"...That's impossible. Why is she moving so damn fast? I can barely follow her with my eyes."

Weiss glanced at her leader's older sister from the corner of her sight. Encountering a girl who typically appeared quite courageous and overconfident instead acting visibly worried and speculative was quite the vexing display- but after everything that had recently occurred following the two sisters, she shouldn't have been surprised.

The Belladonna girl, her valued teammate whom lay seated beside her, clearly was also rather perturbed at Yang's behaviour.

After the incident with Yang and Ruby's argument following the attack on Torchwick, Yang had searched up and down for the little reaper and hadn't been able to find her. They were about to all go searching when Ruby had shown up roughly around eleven at night and apologised for her outburst.

From her understanding of their rather emotional reunion, the two sisters had patched things up and were on rather cordial terms. Thus, Yang's sudden disbelief was made all the more befuddling.

"You're joking, right?" Blake retorted, "This is Ruby that we're talking about. Her semblance is practically neigh untraceable once she gets going. Shouldn't you be used to all of this by now?"

Despite her conscious urging her to console her teammate or in the very least add to the ongoing commentating in some manner, the little Schnee heiress could not find it within herself to tear her gaze away from the spectacle.

"...It's not the same." Yang shakes her head rapidly in what Weiss can assume is a mounting frustration, her blonde locks going everywhere. "Think about it. Really think about it. Have you ever really seen Ruby go this fast before?"

No. She certainly has not. Although, Weiss chalked such a thing up to a lack of exposure to the girl's particular fighting style.

"Exactly." Yang said amidst their mutual silence. "It's not because she can't. That's for sure. It's because it becomes far too difficult for her to handle consistently. The faster Ruby gets with her semblance, the harder it is for her to process what's happening. The fact is, I'm amazed she hasn't injured herself yet. Last time she went this fast, she ended up crashing into a concrete wall and breaking several bones from the impact. Dad was pissed."

So in other words Ruby had speed and velocity to match, yet without an improved sensory awareness necessary to use them efficiently. What a very curious semblance. Although she could not deny that the ability was suitable for her team leader. Always rushing ahead. The question still remained; why in the world was Ruby bothering to act so dangerously in a simple sparring match?

To think that all of this had begun with Kirakishou simply raising her hand.

Madness. That's all it was. Complete and utter madness.

Originally the lesson with Glynda Goodwitch had been nought but a simple lesson with the added bonus of several students from other academies also spectating. They had gone over the events that would be occurring during the upcoming Vytal Festival and what would be expected of them during the live broadcast.

Dances of all kinds, multiple parades and the world-renowned combat tournament would all be broadcast to the various cultures of the world. Students were expected to participate in them all, to varying degrees. It was a celebration of individualism and creativity following the horrors inflicted during the Great War some eighty years ago. Without a doubt, it was one of the largest festivals to ever grace the world of Remnant and it showcased all that the variety of cultures had to offer.

This year, Vale had been selected to his this most prestigious festival. It was a monumental undertaking that the city had been dutifully preparing to host for the past several months.

Naturally, most of the students were primarily obsessed with the combat tournament. Whilst she was rather privy to the dances herself, the rest of her team had been quite excited for the event. Even the typically reserved Blake Belladonna, whom had spoke of her interest within the tourney quite comprehensively during their outing together.

The first stage, as Weiss had come to understand during this class, was assessing each and every student to test their aptitude for the combat tournament. Primarily it was done to ensure that every team was ready to participate in a tournament scenario, yet Weiss assumed it was likely also a test of some sort to assess the combat abilities of students from other academies.

Thus had begun a painstakingly long routine of assessing each and every student by pitting them up against each other in numerous one-on-one matches.

Every. Damn. Student.

Considering the sheer population of Beacon first years and the number of first year external students whom had arrived to participate, Weiss had doubted that even an extended period for this particular class would even be enough time to process them all in one lesson.

Professor Goodwitch offered quite the valiant attempt, however. Among all her professors of this year, she would say that the deputy headmistress was likely her favourite professor. The woman was curt and concise in ways that would have her old tutors running for the heavens. It was a refreshing change of pace. If anyone could efficiently process such a large amount of students, it would be this woman.

