Crimson XXXV: Uphill Struggles
"Did we really have to meet first thing in the morning? I'm not a crack of dawn person at the best of times, even when those include my favorite early breakfast special," a groggy Makoto Nanaya yawned as she tried her best to rub the lingering sleep out of her eyes.
"We needed to address this issue immediately, so we had you had you all gather here as soon as possible," Jin Kisaragi informed everyone who had gathered in their team room. The attendees consisted of himself, Tsubaki, Makoto, Mai, Noel, Kagura, and his brother.
"In that same spirit, let's also get this over with as soon as possible; even if this is our Friday I'm in for a long day as it is," Ragna requested with a grunt. "So everyone here…"
"Knows about my family's secret," Tsubaki finished for him. "You're the most recent member privileged with that knowledge."
"Wait, is that the only reason you were finally able to get past your family bullshit and finally make out with your boy?" Makoto demanded.
"Kiss, Makoto," Jin corrected tensely. "Tsubaki kissed me."
"Pretty damn deep of a kiss," the Faunus noted, leaving Tsubaki to blush.
"Judging their combined lip skills aside, they've got us here for a reason," Kagura said, finally being the voice of reason (oddly enough). "There's a lot going on surrounding these two and it's on all of us to address it now."
"Related to that but before we get into it, I want to make sure we're all clear on how… public Jin and I are at the moment," Tsubaki started. "This isn't a matter or embarrassment or dignity, but things could become hell for everyone involved if either of our families found out that we were in a relationship."
"Wouldn't most students at the school already suspect you? I thought the two of you had already decided to go to the school dance together," Mai asked cautiously. "You didn't seem to be hiding that."
"As far as I can tell the reaction to that was thinking that we were going as childhood friends, which at the time of inviting Tsubaki was still the case," Jin answered easily. Ragna was at least happy that his brother was comfortable admitting things had changed since then. "Anyone who said otherwise was in the context of gossip or mere rumor. As long as nothing between us is explicitly stated I have to hope we won't have any worries."
"So keep this under the cover of the Academy's worst guarded secrets. Got it," answered Ragna who had more than enough experience in this already.
"But you guys should make a statement sooner or later, at the very least when you're both ready," Makoto insisted.
"Even if the factor of both their families is a huge one, if that was all we were dealing with I'd tell them to start planning their move with whatever info we've got," Kagura responded. "But now there's even more intrigue involved. You know that Weiss is Jin's Random Project partner? Well-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but I've actually got some recent info on that," Ragna started. Kagura simply let him proceed. "So first off, yes. This does seem to be a plot to get Jin and Weiss together for her father's own gains, but I think we may have some new evidence. Tsubaki's own Random Project partner admitted that she'd hacked the partner assignments through help from the Schnee company."
"W-Weiss?" Noel asked, finally speaking up for her first time in this meeting. "Y-You don't even like her."
"To be fair, Jin barely likes anyone." Ragna's words were a bit of a slight again his younger brother, but his target couldn't exactly argue with them. "The idea of anyone getting married off for corporate gain would already have me pretty pissed. But the fact that it's one of my closest friends here (Ragna was keeping that detail a secret for now) and my own brother? They've made a very vengeful enemy of me."
"Which is only worrying for us and I'd like to take this opportunity to ask you all to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything drastic," Tsubaki informed, practically begging the rest of her friends.
"How worried are you about that happening?" Makoto asked.
"With his involvement in this, you're now the person we're concerned with second most," Jin clarified.
"…Damn." An apt response given Makoto's own reputation in meddling. She turned to Ragna. "So…"
"And you BOTH are forbidden from a team up," Jin insisted before things could get any further out of hand. Makoto snapped her fingers in defeat (Swiper no swiping) while Ragna only chuckled. "Besides, we'll need to be careful because evidence suggests that Venus knows about Tsubaki's history."
"Through the Schnee family?" Noel asked.
"Given everything else it's a safe assumption, but that would mean that Jacques Schnee himself knows and that only creates further problems," Tsubaki sighed.
"I can ask Weiss to see if she knows for certain, but only if you're okay with that," Ragna offered.
"No. I don't word to spread to anyone else and I'm sure if she did know Weiss would have brought it up to me by now," Tsubaki denied. "We're better off moving with the assumption that her father already knows and that's how Venus knows."
"It was a while ago, but Amane noticed that she seemed to have a bit of a crush on Tsubaki," Mai brought up. "Could that be a factor at all?"
"Wait…" Ragna began as he thought it over. "If that's the case then it makes even less sense." No one else seemed to following his current train of thought, so the Reaper elaborated. "So if Venus is at play here just because of her feelings of love and affection towards Tsubaki, then wouldn't make even less sense for her to help that bastard Jacques if it keeps her in that damn nightmare of family tradition? You'd think she'd want her for herself."
"Maybe she's thinking of breaking her out of that situation once she gets the chance?" Noel suggested weakly.
"No, because then I would've noticed those intentions in her commentary instead of feeling just as trapped. Ragna's right: something else is at play here." Tsubaki seemed convinced there, but yet again it only led to more questions. "But… then why is she going along with this? Like Mai said, there's clearly some sort of affection there."
"Everything else about this has been because of a screwed up sense of family honor and political bullshit, maybe it's the same here?" Ragna crassly suggested (always quick on the draw to call it out).
"You might be on to something there," Kagura admitted as he mulled it over. "The Camellia family… I know for a fact that they're not one of the major noble families and if they're one of the minor ones then they're so small that none of us know about it. Still, that could very well be the answer."
"So we have plenty to look out for, but at least now there's a new lead for you guys to follow; I have that right?" Makoto asked. The new couple glanced at each other before nodding. "Well, it's… progress I guess. Baby steps and small plays for right now."
"You know that I don't like waiting around and that there's an easy way to put this all to rest," Ragna began darkly.
"And we know the way that your mind works, Ragna," Tsubaki answered with a slight glare. "That's why we're all worried about you doing something so drastic now and-"
"Hold up; I want to hear for sure what he's got to say," Kagura interjected. "…Partially to know just what I need to watch out for."
"You all are talking like I'm the villain here when I'm probably the only one speaking any actual sense aside from Makoto," Ragna said, his voice starting to become a bit more forceful. "The biggest issue that was holding you both back were your own walls and those are gone. You've already come this far; go the entire way."
When Jin and Tsubaki didn't answer right away, Makoto decided to cut in (also pleased that someone was officially on her side for once). "Uh, specifics?"
"Easy; both of them tell their families what's going on. Either they're fine with this and support you or these family ties are finally cut, that's the end of it." Noel and Mai were especially surprised by Ragna's reckless thinking (even for him). Makoto gave the man a thumbs up in solidarity. Kagura… he was silent, but certainly couldn't argue against the man's solution. "Let's have that big talk here; what are you giving up if you do that?"
"Do we have to discuss that now?" Tsubaki asked hesitantly.
"…I can't speak for Tsubaki, but next to nothing on my end," Jin admitted, much to even his girlfriend's surprise. "Ever since I joined the Kisaragi family I've lived a life that's been strict but also extremely privileged. I was willing to give it up for Ragna if it meant saving my brother and I'm just as willing to accept that course for Tsubaki, but given the fact my family treasures strength above all else especially blood I may not have to… If anything, they may end up being a safe haven for her should the Yayoi family expel her."
"And even if they don't you're both already plenty capable Huntsmen and Huntresses, even as first year students." It was Noel who brought this up, often times a little jealous of the talent the two had shown back at Signal. "I… I think… No, I know you both could manage without noble privileges."
