Hey-hey once again guys, sorry for the later-than usual update again, just dealing with a couple essays right now. Don't worry, it shouldn't be too long before I'm completely freed up for a period of time. Still hope you all enjoy the story as it is so far, along with the new chapter!
Second Song
Chapter 13
Ruthless intent
Asuka
Breathe, left-hook left-uppercut combination. Don't stay still, weave and keep applying pressure. Stay sharp, shift your weight and flow your aura with every strike. "You're not getting to me this time Arc!" Crystal shouted as she crossed her arms in a tight guard, her diamond skin able to repel most of the damage I tried to inflict. In raw physical power and durability, she had me beat, I had no doubt about that. That was fine though: I knew now that there wouldn't be people out there I could just pummel down like a punching-bag. 'Gotta get creative!' She wasn't just putting up a thick skin of diamond, she was watching and carefully concentrating it in areas right as I was about to hit her. 'I'll have to use it, but I can't push it too far for too long. Let's do this!'
"Fighting Gold: ADVANCE!" My heart felt like it suddenly popped, a jarring sensation in my chest before the entire world moved in a blur. One explosive heartbeat that would massively increase my speed for a spit second. My leg lashed out like a front-kick, and I swore that I could see her skin thicken around her abs. I twisted my stance and leg, whipping it to the side as my feint now cut through the air as a full-blown roundhouse. A sharp *CRACK* echoed through the combat hall and her head snapped to the side, disoriented shock across her face as her concentration broke and her focus crumbling. I stepped forward to finish the fight, but a wave of pain and shock flooded my body, forcing me to freeze up. 'Yup, that was a bad idea,' I thought right before it just vanished, leaving a fair deal of soreness behind. Crystal had managed to recover from the initial concussion of my kick, but when she tried to step forward, she also stumbled and gnashed her teeth together in an attempt to stay upright.
'I know that I was fast, but she still has her diamond-skin up around her at all times, so I shouldn't have been able to damage her that badly… maybe my kick was just that fast?' I shrugged the thought off as I sharpened my focus. 'A thought for later. Using the Advance was a bad idea this early in the fight, but I'm still the faster out of the two of us.' Again I moved in, my strikes a bit more sluggish from the soreness, but I had a better idea of what to do. "Same thing again? Don't get cocky!"
"It ain't exactly the same thing!" I laughed back, ducking under a right hook and dropping to the floor in a deep crouch. Grinning, I channelled my aura into my legs, activating the Fire-Dust in my boots as I rapidly wheeled my legs around, my back to the floor as streaks of fire swirled around me. "Are you goddamn breakdancing!?" She shouted as my kicks constantly slammed into her guard from weird angles. As soon as I saw her guard loosen up in an attempt to grab my foot, I tucked my body tightly, my knees touching my face before I shot my feet straight up, blasting my aura and dust right into her stomach with a small explosion, the force enough to knock her clean into the air and out of bounds. "And that's the match!" Mom shouted, clapping and cheering from a few people in the crowd. "Damnit," Crystal sighed as I jogged over to her, holding out a hand. She took it with a wry smirk and I pulled her up. "Don't think that I'll go down as easy next time," She growled playfully, lightly punching me on the arm.
"I hope not, otherwise thing's might be boring around here for the next while," I shot back with a grin. She chuckled and dusted herself off, making her way over to her teammates. I did the same, walking back up to the seats. As soon as I reached there, I suddenly felt lightheaded, my knees wobbling as I stumbled. "Ah, easy there," Wolfram said as he steadied, his hands on my shoulders as he gently helped me sit down. "Used your Semblance?" He guessed.
"Yeah," I groaned, my body throbbing with soreness now that I wasn't focusing on not dying. "I tried to use my Semblance in one massive burst rather than a prolonged burn. Still wrecked me though." He raised a hand to use his semblance on me and I quickly stopped him. "Asuka…" He started.
"Don't. I can recover on my own, and you might get picked on for a Spar today," I decided it would be best to at least smile. "Still, it's not like I don't appreciate the offer, so thanks." He smiled back and nodded, though the sudden wave of soothing cold worked its way through my body caught me off guard. "Hey!" I protested, though the feeling of relief was something that I couldn't really complain about. He just grinned, a cheeky look in his eyes. "I didn't exactly use my Semblance on you, so it isn't like I didn't do what you asked."
