Hey, UknownHero here and I bought a Keyblade! Oh, and welcome to another chapter of A Simple Mission Rebirth! Yep, I bought a Keyblade to celebrate getting KH3 next year. I bought on Amazon and uh... it wasn't 30 bucks AUD. So uh... let's get on with the reviews because my life is boring.
To Nexxoz Highdraco: ...Okay, I Google Translated your reviews and... was surprised that the translation was legible. I mean, holy shit. That's a shock considering whenever I turn English to another language it usually fucks up so... huh. To AJ: ...I completely forgot about Asia, didn't I? Uh, shit, um... that'll addressed in this chapter. To Dessel Ordo: Well... here's the thing... Pyrrha isn't going to be the Queen. Someone else is. To Brawlingbird: Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah. Heard this all before since starting this fic, you're not contributing anything new, I enjoy when Issei is a perverted idiot in stories and that's just an interpretation of Rias. To a random Guest: ...She goes crazy and nearly killed everyone. Twice. And it will take a very long time before she can even use her Sacred Gear without those consequences, which gives time for everyone else to get stronger.
Oh, by the way, thank you to Alias001 for allowing me to borrow your OC.
And... uh... This is actually the second attempt at this chapter. The first one was a mess that I couldn't figure out how to fix and I'd rather get to the juicy stuff with the interactions with the RWBY characters.
Okay, that's it, let the games begin!
Load Game... Start!
Chapter 26: A Simple First Round
"Hey, so your new friends are in the tournament." Jaune noted. "It's great that they managed to get in just in time, huh Ruby."
"Er... Yeah..." Ruby got out after snapping out of her shock. Currently, she and her team were sitting next to Team JNPR in the stands, with Koneko peacefully eating some popcorn not too far away from them. Mysteriously, Pyrrha was missing. Penny was somewhere else and Pancakes was in the RWBY dorm cleaning up and unpacking their things. "I... I guess so."
"Hey... I thought his name was Kiba..." Ren pointed out.
"Er... Well..." Weiss started, only to be interrupted by someone heading towards them.
"E-Excuse me... Pardon me, I just want to sit next to my friends." A familiar voice was heard, making her way to the group. "Ah! Ruby-san!"
"Oh! Asia! There's an empty seat next to Weiss!" Ruby called out the former nun.
"Asia?" Ren questioned.
"Ah, she wasn't with us in the Bullhead when we all met." Ruby explained as Asia found the seat and happily sat down. "She was out doing some shopping with a... family friend of me & Yang's and stayed with her overnight." She nervously revealed, her most recent addition to her peerage flashing in her mind.
"Um, I'm Asia Argento." Asia introduced herself as she waved at JNR. "I hope we'll get along during our stay!"
JNR nodded and waved, noting just how cute the girl is. It was... rather odd that the RWBYs managed to make friends with rather... attractive people, but they seemed really nice.
Although...
"I can't believe that idiot is using that as his Semblance..." Blake mumbled under her breath. "He could've just used Promotion but no, he's using that."
"After this match, every female in every Kingdom is going to hate him." Yang sighed out. "Let's just hope that there aren't any girls on the enemy team."
"And now, introducing a special team! Each of these students are from different huntsman academies, formed last minute as their other teammates being unavailable." Professor Port announced. "From various walks of life, may I introduce you to Team MBNH!"
"Hm? Their team name is just their initials!" Oobleck exclaimed.
"And this is why we don't assemble teams at random." Professor Port said as information on the team flashed up on the big screen.
Various Academies—Team MBNH
Atlas Academy: Mushoku Pallete
Semblance: Hyper Sense
Weapon: Blind Dragon's Destiny
Beacon Academy: Blizzard Snowstorm
Semblance: Psychic
Weapon: Frozen Dreams
Shade Academy: Noire
Semblance: Shadow
Weapon: Nine Tales
Atlas Academy: Hunter Netvor
Semblance: Inventory
Weapon: Sword & Shield, Great Sword, Long Sword, Dual Blades, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Charge Blade, Insect Glaive, Tonfa, Magnet Spike, Light Bowgun, Medium Bowgun, Heavy Bowgun, Bow.
"...Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Noire, a cat Faunus with pink eyes wielding a chain rapier, sighed out as she walked out into the battlefield. Blake couldn't help but note the uncanny resemblance to her. "I got dragged out to be here of all places. Fuck me."
"Come on Noire. I admit I'd rather be with Ig and the others but we have to make the most of the situation." Blizzard, a girl with caramel brown hair and holding a staff, tried to reason with the miserable cat girl.
"You two quit talking! We have a tournament to win!" Mushoku, a girl with an ōdachi, called out. Rias narrowed her eyes as she noticed that she wasn't even looking at her teammates. Her cloudy eyes gave away that she was blind. More than likely, she had enhanced senses to help her see the world.
"..." Hunter, a large person covered in armour, which Issei saw that it was similar to the Artian armour set from Monster Hunter, quietly shook her head as she hefted her Hunting Horn onto her shoulder.
"They seem... interesting." Kiba noted as he studied the opposing team while ignoring Issei, who had an evil expression on his face. "It'll definitely be a challenge to say the least. I mean, look how many weapons that last one has..."
"Do you think this will work, Rias-buchou?" Akeno whispered to her King.
"I'm not sure, but we need to stick to it. After this round, we'll work on the next strategy." Rias replied as Mushoku walked towards them. Rias followed suit walked towards the leader of the enemy team.
"Just so you know, whatever you're thinking right now, you're wrong." The blind girl stated.
"Hmph. I was about to say the same thing." Rias replied with a devious smirk on her face. "So, when did you meet your teammates over there?"
"A week ago, but don't think you'll underestimate us." Mushoku said. "We're very dangerous individuals."
"We'll see." Rias said as the Gremory King and the blind warrior shook hands. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun fighting you and your team."
"Yeah, well, I look forward to beating you into the dust." Mushoku replied as the two walked back to their respective teams, the field changing around them. On Team RIAS's side had Ice Dust crystals while on Team MBNH's side had Fire Dust crystals.
"Fire and ice..." Weiss muttered out. "I wonder how Rias and her team will take advantage of the field..."
"I'm just worried about the other team." Blake admitted. "That cat Faunus down there... I feel uneasy about her."
"I hope everyone will be alright after this." Asia said, worried about her friends out on the battlefield. Without her, they had no way of healing their injuries until way after the match.
"Don't worry Asia. People are eliminated when their Aura levels are too low." Yang explained as she pointed at the big screen, which was displaying everyone's Aura levels. "No one gets too hurt in tournaments like this. Now go and cheer! I'm sure Issei will like the encouragement."
