D.A.I.T.
The Spar
A few minutes later the three teams are geared up and in one of the training arenas that Beacon had for the students to practice in a safe area. Safe is a relative term in the life of Huntsmen and Huntresses, in training or not. After all it is a small minority of the population that willingly steps forward in the face of pure evil with its only goal being the total destruction of sentient life and its creations. JNPR climbed into the stands eager to watch the match while Weiss set the perimeters into the arena computers. Opting for a tournament style rules, the final ten feet before the walls would be considered a ring out and the arena floor now adopted a red line to mark it. Combatants would be disqualified if they crossed the line of fell under ten percent of their aura.
Soon Team RWBY and Denko stood in the arena waiting for the signal to start while the rest of DAIT sat with JNPR. "Hey! What gives Denko?" Yang shouts at seeing a single opponent rather than a full team as expected.
Not interrupting his simple stretches Denko manages a shrug, "Guess they didn't feel like fightin' on a full stomach. It doesn't matter anyway, we're here with ten seconds to go." He dismisses the situation casually.
"I think we're being underestimated." Weiss comments to her team who nod in acknowledgement. RWBY readied their weapons while Denko left his untouched on his back and casually waiting, actions that only irritated the girls more and hardened their resolve.
"Hey girls?" Jaune asks the female members of DAIT hesitantly. "Aren't you worried he's going to get hurt fighting by himself?"
"Nope." Was the simple answer from Talon as she watched the events in the arena.
…3…2…1…BEEP!
Immediately Weiss formed a glyph that shot her forward in a white blur with Ruby close behind. The thrust at his chest was easily dodged with a twist that left Weiss continuing on while Ruby swung her scythe from the left which was ducked under as she flew by. A pair of fire Dust slugs from Yang left Denko continuing his maneuver which allowed him to avoid the shots that exploded into the wall. Blake was waiting and began slashing and stabbing at her opponent with Gambol Shroud only for him to move just enough for the strikes to miss completely.
Yang dropped from above delivering a devastating punch to the arena floor that left an impressive mark where her fist connected. She followed that up with an uppercut that hit nothing but air. Getting angrier by the moment at being dismissed so much by her opponent who had yet to do more than dodge without a single attack against them let alone the fact he hadn't even twitched for his weapon. Hitting a boiling point, her eyes turned red and launched into series of punch and kick combinations with more than a few rounds discharged in an attempt to hit the elusive boy.
The two separated from their dance when Weiss created a wall of icicles between them followed by a sniper round from the opposite direction. Neither attack hit anyone but did allow for some breathing room. At least until Yang smashed several large chunks of ice from the wall sending the frozen shards flying like horizontal hail. Denko managed to avoid the larger pieces while deflecting some of the smaller ones utilizing his hands and arm guards but was still peppered with the shrapnel and his aura meter dipped slightly.
Taking advantage of the distraction Yang jumped the remains of the ice wall and wound up for a massive haymaker. As her fist thrust forward her opponent finally decided to act by grabbing her wrist and twisting to use her own momentum to throw her. While her dad and uncle had used the move on her plenty of times before when training at home and at Signal by both her dad and uncle, but they've never did what Denko did. As the maneuver began to throw her an uppercut to the stomach drove her through the air while his grip on her wrist acted as a pivot which pulled the girl into a tighter spin and ended when her back slammed into the floor. The fist in her gut that was part of her flight now had its owners' weight behind it. The combined forces were enough to embed Yang into the floor several inches and her aura dropped by nearly half as a result.
"Yang!" Ruby shouts before she fired Crescent Rose behind her for added momentum and activating her Semblance for further speed. The flying high-speed flower petals coalesced in front of Denko with her massive blade in mid-swing within moments. The boy stepped into the arc as he took hold of the shaft and spun with the weapon. The girl at the other end was shocked as the focus of the centrifugal force shifted from herself to the larger boy and the change of forces spun her once around in a circle before she lost grip and was thrown to the ground near her sisters feet.
She groaned as she tried to sit up and opened her eyes in time to see her opponent spin her own weapon around once before slamming the business end down through her cloak, effectively pinning her down by the shoulders. Yang was barely catching her breath but had yet to extract herself from her hole in the floor, yet when the spear-like tip of her sisters weapon appeared in front of her with a bang from the other end that reverberated to the sharp point that was now suspended between her breasts but not toughing her.
