Chapter 6 - Teamwork
Beacon Academy
On what was meant to be a normal day at Beacon, quickly turned into military occupation. As several large airships could be seen flying over the the academy and around veil. With several smaller airships flying towards the central area of Beacon. Where Ozpin was standing and looking at the fleet of airships with a stern look on his face. One could tell that Ozpin was not in good spirits as there was no coffee mug in hand to keep him calm.
With that, one of the smaller airships, a Bullhead, had landed in front of Ozpin. Revealing a dark haired man of greater stature, flanked by two armored guards behind him.
"Ozpin, I would have called sooner but…"
"James, whatever you are trying to do appears to be a military occupation than anything else." Ozpin interrupts, clearly showing his dislike of his comrade's plan.
"Then you should understand, that sometimes that measurements must be taken in order to keep everyone safe." James countered.
"I doubt anyone feels safe when all they have to do is open a curtain to find a giant gunship out their window." Ozpin argues.
"Ozpin, it…"
"Holy Kishimoto! Are we being invaded! Because I feel really terrified and lack any security over here!" yelled a random student in the distance.
Ozpin sighed, "And it's started." he said.
James shook his head, "It's just someone overreacting." he said.
"This is sudden and new and I can't comprehend this! Was this meant to happen!? Was there a news article online about this!? How come I'm confused and scared!?" asked the same student.
Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose, "And it's already too late." he said.
"A small announcement is all that is needed. Everything will turn out for the better." James said just as the two started walking towards Ozpin's office.
"I'm hyperventilating! I feel like a mass panic is the one thing that would make sense right about now!" yelled the same student for a third time.
"Enough young man! I can see that some things are happening that were not meant to happen!" Ozpin shouted.
"Permission to detain him general?" one soldier asked.
Before Ozpin could knock some sense into James and tell him to deny the order. The student already overheard them and started running. Making things worse as the scene was bad enough as it is.
"Help! They're trying to silence the truth by suppressing my rights!" the student yells as he runs away.
At the same time, Naruto and Squall walked by where the student ran. Both wondering if he was overreacting or saying things that everyone is too afraid to say out loud.
"What's his problem?" Naruto asked.
"Its not our problem, so don't ask." Squall answered.
A little while later, dorms
Naruto lied in his bed as he picked up his tools, "Let's see if Mark V, will work." he said.
"Another invention?" Squall asked, having known that Naruto always tinkers with random objects.
"Pretty much, I almost crashed into a wall making Mark IV. A good thing Adam was there with me." Naruto snickered at the memory. Which was right before he found Yang and Ruby fighting, "Sometimes being alone helps motivate you to get strong. Yet sometimes, finding someone you can trust helps you grow stronger both physically and as a person." he adds.
"And Ruby is the one person you always trust?" Squall asked.
"We've been through the best and worst moments of our lives Squall. When you are not a part of someone's struggles, you can't be a part of other people's success. You gotta be sticking around through and through and that's how you trust someone." Naruto explained before hearing nothing but silence. "It sounds a bit extreme, but if you really want to be a part of someone's life." he started again.
"I don't." Squall said.
Naruto yawned, "Then you gotta work for it. At least my little sister can speak to everyone. Even if some of them acted like shisnos." he says.
Squall stayed silent again as he contemplated what Naruto said. His words were different and a bit confusing, but the dark haired teen had some idea of what he meant to say.
"Maybe." Squall said.
"What do you mean maybe?" Naruto asked.
"For…"
"Forget it." Naruto interrupted, having precognition of what his partner would say.
Squall ignored his partner before going onto his Scroll. Where he went over the notes application to find something. For some reason, clinging onto hope that what he's looking for is there in his app.
'It's still here.' Squall thought, feeling surprised.
Scroll Numbers
Belladonna Residence
Squall shook his head, 'Who am I kidding? When was the last time I called them? Why would they want to hear from me when they would not want to hear anything from Blake? She clearly…' he stopped his mental rant for a moment. Squall's thumb hovered over the delete button, 'The number is too old. They probably changed it. So why would I go through so much effort to find them?' he thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's ramblings, "OW! Stupid belt! Maybe I should go back to making a grappling hook." he said.
"What are you doing now?" Squall asked, sounding annoyed as usual.
"Invention remember? My sister likes weapons, but we're not exactly rolling on piles of Lien." Naruto said.
"So you're helping make a bunch of gadgets?" Squall asked.
"Yeah, even when Ruby is big. Some things like her love for weapons never change. I'm hoping to surprise her at the end of the semester with my new idea." Naruto explained.
'Things never change?' Squall wondered. He moved his thumb away from the delete button, "I need some fresh air." he said.
"Take all oxygen you need buddy. Maybe some sunlight too, it might help you open up." Naruto said as Squall left the dorm room. Naruto shrugged as he lied down again, "I'm sure he's just in a rough place. The big guy was willing to open up about who he is. It's not like he's the only one that's been abandoned, but it doesn't make it easier." he muttered to himself.
Outside, the dorm room
Squall made his way down the hall. He dialed the number he had saved and slowly connected to the Belladonna residence. He sighed thinking this number really was too old and would not connect to anything except maybe a brand new tenant. When it finally answered.
"Belladonna Residence, who am I speaking too?" asked the voice on the other line.
"Squall Leonhart, I wish to speak with Miss Kali or Mister Ghira." Squall said, mentally berating himself for sounding like his child self.
"Could you please state your reason?" the voice asked.
Squall took a deep breath, "I'm a friend of the family." he said.
"Sir, you have to give me a more realistic reason." the voice said not believing him.
Squall mentally cursed this person, "Okay, I'll make it quick. I'm a Beacon Academy student and their daughter Blake Belladonna is one of my classmates." he said.
"How can I verify this information to be true?" the voice asked.
