NOTE: I do not own either RWBY or Kill la Kill. RWBY belongs to the late Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth, and Kill la Kill belongs to studio TRIGGER…
Stay conscious, Stay conscious, Stay conscious…
The tram finally came to a stop at the shantytowns of Honnoji. Ruby stepped out with an unconscious Ryuko wrapped within her arms and promptly collapsed as soon as her foot hit the concrete.
She breathed heavily. She was definitely too exhausted to move properly, that little escape from Satsuki certainly made sure of that! She pushed herself up slightly to see how Ryuko was doing...which wasn't much better from Ruby herself. Her face was flushed, but not in a way that indicated embarrassment but rather blood loss. Plus her body was also covered in a fine cover of sweat-which she managed to find out first hand as her sleeves and side were covered in it.
Stay conscious, Stay conscious, Stay conscious…
She looked at Ryuko more closely. A pair of horn-like hair pins protruded out of the front, and the entire underside of her hair was the same vivid red as the highlight already in her hair. Her eyes shifted lower to just above her chest-right on the strange front guard that as far as she could tell, looked like an eyeball.
The guard stayed completely still, not moving a single inch from where it was "staring." Ruby thought back to just before escaping Honnoji-when she heard Ryuko talking to herself...or was she?
Stay conscious, Stay conscious, Stay conscious…
"Does this thing talk?" She said out loud. The outfit still didn't move-not blinking, not correcting itself to have her in its line of sight, nothing. However, in a rather strange miracle, it did slip up. { I highly doubt you can hear me, no one other than Ryuko can hear me…}
"I can hear you clearly…"
{WHAT!?} The eyeball guard shot up close to her face, causing her to reel back and nearly fall down three steps of stairs. The eyeball stared at her, looking her up and down, before it narrowed in suspicion. {Prove it…}
"Only Ryuko can hear you, huh?" She said nonchalantly. This time it was the eyeball that reeled back as it looked at her in wide eyed shock. {You really can hear me!?}
"What are you doing to her?"
{Huh?} The tone of voice it used indicated confusion. Ruby sighed as her cheeks started to turn red. "You know what I mean...W-W-" She struggled with the words as her embarrassment grew more and more. "-What are you doing to Ryuko? Why is she losing blood? Why could she shrug off Takaharu like he was a fly? And why…" Her mind was scrambling as she looked down even further, around Ryuko's open abdomen. "...W-w-Why is she...dr-dressed like this?"
The eyeball seemed to relax as she heard a sigh come from it. {...I see, you're confused to my nature...My name is Senketsu, and I don't know what I am…}
"You don't know?" She couldn't really believe it...it remembered it's own name at least, but nothing else?
Senketsu blinked. {...Yes, I have, what do you call them again...gaps in my memory. All I know is that I grant power to Ryuko whenever I am worn by her and drink her blood, and that I was made by her father.}
"...And the appearance?" She really couldn't help it, it was incredibly embarrassing to look at. Once again the Kamui sighed as it started to explain. {I do not know why this is my appearance, all I know is that Isshin Matoi made me this way…}
"He sounds incredibly perverted…" She said. Not that she could really talk, considering her dad had relationships with both her mom and Yang's...and don't even get her started on uncle Qrow. She stared at him as another question came to mind. "Do you have a transformation or something, can you stop drinking Ryuko's blood?"
{Yes, I can transform back, but I can't…}
"Huh, but you just said-"
{I can transform back, but we're in the middle of a small town with several dangers prowling the streets. I can't protect my wearer if I transform back, and so until we move to a safer area or have sufficient protection, I cannot transform back.}
Oh...well that explained a lot! She let out a deep breath. It seemed this "Senketsu" wasn't exactly as bad as she made it out to be. All it wanted to do was protect Ryuko, and so it had hit a dilemma-protect Ryuko and risk draining her dry, or power down and leave her to the masses...She had seen another, somewhat similar dilemma before with her teammate Blake, who just wanted equality between humans and Faunus while feeling conflicted over the White Fang…
She smiled. "I don't think any of the residents are that bad. Thieves some of them may be, I doubt they would-"
"Hey look! a nearly naked chick!"
"-And I instantly take that back!" She looked up at the three boys who walked up the stairs-their eyes focused completely on the half nude Ryuko as they looked at her with lustful stares…
For a rare moment, Ruby felt a wave of irritation wash over her. She stood up and smiled…
"Hey, boys!" They blinked and looked at her with confused expressions as she reached behind her and pulled out Crescent Rose. At a safe distance from the three, she extended it out to it's full scythe form-earning her several looks of terror, and Senketsu's eye going wide at the sight of the weapon. She continued to smile even as her eye twitched. "Please, leave...now."
"Uh...Let's go! We saw nothing, we saw absolutely nothing, we swear…" The boys quickly turned around and ran away from them. Ruby brought the weapon down from over her head and back onto her waist. Senketsu blinked...that weapon…
{That weapon of yours is impressive. Perhaps I don't need to be in this form after all.}
Ruby didn't answer, simply standing there. He looked at her and noticed that her breathing was notably harder and easily visible. {Hey, you okay?}
His answer came as Ruby stumbled forward. His eye went wide as he saw her fall forward and landed on top of Ryuko. {Oi! What's wrong, are you injured, or did someone-}
"...Sorry...I'm just exhausted is all...just give me some...some time for a nap…"
{Hey! Seriously! What's wrong!}
"...You keep Ryuko safe...don't worry about...me…"
{Hey, stay awake! Are you gonna be okay afterward! Do you hear me-oh, what's your name again-Ruby! Your name is Ruby!? Stay awake, Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!} He kept screaming for her to stay awake. But it proved in vain as Ruby's world faded to black, and she fell unconscious…
"Inumuta, any new information on Ruby Rose?"
