Here we are at Chapter 65. We now have over three hundred favorites! Thank you to all who have been keeping up with my story! After seeing Ruby and Velvet, let's see how some of the others are doing. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 65. Enjoy.
Chapter 65: Training and Takedowns
At the Xiao Long household in Patch, Yang and Weiss are outside with Eizen, Zaveid, and Eleanor as they continue the RVWBY members training. Yang throws a right punch at Eleanor, but she spins her spear around to deflect it and then counters with a few quick thrusts of her spear. Yang bobs her head around to narrowly avoid each strike, but then Eleanor casts a wind arte that blows Yang off balance, allowing her to swing her spear upwards, knocking Yang back. Yang rolls on the ground before getting back onto her feet, only to have to duck when Eleanor casts another arte that sends some lightning bolts crashing down on her.
"You have to be quicker than that, Yang. Both in offense and in defense," Eleanor says.
Yang grits her teeth and runs back at her. Meanwhile, Weiss is off somewhere in the forest, away from the fighting, with Eizen as they focus on her summoning semblance.
"Now, to make sure I got this right, your summoning is a more advanced version of your semblance that allows you to summon enemies that you've previously defeated in battle, only this time they will fight on your side. And that you would mainly do this with Grimm, but you also have that Armas Gigas armor you told me about," Eizen clarifies.
"Yes, I was able to summon out the Armas Gigas' right arm and sword at the Fall of Beacon, but it didn't last long, and I was exhausted after that," Weiss says.
"That's natural. You've never used that power before, and you summoned it in the heat of the moment. Your body hasn't become fully accustomed to it yet. With time and training, we'll fix that. Starting now. Take out your weapon," Eizen instructs her and she does as he asks. "Now then, your summoning isn't that different from when Magilou would bring out Bienfu. They have a pact that binds them together. The same could be said about Eleanor and Laphicet or Zaveid. There has to be a mutual acknowledgement of each other's wills and minds. The Grimm may have no soul, but they are still alive in a way. Just like a demon from my world. You have to accept them as living beings and not as mindless tools. Otherwise, it'll become more difficult to summon them," he says.
"That's…a new concept for me, I guess. Seeing a Grimm as an equal being, and not as a monster," Weiss replies.
"Hey, Velvet was known as the Lord of Calamity back home, but you've gotten to know her. Do you think she's a monster?" Eizen asks.
"What?! No, of course not," Weiss retorts.
"Good. Then keep that in mind as you're doing your summoning. You can't view the beings you summoned as the enemies they used to be. You must summon them while thinking of them as allies. That'll help. Now, try our your summoning," Eizen suggests.
Weiss nods and takes a deep breath. She then twirls around a bit before she stabs her sword into the ground as her summoning glyph appears. The glyph starts to get bigger and Eizen can feel a faint breeze blow by as he watches the spectacle. Weiss continues the process as a large sword starts to rise out from the glyph. Eizen smiles…only for the glyph to suddenly break apart and the sword disintegrate.
"Argh! What just happened?! I'm sure I was doing it right," Weiss complains.
Eizen takes out his coin and flips it, "Yeah, I think that was my fault. My bad," he says as he catches it. "Think of it as another part of your training. You may have times where you have to use your summoning in the middle of a battle. Blocking out distractions like that will help you focus. Just try again," Eizen says.
Weiss deadpans at him, "So this the Reaper's Curse that Velvet mentioned," she mutters before getting back into position.
…
Meanwhile, it is late in the evening in Menagerie, and Blake, Sun, and Blake's parents are having dinner at Blake's home.
"Well, at least you're cooking is still as great as I remember, Mom," Blake notes as she eats her dinner.
"Aw, thank you dear. I try. It's always nice to cook for more than just your father and myself. Besides, there's no way I could let him in the kitchen," Kali says.
"Hey, it was one time, and it was a few years ago," Ghira says.
"You nearly gave me food poisoning," Kali deadpans, making Ghira groan in defeat while she giggles at his expense. "By the way…Where is your friend, Rokurou? I made some for him," Kali asks.