"Just tell them my name. They know me." Squall said.
The voice contemplated this, "Are you saying that if I ask Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna if they know a, "Squall Leonhart", they will recognize this name?" they asked quizzically.
"Sort of, they will recognize my real name. Squall Loire." Squall said still feeling like an idiot as this sounded way too suspicious.
The voice sighed, "Please hold sir." the voice said, thinking Squall was suspicious.
Squall groaned as he took a seat on a bench, "I knew this was a bad idea. What am I getting myself into?" he asked when a minute later, he heard another voice.
"Squall? Squall honey, are you really there?" asked the new voice.
"Aunt Kali, it's me. I'm right here!" Squall said, sounding surprisingly frantic.
"Oh my goodness, how long has been? I haven't heard from you since…" Kali trailed off.
"I know aunt Kali, I don't want to think about it. Actually, I recently met up with Blake." Squall said.
Kali gasped, "Squall, how is she? Is she well?" she asked like any concerned mother would
"She's fine, sort of. Well she's not sick or hurt or anything like that. Except it sounds like trouble has a way of finding her." Squall said.
Kali did not like hearing that, "Squall, do not take this the wrong way, but why did you call me?" she asked.
Squall sighed, "To be honest, I don't know myself." he said truthfully. "Right now, I debated whether or not to delete the number. Thinking it was old or maybe you would not want to hear from me. Since Blake's face said she hasn't talked to you and uncle Ghira in a while." he continued.
"Squall, there is nothing wrong that. I know things have been difficult ever since, you know." Kali said, not wanting to mention Sienna disowning Squall. "But Laguna was a close friend of ours and you were the most special person Blake's heart as a child. You are important to the both of us. Do not ever feel that we would never want to hear from you." she said making Squall's face soften.
"That's good to hear, I guess." Squall said sounding impassive.
"Why do you sound so glum? You were always energetic and lively like your father." Kali asked with some concern.
"Life's just been rough aunt Kali. To be honest, I actually was kind of, how do I put this? Happy in a way to see Blake, but… she didn't recognize me at first." Squall said, unable to see the Belladonna matriarch's frown. "It was only recently that we caught up and some things happened. That I learned she hasn't spoken with you guys." he said.
"Squall, I know this may sound selfish of me. But I want to ask something of you." Kali said.
Normally Squall would hang up at this point but he listened, "What do you need?" he asked.
"I know you are probably unhappy with Blake and you have every right to be." Squall did not like where this was going. Yet he let Kali continue, "Please look after Blake for us. Even if you don't want to be near her, even if there's a lot of negative things you want to get off your chest. Please protect my daughter." she said as her voice started to sound hoarse.
Squall sighed, this was not something he liked at all. He didn't care about Blake at this point and thought the idiot should worry about herself. Since that's all he thought that Blake cared about. Yet, something in him was keeping him from just hanging up and deleting the number. For some reason, he almost felt like there was a familiar presence sitting next to him.
"I'll do it, but not for Blake's sake." Squall said.
"Thank you Squall, I know it's a lot to ask, but please call again soon. I miss you as much as I miss my daughter." Kali said.
"Your welcome aunt Kali, I'll call later in the future." Squall said letting out another sigh.
"Take care of yourself dear, goodbye." Kali said before Squall hanged up.
"I will." Squall said before walking back to his room.
Dorm Room
Naruto snickered as he saw Squall, "I was afraid I had to go looking for you again." he said.
"Keep it to yourself." Squall said.
"Ah, new words. Now I have to predict what's coming next." Naruto said as he continued tinkering. Before he stopped and raised a brow, "Hey are you feeling alright, your emotions are all jumbled." he said thinking Squall had enough negativity to summon a pack of Beowulfs.
"Just needed to let out some steam." Squall answered.
"Okay." Naruto answered as he returned to focusing on his invention.
"By the way, since we're talking about emotions." Squall started to say.
Naruto looked surprise and interrupted him, "We were having a real conversation for once!?" he asked.
Squall groaned and took a deep breath, "My semblance." he said.
"Okay, what about your semblance? What are we talking about?" Naruto asked.
"I haven't mentioned it yet, but my semblance lets me sense threats apart from allies." Squall answered.
"That's cool, you can sense emotions too?" Naruto asked.
Squall shook his head, "No, anyone I don't see as a friend makes me get defensive. Like an animals instincts when there's a predator nearby." he said.
Naruto thought it over, "You probably have a hard time with that since you don't trust anyone let alone try to talk." he said before realizing what that means. "Hold on, if you don't trust anyone and you see them as a threat. That would explain you accidentally attacking us during training. So…" he stopped as he had a theory of what's going on.
"I always have headaches because I don't trust anyone." Squall said.
Naruto dropped his tools, "Holy Kishimoto." he said in realization. "Your mind is always under attack! That is not good for you and that's putting it lightly!" he exclaimed.
"And now you see why I avoid people." Squall said.
"It still doesn't entirely explain you wanting to try and open up." Naruto said as he sat up. "Trust me, if you remember orientation day. Ruby was not exactly happy to see Yang." He adds.
"They seem fine now." Squall said not caring much for the other team.
"It's still complicated, but sometimes you just have to open up a little. Maybe it will tone down those headaches." Naruto suggested, hoping his words had some effect.
Meanwhile, in RWBY's dorm room
Ruby looked at Yang quizzically, "Are you really ready for forgiveness?" she asked.
"I am! I don't care what you have to do to me!" Yang said with determination.
"Good, because you are not getting off easy." Ruby said as she grabbed a plate from the table.
"Ruby, is that really necessary?" Weiss asked as she thought this situation was weird.