Originally the class had been of high morale and many were rather eager to begin competing. However, moods had quickly soured once they discovered just how many would need to be processed. They were nearing the end only after their third hour of constant matches. Many students had grown restless quite some time ago.

Likely, most students had been rather surprised upon hearing Mercury Black challenge Pyrrha Nikos to a spar, not only in direct violation of Professor Goodwitch's own selection method, but directly after the 'Invincible Woman' had finished soundly decimating Team CRDL.

The smirk had been wiped completely off his face when the irate deputy headmistress had not only rebuked his request in a clipped tone that would bring even her Father the shame, but had opened the request to any other student whom wished to challenge Mercury.

Suffice to say, none had expected Kirakishou of all people to raise her hand considering the girl had been marked exempt from the testing.

The girl was, to her knowledge, little more of a guest to Beacon Academy than an actual student and possessed no team to call her own. Thus, she was unable to compete in the Vytal Tournament whatsoever. Following what rumours had sprung up after Ruby's failed attempt to get the girl to communicate with other students, most had opted to simply ignore the girl and pretend she didn't exist.

Such plans to ignore her had readily fallen apart when the girl in question had invariably stolen centre stage by way of her sudden proposition.

Ruby had been rather opposed to the idea, standing up and boldly declaring that she wanted to fight by Kirakishou's side in a team match. Whilst Weiss doubted she would ever truly understand what had possessed her love-struck buffoon of a team leader, she hadn't had the time to voice her opinions of her leader's recklessness before their combat instructor had approved.

Thus, Kirakishou and Ruby Rose had been pitted in a team match against Mercury Black and his partner; some teal-haired girl known as Emerald Sustrai.

Considering the surprise that had flourished on the blonde's face, she hadn't been expecting Ruby to offer herself up and subsequently turn a simple (pointless) assessment into a regular doubles match.

In all rationality, it should have been a complete disaster.

Ruby was a remarkable team leader, yes, but she was a difficult ally to blend with during a confrontation. Her scythe possessed a broad reach and the recoil generated by her sniper shots would oftentimes send the little reaper all across the battlefield. Team RWBY had explicitly trained to handle Ruby's style by giving the girl a sizeable amount of leeway.

Thus pairing her with a girl that hadn't ever fought beside the reaper in an evaluation for the Vytal Fesitval was an accident waiting to happen. Or, even worse, a failed entry. A single member of a team failing would disqualify the entire team and, thus, ruin all of their hard work. Oum, if such a thing happened just because of a rash decision on her team leader's part she would be…

Quite upset.

"Will you stop it with the damn vines?!"

And yet, despite all odds, the unique duo had somehow managed to coordinate effectively and were putting up a resounding offence against the likes of Emerald and Mercury. The former of the two opponents having grown rather agitated as the battle continued on far past expectations.

She wasn't surprised to see that the two Haven transfer students were having a difficult time in combating their opponents.

Upon the activation of Kirakishou's semblance at the start of the match, the once lacklustre sparring field had rapidly grown into what seemed to be a veritable sea of writhing pale vines and bone-white roses as far as the eye could see.

Before, Weiss had only witnessed the girl manifest a single small vine trip up Sun Wukong when she had introduced herself to Kirakishou on the docks. Along with some rather ludicrous rumours of vines apparently growing out of the girl's dorm room, it was all the knowledge that Weiss held regarding the odd semblance.

It was made abundantly clear that the girl was holding back a veritable garden of seemingly off-coloured thorned vines and dainty roses.

They weren't technically any thicker than the single vine she had seen grow out of a lamppost on her meeting with the girl. Barely thicker than one of her fingers, really. They didn't need to be. Not when the girl could spawn hundreds of the damnable things without seemingly any impact to her aura whatsoever.

Considering Ruby's had barely reacted to the sudden appearance of a freaking forest, it was clear that her leader had witnessed Kirakishou's semblance in this magnitude at a prior date. And not bothered to informed her.

She would be having words with her team leader after this.

