Phew finally done, had some personal things to attend to and with xmas around the corner, yeah, things got hectic. Either way, Managed to push through, by then I'd imagine its Xmas for everyone, so merry Xmas! Also, I don't own anything here except a couple of OCs dotted here and there.
Meetings between hostile factions were rarely, if ever, productive. Every meeting between the three factions of Mistral City held a lot of sour tones underneath a thin layer of cordiality and more often than not, the delicate balance would often be threatened. However, unlike other summits, this meeting was held between four representatives, each one, a far cry from what was typically expected of their respective faction.
For Touma, it was a little annoying he had to ditch his usual shirt and jeans for more formal wear but to his surprise, Yang was completely on-board with it. Both of them were in a dress shirt with a black silk vest and tie, complete with trousers. Their weapons hung inactive at their wrists, unimpeded that their sleeves were rolled up and as for his fellow student, she had her hair tied up in a ponytail.
The two of them had been briefed earlier when Awaki had reported about Roman Torchwick coming into the meeting and Touma and even Yang were questioning his motives for the meeting, but Motoharu had quickly dismissed it as it wasn't a major concern for them. When they had entered the meeting room, both of them had stood behind Motoharu, antsy at what may come in this meeting.
It wasn't long before more parties had entered the room, each group as peculiar as the next. Roman had entered with two nuns in tow, another group had two girls led by a golden retriever and much to the surprise of Touma and Yang, the dog took one of the seats placed around the table. Finally, the last group was a Faunus lady who had greying hair and a blue band tied over her eyes, her horns were also chipped as she bowed to everyone and took the last seat at the table.
"Ah… well, this is certainly an… interesting get-together, no?" Motoharu asked as he leaned back in his chair. In front of him on the wooden table was the Mistral insignia, but he lazily placed a mug in front of him and continued, "Seriously, it's like a joke. A huntsman, a criminal and a dog walk into a bar…"
Touma pulled at his tie uncomfortably from behind Motoharu's seat as he chatted away casually under the tense atmosphere. Despite the strange collection of characters in this seemingly important meeting, he could still feel the pressure irradiating from the other parties. In particular, a man that he had encountered before in combat, Roman Torchwick. Yet that man only glanced at him for a brief moment before taking one of the seats, leaving Touma wondering if he was even acknowledged by the man.
"I was under the impression that there are… important things to discuss?" the man in the bowler hat asked as he lazily waved his hand while the other held the dimly lit cigar, filling the room with perfume. At his side were two masked people that reminded Touma and Yang of the White Fang, but unlike the more ragged outfits they were used to seeing, the two Faunus wore robes that nuns wore, "Though I have to admit, the drinks might not be as… tasteful, but it certainly has soul."
"Thank you, Mr Torchwick," an old lady replied with a small bow of her head, her chipped curved horns dully reflected the light above them and her eyes were wrapped in a silky blue cloth, behind her two large and burly men in tight black suits stood as still as statues, the light glinting from their eyes. She turned to the last member of the table and asked, "Dr Kihara, I do hope I didn't overstep my bounds with my hospitality."
"Certainly not," an aged masculine voice replied as they watched the golden retriever sit on a stool with two teenaged girls standing at his flank, from his back emerged two metallic arms with one of them holding a cigar and it quickly lit it up and placing it in the dog's mouth, he continued, "Shall we get started?"
"Of course! We're all busy people, aren't we?" Roman answered with a smile as he scanned the table.
"Indeed, then we shall begin," the lady replied and she stood up, barely reaching her guard's chest as she announced, "I am Lazuli, owner of the 'Blind Goat'. I would first like to apologize as the Heaven Canceler could not attend to mediate this meeting, and so I shall do so in his place. I hope that is not a problem?" None of the other three responded and after a small pause, she continued, "Very well. As you all know, this city has been under the powers of the Government, the White Fang and the Kihara's, I trust that all three of you understands the rules I have set in place for this discussion."
"Pardon me to interrupt, Madam Lazuli, before we get into the meat of the discussion, I would like to put forth something that requires our attention, may I?" Noukan asked. Lazuli nodded as she sat down and in turn, the dog stood its legs up and the mechanical arms placed a small dark green device in front of him. On the top of the device was a beeping blue light, "It has come to my attention that all of us had the same thing in mind when we came to this meeting. Naturally, none of us trusts each other, even when there is a common threat that we must handle, I am sure all of you understand what this is?"
Touma tensed as he felt the weight of his weapon, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. While he wasn't completely familiar with the device, he had seen diagrams of it in his textbook with Velvet, it was a detonator designed to trigger remote traps with precise timing. He noticed that Motoharu and Roman at the table kept their eye on the detonator but none of them made a single flinch. However, Lazuli's men were about to advance forward, only to be stopped by her raising a hand, whereas the nuns shifted subtly, their robes fluttering as if something was happening under it.
"Seriously?" Yang whispered as Touma heard the clicking beside him and as he turned his head, he noticed Ember Celica in its active form, ready for action.
"Hahh… geeze, not even a minute into this meeting and you're gonna bring that up?" Motoharu asked in exasperation, but Touma could tell he was far from worried.
"Mhmm, guess the doc has a point though," Roman said mildly, "I do wonder, where exactly did you place those bombs?"
Noukan bowed his head and replied, "Every building surrounding this premises has been fitted with one. However, I only prepared them because of what the data surrounding both of your organisations suggested. Between good and bad, it's necessarily bad that all of us must deploy such strategies, between like and dislike, I liked your diligence in preparation for this night. In a show of good faith, I ask that you withdraw all forces surrounding this room and building while I deactivate my measures."
Noukan then nodded to the girl in glasses who then pulled out a scroll and tapped on it, as a result, the detonator's blue light died out. Roman raised an eyebrow before he shrugged and nodded to one of the nuns who then held a finger to her ear. Motoharu held a finger to his ear as a strange echo hit both Yang and Touma as he said, "Okay, shows over, all of you go home, we'll be fine here." He then pulled out the earpiece and placed it on the table, with Yang and Touma glancing at each other before taking their own off.
Lazuli hummed quietly when one of her men bent down to whisper into her ear before backing off, she then said to the dog, "Doctor, my men have confirmed that the White Fang and some… unusual members are leaving the vicinity, I hope that satisfies your condition."
"It has, I'm sorry for that inconvenience, but I prefer we'd all discuss on… equal grounds," Noukan answered with a small bow of his head. It was a tense moment, but soon enough, everyone slowly relaxed their guard as they retreated back to behind their representatives. Yang's weapon also reverted back to its inactive form as she muttered something about 'crazy dogs and their explosives'.