On one hand, Yang was tied to a chair with a blindfold blocking her vision. With Ruby holding a plate of what looked like cookies. With how well Weiss knew her friend by now, she knew Ruby was not playing a game. Underneath the appearance of a silly naive child was a strong young woman who knew this world better than most of the first year students. It was safe to assume those were not normal cookies.
"I agree with Weiss, what is your plan?" Blake asked.
"Irony is my plan, dear Blake." Ruby answered as she took a cookie. "Chew Yang and do not spit it out." she said threateningly.
Yang grinned, "I can handle a few cookies Blake." she said as Ruby fed her. Only for Yang to start choking, "AHHH!" she began to scream as she attempted to wiggle out of the chair.
"Ruby are you trying to poison Yang!?" Weiss asked.
"Someone help!" Yang pleaded only for Ruby to keep feeding her.
Blake tried to pull Ruby away, "Listen, I know we've all done some bad things." she said before Weiss glared at her. "Okay, Yang and I have done bad things. Weiss has just been rude the whole time. Yet that does not mean you have to torture your own sister." she said.
"I'm not doing this because Yang abandoned me. I'm doing this for two reasons." Ruby said glaring at her teammates. "Number one! Yang tried to bribe me with cookies filled with salt instead of sugar. So I'm paying her back!" she said surprising them.
"That explains why you avoided cookies for an entire week." Weiss said understanding her slightly better.
"Number two! Yang is trying to seduce my big brother so she can take him away from me!" Ruby said accusingly.
Yang's face was bright red from embarrassment, "I don't even like him!" she argued.
Ruby grabbed Yang by the cheeks, "Do not lie to me Yang Xiao Long! You used to drag Naruto behind the cafeteria to be alone where you would seduce him!" she said.
"We were just talking! You know I just wanted him to help me make things up!" Yang tried to explain.
"It does explain why you were missing for lunch for a long time and Ruby tried to avoid us if you were there." Blake said ruining Yang's defense.
"It doesn't mean I went chasing boys!" Yang argued as she tried to look at the "traitor".
"You are pretty flirty." Weiss commented.
"I knew it!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Ruby I'm not trying to steal him!" Yang says, continuing to deny the claim.
Ruby glared at Yang, "I know your plan Yang. You want to take my brother somewhere alone so you can make him kiss, get pregnant and then get married!" she yells, getting odd looks. "I am not ready to be an auntie!" she continues to yell as she continues force feeding Yang.
Now this situation became more absurd. With both Weiss and Blake wondering if they should try to intervene again or just leave.
"Now drink your milk!" Ruby commanded.
"I hate milk!" Yang yelled.
"You will drink it Yang. Besides, Naruto says that girls who drink milk are attractive." Ruby said.
Yang now looked confused, "I thought you didn't want me to get with him." she said.
"I got the truth out of you!" Ruby yelled.
"Hey that wasn't a confession!" Yang yelled back.
Suddenly the door was open, "Okay, what's going on here? Why do I hear insanity?" asked Naruto who came rushing out of his room.
"Save me, my knight in shining armor!" Yang pleaded.
"Not now Yang." Naruto replied.
Ruby gasped, "I knew it!" she said.
Naruto sighed, "Ruby, let Yang go. I don't know what's going on but she's a human being." he said sternly.
Ruby pouted as she crossed her arms, "Break up with her first." she said.
"Excuse me?" Naruto asked.
Ruby glared at her brother, "Break up with this floozy. She's not good enough for you." she said pointing at Yang who felt offended.
Naruto sighed, "Okay, Yang I don't love you anymore. This is the end." he said as Yang's jaw dropped. "There, are we done?" he asked.
"I knew it! You were with her!" Ruby said pointing at her brother in accusation.
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose, "Ruby, I never had a girlfriend and you never had a boyfriend and I'll be damned that I let a boy, girl, or even an alien squirrel ask you out." he said.
Weiss sighed, "Just let it go Ruby." she said.
"No! I don't approve of Yang!" Ruby said stubbornly.
"I'm not dating Yang. Just let it go." Naruto said as he left the room.
Yang turned her head to where she thought Ruby was, "Can you untie me now?" she asked.
Ruby stayed silent as she thought it over. Causing Weiss to looked surprised by how long it took her partner to actually think about it. As if this was the most difficult choice of the year.
"Really Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"What? I need to think it over." Ruby answered.
Blake sighed, "Hang on Yang." she said as she used Gambol Shroud to start cutting.
"Thanks Blake, I think the ropes are cutting my blood circulation." Yang said only to hear a bad sound. "What was that?" she asked.
Blake's eyes widened, "These ropes dulled my sword! Ruby, where did you get these ropes!?" she asked.
Ruby shrugged, "Rope store?" she asked.
Blake sighed as she tried pulling, "What are these knots? Were you trying to restrain Yang or a cargo shipment?" she asked.
"I had to learn a lot of stuff in the wild." Ruby answered.
Yang started to shake around, "Okay this is not funny anymore. Someone get me free." she pleads.
"I'll just buy some elbow grease then. Yang will just slide off." Ruby said as she left the room.
A minute of silence past and Yang looked at Blake, "She's not coming back is she?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"Relax, Ruby isn't that cold. Besides, it's not like you need to pee or anything right?" Weiss asked.
"No, but I might later." Yang said as Blake stepped away, fearing that Yang would urinate in any minute.
Outside, with Ruby
Ruby yawned, 'I guess Yang might have a chance if she lets me go that far.' She thought before accidentally bumping into someone. "Ow!" Ruby yipped as she looked to see a beautiful young woman in a uniform from Haven Academy.
Flanking her was a tanned red eyed girl with green hair and a fair skinned boy with silver hair. Both wearing Haven academy uniforms as well. Ruby quickly pieced together that they were most likely from Haven and this probably had something to do with the Vytal Festival. Something Weiss kept rambling on about and even went as far to chase Sun Wukong around just to scout out the competition.
