Hey, guys , GaeaChronos here. Hit a wall in terms of leveling in SAO, I am ridiculously underleveled at the 9F, so I'll do what I haven't done in a while: level grinding. So I got bored and decided to write some more.
This chapter, we'll see something I'll have a lot of trouble describing: Henshin poses. So bear with me, and let's get on with the chapter!
Chapter 7
Ruben was currently standing in front of a mirror, his scroll on the table right where he can easily see the screen. On said screen was a video of what appeared to be a grown man doing poses.
"Rider... Henshin!!!" he shouted with the deepest, gruffest voice he could muster, imitating what was being shown onscreen.
"TOH!" he jumped in place, arms high up in the air.
He stayed in that position for a couple seconds before dropping his arms.
He shook his head, messing with the scroll, changing it into a different video.
"That's no good. What about this one?" he said as he played a video of a man wearing leather gloves also doing poses.
"Hmm... I wonder, does Yang have gloves like those? Surely she won't mind if I borrow a pair..." he began looking into a drawer, finding his prize with a quiet 'score!'.
He stood in front of the mirror again after putting on the gloves, and clenched his fist, testing if they made the same sound as the video, eyes slightly widening in wonder when they did.
"Alright... let's see, how did it... Ah, right... Hen... shin!!!" he imitated the poses again.
He seemed content, before slowly frowning.
"Eh... not my style." he shrugged, changing the video again.
- LINE BREAK -
Weiss Schnee was currently on her way back to the dorm, and she was not in a good mood. She just had to have the luck of running into Jaune at the library, who immediately had requested her aid in helping him study.
Now to his credit, he retains information pretty well, and he wasn't that difficult to teach, but he kept cutting in ridiculous pick-up lines every whenever he could, and she did her best not to cut his hunting career short right then and there.
Right now, she just wanted to go to bed and rest, even though it's only 4.
As soon as she opens the door, she'll change and immediately-
"AAAAAMAAAAAAZOOOOOOON!!!"
She walked into a weirdly-posed Ruben Rose in front of a mirror.
"..."
"..."
The two partners stared at each other for a moment, before the young leader responded:
"Uhh... I can explain."
"Uh-huh..."
- LINE BREAK -
"So, why were you pushing yourself when we specifically told you to not do anything strenuous?" Weiss asked, seated on her bed with her arms crossed, looking at her partner seated on the chair by the bed.
Ruben flinched at the memory. It had been three days since the incident with CRDL. Once he left Ozpin's office, his partner wasted no time in lecturing him, immediately barraging him with words, some he didn't even know were a thing. When the heiress was done, she walked off to catch her breath for a good three minutes. The only thing Yang could get out was an awkward, "No physical activities until you're better, alright?" due to still processing what Weiss had just said to her brother. Blake just focused on helping him walk back to the dorm.
"Well?" Weiss repeated.
I must've been in that flashback too long, he thought.
"Well..." he started, before cutting himself off, realizing he was just about to tell her he was trying to find a way to pose flashily in front of his opponents who probably won't care.
She already laughed when I got mad over the whole 'Red Warrior' thing, he thought. If I tell her, she'll just laugh in my face again!!! Or worse, another lecture!!! I can not handle anymore verbal lashings this semester!!!
"Ruben?" his partner broke him out of his thoughts.
"A-Ah, right!" he stammered.
Screw it, I'll just tell her.
"I was... posing."
"Posing?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, posing..."
"Does this have to do with your nightly patrols?"
"I guess..."
Weiss looked at the scroll set on the table, and when she saw what her partner was using for a reference, she snorted.
"Really?! Amazon?! You couldn't have picked something more... I don't know... recent?!"
"Well, sorry! I don't know how old these things are!! How should I know that what I picked... was... old... How do you know that?"
"None of your business." Weiss answered, probably a bit too quickly, looking away."
"Hmm..." Ruben leaned forward, intensifying his suspicious stare.
Perhaps he leaned too far forward, as he lost his balance, stumbling forward.
"Wh-Whoa!"
"Ha?!"
