AN: Don't forget to tell me your opinion and sorry for being late in posting it.
Sometime after Ace's conversation with Ozpin and Glynda, things went back to normal. Ace was focusing on the Iai-Jutsu training for him and his team, and their progress was going very well.
Carl had the least progress between the three. It was obvious for Ace that the guitarist wouldn't do a lot of effort similar to Violet or Skyler as he said it in the amphitheater. Ace might have the solution for it as he planned on making 'The Mentally Unstable Hosts' back. It might give him some motivation to go forward, and if it didn't, at least Ace tried.
Violet was having more problems in terms of a proper stance for the training. Her turtle body was giving her a hard time to be able to stand and perform a simple slash. However, Violet thought of a way how to cope with it and she succeeded in it. Her progress was getting faster after fixing that stance and she was getting her first steps towards the harder techniques.
Skyler was doing her best and looked like a very dangerous person to approach. She didn't have any problems so her progress was quicker than the other two. The moment she was able to cut a boulder in half, she got excited and became wild for a minute before she got unconscious from spending all of her Aura. Later, she tried using her ax to try it out and made small and nice slashes.
Ace couldn't be any more proud of them he almost teared up. Yeah, he noticed how emotional he became but who cares?
There were also the times when he had to carry them after they got so tired but it was less frequent after they got the hang of the Iai-Jutsu basics. Still, that didn't mean Ace was always prepared to carry them at the go.
On a free day from training, in the room were Ace and Carl alone as Violet and Skyler were outside doing their girls' talk and stuff, Ace was in the bathroom, having a nice shower to destress himself and Carl was sitting on his bed and play with Nevan.
Carl was using this as a method to refresh himself and get away from his surroundings. He was used to putting on ear pods and listening, but after getting his first guitar and getting Nevan later, he liked to sing and play the guitar version of songs his mind thought. His team didn't mind it as long as they were okay or out to do something.
In recent days, his body was getting developed so much, it didn't look like how he looked before Beacon.
Before Beacon, his body was slim and didn't have a lot of muscles even though he trained on carrying and fighting with axes. Thanks to Ace's training, his body got better than he thought, it made so many men ashamed of themselves, but, due to introducing the Iai-Jutsu, it went to new levels with his body aching sometimes from how tired he was and how powerful his aura had become. Ace told them that it was normal as he also felt pain from the Iai-Jutsu until he got used to it. It didn't help but made Carl think about what was Ace hiding under that muscular body and cocky attitude.
Maybe next year.
.
.
.
In brightest day, as darkest ills.
No heaven or space can stop my drill.
We shine alight as power fills.
CAUSE NOTHING CAN CONTAIN OUR WILL!
.
.
.
Tear a hole in the sky! Leave another world behind!
Tear a hole in the sky! Leave another world behind!
Carl was singing 'Will of the Drill' while playing his guitar to make the feeling of the song. The problem was he didn't have someone to help him or play the drums as a dream he had when he was younger. Carl finished and put Nevan on his left as he sighed in sadness at how lonely he was sometimes.
Simultaneously, Ace got out of the bathroom with blue and black boxers while drying himself with the towel from the water on his hair. Ace got out without wearing any top clothes, making him reveal his toned chest, chiseled abs, hands, shoulders, and even his toned legs, making more men more ashamed of themselves. Ace didn't usually reveal his upper body when the two girls were present in the room for obvious reasons but when he or Carl were sitting in the room alone, he didn't have any problems.
Car thought before that might be the body Skyler was thinking about in her dreams and thoughts.
"Gotta say, it's not many times I hear you, but you were great in singing Carl." Ace complimented before he went to the dresser.
"Thank you, I guess," Carl replied in a little sad tone.
"What's with the sad face? You usually like to have these chances alone." Ace asked as he picked up his clothes and placed them on his bed while sounding like he didn't know about anything.
"It's just that I got tired of doing this on my own. I have been like this since I had my first guitar and the dreams of having a band was gone because nobody I could have thought of wanted to join me."
"Having a band? Huh, that's not a bad idea. We could try it out." Ace said as he wore his pants
"Pfft? Can you do something?" Carl asked, expecting that Ace didn't know how to use an instrument.
"Yes, I can be a good drummer, or a singer, or a second guitarist. Check this out." Ace went to the table picked 2 pens and used the edge table like a drum. He used the left pen to make light sounds, drumming it twice before he used the pen on the right one time but in a harder hit. He repeated it twice before he raised them both and hit them 4 hard times. Then, he repeated the same process before putting the pens back and returned to wear his clothes.
Carl tried to remember the sound of the way Ace did with the pens until he recollected similar drums got used in two songs he listened to before, "Wait…that's the middle section of 'Way past Flash'!" Carl realized,
"Exactly!" Ace exclaimed as he picked his blacktop tank, "We can try to make a band together if Violet and Skyler agreed to join and try to do anything. Like singing an already released song with our voices, making new songs, or even trying to learn how to use different instruments every once and a while."