"Careful there." said the beautiful black haired woman.
Suddenly Naruto popped his head out, "What happened? I just left and now I see you're in trouble." he asked, seeing Ruby stand up from the floor.
"Oh don't mind her. It was just an accident." said the black haired woman with a friendly smile.
Yet Naruto's hand twitched as he left the room, 'Either this girl is pissed at Ruby or she's not really a nice person.' he thought as he sensed a negative aura from the woman. "I apologize for my sister though. She can be a bit absent minded." he said as Ruby smiled sheepishly.
The woman let out a small giggle, "It's fine really. My friends and I were just exploring Beacon as part of the upcoming Vytal festival. I guess we just got lost on our own. I'm Cinder by the way." she said as she extended her hand.
Naruto could sense only a half truth, "Naruto." he said introducing himself as he took her hand.
"And I'm Ruby!" Ruby said childishly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you and your sister. Although, my teammates and I still need to find our and we don't have a lot of time." Cinder said taking a step forward, her hips moving in a seductive manner. "But if we did, I would be more tempted to invite you over for coffee. I guess there will be other opportunities." she said.
"Sounds like a promise I can keep." Naruto said with a smile of his own.
Cinder then moved her lips close to his ear, "I'll be here ALL semester." she whispered before walking away with her friends.
The silver haired boy snickered as they left while the green haired girl looked murderous. Somehow Naruto knew the latter was not the real threat. Yet there was something mysterious and dangerous about Cinder. Luckily years of experience in the wild made Naruto remember that his brain is inside of his head and not in his pants. That and Ruby also looked at Cinder with suspicion as she left.
"She's suspicious." Naruto said.
"I know." Ruby said.
"Good, we're on the same page then. We should watch out for…"
"She's not good enough for you. Wait what?" Ruby interrupted, before realizing what her brother was saying.
Naruto sighed, "Calm down hoodie." he said as he lifted up her hood.
Ruby pouted, "Okay." she said.
"Don't pout, you look less cute that way." Naruto said.
"I'm not pouting. Besides, we can't untie Yang so I need to buy elbow grease." Ruby said.
"Cool, do you think you can get me some headlight fluid?" Naruto asked.
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Just because, it's part of my experiment." Naruto answered.
Ruby sighed, "Okay, I'll be back soon." she said as she left her brother's side.
Naruto sighed, "I guess school can be fun after all." he said, remembering that his brain is in his head and not in his pants again.
A couple of days later, Amphitheater Arena
Once again, it was time for the students to spar. All under the watchful eye of Glynda. This time, she was using a limited timer as to not draw out fights and give the students some motivation. The latter to remind them that they can't be too slow and take their time when the Grimm and dangerous individuals won't stop and wait for them.
Having mentioned enough of Glynda's way of teaching. It was time to focus on the fights. Right now, everyone was watching Naruto Belmont acting like he's having the time of his life.
As for some reason, he was fighting all of Team CRDL on his own. It wasn't explained why but he was and those fools had yet to learn.
Naruto Belmont vs Team CRDL
(Psycho Pass OST - Main Theme)
"Hold still!" Cardin yelled as he tried whack Naruto with his mace.
Naruto slid under Cardin's weapon and tripped his leg. Making the bully call on his face before jumping up to deal with Dove who tried shooting his head off with his sword.
"Pfft, you copied Squall with that cheap thing." Naruto mocked before blocking Dove's sword with his own. "No impact? Just a gun?" he asked before kicking him away.
Before he could ask who was next? Naruto found Russel jumping right at him with his twin daggers. Now it got more tricky as the small things were quick and nimble but nothing too difficult to worry about. A few times, Naruto narrowly avoided the daggers falling onto his back prompting Russel to jump at him with the intent to slash at him. Only for the last Belmont to kick with both of his feet into Russel's abdomen and making him crash into Dove who just got back up.
Jumping up to his feet, Naruto shook his head to clear his head. When he felt Cardin swing at him from behind. Naruto side stepped and slashed at Cardin from behind, making him fall. As he fell again, Cardin signaled for his team to regroup and take him together. The group is pretty good and has some coordination, but they're mostly brutish and disorganized in Naruto's opinion.
Unlike RWBY where opposites attract and JASN who have to adjust to situations regarding their conditions. It was a good start for CRDL but not enough as Naruto extended his chain and held it out.
"If your leader couldn't beat me alone, what's the difference when the four of you are together?" Naruto asked angering them. Then he got serious, "My name is Naruto Belmont and I've lost a fight to a man or beast." he proclaimed as he started swinging his chain around.
Sky Lark decided to run in first with Russel following behind him. Sky proceeded to swing wildly at Naruto who avoided each heavy strike before hitting him in the gut with his sword's hilt. Sky growled as he swung his sword down only to miss and receive a boot the face. Which did give Russel a chance to strike at Naruto who quickly rolled away to avoid a second strike.
Just as Russel front flipped towards Naruto, Sky got up again and tried to shoot at him with his halberd. Leaving Naruto wondering what's the obsession with turning weapons into guns. Seeing this, Naruto proceeded to roll away every time Sky shot at him. Causing Russel to chase after him like a maniac until he was accidentally hit a few times.
"Watch it idiot!" Russel yelled at Sky before Naruto stood up and grabbed an arm.
"Focus on your enemy first!" Naruto exclaimed as he bashed his elbow into Russel's face a few times.
Before Russel tried to stab him with his good hand. Only for Naruto to let go of the arm and reverse the attack. Causing Russel to drop the dagger and get flipped onto his back.
"Finally, that's one down." Naruto said as he avoided more shots.
