A Cosmic Journey

by Sleepless Elite

One minute asleep in an apartment, the next clearly not. This is no quest with a goal, no adventure voluntarily undertaken. This is a journey without acquiescence, a constant fight for survival, with the creatures of Grimm being just one problem. This is a story, now woven into that of many others, that better not end anytime soon. (SI/OC) (OC/?)

31. Chapter 28: Bite Off More

A Cosmic Journey

A/N: Alright, back on the grind, just a tad late. Somehow, likely in the mess surrounding me last week, I missed the fact that this story hit the milestones of 200K words, 300 favorites and 400 followers. Never should it be said that I take things for granted, so a huge thank you to all the readers that have given this a chance, and for aiding in the little victories where I can get them. Also, somehow I neglected to address the reviews from the previous chapter, so they'll once again be at the bottom of the chapter. Thanks again, and happy reading going into Easter!

Chapter 28: Bite Off More

Chapter Date: 04/06/2020

I shouldn't have been feeling this irritated from Cardin's weak insults. Maybe it was the lack of sleep getting to me, or what Prim had said earlier, or even that I'd mentally had enough of Cardin. In any event, if I was being instructed to cut loose, more fool them.

I strode out of the locker room ahead of Cardin, stepping out into the arena and drawing Goodwitch's attention. "Mr. Higure, before we begin, I would like to remind-" Goodwitch paused as I drew both Luna and Corona. With Mirror's Edge on my back and Mortem worn on my hand, it was obvious that I had all my weapons on me this time. "Very well. Please take your position and we will begin once Mr. Winchester does the same."

"WHOOOOO, GO KOUZAI!" Nora's telltale cheering carried down quite clearly from the stands, joined by the rest of JNPR and KMMI. After a glare over to his teammates, CRDL proceeded to do the same for Cardin as he pulled out the Executioner and took a stance.

"Fighters, are you ready?" Goodwitch looked at Cardin and I.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this," Cardin growled. Sighing, Goodwitch turned to me, my only response being to ready my weapons.

"The fight will begin in three…"

I hadn't pulled this trick since the Beringel in Shion.

"Two…"

But I suppose Cardin would have to do.

"One…"

Channeling my Aura, I focused on using Chronometry and Burst simultaneously, while lowering the opaqueness of my shades.

"Begin!"

I rocketed forward thanks to Burst, closing in on Cardin at what I perceived to be normal speeds. Swinging Mirror's Edge in a full arc, Cardin's eyes widened deliciously slow before raising the Executioner to protect his body. My blade slammed into the mace, driving the weapon into his arm and knocking him back. His mouth was open and starting to form words, but I didn't have the focus or motivation to wait.

Splitting Mirror's Edge in two, I spun around to Cardin's back and slashed downwards across his back, watching his Aura flash as Cardin spasmed in pain.

'Not yet…' I threw one of my longswords into the air as Cardin was turning, forcing him to abort his feral swing. Looking down, his eyes widened as he stared down Corona's barrel.

BANG

With Lightning Dust arcing down from his face, Cardin could only watch as I leapt up into the air, grabbing my other longsword and reforming Mirror's Edge. Spinning down, I flipped once, twice, before cleaving down towards Cardin. Self-preservation had him interspersing the Executioner in front of his face, cushioning the force of the blow as he was forced down to one knee, the ground cracking. Cardin refocused his vision in time to catch my steel-toed boot with his face, his head whipping to the side as I planted Mirror's Edge into the ground. Holding onto my weapon with one hand while the other yanked the Executioner out of Cardin's loosened grip, I spun around and hurled Cardin's weapon towards the barrier and out of the arena. Already in motion again, I grabbed Mirror's Edge and split the weapon in two once more as I closed in on Cardin, letting out my breath in a hiss as I began the familiar pattern.

Slash to the collarbone. Slam ribs and liver. Block haymaker.

'This is your just desserts.'

Blow to the face. Ruin pauldron and traumatize shoulder. Slash back to cause arching.

'But I'd be lying…'

Heel kick to face. Stomp onto chest. Rotating slashes towards neck.

'If I said I wouldn't enjoy it.'

Mirror's Edge stopped millimeters before Cardin's neck, trapping him on the ground in a neck stockade of blades. On his back, his eyes widened as I pulled out Corona again and aimed it at his face.