Carl thought for a moment about the idea. Sure, it might be fun doing it now and then and a good way to forget about the Iai-Jutsu training.
Ace, on the other hand, was wearing his remaining clothes and smiling as Carl was slowly thinking about having the idea of a band as planned.
"You know what, why not?" And it worked! "Maybe we can do this together later. Remind me of telling the girls later."
"Tell us about what?" Both boys turned to the voice behind them to see that Violet and Skyler returned from doing whatever they were doing without notice.
"Oh, it's just, in a minute, we were discussing making our band together. We can do this every once in and awhile, wanna try?" Ace said,
"No," Violet replied as she went to sit on a chair, "I have other things to do."
After Violet's rejection, Ace turned to Skyler to see her reply, "Um…I-I'm nervous in front of many people," Skyler said in a small stutter as she closed the door,
"We won't make an official band say, it's between us, and besides, you can be the drummer or a guitarist but that would take a long time. I can be anything you want: singer, guitarist, drummer, doing two things at once. I'm ready." Ace crossed his arms in confidence,
"…I don't know," Skyler said, not confident to say anything.
Ace shrugged as he went to comb his messy hair.
Okay, things were normal, Violet didn't like the idea of doing it, and Skyler was hesitant of joining. It was a very normal reaction because they didn't approve it, yet. It would happen later but that was not very important, right now.
…
As days went by, Ace continued teaching his team on the Iai-Jutsu. Things were running normally for most of the time. The big difference was that Carl seemed a bit more…motivated. Ace thought that it might be the slow effect of 'The Mentally Unstable Hosts' forming. It drove Ace to harden the training a bit more and spend more time in the day. While yes, he had to carry them back to their beds, again, while maneuvering on the rooftops so people wouldn't think of something about him, still, that was a win.
After that, Ace remembered what occurred later that time.
The Dance Night.
Around that time, Ace remembered Blake being overworking herself and Yang told her about the problems of overworking and those stuff before she and Sun danced that night. It wasn't important to Ace as he was thinking of asking Skyler later in the day. Right now, he was waiting.
Waiting for who you might ask? A certain guitarist in the same room.
Ace was resting on his bed, drinking tea, while writing his assignments. It was a way to pass time for him and good to finish the assignments of Port, Oobleck, or Peach. Ace took one last sip of his cup of tea and put it on the desk next to him before he close the book and threw it across the room to land on the table. Now that he finished, Carl might ask him at any mom-
"Hey, Ace." Carl called as he was standing next to him, "You won't mind if I asked you something?"
"Sure, whatever." Ace nodded,
"By the gods, tell me how can I ask Violet for the dance?" Carl begged while taking a hold of my hands while shaking him,
"Woah, bro. Hold on, why all of this panicking?" Ace pretended to get caught off guard,
"You know why am I panicking! I-I just I don't know what to do! I might mess up everything an-SMACK"
Ace interrupted Carl with a slap to his face, "Calm down, Carl. Now, take a deep breath and listen to me."
Carl took a deep breath and started to calm down while his face was a bit red, "First, Violet might ask you and try to respond with a yes without a second to think. Secondly, you can simply ask her when she sits and do whatever she is doing. Lastly, do you know how to dance?"
"N-No," Carl looked down in disappointment and responded in a very low voice before the blonde guitarist raised his head. "B-But, I figured out that I can ask you for anything given how the Hand-to-Hand combat went out."
Carl was talking about the mix of dancing Ace was doing and yeah, it was the only option he could ask.
"Okay," Ace responded as he stood and took Carl's arm.
"Woah, that simple?"
"Yep." Ace stood and turned to Carl who seemed nervous, "So, when you dance, you warp an arm on her back and grab the other arm like that while she will put a hand on your shoulder as I do," Ace explained as he put his and Carl's hands in their positions.
Carl's face was getting red at the embarrassment as it was the first time he did it. He saw people doing but that was the first time for him. He might take dance lessons in the future from Ace or anyone but having it this quickly just like that. Even then, he needed to take it as it might be one of the best moments in Beacon or the worst.
"Hey! Now, give me your attention to this." Carl got snapped back to reality as Ace was going for the next step, "Now, you will move your leg like that, and I will do that at the same time. Don't lose your attention or either you or Violet will get tripped." Ace moved his left leg so do Carl's right leg. "Now, you will do that in a small circle slowly." Ace moved his right leg followed by Carl's left.
They did the same process again and slowly danced in a small circle. Ace looked very calm doing it while Carl was so nervous and hesitant at his steps. It didn't take a lot before Carl started to calm and his breath and heartbeats eased as he got used to the moves.
"H-Huh, not too bad," Carl said.
"Oh, that's the slow version. You need to pick it up more than this for the dance." Ace said as he started to move faster.
"Woah! H-Hold on!" Carl got caught off guard and he looked like he was tripping at any moment.
"Come on, boy. Hold those legs of yours! I didn't train them for nothing." Ace taunted as he kept the same speed.
Carl tried to keep up with the speed and he looked like he would fall at any second…and he did. Luckily, Ace caught him by his wrist and pulled him back to the same position.