Just as Cardin arrived to slam down his mace. With Dove trying to swipe at him from behind. Surprisingly enough, unlike the other two. Dove and Cardin had enough synchronicity to avoid hitting each other. With Naruto having to hop and block more attacks. All the while Sky tried to line up his attacks, that is until he ran out of ammo. Motivating him to wait for an opening and just run in with his axe.
Naruto smirked, 'Good, let the wild man deal the pain.' he thought as he let Cardin hit him hard enough to hit the ground.
"Ha! Not so smug-" Cardin tried to say before Sky hit him on accident. "Pay attention!" he yelled.
"He was open!" Sky argued only for him and Dove to be tripped by Naruto.
Followed by Dove taking an elbow to the gut, "No hard feelings, you just seem to be the reliable one." Naruto said before blocking Sky's Halberd.
Naruto blocked the next few strikes before slicing at Sky a few times. Just as Cardin came in and interrupted the fight. Nearly hitting Sky in the process as Naruto jumped away.
"You need to pay attention!" Sky yelled angrily.
"He's mine!" Cardin yelled.
"Gross!" Naruto said as he ran up to the two of them.
As the pair focused back on their enemy. Naruto bursted into petals and moved around them, but not without leaving any hits. As Sky and Cardin's aura shields started to break as the petals flew by.
"What the heck!?" Cardin asked before he was sliced down from the back.
As his shield broke and Sky held up his halberd defensively. Just as Sky prepared his defense. Naruto bombarded him with weak but quick sword strikes. Making Sky stumble back as he started to lose his balance and grip of his weapon before having kicked. Causing him to stumble further back until he fell on top of Russel. As Sky sat up, Naruto wrapped up his chain around the silver haired teen and threw him to the side.
Just as the timer ran out.
"I almost had him!" Naruto complained just as Glynda signaled for the fight to end.
"You know the rules Mr. Belmont. As the winner, you may take your seat." Glynda said seeing as there was no advice she could offer.
Other than reminding Team CRDL to learn to work as a team and not argue with each other. Seeing as Dove and Cardin are the only ones that can work together. While Russel had speed and agility, it was more like watching a parlor trick and Sky was no better. For even if his strength is impressive, he still lacked the defensive maneuvering to handle faster opponents.
The results of the board can say much according to their aura meters.
Naruto Belmont: 82%
Russel Thrush: 10%
Cardin Winchester: 23%
Dove Bronzewing: 25%
Sky Lark: 16%
"Okay Professor." Naruto said as he slowly walked up to his seat.
"Nice one dude!" Josuke said patting him on the back.
"It would be better if he fought someone clear headed." Squall suggested.
"I get the easy opponents." Naruto whined.
Once the boys were tuned out. Glynda looked at the board and checked the time. Seeing as there was time for another spar and with the timer in play. They wouldn't go over the scheduled time for the class.
"We still have time for one more match. Would anyone like to volunteer?" Glynda asked, receiving silence. When she focused on one student, "Miss Belladonna, you've been oddly quiet." she said catching Blake's attention.
"Um I…" Blake couldn't find an excuse.
Squall sighed as he saw his former childhood friend getting nervous. Even if Blake was remorseful for what she did in the past. Squall still did not have a good opinion of the girl even when Kali begged him to watch over her. He could still sense her looking at him from a small distance with his semblance.
'Maybe I should volunteer…' Squall thought before Pyrrha raised her hand.
"I volunteer Professor Goodwitch." Pyrrha said respectfully.
"Good to hear Miss Nikos and your opponent?" Glynda asked.
Pyrrha looked around for a moment before looking at Ruby, "Ruby Rose." she said.
"Huh?" Ruby asked with a surprised face.
"You heard her Miss Rose. Please prepare your weapon and join us in the arena." Glynda requested.
Ruby put on her mask and saluted, "Aye aye Professor Goodwitch!" she said before grabbing her whip and jumping over the rail.
Ruby Rose vs Pyrrha Nikos
Ruby bounced around for a bit as Pyrrha did a couple of stretches. Glynda moved back to her own spot to overlook the match. As the two girls gave each other space, Glynda announced the beginning of the match.
"The match between Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos may begin!" Glynda says as the timer begins to countdown.
Ruby smiles behind her mask as she uses Petal Burst to attack Pyrrha head on. Pyrrha predicted the attack and brought down her sword expecting Ruby to release her semblance. Only to see the giant wave of petals fly over her and appear behind her. Where Ruby proceeded to attack Pyrrha who quickly blocked the first whip before jumping away from the next two.
Pyrrha carefully timed herself as she tried to find a pattern for Ruby's attacks. Only to find each whip attack to be random and wild. With some expectancy as to where Pyrrha is going to move next.
'I still need to be cautious.' Pyrrha said unable to predict Ruby's wild movements.
As Ruby wildly swung around her whip. Pyrrha tried running at Ruby at full speed in an attempt to slash at her. Only to find the masked girl jumping over her again. Prompting Pyrrha to raise up her shield to avoid multiple whips aimed for her. In response, Pyrrha threw her shield at Ruby who was hit and fell to the ground as she clutched the shield. Despite this, Pyrrha tried running up to Ruby thinking she was stunned for the moment.
Only for Ruby to throw the shield right back at Pyrrha who caught it with ease. Before charging at Ruby with her sword extended. Ruby avoided each slash before wrapping her whip around Pyrrha's wrist and quickly pulling her into the ground. Ruby then raised her foot and tried to kick Pyrrha only for the redhead to shove her back with the shield.
Ruby briefly stumbled back but pulled back her whip. As she avoided the next series of strikes from Pyrrha before kicking her her away.
In the stands
Josuke whispered over to Naruto, "Your sister is getting better." he said.
Naruto sighed, "Yeah, she is." he said.
"What, are you disappointed or something?" Josuke asked.
"Ruby's just different, leave him alone." Adam spoke up, seeing that Ruby's attacks are stiff and random.