BANG

BANG

BANG

"ENOUGH!" I couldn't so much as twitch my trigger finger for a fourth shot, my figure outlined in familiar lavender Aura. Swiveling my eyes up and to the side, I caught sight of Goodwitch's glare on full display, though the impact was marred with an element of apprehension. "The match is over, Mr. Higure…" As Goodwitch released her Telekinesis, I glanced down dispassionately at Cardin's writhing form, unable to even clutch his face out of fear of slicing his Aura against Mirror's Edge. A look up towards the scoreboard.

Cardin Winchester: 8%

Kouzai Higure: 34%

I turned and gestured at Goodwitch. "Am I allowed to get my weapon, or will I be prevented from doing that too?" Goodwitch took one heaving breath, her nostrils flaring as she waved outward in consent. Nodding, I stepped over to Cardin and planted one foot beside his head, before ripping Mirror's Edge from the ground. As I reformed the blade, I bent down to inspect the battered redhead.

"Mess with anyone close to me, scratch that, anyone, again, and trust that I'll do worse." I straightened and walked towards Goodwitch for my critique. However, the sparring professor seemed at a loss for words.

"Mr. Higure…what manner of technique did you use?" Goodwitch grasped instead at the drastic increase in speed, strength and perception I'd displayed.

"An active use of my semblance, along with a simple physical-enhancement Aura technique. The eyes to see what's coming and the physicality to react to it." I tapped my shades before glancing up at the scoreboard. "Although, it's still a flawed strategy, using my Aura for multiple things at once. Any longer than half a minute and I technically would've been the one to lose by Aura knockout. Now, if there aren't any other questions, I've got some exerted muscles that I should prevent from pulling themselves."

Turning to head back to the locker room, I stopped as Goodwitch indeed had one more question. "Why all the ferocity? Your strategy required expediency to be sure, but there were other ways of victory, especially with Mr. Winchester lacking his weapon. But trapping him in some form of guillotine? Repeated shots to the face? What purpose did that serve?"

I looked back at Goodwitch, who seemed to have collected herself. Her inquiry appeared to come from a place of introspection rather than blame. I pointed at Cardin trying to get off the ground. "You wanted me to use my weapons, so I did. You wanted me to use my 'full potential', so I did. In a real fight, the goal is to claim victory as fast as possible. Capitalizing on your opponent's weaknesses? Demoralizing their will to fight? Securing multiple win conditions? It's what will be expected once we graduate from Beacon, so please don't question me for employing such tactics here, professor." With that, I walked into the locker room, my headache still pounding away.

… … …

"That. Was. AMAZING!" Melanie busted our poor door open and twirled into the room, a gleeful smile on her face. "I knew you weren't at your best fighting Mil and I while your eyes were closed, but damn, you absolutely demolished Cardin. He'll be feeling that asskicking for weeks!"

"Your Aura control was impressive, certainly, but your swordsmanship also looked practiced. I see some similarities in the moves you use compared with those of Yatsuhashi, which makes sense given the size of both your weapons." Miltia paused, then snapped her eyes open as she realized what she'd said.

"O-ho? And how would my dear younger sister know what Yatsuhashi's 'moves' look like, hmm?" Melanie stalked closer to her increasingly flustered twin, smelling the proverbial blood in the water. "Is that where you've been disappearing off to these past few weeks? Looking to snag tall, built and quiet?"

"N-No! I went to ask him some questions about some of our classes, nothing more than that!" The Malachite trademark wit exerted itself as Miltia pointed a finger back at Melanie. "And at least I've got a real reason to talk to Yatsuhashi, considering that he and Velvet carry CFVY through their classes. You, on the other hand, have been getting quite cozy with Fox. So what's your excuse?"

"…I wanted to get some tips from him on kicking techniques, that's all." Melanie would've done an admirable job of playing it cool, if it weren't for the crimson blush on her pale skin. "Errr…you're just annoyed that you can talk to a boy to save your life!"

As the twins began another of their renowned arguments, my head throbbed again and I clutched my forehead. "GRRR…what the hell's the matter? I'm already away from Cardin and his inane chatter, so what's the problem? Sleep? Nah, I've been fine all week. Maybe a walk wouldn't hurt though…'

"I'll be stepping out to Vale for a while, need to clear my head," I announced to the room at large, though the twins seemed engrossed on nitpicking over each other's potential heartthrobs. I checked to make sure that I had Luna on me at the very least, as Goodwitch seemed quite insistent on having me put Mirror's Edge and Corona into my locker. A sideways glanced showed Ilia sidling up to me.