"I didn't say it will be easy. So, let's start doing it again given how the girls won't come back until later." Ace repositioned his and Carl's hands before he started doing it again, "After all, father had some time to teach me dancing."
…
"And, that's how do you do it."
In a different place, Violet and Skyler were in a different spot, away from everyone. Violet asked Skyler how to dance and Violet was having a hang of it. The difference was that Violet asked Skyler earlier and the blue-haired girl agreed on doing it. Skyler told Violet that her mother helped her in it because of the conversations about Skyler's crush on Ace.
"I don't know how to say it, but thank you very much for helping me." Violet hugged Skyler.
"N-No problem, Vi." Skyler responded, "We're friends after all and I'm trying to help you as much as possible.
"You think it will work out?" Violet asked as she released her hug with some concern on her face.
"Indeed, it will, girl. You two are cute together." Skyler encouraged,
"I hope so," The turtle Faunus raised her head, "Good luck, you too." She patted her friend's shoulder.
"T-Thanks," Skyler responded as she rubbed her neck lightly and her face got a bit red, "So, how's the Iai-Jutsu?"
"It's fine, just feeling an ache in my muscles, sometimes." Violet groaned in response. "Ace was getting harder on us, lately. I can't imagine how was the process of his when he was doing it."
"I'm very excited! After I cut that boulder, I got excited to do more. I even tried it with Meta and understood Ace when he said that swords are more comfortable and easier to use." Skyler jumped in enthusiasm and hugged her Faunus friend's neck, "Even though he was getting harder on us, he knows the priority of us becoming the best and breaking the limits we didn't think we could reach." Skyler waved her hand in the air while staying in her grip.
Violet smiled at the optimism of her friend, "You could say that. Anyways, I was thinking lately about creating a sword for the Iai-Jutsu. I kept thinking on the day I was able to maintain my first steps towards mastering it and if the sword is the best weapon to use, I can start working and finish it…maybe, next year or so."
"Oh, tell me what you have, please."
…
"Okay, I started to get used to this."
Back to the room of team ACES.
Ace was teaching Carl about dancing. Carl was getting us to it slowly because Ace constantly tried to make Carl improve. Now, they were doing it in faster steps.
"And, done. We can continue tomorrow." Ace said as he stopped in his tracks and removed his hands from Carl.
"W-Wait, why don't we continue it?" Carl asked,
"Because I can't risk embarrassing ourselves in front of the girls and we have other stuff to do like continuing the assignments of yours." Ace sat on the ground and crossed his legs.
"O-Oh…By the way, where will-"
"Outside, in the training spot or another place to use." Ace answered before Carl continued his sentence, "Now, excuse me, I will be on my relaxing session." Ace closed his eye, took a deep breath, and sat in his relaxing session.
Carl stood in silence before he rubbed his neck lightly, "Gods, why in all days this was happening to me?" Carl whispered.
"Also, you could use a training doll to do it. Just be alone when you do that or it will be embarrassing." Ace mentioned before he closed his eyes.
"Okay," Carl said in a very low voice.
…
Days went by and the dance night was near, some people were looking ready as they asked whoever. Some were trying to ask people like Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee, but both refused. Pyrrha refused because she was focusing on Jaune, Weiss knew that they cared for the name and also focused on Neptune, so yeah, many got brought down quickly.
Still, Ace didn't focus on them because his main question was when will Cinder go to the CCT tower to plant the hack?
Ace knew that Ruby told about when she went outside of the ballroom because she wasn't that fond of dancing and high heels, she noticed Cinder moving on the rooftops of the building until she reached the CCT tower. Then, Ruby followed her with Crescent Rose and saw all of the guards knocked out until she reached the top. She fought Cinder and saw her glass ability before she escaped with successfully planting the hack while, simultaneously, Ironwood arrived at the scene, yet, somehow, nobody found out about a secret code getting planted?
Then, that led to the Breach event and the other bullshit later.
Now, Ace could enter CMEN's room and steal the codes, but, Cinder might stay in the room all the time and if she did leave it, she probably took the codes with her for safety, so that was out of the question.
That could be handled later.
At the moment, ACES came back from the Iai-Jutsu training after some spicy and hard training. They didn't forget the other stuff but it was once in a week training, so, yeah.
The first person to fell on his was Carl as his face landed on the pillow with sweat covering his body, "I…can't…move anymore…for the rest of…the day." Carl wheezed in his pillow.
"I know, we went harder this time. I'm surprised that you can keep up on your feet. So, I will give you a bonus for that." Ace complimented.
"I just don't understand how you keep up with this. I know that you have struggled like us, but damn, there is so much work we need to do." Carl groaned.
"You know 'No Pain. No Gain.'." Ace said as he grabbed a water bottle and threw another to the tired guitarist, "Here, have some."
"Thanks," Carl acknowledged as he was still laying his face on the pillow.
Ace threw more bottles to his female companions which they grabbed and drank.