Asia blushed before shouting as loud as she could in support of her crush. "G-GO ISSEI-SAN!"
"Um, but Rias and the others don't have Auras." Ruby whispered to Yang.
"I'm sure they found a work around." Yang reassured as they turned their attention back onto the field.
"Okay, teams! Are you ready!?" Port called out.
"Ready!" The leader of Team MBNH answered as they all went into battle stances.
"Guys, you know what to do. We need to execute this flawlessly or else we are done for." Rias ordered as the Devils readied themselves. "We're ready!"
"Battle with everything you have! FIGHT!" Oobleck shouted out as the two teams charged towards each other.
This was going to be the match of the ages.
"Hunter! Covering fire!" Mushoku ordered as she and Blizzard charged at Team RIAS. Hunter nodded and switched to her Light Bowgun, firing it as she slowly made her way over to a nearby deposit of Fire Dust crystals.
"Issei, you're with me! Akeno, Sora, take care of the back row!" Rias called out. Her Pawn nodded and ran towards the enemy while dodging shots, intercepting them in the middle.
"RRRAAAHHH!" Mushoku roared as she and Rias clashed, while Issei and Blizzard took swings at each other.
"And the match is underway! Who will come out on top!?" Port called out as the crowd cheered.
Rias was on the defensive as Mushoku relentlessly swung her blade at her, holding her off with her revolver and dagger. She wasn't leaving a lot of room for openings.
However, Rias had planned for this and quickly flick her wrist.
Suddenly, Akeno flew to her side and tried to blindside the opposing leader with a fire-infused punch.
However, without breaking her combo, Mushoku leaned back, causing Akeno to miss as Hunter loaded her bowgun with Fire Dust and fired away, blasting the Queen before she could recover.
Rias was stunned by this, only to quickly dodge a kick, causing her to focus back on her opponent.
"Your tricks won't work on me." Mushoku informed the Gremory King. "Don't bother trying to get your teammates to help because they're already out of the equation."
Rias however remained silent before charging at the girl. She would find another opportunity to play her trump card. She just had to be patient.
"The Leader has enhanced senses as a Semblance. She's watching the entire battlefield." Blake muttered out in the stands. "Rias relies on guerrilla tactics and manipulation, which won't work so well against someone who can see everything."
"Well, I'm sure Rias has a plan." Ruby said as they continued watching the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Issei was also having trouble with his opponent. This girl was agile and flexible dodging his attacks like it was nothing, while forcing him to keep his distance with her staff. He was a close range fighter going against a long range fighter. He was gonna have think on his feet and get close to her to deal some serious damage.
"Promotion: Knight." Issei whispered out as a shock of energy filled his body. With the new speed, he went punched faster than ever before. Blizzard was starting to sweat as she dodged the Pawn's attacks, but she was somehow still keeping up with him.
"Come on, my real teammates are way faster." Blizzard taunted as she backflipped away from a horse kick. "If you wanna actually-oh, shit!" She managed to get out before raising her staff up as Issei appeared in front on her, Boosted Gear at the ready.
BOOST!
Blizzard tried to guard against Issei's fist, only for her weapon to split in half.
However, Blizzard smirked at this.
At the press of a button, the halves of her staff turned into maces, made heavier as ice grew around it giving them spikes. Blizzard stepped back before she countered by swinging her left mace upwards, hitting Issei in the chin then following up by bashing his hip with her right mace before going for an overhead strike.
However, Issei recovered and grabbed both of Blizzard's forearms before she could.
Suddenly, Issei noticed Blizzard's forehead frosting over before she headbutted him away.
"What the Hell!?" Issei exclaimed before taking a snowball to the chest and face. "Oh. I suddenly realise why your name's Blizzard." Issei weakly got out as he wiped the snow off his face.
"That and more, fuckface!" Blizzard called out.
'You know, for such an innocent looking girl she has a serious mouth.' Issei thought.
"I heard that, asshole!" Blizzard shouted out as she held out her arm, ice crystals growing out of it.
[Partner, she can read your mind.] Ddraig reminded as Issei punched through the next snowball before charging at the ice user.
Meanwhile, at the stands, the crowd gasped at the display of power.
"Wait, she can use ice stuff without Dust!?" Ruby exclaimed. "I didn't see her infuse herself with one of the Ice Dust crystals."
"That's because she's something else entirely." Weiss explained. "They're rare, but not unheard of. There are people out there who either absorb enough Dust to become generators of it... or they're born with Dust in their blood. She's a Dust Hybrid: A living energy propellant."
"So she basically has magic powers?" Jaune spoke up.
"You could say that. However, it comes at a cost of their Aura. They're extremely fragile." Weiss then said before looking up at the big screen and saw that Blizzard was already at 65%. "Look, her Aura level is quite low for this early in the match. If she uses her powers too much, she'll take herself out."
"So all Issei-san has to do is outlast her." Asia realised as she watched the fight between Issei and Blizzard.
Back on the battlefield, Issei and Blizzard were engaged in close combat. Although the Pawn managed to get some glancing blows, his opponent was hitting him head on.
"Left. Left. Right. Gut punch. Haymaker. Overhead. COUNTER!" Blizzard mumbled to herself before slamming her maces into Issei's head after dodging all of Issei's attacks.
"Ow!" Issei winced in pain as he stumbled back. "How are you doing that!?" He exclaimed.
"Alright, I really shouldn't explain this to you, considering I should be beating your face in but-"
"Blizzard Snowstorm uses her Semblance to read her opponent's mind, more specifically their subconscious. Everyone thinks before they act, even without realising it, allowing her to visualise what her opponent is about to do. Even Grimm are not immune to it, though are much more difficult to read." Oobleck explained.
"Yeah. That." Blizzard sighed out. "Jackass." She grumbled her breath.
"Wait so... do you know...?" Issei nervously asked.
"About the amount of porn you watch? Way too much." Blizzard groaned out. "You have boobs on your mind constantly! You even added my boobs!" She called out as she covered her rather small chest.
"It should be noted that she cannot read memories. Only what the person is thinking at the moment." Oobleck added.
"Yes. Thank you for explaining my weaknesses." Blizzard sighed out.
'So she doesn't know about... uh... my thing.' Issei thought as he breathed out in relief. 'Ddraig, do you think you could-'
[No.] The entity in his Sacred Gear replied.
'Of course.' Issei mentally sighed before running at the ice user as his Boosted Gear strengthened him further.
BOOST!
With Kiba, he had to face the cat Faunus with the lustful aura around her, who was casually twirling her chain rapier around.
"So, who do you wanna be? The S or the M?" Noire asked with a playful smile on her face. "Bah, doesn't matter. I've already decided so don't struggle."
