A/N: Anyone else having problems with their review boxes? I think mine glitched out for a bit. Seriously, I couldn't access the reviews for almost a full day, and that kinda bummed me out for a while. Thank god for gmail and update messages. Let me know if you had a similar problem.
On another note, over 30,000 views! Holy crap! I never thought that this story would get this much attention from... well, anyone really. I'm so grateful to every single one of you for all of your support and criticism alike. Every review you leave helps make this story what it is, and I think that's really awesome. Thank you all so much for everything. Here's to many more chapters and many more awesome memories! And reviews! Can't forget those either!
But seriously though, feel free to send me reviews regarding this story. Any criticisms and suggestions are taken into consideration for the story. And yes, I know about my grammar problem, and I've been working on it the best I can.
Also, who else thought that the reveal of Ilia's crush on Blake was absolutely adorable? (It actually managed to make me forget the context of their situation for a few seconds) It's good to see that Miles and Kerry haven't forgotten their promise on the LGBT relationships and characters. I personally don't think I'll actually be able to write an original LGBT relationship or character without it being cliché as hell, not to mention the fact it'd probably feel rather forced, but if any do get confirmed as canon before Volume 5 wraps up, I'll add them to the story, as long as they: 1) feel natural 2) make some sort of logical sense, and 3) don't involve Yang. I'm not going to deny the possibility that she may be bisexual, even if there is more evidence (though it is minimal) to suggest that she's attracted to guys (cite the ballroom sleepover scene in Chapter 3 of Volume 1). She and Izuku will be a thing in this story, and like I've said before, not even a canon relationship confirmed by Rooster Teeth themselves will change that. The reason that they haven't gotten together yet is because 1) it's still way too soon, and 2) I want to make sure that their particular relationship feels as naturally developed as I can before they finally do get together. That and they're both really awkward about feelings they don't understand. Especially Izuku. But I will still enjoy the canon relationships just as much as the ones I make in this story, that I can promise you.
Enjoy the chapter!
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Guest: Definitely Endeavor. Jacques was more than likely an incredibly terrible father, but the worst father of the year award has to go to that flame-bearded, rivalry obsessed psycho.
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 20: The Breach Part 2
(A/N: "Caffeine" by Jeff and Casey Lee Williams)
Izuku and Tomura stared each other down as the echoes of battle sounded throughout the area, everywhere but the place granted to them for the standoff. It wouldn't last for much longer.
All it took was a split second for the two to charge at each other and clash halfway, a minor but visible shockwave rippling out from the combatants, the ground cracking from the strength of their exchange. But that wasn't what concerned Tomura at the moment. The fact that Izuku's weapon wasn't disintegrating from his full-hand grasp held his complete attention. In fact, the blade seemed to glow with power, as if coming into contact with Tomura's hands was somehow empowering it.
Izuku capitalized on this fact, pulling Gale from Tomura's grasp before stepping back and swinging his weapon in a large vertical arc, causing a crescent moon slice to emit itself from the edge and move at a rapid speed towards Tomura. Neither of them had expected the touch of Tomura's hand to neutralize the attack. First solid objects, now pure energy from refined dust?! And powered by his own Semblance no less?! Just how many tricks did this guy have up his sleeve?!
Tomura answered Izuku's unvoiced question, reaching into his pockets and revealed two red dust crystals, each the size of children's fists. Raw, unrefined, quite jagged and jaded in shape; pure fire dust. The hand wearing man then proceeded to crush these with his semblance, though they caused an ethereal red energy to surround and encompass the area of his hands.
As if that wasn't enough of a sign of danger, Tomura then slammed his left palm flat onto the ground, and a large trail of ashen-edged incineration began to quickly make its way towards Izuku, though he noticed it quickly enough to avoid it. The trail ended only a few feet from where the green-haired boy once stood, with heat emanating from the charred concrete as it cooled in the open air.
Okay, so Tomura had managed to somewhat solve his range problem, but the energy surrounding his left hand had dispersed as soon as he'd used the ranged attack. So, he could only use the ranged attack when he had a dust crystal's energy absorbed. How was he even able to absorb the energy in the first place? Didn't his Semblance destroy everything he held with all five fingers?
That was a question that Izuku would have to force to the back of his mind as he refocused on the fight, namely the fact that Tomura had closed the gap and had his right hand cocked back with his fingers craned into a claw. He jabbed at Izuku's head with speed that Ruby and Tenya would've both been dazed by, and Izuku himself just barely managed to avoid the attack as it sped past his right cheek, causing a slight burn mark to appear before Tomura's strike connected to a streetlight that was promptly split by the addition of the fire dust.