As Ace was drinking, he sat on the edge of the bed and watched the tired Carl, "So, how's the…you know?" Ace asked, pointing to an objective Carl knew well in which Carl responded with a thumbs-up before he opened his palm. Ace, knowing what that meant, offered his hand near Carl before the blonde boy slammed his palm as a high five, making Ace happy for his friend's successful move.
"Good luck with it." Ace cheered which also got responded with a thumbs-up before Carl's hand fell next to him.
Ace looked to his female companions and saw them laying on their beds, so, Ace decided to do that like them and lay on his bed with a small groan coming out of him as he pulled his scroll and opened his music list. Ace hummed while searching for a nice song for him.
KNOCK KNOCK
Ace heard the door knocking and made a backflip to stand on his feet on the other side of the bed and head directly towards the door.
"Who's there?"
"Mr. Storm? Are you open from anything at the moment?" Ace heard Glynda's voice, so he opened it to reveal the figure of professor Goodwitch. "Excuse me, Mr. Storm, if I…disturbed something." Glynda stopped before the last sentence as she saw CES laying on their beds tired.
"Don't mind them. We recently came back from a rough training." Ace pointed at his teammates. "Anyways, does Ozpin need anything?"
"Indeed, Mr. Storm."
"What is that he wants me right now instead of the rest of the day?"
"That's not important for when, but why is from the last time."
"Hmm, okay." Ace nodded as he turned to his teammates, "Don't think about it. I will see what's the problem and come back. So, take a shower while I'm out." In which they responded with a thumbs-up, "Okay, let's go." Ace said as he got out of the room and start moving. "Now, I apologize for the sweaty smell."
…
As the two arrived at Ozpin's office, Ace noticed general Ironwood standing in the middle of the room and talking with Ozpin about something before they turned to the newcomers,
"Greetings, Mr. Storm, or I should call you by your name?" Ironwood greeted.
"Name…Mr is me when I get older." Ace replied.
"Well, Ace, it has been a while since I met a Storm. I met your parents and it seems like they did a good job to train you."
"I will take it as a compliment." Ace narrowed his eyes lightly. "Anyways, why did you call me?"
"Well, I heard from professor Ozpin about a rumor you heard and it was an interesting piece of information you had, where did you hear it?" Ironwood coughed before he called the rumor.
"Rumors," Ace shrugged, "It spreads around the campus like a wildfire."
"Absolutely, but why that specific about newcomers from Mistral?" The general asked firmly as he started to get cautious.
"First of all, ears can be dropped everywhere, so I started to carry my team to our dorm when they get so tired from training by maneuvering the rooftops without anybody noticing." Ace explained
"What?"
"Never mind. Secondly, when I thought about it, I remembered Haven's headmaster and his weird acts."
"Say what now?" Ironwood, Glynda, and Ozpin's attention got caught.
"I had multiple relatives in Mistral and they told me multiple things about Lionheart and his acts and cowardliness that sometimes, some hunters acted in some problems he hesitated to do." Ace wasn't 100% lying about his relatives' story but he made a little of the last piece of information.
"Mr. Storm, indeed, has relatives in Mistral, General. Still, that is not a good thing to say about professor Lionheart." Ozpin defended before he returned.
"Well, I don't make things up when it comes to family-related things, usually." Ace also wasn't 100% lying about this.
"Usually?" Ironwood grabbed the word.
"Private stuff. Like, how one had to eat animals'-"
"Okay, never mind. No need to tell the specifics." Ironwood interrupted before he started to hear any gruesome stories.
"Very well, Mr. Storm. Is there anything you are feeling incorrect about them?" Ozpin asked.
"Hmm…I think that boy, Mercury, had robotic legs." Ace acted like he tried to remember.
"Robotic?"
"Yeah, I heard the sound of metal coming from his legs and I confirmed it when I saw a glimpse of it and the weird hole in his boots is also can shoot dust, somehow, so, that's a thing." Ace recalled. "Like, I could make a small collar to make the gun attach on my leg and have a way to shoot it but not having a hole in my shoes as it's very uncomfortable to use."
"Hmm, I don't think that's enough to prove there is anything wrong with them until we figure out more information. Until then, try to not make any problems." Ironwood thought and patted Ace's shoulder.
"Okay, then." Ace simply replied, "Can I leave, now?"
"Of course, Mr. Storm." Ozpin nodded, "If you have anything to say or find out, don't hesitate to report it." Ozpin reminded
Ace nodded and went to the elevator before he pressed the button and the door got closed.
After the meeting, Ironwood sighed and put a hand on his head. "I don't understand where did he hear those stuff. It might be true about rumors, but that could be either, he had something with them or that's some sort of trick."
"Well, I can't help but think about it as they could be related to Amber's problem," Ozpin said.
"But, that's a weird thing. Why would she ask for their information when she can put the school down by herself?" James asked.
"Well, we have quite the students this year, James. They could be troublesome for her plans. I'm talking about Pyrrha Nikos that we still consider the thought of having her the next maiden, Ruby Rose because she's the last silver-eyed warrior, and a future possible target, Ace Storm himself." Glynda pressed the button of the tablet, showing the three teenagers.
