A/N: We made it guys! Over 11,000 views! Thank you all so much! This one's for you guys! Enjoy!
Oh, and Happy Labor Day!
Edit (11/22/18): Happy Thanksgiving, guys! Not much to really say here. It's basically been the same as it's always been. A/N deletions and a few rewordings here and there. Well, have a good holiday!
Review Responses (for the ones I didn't/couldn't directly message):
MarsDragon3180: Thank you for the support! And thanks for your advice with that particular pairing, it will be a slow burn, but not to the point that the audience will scream "JUST KISS ALREADY!"
fernandamichelleraya: Thank you for the pairing suggestion! I actually never thought of it, and it's a really good idea. However, I already have something planned for Ruby, but don't worry, it will be just as satisfying, I promise. And don't worry about the glitch, it's happened to me when I posted reviews a couple of times.
dickythamrin077: As much as it pains me to say this, they're simply going to remain friends, even though they would be very cute together. Also, concerning Yaoi/Yuri... if I ever do decide to make a Yaoi or Yuri pairing (and that's a really big if, I can't write gay fanfiction to save my life), it will be pushed to the background to focus on the other things this story will be covering. So, not much to worry about there. Thank you for the support!
Solartiger: Are you taking about Maijima or Toshinori? Cause Torino gets mentioned in this chapter only as far as I know. *Maybe I mentioned him and forgot about it? Oh well.*
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.
I do not own the cover image
Chapter 12: The Endeavor of Ironwood
"Ironwood certainly loves to bring his work everywhere he goes," Glynda complained in a frustrated tone, obviously distressed about the number of ships and soldiers that he'd brought to Beacon in such a rush, and during the Vytal Festival no less.
She was standing inside of Beacon Tower, along with her coworkers, Shout Aizawa, Toshinori Yagi, and, of course, Ozpin. Though they stood inside of a rather large clock tower, they were all used to the noise of gearing clinking and clunking, hard at work to keep the clock face turning at a steady pace.
"Being the general of an army and the headmaster of a hunter academy does keep him quite busy. But yes, those ships are a bit of an eyesore." Ozpin commented, taking a brief sip from the mug of coffee he held in his hand.
"We know, Oz. The more pressing question is why the hell he brought almost half the fleet of Atlas to a peace festival. Call me skeptical, but I think Ironwood is taking Qrow's message a little too seriously." Aizawa gave his two cents on the matter, obviously not very happy with the general.
"That's not what I think we should be worried about at the moment," Toshinori interjected, holding up his Scroll, displaying a message from his rival. "It's him. He's coming to the festival."
Glynda and Aizawa looked at him with shocked expressions, while Ozpin, though his was a calmer face than the rest, gripped his cane just the slightest bit tighter. Endeavor was coming to the Vytal Festival.
He never came to any Vytal Festival before this, even when he was invited.
"What?! Several important people have invited him before, but he always refused! Why now?!" Glynda exclaimed, distressed at this sudden revelation.
"I think it may have to do with this year's lineup. His son and his team are going to be participating in the tournament. If he is coming here, then... this does not bode well for them."
They went silent at this. Enji Todoroki, father of Shoto Todoroki, was constantly regarded as a callous and unfeeling man, only showing emotion when it came to his self-proclaimed rivalry with All Might. The fact that he was coming to watch the Vytal Festival could only mean one thing for him.
He was going to display his son's power.
The Vytal Festival, while a celebration of peace, would also be a chance for younger Huntsmen and Huntresses to get noticed, and then later requested for more dangerous missions that offered higher pay. The better and flashier you performed, the more likely you'd get scouted. The Vytal Festival was the perfect place for him to move his plan into action, in front of thousands of people eager to see young hunters duke it out. But if Endeavor did follow through with his plan, he would subsequently destabilize the positions of his son's teammates, only giving one of the four huntsmen in training the attention they deserved.
These thoughts were pushed from their minds when a blue hologram saying Access Requested flashed across Ozpin's desk. The headmaster turned to the door, saying "Come in," opening the elevator door to his office, revealing the headmaster/general of Atlas, James Ironwood.
The fellow headmaster wore his usual attire, a white overcoat with a gray undercoat, black sweater, and a red necktie. His suit pants shared the same color as his overcoat and were tucked into silver boots that were accented in gray. His hair was black, with some silver and gray areas, while his eyebrows were solid black. He also had a strip of silver metal above his right eyebrow. For what reason, Aizawa did not know, though he suspected it may have had something to do with the glove that covered his entire right hand.
"Ozpin!" The general greeted his old-time friend.
"General." Ozpin curtly answered, obviously trying to show respect for the general,
"Please. Drop the formalities." Ironwood stepped over and shook Ozpin's hand. "It's been far too long, old friend."