Even Nora noticed something, "Pyrrha looks annoyed." she asid.
This confused Jaune and Ren, "What do you mean? I don't want to say anything bad, but Ruby isn't that difficult is she?" Jaune asked.
"It's not that Jaune, use your eyes. Pyrrha is always calm and focused and ready for war. Except, it looks like she's getting peeved." Nora pointed out.
No one noticed the fact that a couple of students were starting to film. Or that Weiss looked frustrated as well. Not because she wanted to fight Pyrrha seeing as she was a fan of Pyrrha and wanted her as a partner before the initiation. Despite the bad impression Weiss gave Ruby at first, she was close enough to know her partner was stronger than this. Lately, Ruby has not been fighting to her full extent whenever there's a large crowd.
'Why is she holding back?' Weiss wondered.
Back to the fight
After a couple more minutes of fighting, Pyrrha did really feel frustrated. When she briefly looked at the aura meters, she could see that Ruby's aura was just slightly lower than her own. With not much time left to discern a winner by the end of the fight. If only Pyrrha could consider this a fight as she was very annoyed by Ruby's actions.
With Ruby wrapping her whip around Pyrrha's wrist again. Pyrrha started pulling the masked girl forward again.
"Ruby, I know you want to be a huntress like everyone else. But you can't do that if you don't put in any real effort." Pyrrha said as Ruby almost lost her balance. "I know you are a capable fighter since the mess hall fiasco! At least try to show some effort!" she exclaims as she pulls harder on Ruby's whip.
Ruby let go of the whip making Pyrrha stumble back. When suddenly, Ruby bursted into petals prompting Pyrrha raise her shield expecting another wild attack. Only to find Ruby returning to normal and attempting to drop kick her. Pyrrha sighed, expecting not much when…
*CLANG*
While not much for arrogance, Pyrrha believed Ruby to be fairly weak in terms of raw strength. Unlike her sister Yang who has muscle and uses heavy attacks as part of her combat repertoire. Yet, when Pyrrha attempted to block Ruby's attack. It felt more like she was hit by a wrecking ball than a 90 pound girl who's diet is mostly composed of cookies. For the impact was strong enough to make Pyrrha crash into the wall making her aura shield start crack.
Pyrrha did her best to quickly stand up. Only to find the whip tied around her arms before she found herself being tossed across the arena. In the middle of being disoriented, Pyrrha lost grip of her weapons. Just as Ruby continued charging at her.
'Okay, this is a start.' Pyrrha thought as Ruby started getting more rough.
Pyrrha then proceeded to use her magnetism semblance to recall her weapons. At the same time, make them attack Ruby from behind. Only for her to burst into petals the moment they were meant to hit her. Revealing that Ruby can phase through solid objects if her petals split apart. As she quickly returned to normal throw her whip at Pyrrha. Who blocked it again before running up to meet Ruby.
Once again, Pyrrha slashed at her with a sword and while the whip is unique. It wasn't exactly as special as the Morningstar Whip that Ruby would sometimes borrow from Naruto. Making it better for long distance fighting and rather difficult to block but poor at defense.
*CLANG*
Yet, Pyrrha found herself being surprised again when Ruby pulled out a white one handed pole or staff from her cape. It didn't matter what it was because Ruby was able to push Pyrrha away and break her guard. Prompting the young Rose to sweep Pyrrha's legs in her moment of distraction. Pyrrha quickly snapped out of the surprise and regained her stance to prepare for Ruby suddenly assaulting her with several throwing knives which the former blocked with her shield.
'There isn't a rule against this, but where is Ruby storing all of these weapons?' Pyrrha wondered as she avoided a kick to her head.
Pyrrha countered the attack and slashed at Ruby's chest. Making the younger girl drop to her back and roll away before throwing more knives at Pyrrha who tried to block as well as manipulate their direction with her magnetism. Only once again being surprised as she noticed that the knives were the same material as the short staff Ruby used. Meaning that none of them were made of metal but likely painful nonetheless.
With the Invincible Girl learning the hard way as she did not move quickly enough to avoid all the hits. Followed by Ruby throwing herself like a cannon ball again. Making Pyrrha crash against the wall again before avoiding another hit the head.
"Don't play roses Pyrrha, they have thorns." Ruby said before missing another punch.
As Pyrrha tackled Ruby into the floor. Which Ruby countered by reversing the situation and straddling Pyrrha. As she tried pulled out another small blade and aimed it Pyrrha. Who used both hands to keep the blade away from a vital area. At the same time, Pyrrha slowly moved her head to see her sword on the ground again. Prompting her to use her magnetism to pull knock Ruby off of her. When the timer went off again.
"This match is over!" Glynda announced just as the blade continued to fly.
Which Ruby caught with her bare hands right after letting go of Pyrrha. The young girl winced as she slowly put down Pyrrha's sword before standing up.
"Good match Pyrrha." Ruby said as she saw the wounds on her hands disappear.
"Good match Ruby." Pyrrha said as she groaned while standing up.
Before Pyrrha could say anything else. Everyone murmured amongst themselves as they saw the aura meters.
Ruby Rose: 40%
Pyrrha Nikos: 40%
"It's probably rounded to a tenth." Pyrrha said.
"The match is a draw. I congratulate the both of you for your effort." Glynda said with a bright smile.
Ruby blushed under her mask and silently nodded before walking back to the stands. Only to be met with various stares that made her nervous. Naruto sighed as he realized that Ruby got too much attention. Unknown to the both of them, Cinder looked at Ruby with great interest.
Later that day
Naruto groaned, "What did I say about getting attention little sister?" he asked.
"It's not my fault! Pyrrha was getting mad and put pressure on me!" Ruby complained.
"Well now we have a bunch of Pyrrha fanboys and fangirls who won't leave you alone." Naruto said as he heard the protesting outside her dorm room.