"Nosy bastard," I muttered under my breath, but I turned away to hide my own grin from him. Terra wasn't one to miss it, her own eyebrows raised as she smirked at me. "Don't say a goddamned word," I growled out, though me trying to be threatening probably came across as embarrassed, mostly because I was a bit mortified. Just a bit. "Alright, we got time for one more matchup!" Mom said out loud, "Let's put it to the randomizer." The displays spun rapidly for a few seconds, the first image surprisingly displaying Terra of all people. She seemed pretty laid back about it, her tail wrapped around her waist lightly wriggling around. The second image though… "And Diego Brando!" Instantly, her vibe was flipped on its head: she wasn't leaning back and perfectly relaxed. She was already on her feet, every single muscle in her body tensed. Her eyes were slits, her jaw clenched tightly, and her aura visibly squirming around her body. "Fight well Terra!" Riot called out, a glance and a small smile being his reply as she made her way down.
"Hey… is she alright?" I asked him, "I don't think that I've seen her that made before." Riot just shrugged, unable to hide the worry on his face. "I've got no clue."
"Oh great, it's you," Diego shot at her loudly. "You're probably the weakest out of your team, so all I ask is that you don't ask this boring."
"…Okay, I might have a clue," Riot whispered after a moment.
"Enough chatting," Mom barked, their aura-displays going up. "Begin!" Diego as a fighter, in a word, was ruthless. He drew what looked like a very thin rapier with a simple handgun attachment before the blade itself lengthened and separated into a bladed whip, nine feet long and still incredibly sharp. He laughed as he immediately lashed it out at her. Instead of dancing around it like normal, she just put her guard up and tanked the lashes entirely, her naginata barely moving to try and mitigate some of the damage. "What the hell is she doing?" Wolfram asked more to himself than anyone else, clearly upset. "Move Terra, snap out of your funk and dodge!" Even Diego was confused, though he didn't let up in the slightest adding sudden shots from his pistol, most of the bullets shattering on her cloak while others actually hit her where it would sting, on her stomach, hands and forehead.
"Oh come on, are you so out of depth that you can't fight back?" He sneered as he shot another bullet, this one racing by her eye and clipping the side of her head. He cackled as he twisted his wrist, the whip suddenly wrapping around her weapon and yanking it from her hands rather easily, tossing it out of the ring. He pressed his attack even harder, his whip slicing through the air even faster as he closed the distance. "This is boring, get the hell out of my ring!" He snapped, his aura channelled around his weapon as he swung straight down. That's when she retaliated, hard. Her hand shot out and let the whip wrap around her arm before she violently yanked it out of his hands, drawing him in and crouching down low. "Earth Crouching Dragon." Her arm blurred and buried itself into his gut with a sharp *SNAP*, the motion almost like she fucking shanked the dude. His eyes bugged out for a moment before he snarled and gladly elbowed her in the temple. She stumbled back slightly but regained her balance, her stance lower and almost hunched over in a weird way. The look on her face too… it was cold.
"Oh, you're getting serious now? What the hell's with that stupid stance though?" He sneered again at her, but with how tensed up he was and the hesitation written all over his body, I knew that he was hurt bad. Terra didn't respond, still in that crouched stance of hers and shifting around slightly. "Was that one punch all you-?"
"Earth Crouching Dragon." Another sharp snap echoed, Diego stumbling back with his hand clutching his stomach… no, his solar plexus. Even blood was dripping from his mouth. 'What the fuck did she just do!?' Her stance was almost similar to an uppercut, but the way she was crouched down so low seemed weird as hell. She didn't have a weapon on her, nor was she built in a way that should've helped her damage Diego that much. He shut up after that, his eyes narrowed as he finally called upon his Semblance. Reptilian features suddenly popped up across his face, a long and muscular tail sprouting from above his pants and his mouth stretching slightly to bare sharp, pointy teeth. Terra immediately took up her crouched stance again, lower than before as her aura began to flow around her. "…Ah, you're going all out now?" He called out, no taunts in his voice this time. "You're responding to my seriousness and have decided to put it all on the line?"
"Can't kill you unless I get serious," Terra responded back for the first time.
"Ho… then… get as serious as you like!" The arena was still for a moment, tension thick like butter as everyone fell silent. They disappeared.
"Earth Crouching Dragon."
"USELESS!"