But Izuku was then saved by the untimely intervention of half a dozen icicles shot at Tomura with the addition of a few buckshot assisted shadow boxing punches. Izuku's two allies stood next to him, his half and half leader to his left with the blonde brawler to his right, both with similar enraged faces painted across their features.
"You just tried to kill my best friend," the two synched with equal amounts of seething rage just barely hidden by their eyes, though Yang's was only emphasized by her glowing red eyes. "Prepare to get obliterated."
Yang launched herself at Tomura with Shoto hot on her heels, both with their weapons drawn bare and ready to strike down the gray-haired man once they were within range. They never got the chance, however, as Kurogiri had appeared in front of Tomura and let the previously cloaked member of their entourage, a long-time associate who'd given himself the alias of Mr. Compress. While he would otherwise be staying to the sidelines instead of coming out to help them, he knew they were short on experienced members and had volunteered to fight if things got rough. Like they were when he emerged from Kurogiri's portal and began to fend off Shoto with nothing but his cane sword held in a casually loose grip. He wasn't really a fighter, and didn't like to really damage his normal outfit, which was why he wore his full head mask in addition to the cowl and cape in which Jotunheim's blade had now made several holes.
Yang and Kurogiri were having a rematch of their own, Yang aiming for the plates that encompassed Kurogiri's physical body while he randomly warped her punches and buckshot all across their battlefield, though he made sure that the distances weren't close enough to his fellow villains to harm them. In fact, he seemed to be especially versed in using Yang's attacks against her, angering the brawler to no end as her eyes continued to glow an even brighter red hue than the earlier intervention.
Speaking of which, Izuku was currently trying to hit Tomura with the mode of the weapon with which he had more expertise, scythe mode, but even this proved to be a fruitless effort as Tomura instead used various ranged attacks and slid by and along the length of the handle to directly strike at Izuku and quickly retreat before he could properly align his shotgun boots. The green-haired boy had managed to get off a couple of shots, but those had also proven to be pointless, as Tomura dodged almost every single shot with the exception of the primary round.
Izuku had fared better with the greatsword; not well, but better than with the scythe, and would've tried to shift it back were it not for the fact that Tomura wouldn't let up long enough for him to do just that. As if some sort of deity had seen his current plight, Jaune managed to beat down some of his enemies, which allowed him to see Izuku's struggling and, being the person he was, the blonde haired boy immediately shot off to help his friend with Lancelot's torso and arms trailing behind him, still gripping onto the ghostly white giants longsword.
Izuku shouted his thanks to the hoodie wearing swordsman as he twisted the pommel on the end of Gale to turn it back into a greatsword. The shift took seven precious seconds, seconds that Jaune and Lancelot had spent fighting against Tomura. They had proved to not be much of a match, with Tomura somehow avoiding Lancelot's blade and using it as a launching platform, managing to grab onto Jaune's neck with one of his hands, only a single finger away from decapitating him.
Izuku's eyes flared a fluorescent, emerald green, emphasizing his anger at the hand covered man even further. He yelled at Tomura, "Get your hands off of my friend, asshole!"
Then, briefly, so quickly that Izuku thought he'd imagined it, he saw the opposing ocean and forest he'd seen in his meditation appear before him and come significantly closer together, the white sand that had once made up the beach beginning to fade from sight. But Izuku soon after came back to reality, launching himself at Tomura with a speed that he never knew he possessed, swinging Gale at just the right angle so as to avoid hitting Jaune, launching the gray-haired man away and nearly into a building.
Izuku huffed and asked Jaune if he was alright. The blonde nodded yes, but Crocea Mors' blade and shield had been significantly damaged from Tomura's semblance. They would have to be repaired. The fact that Tomura had the gall to destroy a family heirloom like that only made Izuku even more angry. He wouldn't get out unscathed.
(A/N: End Song)
Tomura flipped and recovered his balance, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw what had happened to Izuku's weapon, the green-haired boy too focused on Tomura to immediately notice. It was significantly shorter, now the exact length of a bastard sword while the blade itself was considerably more slender than its previous form, though it still maintained the same simple shape. The hilt had also altered its size, shortening itself to about a foot in length instead of the initial one and a half feet. It was the same weapon, it had simply... adjusted a few things.
Izuku then noticed the weight difference and looked at the weapon in his hands, his eyes immediately widening in shock as he thought, Wait, what happened to Gale?! I thought it was a greatsword?!
The weapon then hummed in disapproval when he thought the name Gale, the edge and runes glowing ever so slightly to accompany the sound. Did it not approve of the name Izuku had given it? And why was it even responding to his thoughts in the first place.
These were questions for a later time, as Tomura shouted, "Okay, Kurogiri! Grab as many people as you can and let's get the hell out of here!"
