Arc II Finale: Crimson XXXIII

A cold steel floor… that's probably the first thing from as far back as I can remember. The entire room that they put me in was made of steel. Who 'they' were, I didn't know. I didn't have any idea of who I was for the longest time. No idea of how to speak; none of them bothered to teach me how. Eventually I listened to them enough that I could understand bits and pieces of what they were saying to me. That's when I discovered my name or rather my number: R-666. An artificial human grown from god knows what over an actual human's lifetime… just to be used as a forsaken tool.

There was nothing I could have used to tell how much time I'd spent in that damn place. Not a single view of the outside, no clocks on the wall even if I couldn't read them, not a damn thing. The only way I could ever tell that something was about to happen was when that giant metal door opened. On the other side there would always be these two guys in pale white armor and some asshole in a white lab coat. They'd always overpower me and force me out of the room no matter what I tried to do… and then the testing began.

Jabbed with needles, forced to swallow strange pills that made me feel like I was going to die, and they even sliced me open more than once. I constantly had to fight through that hell, just hoping I'd survive another day. Even that seemed hopeless as I could usually get a good view of the other experiments that they'd… grown. More often than not the experiment table they'd use to operate on me would have a fresh corpse waiting to be disposed of; all of them kids like I was. I didn't know a whole lot, but I knew that I was going to die… it was only a matter of time.

One day the door had opened shortly after I'd been tested on. It didn't feel like that much time had passed and I didn't think I would survive a second round of testing so soon. What happened instead was a real shock as another kid was thrown into the cell with me. It looked like the scientist and his guards on the other side were distracted by something as they looked to outside the room. They didn't so much as glance in my direction before they closed the door.

The kid was smaller than I was and really damn scrawny, even compared to the other starved experiments. They took one look at me before scurrying over to the corner furthest from me and planting themselves there. They spent the entire night there crying and I didn't do a damn thing to comfort them. Eventually the door opened, and things really began.

"There he is," the scientist on the other end of the door had muttered to himself before taking out a device. "We found J-893 in R-666's holding cell and he doesn't appear to be damaged. We'll put him through today's experiments like planned and if nothing's changed we'll finally decommission his series."

As the bastard talked on his device, the two armored guards with him headed to grab the kid. Hearing him scream as he thrashed about reminded me about when I still tried to fight back as much as I could. I'd given up on ever fighting back long ago, but as I watched the guards wrestle this poor kid as they cried their heart out… I don't even know what I was thinking.

"Take me."

The scientist scoffed at that. "You? You're hardly worth anything. Don't worry, you'll be put through your own trials soon enough."

"P…Put me through both." I was desperate, begging. The other kid had stopped fighting back, only to look at me like he understood what I was doing as the guards finally managed to lift him off the ground. "T-take me for both, just don't hurt him…"

"Are you listening to yourself? Why on earth should I-?" There was some weird noise coming from his device that I couldn't make out, apparently he'd left it on while grabbing the kid and the other side had heard everything. He was silent for a long moment as he listened to the device. "Are you sure? It's been doubtful he'd survived these last few days with his regular testing, to put him through two sets now will only be a loss for…" Another long pause. "Right. You two, leave that thing here and grab him. Looks like R-666 wants to play Hero today."

Remembering the testing on most days is hard enough, but from that point on I couldn't remember a damn thing about the tests they put me through, just the constant agonizing pain that I felt over my entire body that went on for twice as long as it normally did, and most days it had already felt like an eternity. When those freaks were done with me they took me back and dumped in my cell.

"Congratulations for living through today," the asshole in the lab coat told me. My body was too weak to say anything back. "Keep it up, otherwise we go back to working on your brother."

I was young, I was stupid, and I was completely at their mercy. But I still knew what was really going on; they were using this kid to keep me in line; trying to keep me fighting so that I'd survive through even harsher experiments and give them whatever data they wanted. But as the kid came over to my unmoving body and held me close, I made a promise to myself that day…

…I would be that older brother, just as long as it meant I had someone to hold on to.

Ragna

From that day on, the people putting me through that hell seemed to honor their deal. They'd leave my brother alone and keep taking me for double the experiments. The weird thing was that I started to realize that they weren't performing any tests on the other experiments. Either they'd just stopped doing them or they'd killed everyone else off. I couldn't let it get to me, not when I had to focus on getting through the day just so they wouldn't hurt my brother.

Speaking of them, life back in my cell had certainly started to change. Since they still needed to feed us both and my brother couldn't be fed in the middle of the experiments they started bringing food to our room. It was hardly fresh and looking back on the stuff now it was probably leftovers from their own meals. Still, it was better than the ration pills or the tubes that they put into us. We had something to eat, something to share, and that let the kid and I open up to each other. I tried teaching him how to talk, even if I didn't not know much about it myself and there really wasn't anything we could really discuss. Still, those incoherent talks used to be my favorite part of the day.

That didn't mean that everything was ideal, or even okay at that point. I was still taking on double experiments and most times they brought me back I'd be out cold on the floor for several hours. My brother often times had to help me eat just because I was too weak to do so myself. My clothes were always covered in dried blood and the amount of scarring that I had on my body was brutal. It had been a trial to get through each day before this, but now I was barely able to stay awake for the tests. My body couldn't last long… and they knew it.

One day shortly after what felt like several hours of testing, the door opened for a second time that day. The scientist didn't even need his guards with him, nor did he even enter the room. He just shoved in a little girl that stumbled forward and feel to her knees before sobbing on the cold metal floor. I remember that even though I was laying in pain, I shot the son of a bitch the meanest look I could.

"That thing's a reward for your stellar performance," he told me arrogantly. "Disappoint… and we'll take her back."

"But.. but that's not fair!" my little brother had cried out. "He's already on the floor dying. You're about to kill him if this keeps up!"

"…Really?" the scientist said as he approached to loom over the shivering child. "And what do you think R-666? Are you ready to leave both of them to the wolves?" I don't remember what I did or said to him, but he got the message either way. "That's what I thought. You'd better rest up if you're going to survive for tomorrow."

And just like that I was fighting for two. I was so out of it, I couldn't even remember if they upped the intensity of the tests or not, I was too out of it to tell. What I do remember is the girl that they brought in. It was just like working with my brother again; trying to get her to speak and hold conversations, keeping her close for comfort as the three of us tried to share body heat to stay warm. She got used to me a lot quicker and each and every day I came back she'd cling to me first thing. Of course, those scientist bastards easily saw that. Now they'd remind me what she would be in for multiple times a day if I didn't pull through.

…And that's where it went wrong.

"Well? Get up."

The scientist bastard was back for that day's test and I wasn't moving. Normally I'd get picked up before I was dragged off to those damned torture room, but now he was trying to get me to stand up and I couldn't move a muscle no matter how much I tried. All he did was scowl down at me.