"I don't like it! People are scary!" Ruby whined as she hid under her bed covers.
Naruto sighed, "I'll go deal with them." he said as he left the room.
Outside the dorm room
With Adam and Josuke's help, Naruto tried to push away the crowd that formed. Apparently the Pyrrha fandom was bigger than all of them expected.
"Cheater!"
"She paid off the referee!"
"We demand retribution!"
"Where are all of these people coming from!?" Josuke asked.
"They're toxic Josuke. Toxic people can't handle any negative things aimed for the things they love. Let alone constructive criticism." Adam said.
Eventually, Weiss and Blake arrived attempting to squeeze through, "What the heck is this crowd!?" Blake asked.
"I don't think my company faced this many people during protests." Weiss said.
"Why do I believe you?" Blake asked, thinking it was true.
"Okay back the hell up! Unless you want to fight me next!" Naruto yelled as he reached for his chain sword.
"I'm not a scared of a fishing rod!" yelled a random person in the crowd.
Naruto glared at them, "You brought this on yourself!" he yelled when suddenly everyone was being sprayed by a hose of water.
The crowd started to scream and were forced to cower and run. As the water pressure continued to force them to leave. Revealing Pyrrha was holding up one of the emergency fire hoses meant for fires.
"Pyrrha!? This… this is unexpected." Weiss said.
"Yeah, I expected something like this from Nora or Yang." Blake said.
"To be fair, Yang came up with this and Squall was trying to find a way to get the sprinkler system to go off." Pyrrha said as Yang and Squall appeared.
"I knew you cared!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Whatever." Squall said.
"Well thanks anyways. Apparently word got out that Ruby fought Pyrrha to a draw and this happened." Naruto said.
"Why did Ruby hold back anyways?" Weiss asked, not thinking Ruby was worried about the crowd.
Naruto then made up an excuse, "Ruby still has anxiety in public." he said.
Weiss raised a brow, "Really?" she asked.
"Yeah." Naruto answered.
"Whatever the issue is. I would like to speak to Ruby. If that's okay." Pyrrha said earning a serious look from Naruto. She then pulled out a box, "I brought cookies. Sort of like a peace offering." she said.
"Fine, but try not to make her nervous." Naruto said as he let Pyrrha pass.
Suddenly Nora came running in with a fire axe, "Move away from the hooded girl!" she screamed like a psychopath.
Meanwhile Jaune and Ren tried to stop her, "Nora don't do anything crazy!" Ren yelled.
"Yeah, put the axe down!" Jaune adds.
"There will be blood! Don't get in my way!" Nora yelled.
"And now it got even more out of hand." Adam said with a sigh.
"Someone help me take away that fire axe." Naruto ordered.
Inside the dorm room
Pyrrha slowly made her way inside Team RWBY's room. Quickly finding the odd bed structures before trying to figure out which one Ruby was in. Only to find the girl poking her head out from the one tied to the ceiling.
"Ruby?" Pyrrha called out.
Ruby hid under her bed covers, "Ruby isn't here!" she said.
"Really? Then I guess Ruby won't want any of these cookies." Pyrrha said as she raised up the box.
Ruby glared, "They better not be full of salt." she said bitterly, thinking Yang was messing with her.
Pyrrha sweat dropped, "They're not. Yang helped me pick them out. For some reason she wouldn't let me pick the raisin ones." she said.
"I hate raisins." Ruby muttered.
"I see that now. So I just got regular chocolate chip." Pyrrha said as she opened the box. Ruby slowly took out her hand and scooped out several cookies, "Okay… I didn't know you could move that fast." she said.
"My big brother says to be careful with getting attention." Ruby said.
"Why? You have so much skill." Pyrrha asked.
Ruby sighed, "It's complicated Pyrrha." Ruby said as she started eating.
Pyrrha decided to accept that answer, "Okay, but I still wanted to talk and apologize about that whole fiasco outside." she said taking a seat.
"It's fine, but what did you want to talk about?" Ruby asked.
"Lately Ruby, I've been getting tired of the title of Invincible Girl. I know I'm good, but I just feel like it's too much." Pyrrha explained. "Sometimes fame can be annoying when being a huntsman isn't about titles and recognition. It's not bad at first, but it feels like it's too much. Like I'm only worth something in name alone." she admits.
Ruby poked her head out again, "You don't want the attention?" she asked.
"No, not really. It's kind of refreshing you know. Meeting people that don't know who I am. Like Jaune, Nora and Ren who like me for me." Pyrrha said.
"I think I get what you mean. I didn't even know what all the hype was about when you appeared." Ruby said making Pyrrha giggle.
"That's good to hear. Anyways, there was something else I wanted to ask you. No pressure by the way, I don't want to force you into anything." Pyrrha said.
"What do you need?" Ruby asked.
The next day
Jaune was very terrified, "I did not agree to this!" he yelled.
"Too bad! I trained Ruby this way, this is how you become a real man!" Naruto yelled.
"You made a teenage girl fight a Grimm while you held it back!?" Jaune asked.
"To be fair, Ruby was like 6 or 7." Naruto answered.
For context, Naruto used his mother Kushina's semblance to hold back a Beowulf with chains. One that is very angry and ready to tear everyone apart. Especially Jaune since he was only one foot away.
"Just kill Jaune." Naruto said.
"H-How!?" Jaune asked.
"How do you think you can kill a Grimm?" Naruto asked as the Beowulf snarled as it attempted to escape. "You can back away now and be a quitter or learn to be a huntsmen the real way." he said as Jaune contemplated his situation.
TO BE CONTINUED…
JASN Chibi
#1 - Toxic Fandoms
As the crowd outside of Ruby's room formed. Everyone struggled to push back the heavy crowd.