"Him?" James asked confused.
"Yes, Mr. Storm has a thing most students don't have. It is a thing in my previous lives with the Storm family in general, not just Ace. Before or after the Great War, they could have different personas and fight styles, but they share the same stubbornness in the fight. I saw that with many old and legendary Storms like Claude Storm, Vincent Storm, Artemis Storm, and Jade Storm. What I attempt to say is that Ace can become the next legendry Storm if the circumstances were right given how his profile and leader roles he's doing to help his teammates to become the best of themselves, like how Mrs. Eindhoven was able to compete with Mrs. Rose's semblance weeks ago unlike the first time when she wasn't able to withstand the light movement in their first fight."
"Hmm, I don't know what you saw in him, but I know that you can see the potential of him and many like Mr. Arc for example," Ironwood said.
"Yes, Mr. Arc has been developing himself lately thanks to Mrs. Nikos' efforts to help him. He did a magnificent job in terms of developing himself to become a better Huntsman and good leader for his team, but still, there is more that can be unlocked in the next years." Ozpin explained, "Nonetheless, we could continue this conversation later if Qrow came back from his mission before the tournament starts."
"Very well, Ozpin." Ironwood nodded as he went to the elevator.
…
As Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood were talking, Ace returned to his dorm.
As he opened the door and entered, he saw Skyler sitting beside the mirror and was drying her hair while wearing her non-hunter outfit, Violet was pulling new clothes to wear after she takes her bath, and Carl was sitting on his bed and still covered his face with the pillow.
"Hi, Ace! How was Ozpin's meeting?" Skyler asked while drying her hair.
"Nothing important. Just family stuff and nothing was very important." Ace lied as he went to sit on the chair.
"Let me guess, family members studied here?" Violet asked expecting the answer.
"Yep, I have many family relatives that had studied here. There was my father and my sister, Azure," Ace started to count, "Uncle Brandon, Uncle Logan, Aunt Asuka, Aunt Angelina, and there are my grandparents like Joseph the Second, Valentine, Rodrigo, and many more that we can stay to morning counting and explaining them."
"That's many for sure. How do know that all of this?" Skyler asked while brushing her hair.
"That's not too important. All you could know is that we know each other more than you could think." Ace replied as he took off his coat and the Sabrewulf Gauntlets.
While Ace took off the red coat, Skyler noticed him and saw his hands in his sleeveless shirt with those muscles, making her blush a bit and turn away from looking at him for her fantasies.
"That's all nice, but that doesn't remove the odds of having non-hunters," Violet said.
"Of course, not everyone will be a huntsman or a huntress. There's uncle Crank, he's a dust scientist who helped me and grandpa Joseph in creating the Dust Decoded. Guile Storm, who was working on plant science and many more, but it mostly 'It runs in the family.'" Ace recollected while revealing his scroll to look into anything while Violet entered to take her shower.
Ace didn't find anything interesting in his scroll so he closed it and put it on the table. Ace observed the room for anything and found Carl stayed in his position and looked like he was asleep. Skyler was looking away while brushing her hair. Ace smirked knowing that she noticed his arms so Ace decided while sitting, he could ask her for the dance.
Ace moved the chair closer to Skyler. The blue-haired girl became more nervous at Ace becoming closer and her blush grew in red.
"So, Skyler…how's your day?" Ace opened the conversation by asking.
"G-Good, so far," Skyler replied nervously.
"Yeah, me too. See, Skyler, given how the Dance Night is coming later, would you mind asking your hand for the dance?" Ace offered.
"W-What?" Skyler looked at him and became more nervous about Ace's offer.
"As I said, would you take my hands for the dance, my lady?" Ace offered again, this time, his right hand stretched and bowed his head.
"U-U-U-" Skyler didn't know how to reply.
'Oh, no! He's asking me for the dance! What am I gonna do? Accept! Yes, accept it!' Skyler said in her mind.
"So, that's a refusal?" Ace returned his hand and narrowed his eyes.
"N-No! I mean, Yes! I-I mean…I accept your offer, Ace!" Skyler stuttered while becoming a blushing mess to accept her crush's offer.
"Okay, that's great! Don't be too late to arrive at the dance." Ace smiled before he stood up, brought the chair back to its place, and went to set on his bed.
While Ace laid on his bed and Carl, finally, stood up from the bed to bring some clothes to wear after Violet takes her shower, Skyler was inside her mind and celebrating.
'YES! Yes, he asked me for that damn dance! If this was what I looked like when I try to answer his invitation, what would I look like if I tried to ask him? That's not important because I DID IT!' Skyler was celebrating her mind with small squealing coming out of her.
On the other side of the room, Carl noticed his female friend's happiness and it seemed like she had it. Carl smiled and shook his head, "She's such a lucky girl." Carl whispered.