A *BANG* sliced through the air so sharply that I had to clutch my ears from the stab of pain. They were both in the center of the ring, her knuckle perfectly hitting the tip of his elbow. "The same move twice Wukong? Get real!" She had grimaced, and I knew why: even with aura, hitting your fists on something as durable and pointed as bone was basically asking your fists to break. He took advantage of her vulnerability and swung a full left hook to her face. "Weeping Willow." His entire body suddenly went flying through the air before he crashed onto the very edge of the arena. He rolled to his feet smoothly, the extra balance from his new appendage helping him with that, though Terra had already closed the distance, still in that crouched stance. "Again? USELESS!" He roared, cleanly countering her uppercut by blocking it with his forearm and landing a right hook on her face hard. She rolled with the impact, back in her crouched stance.
He went on a blistering assault, firing off fast and powerful attacks with his bulkier frame to deal as much damage as possible, yet all she did was deftly shift her feet, almost gliding across the floor as she weaved and ducked from that strange stance. She ducked under another left hook, going even lower as she tensed up to strike. "Are you serious!?" He laughed, clearly enjoying himself as his leg ripped through the air towards her side. She didn't throw the same thing though. "Air Lance." She sprung straight up over his head, completely upside down as her foot cracked right into his neck. His eyes rolled right up into his head for a moment, his left arm going completely limp. She glanced in our direction, and the look in her eyes made me shudder. 'She's… going in for the kill.' She did just that, landing and swiftly kicking his feet out from under him, her fingers pressed tightly together as she drew her hand back. "Weeping Willow: Crucify." Her hand shot down like a spear right at his exposed neck, and my breath hitched in horror. She'd literally punch a hole through his throat.
"Too slow!" He woke up and his tail instantly wrapped around her wrist, stopping her right before she ripped through him, a single toe of his on the floor holding him up. 'His balance and reaction-speed is insane!' Pushing off of his single big toe, he shot his knee straight up into her chin, her head whipping back as she stumbled backward. Diego was equally ruthless, leaping right back at her and wildly pummelling her body in areas not protected by her suit. An elbow to her chin stunned her as he drew his own aura-clad hand back, his nails like talons as he slashed straight down for her head. "USHAAAAA!"
"Rupture."
The final clash between the two attacks screeched through the air, Terra's body flung backwards and crashing into the floor, clearly out of bounds. "And the winner is Diego Brando!" Initially, people cheered and clapped for good reason. The match, as short as it was, was still damn good. People fell quiet though when Diego trembled and fell to his knees, vomiting violently all over the floor as he clutched his stomach. Terra just got up and dusted herself off, staring right at him. "B… bitch…!" He choked out before hurled chunks again. Still, she started to walk up to him, and it looked like she was about to help him up at first. When I saw the way her hand was shaped like a knife, that's when I knew: she was going to finish the job. "Gonna help him up Terra?" Mom spoke up, a bit louder than she would normally talk, "That's sweet of you." Terra flinched and all the killing intent surrounding her vanished. "Oh… yeah. I guess so." She held out an open hand, smirking a bit, and I breathed a sigh a relief. This was the Terra I knew. "You did pretty good, knocking me away in time. You're strong. Probably would've survived my Rupture too." He scowled, but begrudgingly took her hand.
"I wasn't on my A-game, so don't let your head swell. But… you're pretty good, almost killing me like that. Maybe next time I'll use the full extent of [Scary Monsters] on you."
"Looking forward to it… word of warning though." She gripped his hand tighter and drew closer to him. She whispered, but I could hear her words clearly. "Hurt what's precious to me, and I'll kill you." He laughed at that, leaning right in and grinning viciously. "Hah, you'd better follow through!" She grinned again, both of them walking their separate ways. She was back to her lazy self when she sat down with us again, hands behind her head as she leaned back. When she noticed us staring at her, the looked a bit confused. "…Something on my face?" She asked.
"…Terra, what the hell was that?" I blurted out, trying to keep my voice down.
"What was what?"
"The way you fought! Fuck Terra, you were trying to kill him!" I whispered harshly, "You've never fought like that before, so why-?"
"I made it pretty clear. You are all precious to me. Riot is precious to me." The blunt declaration caught us off guard, Riot himself turning a bit red. "If Diego hadn't provoked him, he wouldn't have gotten so badly hurt fighting Ozpin. I wanted to make sure that Diego got the message, that everyone got the message, and I would've done the same to Ozpin, but that's Riot's wall to overcome." It was… weird. Don't get me wrong, it was good to know that, as laid back as she seemed, she was willing to do anything for us as friends. But for her to be able to actively try to kill someone without hesitation… her laid back attitude wasn't a front. It was just all we've seen from her.