"Fine then," he said as he went for his communication device. "Realign the tests; today's our first day of experimenting on the very first of the S series." It wasn't like I could defy him anyways, but feeling the sudden jolt as he kicked my face in was the last thing I remember.

When I woke up, it was just me and my brother in the room. He was crying and covered in bruises. Apparently he'd tried his best to fight back in spite of everything that would've told him how stupid it was to do so. Even with a bloody face, I got to my feet a slammed my fist on the door as hard as I could as it got bloody. I think I let loose a scream too before I collapsed to my knees.

"Sister… will be okay," my brother tried to tell me. "It's only one day… you can still protect her."

I cried, hard. All I did was tear up and scream for I don't know how long. The time where she was gone felt agonizingly long, longer than any test I'd been in. But soon enough, there was a loud blaring of sirens. Neither of us had heard this before so we had no idea what was going on. Then there was this… darkness that covered the place and we passed out completely.

When we awoke there was nothing that we could do, and that's when you compare it with how helpless we already were. The scientists didn't even come into our room anymore and that meant we couldn't get to our sister; we couldn't even get our food to stay alive. It felt like we were in there for at least a few days, trapped in the damned room that was about to become our coffin… until it was broken into it.

I don't remember how the door was destroyed, only that it was when I met Jubei… the man who'd later become my master. He'd already grabbed my sister and it looked like she was in horrible shape. Like they'd stopped halfway through experimenting on her. She'd been that way for what looked like days while everyone else in that place looked like they'd dropped over dead. Doctors and experiments alike. Only the three of us had survived.

From there, the man brought us to the little Church just outside of Haven. That's where I met the caretaker the woman the of us would later come to see as our mother. She managed to heal my sister completely, got clothes for all of us, fed so that we were no longer malnourished; she even gave us name. Jin for my brother, Saya for my sister… and Ragna.

There's… a lot to talk about from that place. But needless to say, we were all happy together. Like a real family, not just a group of survivors from that hell. But even that didn't last. One day when I'd gone out to grab water from the nearby stream, I smelled smoke on the distance.

And then I saw the flames.

(Cue BlazBlue Cloudy)

"JIN! SAYA! MOM!" I was in a mad dash for my home, the family church burning in front of me and the flames only grew the closer I got. Once I was finally close enough, I saw Jin standing at the entrance… just staring at the inferno. "What happened!? Where are the others!?"

"I… don't… I don't…" Jin was frozen, tears falling in streams down his eyes as he kept his eyes on the place. I couldn't just stand there, but as soon as I started running for the flame covered door, something broke through and landed at our feet… the bloody body of a woman. "M… Mom…?"

Now I was frozen too as I just stared down at her. The kind of wounds I saw on her was sadistic, not even human… as was the laughter I heard come from the front door.

"NOT SURVING THIS TIME BITCH! ARE YOU!? PUT ME THROUGH ENOUGH SHIT AS IT WAS THOSE LAST FEW TIMES TO DESERVE THIS!" A tuxedo wearing… monster headed out of the fires, dragging Saya behind him. Her face was covered in her tears as she sobbed, her eyes had already gone red from crying, and she barely limped forward.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" I shouted as I rushed forward. Even with nothing else I could do; it was still beyond stupid. I don't know what he did, but something green came from behind him and slammed into my gut. I flew through the air before landing in front of my brother with a fall so painful that I coughed blood.

"Wow… that was REALLY something there Ragna. Rushing in like a complete idiot! It's almost like you actually thought that was a good idea!" the monster laughed before casting his look on my sister. "What did you think?" She didn't say anything, but then I heard a painful crack come from the wrist he was holding her by and Saya gave blood curdling scream. "ANSWER ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU, BITCH!"

"LET HER GO! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER" I shouted again as I rose to my feet, only for the same green thing to strike me again in the exact same place. Still too fast for me to see little more than a blur, but the impact was enough for me to fall to my knees.

"Guess someone's got some pretty big balls on 'em. I'm almost impressed."

"Ass… hole… I'm gonna… kill you… whoever… you are."

"Names… right. Call me Terumi; Yuuki Terumi! I'm the guy that's having the time of his life breaking yours and I'm just getting started!"

"Jin… run…" I tried to tell my brother as I fought my way to my feet; I wasn't going to let Saya go a second time. "I can take this… son of a bitch… MYSELF!"

All I got was knocked on my ass by that green thing for the third time in a row.

"Know something Raggy? I hate, and I mean absolutely loathe, barking dogs like you that don't know when to shut up." They then got an evil gleam in their yellow eyes that I still remember to this day. "I just thought of a perfect punishment for you… if you don't want me to wring your sister's neck here and now!"

…That's when I lost my right arm, there on the ground bleeding out with that monster clacking over me as both of my siblings wouldn't stop screaming.

"Aw, what's wrong Raggy? You feeling a little down after a tiny cut like that? ARE YA!? Come on. Your piss stained little brother is still counting on you, isn't he? Weren't you talking all of that tough shit earlier? HUH!? AREN'T YOU MAD AFTER WHAT I DID THAT WHORE MOTHER OF YOURS!? I STILL GOT PLENTY OF TIME LEFT TO WORK ON YOUR SISTER!"

(End theme)

That's where the memory ends. Later when I awakened I had this dark thing where my arm was supposed to be. Jin said that I grew it back right after I blacked out and tried one last time to attack Terumi while unconscious, but it wasn't enough. I'd been killed nearly an inch within my life. The only reason I'd survived was that Jubei had come to find us both and managed to keep me alive until my new healing factor kicked in and did the rest.

From that point we dropped Jin with someone that my master called a trusted ally as I started training under him, but the real reason we left Jin was because I didn't want him to be there with what I was about to do. Jubei and I trained with each other every damn day for over a decade, and in that time I learned a lot. Magic was real and needed to be kept a secret, how to fight and survive in the outlands, and most importantly what my Semblances were through my Drive abilities.

Grimm Eater which allowed me to use the Grimm as needed energy for regeneration or additional aura based attacks.

…And Soul Eater, which did the same except it was even stronger and fed off of auras.

Either of them would kill me if I didn't keep them in check and they weakened my body pretty damn hard this quarter. While we were on the road we met Qrow Branwen, someone who I saw as little more than a nuisance. But… well I told you what happened to get me here.

Present Day -Team RWBY's room-

"I… don't expect you guys to believe all of that, but's the damn honest truth," Ragna said with a sigh to the girls as he sat on the edge of one of the lower beds, choosing his words carefully as he thought over the story. "It's a lot I know, but…"

"Hey, considering the kind of guy that you are I think I'd be a lot more surprised if you hadn't had a twisted and dark past like this," Yang told him. "I believe it… well, I believe you. So you don't have any idea what those scientists were trying to accomplish with what they were putting you through back then?"

"Not really, only that when my master and I went back to the place I found some old documents that said I was part of something called Project Grimm Eater and that I was an R-series which is where I got my number from. Jin himself was the last of J-series line which was only focused on making heightened super soldiers. They didn't have any success as far as they could tell, just regular human experiments."