"I'd rather keep this fight clean thanks." Kiba replied as he went into his battle stance, his swords in hand.
"Nah, I'd like it dirty. So bring it on, Pretty Boy." Noire taunted as she whipped her chain rapier at him.
Kiba dashed towards her at blinding speeds and attacked, swinging his blades so fast that they were blurs to even the most experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses.
However, he gasped as he quickly realised he was swinging at air.
"Behind you." A voice from behind Kiba whispered into his ear. Kiba turned around, only to narrowly dodge a stab to the stomach.
Kiba's eyes narrowed as he saw who attacked him. It looked like an inky, black version of himself wielding pink blades that looked eerily like his own. It then melted away to reveal the form of the perverted cat Faunus.
"Yeah, my Semblance let's me turn into a shadow and copy someone's strength for a few seconds." Noire explained. "Should've called it Copycat but uh... that's a little too on the nose." She said before turning into a shadow of Issei with a pink version of Boosted Gear and attacking him.
Kiba blocked the attack as Noire transformed back before attempting to counter by slash her stomach. However, she sunk into the ground before appearing behind him as a shadow of Blizzard. She tapped his shoulder before blasting him in the face, encasing his head in pink-coloured ice before breaking him out of it by switching to a shadow of Hunter and hitting the block of ice with a giant pink hammer.
"Argh..." Kiba groaned out as he shook off the few pieces of ice left on his face. Meanwhile, Noire was holding her stomach, looking a little sickly.
"Oh... switched too many times." Noire moaned out before coughing up a hairball.
Kiba took the opportunity to get up and tackle her to the ground.
Noire couldn't help but giggle as she saw the Knight straddle her, melting ice dripping down off his face to her lips.
"Don't flatter yourself. I hate blonde and blue. I like it big and black!" Noire called out as she punched Kiba off her. "And, you know, teal. Or aqua. Turquoise? What the fuck is that colour again...?" She mumbled to herself.
"You are a strange one." Kiba noted as he recovered and resummoned his swords.
"Yeah, you should see me on my good days. It gets crazy. Just don't ask about my voice." Noire stated as the two clashed, swinging at each other at blinding speeds.
Kiba couldn't believe how she was keeping up with him. He was actually starting to sweat a little.
"This is actually starting to turn me on! I've been out of it for way too long!" Noire said gleefully as she narrowly tilted her head out of the way of a stab. "Let us reach our climax, Kiba!"
Suddenly, they both froze.
"...I shouldn't know that." Noire whispered out.
"H-How did you-" Kiba got out surprise in only for the perverted cat girl to swing her weapon recklessly, causing him to jump back.
"YOU HEARD NOTHING!" Noire shouted out as she charged at the Knight.
Meanwhile, with Akeno, she was fighting Hunter and she was having trouble dealing with her. Equipped with Dual Blades, she just kept dodging her while also getting some scratches on her with each movement. She was practically dancing around her.
But she knew to be patient and wait for the perfect time to strike.
Suddenly, Hunter backed off and switched to her Hunting Horn, swinging it around her before blowing a quick melody.
Akeno quickly saw that she was vulnerable and blasted her with some lightning.
However, the Queen gasped as Hunter shrugged off the lightning bolt, a yellow aura glowing around her. "That... doesn't seem possible." The Queen got out.
"Thunder Resistance Large." Hunter simply said as she switched over to her Insect Glaive, blinded the Queen with sap while she fired off her Kinsect towards the stunned girl, sucking up all the sap from her face before returning to its place on Hunter's arm, a red aura now flaring around her.
"Ugh!" Akeno got out as she wiped away the sap as Hunter used the air cannon in her Insect Glaive to boost into the air, coming from above to attack.
Akeno rolled out of the way, however Hunter then blasted her chest with sap before getting her Kinsect to eat it off her before returning, giving Hunter an orange aura as well. "What are you doing!?" Akeno asked.
"Breasts. Defence Boost." Hunter stated. Akeno couldn't help but sweatdrop at that as she charged at Hunter, hoping that being aggressive would work better.
"How is she empowering herself like that?" Ren muttered out. "It's like she's putting buffs on herself, like in a video game."
"I don't know, but considering all her weapons and her skill with them, she might be one of the toughest Huntresses in the tournament." Weiss guessed.
Hunter had switched to Sword and Shield as she blocked a fireball before rolling to her side and started slashing at her before Akeno caught her arm.
Akeno could swear she could feel Hunter smirk before she broke out of her grasp before switching to her Gunlance, which was already charging.
"AAHH!" Akeno screamed out as she was blasted away by the Gunlance's explosion, giving Hunter enough time to reload her phials.
'Ack! I thought I had more than enough magic to finish this.' Akeno thought as she glanced at the screen.
To everyone in the stadium, they thought it was tracking to how much Aura they had. However, in reality, it was tracking how much magic they had. It was rather easy to trick the Aura Tracking system, though it did require quite a bit of preparation. It was a little too complicated to explain, but she eventually worked it out.
However, that wasn't what the Queen was focusing on. It was the fact that she was already quarter down on her "Aura" Levels. This was much more than she was expecting to use.
Mushoku simply used her ōdachi to sweep Rias off her feet before jumping into the air and swinging downwards, slashing her stomach.
However, Rias quickly countered by shooting her in the kneecap before getting up to throw her to the ground, stomping on her face before finishing it off with a shot to the chest.
"Ugh... that actually hurt a little." Mushoku admitted as she got up.
"What did you expect?" Rias replied as she twirled her gun and dagger around.
"Nothing, honestly." Mushoku answered. "Never expect something of your opponent."
"Speaking of which, I'm guessing you have some sort of advanced hearing and such to help you see, so to speak." Rias noted.
"What gave it away?" Mushoku sarcastically asked as she swung her sword at the King, who dodged it swiftly. "Why is that important to you?"
However, suddenly the Leader of MBNH gasped as she realised her opponent wasn't in front of her anymore.
"Because it can be used against you." Rias whispered into her left ear, but firing her gun near her right ear.
"AAAHHH!" Mushoku screamed in pain as she covered her ear. Rias, wanting to take advantage of the situation, quickly followed up by jumping back, shooting her in the shoulder then running up her back then finishing it off with slashing down her spine.
Mushoku, weaken by the last attack, could only swing tiredly, allowing Rias to easily counter by using Devil Trigger to shove the blade away from her before slashing her back with Dragon's Breath, the following up with another shot to the chest.
"Y-You're good." Mushoku managed to get out as she struggled to get up. "But don't think this is the end."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Rias said as she filled her revolver with the Power of Destruction before aiming it at the fallen leader. "But it is."
