The Day Before the Peach Beach Splash:
Penny Polendina was what many would deem as an "odd duck." She certainly wasn't unpleasant to be around, just a bit awkward and behaved oddly. It also wasn't like those more "normal" people who knew her didn't know some other weird individuals or those with their own quirks. But Penny was one of the few who at least had an excuse.
Little known fact was Penny was actually a robot, built by Remnant's Kingdom of Atlas, with the intention of finding an artificial means to generate an Aura. The only one outside of the people of Atlas who knew of Penny's true identity was Ruby Rose, who only found out herself by accident.
But in recent days, that began changing. With so many different worlds there were dozens of other robotic lifeforms like Penny. Initially, Penny thought she was unique, which left her feeling somewhat lonely, but now she knew several machines built like her. The ones that ere the most interesting were the Anti-Shadow Weapons designated as Aigis and Labrys, considering they could use something almost like an Aura, and lived very similar lives to her own in their extermination of Shadows and their role with the Kirijo Group.
It actually got to a point where Aigis specifically started to refer to herself as Penny's "Senpai."
"A... 'senpai'?" Penny asked. "I am unfamiliar with the term. What is this term unique to your world, Aigis?"
"It is a term for an upperclassman," Aigis replied.
"Oh~!" Penny said. "So like the Ace-Ops?"
"Correct," Aigis replied. "Since I am a more experienced robotic lifeform with my own spiritual capabilities and role for exterminating creatures of darkness, you could classify me as your senpai."
"Very well!" Penny said. "From here on, you are designated as Aigis-Senpai!"
All the same, while Penny was happy to have those she could finally relate to as a machine, she was still encouraged by her father to interact with more biological people, considering Penny's robotic form was still a secret to most other people. So today, she was flying around the border city of Argus on her prototype flight pack to find somebody to talk to. She figured it might take some time before she could find anyone of worth like Ruby, the Investigation Team, and the others in their "clique." But she didn't mind, as it gave her more time to fly around, which she was perfectly fine with.
While she flew, however, she quickly caugfht sight of somebody she recognized sitting on a bench, merely watching the activity of the city with a tired expression. She knew him as Yosuke Hanamura, a student of Yasogami High School in the town of Inaba in his world's Japan, as well as a member of the Investigation Team. She had only met him on a few occasions, not for a prologned period of time. But this could give her a chance to know him more!
Disengaging her flight pack, Penny dove from the sky towards Yosuke's location! She did a perfect "Superhero landing" right next to Yosuke, scaring the crap out of him as he screamed and jumped two feet in the air, falling out of his bench! "Salutations!" Penny said, turning and waving happily to Yosuke with a happy smile!
Superhero flight technique, Penny thought, plus superhero landing! Hero status risen to 25%!
"P-Penny!?" Yosuke gasped. "W-what the hell!?"
"Yosuke Hanamura!" Penny said. "It's a pleasure to see you!"
"W-where did you-?" Yosuke said, obviously wondering where she fell from. However, he didn't get the chance as Penny picked him up by the arms with no effort to put him back on his feet.
"I noticed your unease," Penny said. "So as your friend I have come to ask you what the matter is!"
"I-it's not that I'm uneased," Yosuke said, releasing himself from her grasp. "Well... I mean, I guess I am uneased. But not, like, sad specifically."
Penny tilted her head, as Yosuke sighed and sat back down on the bench, Penny sitting beside him. Her mind was naturally abuzz with questions or statements she wanted to make, but chose to remain silent as she recalled statements from the likes of General Ironwood and Miss Kirijo about the importance of talking less and listening more when interacting with others. So, she did as instructed, and listened instead as Yosuke spoke.
"It started on New Year's Eve..."
Initially, Yosuke had gone to the New Year's Eve party along with the rest of the Investigation Team, and simply had been mingling with everyone else as people continued filtering into the Iwatodai Dorms for the first five minutes or so. He was doing what he typically did at most intervals; talking and playing around with the guys, and taking a few shots at the girls, what have you. But the main thing that caused him to know something else was going on that night, was when the girls from Ragna's world showed up.
"Hey~ Yokee!"
Yosuke turned around just in time for Makoto to bound over to him and smile directly in his face! She was wearing her more "conservative" outfit with the black and orange coat, and the orange shorts.