"Something the matter? You seem both lost in thought and pained to be thinking at all." Pale blue eyes appeared disarmingly earnest as they searched my face. "Also, your spar with Cardin seemed uncharacteristically…raw for you. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed you beating Cardin likely more than anyone one else in our class, but-"

"It's alright Ilia, I'm fine," I attempted to reassure my partner. "The spar was just to show Goodwitch that I have the chops to stick with the best of them, and that sparring can be used to try new techniques, and not just hone your one style. I'm just feeling…cooped up, for lack of a better term, so I figured the city proper would do me some good, honest."

Ilia stared for a moment, before smiling. "Alright, just checking on my partner's wellbeing. Don't stay out too long though, or Goodwitch might have all our heads. Oh, and congrats on finally making the top ten in class. It's tough, but I'm sure you'll be fine." The chameleon Faunus smirked and patted me on the back.

"Yeah yeah, don't be smug now." I ducked under Ilia's arm and reached the door. "Don't wait up for me now!"

Reaching the bullhead to Vale in short order, I sat down in the seat and lounged back, soaking in the temporary atmosphere of being by my lonesome. As the doors began to raise, however, a shout broke the relative silence.

"Please wait!"

I opened my eyes at the distinctive accent, then motioned for the pilot to open the doors once more. As they did, the tops of two bunny ears came into view before the figure of Velvet stepped onto the ramp and into the seating area. Looking around for a moment, her eyes landed on me and she approached. Dressed in a cream sweater and brown skirt, the second-year cut a striking figure in her casual wear.

My tired synapses began firing again. "Hey Velvet, good to see you. Is there a reason why you had to dash for the Bullhead? I thought second-year classes ended at 5."

"They did, but I was preoccupied by my team's antics." A raised eyebrow was enough to coax the answer out of her. "Basically, Fox and Yatsu were bickering over something right ridiculous while Coco insisted I couldn't step into Vale without 'looking every inch the sweetheart that I am.'"

"Hmm, I'm glad that my team doesn't have a fashion diva on it. Well, I've got two actually, but both insist their regular outfits are 'peak energy' already. As for Ilia, she's with me in the school of 'utility over decoration.'" I glanced over at Velvet. "So, any particular reason for a Friday excursion into Vale? Moonlighting as a secret party girl, perhaps?"

A solid thud to my arm was response enough. "I actually need to refill on Hard-Light Dust for Anisedora. I've been working on some modifications to let the copies last a bit longer, but Hard-Light Dust is quite inefficient."

"Tell me about it." Over the past few weeks, Velvet and I had made time to meet and discuss some of the finer points of Dust chemistry, specifically Hard-Light Dust. Admittedly, she was better at it than I was, and after swearing her to secrecy, showed her Mortem and how the gauntlet worked. After a few hours with it, Velvet was able to point out some circuitry changes I could make to have the Dust crystals last longer. With any luck, I'd be able to modify Mortem and gain enough control to create other objects with the Hard-Light Dust. The idea then struck me. "Truth be told, I was just planning to wander Vale for a few hours and relax before heading back to Beacon. If something like that is in your timeframe, I could accompany you, considering that I should probably stock up on Hard-Light Dust too."

"Hmm, I don't see why not. Better to get what we can now before the prices rise again from all the Dust robberies." I fixed my smile in place before it could vanish at mention of the robberies, as Velvet smiled in return. "After all, it'd be good to give my junior some tips on the best Dust spots around Vale."

"Why Ms. Scarlatina, you're too kind."

… … …

"-And I stood there, holding a copy of Fulcrum, and told Yatsu 'Don't worry, I'll protect you.' Oh, you should've seen the look on his face!" Velvet covered her mouth as she laughed with mirth, while I pictured the scene from her initiation that she was describing. Considering Yatsuhashi's normally unflappable nature, kind of like Ren, it was a pleasant thought to imagine them dumbfounded…for the right reasons, of course.

Velvet and I had traipsed all up and down through Vale, visiting some of the hidden highlight spots that she'd acquired through a year's experience with the city…well, a year's experience with eyesight. After refilling our stores of Hard-Light Dust, Velvet had shown me to a small bistro, where I was reminded that Faunus diets did not have to correspond to their animal compatriots. After watching Velvet somehow daintily devour a sizeable steak, we continued off to a herbal store, where Velvet picked up some tea leaves for Yatsuhashi. Now, we were beginning our return trip back to Beacon amidst the setting sun.