For all Emerald's mounting fury and the volley of curses she swore out (honestly how can a student from a well respected institution such as Haven possess such a sailor's vocabulary?) she was making a sizeable effort in resisting Kirakishou's attempts to bind her. Emerald possessed a lithe frame and certainly knew how to avoid it, in conjunction with utilising her bladed pistols to slice away any vines that came too close for comfort.

"Now now," the blonde vine-wielder chided teasingly, hands cradling her face and peeking through her fingers from her kneeling position on the ground, "A rose needs vines. How else is she to move within this world? Silly, silly girl~"

Weiss found the irony quite palpable that a girl whom had remained stationary during the entirety of the fight even had the gall to talk about movement to an opponent that was actively hindered by her vines. Considering the groan of annoyance coming from Emerald, the Haven girl had certainly caught it.

"That doesn't even make any damn sense!" the teal-haired girl screeched out, before wincing when a stray bullet from Ruby's crescent rose impacted against her leg. Emerald shot a glare at the younger girl, who was busy fighting up against Mercury yet still had the gall to stick her tongue out.

Mercury himself was performing admirably against the combined efforts of both Ruby's overly aggressive fighting style and the nonstop vines that Kirakishou sent his way, utilising what Weiss could decipher to be a firing mechanism of some kind built into his boots.

Or, in Yang's words, the boy possessed 'shotgun feet'. Not that she would ever label it as such.

Combined with a hand-to-hand fighting style that appears to favour grapples, parries and repels and the silver-haired man was actually managing to perform effectively and even get a few shots off against the two at times.

Whilst it was notable that Ruby's aura had managed to defend a few errant shots and thus far remain in the middle reserves, Kirakishou's vines had blocked every single strike against her body with relative ease.

The blonde's aura, much to Weiss' increasing consternation, had somehow managed to stay completely unhindered and (dare she say it) full. Her semblance was thus either remarkably efficient to the point of absurdity or did not drain her aura whatsoever.

She didn't know which one to believe at this point. Frankly, she didn't want to think about it following what seemed to be a rising headache on her part.

"Your friend certainly has quite the… interesting semblance." a voice called out from behind her. Pyrrha Nikos. Ah, yes. She had been quite perplexed when Glynda had denied her second battle following Mercury's challenge. If Weiss recalled, she had been introduced to Kirakishou by Ruby during their leader's whole 'meet and greet' event.

"You can say that again." Nora added inbetween massive bites of a pizza she had ordered midway through the lecture, "I mean, damn. Didn't know flower girl had it in her. Makes me kinda glad not to have to face her."

"She is not a friend." she retorted dismissively. "Well. Not ours, per say. More of an acquaintance."

Nora merely giggled. She did not like the sound of that giggle, nor the implications it held.

Weiss tried to ignore the smell of pizza. The fact that the girl had the audaciousness to actually order pizza and have it delivered mid-lecture was yet another trait regarding the team JNPR member that she had been trying to ignore.

Though after three hours of sitting in this damnable theatre she could understand the girl's reasoning to some degree.

"...I can see why Ruby is fighting the way she does, though."

Yang turned to Blake along with Weiss, glancing at the girl. "What makes you say that?"

"Kirakishou's semblance makes such a thing as holding back a moot point. There is no reason for Ruby to bother, if her partner continues to remain stationary."

"So you're saying she's doing that on purpose?" Yang retorted, looking thoughtful. "Huh. Guess it makes sense. And here I thought the girl was just standing still to manipulate the vines or something."

"It's possible." Weiss felt the need to interject, "But I doubt it, considering her earlier comment regarding movement."

A sudden blast of explosive dust caught Weiss' attention as her team leader used the intense recoil of her weapon to fling herself at the silver-haired boy. Mercury. Ruby's opponent managed to latch onto the hilt of Crescent Rose at the last second, barely sparing a wince as the hilt of the gun's barrel burnt against the exposed areas of his fingerless gloves.

The boy had a high tolerance for pain, Weiss would give him that. Having burnt her hands a number of times when first learning to wield her own weapon, she was quite familiar with the sensation.

"You know," Ruby spoke up suddenly as she attempted to push against Mercury's defence with sheer brute strength alone, "you're really really good at this whole fighting thing. We should totally hang out sometime. I'd love to learn how those boots of your work."