"And what about the S-Series?" Blake asked. "Did you find out what that was for?"

"No, I never found anything about why they made Saya," Ragna told them as he shook his head. "If it wasn't for her age, I might've bought into the fact that they were just using her so they could experiment further on me. Just another form of motivation, like she ended up becoming."

"That's… horrible," Weiss said at the whole situation. "I can't imagine any group doing… No… Sadly I can…"

"I haven't found any signs of them on my current travels, but I don't really care about getting answers from them anyways. As long as they're burning in hell and they can't make any more damn experiments like me, then that's good enough. I was too focused on finding Terumi to worry about them anyways."

"Right, and getting your revenge," Ruby remembered. "How do you feel about your revenge now? You don't look like you've given up on it or that you ever will."

"I won't lie; there's a large part of me that still wants to find that bastard ASAP and make him pay for what he's done. I know that he's still out there, that he's a threat someone needs to put down, and that there are people that are counting on me to do that." Ragna looked at them seriously. "But I'm done screwing my life over and running doggedly just for the flimsy chance that I might ever get to him. I ever get a lead on Terumi then that bastard's dead, no question about it… But now that's also because I know he could end up hurting all of you someday too, and I won't let that happen. You're my priority now."

"…Aaaaaaand that's a pretty good transition point to the present," Yang directed, though she looked pretty uncomfortable. "What you said earlier… the thing about falling in love… you… meant all of us?"

"I did." Ragna hadn't hesitated for a second in his answer. "I know that's really off, but I'm not lying or hiding anything anymore. It's how I really feel, and you all should know that."

"Oh, well that's… I guess it makes sense," Weiss admitted with a small blush as she fidgeted a little uncomfortably. "I mean the way we've all been spending time with each other it… almost isn't a surprise. I mean I guess I'm happy that you feel that way about me, and it's not like I can blame you for it… But…"

"It's just a lot to take in," Blake tried to finish, Yang and Weiss nodded in agreement. "This whole thing, while understandable, is just really strange for all of us and there's no telling what this is going to mean moving forward. Maybe if we all gave ourselves some more room we could to figure out-"

"You're all being really dumb about this." Everyone balked as they looked to Ruby who didn't appear fazed in the slightest. "What? I think the answer is pretty easy here."

"R-RUBY! You don't have any idea what you're saying!" Weiss shouted with a much harsher blush now. "This is really important and far from ordinary! There's a lot of thought that goes into this!"

"And I know that," Ruby responded calmly, so calm that everyone was honestly becoming a little scared. "Trust me. I have had plenty of time recently to think over how I really feel, whether I wanted that time or not. I know what I'm feeling and how I've felt for a while."

"And that is…? Just for the record?" Ragna asked, knowing that they couldn't be making any assumptions.

"That I love you, silly," she told them without so much as blinking. Ragna was of course happy that she'd said it and meant it, but there was still a lot going on at the moment. "You just went and made sure that we all knew that you loved us too, I believe that without a doubt." She then glanced to the rest of her team. "And I'm just about certain that you all love him too."

"Ruby, if you're suggesting what I think you are right now…" Blake began before shaking her head. "It's just out of the question! All four of us dating the same guy!?"

"Why? Almost half the school thinks that's what's going on already." A very fair point. "And it's not like we need to be on full display with this. We're just making sure that thing are more official between us and that everyone's happier for it."

"Ruby, I'm your sister!" Yang shouted. "Do you have any idea what this would mean!?"

"That I'd be dating someone that you trust enough to date yourself so you don't have to worry about them taking advantage of me?"

"…Oh Maidens, she isn't even making this sound like a problem," her sister realized before turning to Ragna. "And just how do you feel about it? I'm not trying to put you on the spot, but you're an important key to this."

"I hadn't noticed," was his sarcastic response before talking a long moment to think everything over. "…As long as no one feels pressured into it, and as long as we make sure to set some proper ground rules now… I guess it could work."

"To think that my sweet and naïve little sister would be arguing that I get involved in a harem with her," Yang sighed, as she came to terms with what was really going on. "The problem is at this point; I can't see it any other way."

"I just said I don't want you to feel pressured into this," the Reaper reminded.

"That's not what I'm saying, just that… it almost works too well, in spite of everything," the blonde responded before sighing. "Alright, I guess at least up for trying this new relationship out. Just as long as we set up some agreeable ground rules like you said."

"I… guess I'm willing to try it as well," Blake said before sighing. "None of my romance novels ever covered something like this."

"Then we'll just have to try our best to figure it out as we go," Weiss argued, now suddenly seeming more resolved. "I'm also willing to try this new take on a relationship. But I fully expect to get constantly doted on, just being clear on that Ragna."

"Noted," he answered, though he wasn't clear if she was joking or not. "Let's get those ground rules established now instead of waiting on them. I think the first rule should be that everyone in this relationship has to be comfortable with it. Anyone that isn't needs to speak up, even if it means that we need to call this off."

"Ragna most people would give an-" Yang had about to been say arm, but decided that'd be pretty tactless given his recent revelations. "A… lot to be put in your shoes. And you're really saying it should get called off so easily?"

"If everyone isn't happy, then it's not what I want. Trust me I'm starting to like the concept of us all being in this relationship, but I'd rather keep you all as good friends than have any of you trapped with me. If there's something about this that any of you have a problem with, we should all address it because it involves all of us."

"That's fair, but another rule that I think we should have is that there won't be a main girl in this relationship," Weiss input. "Now I know that you're taking this seriously and will treat us all equally, but I think it bears being said just so we know how things will stand."

"Similar to that I think that we should all have similar boundaries in this," Blake added. "If any of us want to try something… new with our relationship, we should all be on board for the idea."

"Last thing I want is for anyone to be uncomfortable, so I think those are both good ones to clear up," Ragna agreed before looking at Ruby. "Anything you want to add?"

"The most important things; open communication and honesty between all of us," Ruby told him. "A lot of the drama caused has been because of the secrets we've kept, so I think we should be as open as possible." Ragna nodded in agreement and Blake nodded to herself a little as the secondary offender. "I'm not trying to interrogate you, but is there anything else you want to talk to us about? I don't think you left anything out purposefully, but… just asking."

"…Actually, there are two things that I should tell you about, but I don't really understand either of them." This got everyone curious. "So there's someone else that gets involved from time to time with me. Her name's Rachel and while she looks like someone around Ruby's age… well…" He paused, figuring he was about to be seen as crazy. "She's a vampire."

"She's a what?" came Blake's expected response. "Like… bloodsucking, burns in sunlight, hates garlic, and uses dark magic kind of vampire?"

"That's what my master told me, though I've only ever seen her use magic… or what I think is magic," Ragna admitted. "She just… teleports in at the strangest times, seemingly just to get on my nerves. I get the feeling that she knows a lot, especially about Terumi. But's that's not a lot to go off of."