BANG!
However instead of the bullet hitting Mushoku in the head, fully depleting her Aura, it instead hit a wall of ice which appeared in front of her.
"Way too close." Blizzard breathed out as she lower her arm.
"What!?" Rias exclaimed before being shoulder tackled to the side by Hunter, who was then forced to focus back on Akeno when she froze one of her legs down to the ground.
Taking a deep breath, Blizzard refocused her attention on Issei, who was calming down and regaining his stamina.
'Come on, Issei. You can do this! Just clear your mind...' Issei thought to himself as he charged at the ice user.
Blizzard switched to her dual maces and quickly engaged Issei in close combat, deflecting his punches while getting some hits in, focusing on pushing him back and off the arena for a ring out.
However, that changed when Issei managed to sock her in the face.
"AH!" Blizzard exclaimed as she backed off as she touched her sore cheek. "What the...?" She got out in surprise.
She didn't see that coming.
Issei took Blizzard's stunned state to his advantage and swung his fist at her, however she dodged it as she switched back to her staff. 'Damn it!' Issei mentally cursed.
"Fucktard!" Blizzard shouted out, her voice echoing around the battlefield as she whacked Issei in the face before twisting her staff around his arm, locking it behind his back before stepping towards him and kneeing his face then using her staff to throw him over her shoulder.
However, Issei was ready and got up from lying down on the ground to leaping into the air and headbutting her.
He wasn't done yet as he pulled her back up by the collar.
"This is it!" Issei called out as he punched Blizzard in the stomach so hard she went into the air, before following up with two more before letting her hit the ground.
"A-Ah...!" Blizzard squeaked out in pain as she slowly stood up. She was surely in the red now. "H-How...? I couldn't see it...!"
"Easy. I'm an idiot." Issei answered with a smirk. "I can stop thinking!"
"...You should not be proud of that." Blizzard deadpanned as she swung at his head with her staff.
Meanwhile, with Kiba, he was still having trouble with Noire. Despite her more lucid moments, she was still a good enough opponent to keep him busy. He thought about trying to outlast her, but that was becoming less and less feasible as time went on.
Suddenly, it hit Kiba. He realised what to do against an opponent like Noire and maybe even help take down another too.
"Akeno-san! Switch!" Kiba called out as he shoved the perverted cat girl towards the Queen.
Akeno, upon hearing Kiba shout at her, grabbed Hunter and threw her over to the Knight before dashing up to Noire and blasted her with a few lightning bolts.
With Kiba, he slashed upwards, launching Hunter into the air before following her with a quick aerial combo before smashing her down back to the ground.
Mentally cursing to herself, she switched to Dual Blades and hoped to fight on even ground. However, she thought wrong as Kiba was attacking her faster than she could normally deal with. Suddenly, Kiba shoved a pommel into her gut before jumping up and kicking her in the face. As Hunter stumbled back, the Knight appeared her, wrapped his arms around her waist before lifting her up and above him before throwing her behind him as a sword grew out of the ground, causing her spine to land on it.
Although Hunter remained silent, she was clearly in pain as she writhed, rubbing her back.
Kiba, knowing he had little downtime before Hunter recovered, wiped the sweat off his brow and went to help the Queen.
With Akeno, she was having fun as she played with the perverted cat girl, forcing her on the defensive as she blasted her with various spells. Noire had tried to copy her, but to her surprise her weapon wasn't working and trying to use her Semblance outright failed.
Akeno quickly noted in her mind that Noire was only able to copy Sacred Gears. Everything else was bust.
"Would you mind stopping for a second? I wanna take some pictures for... research." Noire asked as she pulled out her Scroll and took a couple of quick photos of the Queen.
"I'm sorry, I just want to hear you writhe in agony and beg for mercy. Nothing personal." Akeno replied, her sadistic side showing.
"You are so repressed." Noire deadpanned, before being blasted by a thunder bolt.
However, Akeno was stunned to see Noire still standing, barely affected by the attack.
"Is that all you got? Come on, I have a shock collar wrapped around my-" Noire started to taunt, only to be blasted in the face by a fireball before Kiba followed up with a quick combo.
Noire quickly sank into the ground to escape and appeared as a shadow of Mushoku and swung her pink ōdachi at Akeno's head, only for the Queen to raise her arm and block it, causing it to shatter into nothing.
Noire couldn't help but stare at the now useless weapon as she transformed back. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." She sighed out before quickly swinging her chain rapier at them.
Everyone was fighting as hard as they could, trying to get the advantage over the other team but it was quickly becoming apparent that this was going to take a while, and some people were starting to get annoyed.
"Oh my God! Why won't anyone go down!?" Blizzard growled in frustration, her eyes glowing before forming a rather large snowball in the palm of her hand before throwing it at blinding speeds... at Rias.
"BUCHOU!" Issei shouted out as he shoved Rias out of the way, taking the snowball instead. Too bad it hit his balls. "OOOOHHHH!" He yelled out in pain as he grabbed his crotch, using the same snowball that hit him as an icepack.
Collectively, every male in the Coliseum covered their manhood and winced.
"Issei! NOO!" Rias screamed out before having to dodge a swing from the leader. "You'll pay for this! His death will not be in vain!" She declared in righteous fury.
"But... I'm not dead." Issei squeaked out. "But I wish I was! Ow...!"
"Um, yeah. He's still in. His Aura's still good." Blizzard awkwardly pointed out as Issei slowly got up. "Uh, sorry for the blue balls dude."
"It's... It's okay...!" Issei groaned out.
"FOR ISSEI!" Akeno shouted out as she threw a few lightning bolts at the staff-wielding girl.
"SWEET FUCK!" Blizzard shouted out as she dived out of the way. "HE'S NOT DEAD!"
"FORCE THEM BACK!" Rias commanded as she started firing upon the enemy team.
"Way to piss 'em off, Bliz." Noire sarcastically said as the team retreated behind cover. "Good job killing the idiot."
"Oh shut up! He's not fucking dead, I keep telling people that!" Blizzard shouted out as Hunter laid down some covering fire with her bow to protect her teammates. "Why are you treating as if I killed him!?"
"Well, it's not the first time!" Mushoku shouted out as she sliced through the "bullets" the enemy leader was firing.
"Ugh, just keep fighting! Ugh, why did I tell you guys that...?" Blizzard growled out, too flustered to use her Semblance or her powers.
'Their backs are against the wall! It's time!' Rias thought. She quickly gave a nod to her teammates, who nodded back.
It was time for the finale.
"Sora! Issei! GO!" Rias commanded as she fired more shots.