"And it's not like you'd have to worry about expulsion for this; you know what kind of person Ozpin is," Kagura mentioned before turning to Ragna. "Actually, given your record you'd know best. He'd take their side on this, right?"
"In this context, GOODWITCH AND CLOVER would support breaking their family rules. Clover especially given that thesis he tried to publish."
…Quite the statement given Ragna's own history with his teachers.
"I'm… I wish was as brave as Jin is here," Tsubaki started sounded disappointed in herself.
"It's not you that's the problem here; just tell us what you're feeling," Makoto insisted.
"They… they're my family and I've been raised since a young age believing that this tradition is the most important thing to us. It's everything to me… and… sometimes I still think it's more important than even all of you."
A harsh revelation.
"Tsubaki, we understand. You don't have to apologize for feeling that way," Mai assured.
"I know that my family loves me, but… lately I've had to wonder how much of that is actually conditional. Can I really take the burden of being the one to break my family's history? Even if I now know how wrong it really is? I don't even know if I can really confront them."
"Well you better find an answer," Ragna began seriously. "Even if you hadn't already gone past the point of no return, I'd still fight to put an end to this. I'm more pissed off that you even need to consider it. Not you personally, just whatever the fuck conditioned you to even think of standing for this."
"Ragna, give Tsubaki some time and space. This can't easy for her," Noel tried to intervene… this was the first time she'd ever been confrontational with her leader.
"…The dance next week," Tsubaki said out of nowhere. "I give you all my word; Jin and I will have decided what we're going to do by then."
"Don't promise us; promise yourself. I'm here if you need me, but I'd rather you didn't force my hand to save you myself," he said darkly as he rose.
"You know, saving someone usually doesn't involve threatening them," Kagura reminded.
"…Which is why he's still saving me; he's not threatening me… just letting me know he has my back in his usual way," Tsubaki agreed, giving her partner only the softest of smiles. "If this ever does go that far, I still don't know if you'd be the best Brother-In-Law or the absolute worst."
"Eh, I'd at least make family reunions a hell of a time," he answered with smirk as he headed for the hallway. "…To set the record straight, I'm happy as all hell for you both."
"We know," Jin answered as Ragna exited Team Jack's room. The Reaper was about to close the door, but someone else held it open.
"Sorry, you got a second?" Makoto Nanaya asked him.
"I SAID there'll be no team ups with you two," Jin harshly reminded from inside.
"Not about that, promise! Someone else!" the Squirrel Faunus insisted.
"…I'm not getting involved with Nora and Ren," Ragna recalled.
"NO. SOMEONE ELSE ELSE." At Makoto's still vague clarification, the Reaper only rolled his eyes before shutting the door for good. "It's Blake."
"…What about her?" he asked, wondering if his girlfriend would want Makoto to know (even if he could assume she could keep a secret considering Tsubaki's status).
"You and her. I've just noticed that she's been doing a lot better lately, like in a great mood that I've almost never seen her in before," she elaborated as the two walked down the hallways.
"Then why not talk to her about it, I thought you both went way back. And between the two of us she's probably easier to approach." While Ragna was deflecting, he could at least take some comfort that Blake's old friend still cared for her and could see she was doing well.
"With everything that's happened with Tsubaki, I'm now thoroughly convinced that you're a total softy in spite of everything about your first impressions saying otherwise." Ragna tried to glare the Squirrel to change her mind, but (to his horror) it didn't work in the slightest. "Also Blake and I are… well, we're not fighting but things were certainly tense after you both caught us during your date. I haven't spoken to her since that."
"Is this the same date that you tricked us into going on; you've got to take at least some of the blame," the Reaper reminded. "But like you said, she seems to be doing better?" Makoto nodded. "Go ask her about it then, my part in it as well. Just let her know I said it was okay to ask, that way even if she's not ready to talk to you about it that shouldn't make things any worse between you two."
"Thanks, think I will now that I know you're in my corner," she answered before smirking. "Several times in the past few days now that I think about it."
"You have some pretty good ideas; simple, but pretty damn good," Ragna admitted. "…Might help a lot that most of them are blunt as all hell."
"Great minds!" Makoto clarified.
"Heh, maybe."
Heading into the cafeteria, he saw that those left out of Tsubaki's important meeting were there. Those being Amane and Celica from his brother's team and Azrael from his own. Ragna didn't know what the Mad Dog's current issue was, but it almost seemed like he was starting to lose his edge in his desire for battle… truth to be told, the Reaper was starting to worry that his teammate was getting depressed. Celica and Amane were chatting, likely about Yoga since the two constantly seemed to practice together (Goodwitch as well at times, but he didn't know that). Team RWBY was sitting in their usual spot and their leader waved him over to sit with them once he'd gotten his food.
"Why don't you go talk to Blake now? I'll make sure to have a breakfast tray ready when you're done," he offered.
"Thanks, think I'll take you up on that," she agreed before heading over to the table where her longtime friend was sitting. Blake didn't smile much as she approached, but at least she didn't seem averse to talking. "Heya girls."
"Heya partner, everything going okay with Tsubaki?" her Random Project partner, Yang asked.
"Things are… going," Makoto settled. "Sorry, but there's a lot going on with her right now that I can't really get into. Ragna either, so try to understand when he says he can't talk about it. Tsubaki's going through hell right now, well she's been going through it for a while but all of it's being brought to the front for better or worse."
"Let her know I'm willing to lend my support if possible," Weiss offered. "She and Jin have done plenty to try and help me."
"They have? About what?" Ruby's inquiry made it clear that Weiss hadn't told the rest of her team about this quarter's situation with her partnership with Jin. She waved it off, a classic sign that she'd explain later. "Oh… well I hope everything goes okay regardless."
"I'll be sure to pass all of that along, but is it okay if Blake and I catch up for a second? Kind of important itself." Blake agreed a little more readily than she'd imagined so the two Faunus headed out of the cafeteria for some privacy. "So… things going good for you? I mean, it looks like they are from where I'm standing."
"They are, much better than they have for some time now," she answered easily enough. "But that's not what you wanted to talk to me about, is it?"
"Actually it is the whole reason I'm talking to you. Spoke to Ragna a second ago and he said I could ask you about why it looks like you're doing so well lately. He didn't say you had to or even should answer honestly, but he said I should hear it from you first… even after that fallout we had after you date."
"You're still not going to apologize for tricking us, are you?"
"Maybe for tricking you, but not for getting you both to go out in the first place; I still say you both needed that," Makoto insisted. She'd expected Blake to get upset with her assertion, but really she didn't even look annoyed. "So am I right in guessing then? Does Ragna have something to do with it like I always suspected?"
"Be honest with me first, you're keeping a secret for Tsubaki. How well have you kept it?"
"I don't talk about it with anyone, even with people I already know. I can keep my mouth shut if it's truly serious, you can ask her if you need that confirmation," she promised.
"Just making sure," Blake sighed.
"So you've both started dating then?" Makoto flat out guessed.
"More than that; he's dating my entire team."
Now Blake's expectations were subverted; knowing how her friend saw Kagura, she'd expected Makoto to show some sign of being irked or surprised at the absolute least. In reality all that happened was her punch first and ask questions later friend seemed thoughtful.
"…You know what? That might actually be for the best."
"It is?
"Probably. You know that I had your back when all of this was going down and I thought you and Ragna were good with each other? Well I also knew that Yang had feelings for the guy, told me as much herself. You were my priority, but I was always a little sad that it meant she'd miss out on the relationship she wanted to have." Makoto shrugged. "Guess I don't have to worry now."