"That's quite the claim," Weiss admitted. "And that's after you already told us about your unusual past. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but there's quite a bit of outlandish material to your confessions."

"…Is now a bad time to bring up her talking stuffed toys and her werewolf butler?" No response. "Dammit… I knew you'd think I'm crazy."

"No, you're telling the truth. I know you wouldn't joke around in a situation like this," Weiss said, trying to muster a little more confidence in her new boyfriend's claims. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"Not too long ago, but she said that she wouldn't be able to get involved for a time, whatever the hell that meant," Ragna said, realizing it sounded like a flimsy excuse. "Before that it was on Grimm's Day where she… Well I had insulted her a bit earlier, but then she decided to get even by going and dunking the entire punch bowl on me."

"That was her?" Considering what Rachel had interfered with, it's fair to say that Weiss had a less than ideal first impression of this girl.

"That punch bowl did look like it moved on its own out of nowhere," Ruby remembered. "So that's what magic's like… or what you think magic is. Okay, but what was the other thing you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Something more serious, and something that I get even less," the Reaper began darkly. "Noel Vermillion from my team… and Celica Mercury from my brother's… they look a hell of a lot like Saya and my mother."

"Wait, really?" Weiss asked as she pondered some of her earlier notices over. "Is that why Jin's so uncomfortable around them?"

"I think it is, but there's something weird about the whole damn thing. If it was just a similarity that would have been one thing, but the resemblance is far too close for just a coincidence. Celica even has the same healing powers that my mother had. I just wish I had any idea what was going on." Ragna shook his head. "I dunno what I'm going to do about it, or what I'm supposed to do, but that's where it stands."

"…Maybe you can try an experiment with Celica?" Ruby input. "Just get a couple of ingredients, bring her to the kitchen, and tell her to make whatever kind of cookies she wants. If they taste anything like your mom's, then it'll tell you for certain if there's something else at play."

"That's a really good idea… even if it's obvious you want to do it this way so you can get some cookies out of it." Ragna had said that line with a bit of a relax smirk as Ruby only beamed a smile back at him. "But I think that's enough depressing stuff for tonight. You girls had anything you wanted to do tomorrow?"

"Really we were just hoping to have a good talk with you after we put you in a better mood today, but I think you beat us to that," Blake admitted. "Still, we could all use a bit of time to relax and read."

"Plus you could still use a little practice in a sparring match," Yang said to remind Ragna of her earlier offer.

"Not to mention you could probably use a little more dancing practice since we've only trained that one time this quarter," Weiss suggested.

"Don't forget about getting dinner plans ready for Friday! We all need to make sure that this comes out good!" Ruby cheered enthusiastically.

"Oi, weren't things supposed to calm down once I got through Project Hell? If anything it sounds like I'm going to be busier than ever." Despite his mild complaining, it was hard to miss the content smirk the Reaper had on his face. "But if that's the kind of day you've got ready for me, all the more reason I need to get back to my own bed. That and… we're all kind of in hot water right now. If I ended up staying too long in a room that wasn't for my own team, it was an all-girl group, and no one else was on campus… Goodwitch might take some serious offense to that if she somehow found out."

"I guess you have a point there, but…" Ruby began as she got up from her bed and headed over to the Reaper.

"Something up, Rubes?" Ragna said, realizing he needed to come up with some new pet names.

"I was just… figuring we should still end the night right," she said with a blush before reaching up on her tip toes to get to Ragna's lips, and unlike his time with Cinder he didn't stop the lip lock. In fact, he hugged her closely so that he could enjoy their intimacy all the more.

"Man, Ruby's really going for it tonight," an impressed Yang commented.

'In hindsight, who needs those romance novels with this?' Blake thought… before giving a quick glance to the serval (poorly hidden) books she had still yet to finish. 'Eh, I can have both.'

Weiss didn't have a comment for their embrace, but signs of bitterness appeared to be leaking through her complexion. Still, she kept silent as the two slowly parted.

"Sorry that I'm new at this," Ruby admitted with a deep blush of embarrassment, but managed to keep ahold of her smile. "Was that… good?"

"Yeah… I think so," Ragna told her honestly. "At the very least I liked it, I mean it's not like I'm experienced with this stuff either. That WAS my first kiss after all."

"HUH!?" The other four gave a glance at Weiss for her sudden outburst. "That was your first!? You mean you've never done that before!?"

"Weiss, why is that such a surprise? I didn't exactly mention being a Casanova or anything when I confessed my entire past to you," the Reaper reminded. "What's got you so-?"

"STUPID PUNCH BOWL! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST ONE!"

"Right, if it hadn't been for Rachel interrupting them she'd have gotten his first kiss," Blake realized from the stories (she hadn't been present at the party).

"Well it looks like she's more than making up for lost time now," Yang said as she observed Weiss go in on the ill prepared Ragna for her own lip lock. Despite how important this was for her teammate; she couldn't help from cracking a joke. "Since she's the Ice Queen and all, think we need to worry about their lips getting stuck together?"

"You might want to be a little more worried about their tongues," Ruby noted as she got a better look at the two. 'And here I thought Weiss would be super opposed to this kind of thing, but she's leaning in hard… literally.'

"And how was that?" Weiss asked proudly once she'd finished getting her due reward, an obvious smirk directed at the Reaper as she awaited his opinion.

"Hell of a lot more intense than the last one," he responded bluntly. "…I can't say I didn't enjoy it though."

"In that case, I know something that you're also sure to enjoy," Blake said as she approached the Reaper for her… turn. Weiss practically curtsied her Faunus teammate as she moved out of the way. Ragna figured that she was just going in for another kiss, but instead she took a hold of his right hand and brought it up to her ears. "Go ahead… for real this time."

"Don't have to tell me twice," he said as he began stroking Blake's soft cat ears. Now that she was no longer acting so reserved about the show of affection, he could confirm that Blake had been purring when she'd offered him this the first time. Her content growling only made the experience all the sweeter for him.

"…I feel like that's cheating," Weiss felt the need to comment.

"This isn't a contest Ice Queen," Yang reminded, though Ragna did seem to be enjoying this just as much as his earlier snogging.

'I wonder if Blake would let me pet her ears now, since we're all in this relationship together,' Ruby considered. 'Ragna's not the only one who's wanted to do that.'

Ragna decided that he'd had enough (for now) and slowly let go of her ears, only for the romantic gesture to be topped off with a quick peck on the nose and a smile from his Faunus girlfriend. He then turned to Yang who was already approaching him, but instead of going straight into a kiss like Weiss or her sister she instead grabbed Ragna and brought him in for a tight hug. It seemed basic, but something about the close contact made him realize that Yang was feeling a lot more emotional right now than she was letting on.

"You alright?" he whispered to her as he returned the embrace and held her close.