"Good, then as mediator of this discussion, I propose that we begin the discussion of 'the Covenant'," the pub owner declared.
"Finally, now I'm sure all of you are intelligent enough to understand that this thing has been screwing up this whole city just because it's there," Roman said, leaning forward as he peered at each one of them while jerking a thumb to the nuns, "My clients have made it clear that they've lost a lot of people and I, as the ever so charitable person that I am…" Yang turned away to hide her snort while Touma just raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He was damned sure that committing armed robbery was the least charitable thing you could do as a person, "... have offered my services to them."
"You sound like a wonderful person, Mr Torchwick," Motoharu replied brightly.
Roman shook his head as he held out his hand and said, "Please, just Roman, we're all equals here, are we not?"
"Of course, Roman, all to save the city from the clutches of the evil Grimm. But… this is a problem for the Government and the huntsmen. Why not just leave the district to us?" the blonde huntsman asked.
"Oh?"
"I mean, not to step on anyone's toes, but you strike me as the type of man that would rather keep his hands clean if possible. Whatever you contracted with the White Fang, well you can accomplish by letting us do whatever we need to do in that district," Motoharu explained as his shades glinted from the light above.
Roman chuckled and shook his head as he extinguished the cigar on the ashtray in front of him, "Thanks for the offer, really, but unfortunately I'm a man of my word and once I sign the contract, I follow it to my interpretation. That means, well... I'm sure you know."
"Ugh, is it just me or does this whole thing feels… gross?" Yang whispered to Touma who grimaced as well. Even when he preferred to have mild mannerisms during a conversation, this one felt the opposite even with Motoharu and Roman being polite. Yet at the same time, there was something frothing at his stomach, like a slow heat simmering inside.
"Well, can't say that it wasn't worth a shot. Sure you can't pull the holy boys and girls off mine?" Motoharu sighed with an airy wave of his hand, Roman gave a one-armed shrug and the huntsman chortled as he continued, "Okay, okay, I get my boys and girls aren't very popular among the White Fang Community, but last time I checked, most of them won't be able to handle the Covenant let alone most big boy Grimm out there."
One of the nuns shifted behind Roman who chuckled and replied, "Well, I apologize for our less than cooperative behaviour-"
"Are you serious!?" Touma growled out, for some reason, something just burst at the back of his throat. Something vile and bitter, "You're just going to get in the way of us trying to stop this thing from killing people!?"
"Hahhh who let him in on the conversation?" Roman asked, a little annoyed, but Motoharu simply shrugged as Touma stepped up, his fists shaking.
"I thought the White Fang would do anything to protect the Faunus, but you'd rather let this Grimm run around in your area than let us work and deal with this threat!?" Touma muttered as he leaned over the table with Motoharu smirking at what was happening.
"We should be helping each other! We have a common goal in eliminating this Grimm, not sabotaging each other from dealing with it!" He continued. Usually, he wasn't this angry, yet somehow, this meeting had been largely unproductive with just frivolous talk.
"Huh… and why do you care so much?" Roman asked, almost sneering at Touma.
"Because there are lives in this city at stake, we should not be trying to barricade each other from doing what we should do," Touma answered lowly as his fist clenched into the wood.
"Well said, young man," Lazuli gently said with a ghost of a smile on her face, "But please, do not disrupt the meeting."
Touma closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the table. He bowed slightly and muttered, "I'm sorry, I lost control there."
Roman snorted but didn't say anything while Noukan bowed his head back. As Touma returned to his post, Yang sympathetically smiled and muttered, "Damn, didn't know you have that in you, if you didn't, I would've."
Touma sighed, a little embarrassed he had done what he did, but at the same time, he didn't regret it.
"Well, we are all at fault, for one, our side can't really move and are too scared to bring in the big guns," Motoharu admitted with a helpless shrug, "And the Kihara's… well most of them at least, don't give a rat's ass about what's going on around there."
Noukan sighed as his ears drooped a little as he said, "Unfortunately, I cannot deny it. My colleagues have either decided that the Covenant's presence was hardly worth the time or that they have found interest in the effects of its presence in a metropolitan area and decided that it was worth the time to study it.
"Most did not consider the long term detrimental effects the Covenant poses to our future endeavours, especially since the other three kingdoms will not welcome our kind willingly. How foolish," the dog said in mild disgust.
"That would explain why you're here in an unofficial capacity, hmm?" Roman surmised with a light chuckle, "Thought you Kihara's were supposed to be the smart ones and I'd bet even half the Church could see how much of a problem this Grimm is."
"Mr Torchwick, for the sake of moving this discussion along, please understand that the very fundamentals of how a Kihara thinks is different as the White Fang is to the huntsmen, perhaps even more so," Lazuli said gently only to receive a scoff from the criminal.
"Of course I know that! The way I see this is going to go, is that we want to get rid of this thing as soon as possible," he pointed out and then waved to Motoharu, "I'm more than happy to get you access to the district, but I'm afraid that your group needs to be watched."
"Is that so?" Motoharu asked lazily, already knowing the answer.
"Afraid so, got my contract to think about here. It is what the bigwigs at the Church want so… hands are tied," Roman replied as if he was helpless with that situation before he turned to the dog once more as his mouth slowly etched out a grin, "Now we got our 'roles' what about you? How are you going to contribute to this… little venture we have going?"
"I'm wondering that too," the blonde huntsman nodded with a grin of his own, "You might be a damned scary Kihara, but not even you can handle a bunch of crazy scientists who want to study the Covenant for whatever they want."
Noukan simply stared at them, not even panting like the typical dog but instead sighed like an elderly man, "You youngsters are becoming too eager, but I suppose it is understandable as our options are limited." One of the girls behind him stepped forward and placed a small bottle with its contents rattling inside on the table, the dog then continued, "My students and I have devised experimental countermeasures against the Covenant's abilities, however, as science demands careful and rigorous testing, there are many uncertainties with these countermeasures. This one, in particular, would be crucial, so I hypothesize."
Touma frowned as he kept his eyes on the brown glass bottle, he had been all too familiar with this type of container as it often contained a variety of drugs. "Is that… drugs!?" Yang whispered to him and while he wouldn't confirm it, he wouldn't deny it either.
"Huhh… some sort of drugs or something?" Motoharu asked as he leaned a little to check the bottle.