"I was sure you'd be upset."
"As upset as you were when I tried to hook you up? Not likely. Besides, you're the one in the relationship now. You're happy where you are then I'm happy. I'm just looking out for you as my friend."
"I know, and… while you did go too far in setting Ragna and I together, I didn't need to react the way I did. Water under the bridge?"
"Forgotten about completely, but it's obvious you want to keep this a secret. Who all knows about this?"
"Officially it's been Jin, Team JNPR, and most recently before you was Tsubaki. We keep in touch with who all knows so we can try not to accidentally tell anyone who would spread this around."
"That's kind of similar to the secret that we're keeping, but it's a far less happy one," Makoto informed. "Things are good though? Like really?"
"Yeah… I think that they are," she answered with a smile. Makoto looked like she wanted to ask her further about the new relationship, but that was when her stomach gave a growl. "Saved by the bell… an odd bell this time, but still. Let's head back, I'm sure that you need to get your food and eat."
"Your boyfriend's already getting it for me, but I guess you've got a point," the Squirrel answered as they started walking back, only for her to come to a funny realization. "Now that Ragna's official with you, he must be trying for your ears like crazy."
"You have no idea, I should start telling him to calm down, but…" Blake blushed. "He's gotten especially good at petting them… and he always has this oddly adorable face when he does. Like he's on cloud nine."
"Doesn't sound like you're too far off yourself," Makoto added slyly.
"Maybe I'm not… but don't tell him I said that, it'll just encourage him."
The Mock Battle Room
"I was talking to Goodwitch earlier, and it sounds like almost all of our team is going to be put through the mock fights today," Celica said to Amane as the two sat at their team's usual spot in the stands. "Guess it makes sense, Kagura was the only one who had a proper match this week."
"Indeed, it has been a rather quiet week for our team. I've enjoyed everyone else's performance while I sat back and took notes, but frankly I can't wait to get back onto our stage and show the new dance moves I've practiced," Amane noted excitedly. "And given our time together, I'm sure you'll be wanting to show your improvements as well."
"Yeah, even if I can't fight back I can still put in the work," Celica agreed, knowing her place but giving it her all just the same. "Things have been… kind of weird lately though. My Random Project Partner, Emerald, has been becoming a lot more withdrawn lately. I don't know what's going on, but when I tried to ask her about it she acted like she hadn't heard me."
"Yes, that entire team dynamic has been… different since they returned from the camping trip," Amane noted, right as the rest of the students started to pile in just a few minutes before Goodwitch would start their class. "So, are you going to confront her about it?"
"If by confront you mean act as supportive as I can and hope that she'll tell me about without needing to ask, then yes," Celica answered. "Maybe it's just our imagination or there's something small that her team just has to work through."
"…Maybe," Amane half-heartedly agreed, sounding rather ominous as he did so.
The rest of Team JACK gathered around the two with the entirety of Team RAIN sitting on the row above them and Makoto/Mai sitting beside them. Next to RAIN was Team RWBY which meant Ragna was on the end of his team seating closest to them, obviously. Beside RWBY was Team JNPR with Pyrrha looking confident as ever while Jaune Arc looked less so. Ren minded his own business, but Nora seemed to keep glancing down the row at Ragna and Team RWBY. She was still far too curious about their current working relationship and was trying her best to get whatever outside glances she could (though in public was hardly where they showed such affections). Then there was Cinder's Team… nowhere close to Ragna or the groups surrounding him.
"Let's begin at once; we have a busy day ahead and several matches to go through," Goodwitch began as she brought her clipboard out. "Though I have a number of reminders and even a few announcements to go over regarding the two remaining weeks of the quarter. First as a reminder, the school dance will be next weekend and while I hope to see you all there, I hope that you all keep your project assignments as priority." At this point, only a few groups of students were completely finished with said projects, most were nearly done… and a few teams were especially far behind. "That goes especially double now; the last week of school has been changed; we'll be return to our usual second quarter finale: your first Huntsmen and Huntress missions. This means that all assignments will be due that Monday morning instead of the Friday at the end of the week."
There were obvious mutterings from the school stands at this rather vital loss of time. Some students looked terrified at the news, even at the edge of fainting.
"Don't blame the messenger; it was Professor Clover who insisted on this sudden change," Goodwitch explained, though this only made the issue worse. "He said it would prove something of each team's coordination, planning, and commitment to the success of their team. Decide if your first dance is still worth going to and bear in mind; there will be others in much calmer situations."
"That guy is sadistic," Jaune muttered.
"We're almost done with our projects at least," Pyrrha tried to reassure him.
"That still barely leaves us with enough time for our editing," Ren said realistically.
"I don't care if I have to pull all-nighters for an entire week and party with bags under my eyes! We're going to that dance!" Nora declared.
"…You relented?" Jaune asked Ren.
"How could you tell?"
"Aside from that, there are only going to be a few mock fights left before we finally decide on our representatives for the Vytal festival. A few teams have already been set in stone for this event, but there are those who are on the cusp of reaching the tournament's new qualifier…" Goodwitch was still looking at her scroll, but it was obvious to Ragna that she was addressing him. "Try not to disappoint."
Unlike Team JACK Ragna had been called on for a fight every day this past week sometimes two matches in the same day. It was clear Goodwitch was giving him the chance that he needed to prove himself… thankfully with all of the baggage from his past finally dealt with, now the class got to see the real Reaper that was once again constantly kicking major ass, in fact he was even better than before.
"Did she tell you if you qualified for the preliminary rounds yet?" Weiss whispered.
"No news yet, so for now I'm going to assume that any loss just means that I'm responsible for leaving my team not making it to the tournament," Ragna answered back before smirking despite circumstances. "Of course, that's not happening now."
"Make sure of it; you're now allowed to lose until you face us in the tournament," Yang ordered with a smirk.
"And when I make it there, I'm not taking a dive for any of you."
"Kill you if you did."
"Returning to the present for the moment," Goodwitch resumed. "Our first match of today will be between Tsubaki Yayoi and Jaune Arc. Will both participants come down?" Jaune took a deep breath to steel himself for the encounter before complying and heading down from the stands. Tsubaki was far less nervous as she left her seat as well, in spite of all the chaos surrounding her.
"Good luck… not that you need it," Jin encouraged his girlfriend as she passed by. Tsubaki only gave him a small and private smile. Heading down she also stole a glance at Venus who was staring intently at her, but there wasn't much else she could tell. Jin noticed this as well and his eyes narrowed.
"…I'll start looking into the Camellia family," Kagura informed as he opened his scroll. "You focus on cheering her on."
"You know that's hardly my style," Jin countered.
"YEAH! GIVE HIM HELL TSUBAKI!" came his brother's sudden shouting. He gave Ragna a glare only for the Reaper to smirk back at him, making it clear he was still keeping his placement ambiguous on the Brother-In-Law spectrum.
"Not gonna lie, I was honestly hoping he'd still take my side here," Jaune admitted as he extended his shield and unsheathed his sword.
"KICK HER ASS, JAUNE!" came Nora's support, not wanting to be outdone by Ragna.
"Focus on what we worked on together! You can do this!" came Pyrrha's less boisterous cheering.
"…Go team," said Lie Ren with halfhearted punch to the air.
"Seems like you're getting your support either way," Tsubaki noted as she drew her gladius. "To a good match."
"Yeah, same to you too."