"T-Terra… it's not like I don't appreciate the care," Riot spoke up softly, "But… I don't want you killing anyone over any of us." Her eyes hardened, the coldness in her eyes shocking us. "I made myself clear… but," They suddenly softened, "I'll… try not to. I guess." We all sighed in relief, though Wolfram kept an intrigued eye on her for a moment.
The following lesson…
I looked over my weapons and hummed for a bit. Having made them myself before I even came to Beacon, I was already guaranteed a pass in Weapon-Crafting. Still though, what could I do to Balrog that would make it even better at kicking ass? The answer was nothing, at least not right now. The boots and gauntlets perfectly fit how I fought, dust-nodes suited exactly to my special techniques. But still, it annoyed me. My fight with Wolfram had proven him right. They were just cool, flashy looking moves with decent destructive power behind them. Sure, I could use them creatively, but at the same time it was just a waste of dust. Riot had already become adept at countering the White Tiger,
Thinking back, I realized that the things I was most effective with was fire, lightning and wind, water being an exception oddly enough thanks to my Azure Dragon technique. Wind helped speed up my movements, fire for damage over time, and lightning… 'Huh.' As dangerous as lighting should be, I felt this weird pull to it. My Kirin technique was one that would force my arm to spaz out, but the rush of the technique was something I loved. 'I fight based off of overwhelming speed, that's always been my go-to. Maybe I can work my weapons around that…?' The smallest wisp of an idea formed in my mind, but it wasn't something that I could give form to just yet. The sound of scraping metal cut my thoughts short, and I glanced over to the left to see Terra sharpen her blade. She'd been doing nothing but that for the past thirty minutes, and the weirdest thing was that it seemed to be working. The edge of her Naginata was gleaming, the blade itself perfect in every way without a single misshape or imbalance. All the while, she hummed in her usual happy/lazy way, not a care in the world.
'Damn, I didn't think that she'd have that in her,' My mind wandered back to the fight from earlier today. 'The way she moved, her techniques, all of them are made to kill. I guess that it's good that she only fights like that when something threatens us as a team, but…' My eyes flicked over between her and Riot, who was working with Wolfram a bit further away from us and sketching out what looked like some kind of sword on a piece of paper. 'Riot is precious to her? Why did she say it like that? I'd get it if she liked him in that way, but for her to show it by nearly killing someone…' I gnawed on my lip and idly tapped my thigh. 'Granted, who the hell am I to judge? I wanted to kill Wolfram and now I…' My face suddenly burned as I realized what I was thinking to myself. 'Fuck. Fuck no, I did not just think that.'
"You doin' okay there Asuka?" Terra asked suddenly, my eyes shifting to hers and seeing the big, cheeky grin on her face. "You're looking a bit distracted by someone." I covered my face in my hands, mortified out of my mind; that was twice in one day. "God, I hate you so much," I groaned. She laughed lightly, patting me on the back with her Stand. "And you're in love~," she shot back, grinning even wider.
"I'm not fuckin' in love!" I barked out quietly, trying not to draw attention. "It ain't like he's got me wrapped around his finger or some shit like that."
"True," She agreed, "But you certainly wouldn't mind, would you?"
"Fuck. You." I hissed, trying my best to look tough again, but not able to hide how much my goddamn face was burning up. It was stupid, thinking that I could ever like that cold-hearted, stick-up-his-ass, tall, elegant, charming… "I swear to god I'm going to strangle you," I croaked out, face-down on the desk and covering my head. Terra laughed again and went back to humming and sharpening her blade. "Besides, ain't you the one who finds Riot precious?" I tried to shoot back.
"Well, yes."
'So blunt!' I thought.
"I told you all, you're my friends. My best friends. And Riot… I guess I see some similarities between the two of us."
"Similarities?" I parroted.
"Yup. He was lonely. Isolated from others in some way, am I right?" The cold tone to her voice made me shiver a bit, plus she was right. He never had that much interaction with other people our age until now, no thanks to his bursts of anger from time-to-time combined with the fact that he was Aunty Ruby's son. People in high-school never talked to him, never tried to be friends, going out of their way to avoid him. For Terra to see something similar in him… "Did… did you go through the same things he did? If that's the case, why?"