"Indeed, all the data we have gathered from past and present had suggested that the Covenant has the capability to affect the mental state of their victims. This drug aims to combat… or at least mitigate the memetic assault the Effigy has," Noukan explained placing a paw on the bottle, "We have limited data on the secondary effects of the drug on normal humans and Faunus, unfortunately… those with unlocked aura may have a drastically different secondary effect."
"That's ominous…" Yang muttered under her breath while Touma grimaced. Those countermeasures weren't filling them with confidence.
"We also have other assets that may be of use to the huntsmen, specialised weaponry and surveillance tools for example. However, I do not trust any of them nor the White Fang to operate our equipment," Noukan said with an air of finality in his voice. He then flashed a look at Touma, "Perhaps… your colleague is correct, Motoharu. Common goals dictate that cooperation is in order, but it might be… complicated."
"Heh, feelings somewhat mutual, doc, as much as I'd like to throw resources at the problem and have it done and dealt with, you Kihara's aren't the most popular people in their eyes. None of them will let you run around in their territory," Roman returned as he shook his head.
Motoharu remained silent as he rubbed his chin while Noukan didn't even twitch at Roman's remark and as he was about to open his mouth, a soft cough suddenly took everyone's attention, their eyes darting to the only person without functioning ones, "Then perhaps, a different approach is needed to satisfy all parties so we can end this threat as soon as possible. I propose, we establish a task force between the three groups."
"Lady, the church already has a task force, and I'm expecting the huntsmen have their own as well, I hardly believe this 'fellowship of killing the Covenant' taskforce is going to be beneficial," the criminal rebuked with an exaggerated sigh.
"Oh? You even acknowledged it yourself, the church is not known for its logical capabilities and I dare to say that would be a major detriment. The huntsmen have inferred that they lack the firepower to finish this off and of course… the Kihara's have problems of their own," Lazuli countered, her voice remained soothingly calm as she asked, "Would it not be in the interest of all parties here that a task force be created between the three of you?"
No one said anything, but some of the people that stood behind the representatives stepped forward and bent down to whisper in their ear. After some time of relative silence, the dog snorted and said, "Perhaps you are right Madam Lazuli. Between good and bad, it's typically good, between like and dislike, I like it in a peculiar way, perhaps there are other forms of data I can observe."
"I've no problem with that, but we're taking the lead on this," Motoharu grinned as he held out a shrug, "After all, we are huntsmen, the resident experts on all things Grimm."
"No objections," the dog nodded before turning to Roman and asked, "Mr Torchwick, what about you? Do you have any problems with this."
"I don't, they do," Roman jerked his head to the nuns behind him, "But I don't see any problem with this. Knowing you huntsmen, you probably have a temporary base somewhere right? Just send us the details, I'll have a small team sent to you. I just need to have… a little chat with them."
"As I will send a student of mine, to you. I'm sure her capabilities will be a major asset to this operation, besides, I need to record the results of the experimental countermeasures should we need to employ it," Noukan offered as he retrieved the bottle and wagged it to the blonde huntsman.
"Alrighty then! I'll send you the location then and have my people talk to your people… you know… the usual," the huntsman said with a grin.
"Wonderful! Then I declare this meeting to come to a conclusion! I wish you luck in finishing this task to the end," Lazuli proclaimed with delight in her voice as she smiled gently at them.
"Mmm yes, of course. Well then, Gents, lady," Roman tipped his hat to everyone before exiting the room.
Noukan and his students stood up and left without a word while the pub owner gave her goodbye to the huntsmen, and her bodyguards followed her out of the room. Motoharu released a loud sigh as Touma and Yang approached him with the latter saying, "Well, that didn't sound too bad."
"Yeah, you got everyone working with us, so that's nice, right?" Touma agreed, while there were some uncomfortable moments during the meeting, it wasn't as bad as he thought. In fact, even Roman seemed agreeable with the whole situation.
"Not really," Motoharu muttered into his hands, the two students raised an eyebrow as he elaborated, "Lazuli made sure we didn't undercut each other with that 'proposition of hers'. Ideally, I would've tried to get the Kihara's help to push the Church of this whole thing completely. Well… enough of that…" his face then broke into a grin as he folded his arms and declared, "We got a few things to work on."
"Instructor… are you sure this was the best course of action?" the black-haired girl asked as the vehicle hummed to life.
Her teacher, Noukan simply laid at the leather car seats and replied, "It was the only course of action, Yuiitsu."
It had only been a couple of minutes since they had left the 'Blind Goat' establishment and Yuiitsu wasn't a fan of that encounter at all. As she expected, the Seeker's Church was barely ever worth her intellectual curiosity despite the brief surprise that they had hired a human of all things for their objectives, while the huntsmen were the same as always, slow to act and nothing more than glorified musclebrains.
"But… Instructor, I'm sure given the time, we should study the Covenant more and perhaps use that to our advantage. Wouldn't this allow us to obtain data that would be normally impossible for us to obtain?" Yuiitsu asked as she placed a hand on Noukan's back.
"It certainly will Yuiitsu, however, if we pursue such objectives, it may have irreversible consequences. Think, if we look at it between good and bad, it is assuredly bad no matter who perceives it, and between like and dislike, I certainly like the idea of obtaining such data and perhaps open new avenues of science we may have never thought of," Noukan then turned his black eyes to his student, "But, you are young Yuiitsu. You should study and experiment the available resources and specimens we have before we turn our attention to another which will always stay around. Do not rush science, I have explained this to you many times."
Yuiitsu pursed her lips in embarrassment, forgetting a lesson from Noukan was sin to her as he had decades of wisdom in science. With a small bow to her teacher, she looked out of the window with a small sigh, "I don't understand, there's nothing interesting about the Faunus or huntsmen. The Covenant seems more interesting since it's a rare Grimm type, something worth studying."
Noukan chuckled, his tail wagging in delight at Yuiitsu's childish behaviour and as young as she was, the dog could not deny the talent Yuiitsu has in science. The Kihara's, in general, tended to be some of the most brilliant minds on Remnant and Noukan held great pride in it, however, their incessant intellectual curiosity had very often been detrimental.
"There will be a time when observing the Covenant becomes viable. While there might not seem anything interesting in humans or Faunus as of now, there might be a time when facing a unique threat in a place as populated as this might hold some more… curious aspects worth studying," he stated.
Yuiitsu turned to him with a raised eyebrow, and asked with doubt, "How? They either kill the Covenant or the city gets destroyed, the possible outcomes are obvious." She paused as she watched Noukan turn his head to the side, "... Instructor, what are you getting at? Did you find something interesting?"