"Yes sir!" Kurogiri obeyed, setting up a hub portal as well as several mini portals across the battlefield, picking up several limp, unconscious bodies that hung about here and there, while also recalling the outliers that had somehow managed to remain standing.
Within a few hurried seconds, nearly every member of their vanguard had been recalled, with only the exceptions of Tomura, Kurogiri and Mr. Compress, the latter of which had fared surprisingly well against Shoto, using his unique sealing semblance to discontinue the boy's use of ice dust, instead only using melee combat to fend off his foe, and while many would say that fighting wasn't his forte, he was quite well versed in fencing.
Realizing that this would be their last chance to get at the League of Criminals for a considerable amount of time, Izuku tossed Gale *angry hum* into the air and, in a display of masterful skill and natural instinct, preformed a b twist flip and made a mid air jump spinning side kick, a loud crack emanating from the sole of his boot that launched Gale *angry hum* straight towards Tomura. But just as the tip of the blade nearly made contact with its intended target, Kurogiri's dark vapor enveloped him and dispersed immediately, leaving no trace of them as Gale *angry h- okay, you get the point* embedded itself into the concrete that they'd once occupied.
Izuku's legs then gave out, forcing him to drop to his knee and pant incessantly for the much-needed oxygen. Jaune and Yang began to approach the boy to try and help him to his feet, but before they could, something pale with large wings and bird like legs snatched him from the ground, its exposed brain, eyes, and otherwise humanoid frame giving away its type. It was a Nomu Delta, likely the only one of its kin to survive the earlier chaos, and was currently gaining altitude as it raced towards the horizon, eager to deliver its catch back to its master.
However, while he was significantly exhausted, Izuku was still conscious and knew that he'd been grabbed by something, what it was he didn't know, and was only concerning himself with getting out of its grasp and back to solid ground. With the last of the strength that he felt, he subconsciously reached towards Gale-
Tempest. It almost seemed to say the name with a sense of pride, though how a weapon could have a voice or give itself a name Izuku did not yet know, nor did he concern himself with the fact that the now renamed Tempest had shot towards him hilt-first and landed perfectly in his outstretched right hand. He then shifted his body around with what strength he had left and swung Tempest at the Nomu's legs, easily cleaving straight through the bone like warm butter and freeing him of the monster's grasp.
However, Izuku wasn't done with the Nomu yet, a brief flash of the forest from his meditation vision coming in front of his eyes before time seemingly stopped, the surrounding world turning to a gradient gray. Izuku then found a launchpad on the Nomu's mutilated foot, jumping off of it and swinging Tempest in a mad flurry of slashes oddly reminiscent of the final ultimate attack of his favorite character from an old RPG he liked to play as a child, finally jumping off of the Nomu's own body and calling out his final strike.
"TECHNIQUE STANCE ONE: OMNISLASH!"
He brought his blade down upon the Nomu's still exposed brain, slicing it in two as time returned to normal around him. Blood flooded out of its body like a storm, disintegrating as it seeped out of its veins and onto the blazer wearing huntsman in training, though that too disintegrated shortly after it touched his clothes or skin. Izuku was then presented with yet another problem.
He couldn't move. His arms were so sore he could barely keep his grip on Tempest, and his joints felt like they'd just been put through ten months of hell all over again. As if this wasn't enough, a stray Beowolf, an Alpha at that, had somehow managed to survive the earlier onslaught and was currently lunging for him with outstretched claws and bloody murder obvious within its eyes.
...crap.
However, by completely random chance, someone, he couldn't make out who, swooped him out of the air and stabbed the Alpha straight through the eye with a pocket knife, reaching its brain and killing it instantly. They landed only a second after that, a familiarly hostile voice saying, "You're not allowed to die yet, green hair. Not until you and the others I've deem worthy recreate this sham of a society!"
A loud squelch accompanied the punctuation of his sentence as he twisted the knife in the Alpha's brain, causing it to completely fade into ashes that scattered in the gust of wind that had picked up. Izuku tried lifting his head to get a glance at his savior, but this effort proved futile as his head thudded back to the ground, Tempest falling loose from his grasp in this same motion.
"What's happened here?" A loud, rather proud and spiteful sounding voice said without any real concern in his voice. His flame laced outfit and fiery beard gave away his identity almost immediately. Endeavor had come.
And Izuku's rescuer had taken hostile notice.
"Endeavor..." Stain uttered the name under his breath with unmasked disgust in his voice, his bandage mask falling from his face as he stared a hundred thousand daggers into Endeavor's frame. Izuku finally managed to lift his head towards the huntsman hunter, recognising the voice at last and rising to resist the killer, but was immediately stopped and became shocked beyond belief when he saw the man's unmasked face.