"Yeah… just happy that you ended up staying," she admitted, keeping her voice low so that only the two of them were having this conversation. This was a side Ragna wasn't used to, a side of Yang that wasn't completely confident. "Whatever happens, the fact that you'll still be here means more to me than you'd ever know."

"…It means a lot to me too. I almost made the worst mistake of my life back there," Ragna told her as they separated a bit for the hug, but just so they could have their proper first kiss; not a long one, but intimate and sweet. With their goodnight routines finished, Ragna gave one last smile to the girls of Team RWBY before heading out of their room. Despite a more confident appearance, he was still fairly befuddled on his way back and unable to put his feelings into words… but only because of how happy he was.

Meanwhile -The Camping Trip-

Cinder groaned as she undid the flaps and exited her teams' tent. While it wasn't late in the day, she was hardly the first one up as several of the groups doing the best to enjoy what precious few hours of vacation that they had left with some breakfast camp food cooking, card games, meaningless gossip, or other activities that she found as a complete waste of time. If anything, she was only getting out of her tent now because she didn't want to be disturbed by anyone… and right now that even extended to her own teammates.

Before her match with Ragna the Bloodedge, she'd been looking forward to the camping trip as the time she'd be able to take now that he was trapped in the campgrounds and she could execute any one of her nasty plans. After the match, her mind was racing of how they were going to rid themselves of the Reaper once and for all considering he'd established himself as a threat. But now she was unable to execute on either of those; Ragna was nowhere to be found. He'd ditched the school's camping trip, without her knowledge. Some of the students claimed that he'd be expelled from Beacon once they'd returned if he hadn't left already, but Cinder knew better. After seeing the Reaper for herself, she knew it in her sickened gut that it wouldn't be that easy.

…So needless to say she'd been a horrid mood this entire trip, and she wasn't even able to show it.

"Morning," she heard behind her. Cinder debated pretending that she hadn't heard the speaker, but knew that it wouldn't do her any good. Mustering her best pleasant smile (taking more effort than it had before) she turned to face Pyrrha Nikos.

"Good morning," Cinder faked pleasantly in kind. Pyrrha was dressed in what appeared to be a jogging suit and she could see a flushed and out of breath Jaune heading towards team JNPR's tent. "Early morning training? Even on vacation?"

"Jaune's been worried about his fighting ability for the upcoming Vytal Festival, so I thought that I'd lend him a helping hand," she explained. "I just came over to make sure everything was alright; we've barely seen you since we got here."

"I'm fine, just not exactly the camping sort of person," Cinder brushed off. "So, having fun with Ruby and the others?"

"You didn't know? RWBY and the others never made it here." At Pyrrha's words, Cinder's eye twitched purely out of reflex though the redhead didn't seem to take notice. "They're back at Beacon, I even got a message from her saying that they'd gotten permission from Ozpin to do so… after the fact, but still."

'They what? So they're back with Ragna NOW!?' she thought, her mind filled with rage though she couldn't even show the slightest hints of it. 'Stay calm, if anything you've already done enough damage to him that he won't be able to recover with his project. And given how well it went for them last time, I can count on Ragna to push them away all on his own. There's nothing I need to worry about for now, in fact this might be a net positive. Although…'

"You said that they did this after the fact, I'm surprised that they managed to convince the ships to take off without them given their strict boarding policy," Cinder noted. "I can't imagine that they would've been able to slip past you… or your chaperone, Relius Clover."

"They were just… clever." Pyrrha had to settle on that conclusion. While it was clear that her and the rest of her team had let and even to an extent helped Team RWBY escape the boarding ship, she still didn't know how in the world they'd gotten past the Professor… or more to the point, why he'd let them. "If you want me to, I could send her a quick message for you."

"Thank you, but I don't believe that will be necessary," Cinder decided. "We'll be seeing them by the end of today; anything I have to talk with her about can wait until then." 'And the less I have to deal with thinking about her the better.' "I think I'm just going to go on a quick walk for some fresh air, would you care to join me?" An empty offer.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to freshen up as best I can before we head back to the Academy. Those showers can't come soon enough, though I bet they'll be hard to get into with everyone trying all at once."

"I'll bet," Cinder said, though she couldn't give any less of a damn about that trivial sort of thing. Their conversation ended, she headed off on her own. Her only goal was to get as far away from everyone as she could and spend what few hours of silence that were still allowed to her. She didn't get far before she heard shrill scream coming from a nearby group of girl. 'Tch, what mindless little issue are they crying about now?'

"SNAAAAAAAAAKE!" one of them yelled at the top of their lungs. Cinder paused in her step and looked over to the group. Indeed there was a bright green snake on the forest ground, simply minding its own business as the four girls around it climbed high onto their foldable chairs in a panic. "Ew ew ew ew ew eeeeeeew!"

"Look at that thing! Why is it so damn green!?" another cried out in terror.

"Don't let it get near me! It's going to poison us!" another bawled.

"No it won't; that's an Opheodrys," Cinder informed. "They're a genus of small, non-poisonous snakes that even have the nickname Green Snake."

"I don't care what it's called! Just kill it!" said another girl that should have been used to fighting Grimm at this point.

"There's no need for that, or your screaming," Cinder said, allowing her blunt side to show through. Acting quickly, she grabbed the creature by the base of its head and took it up off the ground. "It'll bring this one back into the woods where it belongs."

"Deep DEEP in the woods!" the final girl demanded.

Cinder turned her back so they couldn't see her roll her eyes as she escorted her new scaly catch out of the campgrounds. While Ozpin and Goodwitch had instructed their students not to go far from the campsite out of fear of getting lost, Cinder traveled out a good half hour before finally deciding to let the creature go.

"…Not the most subtle of signals." She expected a witty comeback of some kind, she was rewarded with silence (not too bad all things considered). "So what's the message that you have for me? Or are you just here to get your kicks scarring the students with the mere appearance of your familiars? I can't say that I blame you, but I would have thought you'd have more pressing matters." Still silence, now she was becoming annoyed. "And now you're giving me silent treatment. Did you come here just to-!?"

She couldn't finish her sentence as she turned. It's not who she saw, finding her mint haired associate behind her was predictable enough, but it was what she saw in him… what she saw he was lacking; his joking smile, his eyes closed into pleased silts instead of looking at her with venomous yellow irises, and even his relaxed slouch.

For the first time that anyone had seen him, Hazama looked serious.

(Cue Kingdom Hearts 2 -Organization XIII Theme-)

"I… Did you come here just to screw with me?" she finished, trying to quickly recover after Hazama had put her so off guard without doing anything at all.

"No, I came here to put an end to your screwing around," even his voice was serious and it sounded like he was done with Cinder. "You've gone too far out of line."

"Coming from you? That's rich," she insulted. "Since when have you ever cared about-?"

"Regardless of the methods I choose to obtain my results with, the work that I do is still driven towards our ultimate goal as a whole," the mint haired enigma interrupted. "You, on the other hand, are acting only out of spite. And it's time you brought that to an end to it… or else."