"No, no," Noukan shook his head with his lips stretching further to a grin, "I'm not doing this for my curiosity. This is to maintain my long-term interests… and for you as well as you have much to learn. Simply studying or experimenting can have an impact on our future and the worst thing for any Kihara is losing the capability to practice our field."
"I see… thank you, instructor," Yuiitsu once again bowed.
"Mmm, it's good to see you are eager to learn," Noukan stood up on the seat and placed his paw on her hand, "Which is why I have decided that you'll be placed on the task force."
The student froze, her eyes widening as her jaws dropped, "E-excuse me, instructor!?" she stammered, "What do you mean placing me on the task force!?"
"You will be representing us in the task to subjugate the Covenant and present all relevant findings to me," the dog ordered, then he turned to the front and asked, "Nayuta, how far till we arrive?"
The blond girl peeked from her elevated driver's seat and answered, "Only a few more minutes, Mr Noukan."
"Wait! I must protest, instructor!" Yuiitsu exclaimed as she waved her hands in panic, "How would sending me to this… taskforce be of any use!?"
"It is for educational purposes," the dog answered.
"Educational? But… how!?"
Noukan sighed and turned to Yuiitsu, though she knew dogs don't have eyebrows, she was sure that on his face was an equivalent of one, "For six years you have been under my tutelage to become a researcher like me, Yuiitsu. However, as experienced as I am, there are some things I cannot teach you directly.
"I believe working with people outside the Kihara clan can grant… new insights that will be fruitful for your future endeavours," Noukan explained patiently as he peered into her eyes.
Yuiitsu opened and closed her mouth as she struggled to find the words to rebuke this idea. For years she had followed his word to the letter when it came to science and her education as she had no doubt in her mind that Noukan was one of the greatest Kihara's out there. However, to work with the Faunus or those huntsmen was an affront to her intelligence.
"Furthermore, I have need of someone I can trust to monitor and learn everything about this case. As well as providing support against other Kihara's should the need arises," the dog continued.
"Then send Nayuta!" she exclaimed and pointed a finger at their driver.
"Yuiitsu, she isn't ready nor is she the person for the job. Besides, I'm confident in that you will be able to achieve results that can be of great personal use to you," Noukan replied calmly, one the robotic arms then protruded out of his backpack and placed it on her shoulder, "Especially as I can trust you to do it, and no one else."
The young scientist backed up in surprise, her cheeks tinged in pink from the unexpected statement from her teacher. While she had no desire to help anyone but Noukan, she hated to betray his expectations and if he had stated that this was a learning opportunity for her, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. She gulped and nodded stiffly, placing her hand over her chest and proclaimed, "Then… I'll do it, instructor. I'll head to the huntsmen's base and observe their work."
Noukan's tail began to wag as he grunted in approval, truly happy that his protege was going to grow even further than he had expected.
Yesterday was less action-packed than Blake expected, especially with how tense her senior huntsmen seemed to act throughout the whole day. She, along with her team, had prepared for some kind of combat, what with Touma and Yang in suits and weapons when they went into the pub, yet somehow everyone walked out unscathed. However, despite the visual result of the potentially dangerous meeting, her friends had left the pub with bewildered looks while Motoharu was smiling as always.
While the rest of RWBY had discussed what happened inside and she as did the rest of her team, could not believe they will end up working with the White Fang or a Kihara, let alone Roman Torchwick. However, when they confronted Motoharu, he had casually slid away from it and stated that it was a necessity if they wanted to deal with the problem as efficiently as possible.
When he had announced that there was going to be a task force, she didn't expect RWBY to be given the opportunity to join, even though she knew that Touma was certainly part of the group for his abilities alone. Motoharu had stated that they would have a combat assessment, with him personally being the one to assess them in a two on one fight and when she expected to face him off with Yang, he had decided to pair her up with Ruby.
That said, Blake had complete confidence in her combat skills as her classes would attest. She was consistently ranked in the top five along with Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha with Ren, Nora and Ruby sometimes hitting those ranks. She also had no doubt that Yang and Weiss would do fairly well and even if Motoharu was certainly more experienced than she was, she believed that they would be able to give him a run for his Lien.
"Good luck," Touma muttered to Ruby and Blake as they prepared to enter the arena with Motoharu waiting for them with a simple shortsword over his right shoulder while inspecting his pistol with his other hand. Unlike the girls, Touma was simply here to watch as there wasn't really anything else to do, "Just be careful, he's actually pretty good."
"Thanks, Touma, we'll get'im," Ruby replied, puffing out her chest with a grin as she shouldered her Crescent Rose while Blake nodded in appreciation and followed her leader to the arena.
As they approached Motoharu, he grinned at them and said, "Okay! Let's lay down some quick rules, shall we? First, when I say, 'stop', we stop. Second, take a look," he pointed at a large screen that hung from the ceiling. On it were Blake, Motoharu and Ruby's aura levels, the display was similar to the display at Beacon, "If it hits in the red, battle's over. Any questions?"
Blake shrugged while Ruby just stared at him before muttering, "Didn't think you'd be a shortsword kind of guy."
"Heh, I don't really use shortswords, but then again, this isn't exactly a serious fight," Motoharu replied with a taunting grin. The Faunus girl narrowed her eyes at the blatant provocation while Ruby groaned in disappointment.
"I was kinda hoping to see your actual weapon," Ruby said with a sheepish grin.
"Hahaha, well maybe another time. Now, if I were you, I'd focus on the here and now, so... whenever you're ready, let's start," Motoharu then raised his shortsword as Ruby and Blake fell into a stance of their own. The three of them remained at their places, trying to gauge how the fight would turn out and after several seconds of staring at each other, Motoharu tilted his head and relaxed his stance, "Huh… I honestly thought Ruby would charge at me by now." In that instance, his figure blurred towards them and the girls instinctively jumped away from each other to avoid his sudden assault.
Motoharu grinned as he turned heel and immediately pursued the younger girl and within those crucial seconds, his blade clashed against her Crescent Rose's handle. Blake clicked her tongue in annoyance and dashed after the two, she knew she had to pull the pressure off Ruby as she saw the young girl gritting her teeth and stepping back from each strike. However, as Ruby struggled to fend of Motoharu, the huntsman swung hard at her scythe, knocking it away and forcing her to turn to the side even though she had managed to maintain her grip on her weapon. As she was recovering from being knocked off-balance, Motoharu grabbed onto her hood and with a flare of his aura, pulled at the cloth and causing Ruby to widen her eyes and grunt in surprise.