Tsubaki wasted no time in charging forward to close the distance. With their blade and shield sets, the two were fighting in similar styles though Jaune had a clear length advantage as it was in its current form. Even now Jaune was half tempted to deflect the attack with his sword since that seemed cooler than the smart move of protecting himself with his shield. He also still had to fight the urge to simply cower behind his shield, but it was slowly becoming easier to do so. Letting the blow glance off his protection, Jaune countered with his own swing that Tsubaki guarded against with her own tome-like shield. While she held his sword back with her shield, Tsubaki went for a slash with her own blade only for Jaune to take the attack with his shield as he rushed it forward and actually managed to slam it into Tsubaki as she shifted her guard to barely take the blow.
Apparently Jaune had been improving because this most recent push was enough to blast Tsubaki off of her feet and Jaune was able to chase after her as she did so for a follow-up acting quickly, Tsubaki turned her knife into a bladed whip and used a hasty clash to prove her with cover. Jaune shielded the attack in his rush forward spinning into a powerful sword swing which again struck her tome.
"His offense is looking a hell of a lot better," Ragna commended from the stands. "But Tsubaki hasn't begun fighting seriously just yet."
"Think he'll be able to keep up with her once she does?" Blake asked. Ragna didn't have an answer for her.
Down below Jaune was continuing to push the offensive advantage he had created with a series of sword slashes and hopeful shield bashes. He hadn't managed to get a clean attack in and what few scrapes he could manage were easily absorbed by Tsubaki's aura, but those were adding up. Jaune knew from personal experience that once either side's aura was weak enough they'd lose the match so his goal now was to bring his opponent to that point. It wouldn't be a clean win, but at least it would be a reasonable strategy.
On Tsubaki's end for now she was just focusing on staying in the fight and utilizing her own semblance. Even if thanks to Ragna this semblance's origins had a far more negative stigma to them, it wasn't like she could stop using it outright all at once. As her tone started glowing with sacred light, she realized that she only needed to hold out a little longer.
'Right, I've never seen Tsubaki use her semblance without that damn thing,' Ragna considered. 'Now that I think about it, that thing's oddly close to magic more than any Dust infusions and the Yayoi family is pretty secretive about this thing. If it's not amplifying her semblance it's at the very least focusing it which helps here in combat… meaning she'd be giving up more than I thought if she leaves her family.'
Ragna future concerns aside from the moment, the light around Tsubaki's tome shield condensed as her semblance became focused. When Jaune went for an overhead slash (that may have ended the fight even if it only chipped away at her aura) she instead countered with a light covered uppercut that sent her into the air and sent Jaune stumbling back. Utilizing more of that same light while she was airborne, Tsubaki sent down a powerful orb of light which Jaune blocked with his shield as it exploded right before Tsubaki made a light covered dive into his still raised shield.
Even if he had become significantly more well rounded in the time he'd trained with his own team, Jaune's well above average defense saved him here. But Tsubaki's semblance in its charged state didn't just help her power output; it also greatly aided her movement. Dashing forward, she used her own tome as a shield rush and this time Jaune was put off guard. The tome's power also allowed her blade to become enhanced, now turning into a massive red sword which she swung upward and fully managed to break Jaune's guard.
The blond tried swinging his sword in a last ditch attempt, only for it to be intercepted by angel wings that emerged from the tome like pages. Trying for a desperate shield bash now, Jaune missed the attack as Tsubaki dodged to the side, leaving her blade at the back of his neck before he could try another move.
"And the match is over in Miss Yayoi's favor," Goodwitch said, officially bringing the round to an end. "Mr. Arc, while you have shown significant improvements these past months I do remind you that your team is likely to be participating in the Vytal Festival and you'll be playing a role in representing Beacon."
"I… I'll… try to step it up a little more," Jaune said, cringing a little more.
"He did very well though," Tsubaki insisted. "Were it not for my semblance he may have even hold a small edge over me."
"Be that as it may, other students will have their semblances to use and unlike now Jaune won't have prior knowledge of their functions. Best he's prepared."
'Dammit, I can't drag my team down in the Tournament, but not only am I going to have to fight but I'll be forced into at least one mandatory solo battle… most people here are probably expecting me to bite it and screw my team over,' he worried as he headed up to the stands.
Tsubaki followed him to return to her own seat, but once again glancing towards Venus… her project partner seemed to be looking at her with idolizing eyes. She remembered what Ragna had said and wondered just what the real story was back now. Returning to her row, she passed by Jin.
"I had every bit of faith in you," her boyfriend assured her.
"I'm glad I was able to reward said faith," she answered with a smile before glancing at her team lead. "I half expected you to start shouting again in congratulations."
"Eh… not under the circumstances," Ragna admitted before looking to Jaune who clearly still had a lot on his mind. "Not your fault clearly. Well done."
"And for our second match today we'll be pitting Miss Ruby Rose against Amane Nishiki," Goodwitch stated from down below as she calibrated the match settings.
"Alright! I'm up!" Ruby declared. "Wish me luck."
"Watch out for that dancer," was all Weiss said in warning, given her own experience with the man.
"…Think he'll try to get me to dance?" the young leader asked worried.
"Probably will, if he can," Blake admitted.
"Break a leg, preferably his!" Yang encouraged.
"Right…" Ruby said, now less than confident as she headed down to the arena where Amane was already waiting for her.
"Correct if I'm wrong, but I may have heard Weiss bring up something about you having two left feet when trying to prepare you for next weekend's dance. I'd like to take the chance to get you ready for it," he noted. Ruby took that valuable time to glare up at her partner who for some reason found her own right shoulder very interesting. "Perhaps I could step in as an impromptu instructor?"
"A thousand times no! I remember what you did to Ragna and Weiss during our first quarter! I even have a recording of it!" Ruby denied as she brought her scythe out.
"She… still has that?" Ragna asked with a bit of concern.
"Hmm, maybe this could be her just desserts after all," Weiss considered as she brought out her own scroll and began recording.
"And with that, I think it's time for our lessons!" Amane insisted as the long dancing ribbon around him came to life.
"Try to take this seriously this time, Mister Nishiki," Goodwitch scolded, knowing Amane habit of dropping out of matches against certain opponent. "Begin."
Wanting to keep her distance from Amane and his dance inducing semblance, Ruby started the match by firing off two quick scy-pod shots. These may have been training bullets, but they still carried plenty of power thanks to Ruby's Crescent Rose. Amane barely needed to move as his ribbons deflected the attack into the floor. The dancer then utilized their ribbons as a whip and made to strike Ruby, but the young Huntress leaped back and fired off another shot both as an attack and to create further distance. This time Amane didn't block the attack, instead literally dancing to avoid the rubber bullet. Seeing her opponent strike a pose, Ruby realized that Amane's ribbons suddenly looked much shorter.
"And pull!"
From the ground beneath Ruby, a set of ribbons energized, formed a giant hand, grabbed Ruby, and slammed her down into the ground. Even though her protective aura held strong, she couldn't help but gag at the sudden and powerful impact. Quickly getting back to her feet as Amane's next ribbon whip nearly struck her, she utilized another gun blast to push her back before activating her Speed Semblance and rushing forward in a spiral rush. Amane only laughed joyously as he guarded the attack no matter how much Ruby pushed against it. Grabbing a fan from his outfit's fold, Amane gave a short but powerful wave that blasted Ruby back with a torrent of air.
"This little beauty had some wind Dust infused while it was woven. I think the results speak for its craftsmanship," Amane boasted, giving Ruby the opportunity to recover once more.