Stain's face had been scarred by corrosive acid, roughly healed skin covered most of the top third of his face. His nose, while it had appeared to simply be snake slits, had actually been completely chopped off, leaving a large hole in its place, with the only remaining hints to his faunus heritage being the slight, barely noticeable patches of snake scales near the top edge of his forehead that had somehow survived the acid burn. He was willing to go that far for a cause like this?
"The Ultimate phony Huntsman... and the greatest disgrace to this society..." Stain lifted his lone pocket knife in a backhand grip with his other arm guarding his chest. He continued, "Come at me, ya phonies! I'll take you all on! And I'll win too! I'll beat every last one of you into the ground!"
A blood red Aura seeped from every pore of Stain's body, sweeping out from him to every hunter present, causing all of them to freeze in place. None of them could move as Stain, with hate, fury, and murder in his glare, finished his statement. "THERE IS ONLY ONE HUNTSMAN WORTHY OF TAKING MY LIFE! ONLY ONE! ALL MIGHT IS THE ONLY PERSON I WILL PERMIT TO DEFEAT ME!"
No one present could move, and even if they could, nobody tried to struggle. Stain had made that big of an impact. In just a few short sentences, he'd brought an entire plaza filled with hunters to a shuddering, sudden stop. All of them were frightened.
But then, the Aura... faded. Stain, seemingly drained of energy, fell face first onto the concrete, knocked out cold. Izuku and co. later learned that Stain escaped police custody shortly before the battle against Tomujra and the League had ended, and that Stain's left lung had been pierced by one of his broken ribs that had managed to get loose from the medical wrappings. He was promptly arrested and sent to a high security prison in Atlas to face trial. This was merely a formality, however. Anyone who knew of this man also knew his inevitable fate once he had been caught. The huntsman hunter would never see the light of day again for as long as he drew breath.
As Izuku struggled to get to his feet, and found himself returning to the ground, he found a pair of hands being offered to him. He looked up to find they belonged to Shoto and Yang, both with happy, relieved smiles painted across their faces. Izuku too smiled as he took their hands and they yanked him off the ground, barely able to stand before he almost collapsed onto Yang. She was ready for this, however, and made sure to put the green haired boy's arm around her shoulder putting her right hand on his opposite shoulder to keep him upright.
Shoto called back to them, "I'll get Gale," causing the now shortened weapon to once more hum in disapproval. Shoto noticed this but paid it no mind as he walked over to the weapon and lifted it over his shoulder with ease.
At least, that's what should've happened, but it simply wouldn't budge for him. Try as he might, he could not lift Gale-
"Tempest," Izuku corrected his partner. "Its name is Tempest."
The blade shot out of Shoto's hand and into the air, zipping over to Izuku finding a comfortable home in his grip once more. Shoto and Yang's eyes widened at this sudden action, and seeing their distress, promised to explain it later. Well, try, he didn't really know how it worked either.
The green-haired boy then snapped Tempest onto his back as he, with Yang and Shoto's assistance, hobbled back to the center of the plaza, where everyone was currently meeting up.
"Holy crap, Izuku! That was freaking awesome!" Sun bellowed with pride as Kirishima continued, "Yeah man! I only saw the last of it, but what I did see was pretty damn cool!"
"Thanks for saving me back there, man. I owe you one." Jaune said without a hint of hesitation, his earnest thanks more truthful than it had ever been before.
"You did well, Izuku." Pyrrha said with an honest smile upon her face.
"Hey, c'mon Pyrrha. I think the rest of us did awesome too!" Nora said this as Ren, Blake, and Tokoyami nodded in agreement while Ashido, Velvet, and Neptune yelled their victory cries.
"Hey, speedy kid." Izuku turned his head to see the leader of Team CFVY, Coco Adel, approach him. She had fair skin, short dark-brown hair, and dark-brown eyes hidden by black aviator sunglasses. She had wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that started in dark brown and transitioned to caramel. Her clothes consisted of a long, cocoa-colored shirt with a dark brown waist cincher. She wore long, dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets. Above it, she wore another cocoa-colored belt of bullets with a gold crosshairs buckle. What appeared to be a drape of black skirt hung on her right side. She also wore a pair of dark brown, high-heeled leather boots with buckles. Coco also donned a number of accessories, such a bracelet with black roses as decoration; which were accompanied by black gloves and necklaces. She also wore a beret of a darker brown gradient. Izuku saw her holding a black shoulder bag with gold studs, which was held by a bandolier strap; from what little he'd seen earlier, the bag was her weapon, transforming into an oversized black and gold minigun.