"Oh, hey Makoto," Yosuke said, fairly nervous at her introduction. He still recalled the kiss on the cheek he'd gotten from Christmas when they were shoved under the mistletoe, and was nervous about what she mentioned to him in passing by saying "if you want more, wait til' New Year's."
He was nervous about what she might do to him, because he knew that his relationship with girls left a lot to be desired. But Makoto was one of the only people he'd managed to maintain a fairly, consistently positive relationship with. They talked regularly, even after that Christmas kiss the both of them texted back and forth practically every day.
Makoto was probably the closest thing he got to having a female best friend. But when it came to her it was hard to tell if she was messing with him or being serious about that "offer" considering the fact that she typically shot straight. She was the only girl that he knew that didn't mess with him or bust his chops every other day.
His nervousness came back as Makoto gave him a big old hug when she said 'hello' to him, straight up picking him in the air and laughing in delight! "Woah! Hey!" Yosuke said, unable to keep himself from laughing in turn as she hugged him, until she put him down.
"So, what've you been up to?" Makoto asked.
"Oh not much," Yosuke replied. "Just chilling with the guys."
"Cool!" Makoto said.
From there, the routine returned once more, with Makoto and the other girls filing around with games being played and chats about whatever was going on. But the weird thing was, Makoto never gfot far from Yosuke. She never addressed it or even said too much to him aside from pointing out a joke or something she just heard to tell Yosuke. But the Prince of Junes distinctly noticed her practically orbiting around him.
It was about twenty minutes after the party first started when Makoto nudged Yosuke in order to get his attention, about the third game of Mario Kart. "Hey Yokee?" she asked. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure," Yosuke said. "What's up?"
Makoto tugged on his arm and pulled him away from the crowd, before shaking her head towards the front door. "You wanna split?" she asked.
"Huh?" Yosuke asked. "W-what do you mean? You want to leave?"
"Yeah," Makoto said. "Are you down? I mean, I get it if you don't want to. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out. Just the two of us."
Yosuke was baffled. He wondered why exactly Makoto would want to leave with him. Without Tsubaki or Noel.
"A-are you sure?" Yosuke asked. "You don't want to bring the others?"
"I'm sure," Makoto replied. "I already asked and they said it'd be okay if I bounce. Again, if you don't want to-"
"N-no, it's okay," Yosuke said. "I just... uh, let me check."
Yosuke checked with Yu, Chie, Yukiko and so on to see if it'd be okay if he leave, which they said it was. With that in mind, the both of them began to walk down the street, Yosuke tugging on his hoodie to fight off the cold. To his surprise, Makoto didn't even look the least bit bothered by the cold despite her outfit, while more conservative than her typical clothes, still exposed her midriff and most of her legs.
"So where are you taking me?" Yosuke asked.
"I have a few ideas," Makoto replied, offering a playful wink, before entering a skip in her step as she went on ahead. Yosuke couldn't help but smirk as he followed her.
Turns out, Makoto learned about a lot of fun hangout spots in Japan, despite not being a native of that world. She brought Yosuke to an arcade where they proceeded to play a number of games, competing against each other multiple times, and working together once or twice on other points. After that, they stopped off to grab a bite, before they later found themselves walking down the street once more, just taking their time to enjoy the cool night.
"So!" Makoto said, still enjoying her chestnut parfait. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yeah," Yosuke replied. "I had a really good time."
"I'm happy to hear that," Makoto said. "I like making sure my friends enjoy themselves and have a good time."
The two were silent for a moment, before Makoto tossed her now empty cup into a trash can as she walked past, before taking a breath. She walked a few paces ahead before spinning around and facing Yosuke while placed directly in front of him.
"Hey Yosuke," she said. "I want you to be honest with me."
"Huh?" Yosuke wondered. "Okay. About what?"
"What do you really think of me?" Makoto asked.
"Huh?" Yosuke said again, now utterly baffled. "W-what do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Makoto said, "is there anything you don't like about me? Anything that makes you uncomfortable, or even hate?"
Yosuke felt his skin pale as he took in these words. "W-why would you even say that!?" he nearly shouted. "What are you talking about! You're great! There's nothing wrong with you!"
"You're so positive and cheerful! You have to be one of the most optimistic and friendly people I've ever known!"
"There's nothing you hate about me?" Makoto asked.
"Of course not!" Yosuke said.
Much to his relief, Makoto gave an honest smile upon hearing this. "I knew it," she said. Yosuke was baffled, as Makoto just kept laughing.