…
Finally, the Dance Night arrived. Everyone looked ready and it seemed very good this night before starting their official missions. It was 8:30 PM and students were heading right to the ballroom
In the room of team ACES, Ace and Carl were inside it to get dressed.
Ace was wearing a black tuxedo, blue vest, black pants, his hair was combed well, he had his hat with the scarf around his neck and perfect. Carl was wearing a yellow tuxedo, white shirt, yellow pants, and his hair was getting combed by Ace.
"Ow, ow, c-come on, Ace. You don't have to be the mother in this." Carl groaned from the combing Ace was giving to him. He didn't mind his hair being combed but not with the way Ace was doing it like a mother that tried to make her son as good as possible for his date.
"Oh, quit whining, child. I'm a team leader, so I had to make you as good as possible for your love interest." Ace teased, making Carl's face redden a bit, "Besides, mom was doing a similar thing when I was younger when the hair was different than what I had, now."
"Then, stop this motherly behavior," Carl pushed Ace's hands and stood up.
"Don't be bothered, Carl. You look fancy and I'm sure Vi will love it." Ace put his on his blonde friend's shoulder.
"Guh, whatever. Let's go and finish this." Carl huffed and headed to the door.
"Right behind ya." Ace followed back as Carl opened the door and both got out. "I hope we finish this night without a broken ankle or an embarrassing moment." Ace said as he closed the door and start moving with Carl.
"D-Don't make it harder, Ace. I'm nervous about not making this one out. I tried hard with you and the training doll. I nearly lost my mind when I start talking to her with you watching me from behind." Carl said nervously.
Ace chuckled at the memory, making Carl embarrassed before the blonde guitarist hit him with his elbow, "You're embarrassing me more!"
"S-sorry, I just…I couldn't keep my laughter from these words you…said to that doll." Ace said while trying not to laugh resulting in a muffled laugh.
"Okay, okay, how's Skyler?" Carl asked, trying to change the subject.
"Oh, she's good. I looked at how she was excited about this night since the start of this week." Ace replied.
"That's it? Nothing to be embarrassed about?" Carl looked at Ace incredulously
"Nope, I'm good."
"How do you do this?"
"No idea,"
…
On the other side, inside the ballroom, Violet and Skyler were sitting and waiting for the two boys.
Violet wore a light pink and purple dress that reveals her back shell without being noisy or stupid looking and reached her knees wearing black stockings. Her hair was the same pigtails and wore simple pink heels.
Skyler was wearing a white and light blue dress that reached her knees. Her hair was released this time instead of the same ponytail with having a bit over her shoulders.
"When will these two arrive? We settled to come around this time." Violet tapped her heels on the ground in impatience while crossing her hands.
"Don't worry about that, Vi. Ace mostly helps Carl to look as good as possible thanks to me." Skyler said in optimism.
Violet sighed and shook her head, "Do you think it will work?"
"Come on! You look gorgeous, Vi. While we could try out a different hairstyle as I did, still, you are gorgeous. He will like it." The blue-haired girl squealed.
"I hope so," Violet blushed and turned her head before she looked in the door's direction and saw two familiar males, "Speaking of,"
"Greetings, my ladies!" Ace greeted formally as he and Carl arrived, "Apologies for being late. I was preparing this fella here." Ace pointed at Carl with his hands.
"Okay, no need to retell it." Carl fake coughed and offered his hand to Violet, "W-Would your mind to have you in this dance, my lady?" Carl offered with anxiety painting his face.
"I thought you won't ask," Violet smiled and took his hands and went dancing together.
The blonde guitarist and the turtle Faunus stood and danced. While they looked awkward and nervous, they seemed to ease their steps and get better in their dancing. Away from them, Ace and Skyler were watching and smiling on their faces.
"Aw, they look cute together!" Skyler cooed as she moved a bit of her hair to the back.
"Indeed…hey, you helped Vi on dance lessons, right?" Ace turned to Skyler.
"Maybe,"
"Thought so. So, how about we go?" Ace offered his hand.
"I would be happy." Skyler took his hands without a second of thought and went to have their dance together.
…
On the side where Carl and Violet were, the two were nervous and had awkward steps. They weren't by any means good in this as both had to ask their expert friends about this situation. Their faces showed how much nervous they were. So, maybe what could help this dance was a small conversation and trying to ease with their steps.
"So, how are you, Vi?" Carl asked.
"Very well, and you?" Violet replied.
"Rocking, lately," Carl replied before they went to silence. "You look b-beautiful in this dress, Violet."
"T-Thanks," Violet blushed from Carl's comment before she explained. "I had a little help from Skyler cause of my shell. You too look good."
"I guess…Ace wanted to make me in this." Carl pointed at himself, "He was like a parent that wanted his son to be at his best in his date."
"Well, we had something common in asking our professional friends." Violet remarked as she and Carl looked to Ace and Skyler who were dancing and seemed happy and better in their steps, making them a bit jealous, "They seem happy, especially Skyler."
"Yeah, she looks very happy after the many times she thought of spending more time like this with Ace. It wasn't a big surprise when she was talking about her crush when we were in the room." Carl recalled as he and Violet turned their heads back.