"I wish my initiation was as fun, or at least half as smooth as yours," I groaned, remembering the feeling of shoving my arm into the Ursa Superior's mouth to use Chronometry. "So much arguing…so much running…so much Grimm blood…"

"That's right, your team, and Jaune and Ruby's all had quite the mixup towards the end there." Velvet smiled knowingly at me. "Given all the missed context between you twelve, half the second-years were considering placing a betting pool on who'd be getting with who in your teams."

"Well, assuming that anyone with eyes was able to see that Jaune and Pyrrha are as close as Nora and Ren are, which is to say glued together, I'm suddenly very worried about this betting pool." A fearful glance towards Velvet had her still smirking. "Please, please tell me you and CFVY didn't buy into any of that nonsense? I mean, initiation alone should've shown that all of RWBY would get in line to shoot me, and the twins are more like annoying siblings to me than potential squeezes."

"That still leaves your wonderful partner," Velvet teased. "And on top of that, Ruby Rose clearly doesn't have anything against you now, so-"

"Any attempt to start a relationship with her would have me utterly annihilated by Yang, Tai and Qrow. Also, if you haven't noticed yet, my partner and I are distinctly not into one another," I replied flatly, before squinting at my travelling companion. "That doesn't answer my question though. Did any of you end up participating in that ridiculousness?"

"As it so happens, Fox and Yatsu were distracted by other things going on during initiation to have an opinion when it came to you, and Coco was persuaded against betting, since we all knew she'd be motivated to tip things in one direction or another."

"And you?"

"Who do you think was the one that persuaded Coco not to join in?"

We turned a corner, squinting slightly as the sun's setting rays shined outwards. Not distracted, I asked Velvet, "And what was your reason for not joining in? It's a bit late to fake that you don't enjoy a little chaos yourself."

Velvet sped ahead a little, turning around to face me with another smirk on her face. "Let's just say that I might've been a little conflicted about it." Walking backwards, she paused as her scroll slipped out of her hands and clattered on the ground. "Whoops, I'm glad Huntsmen scrolls are-"

CRAACK

With a sound of shattering glass, a silvery form blurred over Velvet's kneeling form, passing over her ears and landing between us. Even against the light of the sun I had no trouble telling who this was, given that I'd spent hours alone training myself to recognize them on sight, even out of a crowd.

'Mercury…' I unsheathed Luna and removed my shades immediately, before sprinting towards the assassin. Mercury merely smirked and readied his cybernetic legs.

"KOUZAI!" Velvet pointed behind me, and I instinctively used Chronometry's active effect to glance behind me, in time to see a pointed parasol stabbing straight for my back. Whirling around, I used Burst and parried the blade, before jumping to the side and off the wall to avoid shots from Talaria. Landing past Mercury, I grabbed Velvet and yanked her to me, activating Mortem just as Neo stabbed Hush towards my back again, scraping against the hexagonal barrier. "Wha-what's going-"

"No time to explain." Slipping my shades back on, I focused my Aura towards Mortem as I kept Velvet and I angled sideways to the two assassins.

I had no idea as to why Mercury and Neo were here, but no of the explanations were good. More importantly…"We have a slim chance of beating these two without our weapons. No-DON'T call your weapons locker, it won't make it in time." I resigned myself to doing what I had to.

Grabbing Velvet's hand with my own, I pressed her palm to the Dust crystal embedded in Mortem, keeping the flow of Aura going as bullets and blades slammed against the barrier. "Take this, keep using it, and get back to Beacon. I'll-"

"NO, I'm not leaving you here!" Velvet exclaimed forcefully, but I cut her off.

"Listen. Get back to Beacon and find team RWBY. Tell them what happened, and tell Yang-GHH-to get Qrow and Zwei. Find Fox too, and my team too if you can. Qrow will know what to do." I smiled, despite the situation. "It's just bad luck that I'm not in peak shape right now, but they won't kill me. If they were aiming to they would've tried sniping me. Now, get ready."