"S-sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to make ya nervous. I was just testin' ya."
"Wha-? Testing me?" Yosuke asked.
"Yeah," Makoto replied. "I remember the first time we hung out, after you fought that Mercury guy, where you said how you wanted to protect your friends. And ever since I couldn't stop thinking about you."
Yosuke felt his face heat up. Hearing the words "couldn't stop thinking about you" from a beautiful girl in front of him, with such a happy look in her eyes, it made his heart skip a beat. He couldn't think straight and just listened as she went on.
"Y'see," Makoto said, "I grew up pretty rough. Came from a poor family, dealt with a lot of racism and discrimination over being a demi-human. I tried to deal with it, and the only people I grew to trust were Tsubaki and Noel, because they were among the few who were nice to me in spit of this."
"I cherish my connections so much and want to be there for the people I love more than anything, in any way I can. Seeing the way you stood up to Mercury, saying how you wanted to fight for your friends and be able to protect them, it made me want to get closer to you. To spend more time with you."
"I used tonight to just see person to person how you are, just to be careful. And now I know that you're as good as I thought you were."
Yosuke felt his heart beat faster as Makoto stepped closer and locked their fingers together. "You're such a good person Yosuke," she said. "People may brush you off as immature and even dumb, but I see more inside of you."
"You're dedicated and really very kind. You met people like Blake or me, but you never judged anybody for their traits, but only for who they are as a person. And beyond that, you're always such a good friend and want to be there for those you care for. I... I love that about you."
"I know you've joked about finding a girlfriend, but maybe you should just slow down. You don't hav eto grab life by the horns all the time. Just take your time."
Yosuke now felt even more hit by this. "M-Makoto..." he said. "Are you... asking me to be your... boyfriend?"
Makoto still kept her eyes on the ground, but gave a light shake in her head. "I think you're a good guy, is what I'm saying," she said. "And I haven't thought about relationships before. But I'm willing to at least try something out."
"And I think you'd be a good guy to be with."
Yosuke felt his face turn radiant. He was at a loss for words. He genuinely didn't know what to say.
He had fantasies about this. But he never thought it'd actually happen, let alone with such a strong girl.
"I'm not asking for a yes or no now," Makoto said. "But at least think about it." With those last words, Makoto ran off, leaving Yosuke behind as he watched her vanish in the dark, just as the clock struck midnight.
Penny had been remarkably quiet. The descriptions Yosuke mentioned sounded very much like the romance movies Penny had seen thus far. yet for some reason, Yosuke was not as happy as Penny would have assumed, which baffled the robot girl.
"I just don't know if I'm good enough," Yosuke said. "I've had a crappy experience with romance and that can kill a guy's self-esteem. I guess for the most part I've just... given up."
"I mean Makoto's so nice and strong. What could I give her?"
Penny tilted her head to the side again as she looked at Yosuke. She recalled hearing Yosuke attributed with the word "resentment" yet his confident facade would have fooled anyone.
"Trust," Penny answered him.
"Huh?" Yosuke asked.
"You ive her trust," Penny said. "From what I heard about her, she lived a life with very few people she could ever bond with or talk to without them judging her for who she is. But from what Labrys told me, you're a very trusting person. You wear yourself on your sleeve. Makoto knows she can trust you, which as a demi-human, is the sure fire sign she can have you as a partner."
"And it's not like you're jumping right to marriage. It's customary to date first before commiting to true romance, yes? to see if you truly resonate with the person."
Yosuke looked at Penny with wide eyes. "Wow," he said. "Thanks Penny. That... that honestly helps me out quite a bit."
"Absolutely!" Penny said. "After all, what're friends for?"
"Friend?" Yosuke wondered, before he smiled. "Yeah. We're friends Penny."
Penny gave a big, bright smile. She was happy for the prospoects of having another biological friend, like Ruby. And Yosuke seemed like an ideal option, again, recalling how he bonded with Labrys.
"Perhaps," Penny said, jumping to her feet, "we can go on our own date!"
"Hubu-du-what!?" Yosuke said, face turning red.
"Argus is a wonderful tourist destination," Penny said, looking at Yosuke. "It has plenty of great locations for a date! We can have a date of our own to practice for your real date with Makoto!
"Hey!" they heard a voice say. "What's this junk that fell on my car!?"