"Promotion: Queen." Issei whispered to himself, feeling the power of the Queen Piece flow through his body. "Alright, let's do this!"
"Together!" Kiba shouted out they both disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"What the... where did they go!?" Blizzard exclaimed as Hunter switched to her Heavy Bowgun to suppress the enemy team.
"Hold on, they're..." Mushoku called out as she focused her senses. "They're... shit, on our l-ACK!" She managed to get out before they were all clotheslined by Issei, with Kiba following up by launching them into the air.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt." Noire groaned as the team saw Akeno, high in the air, her arms crackling with electricity.
"Nothing personal." Akeno got out before summoning lightning upon the enemy team, forcing them back onto the ground... where Rias was waiting with a fully charged, diluted ball of Destruction ready to fire.
"The. End." Rias said before firing.
BOOM!
"AAHH!" Team MBNH screamed out as they were blasted away.
"NOPE!" Blizzard shouted out as eyes glowed an icy blue. Suddenly, an ice wall appeared and stopped the team from landing out of the ring, keeping them in the match.
However, it still hurt like hell when they impacted the wall. They were stuck there for a couple of seconds before slowly peeling off it, landing face first on the ground.
"Urgh... Ow...!" Noire groaned out as she rolled over... before noticing something on her chest. "What the fuck? What the fuck is on me!?"
The rest of the team simultaneously looked down and saw a glowing red symbol on their bodies, except for their leader who just felt that there was something there. "Something tells me that the next ten seconds aren't going to end well." Blizzard mumbled out with a wince.
"Mwhahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!" Issei laughed evilly as he approached the fallen team, who were trying to get back to their feet. "I'm sorry ladies, but we have no choice. We have to end this, no matter what!"
"Issei! No!" Rias shouted out. "That was not part of the plan! I will not allow you to perform such a technique!"
"Buchou, if I do not, we risk everything. This is a necessity!" Issei dramatically declared. "This is a sacrifice I am willing to take!"
"He just wants to see boobies." Koneko deadpanned from the stands, shaking her head at the blatant display of his perversion.
"...Tch!" Rias looked conflicted. She wanted this fight to end fast, and Issei's perverted technique would surely cause the enemy team to forfeit. However, they were in front of hundreds of people, thousands maybe, as well as the match being televised. This would cause those girls to be embarrassed for the rest of their lives.
The strategist in her told her to let Issei do it. But the dignity of all women was telling her to stop him.
"I feel like we have a gun to our heads and they're arguing whenever or not they gonna pull it." Blizzard admitted.
"Except we don't know what the gun is." Noire pointed out.
"Ugh, enough of this!" Mushoku growled as stood up and charged towards the team in reckless abandon.
And that would be the biggest mistake in her life.
"Oh shit! Dress Break!" Issei called out.
SNAP!
The snap echoed around the arena... before the sounds of clothes exploding filled the air.
The crowd went deathly silent. Expressions of disgust, anger, disbelief, arousal and disappointment appeared on various faces.
"Yang, I think they found a way." Ruby deadpanned as she face palmed.
"I guess making everyone focused on the field rather than the big screen is a valid strategy." Yang said with a sweatdrop.
"I... don't think that was part of their plan. Or their plan at all." Weiss sighed out.
"Hm. Maybe we should've helped unlock their Auras before their next match." Blake spoke up.
"If they're not banned after this." Weiss added in. "Or Issei survives stepping out of the arena."
"...Wow, you have a really cute ass." Noire commented, blood running out of her nose. "So worth being brought over here."
"Sh-Shut up!" Mushoku shouted out, a hot red blush on her face.
Blizzard didn't say anything; she just covered herself in opaque blue ice and tried to hide her embarrassment.
"Forfeit." Hunter sighed out, using her Great Sword to cover her feminine genitalia.
Suddenly, there was a loud buzzer filling the arena.
"Well, uh... since the opposing team is unable to fight, Team RIAS is the victor!" Port announced.
However, there was no clapping or cheering. Just dead silence.
"...Yay...?" Issei awkwardly got out, causing Akeno and Rias to glare at him.
It was needless to say, but Issei had become the most dangerous opponent in the tournament with a target painted on his back.
"I really wish we weren't friends with him." Weiss sighed out as she shook her head in disgust. "Let's just leave."
"Yep." Yang agreed as the Devils stood up and slowly started making their way out of the Coliseum leaving the remainder of JNPR alone.
Eventually, everyone met up with each other and began exploring the fairgrounds.
"So, how's Remnant so far?" Yang asked.
"Well, it's certainly much more different than Earth." Akeno replied. "Just... wow..."
"Yeah. I also kinda want to see those Grimm monsters for myself." Issei spoke up, trying to ignore all the female glares directed at him while also stealing a few glances at the female Faunus population.
"Hm… That wouldn't be a bad idea." Rias said as she put on a thoughtful expression. "Fighting these Grimm creatures could open up a few new strategies for the upcoming rounds."
"I guess it could be arranged. We have a lot of time on our hands now." Blake said, licking her lips. She could smell seafood and that was making her a little peckish. Thankfully, her hunger would soon be sated as Ruby held her stomach.
"...Is anyone else starving?" Ruby asked, her stomach growling.
"You didn't buy any snacks?" Issei got out with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh come on, Issei, I didn't wanna miss the match we were supposed to be in. It was starting as soon as dad dropped me off." Ruby explained.
Blake looked cool as ever with her arms behind her head, trying to hide the signs of her hunger. "I may have worked up an appetite from just watching." She admitted before they heard the sounds of a growling of an angry beast from her stomach. Even her teammates' Hunting Instincts kicked into gear as they unconsciously gripped their weapons. The former dormant Youkai could only blush in embarrassment.
"Hungry." Koneko said simply, her stomach also growling.
"I am also quite famished from our match." Kiba chuckled out.
"Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." Weiss sarcastically said while shrugging her arms. "Oh, wait." She then got out as everyone looked around to see the myriad of small shops and stands around the place, the large forest clearing filled with sights and smells pleasing even the most cynical of people.
"It's okay, Weiss, I forget about the fairgrounds, too." Ruby said as she took her partner's shoulder, only for said partner to knock it away.
"I was being facetious." Weiss sighed out
"Gah! Well if you were hungry, why didn't you say so!?" Ruby exclaimed.
'…Is this really the same girl who fought Raiser…?' Rias thought with a sweatdrop.
"…What's facetious?" Issei asked with a blank look on his face, only causing his King to sweatdrop more.
"Um, I don't think that's the point…" Akeno giggled out.
"Come on, we're all hungry." Rias stated with a slight giggle. "Let's just pick a place and go. As long as we don't pay. We… don't exactly have money and we kinda owe Branwen-san…"
"Eh, I'm sure Weiss can pay for it." Yang replied with a shrug. "Now come with me, I know just the place."