"Yeah," Violet said as she became silent.
Both went silent for a minute as their dancing was getting calmer and felt more romantic as both smiled at each other.
"You know, Violet…I-I like you," Carl confessed nervously.
"T-That's sweet, Carl," Violet replied while blushing and looking away.
The awkwardness of the situation was very high due to Carl's confession, but they continued their dance normally. It will be stuck with them until the kiss arrives.
…
On the other side, however, Ace and Skyler were doing a much better dance than Carl and Violet. Skyler looked very happy for this chance given how she got closer to her crush and despite being nervous inside her, she found the courage to accept this moment that can get them closer. Ace was also happy. Maybe happier than Skyler. His happiness was that Skyler was alive and being happy. He felt happiness he didn't feel before. His heart was bumping in his chest with joy and the smile on his face never failed to show it.
It wasn't something that Ace put in his mind a lot but having this dance was the best thing since his family reunion. The great atmosphere the ballroom provided made it even better. He thought for a second and didn't know the answer to this happiness he had at the moment, but hey, he wouldn't mind it.
"This night is great." Ace whispered.
"Huh?" Skyler seemed like she heard it despite being low.
"I said, this night is great." Ace said, "Having this dance with you was probably a very great thing next to spending time with my family."
Skyler's face redden a bit, but smiled, "Why, thank you, Ace. You sure look stunning in this outfit."
"You too, girl. This dress looks pretty on you." Ace commented making his female friend blush hard, "Even making your hair like this made you even prettier." The comment made her blush even harder like a tomato. She expected this to happen, but dang, having your crush saying it to your face could make anyone nervous.
"I-I…T-T-Thanks…g-glad you like it." Skyler stuttered.
Ace giggled and didn't say anything for a minute.
Ace couldn't help but admire how beautiful Skyler was. Ace forgot how she looked angelic in that dress. Her smile made her face like a rare diamond that was incomparable. Her stuttering and shy character made her unique and nothing were able to top it. Gosh, why was he like that?
"A-Also, look at how cute Carl and Violet are?" Skyler interrupted his thoughts as she turned her head to see Carl and Violet dancing together and having these smiles on their faces.
Ace looked and couldn't help but smiled, "Yeah, no wonder how these two were acting around sometimes. They looked like they love each other and I bet they could make it if you know what I mean."
"Y-Yeah, I see that there's a potential…like us," Skyler whispered the last part while looking down and sad.
Ace noticed Skyler's mood change and heard her whisper in the end. It ached him from the inside.
"H-However, I can't thank you enough for the time we spent together. You helped me improve a lot in things I wouldn't have thought I could work on." Skyler got closer to his cheek and kissed him, making Ace blush hard. "And maybe, we could have more." Skyler winked confidently and teasingly after.
Ace wasn't just blushing hard from that sudden kiss, he was shocked by this sudden confidence. He knew her mother tried to help, but damn, this was way more daring than anything from before. Ace thought that it might be his changes that caused this sudden action or it's just that Skyler tried to look confident yet, inside her was screaming in many emotions. It was sure for Ace that it wasn't supposed to happen. However, Ace didn't care about this. He couldn't describe the happiness he had. His heart was bumping rapidly and the flush of embarrassment stayed on his face for a minute.
It didn't matter as the night continued with a familiar event that happened at the same time.
…
After the dance, everyone returned to their dorm after either a successful or failed dance. Team ACES was on the successful side. They finished the night without hiccups or problems.
The biggest highlight of the night was, of course, Jaune wearing a dress and asking Pyrrha for a dance before JNPR made their dance. It was a bizarre and awesome moment that would be remembered for a reason or two.
Now, ACES returned and took off their dance clothes because they need to sleep cause the next day will have them start their mission. Ace knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything with Cinder's hijacking the CCT tower until he return from their mission. So, if they could finish the mission faster than the original route, they could return at least a day after the Breach, and given how better ACES became and how fast Ace knew where and when to go, it should be piece of cake.
At the moment, Ace was laying on his bed and wearing his sleeping clothes as he was thinking about something else while his teammates were getting on their own and talking about the dance.
Ace was thinking about something he felt in the dance. That feeling was foreign for him and Ace asked himself what was it? Then, he realized something big. He looked back at old moments with Skyler and had a similar feeling, and After a lot of thinking, he concluded that he was in LOVE!
Ace slapped his forehead from this sudden realization. His heart was always empty after Skyler's death. The pain and sorrow in his heart were bigger than any other sad thing he encountered. Aside from his family and teammates, no death or a moment affected him more than Skyler's death. It was impossible to feel like how lovers felt when their loved ones died and that love bullshit.
He confirmed it from the dance he had with Skyler. His happiness and feeling nervous from that dance made sense after realizing his feeling. It was always that Skyler had his attention to care and protect the most.
'HOLY SHIT!' Ace exclaimed in his thoughts. 'All of this time?! H-How and when did that shit happen? I guess love works like mom and dad said, 'That shit comes when you don't expect the most.'. I'm in love with Skyler Eindhoven.'