"Or maybe not," Penny said, not dropping her smile as she kept eye-contact with Yosuke. "I will see you again, Yosuke! I look forward to hearing how your time spent with Makoto goes!"
"If you say so," Yosuke said. "Thanks again, Penny. I'm already feelin more relaxed."
"Happy to help!" Penny said. "And remember what I said. Easy does it. Don't jump straight to romance."
Yosuke gave another nod, as Penny sprinted towards the scene where her flight pack fell. As for Yosuke himself, he walked back up the road on his way. His head was held high this time around, a smile on his face as he had a renewed sense of confidence.
While he came out to think to himself for a time, Penny had really done her part in helping Yosuke feel better. Yosuke remembered Ruby mentioning Penny on many occasions and how nice and honest she was, and while Yosuke had only met her in passing once or twice, she was able to give him the confidence to tell Makoto that he would be willing to date her.
The resentment was gone and in place was a sense of pride. He couldn't help but smile, looking forward to the good things to come! That is, until he slipped on a patch of ice and went into a frontward dive.
Next thing Yosuke knew, his head was ringing and he felt a massive soreness in his skull. Everything felt like it was burning, as his vision was blurred and he couldn't help but moan in pain. As his sight focused, however, he was soon able to spot a big pair of eyes less than an inch in front of his face!
He jumped back, screaming in fear as the woman who had been watching him screamed in turn! As soon as Yosuke was able to spot he was not in any danger, he felt the pain explode in his head, and he was unable to keep from grabbing his head in pain, practically roaring at the feeling!
"W-woah there!" the woman said, reaching out to him. "You probably aggravated your concussion! Here, take this."
She held out some painkillers for him and he took them with a drink of water. He sighed as he leaned back on the couch he was previously laying on, as the woman sat next to him.
"Thanks," he said. "Uh... who... are you?"
"Oh, my name is Saphron," the woman replied. "You're one of Jaune's friends, right? Yo-something or other?"
"Yeah," Yosuke replied. "My name is Yosuke Hanamura."
"Well," Saphron said, "I'm one of Jaune's sisters. It's a pleasure to meet you. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Sister?" Yosuke asked. "Oh, right. I thought he said one of you were in Argus. Uh... now that you mentioned it, what happened to me?"
"Oh..." Saphron said, unable to maintain eye-contact with him for some reason. "Well, you see, I was walking past after grocery shopping when I saw you accidentally slip in the middle of the road and hit your head on the sidewalk. I ran over to help you and saw that you split your head open something good. Nearly lost a tooth too. Thankfully a doctor showed up and got you some help."
"Wait," Yosuke said. "I split my head open?" He felt his head, where sure enough a series of bandages had been wrapped around his head.
"Yeah," Saphron said. "I'm sorry to say it, but you messed yourself up pretty good. After the doctor patched you up, we brought you to my home to recover and... well, you've been unconscious for hours."
"Oh... I see..." Yosuke said, before he registered what he just heard. "Wait... hours!?" He looked outside, seeing that sure enough, the sun had set and it was now evening outside.
"Yeah," Saphron said. "But hey, at least you're awake now!"
Yosuke looked at the ground in a despondent sight. Dammit, he thouht. I completely blew my chances of seeing Makoto-chan again.
"Well," he said, attempting to stand up. "I guess I should head back home." He stopped, however, as his head exploded in pain again!
"Oh no!" Saphron said, pushing him back on the couch. "You shouldn't go running off! Not in your condition! Not at this hour!"
"What?" Yosuke asked. "But... what about my home?"
"Just tell the truth," Saphron replied. "Let your parents know that you got hurt, but you're okay, and you're gonna stay over with a friend's relatives for the night. Let me speak to them as well just so they can hear from me personally."
"O...okay," Yosuke said, pulling out his phone. "Wait," he added. "Relatives? Who else is here?"
"My wife of course," Saphron laughed. "She's out at work right now, but has been very adamant about making sure I was keeping an eye on you."
Yosuke raised a brow as he looked at Saphron. Okay then, he thought. That is a surprise, but not like there's any problem with that.
Sure enough, Yosuke called his father to let him know that he would be staying with Saphron, wherein Saphron herself spoke to him to confirm that she would make certain Yosuke would be safe and fed for the night. After the talk, Saphron recommended that Yosuke not move around too much to ensure his head wouldn't be aggravated any more than it already was, and merely left him to rest on the couch. Eventually, her wife, Terra, arrived and introduced herself to Yosuke, making doubly certain that he was still in a stable condition, before he was fed and settled down for an early night's rest to let himself recover more.