Satsuki sat in her chair of the Student Council chambers with a cup of tea in her lap. Currently, all but one of the Elite Four were doing their regular duties throughout the school grounds, finishing up any loose ends that were caught on Ryuko defeating Takaharu. Inumuta, however, stood in front of her-a look of disappointment spread across his face.
"I'm afraid not, Lady Satsuki…" his eyes closed as he continued speaking. "...I've looked up every bit of information I could find-contacts, school records around the world, even many parts of the internet. Nothing came up as the same Ruby Rose attending our school…"
"Are you sure?" Inumuta was the best out of everyone in the school to gather information. Not even the rest of the Elite Four could come close to the technological advantage at the fingertips of Houka Inumuta. Which was why she was doubting his words right now...there had to be something about her?
Unfortunately, Inumuta nodded. "She's like a ghost, Lady Satsuki. Whoever this girl-Ruby Rose-is, she just doesn't exist in this world."
Satsuki's eyes narrowed. "So are you implying that she is a spy of some sort?"
"Not exactly...It's highly unlikely that someone would properly have the last name Rose and subsequently name her Ruby, but the girl seems incredibly attached to her name anyway. If I could throw out a theory of mine...It's quite possible that she's working under the orders of someone else...someone you personally know…"
For a second her rage flared inside, and she grimaced. "...Mother…"
"-Excuse me for the audacious idea, M'lady-"
"It's fine, Inumuta. However, I will have to disagree with you on it...My mother would never associate with someone who goes out of their way to save another...that leaves only one other subject."
Inumuta sighed as he realized who she was talking about. "...Nudist Beach."
Satsuki took another sip from her tea and looked straight into Inumuta's eyes. "Gather all of your info on Nudist Beach by tomorrow...it's time we start keeping a closer eye on these heretics."
"Yes, M'lady!" He bowed, and at her dismissal walked out of the room. She sat there in silence, thinking over the meeting, the days before, and what she did learn over that time…
Who was Ruby Rose? She could figure out most facts from simply watching her already-she could move at incredible speeds, so fast that she could disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving only rose petals in her wake. She owned a red, mechanical scythe combined with a sniper rifle that she named Crescent Rose, and seemed attached to it like a mother and her child. She used a special type of material never before seen or heard of called "Dust" for certain things like combat. She could even take several hits from a Two-Star without a Kamui and still seem physically fine, even though Matoi took a similar beating and could barely stand afterward. Yet, all these answers gave her new questions that she couldn't figure out without going at the girl's own pace. She was truly, in the strangest way, an enigma wrapped in a conundrum…
In a way, it all seemed to match. Everything she could piece together told her that Ruby was a spy for her mother-brought here to make sure she was keeping in line with her standards. Yet one thing always made the argument fall apart: her altruistic behavior towards others. Snarky she may be towards her and those under her control from time to time, she never directly challenged others unless they were harming another. She helped Matoi both times in her most dire hours, and the Mankanshoku girl at hers-even doing so as she was exhausted to the point of collapse. Her mother would find someone like Ruby Rose an abhorrence to her and the world, and would certainly do everything in her power to make sure she disappeared...or was found dead in a street gutter.
So who? Who was Ruby Rose? And who was she associated with? These were questions that she needed answered, one way or another.
That didn't even go into the other questions she had. She could wield a scythe as well as Satsuki herself could wield her prized sword, so she must've had someone to train her with such a dangerous weapon-yet all she had was someone named "Crow," who proved to be just as much an elusive figure as Ruby herself. Her speed too, how can a human move at such impossible speeds without wearing a Goku Uniform...it was downright impossible for any human to move like that, yet Ruby showed off this ability like it was another Tuesday! What was it? Some inner ability that anybody could master with proper training...it was highly unlikely.
The image of Ruby popped into her head. The black, red tipped hair. The silver eyes, and almost innocent look in her eyes. It was almost ethereal, like she had stepped out of a fairy tale of sorts. It would've certainly gone with her "Red-Riding Hood-like" appearance at the very least…
The thoughts swam in her head endlessly...until she heard a familiar voice call her name…
"Lady Satsuki." She opened her eyes at Sanageyama, who's serious expression was-in her book-rather surprising.
"I don't remember calling for your presence, Sanageyama."
"I let myself through the door…"
"As I can clearly see...what do you want…"
Sanageyama smiled. "Well, I don't really mean to be much of a bother to you, M'lady, but if I could say something for just a minute…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, green crystal. "...Then I must say that it fits my hair rather well, wouldn't you agree?"
Satsuki eyed the green crystal-the very same type of crystal that Ruby Rose called "Dust"-and smiled. Perhaps there was a silver lining to all of this after all…
Crimson Incandescence.
Chapter 3: Blackout.
The sound of heavy breathing was what woke Ruby up first. Her eyes cracked open as she started to wake, and she soon started to take in what she could see.