"Where are all of these people coming from!?" Josuke asked.
"They're toxic Josuke. Toxic people can't handle any negative things aimed for the things they love. Let alone constructive criticism." Adam said.
Meanwhile, in Reality
Some guy sighed, "Man, why did they ruin Adam? He was like a badass character like Hazel. Except they just made them psychotic people who just hate the world." he said.
Suddenly another guy appeared, "Uh no, it's perfect! Adam is complex but not important. You are a dumbass for not appreciating everything RWBY has given us." he said with a sneer. "Typical mainstream asshole." he said before leaving.
The first guy shrugged, "Typical simp." he said.
The second guy was about to say something when a rainy cloud appeared over his head, "Never mind." he said.
On Remnant
Josuke nodded, "That and forcing that yaoi/yuri crap. I get anyone can ship but even shipping goes too far and too graphic. To the point it's not even graphic and disturbing." he said.
Meanwhile, in Reality
A random guy smiled at the new RWBY trailer, "I like how RWBY expresses homosexuality in a good way. Making it natural and not forced." he said.
Then his female friend spoke up, "So which one is your favorite?" she asked.
The guy smiled, "The gay." he said pointing at a poster.
"…that's a photo of every main character in the show." the female friend said.
"Is there a difference?" the guy asked. "If two characters of the same gender like each other. Then they realize… that they're in love." he said.
The friend sweat dropped, "That's not how it works. At least I don't think it does." she said.
On Remnant
Squall groaned, "Why can't be just shut up and just enjoy their entertainment? Keep their opinions to themselves!?" he asked.
Meanwhile, in Reality
Some guy nodded as he finished Volume 8, "RWBY is good, but I feel like they take awkward directions for pointless drama and missed out on character development. Except that doesn't stop some good moments and interesting stories. Oh well… now time to watch some Bad Batch!" he said.
On Remnant
"Toxic people exist, it's a sad truth to this world." Naruto said, not wanting to think about the Naruto and Boruto fandom.
#2 - Stop Making Up Animals!
As Ozpin and Glynda stood outside in the parking lot. General James Ironwood presented them with a strange vehicle that had a machine gun turret on the back. James looked at the weaponized vehicle with pride as he presented this.
"Thank you Lopez." James said as the soldier operating the vehicle saluted him and left.
"James, what is this thing?" Ozpin asked.
"It's a brand new light reconnaissance vehicle." James answered. Where he explained the details composing it, "It has four inch armor plating, mag bumper suspension, a mounted machine gunner position and total seating for three." he explained.
"I see." Ozpin said blankly.
"Ozpin, this is the M12 LRV! I like to call it a Warthog." James said.
"Why a Warthog?" Glynda asked.
"Because M12 LRV is too difficult to say in conversation." James answered.
"No, but… why a Warthog? It doesn't look one bit like a pig." Ozpin said.
James narrowed his eyes at Ozpin, "Say that again?" he asked.
Ozpin gave his own opinion, "I think it looks more like a puma." He said.
James pinched the bridge of his nose, "What on Remnant is a puma?" he asked.
"Do you mean the shoe company Ozpin?" Glynda asked.
"No, like the animal. It's like a large feline." Ozpin answered.
"You are making that up." James said accusing him.
"It's a real animal James." Ozpin argued.
James turned to Glynda, "Glynda, I think you need to hide coffee beans." he said.
Glynda nodded at James and Ozpin, "I will." she said as Ozpin glared at her.
James then pointed at the front of the Warthog, "Do you see these two low hooks? They look like tusks. Now tell me. What animal has tusks?" he asked.
"A walrus." Ozpin answered.
"Can you stop making up animals!?" James asked angrily.
#3 - General Store
Ruby walked into the general store to find the headlight fluid and elbow grease she needs to free Yang. Although she did her best not to rush things. Likely to hurt Yang some more for putting salt inside of her cookies.
"Hi ma'am, how can I help you?" the cashier asked.
"Cool, it's nice to meet a friendly face instead of that random old man who doesn't talk and works at literally every store. I think he's mad at me for some reason." Ruby said, remembering the dust shop owner that Roman Torchwick wanted to rob.
"I'm not rude ma'am. I'm assuming because of this." the man said pointing at a flag.
"Wait, is this all you have?" Ruby asked.
"Yes ma'am. That's it." the man said.
Ruby sighed, "What about elbow grease?" she asked.
"Uh."
"Headlight fluid?"
"No, all we have is this flag." the man answered.
"Fine, I'll take that." Ruby said.
"Sure, that makes sense. I guess." the man said, sounding confused.
Ruby groaned, "My team is going to give me a lot of crap for coming home with nothing but this stupid flag." she said picking it up and leaving with it.
Suddenly Cinder appeared, "Excuse me, I'm here for the flag." she said.
"Uh… someone already took it." the man said.
"What do you mean? I have the ticket for it right here." Cinder said.
The man paled, "I screwed up." he said.
Cinder glared at the man, "Tell me who took that flag, before I talk to your manager…" she trailed off as she read his name tag. "…Michael J. Caboose." she said.
'Church is going to be angry at me.' Caboose thought. "But wait, would it help if you hear a secret?" he asked.
"Secret? What secret?" Cinder asked.
Suddenly Chibi R0tatcid appeared, "The World of Remnant Secret, obviously!" he announced. "Ruby is very defensive about her cookies. While she understands that she needs to balance her diet to maintain good health. She won't let anyone go as far to touch her cookies let alone share. All of you reading may want to be careful since she might bite your hand off. Except her adoptive brother Naruto, he's the only one she shares with. Vice versa with in comes to Naruto and his ramen." he explains.
"I hate sweets." Cinder said.
"Too bad Cinder! Next Time! Chapter 7: Trouble is Everywhere!"
END OF JASN CHIBI