Ruben fell off the chair he was sitting on, and stumbled towards Weiss, startling her.
The pair landed on the bed, with Ruben twisting his body to the right in time to avoid Weiss, landing on the space next to her.
"Phew. Sorry about that." he apologized.
"Please get off my bed." she said helping him back up.
How much of a klutz do you have to be to fall off a chair while leaning forward? she thought.
"Anyway," Ruben scratched his cheek "How do you know about these Riders? Did you grow up watching them? I won't judge."
Weiss looked at him, finding a soft smile on his face, one that Klein would sometimes show to get her to open up.
She sighed.
"I guess... you could call me a fan. When I was a child, there really wasn't much in the way of entertainment, especially when living with someone like my father. But, he wasn't always like that. Time to time, he would show me these videos of armored superheroes protecting the innocent from the forces of darkness. I always thought they were amazing. They were part of my inspiration to become a Huntress. To become a 'Hero of Justice', to protect the people.
I know, it's silly, but I was young at the time. I wanted to be like those Kamen Riders, those... heroes. They may be just a show, but the inspiration they gave me was real."
She looked down. This was usually the moment she'd get ridiculed, and Ruben will lord this over her head for the rest of her time at Beacon.
"I don't think it's silly."
She looked at her partner again, wearing the same smile, but he appears to have gained a look in his eyes.
"My inspiration was always those heroes of these stories my Mom would read to me when I was a kid. Whether it was a knight saving a princess from a ferocious dragon, or someone who was destined to save the world from a great evil, I always looked up to them, and even now, I still want to be like them in some way.
Blake did tell me that it was ambitious, and that the world isn't the same as a fairytale. I agree with her.
But that doesn't mean we can't be optimistic. My answer to her that day is still the same: That's why we're here. To make it better.
Weiss, it's okay to admire fictional characters. I haven't watched much Kamen Rider, but I can tell they were meant to inspire and spread a message of hope to others. Your heart's in the right place, I can feel it." he finished, pointing to her heart.
Weiss was speechless. She thought that he can't surprise her anymore now that she knows his secret, but here he was doing that exact thing.
"Ruben... I... I don't know what to say... Thank you, you've made my day much better."
"Uhh, I don't really know what I did, but you're welcome."
With a smile, she stood up.
"You said you needed to think of a Henshin Pose, right?"
"Um, yeah? Is that what it's called?" he scratched his cheek.
"Let's see what we can use as reference..." she brought up her scroll, looking up various videos and images.
"What about that one?" Ruben asked, pointing to a Rider designed after what looks like traditional armor used in Mistral, carrying a sword that resembles an orange slice.
"Uh, no." she quickly turned him down.
Although, it would be entertaining to watch him pull off that pose, she thought with a little chuckle.
"No good, huh? Hey, how about that one? The guy's wearing a hood, maybe-"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Yikes. That bad, huh? Well, let's keep looking!"
- LINE BREAK -
Yang Xiao Long wants to die.
Quickly and painlessly.
She had just exited Port's classroom after another soul-sucking detention.
Seriously, that guy can run his mouth! she thought. I swear, I lose brain cells every time I enter that classroom! And I'll do this for a whole month?!
She sighed, reaching for the doorknob.
I'll just sleep this off. I lost my appetite listening to Port's story of how he wrestled a Beringel naked and covered in tomato sauce.
Just as she was about to turn the knob, two voices caught her attention.
"... Are you sure about this, Weiss?"
"Yes, I'm sure! Now, get into position!"
... Position?
Intrigued, Yang placed her ear on the door.
- LINE BREAK -
Jaune Arc was confused.
He had asked Weiss to help him study for an upcoming test, since she was probably the smartest person he knew. He wanted to ask Pyrrha, but he thought he wanted to ask Weiss first, since she was the first thing that came to mind when it comes to studying.
But, during the study session, she walked out on him, leaving a notebook behind.
Was it something I said? Did I offend her?
On his way to Team RWBY's dorm to return the notebook, he saw Yang with the side of her face pressed against the door.
"Yang...? Are you..."
"Shush!"