'He's playing with me and he's better at fighting at a distance than I am, even though I'm the one with a sniper rifle,' Ruby considered trying to come up with a plan. 'It's dangerous, but am I just supposed to charge in and…? I better not end up dancing because of this.'
Firing another gunshot just to give herself some cover before rushing forward with her semblance to commit to her plan. Amane's ribbon took the shot before it shrunk and the dancer sent out a wave of odd drill shaped ribbons along the floor. Ruby leaped over them at the last instant before propelling herself forward with a blank gunblast. Twisting her body, she turned her scythe like a buzzsaw as she struck Amane's hastily prepared guard. Coming up for a second swing, her Crescent Rose clashed with the ribbon drill surrounding Amane's hand as the two attacks struggled against one another.
"Very VERY well played, my dear," Amane commended. "But I'm afraid this match is mine!" The ribbon drill drastically increased in speed which led to an even greater output of power. Pushed to her limit, Ruby lost her grip on her favor scythe and it knocked out of her hand and spiraled into the air. "And with that our dance has-!"
WHACK!
Everyone in the stands watched in awe as Ruby delivered a sudden and devastating left hook to Amane's face. That single blow knocked the dancer off his feet before he twirled around whilst in midair and collapsed in a heap when he hit the ground… looking like a familiar orange gi wearing martial artist as he lay in the fetal position. Already Ruby could see the welt starting to form on the dancer's face at her sudden attack. The rest of her team glanced towards Ragna.
"…What? I didn't teach her that," the Reaper denied.
"I can speak for her when I say she picked it up from you," Pyrrha explained, remembering what she and Ruby had discussed that last time they'd sparred.
"Mr. Nishiki? Are you alright?" Goodwitch asked. It took Amane a moment, but eventually he shook himself off before standing once more. "The match has ended in Miss Rose's favor, please return to your seats."
"Of course," Amane answered, though he didn't even sound disappointed. He tried smiling at Ruby… something that wasn't made easy due to the burning welt on his cheek. "Well played, seems that you have even more surprises than I thought."
"Y-Yeah, you're not easy to pin down yourself," she answered as she retrieved her scythe before heading back to sit beside her team. "That was… weird. When I hit him, it was like I didn't have any Aura to get through, like I was able to strike him dead on."
"Shutting your own Aura down like that isn't easy, there's a lot of technique involved with it and there's not much reason to learn it in the first place," Ragna explained. "…Unless you're me, but different circumstances there."
"Maybe he's utilizing so much of his Aura in that ribbon there's not much left for a defensive shield?" Yang guessed. A tap on her shoulder reminded the group that Amane was there and willing to answer questions. "Come on, it's fun to theorize about your powers… also it looks like it'd hurt you to talk." The dancer shrugged and returned to his own business.
Several matches then followed. Among them was Pyrrha taking a win against Mai (her shield was a major factor there), Blake was victorious against Neo though something about her win felt off, and Cinder against Cardin… Ragna almost felt bad for the guy, but remembered he'd yet to change his racist ways. Noel would have been called on for a fight, but for some reason Emerald wasn't in attendance today. As such Noel took the win as a forfeit.
"That's a bit of a shame," Tsubaki sighed. "Noel's been working very hard on her techniques these past few weeks and she's been wanting to try them out in an actual mock instead of basic sparring."
"Right, even if this a win for your team points wise, it's not exactly helpful in earning your place in the Vytal Festival," Jin agreed. He then noticed that Kagura had finally put his scroll down after looking at it all match, his complexion didn't seem happy. "Find something?"
"I think I might have, but I'll talk to you both about it during the break," he promised.
"Mr. Mutsuki, I've noticed that haven't paid attention to the fights this session," Goodwitch reprimanded from down. "Perhaps I'd feel you'd earned our class credit if you participated today after all."
"So you're saying I'm up next?" Kagura asked, already rising to his feet as grabbing out his massive sword.
"Not exactly, but perhaps you'd be willing to be Celica's second in her own match?" Nodding, Kagura made his way down with the redhead. "As for their opponent it seems… Azrael."
"Tch, finally," the blue haired man grumbled as he started making his way down. So it wasn't just Ragna's imagination something was bothering the Mad Dog.
"I'd like to remind you that I will stop the fight if I think things are getting too out of hand," Goodwitch insisted. "Since it's been a while I'll once more explain the special rules in regard to fighting Celica. Since Miss Mercury is unable to fight herself she's paired up with another student who won't be earning any points this match, though they should still give it their all regardless of that fact as I'll be taking notes on their performance. In order for her opponent to win, they simple have to get Celica in a state of surrender."
'Don't think Azrael's going to even think of going for that. In fact I doubt he's going to try for Celica at all even if he disarms me. This guy hasn't been able to get his fill of fighting for months and right now I'm his best shot,' Kagura thought.
"Both fighters ready," Goodwitch instructed as she began the clock. "Begin."
If it weren't for Kagura having some of the best battle senses at the Academy, he would've failed stopping Azrael in time as he disappeared from sight and appeared behind him. He also was able to tell last instant that he wasn't going for him, but straight for Celica. A hefty swing from his massive blade stopped the Mad Dog's advance and forced him on the defensive. Guarding using his bare forearm, Azrael took the blow and skidded back on the floor.
"You're playing to win now?" Kagura asked.
"I have to; my team's on thin ice right now trying to get into the tournament, so if I want to get into the hunting grounds I need to play ball," Azrael answered. "Sorry, but I can hardly take the time to savor this."
While Kagura hadn't been hurt yet, Celica still used her healing semblance so that he'd receive the power boost that it provided. Nodding to her and motioning for her to stay back, dark flames (though a different shade compared to Ragna's) surrounded his sword. Kagura made a lunging stab at the Mad Dog who only guarded the attack before knocking the blade point away. Swinging his fist with a downward smash, Azrael barely missed the dodging Kagura, but he used the opening to rush for Celica. The red head didn't even try to dodge as Kagura appeared before her through more dark flames and countered Azrael's attack with his own, the sudden Semblance boost from Celica proved to be enough to launch Azrael back and keep his partner safe.
"Remind me again what Kagura's semblance is," Ragna said to his partner as he watched his occasional antagonist defend Celica.
"It's called the Black Gale; it's another of the abilities that's inherited via bloodline," Tsubaki informed him. "Though I suppose it's closer to Weiss's instead of mine; from what I understand this one is pushed on the user through strict training and can be used a multitude of different ways depending on the one using it. For Kagura he uses it to enhance most of his basic techniques."
"And his sword, does that interact with his Semblance like yours does?"
"It might, but that might be more due to his Semblance effect his weapon than the sword itself being designed to do so," she answered. "Then again, he did have that sword special commissioned for him, though I don't know who made it."
Down below, Kagura was certainly putting his sword to good work keeping Celica safe as she continued boosting his powers. He used the flat of the blade to protect himself from Azrael's high stomp before swinging it upwards in a hefty rising slash. Azrael guarded the attack and Kagura was left in the air meaning Celica should have been vulnerable at that moment. Fortunate for the young healer as Azrael rushed in with a clothesline (he wouldn't have actually hit her, stopping short just to make it clear she lost the match), Kagura's dark flames allowed him to dash back to the ground and intercept the Mad Dog with an overhead swing which clashed with Azrael and sent him sliding back from Celica again. Bringing his blade back and swinging it forward, instead of sending a wave of debris Kagura actually created a few waves of black flames which clashed into Azrael… and were absorbed by the red aura surrounding him.
