you need to just stop thinking about that shit." Nick huffed in annoyance.
"Just like you need to understand that your brother didn't accept that opportunity on the spot because he didn't want to leave you behind." Blake retorted back.
"What do you know? You wasn't even there." Nick sent her a death glare. Due to her tired state, she was not unnerved by it.
"Ruby and them wouldn't stop talking about it. Plus she wouldn't stop crying about it either. Plus I also know that... you don't mean what you said to him." Blake closed her book. "You know... Ever since you left the hospital. We all felt that... you were changing. In a good way. Like you were happy."
Blake then looked at Nick who wasn't even looking her way. "Are you willing to throw all of that away? Because of your inferiority complex?"
"I don't have an inferiority complex! Or whatever the hell that is."
"Oh really? I may have had my face into this book, but I saw how your face looked when Mike and Pyrrha were fighting. You were jealous by how easily he was able to beat her without any effort."
"Shut up."
"And you feel that him leaving is baiscally saying that he can beat you."
(Dr. Stone OST Vol.2: Suika's So Sorry)
"Shut the hell up!" Nick grabbed Blake by her collar. She saw that tears began to well up in his eyes. "Ever since we were kids, I couldn't even beat him! Even though we started training at the same time, it was me who always got my ass kicked, time and time again! It was the same damn thing at Sanctum! It was like each step I took, he was a mile ahead! And Honestly... him accepting this offer... is basically saying that he'll be leaving me behind, for good."
"It's like I can't even..." Blake didn't do anything as Nick slowly realeased his grip as he wiped his eyes. The only time she ever saw him in such a vulnerable state was at the hospital. So she then went and hugged him.
"Wh... what are you-"
"You know... I always wanted a sibling. Preferably a little brother. Being an only child... can be lonely at times. When I first saw you two during the time on the train. The first thing I noticed was how you two acted towards each other. And how you fought together. I had my suspicions that you two weren't brothers. But how you cared for one another. It was enough to convince me otherwise."
"Why do you care?" Nick continued to wipe his eyes.
"Because. Even when I didn't want anybody to help me. You were able to reach out to me. It's because of you that I was able to trust in my team." Blake finally let Nick go and sat him down. "Just like you helped me, I wanna help you. So... out with it. How long have you felt this way about Mike?"
"Sitting down and talking isn't something I'm good at Blake." Nick sighed before he began to speak again. "You know... I think... this "inferiority complex" thing you mentioned... came up... when I first learned how to fight."
"When... did you learn how to fight?"
"I was about nine . It was so that we wouldn't feel weak ever agian."
Beacon Rooftops
"I guess I never realized how he actually felt about me until now." Mike stared up into the sky. He and Yang were on the rooftops of the academy. "Or maybe I did... and I just wanted to only view him as my little brother. Someone who looked up to me. Someone who always followed me around. At least until years later." He looked at Yang. "Remember... when I told you how he had changed after we came back from being around those bandits? How he went from being a sweet kid to something... different?"
"Yeah... I do." Yang leaned on the gate.
"I think... it was around that time... after we came back. When we taught each other how to fight. That I took notice of him... changing."
Happy New Years! 2020. May this year continue to bring you many blessings, and all that. Ah conflict. Even if you don't bring it up now, it will definitely come up someday down the line. So i made a poll on if Nick and Mike were to fight, who do you think would win? I'm kinda curious to see who chooses who. Anyways be on the lookout for the next chapter.