She definitely wasn't outside anymore, that was for sure. An unfamiliar wall graced her sight, slightly torn, old and weathered over several years. The light that was starting to dim as the sun went down was suddenly much more brighter than before, and it took her eyes some adjusting to get used to it. She moved her head to look up-she felt like she was laying down with someone else, and as she could slightly see, it seemed like her head was resting on a sleeping Ryuko's arm.
"...Ryuko." She said it softly, barely audible to anyone else. Yet, the girl seemed to hear it perfectly-shifting slightly as her eyes started to open as well.
Ruby felt like smiling, until she remembered that she heard heavy breathing as she woke up. Her eye looked up towards the ceiling...and she nearly jumped out of her skin in response.
To say this man was heavy set was an understatement. It seemed entirely possible you could roll him down the street like a ball and there wouldn't be a single problem for him at all. His hair was slicked back, and his massive eyebrows (that were shaped strangely like sushi) hung over a pair of glasses that she couldn't see past thanks to the light. His mouth was breathing in and out, showing a row of strangely rounded teeth. To add it all up, he was sweating profusely-something which started swinging up warning flags immediately.
Both Ruby and Ryuko reacted to the man over them. Ruby by gasping, rolling over, and holding her head with her hands in a fetal position. Ryuko reacted the exact opposite-upon noticing the man, she responded with a punch to the face.
The man flew right up into the ceiling, before landing straight on his face. Ruby jumped off the bed almost instantly. "No, no, no, no! Gross, gross gross gross, gross!"
Ryuko rolled over to the other side and flipped the bed over. "Pervert! You think it's a good idea to make moves on the Kanto Vagabond, the Guitar Case Drifter!?"
At that last one, Ryuko paused for a second before realizing something. "Wait, my scissor! Where'd it go!?" It was then that Mako appeared with Ryuko's guitar case.
"Ryuko!"
"Ah! Mako, Thanks! Be careful here, this pervert is trying to-"
"Dad? What did my dad do!?"
Both Ruby and Ryuko paused before looking at each other, then back at Mako and her "dad" repeatedly. "Dad? Eh? Dad?!"
Ryuko kneeled in front of him. Ruby, though confused at the sight, instantly imitated the position and followed what she said. "We're so sorry!"
The man, though bleeding profusely from the nose thanks to the decking by Ryuko, simply laughed heartily as he rubbed the back of his head. "Gee, little lady! That's one heck of a punch you got there!"
"Of course she does, She's the one that saved my life after all! Ruby too, she'll have a strong punch as well if you mess with her, right Ruby!"
Ruby laughed meekly, remembering the time she tried to punch a member of the White Fang when she was discovered on that mission with professor Oobleck. Now if Ryuko punched the same guy instead, she was sure that the guy would be doubled over in no time.
Another, more familiar voice made Ruby cringe, and Ryuko blush slightly. "You were badass, lady! Swinging that scissor blade around while half naked and all-GLUH!?" Mako's brother slammed headfirst onto the floor as Ryuko smacked him over the head. "Shut it, you! It's complicated…"
"I still remember you for trying to steal my Crescent Rose…"
"Oh, give me a break! I was the one that dragged you two here!"
The door-at least Ruby thought it was a door-opened. Revealing an older woman that looked incredibly similar to Mako, if Mako had her hair tied up in a bun, with a warm smile across her face and a tray in her hand. This smile still remained even as she spoke. "If belting my husband or Mataro over the head makes either of you feel better, then you two can belt to your hearts content!"
Both laughed quietly...just what kind of family had invited them into their house.
Ruby looked over at Ryuko and blinked. "Ah. Ryuko, look…" The girl's expression showed confusion, until she looked down and saw the bandages covering her entire body. "How did I-"
"My daddy treated your wounds! He's a back-alley doctor after all-the best in the business."
Mako's dad pounded on his chest and smiled. "If comparing the number of people I've killed to the people I've saved, I've killed more!" Ruby and Ryuko looked at each other warily as he openly admitted his...less than stellar success rate as a doctor. "Don't worry about it though, the dead don't sue me after all, so it's all good."
Before either could speak up, Mako's mother came to the table with a large boiling pot filled to the brim with...even they didn't know. They looked at the "soup" nervously, as well as a plate with what both could see were croquettes...with many strange, somewhat disturbing things popping in and out of them. Mako smiled as she pointed to the food. "Go ahead you two, No need to be shy! It's unidentifiable things made as croquettes and unidentifiable stuff in miso soup!"
"Oh you, I only use non-poisonous ingredients, so there's no need to worry!"
Mataro and Mako's dad were already wolfing down large amounts of food. Ruby and Ryuko gulped...just as the door behind them slammed opened once again, revealing a dog with a grey hood over his top hat. The dog stood there silently, before uttering "GATSU!" and proceeding to eat off of Ryuko's plate like he was a vacuum cleaner.
"Down Guts! Your food's outside, you know!" Mako grabbed Guts by the neck and tossed him outside before closing the window and returning to her food. The dog simply opened the window and continued eating from Ryuko's plate.
Mataro grinned at them. "We call him Guts since he eats with such "Gusto."
"One of you were anemic, and the other was exhausted, so eat up you two!" The dad said-his mouth full of food. Both of them looked at each other with a glint in their eyes that said "Help me please…" before the both of them looked at the food in front of them.
Before Ryuko could argue however, Mako started shoving croquettes into her mouth. Ruby looked down at the food, gulped down some air, and picked a croquette from the plate...how bad could it be?
The entire family was sleeping within seconds. The loud, varying sounds of snoring from everyone reverberated throughout the room...keeping Ruby awake for longer than usual.