"You're… threatening me?" Cinder began as a smile appeared on her face. She couldn't contain her laughter, not that she tried at all. Her harsh cackling traveled through the trees. Hazama didn't so much as skip a beat in his breathing. "NO! WHAT AM I SAYING!? YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S FINALLY BEEN THREATENED!"

Hazama gave a deep sigh a planted his face firmly into his palm. "Holy Maidens. You've gone insane..."

"No I haven't! I've just done it!" she shouted, savoring this moment and milking it for all it was worth. "I finally managed to get to Ragna the Bloodedge! I finally got to take whatever hate you needed in him, his focus, I was finally able to take it away from you! I beat you! That's why you need to stop me!"

"…That's really what you think? You idiot. You haven't even realized it yet." Even with his harsh words, there wasn't an ounce of satisfaction to be heard in Hazama's tone. "If you had really gotten to him, then why did you lose so spectacularly in your last fight?"

"And how did you know about that?" Cinder demanded.

"Not for you to know, now answer my question."

"It's… it's just a mild set back, and I'll have him dealt with soon enough," she informed. "This time when I have him weakened, I'll go in for the kill. Or maybe I'll even do it the next time he's far away from prying eyes."

"That's not going to work; he and just about everyone with a brain at Beacon already suspects you," Hazama informed. "Ragna's even managed to see through Emerald's illusions and that is supposed to be a vital resource used only in key situations. If he sees through her display at the wrong time, he could potentially ruin the whole plan."

"All the more reason I need to take him out now!" Cinder shouted back. "All I need is a little more time… just a little more time and I can weaken him again! You'll see! Even if he suspects me, that doesn't mean that he won't have to work like hell just to get caught up on his project!"

"His project is DONE." Hazama's words were enough to silence Cinder for that brief moment. "He has his old work back, the materials that you held onto because you had your precious plans for it instead of being smart and destroying it. There's nothing that you can do to him now."

"What!? I… You… YOU GAVE IT BACK TO HIM!?"

"I couldn't have done that if I wanted to; until our appointed day arrives I'm not able to get into Beacon at all, otherwise I'd be there right now instead of taking my time to save your skin." While Cinder was practically glowing with her fiery rage, Hazama appeared calm, collected, and only slightly annoyed. "And that leads to another failure of yours: your leadership. If I didn't give him his notes, only someone who knew you were hanging onto to them would have given them back."

"And you won't just tell me who? You're still playing games!"

"Except I'm not. My information isn't that infallible, though it's quite a bit better than whatever you've done. It seems you have someone in your group who's not quite as loyal to you as you thought."

'Mercury, damn him,' Cinder immediately deduced, considering how much he'd tried to talk her out of her plans. "That still doesn't matter. I'll put an end to him before long. I can still get to him. Just sit back and watch, it's all you seem to be good for."

"…What's Ragna's Semblance?"

"Huh?"

"What Semblance does Ragna the Bloodedge have? I can expect that you've put together that he's a Drive User at this point, so let's hear it. Tell me just one of his semblances." Cinder was silent. "GRIMM EATER."

"Grimm Eater?"

"Yes," Hazama practically hissed in aggression. "The ability to live off the Grimm for energy, just through killing them. It's how he survives; no rest or nutrition can replace that vital form of energy. And you know what I managed to do, just for you? I STARVED HIM. Outside of Beacon, Grimless for miles upon miles, just so that you might not screw this up."

"You're lying! Why would you do that for me!?" Cinder all but screamed at him. "I'm trying to prove that I'm better than you!"

"And I'm trying to make sure that you don't ruin our plans in its infant phases; that's why I put it upon myself to help you in two very distinct ways… and even then, you failed miserably."

"But I haven't failed at anything, not yet," Cinder refused. "This game is still ongoing and I haven't lost my edge yet. I've been able to put Ragna off guard by just being around him… and I'm going to use that."

"..." Hazama just gave a disappointed sigh. Cinder waited for his to say his response as the clearing was deathly silent. One long and final pause later, the mint haired antagonist gave a wave of their hand and the entire area was coated in a lime green glow. Cinder had her blades out and coated in fire in an instant, but it did little good as she realized there was some sort of glowing ethereal circle around her. Not letting herself turn to cowardice, she directed the most hellish glare she could and got ready to sink her weapons as deep into Hazama's flesh as she could. After a disappointed shake of his head and a snap of his fingers, the circle around Cinder shattered. She stood still as she waited for something to happen before lunging, feel anything different with her body, but nothing came.

"What did you do?" she demanded as the fire on her weapons had yet to cease.

"I just took away my second way of helping you; an enhancement that I gave you from my Semblance, Hatred."

'But his semblance is supposed to be-!'

"Remember when you were on the road to Beacon Academy and we had that little campfire chat? That's when I put this on you," he explained, but his face help no enjoyment in doing so. "It's a little special something that I could use to cause growing feelings of aggression towards whoever has it. But I can do even more with it, I can focus it to make sure the reaction's only effective on the person of my choosing. Are you following this yet?"

'No… he can't mean…' Cinder considered, but she couldn't ignore how uncomfortable Ragna had been around her at the start of the quarter. She had figured that it was because of the compromising position she'd found him in at the start and how strongly she'd come onto him, but now Hazama was taking claiming to take that from her.

"It even started to sap away some of Ragna's Grimm energy with enough exposure, I hadn't even planned on aiding you with that. But do you want to know the last thing that tops off your whole three months of failure? All the help I gave you, all the resources and time you had, all of your planning, getting your entire team involved, and now I even have to bail you out. All just to show me up by get Ragna the Bloodedge's attention and hatred on you instead of me…"

As he walked over to Cinder, even with her weapons out, even with them engulfed in flames, and even with a look of hatred on her… but she was frozen still. Standing a right up to her, he had to lean down to get right in her eyes. Even as he delivered the final verbal blow, he still showed absolutely no enjoyment.

"AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN COME CLOSE."

Cinder stood just as still as she had before as Hazama continued walking past her, heading out of the clearing. Her mind was nearly broken with the crippling defeat Hazama had just presented her with, that no matter what she tried, her antagonist was so sure that she'd failed that he'd helped her along the way… and he had been right.

"…There's one more issue I need to inform you of before I leave," he said from behind her as he stopped walking. "Like I said before your little game is over now; it stops now unless you want the rest of the organization to lose any faith that they have left in you. But that isn't all… you don't want to know how I deal with traitors."

"But… I haven't done anything to get me labeled as one," Cinder barely whispered back, but Hazama had keen enough ears to catch onto that.

"And for once you're right; you haven't. But this isn't about now, this is about what you might do in future if things too far." Cinder had no idea what he was getting at, but his next words practically broke her all over again. "After all… who could predict a girl that's finally and truly fallen in love? Especially when the target of her affections is someone as unpredictable as Ragna the Bloodedge."