Mercury scoffed and went for a low sweep with said boots, forcing the little reaper to back away in a burst of speed and a whine of annoyance.

"...Thanks but I think I'll pass on your... offer, Red." he responded blandly, rolling his shoulders as he settled into a relaxed combat stance. "Your little girlfriend looks like she would probably murder me if I said yes."

Ruby giggled as she glanced over at Kirakishou, longing clearly present within her expression. The sound of her laughter, however, had sounded odd to Weiss' ears. Warped. Distorted, perhaps.

"Hehe~ She probably would!"

Her opponents were Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black.

They were two curious little dolls. One, bound by the brambles of love to an unfeeling figure; unable to sense the pointlessness of her frivolity amongst her rose-coloured sight. She fought with illusions, much to Kirakishou's inner amusement. They were rather odd tinctures of falsehood that were rather distinguishable when compared to her own machinations. Visible, even, to the naked eye. From her viewing within the N-Field, she knew that the girl had been commanded not to use her illusions by her superior, but one cannot simply deny part of who they are. A few illusions had slipped through, here and there.

They were torn down immediately. Pale imitations that they were.

The other was not tied down by emotion. He fought with apathy. Disinterest. Yet the man possessed a hardened mind wrought by folded steel and bathed in the cries of countless victims. An assassin. No. The son of an assassin. Yes, that was it. A father's teachings, passed down to his child. Yet the student had now ascended and become the master.

Her beloved Ruby fought beside her.
As was right.

This was a 'couples match'. Originally, the statement from Professor Goodwitch had brought forth reddened cheeks from both her beloved and the illusionist girl as both their minds assumed an alternate meaning to the phrase. Ruby's own feelings were coupled by a flicker of dread following the snickers of amusement heard from the crowd.

Yet in actuality from what Kirakishou could understand, it was in essence a simple sparring match that pitted two teams of two individuals against each other to assess their skills when fighting as a team. She had found it to be an odd manner of teaching, yet there was a certain sense of passion in fighting beside one's beloved. Ruby was as energetic on the battlefield as she was in all things, utilising her semblance for quick strikes and rapid responses. Coupled with their bond as Rozen Maiden and Master, they possessed a reaction time that far exceeded those of typical teams.

Kirakishou knew exactly why they were facing these opponents in particular.

Originally, Mercury Black had intended to fight against Pyrrha Nikos in order to assess her title as the 'invincible woman' and relay pertinent information to his master. Said master would then have utilised the target as a scapegoat in their nefarious plan. Whether it be to focus the negative emotions of others in order to attract a horde of grimm, or to blackmail into stealing a relic of the ages- such things depended on a variety of factors which were left to chance. Their leader cared little of which plan inevitably reached fruition. Only that one did.

Some would call it a poor plan. Others would call it a flexible plan.
All that mattered in the end was that it was a plan that affected her future.
All that mattered in the end was that it was a plan that affected Ruby's future.

THEIR FUTURE.

Unforgivable.

Kirakishou had been forced to intervene personally.

It had been a relatively simple task, especially with the N-Field bolstering her understanding of this world. Glynda Goodwitch possessed a stalwart mind and was most certainly immune to a brute force attack on her psyche, yet a subtle prod in a direction that the woman already intended to follow was certainly amongst the realm of possibility. Raising a hand and offering herself as a candidate had achieved the desired result in the waking world.

To this day, resilient minds were becoming a rather disturbing commonality. It had made many of her initial plans rather difficult to complete without physical interaction. She would much rather leave the planning to her time in the N-Field and spend the rest of physical time with her beloved rose, exploring the various carnal pleasures that her darling seemed so very interested in discovering.

She hadn't expected Ruby to immediately declare she would fight by her side, but she had welcomed her beloved red rose with open arms and a blatant gesture of adoration that caused some delightful flutters of embarrassment and barely-restrained passion to flutter forth from the red-tipped ebon-haired girl.

A sizeable majority of the students overseeing the interaction reacted quite interestingly, but it was not important at the current time.