She was already in her pajamas-a tank top with a heart-shaped beowolf, and pants with pink roses. Mataro was at least kind enough to also run back to where he found her from earlier and pick up her backpack (though she did check through it to make sure nothing was stolen), so she changed into them as soon as they started to sleep (and she had the privacy as well to do so).
Wading through her backpack also brought up a question. She should've started to run out of ammo a long time ago-at least three clips before running dry-yet, when she looked through her pack earlier for pajamas she saw several magazine clips that weren't in there beforehand. How did they get in there? She certainly didn't put them there. Was there someone in this world that could produce Dust rounds AND the proper magazine types for her Crescent Rose? The possibilities of this seemed incredibly slim…
...Still, it was nice to at least be properly armed. She turned to the side and stared at the ceiling.
Everything here is so confusing…
The thought pervaded her mind as the ceiling continued to hold her attention...until she heard someone whisper out loud.
"Hey, are you awake?" She heard Ryuko say. Ruby turned on her side and looked over at the lump in a blanket that should've been Ryuko.
"Are you talking to me or Senketsu?"
"Hmm-Oh, it's you. I was talking to Se-wait a minute, how do you know his name?"
"While you were unconcious I talked with him, asked him what his name was…"
"Oh...I was talking to Senketsu...seems he's fast asleep though."
"I see…" The two remained silent for a full minute. The two of them hadn't been properly acquainted with each other beyond their first day of school. At best, they only knew each other's name and that Ryuko was looking for her father's killer, that was it. The two didn't even really know what the other was like beyond the two meetings the days before.
Ryuko wondered...just who is Ruby Rose? She certainly sounded like a foreigner of sorts...though it seemed incredibly weird how a girl could end up with a name like "Ruby Rose" (even if it did fit with her taste in clothing and color). She looked down at her feet where Ruby was laying down. "Hey…"
"Hmm." Ruby glanced up at her.
"You want to go out for a walk...I can't really sleep right now." She said. Ruby blinked, before pausing to think. After several seconds without a response, Ruby looked back at her and nodded before quietly moving out of her futon. Ryuko did the same.
Before going outside, Ruby reached into her backpack and handed Ryuko several articles of clothing. "What's this?"
"If Senketsu's asleep, it's probably best to leave him alone for now until he wakes up…" She said.
She had a point. Ryuko wanted to protest somewhat, but it was entirely possible that Senketsu himself was resting up. She grabbed the clothing and proceeded to put it on. It wasn't that much different from Ruby's pajamas-save for the front being a sort of heart shaped crow or something like that. She looked at Ruby with a raised eyebrow, who sighed. "Do you want to wear my normal clothes instead."
"...No thank you."
"Alrighty then…" She reached into the backpack again and pulled out something much more familiar to Ryuko: the bright red cloak.
"Seriously, you're gonna wear that?"
"Yep! Let's go!" She made her way for the door. Ryuko stood there for a minute at best before shrugging and following after her.
It took several minutes wandering around town to find a single vendor open around the hour. Through this, the two of them walked through several areas of town-ranging from a series of shops and stores, to a red light district (which Ryuko had to explain to Ruby about, causing the girl to shiver in disgust). Finally, when they found someone on the side of the road selling various foods, the two of them stopped and ordered something. Ryuko ordered several lemons, Ruby got strawberries by contrast. The two then walked further down the road before finding a bench to sit down on.
Ryuko bit into a lemon-the skin still on it as she admired the sour taste it left in her mouth. Ruby by comparison gulfed down a strawberry, enjoying the sweet taste she felt on her tongue as she chewed it down.
"Strawberries, huh?" Ryuko asked.
"Yep! That and cookies!"
"You've got one hell of a sweet tooth, don't you…"
"Yeah...what about you and lemons…"
"I enjoy a little zing in my food…"
The two ate their treats in silence. When they were finished Ryuko relaxed herself onto the bench, while Ruby looked up to the moon and the stars above. Ryuko glanced over at the girl right next to her. "So...M-My name's Ryuko Matoi, nice to meet you." Ruby glanced back at her before scratching the back of her head.
"My name's Ruby Rose, it's nice to meet you too."
"...So, where do you come from, exactly."
"Me? Well, I-" She froze mid sentence, before shaking her head and looking down at her feet. "-You probably wouldn't believe me if I tell you."
"Try me...I don't mind."
Ruby stayed silent, weighing in her options. She could tell her, hope she believes her, or just move on and leave the conversation dead for another day. She felt, however, that Ryuko wouldn't take her being secretive with her past well, so after much thought and deliberation, she began to tell her.
"I'm not from around here...I'm not even from this world…" She looked up at the moon. "The moon was shattered back where I came from...there weren't Goku Uniforms or anything like that back at home. It was just a completely different world from this one…"
Ryuko took note of the info, remembering the multi-colored crystals from earlier. "I'm guessing that "Dust" stuff is also something from your world then…"
Ruby nodded. "It's natural resource back on my world. It runs all sorts of machines and can do all sorts of cool things-"
"Like oil!"
"Huh?"
"It's like oil. It runs cars and all kinds of stuff like that…"
Ruby smiled. "Close...are there specific kinds of oil that adheres to an element of nature?"
"Uh-Oh. Okay, it's not like oil…"
The two sat there, Ryuko wondering what else to talk about, when Ruby began to speak. "Of course...it's not all bad here. The Grimm aren't around to threaten humanity here."