'Okay, if I've put Azrael's technique together correctly then this means that he has at least one charge of that fireball attack,' Ragna considered as he watched from up above. 'The question is how he's going to try to us it and… is he really still only at his base level? With Celica's help Kagura is easily pushing him… is trying to learn how to fight for once?'
Down with the two fighters (and Celica as support) hadn't made a move for a few moments while the clock ticked down behind them. Azrael just let the tension build a moment more before swiping his hand and throwing one of his fireballs at Celica. The Mutsuki heir intercepted the attack by swinging his sword like a baseball bat to send the projectile back at the Mad Dog with the flat of his blade. Azrael had already teleported out of the way and directly into Kagura's blind spot. Kagura tried to swing behind him to protect himself… and that was exactly what Azrael had planned on.
Showing more self-control than anyone thought he was capable of, Azrael teleported a second time and had gotten out of the way the instant Kagura had committed to defending himself. Going straight for Celica instead, he rush forward for a final grab… only for Celica to easily dodge out of the way like she'd practiced with Amane.
"Huh? Gah!" Azrael shouted as Kagura managed to land his lunging stab and seemed to deal significant damage to his aura. Not enough for an outright loss, but Azrael still felt the blow. His rage returning, he unleashed a titanic uppercut which caught Kagura's blade and knocked it out of his hand. Off balance and without the means on defending himself, Kagura found himself before an Azrael that hadn't been able to express his battle lust in month… and now it looked like he was about to get it back.
"Match over," came Goodwitch's voice, saving Kagura before Azrael could even begin anything. Glancing at the timer, both students saw that time had indeed expired for their match. "As for our end result… Draw." A few taps on her scroll committed this to the archives. "Well done though Azrael, it's impressive to see you fighting with some semblance of strategy and setting a goal other than the fight itself."
"It was torture," he growled.
"It's expected of you," she lectured. "Fifteen minute break starting now. Go stretch your legs, grab a cup of coffee. Just be back here in time."
Not many of the students actually piled out, but Kagura, Tsubaki, and Jin readily made their way to the doorway. Azrael stuck behind and seeing that Ragna was making no move to exit himself, he all but stomped up to the standing and got right in his leader's grill.
"End of this term; I'm getting EVERYTHING from you. With interest," he demanded, his expression so feral that even the Reaper felt a twinge nervous at-
Bop!
"Calm down, you did well out there," Noel said as delivering a tension break tap to her partner's head. Everyone stared at the normally meek blonde as she Azrael aimed his glare at her for a moment before taking a seat in a huff.
"…Don't worry, you'll get what you want," Ragna promised seriously.
"I better."
"…Good match?" Celica tried as she took her seat. Azrael only gave her a gruff grunt.
"Azrael, Celica just thanked you for the good match you just had," Noel told him.
"…Yeah, good match," the Mad Dog relented.
Ragna was at an utter loss; this was one of the worst moods he'd ever seen Azrael in but here was Noel with the proverbial leash on him and seeming to calm the giant. Noel, the same student who was so meek that sometimes it was a surprise to hear her even give an opinion without stuttering. When had that…? He turned to the only likely cause of this development: her Random Project partner, Jaune Arc.
"…What?"
Meanwhile -The Hallway-
"Almost thought I was going to bite it there, but I guess it's good I didn't because of that research I just did would've been for nothing," Kagura told Jin and Tsubaki as the trio found a secluded corner where they wouldn't be bothered. "Getting to business, Ragna was right on the money. Venus's family the Camellia's are barely low ranking nobles, but it didn't always used to be that way. In fact, they were sort of the advance guard of the Yayoi family."
"Are you certain? I haven't heard anything about that in my family's history," Tsubaki answered.
"It seems to have been erased completely; I doubt your father or even your grandfather would know about this and the turning point was only about six generations ago," the Black Gale informed.
"And you were able to research it now, during a single class period?" Jin asked skeptically.
"Hey, it helps a lot when I have some idea of what I'm looking for. The rest of it reading between the lines and knowing the double entendres and white lies of political discourse, I've learned my fair share of noble scandals so I know exactly what to look out for."
"And we appreciate all of the help you've given us," Tsubaki thanked in no uncertain terms. "So what were they responsible for and what happened for the Camellias to be ousted from their role?"
"I'm not too clear on the details, but what I managed to piece together was more of what the less branches of your family would do; protect and support the main branches, attend the meetings though they were usually only there to receive orders, and speak for the prosperity of your family. As for what they did…" Kagura sighed. "Once again it all comes down to blood; one of the Camellias had a tryst with the main family matron that resulted in a pregnancy."
"Pregnancy? So you mean that-?"
"No, the matron had already given birth to several children and at least a few of them would've both inherited the family semblance and be able to have children of their own. The act itself though was a huge problem and the entire Camellia family suffered because of it. The Yayoi family immediately severed all ties and this major loss of influence leads them to where they are today. As for the matron and her lover, it was reported that the two had been killed in a Grimm attack where her protector's cowardice had led to their deaths." He grimaced. "Once again… reading between the lines…"
"The Yayoi family executed them both and used this cover story as their reason for their divide," Jin answered, he was not pleased in the slightest. "And the child conceived out of wedlock?"
"Too many conflicting half stories… I'm just hoping at this point, but maybe it was put up for adoption somewhere? Hidden so neither family could track it down and… preserve their legacy."
"Speaking of legacy, the Camellia's never revealed the secret? It seems that would give them a fair amount of leverage in the negotiations."
"I thought about that too, but no matter how much I dug nothing about that seemed to surface," Kagura answered before his gaze shifted as he noticed the group wasn't alone. Sure enough, Venus herself slowly emerged from the corner.
"Speak of the devil." Jin was hardly helping here, but Tsubaki didn't reprimand him. "So what Jacques Schnee's lap dog want with us?"
"I don't want to hear you call me that ever again; in fact I don't want to see you or that womanizer at all. I have important things to discuss with Tsubaki-Sama."
Jin and Kagura both gave reserved glances to Tsubaki, but the redhead only nodded to make it clear she was able and ready to handle this. Kagura and Jin both look as calm and collected as they normally would in a situation like this as they left, but once they had rounded the corner, Kagura took notice of Jin's barely shaking hands.
"So… now you know," Venus noted without much emotion to speak of.
"Ragna already told me about your involvement with Jacques, the rest we're just trying to piece together," Tsubaki answered, not hiding how bothered she was by current circumstances.
"I'm surprised that you believed him, he hasn't given you much reason to Tsubaki-sama," Venus sighed.
"Quit calling me that, in fact why are you still calling me that?" she demanded. "Don't you hate me?"
"D-Do you think I'm actually doing this revenge? Nothing could be further from the truth. If that was what my family and I wanted we'd tell your family's secret to the rest of the world."
'So it's official; she really does know and what's more her entire family does as well.' "Then what do you want? Tell me."
"…I guess since you already know this much I might as well let you know now, it might make both our futures a little easier… since we'll being so much of each other, Tsubaki-Sama."
"You're… just trying to reestablish your family's place working with us, after everything that happened?"
"MINE was the family at fault, to think that one of my ancestors…" a flash of rage alighted Venus's face, but it was gone just as quickly. "This has just been our punishment. We need to find some possible way to atone for what we've done. Jacques Schnee for all of his faults is a man of immense resources. With what he's willing to provide for my family, it should allow us to establish a new unity with the Yayoi line."
"And just to make sure, the job he hired you for?"