"Will you stop it with the damn vines?!" one of her opponents, the girl, had cried out in frustration, hacking and slashing with her weapon at the slew of vines that had been sent in her direction. Many of the vines had either been severed before they could reach Emerald, or dodged entirely.

Sharp blades possessed an unfortunate habit of disrupting her playtime, she discovered.

For all her bickering and curses, the teal-haired girl was doing a remarkable job in resisting her efforts. Emerald possessed a lithe frame and knew how to use it effectively in order to evade strikes from multiple angles simultaneously. Coupled with her semblance, there was no denying that Emerald Sustrai was a dangerous opponent to face in combat.

Considering the relatively calm nature of her previous world, Kirakishou had most certainly never encountered an opponent like this. Most of her playtime had been limited to expending much of her energy in the hopes of finding a wounded soul and gathering them to keep within her garden.

A prolonged physical fight was, of course, far more rare. Why, the only time she had any experience with a similar bout was during the confrontation with unwound Jun and her beloved sisters.

"Now now," she chided teasingly, adopting a particular pose that her darling seemed to particularly enjoy witnessing, "A rose needs vines. How else is she to move within this world? Silly, silly girl~"

"That doesn't even make any damn sense!" was the immediate response.

Rude.

Following Emerald's shrill proclamation, it became readily apparent that bouts within the world of Remnant followed an entirely different structure in comparison to those featuring the Rozen Maiden.

Where the battles within the Alice Game of Father's design featured seven sisters fighting for the opportunity to become Alice, this… this world was one that saw fit to force complete strangers against each-other in the hope of forcing tiny souls to grow beyond their simple life. It was a horrific, meaningless thing. A staple to prevent the quell of monsters from overtaking the world itself.

No advancement. No change. Year after year. A war of attrition.

She hadn't the faintest idea how her beloved rose could handle such an existence, yet if it made her Ruby happy then she would do her best to understand. For her beloved, she would do anything.

Because she loved her.

These other dolls could never hope to understand, trapped as dying flowers in a world without nutrients. Without reason. How could they ever dream of advancement when their entire life has been without it in the first place?

They were-

"Kira! Watch out!-"

...Ruby?

She refocused on the event, having originally seen fit to allow her beloved to take centre stage as the reaper rightfully deserved. Only to find her beloved laying collapsed in her arms. When had she even moved to grab the red-haired girl? She didn't remember moving her own arms. When…

What… She didn't-

Her eye widened as a gasp of horror tore itself out of her artificial body.

Ruby's aura was flickering, she realised suddenly. She had been shot. In the back.

Shot defending Kirakishou against a strike that wouldn't have impacted her in the slightest, not with her garden bolstering her aura. The shot wouldn't have done anything of import, even if it had somehow managed to avoid her vines.

Her beloved red rose was injured.

There was no way such a thing could have occurred. Ruby was faster than this. She shouldn't have been hit by such paltry things, not with the N-Field guiding her motions. Not with their bond flourishing as vibrantly as within the midst of battle.

"...Looks like heat-seeking rounds actually do work on you, huh?" Kirakishou tore her gaze away from Ruby at the sound of a triumphant voice in the distance. Mercury. "Took a bit of on-the-fly calibration, I'll admit. These damn vines must be messing with the sensors. But thankfully I was still able to lock onto your signature. Didn't expect little red to take the hit for you, though!"

He shot her. He shot her in the back. He had been aiming for me, yet he hit her. He shot Ruby. Yes. That's it. She didn't fail to dodge the shot. She chose to take it, to protect me.

She was shaking, she realised. No. Trembling. But for what reason?

Anger? No. This wasn't it. She had felt that before for the first time with Yang, several weeks ago when Ruby had delivered the transcript and their intimate moment had been interrupted. She remembered the sensation vividly.

This was something else. Something different.

She did not like this feeling. She did not like it one bit.

"S-Sorry, Kira…" Ruby coughed out in her arms, her aura flickering violently. "You were zoned out. I tried calling out to you, but you didn't hear me… I had to- I… Sorry..."