Her two other teammates were no less intimidating. Her partner, Fox, had dark skin and dark, messy copper hair that had a long fringe and a cowlick. He wore a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. His eyes appeared to be pure white, giving away the fact that he was more than likely blind. His arms were covered in scars, and he had a vertical scar on his lips. He also wore a pair of long black gloves and has several pouches attached to his belt. Attached to his arms were a pair of blades that ran the length of his forearm, with a copper body and black edges and tips.
The last one was the largest, and possibly most intimidating out of all of them, Yatsuhashi. He was tall and well built, with shaved-short black hair and tanned skin, wearing mostly pale-green and brown attire. He had a long short-sleeved robe, which he wore on one shoulder over a black muscle shirt. The robe was fastened at the waist by a leather armored belt with two pouches on it. He also wore brown pants and black-and-green boots. His left arm bears a five-layer sode which extended up past his shoulder. His weapon was affixed to his back with a padded brown strap slung over his shoulder. He also wore a pair of bracers as well as a pair of black gloves with green plates on the backs.
His attention was drawn once more to Coco when she smiled and said, "Nice job out there. You really kicked ass."
"Huh. You actually complemented someone. Never thought I'd 'see' the day." Fox said with a mischievous smile coming across his lips.
"But Fox, you are blind. How would you see that?" Yatsuhashi asked with an eyebrow in confusion, Coco facepalming while Fox knowingly chuckled.
"Well, it's nice to see that you're alright, Midoriya." Weiss said with a slight smile on her face.
"Yeah! I bet you'll be back in fighting shape in no time at all!" Ruby cheered with overenthusiastic hand motions.
"Just don't put yourself in that much danger again, alright? Damn near gave me heart attack..." Shoto muttered under his breath with a smile on his face, only giving a brief but stern glare to his father before his happiness returned.
Yang pressed her cheek next to Izuku's as she yelled, "We're more than ready for the tournament now! Bring it on, Remnant! We'll all kick your ass and then some!"
Izuku, overwhelmed with all the happiness surrounding him, couldn't help but beam back at his friends, laughing and cheering as the exhaustion seemingly drained from his body, while also blushing nearly to the point of overheat when he realized just how close Yang was. Even so, he laughed right along with them.
As all this happened, Toshinori, Aizawa and Torino stood on a rooftop overlooking the central plaza while Gooodwitch helped the Atlas personnel with containing Roman and Stain, the former of whom had been found unconscious a few minutes after the attack at the head of the bombing train.
"Well, it looks like everything's been handled. If you two don't mind, I'm gonna head back to Beacon and let Oz know the specifics." Aizawa said to the other two present with Toshinori replying, "Yeah, go ahead. We'll be just fine up here."
As Aizawa left, and Torino had confirmed that they were safely out of earshot, he asked Toshinori the big question. "Are you gonna tell him about-"
"No. Not yet. As much as I want to tell him, and believe me Torino, I really do want to tell him, he doesn't need that kind of bombshell bursting on him right now. Midoriya's got a tournament to train for, and talking about that will only impair his concentration. And besides, he looks really happy. I think he needs that right now, along with some proper relaxation."
"Happy? Yeah, he deserves that much. Relaxation? Hell no! We've got a tournament to win and two weeks to train for it! And you better damn well believe it'll be hell!"
"Hmm... well, he shouldn't have to suffer through that alone. Might I recommend a few teams to be brought under your wing?"
"Depends on the teams." Torino said as he and Toshinori walked away from the plaza, discussing potential candidates all the while.
(five minutes later, Vale Municipal Beach)
Izuku felt a slight shudder make its way upwards through his spine, for some odd reason feeling as though he was going to live through hell within the next few days. Ignoring the oddly specific feeling, he refocused on the conversation between himself, Shoto and Yang while the rest of Team RWBY, Team CVFY and even a recently reawakened Bakugo with Tenya playing catch up. Team JNPR would've shared the moment as well, but they had to leave for the village they'd been assigned to sheriff only a few minutes after the attack. Shoto then asked the green haired boy, "How exactly did you learn that move you used back there? I couldn't even see you swing Gale-"*angry hum*"-Tempest. Sorry, force of habit." Shoto chuckled with slight amusement.
"Well, to be entirely honest, I kinda picked it up from an old RPG I used to play when I was younger. I thought it looked really cool and that it might be useful in future battles, but I really only focused on using that technique and I never managed to learn any of the other maneuvers he used." Izuku explained while he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Huh, that's actually a really good idea. Maybe I should try to copy a couple of those moves that they use in all those beat em' ups..." Yang said as she held her hand under her chin in a thinker position.