Blake narrowed her eyes as she hopped over the blur of red that just hit the ground, producing a squeak from her team leader. Just as she landed, she instinctively held up her blade and scabbard. The shortsword clanged against them, her arms shaking from the sheer force before she noticed faint shadows from the corner of her eyes and moved her weapons to intercept. The blades clanged against each other repeatedly and Blake narrowed her eyes as Motoharu's sword forced her to back up from each attack.
Motoharu's grin flashed at her face as his sword slammed into her Gambol Shroud and said lightly, "Not bad, not bad at all, you're a pretty tough nut to crack, but…" the sword flashed like silver and Blake grunted as she felt her arms awkwardly attempt to direct her weapons to protect her, "If you're unable to press the attack, it's going to be all too easy."
"I'm not done yet!" a cry came from behind Blake and she smirked for the first time in this 'sparring' session as a flash of red sped past her head and onto Motoharu who weaved out of the way and jumped off. Ruby landed beside the Faunus, her scythe at the ready, "You alright?"
"Better," Blake replied with a ghost of a smile as she readied her stance. The two nodded at each other without another word, the older girl charged while Ruby's set her Crescent Rose into a sniper mode, using the blade as a makeshift bipod.
Motoharu's lips twitched slightly upwards as he charged, weaving past Ruby's dust rounds, barely changing his course and clashed against Blake. Despite the young girl's support, Blake found herself on the defensive against his relentless assault. His flurry of strikes from his shortsword, supplemented by his pistol shooting at her, had her backpedalling but she managed to either parry or avoid each of his attacks so far.
The huntsman grinned as he stepped forward aggressively, his blade striking much like a snake, as if attempting to hit areas Blake found awkward to defend, and when it proved too much, Blake's aura flared and her semblance activated, leaving a clone that was quickly struck down as she jumped from her previous position.
Blake's lips twitched as the moment the clone fell, a sniper round hurtled into Motoharu's position. To her surprise, the young man easily deflected the attack with his shortsword and retaliated with several shots at Ruby who was forced to roll out of the way. The Faunus's lips pursed as she landed and charged at Motoharu to take the pressure off her leader.
As the blades clashed once again, Motoharu casually said, "Not a bad strategy, you take the attention of the enemy while Ruby picks them off with a well-placed shot." His blade clanged against hers as he clicked his tongue tauntingly, "She's certainly a better tactician than I give her credit for, but…"
Blake's eyes widened as he made a ferocious uppercut and her aura flared once again as she substituted herself with the clone. But Motoharu stepped passed the clone and charged straight at Ruby as he ducked under the sniper attack once more. Blake gritted her teeth and turned to chase him.
Motoharu pounced, his blade reached for Ruby who quickly pulled her Crescent Rose off the ground to block the attack. Unlike Blake, she struggled to protect herself from the flurry of swings the huntsman made, using her staff awkwardly to block each strike. As Ruby was about to flare her aura for her semblance to create distance, Motoharu suddenly locked onto the staff with his sword and tutted, "Ah ah ah~! Don't think you can run whenever you want." He then struck her with his elbow, dazing her momentarily.
"Ruby!" Blake shouted as she made contact with Motoharu who grunted as she swiped her Gambol Shroud at him, forcing him to duck and shoulder charged Ruby who found herself stumbling from the impact.
Motoharu then turned to Blake and as she had made her attack, hoping she could take advantage of Ruby being focused on, she found her blade whiffing past him and suddenly whipped his pistol out, aimed point-blank at her head. She immediately ducked her head, but a loud bang forced her eyes to squeeze shut as she dropped her weapons and clamped hands over her head as her ears started ringing.
Suddenly, something heavy slammed into her and she found herself tumbling on the ground as she gripped her chest, her scar aching from the sudden blunt attack. She opened her eyes, dazed as a blurred mass of red and black laid beside her and when her vision cleared up, she saw Ruby stirring as she rubbed her head. Blake slowly picked herself up, a little disoriented as she shook her head to regain her bearings. Her aura tingled her body warmly and soon enough, she stood ready, noticing Motoharu standing there patiently for them.
Ruby groaned as she stood up, she was aware that when it came to a duel with another fighter, she wasn't as good as Yang, but this was the first time she struggled this hard against a person. Using her scythe to steady herself, she glanced at the screen only for her eyes to widen, both Blake and her aura count had almost reached the halfway point whereas Motoharu's had barely moved.
"Okay, not bad," Motoharu called out with a small grin, "But I know a prepared manoeuvre when I see one, and as effective as it is, it didn't work. So…" he pointed his sword at them in a challenging manner, "What are you going to do?"
"Ruby?" Blake asked as she kept her eyes on Motoharu as she raised her weapons.
"... If 'Shadow Rose' didn't work… then… we'll try that thing we practised with Yang last week," Ruby said.
Blake frowned a little surprised at the proposal. The strategy her leader referred to was a tactical manoeuvre that relied on Yang as the centrepiece and the absence of her partner in this fight had left a lot of questions, "We're doing 'that'? Without Yang?"
"We'll just have to adjust, just follow my lead!" Ruby declared with confidence. Unlike her, Blake was a little more of a realist, but at least her leader had a plan and it was far better than ad-libbing an attack on someone who was far superior in combat to them. With a curt nod, the two slightly bent their knees while their weapons shifted to their ranged modes, a pistol for Blake and a compact rifle for Ruby. "GO!"
The two sped off, each of them going for one of Motoharu's flanks as they surrounded him and began firing straight at Motoharu forcing him to jump back or block an incoming dust round. The moment either of the girls would run out of dust rounds, they would seamlessly reload and continue firing, barely leaving a second of not firing at their target.
By then, Yang would usually charge in while the target was suppressed by Ruby and Blake, and finish them right there and then with a well-placed shotgun-enhanced punch. The Faunus girl gritted her teeth as she shot a glance at Ruby and wondered how the girl was going to compensate for the lack of their finisher. It was then she noticed, Crescent Rose suddenly transformed into a scythe with the sniper barrel active and pointed behind Ruby.
The girl charged, her sniper banging away as she picked up momentum and her scythe flashing. Blake fired continuously at Motoharu, hoping to suppress him while Ruby can make the surefire hit and as she managed to grab his attention, her jaws dropped.
Just as Ruby was about to slice through with her scythe, Motoharu easily ducked the attack, despite being suppressed and since she was right at his vicinity, Blake was forced to stop firing to prevent hitting her own leader. He then gripped onto the flying hood of Ruby as she passed by and with her momentum, slammed her down to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Ruby!" Blake shouted, but she didn't charge in as it was sure to be suicidal. If Ruby couldn't take him down under suppression, then she was definitely not going to come out much better than that.