Her aura flickered oncemore and Ruby slumped in her arms. Unconscious. Her weapon, Crescent Rose, fell from the little reaper's hands and clattered against the ground. The sound of Beacon's aura monitoring system tore through the silent combat hall, notifying that Ruby Rose had fallen unconscious from lack of aura and was thus eliminated from the match.

It was just her.

There was nothing.

She could not sense her beloved.

She could not feel her emotions through their bond.

She could not hear her words.

She could not-

"Y-You…."

Kirakishou's gaze dropped to the floor as she collapsed, taking the unconscious form of her beloved with her even as tears fell from her lone amber eye.

Gone. Gone gone gone gone gone.

Why is it so quiet?

The silence was agony. After having spent the entirety of her time within this world being nurtured by the loving warmth of Ruby's aura, her soul, the visceral experience of the sudden lack of said aura broke her in ways she didn't think was possible after everything that she had experienced over her long life.

Her bond with Ruby, her contract, nurtured through their combined experiences and strengthened by the power wrought from her Palace of Beginnings….

-was QUIET.

She giggled.

She did not particularly care that it was not her best giggle. The sound was a few tones lower than what was typical and it would appear that she had forgotten to smile and adjust her cheeks. But it didn't matter. The one person for whom she cared about could not hear the sound, nor witness her poor form.

Oh Ruby… I promised that I would never leave you, and then you are forced away from me regardless. It isn't fair.

Vaguely she could feel her power making itself manifest, summoning a colossal rose with which to encase the two in a protective embrace. She was not interested in such displays of beauty.

Not at this moment.

What is a rose without one to look upon its elegance? Nothing. Nothing but a pointless, useless flower growing in a desolate field and surrounded by empty eyes with hollow dreams.

Junk.

Originally, Kirakishou had been planning on a simple display of her powers to certain interested parties in the knowledge that doing such would make it easier to accurately gauge their reactions in the future and thus push them towards her desired outcome.

Now?! Now however-?!

Two had gone and interfered with her beloved Ruby, injuring her only when she had wanted to play with dolls. Dolls that Kirakishou had personally supplied. Yet these dolls were clearly defective in some manner. They were just like her darling sisters- always poking and prodding and breaking everything she holds dear out of some sick desire for completion. It was utterly unforgivable.

Perhaps a show would be in order, to teach those who would dare interfere with her beloved.

Yes. They needed to understand that bad dolls had to suffer consequences. No bad deed goes unpunished.

That would be it. That would do.

"Something's wrong."

Yang glanced over at the heiress at her statement, to see that the prim-and-proper girl had a worried frown stretching across her face.

The fact that the blonde girl had been kneeling over her baby sister's unconscious body and giggling before that giant flower appeared simply reaffirmed her initial beliefs that there was something a bit off with Kirakishou.

"You think?" she deadpanned. "Honestly I'm surprised Goodwitch didn't at least suspend the match or something to get Ruby out of there. Or even question what the hell Kira's doing. Even Em and Merc don't know how to react to that big flower. Look at them. They're just… tensing a bunch. I have half a mind to shout out at them to do something."

Weiss rolled her eyes at the words, but it did nothing to alleviate the concern that was flourishing within her. "No. Look closer. They're not doing 'nothing' as you put it, they're waiting for Kirakishou to react. Did you not see what happened? The moment that Ruby fell, Kira's entire demeanour changed. Her vines, which were doing a fine job in stopping their advances mind you, suddenly stopped and that flower grew in its place. It is a troubling change of character. They are right to be hesitant."

The blonde brawler looked on with a worried frown.

"...She's upset." came Lie Ren's steady voice from behind them, having apparently overheard their hushed conversation. "Very upset. I may not know the girl that well, but it's pretty obvious that Ruby is one of the only people she talks to. Combine that with how she was first acting when we met her and I wouldn't be surprised to hear she has a few screws loose." he looked down at the fight. "Now. Imagine how a person like that may react to the current situation and you'll realise why her opponents are acting so cautious. This is not the same Kirakishou they were fighting before."

Nestled within her rose, she stared at the downed form of her beloved red rose maiden with a low frown growing on her face. Ruby appeared so very beautiful, even unmoving and unconscious as she currently appeared. It were as if she were a doll just like herself, forever frozen in time.