The monochrome members of RWBY saw what happened to the sisters and rushed to overwhelm their opponent with a myriad of slashes and stabs with both utilizing their Semblances to its fullest to drive him away from the sisters so they had more room to move for their combination to strike from as many angles as possible. Denko for his part used his arm and leg guards to take the strikes that could hit him as he practically danced through the storm of blades that allowed the vast majority of attacks to miss their mark.
The onslaught ended when Denko caught Weiss' wrist and disarmed her while simultaneously throwing the white themed girl towards the trapped members of her team. The tumbling girl stopped when she hit the shaft of the scythe, Yang had a small scare as the sharp blade at her chest brushed against her aura due to the impact. Blake called out to Weiss to look out but the girl only gained her senses back in time to see Denko armed with her rapier jump out of the way of Blakes attempt to hit him and land behind her. Immediately she tried to get away but was interrupted by Denko pulling her back by her belt and driving her own sword through the gap, through her skirt and into the floor. The hilt was against the shaft of the scythe on the opposite side she was keeping her pinned to the floor. It didn't take long for the girl to realize she was out of the fight unless someone freed her.
Blake renewed her assault, pushing her opponent away from her team again swinging Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form. While this was effective in making Denko move it was just as effective at not hitting the boy. The deadly dance ended when Denko caught the pistol grip and pulled the ribbon tight, stumbling the unprepared Faunus. The green clad fighter pulled the ribbon that was still tightly wrapped around the girls wrist and used that connection to swing the cat girl several times before her back collided with Weiss' and the girls sword and leaders scythe handle. Before she could get her bearings her own ribbon looped around the two girls before being pulled taut and held by the blade embedded into the floor to maintain the bindings.
JNPR in the stands were left speechless as seeing RWBY taken down so easily and quickly only to jump as the buzzer rang upon registering that the team was unable to continue. In the arena team RWBY were shocked to find themselves in their positions and so quickly in the fight. Other than Yang they still had most of their auras but were trapped by their own weapons or their teammates. Blake was lucky to have the mag-plate on her back though that now sported some deep scratches due to Myrtenaster's guard but that same plate held her to the sword, even if her ribbon prevented her from standing as it did the girl to her back. Ruby couldn't even reach the shaft of her weapon with her arms but was also in poor position to push it with her legs, though she still tried.
'How did this happen to us?' was the single unanimous thought between all four girls' minds as JNPR and DAIT descended to the arena and began to help free them. Denko pulled Gambol Shroud free to loosen the bindings and yanking the rapier allowed Blake and Weiss to escape. Nora and Pyrrha pulled on Crescent Rose to release Ruby while Yang held the shaft above her to prevent it from stabbing her twins. Jaune was trying to avoid looking at the hole in Weiss' skirt that Nora had accidently widened. A fair amount of effort was required to pull the massive blade from the floor followed by Denko helping Yang to her feet.
"Told ya we didn't have to worry about my bro!" Itazura boasts to the small crowd.
"Hey Pyrrha! Do you think you could beat him?" Nora asks, a bit too loudly for what was needed.
Everyone's eyes now on the redhead, "Perhaps if he feels up to it. Denko did just finish a fight after all." She replies looking at the boy. Technically she was looking down as she was taller than him even without her heeled boots.
"I don't mind a round two." Denko shrugs as he walks to the middle of the arena again while the rest of the teams left the pair and reset the system though Denko held a severe disadvantage from the start as he was at seventy three percent of his aura.
"Question for ya." Denko starts getting the redheads attention. "If I just beat a team by myself why did your team set us up for one on one?"
"I'm guessing its because I'm slated to fight team CRDL by myself next week." She replies, while not being boastful but confident in her skills.
"Sounds like a good enough reason to me. Maybe next time we can have an actual team battle." The blond responds not noticing his opponents team leader look very uncomfortable at the thought.
"That sounds grand." Now looking uncomfortable had a nervous laugh to go with it drawing the attention of his friends briefly.