Glynda then stepped over to the two headmasters, along with Aizawa, whilst Toshinori remained by Ozpin's desk, wishing to stay and hear what their conversation would bring up. Ironwood then unsuccessfully tried to flirt with Glynda, the latter of whom was clearly not interested as she and Aizawa left the office, obviously knowing that what was about to be discussed was not for their ears.
"She certainly hasn't changed a bit," Ironwood commented, his voice laced with the tiniest hint of disappointment.
"Well, she is who she's always been, the strongest huntress of her year. Even I'm afraid of her at times." Toshinori said, remembering her wrath all too well when she challenged him to a spar all those years ago. He'd won, of course, but she was probably the one who came closest to defeating him since... well, since Endeavor. In fact, if she hadn't given up her huntress life to be a college professor, she'd have probably taken a spot in the Big Four.
"Yes, she does give off a rather intimidating aura when she's mad," Ironwood commented in a joking tone, causing Toshinori and Ozpin to chuckle slightly.
"So, what brings you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't usually travel with their students, even for an event like this." Ozpin asked Ironwood as he poured three more cups of coffee, handing one to Ironwood and another to Toshinori, the latter of whom muttered a brief "thanks" whilst the former poured something from his flask into his cup.
"Well, we all know I love Vale around this time of year. In Atlas, it's just snow, snow, and more snow. I thought it was time for a bit of a change of pace. I also thought that it would give all of us a chance to... catch up. Oh! And I recently heard that Toshinori got a teaching job here. Congratulations."
"No need. Torino had recently retired from teaching here, so the spot was open. It was just a matter of not getting this job out and into the public eye until I actually began working."
"While I'm not objecting to some quality time between friends, the small army outside my door does have me a tad bit concerned," Ozpin interjected before they shifted off of the topic at hand.
Ironwood's tone shifted to an apologetic one. "Oz... concern is what had me bring them here."
"I understand that travel between the kingdoms is becoming increasingly difficult, but-"
"Oz... you and Toshinori both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin and Toshinori placed their mugs on the former's desk, while the latter said, "James, I know you're concerned about Qrow's message, we are too. But this..." Toshinori gestured outside, where most of the airships were currently docked. "… this is just going to give off the wrong impression."
"But if the message is true-"
Ozpin interjected once more, "If what he said is true, then we must handle it tactfully. The Vytal Festival is nearly upon us. It's a time to celebrate peace between the kingdoms. Transporting hundreds of soldiers across the continent, mechanical or not, will only have the opposite effect. It's going to make the people feel intimidated."
"I'm just being cautious."
"As are we. Which is why we will keep training the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we possibly can. They will be ready."
"I see your point." Ironwood began to walk towards the door, stopping in the center of the room as he turned back to the two most powerful Huntsmen he knew, and said, "But ask yourself this. Do you honestly believe that the children of our academies could win a war?"
"I hope they never have to," Ozpin replied to his fellow headmaster before he left the office, leaving only him and Toshinori alone once more.
"Phew! The tension there was so thick I could practically see it." Toshinori said, relieved that the earlier conversation was now over.
"I know. Actually, Toshinori, I've been meaning to ask you how your apprentice has been doing. So, how is he?" Ozpin asked as politely as he could.
"Well, we're really master and apprentice in name only at this point. I always expected him to break off from my shadow at some point or another, but not this soon. I give him advice when I can, but what with my job and all, I don't really have a lot of time to teach him anything."
"Well, at least you're still there to offer him advice. Does he know about-"
"No. I haven't told him about that part. Not yet. His isn't ready for it."
"And I doubt he ever will be, Toshinori. You'll have to tell him eventually."
"He's a child."
"He's older than you when you were taught what you're destined to face. And I also learned that he turned eighteen earlier this year. Not quite a child anymore." He took a long drink from his coffee mug. "He'll learn of this eventually, Toshinori. With or without your help."
(Beacon Library, 4:43 pm, after classes)
"That was a good match. You're getting better already," Shoto said as he walked across the library with his usual neutral expression.
"Easy for you to say," Izuku said as he dragged his feet behind his teammate. They'd just gotten back from a long and arduous sparring match, one the Izuku had, obviously, lost. The deal was that they'd practice sword techniques for one hour, and spar for another. Rinse repeat, once a day, every day. This had gone on for about a week, and while Izuku was getting the basics of swordplay down to muscle memory, the progress of using those techniques in actual combat was... well, slow, to say the least. Shoto did not hold back, not even for a beginner like Izuku. As he said, he was getting better, it was just incredibly slow. But I digress...
Teams RWBY and JNPR were currently sitting in the library, the former playing a four-player board game whilst the latter was studying. Well, Ren and Pyrrha were studying, Jaune was reading a comic book and Nora was just sleeping. Izuku and Shoto eventually found their own teammates, the dire wolf faunus reading a book on ammo and explosives while their more studious teammate found solace in researching various architectural structures.