"Was to set Jin Kisaragi and his own daughter together at any chance I was given. This most obviously was putting them together during the Random Project assignments, but I have… other methods lined up that will help them see the light. I'll admit I was a little selfish myself in assigning myself to your side, but this only helped my own cause… besides, you would've been paired with that fool Jaune Arc. If anything I've done you a massive favor."
"Jaune has been an excellent help to Noel this quarter and I'm not letting you play with either Jin or Weiss a moment longer," Tsubaki affirmed with a glare.
"I… didn't want to have to do this, but I can get in touch with your family if it comes to that. Are you and Jin Kisaragi really planning to attend the dance together?" Tsubaki only continued to glare. "I'll take that silence of yours as a yes. Your family has let you play small games together, but if I reveal that there might be a chance that you're willing to break family tradition, well…"
"You're threatening me?"
"No, I'm reminding you of your place and what's needed of you. I would've liked for the two of us to stay on good terms without the need of any… conflict. If it does come to this though, all I'd proving to your family is why you'd need a better caretaker at your side… and why I'd be perfect for that role."
"…Caretaker?" Tsubaki began, finally at her limit. "You just want to be my prison warden!"
"It's only a prison if you make it that; and what happened to all of the family duty and noble pride I saw glowing in you last quarter? What happened to that proud angel of light that I saw and adored with all my being?" Venus almost looked a bit mournful. "You can say you come from a loving family all you want; the truth you still don't know what they're going to do if you go against them. Being removed from the main family might be the best case scenario."
"I…"
"So for starters… don't go to the dance with Kisaragi. Don't go with anyone at that. This way would only help your family's vision of purity anyways. As for moving past that, attend school, finish with amazing marks like you've been doing, and graduate of course. By then my family and yours will have already continued business while Jin and Weiss will have been taken care of. From there, you just need to follow through with what your family has already decided and continue the proud Yayoi line."
"…NO."
"What did you-?"
"I said NO, Venus," Tsubaki answered. "I'm no one's pawn. Not yours, not Jacques's, not even my own family's now! I know what I need to do moving forward in my life and you're not part of it… we'll finish our project together, but that's the last I'll hear of you."
"…I wouldn't act so boldly; your family is just a call away and I'm willing to take whatever actions I need to in order-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO TRY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!? I'LL TELL MY FAMILY MYSELF! IF I NEED TO I'LL TELL ALL OF REMNANT ABOUT US!"
"…You have until the dance to change your mind, don't force my hand… Yayoi-sama," Venus ordered in spite of the honorific she just gave the redhead. "It's time to be heading back now; let's not be late."
"I'm not walking with you."
Meanwhile
"Gotta say, I love your work. Nice, gory, and very effective. I can't imagine myself doing anything like this of course."
It was an outpost in the wild lands, rather it had been an outpost. All of the men and the few women that had been using it lay dead on the ground. Some of them weren't even armed and others hadn't even heard their threat approaching. It wasn't too rare of a sight, many of these smaller establishments quickly became overcome by the Grimm, but this was no Grimm attack. The cuts on the bodies were too precise, many had died to gunshot wounds… and there had been a vengeance in each and every one of these fatal wounds.
"So you're the one that sent this info." The speaker's voice was slightly muffled by the brown leather mask covering the bottom half of his face. That wasn't all of his facial covering as the entire left side of his face was wrapped in bandages. His exposed eye on his right side had a white iris and black sclera. He was dressed in a long brown coat, faded jeans, brown boots, and a ten-gallon hat. For weapons he had a holstered revolver (with retractable curved blades) on each hip and a long rifle (likewise) on his back. Standing aside him was a mechanical horse. "How did you know about this garbage?"
"I happen to excel at info gathering of several sorts, but I like to keep my sources to myself," Hazama answered with a faint smile. "You must have at least trusted some of my information since you went in all guns blazing and blades cutting like that."
"My methods aside, what do you stand to earn from any of this?" he demanded. His mechanical horse didn't move, but it remain focused on the mint-haired man.
"Just simply getting your attention and showing that I can provide the goods for what I'm about to hire you for. This wasn't their only outpost and I can provide you with several more at least."
"And you want services in exchange? What's keeping me from getting them out of you here and now?" the gunslinger demanded.
"Whoa there! Choosing violence right out the gate… just what you'd expect from someone with the moniker Pale Rider. But I can only give you some of them now, need a little more time. You try to get info out me here and you're leaving this job half done."
"Say I agree with any of that; what did want me to do?"
"Let's end all of these hypotheticals here and now. In a sense, I want you to play defense."
"Defense? You mean I'd be a bodyguard?"
"Essentially, but for right now I need you to head for Vale," Hazama said before grabbing a folder out of seemingly nowhere and tossing it to the rider. "That's the information I managed to find for another target that you can take out on the way. Do it quick and get to the kingdom. You'll start your work there… and I'd hurry if you want the other locations of your little vendetta."
"…I don't like you."
"Not many do if you'd believe it. All the more reason to be on your way, this way you'd have some distance from me." The figure only snapped their fingers and caused their mechanical horse to contort and shift gears as it turned into a wide motorcycle with the horse head design at the front. Taking off with the bike's intense speed, they were quickly out of Hazama's (physical) sight. "Torchwick had better appreciate me for this, guy's a pure psychopath."
Back to Beacon
"Damn, you can sure throw a mean hook," Yang commended as she wiped her sweat covered brow, on the verge of collapsing.
"Thanks, but you sure as hell can tank them," Makoto complimented in kind as she appeared just as worn out as her opponent. Unsurprisingly, the match had ended in another draw but both students had clearly given it their all putting on quite the spectacle. The two headed back to their seats as Goodwitch logged the results.
"Makoto was looking pretty good out there," Ragna tried to compliment his partner's close friend. "Tsu? Tsubaki?" Finally realizing she'd been addressed it was like the redhead had just come out of a trance. "You okay? You've been acting really out of it ever since you got back from break. Was the news that bad?"
"The news was certainly something, but it's just another obstacle to deal with," she answered. "One that I want to handle myself."
"…I can respect that, but I'm here if you need some extra help in your corner." At his partner's nod, Ragna turned his attention to his returning girlfriend. "Nice fighting out there."
"I know how to have a good time," Yang flirted as she took her seat. "Speaking of good times, you ready for tonight?"
"Yeah, but we're going to have to start our prep work as soon as we get out of here. Lotta cooking we need to do to get ready… never though I'd be helping to feed an entire school."
"I could see it," Ruby told him bluntly.
"And it seems that we've reached our last match of this class session," Goodwitch informed. "Our last fight will be with Jin Kisaragi, and he'll have his chance to choose an opponent."
"…Looks like you're up," Blake said to the Reaper. Even if things between the two brothers had substantially cooled off (pun intended by Yang), Jin still seemed just as eager to prove himself to his old sibling. Ragna nodded and started to rise from his seat.
"I challenge Venus Camellia." Jin's voice cut clean and caused a noticeable pause in the room.
"…You were saying?" Ragna asked Blake who seemed a little startled at the change in Jin's behavior. 'Glad he's got his priorities straight, but what's his play here?'
"Miss Camellia?" Goodwitch asked as the Kisaragi heir's selected opponent hadn't moved from her seat.
"I… Professor, you've said on several occasions that outside drama wasn't to be brought into the mock battles. I firmly believe that Jin Kisaragi is challenging me for more personal reasons… something which he's been shown to do before."
"I see," Goodwitch considered before turning to Jin. "Your counter argument?"
"I'll admit that she's right to some degree; my reasons for challenging her are indeed somewhat personal, but that will no longer interfere with my match… and personal or not, she's been challenged and has a duty to answer that call."