"Well, I would suggest training for the tournament, but I think we already have that covered." Weiss said with an overconfident smirk on her face, Ruby nodding right along with her statement.
"Don't get do overconfident, shorty," a crackling, deep and oddly familiar sounding voice said as a walking cane could be heard crunching in the cold morning sand, helping him through and towards the currently resting teams. "That'll only lead to an early defeat by a more prepared team. You all need training."
This drew everyone's attention, including Izuku's, who immediately recognized the person who addressed them as Torino, who looked across the beach with a somber look on his face before Weiss stomped over to him and asked, "Excuse me?"
"Ah! Where are my manners. Many know me as Grand Torino, or just Torino for short."
Team RWBY and STK recognized the name as Izuku's assigned hunstman, and their eyes widened in minor shock.
"Yes, I know that I look fairly feeble, but I could probably still kick all of your asses from here to Mistral." Torino said with a cocky smirk on his face, attempting to goad one of them into responding, which, of course, he succeeded at.
"LIKE HELL YOU COULD EVEN TOUCH-" Bakugo began to curse at the man before Torino suddenly flew at the enraged direwolf faunus and planted his right foot straight into the boy's jaw, knocking him onto his back and kicking up loose grains of sand as he landed. He wasn't unconscious, but he was in much, much pain.
"You, Bakugo, need to work on that temper of yours. You two-" he pointed his cane at Tenya and Weiss, "-have got to learn to be less uptight and a bit more cooperative."
He continued this as he called out all of their names, causing almost everyone present to stand at attention with the exception of Bakugo, who was fuming with anger underneath Torino's heel. "Coco, Fox, you two need to start taking things like the Vytal festival a lot more seriously. Yatsuhashi, Velvet, communicate more with your teammates. They're your friends, they'll give you help you if you ask for it. Ruby, quit running ahead of your teammates. You're their leader, you better damn well start acting like it. Blake, you almost pass with flying colors across the board, with the exception of one particular category. You rely on your semblance far too much. Get out of that habit. If you grow too reliant on it, you might get yourself killed. Yang, you let your emotions cloud your mind far too often. Get a grip on them or you'll dig yourself a very early grave. And Izuku...
"Start getting used to your own power. You're gonna need it."
Coco then stepped forward and asked, "And why the hell are you telling us this, old man?"
"First of all!" He pointed his cane at Coco with blinding speeds, causing the beret wearing girl to step back in surprise. "Do not ever call me old man, even if I am one! You will either address me as Torino, Sir, or not at all!
"Secondly..." He placed the tip of his cane back into the sand, right next to Bakugo's left arm, the blonde direwolf faunus now actually paying attention to the very small yet badass man currently using his body as a platform, though he was still pissed about that last part. "...with permission from Ozpin and your shadowed hunters, I have been permitted to draft you all into my tutelage for the next two weeks under the condition of making you all the best damn fighting machines that I possibly can. I would've gotten Team JNPR along for the ride as well, but they're off to a village along the outskirts of Vale for the next week. They'll join the routine when they get back. For now, we'll get back to my apartment complex and get some rest. And tomorrow, well..."
"I hope you're ready to go through hell and high water, because you're gonna go through worse." He finished with an evil looking gleam in his eye and a similar grin on his teeth, a faint cackle echoing in the background, even though Torino had made no such noise.
(around the same time, somewhere in Vale, Dabi's POV)
"All things considered, I'd have to say that today was a success." Cinder said in an overconfident tone, a corresponding smile crossing her luscious lips as naturally as breathing. Dabi had learned that this was a common expression for her, almost never showing the slightest hint of rage or worry, somehow always sure that things would play in her favor. He hated people like that. They reminded him too much of the people back at the lab.
Emerald and Mercury, ever the underlings, nodding along with her, though the former seemed far more uptight about it than the latter. Dabi, his hood and mask now removed, wanted to smack his palm into his face right then and there. How the hell could she consider this a success? They'd almost gotten uncovered, Oum dammit!
He managed to restrain himself so that he wouldn't facepalm, though a look of disagreement was obvious upon his face. Across from them were Tomura, Kurogiri, Himiko, who was only held back from the early morning shoppers by a surprisingly strong Neo, and a rather eccentric seeming man who was, in truth, a strategic genius, Mr. Compress, who'd shed his earlier black cloak to reveal a more... festive getup hidden beneath it. The man wore the same white mask with black markings that formed a festive smile that completely covered his face with the help of a black balaclava, making him the only anonymous member of the present group. Atop his head was a top hat with a red strip of fabric across the frame and a yellow feather tucked in on the side, while a large orange overcoat, black waistcoat and red undershirt donning an azure colored bolo tie covered his otherwise lithe and rather weak physical frame. On his hands were leather gloves that revealed nothing about him, and though his boots were black in color they served a similar purpose. In his left hand was his cane sword, Null, currently sheathed and held in a loose, casual grip at his side, though from what Dabi had seen he was fast enough to whip it out and stab someone at least three times before they even felt pain of any kind. He always did like to end fights quickly whenever it came down to that. Twice was back at base, likely trying to calm himself after the combat experience.