"The grim?"
Ruby glanced over at her, before she turned to look farther down the street. "...The creatures of Grimm. Beasts of destruction that lack a soul and antagonize people all across the world. They're drawn to negativity, and vary in age-the longer the lived, the more powerful it can become. They're the most nightmarish creatures you could ever meet, that much is certain."
A grimace spread across Ryuko's face. A race of creatures without a soul, that sounded incredibly dangerous if left unchecked? It would almost sound like hogwash to her...yet the way she said it so sincerely…
"How do you know they don't have a soul, or all that malarky?"
"They can't use Aura."
"Aura?"
"Yeah, it's a manifestation of one's soul. Every living being with a soul has one."
"So...is this "Aura" thing how you manage to teleport and move faster than normal and all that stuff…"
Ruby giggled. "Kinda. That's actually my Semblance-something like a more tangible form of a person's Aura that's unique to a specific individual. Mine's speed as you've clearly seen, but some can form clones of themselves, control metal of any kind, and even make illusions. They're pretty cool, actually, when you can wrap your head around the concept."
Ryuko gripped her head. "All of this new terminology is hurting my brain. It's all hard to swallow in one sitting…"
"Trust me...my friend tried explaining to me what little we know of Dust and I still was lost on it all by the end." Ruby smiled. "But yeah, Grimm are a major threat to humanity...that's why I want to become a Huntress!"
Ryuko blinked. "What's a Huntress?"
Ruby's smile grew even wider. "Huntsmen and Huntresses-they're heroes from our world! They dedicate themselves to fighting the Grimm and upholding the peace, and they're so awesome! Both of my parents were Huntsmen and Huntresses, and they were amazing…uh…" She stopped at that sentence. She remembered why Ryuko was here at Honnoji in the first place, and didn't want to be insensitive if she talked about them. "Sorry...I forgot-about your dad, I mean…"
"It's fine…" Ryuko sighed, before looking back at her. "Go on...your parents were amazing?"
"Y-Yeah...My mom and dad were on the same team back on my world. They lived together and raised me and my sister when we were young. My mother was particularly cool, taking care of us throughout most of my childhood...until…" She trailed off.
"What...something wrong?" Ryuko asked.
For a minute, Ruby said nothing. Then, in probably the softest voice Ryuko ever heard, Ruby spoke. "...My mother went on a mission...she never came back…"
"Oh…I'm sorry..." Ryuko went quiet. This girl had lost a parent...just like her, and from the way she said it, it seemed like she didn't know how she lost her. Ryuko looked up at the moon herself, just like Ruby. She wasn't here by choice-she had ended up here somehow with absolutely no way back to her original world. With family and friends most likely worried sick about her, and a mother she had lost several years ago. Ryuko never even knew her mother-she had died well in her infancy as her dad told her...Ruby was the complete opposite, knowing her mother, and losing her at a young age without knowing what she would've been like through her childhood.
She gulped down air. "...Y-You said you wanted to be a Huntress then…"
Ruby smiled. "Yeah...as a young girl, I wanted to be a hero like those guys in books. Someone who fought for something right and protect others when they couldn't protect themselves. I remember when my friend told me once I told her that the world isn't a fairy tale…"
"And?"
"I told her "That's why we're here. To make it a better place...You get where I'm going with this right?"
Ryuko chuckled. "Yeah...you sure are rather romantic for a girl aren't you?"
Ruby didn't answer. Ryuko looked over at her to see Ruby blushing madly-twiddling with her fingers repeatedly. "W-W-Well...I-If I sou-sounded like I was...was hitting on you...then I'm-" Ryuko facepalmed.
"No! Not that kind of romantic! I'm not talking about romance, I'm talking about something entirely different!"
"B-B-But what other kind of romance is there, then?"
'It-Oh, just forget about it…" She waved the notion away, wanting to move on from the subject. Ruby's face was still flushed as they sat there for just a little longer, and it would be minutes before one or the other finally spoke.
Ryuko remembered something from earlier in the conversation. "You said you had a sister and friend?"
"Yeah...My sister Yang, and friends Blake and Weiss…" She sighed at the last one...did she have trouble with this "Weiss" character?
Ruby looked over at Ryuko, a soft smile on her face. "I miss them...I miss them so much…"
Ryuko didn't say anything. She never had a sister in her life, and most people she knew either didn't want to be friends or were more likely terrified enough that they simply pretended to be friends with her so they were feared or left alone more. She sighed...this girl felt like the exact opposite of her. This girl was heroic, more likely to help out other people, and was kind and sweet. Ryuko was dedicated to finding her father's killer, vengeful, and rough around others to the point of getting into fights with others. Yet when she thought about it...the girl was also similar to her enough that she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was simply stuck in another world entirely, in the crossfire of a conflict that she had accidentally dragged her in...and she thought she knew something about her father's killer that first day.
She felt terrible. She looked over at the girl-she was staring down at her feet, looking downtrodden and certainly tired. Ryuko scooted closer and patted her on the back, earning her a surprised glance from the girl. "I'm sure you'll find your way back home, one way or another!"
The girl looked at her in surprise, before a warm smile spread across her face. "Thanks...I hope you find your father's killer too, Ryuko…"
The two of them took a hand and shook. Ryuko smiled herself, before standing up and stretching. "It's getting late now, we should head back or Mako's going to flip out." Ruby nodded stood up, and started walking down the street. Ryuko started after her...until she remembered something she wanted to ask her...