Slowly, I removed Mortem off my hand, and thankfully Velvet kept the flow of Aura going to maintain the barrier. Mercury and Neo had ceased their attempts to break past the Dust barrier, and were looking on amusedly. As Velvet put Mortem on, she stared fearfully at me, but I continued smiling until I turned to the assassins, holding Luna at the ready. 'This is gonna suck…'

"GO!" Dropping the barrier for a moment, Velvet rocketed away and her footfalls faded, but I kept my eyes on the lethal fighters in front of me.

"Pretty cocky of you to assume we were after you, instead of the Faunus chick," Mercury commented offhandedly.

"Well, I've had the pleasure of coming across this one before, so I'm assuming that's what this is about." A gesture to Neo had her waving cheekily. "I'm touched that you decided that you both were required to handle me."

Neo's smirk vanished and she levelled Hush menacingly, before Mercury raised an arm out. "Let's just say that some of the people we know like covering their bases. Now, I hate to cut witty banter short, but you'll be coming with us now."

A quick internal check of my Aura level put me at about two-thirds, with just one weapon and some abandoned bags of merchandise. Reaching down slowly within view of the two, I slipped my hand into one of the bags and came out with…a handful of tea leaves. Neo smirked again as Mercury added, "You know, when I said we should put a stopper on the banter, I didn't mean you should switch to practical jokes instead."

I sighed, pocketing the leaves and wiping the residue across my hands. "You like to hear jokes? Here's one then. A midget, a rooster in a tracksuit, and an edgelord get into a fight."

Lowering the opacity of my shades, I focused, feeling the flow of my own Aura as I channeled it towards Chronometry.

"I wonder who comes out on top."

A/N: Ahh, some asskicking was a long time coming, wasn't it? Kouzai, for all his restraint and emotional control, is quite capable of bringing his irritation and rage to bear, whether he should or not. Also, before we get to reviews, I just wanted to say thanks to those who were concerned about my wellbeing during the past couple weeks. It's a stressful time for many right now, but I'm touched that there are some concerned enough to check in. Thankfully I'm still doing peachy, and hoping that holds up in the coming weeks.

HoldMyFOOF: Honestly, given Raven's established personality traits in canon, such as sneaking into Beacon as a raven and spying on her daughter and other activities, that wouldn't be too far off. Woe befall anyone who earns Raven Branwen's interest though.

AlexFalTon: Kernal is not the worst ship name I've ever heard, but it could use some workshopping. And Qrow ever adopted Kouzai, I firmly believe that their combined sarcasm would be capable of driving even the Grimm nuts. As for one-liners, I think they have great value when used in moderation. After all, a trope only becomes a trope after frequent and popular use.

Raidentensho: Well, the good news is that at some point information in this story will reach that of canon. The other good news is that there's a lot of interesting progression that can occur before that point. And you're a little off on who Mercury bumped into there. Oh, and attire changes come with the volume, so I'm sure something's in the works.

Gizmo Gear: You're definitely on the right track as always, but not all of the events here are solely of Kouzai's making. At least, he hopes not.

Dante Sparda: It's true that having a protagonist be weaker than most of the main characters may not make for interesting reading. The contrast here, is that there's various types of strength, and Kouzai happens to be in the tree of 'knowing is half the battle.' The other thing is that the opponents that he's fought have mostly been far above his level, including Raven and Adam. Sure, he might lose out when it comes to people like Pyrrha and Nora, but he's also been shown to have beaten Blake and Ren, among others. It's just a matter of ranking, which is commonly known to be notoriously unreliable.

Oblivious IJ: …I…I'm not even sure where that came from, but ok…glad I could produce enough hype to inspire you to put that out. Hope it lived up to the hype.

PyromaniacRabbit: After reading all the articles on the hits that Corona beer has taken just because of the name leads me to believe that the general populace is done as nails when it comes to fearmongering. As for Chronometry, it's a passive semblance, which means it's always active to a certain degree, but channeling Aura into it causes the effect to magnify, kind of like how Qrow can intentionally and unintentionally use Misfortune.

Dased22: There's a joke somewhere in there about Kouzai's bad luck, but in this case one can chalk it up to more of Ozpin's ulterior motives more than anything else.

Jack: I actually tried describing Ted off a certain ex-doctor from the Borderlands series, a Doctor Zed to be precise. You're the first person to actually ask, so I'm not sure if the impression was nailed or not.

Guest: Ren's speech does sound a little sophisticated for his age, but I'm operating under the belief that his emotional control, along with four stressful years of looking after himself and Nora, lead to intellectual growth allowing for such things.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 04/13/2020