Cinder was frozen for another long moment as Hazama's words raced through her mind. As much as she wanted to sputter, lash out at him with a scream, or even attack him head on, it would just be giving him exactly what he wanted. Instead she did her best to keep her calm in her retort, even if the growing intensity of her flame covered blades told otherwise.

"What could you ever claim to know about anyone's heart, let alone my own?" she shot back at him with ire.

"I know how to break one in just about every way imaginable, and a couple dozen other designs of my own making; just like breaking someone's mind," he informed. "But I suppose that I don't know anything about love… all I can judge is appearances, and you'll need to keep your own in check if you don't want the rest of our organization to get the wrong idea." He began walking off again. "For now I can keep this as a secret between the two of us… don't make me have to tell her."

Cinder didn't offer anything resembling a retort as she waited for Hazama to leave, only allowing her mind to race once she was sure he was gone.

'He was planning on this; as soon as I mentioned Ragna earlier this quarter he's done nothing but screw with me, even in the form of helping me. Why? Just so he could tell me off now? Just so he could look down on me!? No… I can't let this go to waste. I did manage to get some good information from him, but how am I supposed to apply it? And now according to him I could have a traitor in my group that he could just be lying about to play with me further! And he's trying to make ME out to be the traitor with what he was saying about Ragna… Does he really think that I wasn't faking it or was he just saying it to get under my skin!? Is going to tell the others!? Why is he-!?'

At her limit as her twin blades her a raging inferno, Cinder let loose a wild scream as she finally let out her building aggression all at once. The end result was a massive explosion of fire that scorched the lands around her. It incinerated the trees, charred the ground, and killed more than a few of the wildlife including the snake that she'd brough out here. Still adequately close to her location, Hazama watched the display.

'Interesting… Next to ol' Raggy, that's the biggest surge of hatred I've felt in quite some time.' Adjusting his hat, he finally allowed himself a small and content smirk. "I guess she's useful for something after all."

(End theme)

That Evening Beacon Hangers

'He's still here… Almost an oddity.'

This was the initial surprise Jin Kisaragi felt as he departed the carrier that had brought his Team JACK here along with the remainder of Team RAIN. It was the presence of their leader that had him so uncertain, standing a distance from Team RWBY as they talked with Team JPNR about the trip they had just returned from. He had his arms crossed as he sulked while leaning against the wall in his already repaired red jacket. When he finally did move, it was only to glance upwards at his brother. His spikey hair allowed Jin to only see his brother's right red eye.

"Tsubaki, I know that you have a lot to discuss with your Team leader, but do you mind if I have a moment with him first?"

"He's your brother, so I don't think you need to ask me," the redhead told him in response. "But by all means."

"Think Ragna really finished his project assignment?" Noel asked to her own blue haired partner. They didn't offer a response. "A-Azrael?"

"He's changed…" The Mad Dog's response was low as he stared down the Reaper. "Something about him, it's… different."

"Different? Is it good or bad?" she tried again.

"…No clue, but I guess I'll see soon enough."

While Ragna's team discussed this new aura around the man, Jin headed forward to get his answers straight from the source.

"You didn't leave," he said, vocalizing his earlier thoughts.

"You had enough faith for me to go on the whole trip," Ragna retorted, neither man was speaking that loudly to the other, keeping this conversation strictly between them.

"Even if you had, it would've only given you a day or two at most. I'd have tracked you down easily enough… now that I have the talent to do so." Jin was obviously referring to the past shared between the two. "It doesn't matter where you go or what I'd have to give up in order to see my goal through; I promise you that."

"Promise, eh?" Ragna mulled over. "Then I need you promise me something else."

"Where's this coming from?" Ragna didn't answer. "Fine, what is it I need to promise you, brother?"

"Promise me you won't deny your own happiness, not for anything." Jin seemed taken aback by the request. "Nothing's worth giving up your own happiness, and I don't want to see you same hell I was."

"Wait, was?" the younger brother repeated as his icy exterior shattered. "What… what happened?"

"…You win. I'm finished with wasting my life going after Terumi. If the time comes when I do have to put him down that'll be something else, but I won't need to go after him alone now. When the time comes I'm probably going to need a whole team to put him down for good… and you've probably got enough of a score to settle with the bastard yourself," the Reaper finally admitted… before giving a smart ass smirk. "You look like you're about to cry. And here I thought you finally went and grew up."

"Sh… shut up," Jin replied harshly back, though he didn't face his sibling with his watering eyes. "I… I promise, but what happened while we were gone?"

"You're smart enough to know; love's a damn weird thing," he said with a chuckle. "But along those lines, kinda insulted you didn't fill me in on what was going on between you and Weiss."

"I figured you would have done something drastic and I'm still worried that you're considering it."

"Replace considering to committed and you have the right idea, only thing is I still need to think of the right way to get the damn thing called off," the Reaper told him before looking back to Team RWBY and JNPR who were still talking. "For now though, 'think I'm just gonna live for once. Give that a try."

'It's obvious to him that he's in a relationship with one of those girls now, and while I'm still a little surprised that it actually happened it's far from completely unexpected. The question is who he's entered the official relationship with.' Taking a glance at all four of them as they continued their chat with Team JNPR, they all acted the same as they had before. Ruby was just as cheery as ever, Weiss still put on airs but was still friendly, Blake was a touch on the quiet side, and Yang still had her japes. Either all four of them were better actresses than Jin had given them credit for or… "You can't be serious."

"To be fair, Ruby's the one that brought the idea up. I just told them how I really felt," Ragna said, as if he realized what his brother was thinking. "Just don't go telling the whole school; we all decided to keep this little relationship between close friends only."

"Even if it ruins the chance to taunt Kagura with something?"

"Not gonna lie, that's tempting," Ragna responded as he noticed Cinder's team departing from their vessel. "Remember what I said… and maybe try finding that someone for yourself."

"I know what and who you're implying, and I'm almost certain that it wouldn't work between us," was the curt response.

"I doesn't sound like you're saying that just because you're not interested," Ragna noted. "There more going on here that I should know about?"

"You'll have to ask Tsubaki, but don't be too harsh when you question her. The situation is worse for her than you realize." Ragna only nodded in response as he headed off to talk to Cinder. "Don't deny my own happiness he says. Doesn't he realize that I never did?"

Over with Ragna and Cinder, his tormentor of that quarter was almost shocked to find that the Reaper was approaching her after how things had ended between them that Friday. Knowing that the conversation still needed to happen only between the two of them, she waved the rest of her team off to give them the needed room to have their chat.

"Project's done… again," Ragna informed bluntly. Cinder did her best to show some surprise. "All we need now is a little review work at the end."

"That's… amazing news," she said with uncertainty. "Sorry, I… things are just a little weird for me right now… after you went and accused me."

"I'll bet," he said, though he didn't even seem upset with her right now. Just perplexed. "Something else about you seems different though. I don't know what it is about you, but you're an interesting one."