"Oh! Before I forget-" Ruby turned toward her. "What's the name of this "world" You come from?
Ruby paused as the question registered in her head. Then she smiled. "Back where I come from, the world is called Remnant."
"Remnant, huh?" Ryuko smiled-it seemed like a rather fitting name.
The two made their way back to the Mankanshoku's household (which wasn't hard, considering the large neon sign over their small house). When they returned back to the house, they instantly fell asleep...awaiting whatever would come to them in the morning…
Ruby stared at the inside of her backpack in utter consternation.
It was morning now-the small talk with Ryuko made them stay up a little too late, and so the two only had about an hour and fifteen minutes before school started. That left a good half hour to ride the tram up to school, and at least forty five minutes to find their classroom. So it would've been imperative that she get ready for school, and she was-she was fully dressed, she had Crescent Rose on her waist (Mako's mother Sukuyo gave it back to her, earning her a look from Ryuko when she proceeded to caress it close to her cheek like it was a baby), and she had the right amount of ammunition with her today. Everything should've been normal...well, at least as normal as it could've been. Then she opened her backpack…
She still remembered finding this right next to her when she woke up in Honnoji, It was sitting right next to her-filled to the brim with food, money from this world, ammunition made specifically for Crescent Rose, various articles of clothing, and a letter. It wasn't her backpack, however, her backpack back at home was purely black in color, while this one was red with black trim. The general design was different too, with several pockets rearranged and newer pockets also found. When she looked for the name of an owner, the name she found was worn and smeared, leaving only "Property of: !"
She still remembered when she looked at it last night. She was running low on ammunition last she saw, yet when she looked in she saw that the number of magazine clips for her baby wasn't actually low at all. She found it confusing-she always kept count of how many magazines she had each time they were used up-but could accept it as her being exhausted, most likely miscounted from lack of focus.
This, however, she couldn't. She did remember that she used up an entire canister of Dust yesterday to distract Takaharu, which she tossed into the Mankanshoku's trash can as soon as she remembered it. So it certainly should've meant that she was one canister short...then she looked in today, and saw another canister of Dust sitting next to her ammunition.
She pulled it out and looked it over. It was definitely a canister of Dust-filled to max and ready for whatever uses it required (even the ones she couldn't remember from Weiss's lectures). It was even the same color of white from before! She stared at the canister, then to the backpack, and then back to the canister...how did it have another canister with the same type of Dust she used yesterday?
"Ruby! Mako's panicking...you ready for school yet…" Ryuko slid the door open, her head craning to one side as she tried to get a crick out of her neck. As soon as she saw Ruby staring at the two objects, then Ryuko herself, she blinked. "...Is something the matter?"
Ruby stared at her for a few more seconds, before she shook her head and put the canister back into the pack. "...Nothing…" She raised an eyebrow at this, but shrugged as Ruby continued to speak. "...You guys head for the bus-tram-thingy. I'll catch up to you in no time!"
"Are you sure you'll get to the tram in time?"
Ruby looked at her with an expression that said all she needed to say: "Do you not even remember the conversation from last night?"
Ryuko sighed. "Right, "Semblance!" Super speed, of course you'll reach it in time. Forget I asked…" She walked away from the door, followed by Mataro, who stopped in the doorway to fling his tongue at her. She rolled her eyes and did the same.
She looked through the rest of her backpack, digging for anything out of the ordinary that she could find...there was nothing else.
She sighed...she should've expected much. She zipped up everything in the pack, stood up and moved for the door. Just as she opened the door though, she saw something floating down to the ground. She walked over and picked it up…
It was a picture...a picture of four girls laughing, all the while covered in various amounts of food.
"A picture of your team?" Ryuko asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ruby smiled as she showed Ryuko and Mako the picture she picked up in her room. "Yep! This here is my sister Yang…" She pointed towards the biggest of the girl-both in size and assets-with blonde hair and lavender colored eyes who seemed to be laughing with Ruby. "...This one is Blake…" The next was a girl almost entirely in black, with paler skin than most, black hair tied with a black bow, and yellow or gold eyes accentuated with eyeshadow. She was smiling...somewhat softer than most, but still smiling nonetheless. "...And this is Weiss!" She stopped at the girl with white hair, who had it tied up in a ponytail hanging down to the side instead of directly down the back. Her eyes were closed, but Ryuko could feel that blue seemed to fit, especially considering that she was just as pale-if not more so-than Blake. Her expression very much indicated irritation at whatever was happening, but the wide smile on her face also indicated that she was having as much fun as the rest of them…
Ryuko's eyebrow still remained raised as she looked down at the four girls on the picture. "Your sister looks nothing like you-"
"-My sister and I have the same dad but different moms."
"And that suddenly explains everything! Right...The Weiss chick is reminding me of Satsuki for some reason…"
"Yep! She a rich heiress, and was typically treated like royalty in her childhood."
"So she is like Satsuki…"
"Almost, she's less mean, less intimidating...and a little more catty too (Which is strange when I compare her to Blake, now that I mention it)..."