"I'm strong," She said, again with that blunt voice, "I do what I want because I'm strong, so long as nobody innocent gets hurt. I used to go to the Junior-Hunter Academy Oasis, made it to my final year too. They thought I didn't deserve to be there because of who my parents were. I had to deal with that shit for three years, putting up with it and getting the best grades. Still, they avoided me, taunted me, belittled me." A grin split her mouth, not lazy or joking, more savage than anything else. "I waited for the final combat exam a ten vs one fight meant to test how long you could last. They broke my arm, a couple of ribs, a leg, gashed my eye, all the fun stuff, but you know what? I sent all of them to the hospital. They know now that I'm strong, and I do what I want. They got in my way, tried to make me submit, and I butchered them."
Her expression turned softer as she looked over to Riot. "That's why I'm interested in him. He's the strongest person at our age I've ever seen."
"Hey, watch your mouth," I deadpanned.
"One of the strongest people," She fixed with a smirk, "… and for him to carry the burden that he does, pushing on despite Ozpin of all people trying to stop him at every turn… I admire that. The same way I admire you for facing the mistakes of your actions and the trauma of your defeat, or the way Wolfram, even if he hasn't had the same kind of hardships as us, willing to push himself to prove his worth." She looked to me, genuine happiness on her face. "I see similarities in all of us, and I consider you all family. I'll do anything to protect that." The genuine, intense emotion behind a voice that was normally lazy was surprising, and more than a bit touching.
"I mean… don't get me wrong, I really appreciate that," I said after a moment, "But you don't need to go around nearly killing people because of that." She raised a brow, looking confused.
"Why not?" Again, the bluntness behind her words made me shudder.
"Because… killing people isn't exactly right?" She burst into snickers, her body shaking as a very heavy feeling settled around her. She stared directly at me, her shining blue eyes dull and almost lifeless. "It isn't right? Oh, that's pretty funny Asuka. It wasn't right of those brats to push me as far as they did for almost three years, yet they did. It wasn't right of them to harass me, taunt me, belittle me, make me hold myself back for nearly three years, yet they did. They did it because they thought they were stronger than me. I carved them up in turn to prove that I was stronger than them." She sighed, idly thumbing her blade, a thin line of blood appearing on her thumb. "It's childish, I know. But after seeing everything that's happened around me, it's obvious, isn't it? Strength is what matters in this world. There is nothing that will ever change that. If the situation calls on me to go all out, then I will do just that. If the situation calls on me to kill someone to protect another, I won't hesitate."
Twisted was the word that I'd use to describe her aura now. No more calm, soothing mist enveloping her, there was now a cloud of devouring smog that writhed around her body. Her reasons for her actions were by all means justified, but for her not to show any remorse… 'What the hell did they do to her?' It was pretty clear that I wasn't the only one who noticed the change surrounding her. People started to shift uncomfortably in the room, like the air was suddenly getting heavier, even if they didn't know where it was coming from. Riot on the other hand seemed pretty clear on the situation. He glanced at us, his eyes flicking over to Terra with more than a bit of worry. The moment he looked at her, the heavy feeling surrounding her just vanished as she looked right back at him, grinning with her usual lazy face and waving at him. It was a bit funny seeing him blush and wave back, but the uneasy feeling lingered in my stomach.
I still considered her a friend, the first one I made when I came to Beacon. At the same time, or probably because of that, I knew that an attitude like this would only lead her into some trouble, sooner or later down the line. 'She's right, there's a bit of her in us, that much is true,' I thought after a moment. 'But I see a bit of me in you too! You care too much about power, and even if it isn't entirely self-centred, it's still something that'll destroy you if you keep walking down that kind of path. I won't let that shit happen to you!'
To be Continued...
And the plot thickens like... butter? Is butter technically thick? Shit, I dunno. Anyway, finally delving a bit into Terra's character as a bit more than someone who's eternally lazy, because every character needs a little actual depth instead of a single quirk that defines who they are. Coming up with Terra, in case you didn't know, was the one of the hardest parts of this story in its first drafts, but I think I managed to get something down. I think. There are pretty obvious references here and there as to what series I used to base her off of, but I digress. Either it's a hit, or a miss, and that's on me. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter with a spice of action, and peace out.