Motoharu chuckled before he let go of Ruby and pounced at Blake, his sword reaching for her but in a blur, she activated her semblance and jumped out of the way just as her clone was pierced by the blade. However, he wasn't finished as he pursued relentlessly, forcing Blake to engage with her Gambol Shroud in melee. This time, without Ruby to support her, the pressure was oppressive as she flicked her blades to prevent the sword striking her or the pistol aiming at her, but it was only a matter of time as she could not find a way to counterattack at all.
However, she had managed to remain elusive and eventually, Motoharu slowed his tempo of attacks as he remarked, "Geeze, your reaction timing is pretty good, that plus your semblance? Almost cheating. So let's try something different." Suddenly, his movements subtly changed and Blake's eyes caught it. He swung his sword to her left side and she quickly brought her katana to intercept, as the blades met, she found her Gambol Shroud being knocked back, her feet trying to maintain her balance from the sheer power of the attack. She flipped back to reset her position only to be pounced again with an overhead swing, she used both the scabbard and katana to block the attack. She grunted as the shortsword met her weapons, her arms and shoulders trembling and her legs buckling from the attack, bringing one of them down to the knee, but Motoharu wasn't done as he banged his sword thrice on her, not even bothering to change the angle of the attack. Having enough, Blake dove to the side as her aura flared with her clone to be axed in half by his attack.
With a low whistle, Motoharu turned to her while nodding in slight approval before he charged each swing almost as powerful as before and Blake gritted her teeth as she prepared herself for the onslaught of attacks. Suddenly, a loud crack resounded through her ears followed by a powerful stinging sensation in her leg. With a gasp, she stumbled as her left leg shuddered from the impact of the dust round, her aura flaring to shield herself from getting penetrated by the bullet, then she was knocked off her feet from a kick from the huntsman, crumpling her posture. With a groan, she attempted to recover only to feel cold steel at her chin.
"I think that's enough for now, don't you think?" Motoharu asked as he held his short sword close to her face. Blake simply glared at him as she raised her hands in surrender. He sheathed his sword and held out his hand to which she took and pulled her up. He then turned and jogged to Ruby who was stirring and groaning, but very much awake.
After checking her leg which was a little shaky but otherwise unharmed, Blake turned to the screen and slouched in disappointment, she never had a performance in a combat session this bad in a very long time. Both Ruby and her bars were just over a quarter filled while Motoharu had barely reduced itself, still in the solid green.
"Okay, not too bad, actually better than I thought," Motoharu's voice pierced her thoughts as he strolled towards her with Ruby dragging her feet behind.
"Er… I don't see how, we didn't even scratch you," Ruby pointed out as she rubbed her arm and stared at the floor, "You just walked through our attacks like it was nothing."
"Bah! You were never going to beat me in a fair fight," he dismissed her and as much as Blake hated to admit, he was right. "That said, there are things that I liked about your style so you've set the bar high for the rest of your team."
"...How so?" Blake asked sceptically.
"Hmmm, you know what? I'll tell you two what I think of how your performances were," Motoharu nodded as he stepped back so that he could look at the two of them, "Ruby, let's start with you, yeah? First, you got a good head, I'm surprised you didn't get frazzled when I dealt with your first plan of attack so easily. That's a good asset as a leader when something goes wrong, you adjust accordingly, though your last strategy was… weird."
"Umm… we were supposed to have Yang for that, but well… there was only two of us," Ruby explained sheepishly but her face brightened at the praise.
Motoharu pursed his lips, mildly impressed and continued, "Well, either way, your ability to adjust and adapt on the fly is a crucial asset to any huntsman and especially a leader. However, you struggle to handle a direct combat situation and that forced Blake to pull you out. Now, knowing Oz-man, I'm sure it's because you're more inexperienced than lack of skill so I suggest you work on that next time when push comes to shove, you need to be able to step in when you're needed as well."
Ruby nodded, but it wasn't the first time she heard that. Professor Goodwitch had made similar assessments during her time in combat classes and Yang had been helping her slowly to deal with that kind of situation. However, to be praised for her cool-headedness, she had a feeling of vindication as Weiss had often criticised Ruby's leadership at times.
"Now, Blake…" Motoharu turned to her and she glanced back, interested in what he had to say about her capabilities, "You're good. Your swordsmanship with your semblance makes it pretty difficult to fight and land a solid hit on you. The fact that you forced me to make a cheap shot is a testament to how good you are on the defensive. You like to grind out your engagements and wait for your opponent to make a mistake before taking them out. I can see how Ruby got her first strategy worked out.
"But… you remained on the defensive almost all the time, you need to have more offensive pressure to keep someone like me from jumping on weaker direct fighters like Ruby. The way I see it is that you can hold a lot of problematic fighters in one place even if you can't beat them for a long time. Good for stalling for your team, but you need to be able to finish your targets quickly or at the very least, make them see you as a threat," he explained, his sunglasses glinting at the light, "You will notice that in most missions, time is often not on your side. So being able to finish your fights as fast as possible is important and as you always opted to be on the safe side in the fight, this can be a liability."
Blake's jaw tightened as she realised what he meant, she wasn't a stranger to going on operations, especially as the White Fang. However, she understood what he meant by 'finishing off targets quickly'. When she was with the White Fang on missions, she was often partnered with Adam and he was the one who would take down Grimm or SDC security forces while she preoccupied the more troublesome elements.
"I'm not saying you should give up on your 'safe' style, but taking a risk or two can be extremely beneficial to you and your team," Motoharu finished and with a clap of his hands, he grinned, "That said, your teamwork was actually pretty solid as far as I can tell, you two were almost on the same page so Oz-man really knew what he was doing when he put you guys together. Now… why don't you guys head back and grab Yang and Weiss for me, gotta get this show on the road!"
The two of them stiffly nodded as they trudged back to the edge of the arena, as they replayed the fight over and over their heads. Hopefully their teammates can take Motoharu down a peg or two.
If Yang had to be honest, she was excited and eager for this moment. For the past couple of days, Motoharu had pushed them around at his whim and had done things that deserved a punch in the face and today was the day she was going to get that chance. However, while she would begrudgingly admit that it surprised her that he could easily handle Blake and Ruby at the same time, it did not shake her confidence one bit.
"Well, that's the rules, whenever you're ready," Motoharu concluded, the same rules he had given to Blake and Ruby, applied to the last two members of RWBY.
Yang's grin stretched out even further as she smacked her fist into her hand as she said off-handedly, "I've been waiting for this."