"So she's a weaker, more annoying Satsuki...great..." Ryuko slumped back in her chair as she suddenly thought of this "Weiss" standing on top of a tower all military-like and such. Mako, meanwhile, had stars in her eyes as she looked at the picture closely…
"OOOH! Ruby! You're friends are all super-fabulous! They all have makeup on and such beautiful hair-especially your sister! They're like supermodels, like "Oooh!" and "Aah!" and-" Mako started to pose in extremely generic fashion expo poses, each time funny star like lights fluttering out from her each time. Ruby stayed quiet and decided to go with it as she heard Mako ramble on and on…
Ryuko, on the other hand, looked out the window as she noticed something the higher they went: the buildings changed quickly from simple bland high rises to luxury mansions and penthouses. Her brow furrowed. "There's a distinct gap between the rich and poor folks here…"
Mako perked up at this as Ruby looked out the window, taking notice of this as well. "Well, the city is ruled by Lady Satsuki! Top tiers like Two Stars and Three stars get exclusive residential areas, lower tiers get lower conditions, like us No-Stars, who get the slums!"
Ruby blinked. "So your standing in the school determines how well you live here in the town?"
"Ryuko snorted. "Social Darwinism at it's finest!"
"Yep! It's pretty straightforward when it comes to these kinds of things!"
Both Ruby and Ryuko sat in silence for the rest of the trip up as this all sunk in. When they got off up at the top, Mako paused as she remembered something. "Ah! That reminds me!" Both girls turned to her.
"Ryuko, Ruby! Mom said that if you need a place to-" Mako stopped as a tennis ball smacked her straight in the face. Both of them reeled back at the sight in bewilderment...just as even more tennis balls came flying at her.
Mom said-GUH-If you don't have a place to stay-BWAH-You can-TUAH-Stay-DUFH-With-DOUH-Us! She's already filed the-DUAH-Paperwork!"
"Is now really the time to be talking about that!?" Ryuko said slack jawed, before turning towards the attacker. "Oi! What's the big idea!"
Ruby looked in the same direction, and saw a girl about Ryuko's age with blue eyes and blonde hair tied into two long pigtails at the side of her head, flanked by several One-Star students with tennis outfits. She was smiling, revealing a series of sharp looking teeth that made Ruby have two ideas: either she was a faunus...or she was ready to chomp on something…
She looked at the uniform she was wearing, and from what she could see, her uniform was similar to that of a typical one-piece outfit seen from tennis players...except that when she looked more closely, there seemed to be a series of lenses hidden underneath a white, two stared visor. Even more noticeable to Ruby, though, were tennis balls sticking out from under the uniform. Ruby looked closely at the uniform, and as soon as she processed what she was seeing, had an epiphany…
"...It's a combat skirt."
"Huh-" Ryuko looked at her. "-A combat what? Wait, that's not important right now. What's the big idea!"
The girl before them smiled, revealing the row of shark-like teeth even more than before. "If I remember correctly, you're the transfer student who was rude to Lady Satsuki, and you're the "Red Riding Hood" Takaharu was mumbling about before he lost yesterday...So I'll tell you right now, Stay out of this. I'm the Girl's Tennis Club Captain Omiko Hakodate, and I need a few words with Mankanshoku over there."
"Mako? Why?"
"Mankanshoku failed to fulfill her club obligations yesterday by not showing up to practice, she'll be purged using the 110 Million Cannonball Serves as a result. Outsiders don't have the right to speak about internal club policies, so stay out of my way..."
Ryuko grit her teeth as Ruby spoke. "But Mako was held hostage yesterday, you can't just punish her for something she couldn't help!"
"She was taken hostage without permission, hence she'll be punished…" She turned to the One-Stars behind her. "Begin.
The One-Stars pulled out several tennis balls and started shooting them straight at the three of them. Ryuko moved in front of Mako, blocking them with her guitar case, while Ruby drew Crescent Rose and started swatting them away with the blunt end of her weapon. Ryuko glanced over at Ruby and nudged her as best she could with several tennis balls hitting her case. "You take Mako and go on ahead, I'll deal with this one!"
"Eh!? Won't you be smacked around if you're not careful."
"I have Senketsu right now, and besides, Mako will be expelled if she's late again, alright!"
Ruby let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine-" She jumped over to Mako. "-Hang on to me!"
"Two of them are trying to escape, stop them!"
The students sent balls flying straight for Ruby. She only gave them a glance as she disappeared in a small cloud of rose petals, the balls just a few centimeters from her face. Hakodate blinked before turning back to the entrance, seeing the two running away at full speed-Mako waving goodbye at Ryuko while she ran.
Omiko sighed as she turned back towards Ryuko. "So you're going to take us on, then?"
Ryuko smirked. "She helped me, fed me, and gave me a bed for the night. I just can't turn her down when I owe her one…"
Omiko smirked at this-perhaps this one would be some fun after all. "Don't get full of yourself from beating the Boxing Club captain now...we're just getting started."
"Damn straight, I'm gonna finish you and your lackeys off well before the first bell! Let's go, Senketsu!" She made a motion to ready herself for battle...and just stood there. Senketsu didn't change, remaining in his regular school uniform instead. Ryuko waited a few more seconds before she looked down and pounded on the uniform. "Oi, Senketsu...It's time to go wild on these guys...Senketsu? Senketsu? Oi, Senketsu!?"
Omiko's eye started to twitch as her lense started to change. She was talking to her school uniform instead of preparing for battle. She definitely had high hopes for this girl, but it's clear now that she was nothing more than a little "Cuckoo." Her lense settled on the blue colored one. "Die."