'Tch, interesting!? And if he feels different, does that mean that the damn snake was telling the truth?' "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"From me to you? Might as well be one, pretty damn blunt of a person," the Reaper explained, as if that wasn't immediately obvious. "So… we're not gonna have any more problems this quarter, are we?"

"…That's on you; I haven't started any." Give Cinder credit for one thing, even when the cards aren't looking in her favor she has the spine to outbluff with the best of them. Ragna didn't show any obvious signs of how he took this news Glancing over his shoulder, she decided to bring this conversation to a close. "You should go, I see at least four sets of wayward eyes looking this way."

"Right, maybe I'll see you around after all." Cinder actually allowed herself a slight glare at her Random Project partner as she heel turned to leave. "Also, you might want to let yourself scowl more. It beats you always painting that fake smile on your face. But that's none of my business."

'Damn him, but at least Hazama won't be able to make his conclusion once I stop acting sweet around him. Besides, I have more important work to worry about. Namely dealing with the absolute traitor that's still in my midst. Mercury… I'll have answers from you soon enough. And they better be GOOD.'

…Even still, she couldn't help but give one final glace to the Reaper. Out of undesired longing or ambitious regret that she couldn't finish her job, who could say?

"Call me crazy, but I get the impression that none of you like it when I spend time with Cinder," Ragna said as a lame joke as he headed back to his friends in JNPR and those that meant even more to him in RWBY. "You're not getting territorial, are you?"

"Please, we have more faith in you than that and it's not nearly so easy to get us upset," Blake retorted slyly. "Even still, you're not wrong."

"I'm just happy that the whole dark spell with you is over," Nora input. "I mean, I get that you can be all dark and moody sometimes, but I never expected you to get so dark you could blot out the sun."

"Nora's exaggerations aside, I don't think it's over yet for you," Ren said somewhat solemnly. "You still have to repair your relationship with your team for a second time, it looks like you've been put out of the Vytal Festival, and you're on thin ice with the teachers."

"Nothing I… We can't handle," Ragna said, correcting himself had earned him a knowing smirk from the girls of RWBY. "Sides, even if I'm out it doesn't mean I can't make sure you guys take home the real trophy."

"Meaning I'd be getting more of your training… is that even the right word for it?" Jaune had to ask. "I know I said that I needed the help earlier, but I still need to survive it first."

"Don't worry, I'll be there to make sure that Ragna doesn't take things needlessly far again," Pyrrha promised her team leader (Ragna got the distinct impression that she hadn't forgotten what had happened during the first quarter).

"I wouldn't count yourself out of the tournament just yet though," Yang said with a flirty smile. "Go and show Ozpin and Goodwitch how well you've managed to recover so they'll have no choice but to bring you back into this thing!"

"Easier said than done; you'll have to put on quite the show if you're going to change the mind of Goodwitch of all people," Weiss reminded before smirking. "Then again, maybe I can help give your match a certain amount of flair. Good showmanship in your matches could go a long way."

"Don't forget that you're helping out with dinners too! The way to people's hearts is through their stomachs after all!" Ruby declared happily. "And once everyone sees what you can do there, there'll be no denying you have talent!"

"Become an unbeatable badass and make a meal that'll blow everyone out of this world? Why not? I'm game," the Reaper answered with a calm smile. "Everyone… thanks."

"…So who are you in a relationship with?" Nora cut in. "I mean it's pretty obvious what's going on, but who are you with specifically?"

His smile gone completely Ragna then noticed that while they weren't nearly as vocal, Jaune and Pyrrha looked like they wanted answers as well. Hell, he could even tell Ren was a little curious and he was almost never able to read that guy. They weren't the only ones looking at him curiously as Team RWBY glanced his way as way, wanting to see how he'd answer the inquiry moving forward.

"…Don't look at me; YOU tell 'em."

That Night

It was a good while later when they'd finished and now Ragna found himself on the roof of the school as he took in the calm air and looked up at the stars. He didn't come here often, but it was a good place to be when he wanted to organize his thoughts and there was still plenty to think about. Back when he was first leaving for Beacon, never in his wildest imagination did he ever think he'd find love in his time here… let alone love enough to reveal his tightly guarded past and finally change his life for the better.

"Saya… Mom…" he said to the sky above him, covered in stars and Remnant's broken moon. "I… I'm still never going to forget the two of you. And I'll never forgive that monster for what they did to you, but…" He hesitated. "Maybe now I don't need to hunt them down on my own… and I've even got something and someone to come back to once it's done."

He gave a smile, even though there was no one to see it.

"Knowing you both, you probably wanted that for me in the first place… thanks. I love you both."

Maybe it was just Ragna… but the stars seemed brighter that night than ever before

End of Arc II

Next Arc: The Great Breach of Beacon

Author's Note

Alright, quick plug before we get into the after thoughts. Tomorrow (March 4th) I'm starting up a new project for my YouTube channel. It's going to be my very first official Let's Play and I'm dropping a ton of videos (because the game I'm doing has a crawl of a startup). Channel's Storm VIIso feel free to join in.

Now, this marks not only the end of this story arc, but the end of my update spree for a while. I'll still be updating, but now I'll be shooting for a much more reasonable once a month for differing stories. I have a chapter in mind for Bloodedge of Fairy Tail, but I'll be doing my best to make my rounds with all of the stories that I can.

How about that Finale, eh? In case it wasn't obvious, Arc Three is technically more of an Arc 2.5 because I'll be covering the actual events of volume 2. Thanks everyone so much for the love and support that you've given this story up until now. I had honestly thought about giving up near the end of 2020, back when I still had this concluding idea well in mind. I'm so glad that I came back to finish this. Now let's get to those reviews and call this thing finished!

…Most of the reviews said something about cliffhangers… which I hadn't been intending to make.

Wlyman2009: Yeah yeah, cliffhanger.

Xaxiel1572: Given how I wrote him in this story, it seemed to make the most sense and yeah, sending him off on his own was certainly an idea but I thought there was more to be made from this.

P3R50N4: No problem, and thanks for the birthday wishes!

The Unplanner: …The story is labeled harem for a reference.

Dracoog101: Finally committing to a relationship in one of my stories!

N-Sight: Not a bad suggestion, but Memory has been a theme that's near and dear to my heart. Glad you liked the rest of the music selection.

Flame-Lonewolf: A really nice summary of it all. Thanks!

SacredKoopa: I hope this lived up to the hype, it better have.

Kitsune No Hi 75: Another pure cliffhanger comment, I'm wondering if I screwed something up.

Bismarck Alexander: Thanks for the review for an earlier chapter, but part 3 won't be for a while yet.

Ragriz: Promise kept.

Incognito74: Short and sweet.

Reike12: I messaged you just a bit ago, but here's the update!

AND IT'S DONE! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING THIS FAR! UNTIL NEXT TIME! CIAO!