Ace smiled and covered his face with his palm. Ace guessed that he should have seen that coming one way or another, and you know what, it was the perfect opportunity. He could try to be selfish for once and have a relationship with Skyler. It felt like that was a missing piece in his heart after her death to fill that void.
While Ace was thinking, the lights turned off and his team went to sleep because they have a loud day tomorrow. Ace did the same and covered himself with the blanket, but didn't close his eyes entirely. He looked at the Demon Sword away and knew that Avon was looking at him and laughing. He may have known about it before and it made sense, given how long they lived together and how much they knew each other.
'Oh, you son of a gun.' Ace cursed in his mind before he chuckled and didn't spend any longer to start sleeping for tomorrow.
This year was getting more and more interesting.
…
A new day approached and today was big. Today was having their first official mission.
Ace remembered how excited everyone was, including him to have their first mission. While it took them a couple of days due to find the house and try to find the place they were supposed to find, still that didn't remove the fact they had their first official mission. While Ace wasn't as excited as before, his team was excited like before.
It was 5:00 AM and Ace didn't need to wake them early as they woke up 5 minutes after him. I guess Ace's schedule affected them. ACES warmed up, prepared their bags and weapons, took a nice hot bath, and made their breakfast.
After that, they grabbed their bags and weapons, wore their outfits, and headed to the amphitheater for Ozpin's speech. Ozpin's speech was longer and better than the one they had on the first day, but still, could have been better.
Then, they headed to the mission boards where they had the missions to choose from.
"Hmm, there are many missions here. What should we do?" Skyler hummed in thinking.
"How about Search and Rescue." Ace pointed at the mission board, making his team turn to him in confusion.
"But, why?" Carl asked in confusion.
"Because many chose other types and Search and Destroy missions aren't for us until next year." Ace explained his reasons.
CES looked around and saw that Ace was right given how many other missions were having long queues and the Search and Destroy had older students having it. They didn't have any option other than Search and Rescue.
"H-How did you look around this quick?" Carl turned to Ace.
Ace shrugged in answer despite him knowing that it was their first mission and that he needed to see other stuff like the house, their first enemy, and the other stuff they might have.
Then, Ace inserted the team's name to confirm the mission and headed to the bullhead to the location of the mission.
"Oh, I'm so excited. This is our first together." Skyler squealed in excitement.
"Going to a village and asking the mayor or the head of the supplies and getting it back sounds boring, but we could try slowly to bigger missions," Violet said.
"I couldn't agree more." Carl agreed.
"So, if we were able to finish our mission sooner, we could get back and relax a bit before preparing for the tournament. Especially if we returned with broken ribs or something." Ace commented.
"That's coming out of a guy that has a Healing Factor," Carl replied sarcastically.
"Oh, I thought you forgot it." Ace looked at them and commented. "It's that you don't see me very often."
"H-How we would forget that crap after you cut your hands in front of us in the SECOND DAMN DAY!" Carl exclaimed while lightly pulling his jacket.
Ace chuckled nonchalantly and patted his friend's shoulder as they reached the bullhead they have to use to reach their location. They entered it and sat in the seats of the bullhead.
The seats had space for 2, so, Ace sat, and next to him was Skyler while in front of him was another seat that had Carl and Violet sitting next to each other. They were talking together except the blue-haired boy who crossed his hands and thought. He knew that they would come across the house he used to live in when everything was huge mayhem. It didn't help given how he still had many tears to drop. Not as much as the first time, but he would if he was able to be alone.
Until it arrives, he was sitting and waiting to make the first mission together with his team and encounter their first big threat after the Sparta fight in the Emerald Forest.
Codename: Wesker.
AN: Here it is, guys. Finally, it took me longer than I wanted to finish this.
I had my usual laziness taking over me to write it and wasn't able to write half of it when the time was the internet was at its monthly slowing down. However, I worked on other things at that time. I wrote 'Unfinished Business' and posted it when the internet returned. Check that out and tell me your opinion. I might make it a full story in the future if I wasn't able to continue in this. And an RWBY x Ben 10 crossover using my OC. The people who read 'RWBY: Shapeshifter to Remnant' might know. It will be like 'Unfinished Business' where I will leave it there until I think when I will make it a full story.
I don't have anything else to say besides that I want to continue writing this shit as much as possible. I'm not an expert in English or writing in general, yet, I learn many things throughout time and the criticisms are always here to help me as much as possible. It doesn't help that I don't usually sit down to write even though I'm free at times. This chapter has a lot of time to get released is the best example.
I may comment a bit on the Egyptian football national team if I had something to say or other stuff than sticking to this story or RWBY. Like how we will face Ivory Coast in R16 this Wednesday and Senegal to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar this March. Also, given how we mostly will get out by them, at least I hope to see a good performance.
Anyways, tell me your opinion on this chapter and don't forget the favorite and follow for more. That shit gives me some motivation to write.
Sincerely, Eslam.