"Well spoken, we'll proceed as planned then," Goodwitch said as she registered Venus as Jin's opponent. 'I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy he's no long laser focused on fighting his brother; this seems healthier for him at least.'
"You're playing a dangerous game now, Kisaragi," the Camellia daughter warned as she drew her two-handed odachi blade from the holder on her back. Jin summoned a pillar of ice to his side and from it took the sheathed Yukianesa, but he did not draw the blade yet, not even as the countdown to their match ended.
"Begin."
CLANG!
Jin had barely been seen even as a blur, but he remained standing at his exact position with his blade of ice still in its sheathe Venus could barely register what had happened, stuck in a daze even as her blade impaled itself in the floor behind her.
Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, but only shook her head at what was apparently a waste of time. "And the match goes to-"
"We're not done yet." Jin's words were cold as ice as his just as frozen eyes bore into Venus's soul. "Pick it up."
(Cue Childish Killer)
Venus tried to glare back at Jin, but something about his expression worried her as if he was actually about to try and kill her. She remembered last quarter and how close he'd seemingly come to killing his own brother, little chance he'd hold the same amount of restraint with her. Goodwitch had completely given up on dissuading a continued fight at this stage, only hoping that there was some point to be made here.
"I need to make one thing as painfully clear to you as I can. Tsubaki is a strong woman; she doesn't need a damn knight, a caretake, or anything of the sort. But if you're going to try and dictate or control any part of her life, I want you to know the sheer hell you'll be in for from me."
"You-You're bluffing."
"Stay and find out."
Her eyes not moving away from Jin for an instant, Venus stepped back and scurried to grab her impaled sword out of the ground. Jin made no effort to move, not even when she turned her weapon to its rifle form and fired off a single powerful shot directly at his head. The ice user had still yet to unsheathe his blade as he deflected the bullet with his sheath, but still remained where he was standing. Turning her odachi into a lengthy bladed whip, Venus swung the weapon around to gain speed instead of going right for a proper blow. She tried to make sure Jin wouldn't know the direction her attack would come from, but the instant the blade got close to him Jin batted the attack out of the way with ease.
"I already know any possible move you could try with a whip after sparring with Tsubaki," Jin informed as he deflected away Venu's next three distant slashes just as easily with his sheath. "You're not going to so much as scratch me that way."
Unleashing one final heavy slash to get Jin off balance and leaving her with an opening to approach (Jin simply leaned back to dodge the attack) she retracted her blade and formed her original two handed blade. Again Jin kept his blade where it was as she closed the distance and unleashed her first melee attack in the form of a powerful slash from the side. Jin didn't even lurch as he blocked it with a single hand on his katana, Venus struggling to push against him and shaking as Jin refused to give way.
"Whoa, this is what Jin's really capable of doing?" Ruby noted from where she was sitting next to Ragna. "I mean… I'm seen him fight before and he's always seemed tough, but right now that strength is looking pretty merciless."
"It's not too surprising, he comes from the Kisaragi family that values strength above all else," Tsubaki reminded, although she was admittedly a little taken aback at the pure domination her boyfriend was showing.
"…It helps when you have someone that important to fight for; I should know," Ragna said with a soft smile as Jin shoved Venus's blade off of him before hilt smashing her in the gut, sending her stumbling back and depleting her aura by a solid amount.
At her limit, even if Jin wasn't using semblance Venus decided that she was going to give everything to ending her opponent where he stood. Charging her aura, she unleashed her family's dedicated Semblance as she stood at center of a tornado of Camellia petals. This semblance when activated not only caused her appearance to blur to all looking inward, but also gifted Venus with a noticeable increase in her speed. Quickly closing the distance, she came at Jin's right though her blade was coming far sooner than what was visually shown.
'Try dodging what you can't see you-!'
Only for Jin to boredly deflect the katana away just as easily as he'd done up until now. Venus couldn't even gape at the display as the length of Jin's sheath struck her aura and left her just barely able to continue the match. Going back at Jin with her next series of swings, Jin continued with a series of clashes using his sheathed sword and pushing her further and further back, not seeming to be effected by any of her partial illusions. Venus desperately turned her sword to its blade whip form once more in order to create more distance between the two, but Jin was done standing still and rushed forward to close the gap she'd been trying to create.
In one final last ditch effort, Venus brought the whip above her and slammed it down with everything she had-
SHING!
Only for her weapon to break into pieces as Jin drew and immediately sheathed his katana in the blink of an eye, his emerald eyes still boring deep into her as the pieces of her broken odachi fell to the ground around them.
(End theme)
"Mr. Kisaragi… are your personal affairs in order?" Goodwitch demanded.
"For the moment they are," he answered as he let his sword fade, his glare as of yet unbroken. "I'll submit the fee for weapon repairs, but nothing more."
"…Then the match is yours. Miss Camellia, your sword may be broken but the repairs don't appear too challenging, I have several resources and options available for repairs this weekend and as Mr. Kisaragi just said he'll supply the overhead cost. Everyone is dismissed and while I would wish you all a good weekend… I imagine it's going to be quite the busy one."
'All he wanted to break was my pride and…' Venus didn't address either Tsubaki or Jin, just leaving the room in huff, leaving the rest of her team to pick up the pieces.
Shortly afterwards the rest of the students piled out until it was only Jin and Tsubaki left in the training room.
"So… a strong woman?" she asked him.
"As I said; the strongest I've ever known. I've always… admired that about you," he answered, a slight blush in spite of his cold exterior and personality.
"…And once again I don't think I need the chance to think it over anymore," she answered. "Let's enjoy the dance together and then tell our families the news. If Venus doesn't try to inform them first, that'll give us that time together before we need to confront them."
"Alright." The two then went for a soft embrace, here and now where no one else could see them. "No matter what else happens… let's both fight as hard as we can to protect this."
"…You're sure you don't want to be my knight?"
"You might be able to persuade me."
Author's Note
New video on my YouTube channel (Storm VII) which includes a new piece of fanart drawn by Lizzy-Chan. Please feel free to check it out!
So admittedly this ended up being less of a Team JACK chapter overall and more of a Jin and Tsubaki with some of the other characters thrown in (Celica didn't get much screen time here, but I gave her a lot more in my last work).
Anyways, I'm hoping that you enjoyed the chapter and next chapter would be the JNPR one, but… again it's going to be more of a certain focus next time around. I'll try to dedicated a bit more to some of the other teams before we fully speed ahead with the plot progression. Let's get to those review responses!
Chaos Spartan999: Well here's another chapter and this one only took two months! (Planned)
Wlyman2009: This… may come into play soon.
Dracoog101: Yeah, helps that Haku is… actually contained this time.
The Unplanner: I'm not telling… yes.
Geofiendlux: No real plans for other characters in the Vytal Festival, but I may include some of the other OC's in this story if I can or just make more fights since I'm expanding this contest.
P3R50N4: Yep, explains a few things.
Yuki terimi: Good ideas, but midnight eclipse… I think Ragna might want to stay away from all of this dark stuff.
Zero: Glad it was.
MechaDragon99: Yes, funny Guilty Gear reference. But… Ragna seems to want the opposite of outrage now; I'm think it should be something that helps indicate he's moved onward… even if this blade is only temporary.
GM9000: Hmm… a valid predication to have.
Proud Parent: Except for Ragna, he insists on Masked Freak.
Blazingshard3: It's coming up.
Xaxiel1572L: Here's some more of the two lovebirds then. I hope you enjoy them.
That's all from me! Ciao!