"I would not be so bold if I were you, Cinder." Tomura said in argument. "A lot of faunus died in those tunnels. If you don't find some way to explain this to your connections in the Fang, then my partner just got captured for nothing."
"I'm with Tomura on this one. Hate to be the party pooper, but that was my uncle who just got captured. We'd better get him back, or you and your disciples are going to get stabbed. A lot." Neo typed out in agreement with Tomura, who'd been a lot like a second uncle to her. He might not have been there for her as much as Roman normally was, but he still cared for her. She managed to type the message while keeping Himiko at bay from the morning crowd with a single hand. She was good, Dabi would give the girl that much.
Mr. Compress continued from there. "Not to mention many of our new recruits that were injured in that battle, and a few of them who were recently captured right along with that crafty bugger. All so you could do... what, exactly? Cinder, I've tried to gain context on your views so that I might understand your... situation in a clearer light. However, you have done no such thing, despite my requests. As such, until we have established some form of trust, I do believe that Tomura will agree with me in saying that we will not allow any more of our troops of any rank to be sacrificed under your command. If I am not overstepping my boundaries..." He turned to Tomura, who shook his head 'yes' in agreement. "Then it's settled! So sorry about that, but if you give us what we want to know, we'll give you something that may be... beneficial for you to know. So? What do you say?"
Cinder simply looked at them with a plain expression before she simply held her right palm out loosely and ignited a small ball of flame that hovered above it, a similar looking lame encompassing her right eye. "Do you really think that you are in any position to make demands of me? If so, you are even more foolish than I first thought."
Dabi then received a nod from Tomura, who walked in front of Cinder and, in minor display of power, grabbed onto the woman's arm, snuffing out the fire in her palm and replacing it with his own, dark tinted ball of flame. The raven-haired woman snapped her hand out of Dabi's grasp almost immediately and rubbed her forearm and palm in what appeared to be a mixture of shock and pain. Fire had never harmed her before; not once. Hell, she actually walked through a few fires when she was younger just because it seemed fun. Never had it hurt her. Never burned her. Not once.
Yet his fire had done just that.
Rubbing her palm to ease the slowly fading pain, a scowl crossed her otherwise elegant features, obviously angry at Dabi for doing what he just did. Without changing his neutral expression once, he dropped his own hand and let the fire go out naturally, then stating, "You're not the only one who can play with fire. I do highly recommend you take their offer. It's the best you'll get from either of them Especially Tomura."
Cinder let out an annoyed huff and said, "I will do no such thing."
"Are you certain?" Mr. Compress asked in a more serious tone.
"I am."
"… very well. But there is one thing you should know anyways." Tomura spoke this time, with more than a little pride in his voice.
"And that would be?" Cinder asked in subtle curiosity.
"My master is going to arrive in Vale when the Fall starts. I believe you may have heard of him before, from your master, yes?"
"Spit it out, Shigaraki!" Cinder had almost entirely lost her patience, something that was rare with people but rather common with Tomura.
"All for One, the Symbol of Chaos."
Cinder's eyes widened with recognition. The name had great significance, especially when it came to the court of Salem. All for One, the antithesis of All Might, was a being who'd lived for so long and become so powerful that in his prime it was said that he could fight against the queen of darkness herself. And win without so much as breaking a sweat.
Not to mention the fact that Salem and All for One had recently become partners in mutual crime. That was bad for her, specifically because she had no idea who Tomura had worked for before this and that he knew just who she worked for.
However, after a few seconds, Cinder pulled herself together and continued. "Good. Then the rest of the plan should go off without a hitch."
"Are we really so sure about that?" Mercury said. "I don't think that the White Fang are going to listen to us anymore, not after the cave-in."
"No, they won't."
Everyone's attention, including Himiko's, turned to the new presence on the rooftop. He was tall, with red and brown hair that spikeed backward in a windswept way. While most of his hair was red, a portion of it in the back along with several other streaks were brown. A noticeable trait of his appearance was the mask he wore, which obscured his eyes and upper face. His faunus heritage appeared to be that of a bull, for he had two horns- one on each side of his head. His mask was whitish-tan with red, eastern Mistralian style horn-like symbols decorating the front, and two slits on each side, presumably to allow for vision. This was a redesigned version of the Grimm masks typically worn by most members of the White Fang. Adam wore a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves and more red designs and a white symbol on the left side. His trench coat was red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and his wilting rose emblem on the back over a white floral design. His trench coat was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it. He also wore long black pants, black shoes with red soles and black gloves with more red emblems on their forehand, appearing to be a variant of the Omega letter from central Mistralian mythology (Ω). In his left hand he held Wilt and Blush, his favored pair of death dealing weaponry, a crimson red katana and a sheath that turned into a shotgun. He wore a black belt with white domino marks on it to complete the outfit. This was Adam Taurus.