"Shut it, there's a reason dammit-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as several hundred tennis balls flew toward her, slamming into her with the force of a truck. She tried to resist the onslaught, but couldn't take it as the balls finally sent her over the edge of the terrace and into an aqueduct below. Omiko stared at where she fell for a while, before turning to walk back into the school…
"What a disappointment…"
Ryuko floated down the stream unconscious. She travelled through several parts of the Honnoji Academy drainage system-passing right by several exits for water to come from, before she finally stopped-hanging from the strap of her guitar case as it got itself stuck between two bars in the exit.
A man walked through the sewers, looking around to make sure he wasn't being followed. When he was sure he wasn't, he looked up at the girl and sighed…
"Oh, dear…" Aikuro Mikisugi stared at her for a minute, before wading his way through the water towards her, his pants getting soaked in the process…
Not like I liked pant's in the first place, anyway!
Title reference: Blackout by Scorpions.
Well...here we are...the third chapter...and I found a typo just after I put it on the internet...
This one I'm kinda nervous about. Essentially the goal was to have Ruby and Ryuko get more acquainted with each other (since most of their meetings beforehand have been while one or the other's in the middle of a fight) and start to bond towards becoming or not I actually nailed it without sounding awkward or absolutely stupid...that's another question.
Now, one thing I noticed being asked several times in the reviews were "What is Ruby going to do about ammo?" One of the reviewers even went in depth about it-particularly hoping I don't handwave it.
So the first thing I'm going to say about it if you do feel that I just handwaved the answer, please wait a minute and give me a second to explain here. The idea for a backpack that "magically" seems to refill itself came around as I was writing the story, but since that would be considered a handwave or a complete ass-pull, I tried to give the pack itself some depth. The backpack isn't Ruby's in-story, she doesn't even know how it came into her possession, who the previous owner is-hell, she doesn't even know how or why it refills itself when she needs it most. The backpack may be an easy way out for why Ruby will still have ammo throughout the story, but I'm trying to surround it with as much mystery and Wild Mass Guessing as much as possible.
So to those that will see it as an easy way or a complete hand wave/ass-pull, I'm sorry for that, I really am. But if I can give you a silver lining, the backpack-it's past, how it works, and where it really came from will be revealed later down the line. Afterall, the story is just beginning-and I'm only three chapters in so far.
On that last note, another small question raised toward me was "Could you explain how Ruby's scythe can cut Life-Fibers?" This I'll use as an example for what I try to do in this story. Now, there are some things in the story that are okay or even required for an explanation at the beginning of the story (main characters, certain additions, world, etc.) and some that are more suited for an explanation later down the line. The reason for how Crescent Rose has the capability to cut Life-Fibers is certainly an example of the latter (as is the backpack), and it certainly won't be the last.
How Ruby particularly got into the world of Kill la Kill, how exactly she could possibly be connected to the world, how she's able to talk to Senketsu, and just what the hell is really going on here are mysteries to be solved later in the story. I know it sounds frustrating, but it's how I like to roll...and I'm already starting down the hill.
With that said, you can still give your own conclusions on the subjects if you want, those are always fun...I think?
Now, onto the actual chapter! First of all, we're halfway through part 1 of the story. Next chapter is the fight against Omiko Hakodate (huh, it's a tennis match? Who came up with that shit!?) and the chapter after that...well, I'm sure you can tell who'll take center stage when we get there...mwahahaha!
If I am to be completely honest about this chapter, I find it a little too weak to my liking in some parts of it. I even think I could flesh out Ruby and Ryuko's conversation a little bit more, or see if I could rewrite the introduction of the Mankanshoku's a little bit. But I'll be truthful here, I'm a little unconfident in myself from time to time, and I don't even know what others think of it as of the time of this writing. Nothing's perfect, so there are bound to be a few stumbles, and for all I know-you guys really like this chapter! If that's the case then I'll put my grumbling down for now and move on from the subject.
With that said, I feel like I nailed the beginning and the end rather well. I know many of you will be going "Wait...Ruby can talk to Senketsu! WTF!?" but like I said, a mystery to be answered at a later date, my friends. For now, just roll with it and it'll roll right beside you when it wants to.
So to conclude with this, I hope you enjoy the story so far as it is. I'm actually having a lot of fun writing this story, and I want you to have as much fun reading it too!
So with the next chapter, we get to the battle with Omiko Hakodate. Like I said last time, it's going to be primarily Ryuko-centric, so you shouldn't expect much from Ruby when the chapter is released (not that you shouldn't expect anything, I'm already having an idea on how to start chapter 4, so just you wait and see). After chapter 4 is chapter 5 and with that the end of Part 1: Vengeance and Remnants. With chapter 6 comes Part 2, which will aim to be longer than Part 1 by a margin.
The story as a whole is six parts plus an epilogue to wrap the story up. After that, I plan to write a sequel of sorts later down the line. I'm not gonna give out any major plans right away, and I still have a long way to go. But I'm having a plan stretch out through my mind, and I intend to stick with it. For now, though, let's stick with Crimson Incandescence and see how well it comes along.
To wrap this up, let me level something I'm sure you would've caught onto by now...PLEASE REVIEW! I again find it deeply appreciative of what you think about my story and what you like and don't like. And as always, if you want to you can favorite or follow if you want to-it's your choice!
So with that, let me drop this off at the door…
Chapter 4: Together we stand, we won't take no fall! 'Cause we're winners, and winners take all!
For Fun, Fedora's, and Insanity...PEACE!
-CrazeStasis