Whatever they may have been going to say was interrupted by the buzzer signaling the start of the fight. Immediately the spartan warrior charged forwards with her shield raised and xyphos ready to strike. Denko responded by charging as well though empty handed. Her shield was given a small push at the expected point of contact, aiming to start the fight with a shield bash to set him off balance. Contact was made but only with his hand as he jumped over while utilizing the contact as a pivot point and a small twist brought the boy just behind her.
No time was spent on being surprised as the short sword was immediately swung in a backhand that missed as its intended target continued his momentum and flipped away. Turning with the slash Pyrrha pressed her advantage and kept slashing as she moved, keeping Denko from doing anything more than flipping away from the red and gold implement of death.
So far neither fighter had managed to hit the other though Pyrrha held to the advantage due to aura levels and control of the fight thus far. That changed when Denko landed from another backflip and sprang forward and struck with an open palm Despite getting her shield in position to take the attack squarely, the spartan was knocked back several feet. As she gained her footing she was now on the defensive as palm strikes were repeatedly hitting the bronze disc between them, each one pushing her back further. That assault ended as Denko spun and dropped, sweeping his opponents feet though Pyrrha smoothly rolled out of the fall as Denko had continued his spin changing it to an axe kick that struck the ground where her head would have been.
Quickly changing from sword to javelin, the new reach pushed her opponent back and once again the ginger capitalized on her advantage. Spinning her weapon in tight arcs she managed to land several, though none with the blade and all hit the arm and leg guards. A thrust to his chest, dodged with a twist, brought an elbow into her gut followed by a backfist to the top of her head with the same arm as his other hand held the shaft of her spear preventing it and thus its wielder were unable to retreat. The combination ended with a kick to the stomach that disarmed and launched the 'Invincible Girl' backwards.
Pulling her shield from her back, Pyrrha prepared herself to fight mostly unarmed to combat a against a foe who was pushing her this far without a weapon. For his part Denko stayed where he was and looked relaxed as the next exchange of attacks was about to begin. The champion didn't disappoint as she moved first, launching her right fist that was followed by a knee, another punch led to her opponent casually dancing around her attacks which led to her throwing her shield at his retreating form, which was also avoided while he still held her spear in hand.
In the stands the teams were surprised by how easily the top fighter in their year was being handled. While it wasn't anywhere a one-sided as Ruby and Yang sparring without their weapons, it was hard to argue with the aura meters display that the fighters were now even and their classmates was steadily dropping.
Back in the ring, Pyrrha had caught her shield in time for Denko to launch his own series of attacks again. While she was able to avoid most of the solid hits by dodging and blocking but it was taking everything she had to do so and what few counterattacks she made amounted in little but providing an opening for another attack. All the while her spear was being held out of her reach.
A dodge roll combined with her Semblance allowed Pyrrha to grab her javelin and quickly changed to its rifle form and firing several times that had her opponent moving erratically to dodge them at close range. Trying to take advantage of his instability she charged with her shield up and sword at her side. Meeting him with her shield just as he gained his feet, she was confident she had caused some real damage this time but that was shattered as he gripped her shield as he fell backwards causing her to stumble at the unexpected move. As his back hit the ground his legs rammed into her stomach and she flew away without her shield.
Pyrrha landed awkwardly and made it to her knees when she was forced to block her own shield with her sword from hitting her. Off balance and distracted she missed the kick at her head until it made contact sending her sprawling on the ground with a large chunk of aura used to absorb the hit.
Sword somehow still in hand and her shield several yards away with her opponent just a few steps away and watching her and simply waiting. Her eyes flicked to the scoreboard, her aura levels hovered just over twenty percent while his had yet to drop below fifty. She knew there was no way to claim that she wasn't being challenged but for so long there were few opponents who could push her anywhere like this. She relished in those opportunities to test her skills. Now was someone who had the experience and skills to do a complete role reversal on her and she found herself introspective. Not since she had started her training and her mentor had deemed her worthy of an actual spar so many years ago had she gotten her ass handed to her so easily. It was an eye-opening experience that had killed any arrogance she had growing at the time. Now this time it was complacency taking the hit.