"But they'll listen to me."
A/N: Well, here we are. Volume 2 is finally over. I'll be writing some training chapters to give Volume 3 the proper build up, and depending on how much time I need they may or may not be numerous.
Also, I have a question for you guys. Which do you prefer, Bumblebee or Black Sun? *war and carnage ensue* Okay, okay, calm down! I know that this is one of the most argued over things in the RWBY community, but I really want to know. Leave your opinions (politely!) in the reviews. I'm open to different opinions since they can, and often do, give broader understanding from both sides of the argument. But first, my opinions on this rather... sensitive topic.
*WARNING! WARNING! MILD RANT AHEAD!*
Was that really necessary?
*… no. But it was funny!*
Haaa... okay, I'll give you that much.
Ahem! Okay, where to begin with this... oh!
I personally like both ships. *audible gasp* Yeah, I know it can be kinda unusual, and while I was a rather neutral person on the matter during Volume 2 to even the first two thirds of Volume 3... Adam happened. Yang lost her arm and Blake ran away.
I can only imagine what kind of grudge Yang may still be holding against her since she basically abandoned her team, and more specifically her partner, when they needed her the most. And yeah, Blake did also go through something rather traumatic, seeing her best friend getting mutilated in front of her and all, and she went back home to get away from those problems. But Yang didn't and still doesn't know that. Sun thinks she'll forgive Blake, just like he did, but a friendship that gets shattered the way theirs was isn't so easily repaired, if it ever is at all. I do think that they'll at least become friends again, but even in the event that Yang fully trusts her again, making something more out of what's left behind isn't easy.
Sun went after Blake because he knows that she wouldn't approve of him making sure that she was okay, and decided to do so secretly (although he could've approached the matter a lot better). The reason he did this was because Blake needed someone to watch her back, even if she thought otherwise. And if no one else was up to the task, he was gonna do it himself. One of my favorite quotes in all of RWBY actually came from Sun, "You think you're being selfless, but you're not. Yeah, that chameleon friend of yours got me pretty good. But I'd do it all again if it meant protecting you. And I can promise Yang would say the same. You can make your own choices, sure. But you don't get to make ours. When your friends fight for you, it's because we want to. So stop pushing us out. That hurts more than anything the bad guys could ever do to us." (Sun Wukong, RWBY Vol. 4, Taking Control) This highlights the problems with Blake's 'selfless' logic and why Sun and the rest of her friends are free to make decisions that protect the people they care about (I don't mean to suggest platonic or romantic care, just the fact that he cares about her), even if they hurt themselves in the process. No one, not even Blake, has the right to take that away from them.
I'm not saying that Black Sun or Bumblebee will happen for sure, far from it. If they're going to actually put any of the characters from RWBY into relationships, it has to be natural, and saying that either of these two ships will happen based on circumstantial evidence makes them just that, circumstantial. But while it does seem like Black Sun is getting a lot more light shed on it in this Volume, that doesn't entirely eliminate the possibility of Bumblebee happening, even if it's a possibility far off in the future at this point in time.
Also, please don't flood the review boxes with evidence of why either of these ships will or will not happen. I'd love to read your honest opinions, nothing more, nothing less. Wow, this rant went on way longer than I expected it too. Sorry if I seemed a bit biased towards Black Sun in any way.
And finally, the profile:
13-Mr. Compress
Age: N/A
BDay: N/A
Handedness: Ambidextrous
Race: N/A
Hair: N/A
Eyes: N/A
Blood Type: N/A
Height: 5'11"/180.34cm (plus top hat)
Gender: M
Semblance: Compress, allows Mr. Compress to shrink objects and even people into marbles. What is compressed and decompressed depends entirely on Mr. Compress' own Aura and/or physical stamina.
Weapon: Null, a cane sword the can sometimes be used to utilize Mr. Compress' ability to neutralize dust and semblance attacks. He does not use this function often as he prefers to use his own hands for most procedures.
Fighting Style: French Fencing
Range: Close-Mid
Next Chapter: Dec. 26th
Seeya in the next one! And Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Haunakah, or whichever winter holiday you celebrate, I wish you all the best!