The fact that her darling had been forced into this state by the actions of others was a desecration to everything Kirakishou held dear.

How dare they think to interfere with her beloved. How dare they touch her. How dare they mock her sacrifice. She would show them the errors of their ways. She would show them all. Ruby was hers and hers alone.

Ruby… I promised you that I would never hurt you. That I would never leave you. Yet others have hurt you, haven't they? Others have left you in the dust, long before I arrived.

You should not have to suffer like this. I will not allow it.

For the first time in her life, she called out for the assistance of her artificial spirit.

"...Rosary."

All Rozen Maidens possessed an artificial spirit.
All Rozen Maidens possessed an artificial spirit capable of manifesting.

These tiny motes of light were created by Father, so that his daughters will never have to suffer through life alone. Initially, their purpose was to send messages and run errands for the Rozen Maiden of which they were bound. Each was symbolic and stylised in a way unique to each artificial spirit.

Yet without a body, without a genuine Rozen Maiden body, her own artificial spirit had been unable to manifest ever since her very conception. She had been well and truly alone in the N-Field, as Father had intended.

Now, however. Now she was free. Thus, so was her spirit.

It was an exquisite little ball; a tiny little star possessing a beautiful silver glow that shined with a radiance befitting a pure white rose like herself.

A fitting ally to defend the heart of a Silver-Eyed Warrior.

"Do it."

Rosary flew up, out of her summoned rose and within viewing distance of the other students. They needed to see it. They HAD to see it.

The purity of the N-Field made manifest.

Reality tore itself asunder as her artificial spirit ripped through the wafer-thin boundary hiding the waking world from her Palace of Beginnings; visible even to the naked eye as a jagged hole in the air directly above her rose.

Aura flooded through the gap, forcing its way inside her body and nourishing her artificial form with the power she had collected from her garden. Previously she had been content to use the power collected in order to fuel her vines and expand her N-Field to encapsulate more dreamers.

For a brief reprieve, she would allow this power to make her dream a reality.

"...Rest now, little Ruby." Kirakishou whispered, setting the unconscious form of her beloved down atop a bed of vines. "I will show them. I will show them all the fruits of our union."

In an instant the girl had appeared, hands gripping Emerald's throat before the teal-haired woman could react to her presence.

She's fast.

Blasts courtesy of Talaria, his chosen weapon, were rendered notably ineffective despite having had enough force to cripple the little red-hooded girl from before. It was clear that whatever that thing had created atop that giant rose had amplified the blonde's abilities immensely.

It's also noticeably increased her aura, if the warnings flashing on that damn screen are any inclination. He glanced over at the tournament display panel. Which means either that blue mist that's radiating from the… void? Hole? Whatever it is, that mist either bolsters aura or is actually aura itself.

Specifically, her own aura. Because I'm certainly not effected by it.

Regardless of which is correct, it's bad news bears for me. A pissed off regenerator is one thing. Hard to stop, but with the right implements and a bit of luck it's possible. A pissed off nutcase capable of amplifying their own aura is another thing entirely. Girl went zero to a hundred real fucking quick. How am I supposed to judge that?

"Get… off… me, y-ou…" Emerald flailed about, kicking and stabbing her weapon against the blonde. Not that it helped. Her aura reflected each and every blow without pause. His continued shots didn't stop her, even when he attempted to gain her attention by shooting the giant flower holding Ruby.

Not that it even managed to singe the petals. Let alone damage them. It was clear that whatever the petals were made out of, they were notably stronger than her vines. If the flicker of white was actually what he thought it was, then the damnable rose possessed aura shielding as well.

All that his little diversionary tactic did was make the blonde glance his way momentarily and tighten her grip on Emerald's throat. His partner's attempts to fruitlessly bat the girl off diminished rapidly as her eyes rolled back in their sockets.

"Get off me. You..." Kirakishou repeated, giggling childishly as she watched the teal-haired girl slump unconscious. She threw his partner to the side like a discarded toy, Emerald's aura shattering just as her body impacted harshly against the shield.