Yosuke was rather touched by the concern that he got from these two and would have to remember to tell Jaune about how awesome his sister was. Once he awoke the next morning, he woke up just in time to wish Terra a good day at work, giving Yosuke signs that she was quite the busybody, leaving Saphron as the only one to keep an eye on Yosuke and give him the OK to head out for home. This gave Yosuke the time to see their son, Adrian, allowing the Prince of Junes the first instance in his life he could recall handling a child who was too young to talk.
Eventually, however, he was given Saphron's blessings to head out for home, but under a lot of instructions to make sure he would take care of himself. Yosuke made his promise, and left from Argus to take the decently long trek back to home in Inaba. All the while, he had his head held high once again. He felt that with the circumstances of the night behind him, he could finally head back home and get himself ready to see Makoto again.
He got back home, checked out his bandages, and eventually made his way back out on his bike to parts beyond! "It's a new day for me," he said, peddling along before he reached the crest of a hill! Wherein he found that his breaks were out again the hard way, as he shot down the hill before he crashed into a trash can!
He rolled over, before pushing the can off of himself. "And the more things change, the more things remain the same," he said, spitting out a bit of garbage.
Currently, Yosuke finished telling his story as he put his cup of calming tea on the table, where Team RWBY, Hyde, and Yu were all staring at him with wide eyes. They had been listening to him talk at a rapid pace for the past twenty to twenty-five minutes or so, as he did not stop talking about where he'd been since the New Year's Eve party.
"Okay," Weiss said, holding up a finger. "So you mean to tell me you've been in Argus since the party? Well where did you go during the day before you saw Penny? Where did you stay?"
"Oh," Yosuke replied. "I was home after the party. It was Teddie who didn't come back until the afternoon, I don't even want to know what he was doing that night, and only after I had already left. I think I passed by him on my way out when I went to go and do my... reflection."
"So you've been thinking about going out with Makoto-chan all that time," Yu said.
"Yeah," Yosuke said. "I was just wondering if I was good enough to go out with her. If I really deserved her and all that."
He felt somebody grab his arm, looking over to see Blake offering a kind smile. "I think you do," she said. "I've talked to you a lot about how the faunus have been treated on Remnant, and circumstances about the White Fang, and you've always kept an open mind. You don't misjudge anyone without good reason, nor do you discriminate an entire group of people for some such reason. I can understand why she would, and should, trust you."
"Same," Yang said. "You're a good guy, and I could see you two being together."
Yu smiled as he looked his partner and best friend in the eye. "Just trust in yourself," he said. "It's never steered me wrong."
Yosuke smiled, before Weiss spoke up next. "You're such a dolt," she said. "Why shouldn't she trust you? You're an honest person, and despite how frustrating you can be, you're too good at heart to ever do anything to hurt her. So just face reality and see what you can do for her."
Yosuke was stunned as he looked Weiss in the eye, smiling as he took in what she said. "That is the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he said.
"Well," Weiss said with a shrug, "I just couldn't stand to see you doubting yourself for no good reason."
Yosuke kept smiling as he set his cup aside and stood up from the table. "Thanks you guys," he said. "I was feeling good before, but I only feel better now. I'll see you guys around and let you know how things go."
"Good luck Yosuke," Hyde waved.
"Go get her buddy!" Ruby added.
Yu merely met Yosuke's eyes again and gave him a confident nod, which his partner returned as he made his way out the door.
"You think he'll be okay?" Yang asked.
"I think so," Yu replied. "Both he and Makoto-chan resonate too much in all the right ways. They have nothing to put against each other."
"They'll be fine," Weiss said, staring out the window and tracking where Yosuke went. "I know they will."
Yu smiled at Weiss sitting next to him, as Weiss herself gained just the slightest hints of a smirk on her face as she watched him go.
A/N: And with that said, the big reveal about where Yosuke has been is finally here! I hope you enjoyed!
This was the idea that I had from the get-go, upon realizing that I had been neglecting the Yosuke and Makoto pairing, which I chose to rectify. I figured I wouldn't beat around the bush and would just jump straight into the idea of having the two hook-up, but till keep it restrained to a degree like it was mentioned in the chapter itself, where they more or less are just taking things slow and starting out in the dating scene.