"Ah! Hello, you two. How was the training session?" Tenya asked his teammates as courteously as he could.
"It went well," Shoto said with a satisfied smile on his face.
"It was hell on earth all over again," Izuku said as he slumped onto a nearby couch next to Bakugo's chair, the explosive faunus so absorbed in his book that he didn't even notice his long-time victim laying directly across from him.
"C'mon, Izuku. Am I really that bad?"
"Yes, you are," he answered, too tired to notice his own out of character attitude.
"NOOOOOO, MY FEARLESS SOLDIERS!" They heard from Team RWBY's table as they played their board game rather loudly just a few dozen feet away from them. It was at this point that Bakugo slammed his book shut rather loudly, yelling at the girls, "SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO STUDY, DAMMIT!"
"HEY, WATCH WHAT YOU SAY TO MY SISTER, YA DAMN LIVING GRENADE!" Yang answered his profanity with just as much volume, if not even moreso.
Bakugo, however, wasn't intimidated in the slightest, only answering her with, "BRING IT ON, YA BLONDE BIMBO!"
Sparks flew between their eyes as they glared at each other with intense hostility that you'd think only the greatest of rivals could possibly possess. However, their stare off was then cut off when Tenya and Shoto interjected, the former facing Yang and the latter facing Bakugo. Tenya apologized to Yang for the outburst while Shoto gave his teammate a sterner glare than the ones Goodwitch could give, and they both backed down shortly afterward.
RWBY continued their board game at a more preferable pitch, though there were still cries of agony as Yang continued to dominate the board with her surprisingly rarely flawed strategies. Jaune, likely trying to find another way to flirt with Weiss, stepped over to the table and asked if he could play. Some banter between them ensued while STIK went back to their earlier positions, with Bakugo reopening his book on ammo and explosives, with Tenya sitting across from him, now entirely focused on his architecture book; Izuku was nearly out cold on the couch, and Shoto now approaching them with a tray that had four cups of coffee placed on it.
Izuku shot up at the smell of the godly aroma and shot over to where Shoto was standing at a speed that could easily match Ruby, and he hadn't even activated Full Cowl in the slightest. He held out his hands and asked his leader, "Coffee?"
Still a little shocked at Izuku's speed, Shoto still gave him what he asked for. Izuku then promptly thanked him and zipped back over to the couch he once laid on, drinking the refreshment in his hand in three large gulps. The green-haired boy then placed it down on the table and faced Shoto, thanked him for the drink, and zipped off and into the library to look for books on swordplay. As quietly as he could, of course. It was a library.
"Did anyone else just see that?" Shoto asked his teammates.
Tenya pulled his eyes from his book and answered the best he could. "I honestly have no idea how he does it. Sometimes he moves so incredibly fast it's almost like he's slowing down time itself. I'd almost be challenged if he could do it at will."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I'm saying that whenever he does it, he's usually under some kind of emotional duress. I'm not meaning to suggest anything, it may just be a byproduct of his semblance, but-"
"I'm back!" Izuku practically appeared in the spot he'd zipped off from before, prompting all further conversation from Shoto and Tenya to cease, the latter giving the former a look that conveyed, 'We'll talk about this later,' as Izuku approached his leader to find out which of the books he held in his arms would suit him best now that he nearly had the basics of swordplay down flat.
"Hmmm... 'A Guide to the Sword' by Cloud Strife, 'Swords for Dummies' by Braun Arc, 'A Blade for Grimm' by..." Todoroki paused for a moment as he read the author of the last book, a flash of anger flickering onto his normally neutral face for just the slightest of moments as he remembered just where he'd seen the book before. He shook himself out of it, and handed Izuku the former two books, keeping 'A Blade for Grimm' at his side. He didn't want his father's words to corrupt another of his friends, especially not the ones that the man had written down in the book hew now held. He continued, "Read those two thoroughly. They'll help you much more than this one will."
"What about the other one?" Izuku asked, wondering why Shoto had deliberately taken away the third book. He probably didn't even look at the author. Good.
"It's not a very good book. I read it back when I was training, it didn't help at all." Shoto pointed to the ones left in Izuku's hands. "Those two have information on all sword types, greatswords included. This one just spouts on and on about glory and rarely gives any advice on swordplay. Trust me, those are your best bet." Shoto then walked off to return the book to its proper place, though he scowled at the book as he faded into the rows of shelves.
When the tournament begins... I'll prove him wrong. I'll be the best without my other half.
While Shoto walked amidst the nearly never-ending shelves to put the book in his hands back where Izuku had found it, the aforementioned green-haired boy decided that it may be a good chance to ask Ruby to teach him how to use a scythe. He rose from his former seat on the couch and walked to RWBY still playing their board game, and was surprised to see Sun and Neptune standing near the table the board had been laid out upon.