"Okay. Sure." Weiss mumbled out before realizing what Yang just said. "Wait, what!? HEY!"
However, Weiss' pleas for an explanation were ignored as everyone followed Yang without her.The Heiress could only sigh at this and started to follow, only to stop as she heard a ringtone on her Scroll. She quickly pulled out her Scroll to see who was calling her, only to glare at the sight of the caller ID.
FATHER
'I would rather die again.' Weiss thought she shoved her Scroll back into her pocket, leaving to ring before it finally stopped.
Asia was the only one who noticed that Weiss had stopped and ran up to the Heiress. "Is everything alright, Weiss-san?" The former nun asked in concern.
"It's nothing. Just someone I have no interest in talking to." Weiss replied, nearly growling as she caught up the group. Asia couldn't help but feel even more concerned for Weiss but decided to let her be. She shouldn't interfere with personal matters, after all.
Meanwhile, back with the rest of the group, they were talking with each other about the other matches they managed to see before a voice from behind interrupted them and stopped them in their tracks. "Hey! Might be hard to eat without this." The voice said as they turned around.
It was Emerald, a girl from Haven Academy… well, at least on paper.
And may or may not be trying to destroy Beacon Academy and all hope in the world and working for a sociopath, but that wasn't really important.
Oh, and she was holding onto a red wallet.
Anyway, Ruby's silver eyes widened in panic as she started patting herself down. "No, no, no, no!" She got out frantically, wondering how she "lost" her wallet. Emerald couldn't help but laugh at this.
"Good to see you, Ruby." Emerald said as she looked at the changed girl. "Wow, you've grown while you were away." She muttered out.
"Oh! Thanks, Emerald! And you know, Xiao Long genes kicking in." Ruby said as she took the wallet back from the pickpocket. "Guess I dropped it. Girl pockets are the worst!" She complained as she slouched down.
"What's up, Em?" Yang spoke up.
"I was so upset when I heard you guys weren't gonna participate at the tournament this year. I've seen you guys in action, you're amazing!" Emerald stated.
Ruby couldn't help but blush at this. She wasn't exactly used to compliments, especially back in Kuoh. "Oh, shut your stupid little face..." She mumbled out before it became incoherent.
"I heard your team progressed to the next round. Congrats." Blake complimented the dark-skinned girl.
"You know, I feel that we haven't seen your other teammates." Weiss noted.
"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked.
Emerald decided not to mention how brutally they beat their previous opponent. Less a fight, but more of a massacre really. Especially with Neo on the team. That little mute bitch was a psycho.
"Really well." Emerald answered while nodding. "Uh, who're your frie… you!"
"What?" Issei got out as Emerald glared at the pervert. "O-Oh… you saw our match, huh?"
"Oh yes. And so has every female on Remnant, pervert." Emerald growled. "If we ever meet in the tournament, I'll do everyone a favour and rip your balls off."
"Hehe… I'm already famous around here. Great." Issei nervously chuckled out.
"Well, excuse him. He's just like that. I find it endearing in a way, when it isn't going too far." Rias spoke up as she stepped forward. "Rias Gremory, leader of Team RIAS." She introduced as she and Emerald shook hands.
"Emerald. Team CEMN. Pronounced Cement, not what that guy over there is thinking." Emerald replied as shot a quick glare over to Issei. "And the others?" She then questioned as she gestured towards Asia and Koneko.
"Oh, they're just here for the tournament." Rias answered.
"My name is Asia. Pleased to meet you." Asia spoke up as she bowed.
"…Koneko." The Gremory Rook said in a dull tone, staring at the food stalls.
"Well, I have to say congrats on your win, despite how… unconventional you've earned it." Emerald complimented.
"Thank you, Emerald. I'm sure next time we'll win in a much conventional way." Rias replied. However, she was already taking mental notes on the pickpocket.
To her, it was obvious to her that her friendly attitude was false and her words held no meaning. While she wasn't perfect at reading people, she was getting the impression that Emerald… hated Ruby.
Like, the type of hatred you'd save for your worst enemy.
And now she knew she also hated her by extension. So that was nice.
"That's great all my friends are getting to know each other. Uh, why don't we all go and get some food together?" Ruby suggested.
"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you, but my teammates are all kind of..." Emerald started before trailing off as her eyes drifted over toMercury at a nearby shoe stall, sniffing inside of a boot before looking perplexed after he did so. "...introverted. Really socially awkward."
"Ooh, yeah, I could see that." Yang admitted as she nodded.
"I don't think so. I think he's just checking the quality of the leather." Akeno guessed.
"…Is that a thing?" Emerald asked, genuinely curious before shaking her head, getting back on task. "Oh yeah, looks like Merc and I are going to move on to the doubles round. What about you guys?" She asked as she turned to Rias.
"Oh, we actually haven't decided yet." Rias answered. "But don't worry, whatever we choose it'll give our opponent a challenge they won't forget."
"Now, we must leave. We are rather famished." Akeno added with a bow.
Emerald just smirked at this. "You better. I can't wait for the finals." She said before cheerfully giving her own wave. "See you later! Enjoy your meal!" She called out as she walked away. As soon as she was sure that they were out of hearing range, she immediately dropped the act. She walked up to her partner, Mercury, with a disgusted look on her face.
"So, how are the new friends?" Mercury asked as she approached.
"I hate them. I hate them all." Emerald bluntly answered, scowling all the while.
"Orders are orders." Mercury simply stated as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I just... how can they be so happy all the time!?" Emerald grumbled out as she mashed her fingers together in frustration.
"Did you at least get what we want?" Mercury then asked.
Emerald growled a little. "No, they haven't decided yet. I'm gonna ask later." She answered.
"Alright. They better decide soon. We're counting on them for this to work now." Mercury stated.
Meanwhile, Rias narrowed her eyes. She could perfectly hear what the two were saying and with a look from Akeno, Kiba and Koneko, they heard as well. 'And that's why I lied.' The Gremory King thought. She had a feeling that she had to keep a close eye on them.
This was a competition. War. Like Hell she was going to reveal her plans to a potential opponent.
She needed to tell Ruby that Emerald wasn't friend. However, this was just jumping to a conclusion. She needed to do some research on Team CMEN. It wouldn't hurt to know the competition.
Sometime later, the group arrived at a rather unassuming hut, stringed with paper lanterns with a sign overhead with the store's name: A Simple Wok. Soon enough, the group had filled the seats of the place, ready to order.
"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." Yang ordered. In an instant, a large bowl of noodles slides in front of her, hot and ready to eat.