"...You shouldn't have done that." Mercury warned, flashing a nonchalant glance over towards an irate Goodwitch and a shell-shocked crowd. The blonde followed his gaze, before smiling and moving to speak aloud.

She blocked his sudden kick without glancing away from the deputy headmistress. Her head slowly turned to face him once more, hands gripping his leg with enough force he could feel his aura creaking from the strain.

What the hell were they feeding this girl? She shouldn't be this strong, even with aura.

He pushed himself away with a burst from his weapon, using the recoil generated to both force the girl to let go of him and send him speeding off, landing some distance away from the blonde.

"You shouldn't have done that..." Kirakishou repeated, the same childish smile blossoming on her face that she'd been displaying from the very start. "...I had just wanted to play, you know. I like playing. It's fun. But you hurt something of mine. So… hm. I think I'll hurt something of yours, too. Fair is fair is fair is fair...~"

Vines.

The very same vines that had fallen with Ruby's collapse suddenly sprang to life once more, circling around the blonde like a pale hurricane of thorns. He tensed in preparation, loading a few heat-seeking rounds into his boots with a precise maneuver.

"After all," the blonde called out, her voice echoing around him. "You know you'll never beat me, boy."

What. How does she-

In an instant the girl stretched out her arms and a litany of vines were sent his way, twisting and grasping like boneless limbs. Forcing himself into an abrupt jump courtesy of his boots, he was able to escape relatively unscathed barring a few brushes to his aura. The vines sent his way continued on after they had missed their target, impacting harshly against the concrete below and sending chunks flying everywhere.

She sent another volley of vines mid-stride. The moment one had wrapped around his ankle, he knew that he was a goner. Air tore itself out of his lungs as he was forcefully thrown against the shield courtesy of Kirakishou's vines.

The blonde advanced slowly, shoulders shaking with unadulterated mirth and tiny giggles leaving her throat even as several vines wrapped around his body and squeezed-

"That is enough!"

With a sudden shot from the distance, the vines were suddenly wrenched away from his body and Mercury found himself falling to the ground, coughing violently in an effort to bring as much air into his lungs as possible.

"This match is over." came the irate voice of Beacon's deputy headmistress, her face set into a stern frown as she advanced with her weapon drawn. For the first time in his sordid life, Mercury found himself glad to be faced with the over-protectiveness of Beacon's staff. "Stop your… semblance immediately, Kira."

The two blondes locked eyes in a silent battle of wills, vines circling and shifting around the two.

For a brief moment, the crazed opponent looked like she was about to actually attack Goodwitch herself, before she glanced over at the giant white rose and frowned. With a flourish of her hand, the petals wilted and collapsed, revealing the unconscious body of the little red-riding hood expy that had started all this nonsense in the first place.

There were vines flowing over her body, seemingly coming from the void that odd white ball of light had summoned and pulsing with an eerie blue light reminiscent to the mist from when the void was first summoned.

"...Rosary." Kirakishou spoke, her voice hollow and devoid of the freakish giddiness she had been displaying during their fight. The ball of light glimmered, for lack of a better word, before the vines, the tear in reality and the creature itself seemingly disappeared of their own accord as if they hadn't even existed in the first place.

Before anything could be said and done, the blonde student went to storm out of the stadium past the irate blonde professor. But not before turning abruptly and levelling a fierce tear-filled glare towards the deputy headmistress. He winced. For a broad with only one eye, she had a glare even the boss couldn't match.

Mercury decided it was in his best interests to take a page out of Emerald's current book and let unconsciousness claim him. Whether it be from aura exhaustion or the pending crushed bones, he wasn't entirely certain. He was, however, quite sure that he'd be having a heated debriefing with the boss later on.

Namely, about how the fuck some random flooze from Beacon Academy just so happened to know the exact words that Mercury's father had said moments before his death.

A/N:

Eighteen chapters and we finally see how Kirakishou performs in a fight. I will go out to say that I tend to dislike fight scenes in literature. They're typically very structured. Unit A hits Unit B with this attack, etc etc. Naturally, that style of writing doesn't exactly fit for Kirakishou.

This was my take on a different approach. Please let me know what you all think of it. Suggestions, additions, ideas. I'd love to know.

Until next time!