"Oh, hey Greenie!" Yang waved to him as he approached, causing him to blush just the slightest shade of pink when he responded, "H-h-hey Yang!"
"What's up, Izuku? I thought you guys were studying." Ruby said after she greeted the blazer-wearing boy with a smile decorating her face.
"Well, I'm fairly sure Tenya's the only one studying right now. Shoto's putting a book back and Bakugo's-" a rather loud explosion echoed from behind Izuku, abruptly interrupting him as Tenya began yelling at Bakugo. "… doing what he does best..."
"I can see how that would make sense." Ruby said as she turned back to the game at hand, placing down a card and saying, "Grimm Battalion!"
"Trap card." Yang held up a card her own, rearranging the various Grimm figurines on the board once again, saying, "I now control all of Anima and Mantle! I am unstoppaba-"
"Trap card." Neptune interrupted her victory speech, Izuku now realizing that the bluenette was in the seat that Blake once occupied, causing Yang to drop her hand of cards in complete shock, and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY FEARLESS ARMIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!"
"I'm betting at least half of them were androids."
"Goodbye, my loyal followers." Yang shed crocodile tears for effect.
Izuku sweatdropped at this action, though he quickly sobered himself and reminded himself why he was over there in the first place, turning to the red reaper at the table and asking, "Hey, Ruby? I have a favor to ask you."
Ruby turned to the blazer-wearing boy, saying, "Well, I'm out of the game right now, so I guess I have time. What's up?"
"I need you to teach me how to use a scythe. Could you give me a few pointers?"
"Sure! What did you need help with?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could..." Izuku and Ruby walked towards the nearby row of shelves and began talking about scythe techniques while the others once more resumed their game, with Weiss and Neptune now being the only players now that Yang and Ruby had been taken over by the aforementioned bluenette.
When Ruby and Izuku finished the specifics of what the former was going to teach, and she was going at a rather rapid pace, Yang, thoroughly bored of seeing Weiss blush like a child every time Neptune so much as looked at her, stood up from the table and walked over to the two of them, placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and said, "Whoa, calm down there, sis. You're gonna overwhelm him."
"Pfft. Naaaaaah. He's doing just fi-" She stopped speaking when she saw the abnormal number of notes that had piled up whilst she was blissfully gushing over scythe specifics. "I didn't give that many tips! Did I?"
Izuku didn't even respond to the red reaper as he continued to scribble down the last few things that she'd said before Yang had popped in on their particularly one-sided conversation, finally popping up and replying, "Was there anything else you wanted to add?"
Ruby slumped over in defeat, muttering, "Never mind," before slinking back over to the table and sat once more, her eyes never leaving her feet the entire time.
"I'm sorry about that. Ruby can get a little... eccentric at times, especially when it comes to scythes."
"N-n-no need. S-she a-a-actually had some really g-good advice. Your sister could be a r-really great teacher i-if she slowed down a bit."
"Wait, I thought you could keep up with what she was saying."
"I-I only managed to understand about half of it. T-the notes I have here are all that I managed to remember."
The silence that ensued lasted a bit longer than was comfortable for either of them, so, the blonde brawler tried to pick another topic of conversation. "So... I heard you got shotgun boots now."
Izuku nodded in response. "Yeah, they were a gift from a friend. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to use them all that much though. I mean, I'm trying to learn two new fighting styles! I really do want to learn how to fight with them, but I just might not be able to."
Yang quickly hooked her arm over Izuku's shoulder and tried cheering the boy up. "C'mon. I'm one of the best hand to hand fighters to ever graduate from Signal! You can learn how to use them, trust me on that!"
"W-w-wait, w-what are y-you saying...?"
"I'm saying that I can teach you how to kickbox, Greenie! I might not know how to use those boots you got strapped to your legs, but I can at least teach you how to throw around something more than wild punches. No offense."
"N-none taken." At this point, Izuku was as red as an apple, though Yang didn't seem to notice this, and if she did, she paid it no mind in the slightest.
"Great! Now we just gotta talk to Shoto and Ruby about your schedule!" Yang then grabbed Izuku and walked towards the table, where the former two were now conversing about Izuku's fighting styles.
A/N: I LIVE! Man, this actually took a lot longer than I thought it would to get done. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it!
And another question for you: Who is your favorite RWBY or My Hero Academia character? Lemme know!
Also, I know that this chapter seems like it's a little tame, but that's what it's supposed to be. They're taking a bit of a load off, and relaxing before *SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER*! Goddamnit. Oh well, I guess you'll find out in the next chapter.
Now normally, this would be where I'd put a profile for an MHA character. I was going to put Tokoyami here, but as I'm finishing this chapter, I've just realized that I haven't even started a draft on it. Sorry about that! I'll be sure to upload it with the next chapter! Speaking of which...
Next Chapter: September 18th
See you guys in the next one!