"Mhmm, I'm sure you are," Motoharu returned with a grin of his own as he waved his shortsword at her.
"Wait, Yang, we need a plan," Weiss pointed out as she stepped next to her partner for the spar. She unsheathed her Myrtenaster and stood ready, "You've seen how he's handled Blake and Ruby, we'll have to be careful with him."
"Uh-huh, and do you have a plan?" Yang asked without a single drop of concern in her voice.
Weiss frowned and answered, "Well, no, but-"
"Okay, then I'll keep him occupied while you use that big brain of yours to figure something out, 'kay?" Yang concluded and her feet shifted onto the ground, her knees bending slightly and her fists tightening, "Besides, we wait any longer, he's just gonna jump on us."
"Wai-!" Before Weiss could put any input, Yang leapt into the air, her fists raised.
As she descended on Motoharu, she slammed her right fist where Motoharu had hopped back from, the ground cracking at the impact. Yang grunted as she pulsed her aura around her body and shot forward, her fists hurtling towards Motoharu who leaned back and weaved in an attempt to pull himself out the range of the attack. However, despite being on the end of an aggressive assault, his face still clung onto the grin that mirrored Yang's own.
Yang stepped forward, her foot invaded where Motoharu would stand as she shot her fists only to meet the air, but despite whiffing, she kept her pace steady, halting her momentum in case he would counter from her missed hits. She continued pushing forward and he stepped back in response, her grin turning into bared teeth as her punches began to close in on him, until her right fist met the flat surface of the shortsword. Her Ember Celica ground on the sword, as her muscles clenched and her aura pulsed in an attempt to gain the upper hand. As she watched Motoharu's face, she could've sworn that behind the sunglasses of his, he winked.
Suddenly, Motoharu turned to the side, his shortsword tilting in a way that made Yang's fist slip. Following up, he elbowed Yang in the left cheek before kicking her away, sending her stumbling back as she held her stinging cheek and glared at him.
"Hah, you nearly got me there!" Motoharu commented lightly as he relaxed his stance, "Though honestly, even with that kind of style you have, I'd thought you would jump in with Weiss… looks like I was wrong."
Yang's lips stretched to a smile as she relaxed her hands as well, "Well, sometimes a dance only requires two people, ya know?"
"Fair eno-" Motoharu's grin suddenly dropped as he jumped to the side and as he did, the ground he was standing on lit up with an all too familiar glyph spinning underneath it.
"About time, Weiss," Yang muttered as she watched her fellow blonde hop left and right while glyphs would appear where he would stand. Her gauntlets clicked as she aimed them at him and fired her, her arms and shoulders shuddering from the force.
Motoharu grunted as he dodged one of the explosive projectiles and then blocked another with his weapon, his feet sliding from the impact of the explosion only to land right into a glyph that popped in behind him. His hips jerked upwards but his feet seemed to be stuck to the glyph like superglue, with a frown, he looked down and clicked his tongue, "Ahhh… you got me… not bad."
"You shouldn't charge in alone, you just got lucky," Weiss chided at Yang as she approached the two, her hand raised towards Motoharu as her face was tense with concentration.
Her teammate shrugged and replied, "Well you came in to save the day, so I'd say it worked out pretty well." Weiss rolled her eyes as she saw Yang flash a teasing grin at her.
"Well, now that I sealed his movement, we should be able to take him out, just follow my lead and we got this in the bag," Weiss ordered as she raised her weapon, a confident smile slowly etched itself on her face.
"Gotcha!" Yang banged her fists together and fell into a stance.
"Hmm, okay, decent plan, but neither of you can beat me in a direct hand to hand combat," Motoharu rebutted as he twisted his body to meet the newcomer.
"Oh ho! Is that so? That wasn't what was happening a minute ago!" Yang exclaimed, placing a hand on her hip while the other wagged a finger at him, "Hell, I was pushing you back easily!"
"Only because I let you, and trust me, even with this handicap, you won't win," Motoharu stated.
Yang snorted as her grin widened, but her eyes lit up with a vicious spark as if the humour in it became more violent, "Right, then what do you call the last minute of me pushing your ass to the corner?"
"Sympathy? Nostalgia? Perhaps, testing like I first mentioned?" Motoharu proposed as he rubbed his chin with his free hand, the edges of Yang's lips slowly relaxed at each word until he reached the final one, "Pity?"
In that instance, Yang's smile fired back up, her eyes flashing red but nothing about her current appearance had any room for amusement, "Hahaha! You're a pretty funny guy aren't ya?" She stepped forward with her raised fists.
"Yang! Don't listen to him!" Weiss warned, but her legs shifted, read to move as she watched her teammate approach their target slowly.
"Alright, let's dance, you and me," Yang challenged, ignoring Weiss as she shot a finger at him, "And I'll promise you, it'll be a dance you won't forget."
Motoharu chortled as he shrugged without care and answered, "Well… I guess it couldn't hurt, I mean… You can't disappoint me further than you could've right now."
The blond girl's smile dropped and with a snarl, she rushed as she rushed forward. Weiss was about to call for her teammate to stop only for the corner of her eyes to pick up Motoharu firing off two rounds at her. Her hand dropped and the glyph disappeared as she flicked Myretenaster to block the ranged attack.
Motoharu then turned and jumped back just as Yang's fist was about to crash into his skull, chuckling along the way and inciting her even more. She snarled as she swung her fist, far less refined than before, but far deadlier only for him to flick his sword at it, directing the punch away while he closed in and elbowed her in the face once more and while she stumbled, kicked her to tumble her down to the ground. Without even bothering to check, he turned and pounced straight at Weiss who was about to raise her hand to activate her semblance.
She grunted as she pulled her hand back and sidestepped, striking with her Myrtenaster much like her sister would. Motoharu grinned as he ducked under the counterattack and shoulder charged into her torso, her body reeled as her free hand quickly clamped over where his shoulder struck. Her mouth was gaping in pain and her rapier's point dropped downwards, opening her up to an easy follow-up.
Before Motoharu could take the advantage, loud roar rang through his ears and his vision flickered with shadows momentarily. He glanced to the source, a bright yellow flash filled his vision and his legs kicked into gear, jumping away from where he was which had quickly turned into a crater. Yang didn't miss a beat, she pursued Motoharu with another cry, a wide haymaker coming from his left and he immediately ducked, his hair bristling from the sheer pressure of the attack. The blonde threw another one and Motoharu arched his back, his shirt rustling from the proximity of the punch and at the corner of his eye, Weiss straightened up with pursed lips and a slightly hunched stance, but her eyes were firm as ice.