I did my best to convey Makoto's chararcter accordingly, and understand how she would operate, as she would be the one who would naturally be the one to open things up. Yet simultaneously, still had reason to be careful in light of everything that had happened to her as a demi-human.
Vice versa, I wanted to have Yosuke think about this himself, as he struggles to wonder if he was actually good enough to be in a relationship with somebody like her, and do some honest to goodness reflection behind it. It's only from support from his friends and a surprise meet-up with Penny that our boy realizes that he is good enough.
Speaking of which, I was criminally underusing Penny by this point, and I just brought her into the fold to act as a non-biased moderator to talk with. Plus, I threw in Saphron for good measure to explain a bit of the extra break in time where Yosuke was because it was the first thing I thought of and I found it really funny, and somewhat appropriate, that something like smashing his head on the sidewalk would happen to Yosuke after finally getting his confidence back! Nothing against Yosuke, I love the guy, but this is what happened!
I hope that this was a satisfying chapter to both explain what happened to our boy and why he wasn't present New Year's Day or during the Peach Beach Splash circumstance, and also to reignite the flames of the Yosuke and Makoto pairing. Let me know your thoughts!
Review Time!
To fernandamichelleraya; Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter to explain what happened to the boy! Also, good to hear your suggestion for Akane.
And on the same wavelength, to FadeShade; Glad to have your suggestion for Yagyu. And don't you worry, we'll have Sun and Seth team-up soon. Also, the idea of Bang getting 'disciples' is definitely an idea I could have fun with.
(So just to let you guys know we currently have 1 vote for Akane and 1 vote for Yagyu as Seth's significant other.)
To SolarS (who read Chapter 38): Honestly, even I don't know what happened there. And I wrote the darn thing! In all seriousness, that mental imagery of Mitsuru is great, and in terms of my favorite genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, and Romance (if you couldn't tell already).
To Jacob9594: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
To Mystech Master: Thanks for more context, and all of your suggestions are great, at the risk of not pointing them out in words, and I'll be sure to keep them in mind! As always, your feedback is appreciated!
To FightingFlash64: I actually suggested that in Chapter 38's A/N, about having a Q&A chapter! Or even a few! Or a separate fic for that specifically! So please, feel free to suggest any questions for the cast, and this goes for everyone, in the event you want to read a Q&A chapter!
To the guest user who mentioned Kanji x Naoto (S.): Yes, Kanji x Shirogane is still a thing, however I have just not taken the time to bring it up as I've mostly just been focusing on the X-Shipping with the exception of Black Sun, and even that one is to a slim degree as I have not focused on a chapter dedicated to that alone. And in terms of Teddie getting with somebody, I figure that could be possible. Personally I've resonated more with Katsuragi, but I feel Ryona could also be cute. Haruka might take a bit of work. And in terms of Labrys, honestly you could argue the same idea for Yukiko in terms of Teddie being attracted to her, so I'm not willing to bet on that. Let me know what the rest of you guys think!
To Will DeGrave: I'm glad I was able to surpass your expectations! And you're welcome for the shoutout. Thank you for helping with the weapon ideas. And while I didn't have Yosuke go to Neptune's world, although in hindsight that was a freaking epic idea XD, I hope this was at least satisfying to read and tugged at your heart strings. Your suggestions also sound really cool, so I'll be sure to keep them in mind. And sadly I have not finished Shinovi Masters yet, although I am on the last episode. Unfortunately classes have been keeping me in a bind and I haven't been able to enjoy myself as much as I have. I haven't even been able to play any games! But, hopefully things will slow down.
To Thee Guest: Yeah, a beach episode was an inevitability, and boy howdy having it get animated would be fun. I like your suggestions (although I like all the suggestions I get to some degree) so I'll be sure to note them. And hearing you say how you enjoy this story means a lot to me. Thank you very much and I hope to continue to entertain a fellow college student.
And to the guest user who brought up XBlaze: That is a very interesting concept in terms of having Es and Adachi meet up. And knowing how Es is arguably an agent of order whilst Adachi believes in full blown chaos, at least at one point, would definitely lead to a great dynamic.
So thank you all so much as always for reading! I hope you did enjoy! And by the by, I have a poll going on currently that you can see on my profile if you want to see me do a more story driven RWBY fic, asking for recommendations.
Let me know what you think, if you have an questions for a Q&A chapter if you'd like me to do one, feel free to let me know. And as always, have a wonderful evening and take care.