Upon closer inspection, the fiery blonde had a flushed, yet horrified, look on her face, and she seemed to be focused on what's behind the door.
Curious, he pressed his ear to the door as well.
"Come on, Ruben! Put your hips into it!"
That was Weiss's voice!
"O-Okay, but should I thrust it like this?"
Was that... Ruben?! Thrust what?!
"Yes, but don't force it! You gotta finesse it. Don't wanna break something, now do we?"
Wait. Break what?!
There was a soft grunt of effort heard from Ruben l, alongside some rustling of fabric.
"L-Like that?"
"Yes, yes, like that!! Exactly like that!! You're a natural at this!!" she praised.
What is going on in there?!?!
He made a move to open the door, but Yang stopped him.
"Yang, wh-"
"Shh!!"
She had a pained look on her face. As if pleading.
Oh. She doesn't wanna see.
Jaune can relate. He has a couple sisters himself.
"So... like this?" Ruben asked followed by rustling of fabric.
"Yes, yes, just like that!! You're pretty good at this!"
"Thanks, never did it before, though."
Did what?!?!
"Now, see if you can try it without my instructions."
"Alright, here goes..."
There was some more rustling, accompanied by Ruben's grunting.
"Like that?"
"Yes! You got it! I'm so proud of you! That was so good!!"
Not wanting to hear anymore, he handed the notebook to Yang and walked back to his dorm to process what he had just heard.
- LINE BREAK -
The fiery blonde watched as Jaune walked off to his dorm, a look of horror (and what looked like heartbreak) on his face.
Wonder what got into him? Yang thought as she listened to what sounded like Weiss helping her Baby Bro become a man.
"So... was that okay?" she heard her brother ask. Even in bed, he's so pure.
"Not bad for a first time." Weiss reassured.
"So... can we go again?"
Wait. Is this gonna be an everyday thing now?! Was Weiss that good?!
"Of course."
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
"After a few sessions, you'll be striking poses as if it was second nature!"
Wait... Poses?
Curiosity finally getting the best of her, she opened the door to reveal a fully clothed Ruben and Weiss (Thank goodness), and what looked like a video of a kids show on a scroll.
"Oh, hey, Yang!" her brother greeted. "Back from Port?"
She just nodded dumbly.
"Um... what were you two doing?" she pointed to the scroll.
- LINE BREAK -
Blake Belladonna is on her way back to Beacon from the bookstore.
She had just started a new series, and the new volume was out this week. She was lucky to get the last one available, but she will go back the next week to try and get another copy to preserve.
So, all in all, today was a good day, and she was in relatively good mood.
So when she saw people running in the opposite direction she was walking, she expected something to ruin her good mood.
What she didn't expect, however, was a stranger in black armor bury a Grimm into a wall with a kick.
"Alright. Let's end this before I end up smashing another wall." the armored stranger said, flicking a switch on his belt buckle.
"Finishing Strike! Aura Burst!!!"
He then proceeded to land a kick into the Grimm destroying it in an explosion.
"Phew. That takes care of tha..." he said before turning to Blake's direction, and stared.
Both of them just stared at each other for what felt like minutes.
"... I'm guessing you saw all of that?"
Blake nodded.
The armored stranger cursed under his breath.
"I knew I had too much to drink earlier..."
Blake looked down at her watch.
"... Um... it's only four thirty..."
"Seriously? Thought it'd be much earlier..."
Blake didn't know what to say after that.
Well, that's about it. I'd have posted this sooner, but SAO had a fishing event. I wasn't originally gonna participate, but it made Koharu cry! It actually guilt-tripped me into playing!!!
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to describe Garnet's Henshin pose properly, so I'll just say it here. It's basically a mirrored version of Kamen Rider Sango's pose. I don't know why, but it's one of my more favorite poses. I'm also sure that I made my dislike for Ghost obvious here. And Gaim's henshin pose, I just don't like it, but I love the show.
Also, should have warned that I'll alter Weiss's family a bit here, basically make Jacques a dick, but not too much.
Anyway, GaeaChronos is out. Peace!