But Pyrrha Nikos didn't give up so easily. Rising to her feet once more, if a little unsteady, she held her sword at the ready as she faced her opposition and smiled to invite him for another round. He took the invite readily and rushed in faster than she expected but used her semblance to bring her shield to her waiting hand which was barely raised in time to deflect a punch while his other hand grabbed her other wrist preventing a counterattack. Pyrrha attempted to hit him with the edge of her shield that failed as Denko simply turned and twisted her wrist allowing the disc to pass harmlessly by and forcing the sword from her grip. A knee to her guts pushed her back before the same leg lashed out again and caught her chin, dropping her like a sack of rocks.
The buzzer sounded as Pyrrha's aura hit zero and her teammates ran into to ring. Denko vaguely noted the scoreboard cycling through its standard announcement of the winner with fourty-eight percent of. Jaune was quick to lift her head onto his lap and look her over for injuries as the rest gathered around. While everyone fussed over the fallen spartan Denko collected her weapons that fell from that last exchange, taking his time as he waited for the teams to calm down. Finally the redhead woke up and attempted to gain her bearings.
"Not bad Nikos.: Denko says as he hands her sword and shield to Nora before offering a hand to the downed fighter. Grasping his hand with a small smile, he waited until she had a good grip before pulling her to her feet with Jaune scrambling to rise with her.
"Th-thank you." Pyrrha managed to stutter out as she swayed slightly once upright. She did notice Jaune's hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"That was awesome!" Ruby and Nora yelled in sync, both of them getting in the faces of the most recent fighters, Ren now holding the Spartans weapons as they were thrown at him by Nora in her excitement. Most of the group shared a laugh as Ruby attempted to reenact some of the moves Denko had used but with her novice martial arts skills it was far more comical than anything else.
"if any of yaw anna have a spar let me know and I'll be ready." Denko comments as the laughter dies down.
"I'll have to take you up on that tough guy." Yang laughs as she punches his shoulder.
"Didn't you just lose to him in one punch?" Blake interjects causing the blonde in question to grin nervously as her ego was deflated at the reminder.
"At least I have some good video from the security and arena cameras!" Itazura teases as she skips up to the group while looking through her scroll. Everyone turned to the faunus who pressed a final button before beaming a smile at the others.
"Where did you send that vid?" Talon asks, not so much out of concern but curiosity. Many of the combatants were concerned with who saw that.
Itazura's grin grew wider. "Just a teacher or two we know from combat school."
"Sis, we're in a combat school and have been in three others over the past few years so that doesn't narrow it down." Denko deadpans at the faunus who only chuckled and nodded.
Calling it a day the twelve students left for their dorms, for most to clean up and do any last-minute homework, others to relax, and a team needed to unpack.
In an office located at the top of a tower surrounded by the rhythmic sounds of clockwork, Headmaster Ozpin played the videos of some of his students as they spared. Over his shoulder Glynda Goodwitch watched with him as the videos replayed. While they both had seen the reports of the blond boys skills they were still surprised to see it for themselves. Watching for the flaws and mistakes in combat the professors were able to spot several within team RWBY, despite being among the best team in combat of their year they were beaten with ease. In Nikos' case they could find little in how she fought to pick apart, almost as expected as the single best fighter in her year. But it was actually with their opponent that they had the most issue with, while there was little in terms of mistakes in his technique but it was that he was holding back so much that he had let several attacks hit him that he had previously shown he was capable of avoiding earlier in the fight. And most of all, at no point did he ever even twitch to use his weapon in any way.
"Kids something else, right Oz?" a grizzled voice emits from the scroll on the headmasters' desk.
"Yes, yes he is." The grey haired man responds as the videos looped again.
"Why didn't he use his weapon? Clearly he won without it but still." The blonde woman asks.
"Ask him when you see 'im. I gotta get going, might have a lead." With that the man on the other end hung up leaving the two teachers to their thoughts.
AN: There you have it, chapter two and a whole bunch of action and not much talk. Now that I'm done writing this chapter it seems like this could be an actual episode from Volume 2. Hope I did the fights scenes justice and didn't make things too repetitive. As always constructive criticism is welcome. Up next is dealing with classes for our new arrivals and please keep in mind that DAIT is meant to not change to original story at all, at least not intentionally, but to fill in some of the gaps and things in the background following team DAIT rather than teams RWBY or JNPR though their interactions will likely be frequent.