"That's regular!?" Issei exclaimed as the same-sized bowl slid right in front of him. "This looks like a portal to the Noodle Dimension."
"Er, I'll take a small." Asia requested, only for a similar-sized bowl to appear in front of her. At the very least, it was only slightly smaller than the regular. "Th-Thank you…?"
"Oohhh... I'll take the same." Ruby said as she stared at Yang's bowl, even drooling a little. The next second, another large bowl of noodles slide in front of her similar to her half-sister's bowl. "Itadakimasu!" Ruby said happily as she clasped her hands together.
However, she stopped as her eyes widened a little as the shopkeeper and her silver eyes met. 'Huh?' Ruby thought in confusion. 'Why does he… feel so familiar…?'
"Oh, right. He works at the Dust Till Dawn too." Ruby realized quietly, not noticing Rias narrowing her eyes at the cook as her meal arrived, blocking her view of the man.
"Wait a minute, I didn't order!" Rias exclaimed before looking at her meal. There seemed to be a lot of chashu and menma in her ramen.
Okay, she could accept this. But this bowl was way too big.
Meanwhile, Weiss just looked concerned at how big the portions were. She preferred quality over quantity. "Do you have anything with a low-salt...? She asked, only for a large bowl of regular noodles to instantly slide in front of her instead. "Um... okay..."
"Extra Large." Koneko spoke up. In an instant, her bowl arrived and it seemed even bigger than her entire body.
"I'll just have some tea if you have some." Akeno requested, only to get noodles instead. However, a quick sniff revealed to her that the broth was actually tea. Green tea to be exact. "W-Wait…"
"Um… Do you have-" Kiba started, only to be interrupted by the regular-sized bowl of noodles appearing in front of him. The Knight was just befuddled; he didn't even see the man move!
Blake, however, instead of saying anything, she merely gave a nod and smile to the Shopkeeper, who returned the gesture as he rushed through one door of his shop and came out the other to leave a large bowl of noodles topped with fish in front of her.
Koneko leaned closer to Blake's meal. 'So… much fish…' The Gremory Rook thought before shaking her head, pushing down her instincts.
Looking at Rias and most of her peerage staring at their meals in shock, Ruby could only laugh. "Come on, guys! It's a tournament full of Huntsmen and Huntresses, so of course our meals would be bigger than most civilian plates." Ruby explained. "We have to have a high calorie count so we have more energy to burn."
"Yeah, sure but… this is a little extreme…" Rias got out. "This is not a meal, this is a challenge."
"Then you haven't seen what real Hunters can do." Ruby replied with a smirk.
Meanwhile, Weiss could swear she could see Blake's eye light up and sparkle as she gazed upon her meal, with Koneko staring at Blake's bowl strangely looking like she was about to drool but desperately trying to stop herself. The Heiress then shrugged her shoulders before pulling out her wallet and giving her Schnee Dust Company credit card to the shopkeeper.
"Aw, Weiss! What's the occasion!? I thought you were just gonna pay for Team RIAS' debts." Yang asked, wondering why the Heiress was suddenly so generous.
Weiss, however, just sighed. "Well, it's to celebrate the fact that even after everything we've been through; we're still alive and kicking and somehow we made it back to Remnant in one piece. Plus, I have money burning in my pocket, especially after that mission." She answered in a somewhat joyful tone. However, her joy was ruined when the card is flung back at her, hitting her in the forehead.
"Huh!?" Ruby called out in disbelief before everyone turned their heads towards the cash register the annoyed shopkeeper was pointing at, displaying the rather large and red DENIED sign bleeping out. "Weiss!? What happened!?"
"I don't know!" Weiss shouted out. "How can my card be declined? I haven't even spent any of my monthly allowance!"
"So uh… about paying for everything…" Issei awkwardly got out.
"Oh, shut up." Weiss grumbled out as she stuffed her apparently empty card into her wallet. She had a very good feeling who locked her account.
Blake started looking around panicked as she attempted to slowly slide her bowl closer to herself before the Shopkeep disappeared with her food, causing the poor girl to slump over in defeat. "Nooo!" The former car Faunus wailed out.
"F-Food…" Koneko got out, looking absolutely devastated when her bowl disappeared.
"Maybe I could help?" A voice from above offered. The girls of RWBY and the Gremory peerage looked up to see Jaune, Nora, Ren and Pyrrha approach the stand, with Pancakes following soon after. She was covered in flour.
Ruby, seeing the warrior for the first time since they first came home, flung her arms wide in delight and hugged the Champion. "Pyrrha! You fine?" Ruby asked. She was both happy and concerned about the girl.
"Of course." Pyrrha replied with a smile. However, Ruby had the feeling that it was forced out so she drifted over to Pancakes.
"How many pancakes did she eat?" Ruby asked the former Fallen Angel.
"…" Pancakes, however, remained silent as she stared at her master.
"…You didn't count, did you?" Ruby quietly deadpanned.
"You did not ask me to, Mistress." Pancakes stated, causing Ruby to sigh. "But, if you require an estimate, I estimate I have made 436 pancakes."
"She ate that much!?" Ruby quietly exclaimed as she stared at the rather lean Amazon Warrior.
"Actually, Pyrrha-sama refused to eat. Nora-sama did to not waste ingredients." Pancakes explained, causing Ruby to stare at the Pink Grenadier, who looked quite hungry. Then she heard Pancakes' stomach growl.
"Uh, just… go and make yourself something to eat, eat it this time then head back to the dorm and wait for your next order." Ruby ordered.
"As you wish, Mistress." Pancakes replied with a bow before walking away.
"So, you're really willing to pay all our meals?" Kiba questioned.
"Of course. I still a have plenty of money from my winnings back in Mistral." Pyrhha assured as she took out her credit card.
"Aw, you don't have to..." Yang said.
"But she could!" Blake called out desperately.
"F-Food…" Koneko whispered out, now close to tears. She was so hungry that it was killing her.
"Well, I wouldn't want my friends to starve, right." Pyrrha pointed out before wincing as she glanced at Weiss. Just thinking about… it… was making her feel like running away.
Meanwhile, Weiss winced as well. After a… rather harsh "talk" with Yang, she felt really guilty. Hopefully, the date with the Dork Knight would go horribly and she could direct him into Pyrrha's arms.
And she would make sure it went horribly.
"So, mind if we join you?" Jaune asked.
Soon enough, the stand became rather lively as Team RWBY, Rias' peerage and Team JNPR used the time to get to know each other a little more and share stories. A good hour later, the bowls are empty, and the group was either content with their meal or holding their stomachs, hoping to every deity in heaven they won't throw up.
"Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asked Pyrrha, who just stood nearby since the store was out of seats.
"Of course! It will give us energy!" Pyrrha replied happily as the bowl disappeared. Ruby was starting to notice how stilted Pyrrha sounded. It was subtle, but it was there.
"You really should've gotten a bowl yourself, Pyrrha-san. This is quite good." Asia said after she drank the last of the broth.
"Oh no, I ate earlier so I don't want to overeat." Pyrrha replied as she patted her stomach, hoping all the groaning and belches would hide the sound of her stomach growling.
Suddenly, Nora gave out a hearty belch, shaking the stand a little.
"Oh, that was nice." Issei commented with a chuckle only to shut up as Nora glared at him. Did every woman on this planet hate him now!?
"Well, only if you don't stuff yourselves sick." Kiba stated as he looked in concern at the JNPR Leader, who was splayed out over the counter.
"If I barf, I'm blaming you." Jaune groaned, sounding like he was about to throw up.
"Ooh!" Nora got out as she grinned evilly. "Aim at the enemy!"
"Nora, that's disgusting." Ren reprimanded before turning to Jaune. "But if you feel the urge..."
"Got it." Jaune replied as he gave a weak thumbs-up.
"Well, that's certainly a strategy…" Akeno muttered quietly.
"Besides, it's much more honorable than a certain someone's Semblance." Nora added as she shot a glare at the perverted Pawn.
"I'm sorry, alright!" Issei quickly apologized, feeling killing intent from the girl.
"Good. Because if you touch me or Pyrrha over there, I will break your legs." Nora happily stated. Issei could only chuckle nervously in response.
"Well, we should get going." Ren said as he got off the stool. "Our match is coming up next."
"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asked.
"Of course!" Nora answered confidently. "We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh... Jaune!" She then stated, her confident tone slightly dropping when she mentioned their leader.
"Are you gonna take that?" Ren asked Jaune, who sighed in response.
"She's not wrong." The Dork Knight admitted.
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. Even a lowly Pawn can overthrow a King." Issei stated as the Pawn shot a smile towards his own King, who smiled back.
"Thanks for the false encouragement." Jaune groaned out.
"I'm kidding, he knows I'm kidding." The Pink Grenadier assured before launching into a rather fast speech that very quickly went from confident to worried. "Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, RenandIhavenoparentswehavenohomelefttogotowe'llbeofficiallyrenamed Team Lose-iper!" She then started laughing madly before it rapidly turned into sobbing and slamming her head onto the counter.
Meanwhile, with everyone else, they had leaned away from the usually hyperactive girl, giving her weird looks all the while.
Asia went over to the sobbing girl comfort her, only for Ren to grab her arm to stop her. He just gave a look at her to say that she's fine.
"…Is she always like this?" Rias asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Ren deadpanned. "But other than that, we're feeling pretty good."
"W-Wait, what was that? You're orphans?" Kiba managed to get out. Ren just nodded with a shrug.
"Is anyone noticing a trend here?" Issei questioned. 'Like, why do half the people I know have parental issues or dead parents!?' He thought. He didn't know that it was actually almost all of them who have parental issues or dead parents. Hell, Issei couldn't even rule himself out. His parents only recently had hope that they would have grandchildren.
"What trend?" Blake asked, genuinely curious about something he said for once.
"Don't fret. If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines, and not, well... murderers." Pyrrha assured.
'You have no idea.' Everyone other than Team JNPR thought in unison.
"Yeah, don't sweat it; we've all faced way worse before." Yang chuckled out, trying to hide how far that statement really went.
"Let's see. Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath..." Blake listed off. 'Immortal enemies, Fallen Angels, dragons, dying…' She mentally added.
The Devils knew what she was thinking but kept it to themselves.
"And that's all while were still in training!" Ruby called out in excitement. "Oh, imagine what it would be like to graduate!"
"Ruby, after what we've been through, after graduation will be cakewalk." Yang said with a chuckle.
"Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal." Weiss sarcastically mumbled to herself. Suddenly, the PA system crackled to life, interrupting anything else they were going to do.
"Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately!" Port announced.
"Yes! Like they were scheduled to, several minutes ago!" Oobleck added.
"Well, it looks like this is it." Pyrrha breathed out.
"Well, I hope we'll meet again. Maybe the next time our eyes meet, it'll be on the other side of the battlefield." Rias said. "Good luck Team JNPR."
"Thanks." Jaune groaned out, clutching his stomach.
"Go get 'em!" Ruby cheered out to Team JNPR as they walked away, Nora still depressed and Jaune looking queasy. "Well, we better had back to the Coliseum too before someone decides to take our seats."
"And we should probably unpack the rest of our stuff once the day ends." Weiss pointed out.
"Yeah. At least it's good to be back." Yang got out as she stretched her limbs while walking towards the Coliseum. However, she felt someone touch her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn around to see Raven, casually drinking some soda as one of her portal dissipated. "What the!? When did you get here!?"
"Just now." Raven replied as she threw the cup away. "Come on, we're going somewhere."
"Hey! You can't just show up out of nowhere like that!" Yang called out. "Besides, I have better things to do." She then mumbled out as she started to walk away.
"It's about you, Yang. Your Sacred Gear." Raven stated, causing the Brawler to stop. "I can teach you how to control it, at least somewhat."
"…The last time I tried to use it, I slaughtered a lot of people and nearly killed my friends. I am never going to use it ever again." Yang growled before continuing to walk away.
"You don't think I know that? I had to deal with that stupid thing for years." Raven said as she frowned. "The dragon within you is going to try and unshackle itself again. If you can't control it, it's just going to happen again."
Yang then stopped once again and winced.
She could still feel the other side of her soul rumbling. Alive, but asleep. It was going to wake up, it was a inevitability, but she was sure she could suppress her.
However… the longer she thought about it… the more she was unsure of herself.
"…Fine." Yang sighed out. "I'll do it."
"Good. Now let's get going. I wanna finish this by dusk." Raven stated as she and Yang started to walk out of the fairgrounds, with Yang texting to her team that she was doing something else right now and won't come to see the JNPR's match.
"So, what are you gonna teach me?" Yang asked as she put away her Scroll. "Meditation? Breathing exercises? Anger management?"
"No, how to beat the shit out of idiots and assholes." Raven off-handedly answered.
"What?" Yang coughed out.
"I'm gonna show you a few things I've learned while I was away." Raven answered with a smirk. "I'm gonna teach you how to be like a dragon."
Save Game… Quit!
Whew! Done! This has been on the back burner for a while. And I'm gonna be away playing Kingdom Hearts 3 so… yeah.
UknownHero signing off, my friends!