He immediately sidestepped Yang's next punch and hopped again just as a glyph popped underneath him, narrowly missing its mark. With a growl, Yang's glowing hair seemed to radiate heat as she glared at him and reset her stance, her knees bending ever so slightly as she cocked her fist back. At that moment, the ground below her feet exploded as she shot forward like a yellow laser beam with her fist outstretched.
A short chuckle escaped as Motoharu shifted forward to avoid the glyph and immediately used his sword to glide into the fist path while he pulsed his aura just before impact. The shortsword slid next to the Ember Celica gauntlets, sparks flying as Motoharu shifted the fist upwards while he shot his free hand in a palms strike right at Yang's right side of her torso. As she gasped in pain, Motoharu spun and threw his short sword straight at Weiss, who didn't expect the unorthodox attack and deflected it with her weapon. He grinned as he kicked at the recovering Yang and dashed to Weiss, his aura pulsing at each push.
Weiss's eyes widened and she swiped her rapier downward, stopping Motoharu for barreling into her. However, that did little to deter him as he advanced while pulling out something from his jacket. A clang reverberated around her, a small glint of silver hit her eyes as Motoharu stepped forward and she stepped back as she quickly made another slash with her rapier only for it to be parried by his handgun. She grunted under pressure as he advanced once more, striking out with his fist and her head jerked back to avoid the attack.
As Motoharu was about to make another attack, the familiar roar took over the arena once again and from behind him, Weiss saw a flash of yellow. Motoharu quickly shot sideways, as a fist appeared. She cried out as she weaved reflexively away from it.
"Yang! Watch it!" Weiss barked, her voice higher than usual. Taking a punch when she's in 'that' mode was not an experience she wanted to have after seeing it deck someone in one shot during class.
Yang, however, didn't listen as she threw another punch that was easily avoided by Motoharu. Weiss inwardly cursed as she shot her rapier, hoping to finish this fight, but when something warm grasped her right hand, her eyes widened as dread clamped her body. His face flashed a grin and as he pulled down Myrtenaster as another yellow cloaked punch made its way, but when he ducked, Weiss gasped and a cracking sound shot around them as the fist shot to her shoulder.
Without even a cry, the young Schnee shot away as her hand was released, rolling violently as dust clouded around her. A large beeping sound signified Weiss's aura bar on the screen was completely blacked out.
"Huh!? Weiss!?" Yang's blood-red eyes quickly reverted to her usual lilac as did her violently glowing hair gently receded.
"Ah-ah! Gotta pay attention!" Before Yang could react, a palm strike shot straight towards her chin and she felt her feet left the ground, her body sailing through the air before her back slammed straight into the ground, "Aaaaand I think that's it."
Yang blinked once and then twice before she sat up, flinching from the sting on chin and teeth, Motoharu walked up to her with a grin and said, "Well, gotta say, you scared me a couple of times."
"I can still fight," she declared as she ignored his hand and pushed herself up.
"Right… but she can't," Motoharu replied as he jerked a thumb to Weiss who was steadily picking herself up, albeit her body trembling completely.
Yang's eyes widened as she shouted, "Weiss!"
She dashed to her teammate, ignoring the stings. Not only that, Ruby, Blake and Touma were also running to Weiss who stumbled to the left and right in an attempt to gain balance.
"I'm so sorry Weiss, I di-"
"Ten seconds… Just ten seconds!" Weiss snarled as her eyes pierced at Yang. If the blonde girl had to be honest, that felt more painful than anything Motoharu dished out on her.
"Well, I didn't mean to-"
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Weiss's voice grew with intensity at each word and while her tone was low, everyone could hear the venom underneath it.
"I… well…" Yang shot a glance at the rest of her friends. Blake seemed to decide whatever was to her left more interesting, Ruby chuckled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck.
Touma, her last hope, sucked through his teeth as if feeling the pain himself before he said, "You… pretty much punched her at full power. That's your fault… sorry."
Yang gasped at the betrayal, except that she couldn't deny what he said, she made a mental note to deal with this betrayal later.
"Exactly. If you just stopped going on your own for just ten seconds! We might've actually had a chance!" Weiss spat as everyone uneasily stepped back.
"But, Weiss, I-"
"Ah-ah!" the Schnee shot her palm up as if to stop Yang.
"But, I-"
"Ah!"
"Bu-"
Weiss shot a warning glare as she pointed at her teammate and Yang hung her head in guilt as she mumbled unintelligibly. Suddenly a loud series of clap grabbed their attention as Motoharu lazily strolled towards them, "Well that should conclude our little exercise, don'cha think?" Everyone stared at him, none of them particularly happy, "Aww c'mon, don't be like that! Well… I guess I should tell you how well you did eh? So, let's start with you, Weiss."
Weiss, despite the pain she was in, straightened her back almost like she was in a classroom, even if it wasn't an official one, she still wanted to be at her best.
"It's clear that this wasn't your fight, and not exactly your complete fault of your own," He started, everyone shot a glance at Yang who quickly averted her gaze, "Frankly, your strategy and ideas are pretty sound, and while it may not look like it, you're pretty decent with your rapier. I'd imagine your sister helped you with that right? Well, thing is, once things started to not go your own way, you get lost or you tried to force that strategy to work. It's good to have a plan in every combat situation, but more often than not, things don't always go as planned, you need to be able to adapt on the fly or things may not end well for you next time."
Weiss's jaw seemed to twitch before she curtly nodded, Motoharu then turned to Yang and began his assessment, "Now as for you, out of everyone here, you're the one who isn't afraid to set the tempo of the fight. Aggressive and a solid foundation in all aspects, if I had to say, you're the best direct fighter of this team. Hell, if you were on the same page as Weiss, you might even knock me out! The problem here is that you get swayed by your rage too easily, even knocked out your teammate in one go. If you had controlled your temper, this would've been far less of a disappointment.
"Unlike Ruby and Blake, your teamwork was all over the place and that's a big no-no if you can't work with your team, especially you, Yang," Motoharu chided with a wagging finger, Yang pursed her lips as her cheeks darkened slightly, "Individually, you two are a lot better than most at your age, but that doesn't mean anything if you can't work together."
"Yeah… I guess…" Yang muttered as she rubbed her neck, Weiss rolled her eyes before she slowly straightened herself to her usual pose, albeit with some wincing.
"Good, now I did mention to all of you, this was to determine where you will all head, and now that I have a good idea of how good all of you are… well," Motoharu grinned as he pulled out his scroll, "I think this will be a good learning experience, don'cha think?"