"I think he said he wanted to walk around the town. See how it is at night," Sun says.
Speaking of said samurai demon, Rokurou is currently walking through the streets of Menagerie, checking out the buildings and some of the night businesses…That, and looking for some sake as well.
"Now let's see, where to find some good sake," Rokurou mutters. However, as he's looking, he notices some rustling in the trees, and how the rustling seems to be moving in the direction towards the Belladonna household. "Well, seems like sake will have to wait," he mutters.
Rokurou begins following the trees and jumps onto one rooftop, running across the roof to jump onto another, and repeating the process as he makes his way to Blake's home. As he moves, he notices something moving between the trees, though that something seems to be shrouded in shadows. Humming to himself, Rokurou decides to move in the shadows as well in order to remain hidden. While moving in the shadows unseen and unheard is something more for ninjas rather than a samurai, Rokurou knows that sometimes, stealth is the key to victory. So, he moves below the trees, keeping his target with his sights as he closes in. Eventually, he finds them stopping at one tree near the household, appearing to be spying on the building. Getting a closer look, Rokurou sees that it's a young girl in black clothing, long hair in a ponytail, and wearing a custom White Fang mask. He then looks to see Blake Belladonna coming out on the balcony at her home outside her father's study.
"Oh no you're not. Not on my watch," Rokurou thinks.
As the girl watches the household, she sees Blake's mother give her a tea set to bring inside her father's study while the mother walks off.
"What you looking at?" she hears behind her and looks back in surprise to see Rokurou right behind her. The girl then jumps away onto another tree top, only for Rokurou to follow right after her. "Oh no, you're not getting away," he says as he takes out his blades.
Rokurou swings his right blade at the girl, who jumps up into their air and pulls out her weapon, which seems to be a thin, silver blade with a rotating chamber and a gun handle. She swings it, and Rokurou is slightly surprised to see the blade extend into something akin to a whip. Rokurou blocks the attack with his left blade and jumps after her. The girl lands on one tree and retreats, with Rokurou hot on her tail. They jump from tree top to tree top, each time Rokurou swinging his blades at her. One time, the girl tries to block a swing from his left sword, only to get knocked back and fall to the ground. As she gets up, she looks up to see Rokurou falling towards her, with his blades aimed at her face. She rolls out of the way and jumps back.
"The Albains warned me about this guy, but they never said anything about him being a huntsman. What's he doing here anyway?" the girl thinks as she swings her whip, adding some lightning Dust to it.
Rokurou counters with an arte that releases some lightning from his blades as he swings them, cancelling out the lightning Dust in her attack. Rokurou then attacks with another arte, zig-zagging across the ground with fire trailing him, the strikes landing on the girl. The girl staggers a bit, but then her skin changes color into black to blend into the night. She tries to run, but Rokurou won't be fooled so easily. He swings his blades around, cutting a few trees down and causing them to fall around the girl. The chaos causes some dust to come up and coat the girl, allowing Rokurou to see her more clearly.
"There you are," Rokurou mutters, smirking.
He shoots over to her, both blades reeled back and swings at her, forcing the girl to block with her weapon. However, she gets sent flying into on tree and her camouflage dissipates. Just as she looks up, Rokurou kicks her in the face, knocking the mask off and showing her face to him as she falls onto the ground again.
"Come on kid. You can't beat me, and you won't be getting away," Rokurou notes, starting to sound bored.
The girl gets back up, "Who the Hell are you? Why are you here?" she asks.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Rokurou replies, as a gust of wind blows by, showing his demon eye to her.
The girl's eyes widen, "You're…You're not human, and you're not Faunus either. What the Hell are you?!" she demands.
"Oh I'm human, or at least I used to be. It's complicated. Now then…Care to tell me why you're spying on Blake and her family? I didn't think even the White Fang here in Menagerie would stoop so low as to spying on the former high leader and his family when they want to part of the White Fang right now," Rokurou asks.
"That's none of your business!" the girl yells as her skin turns red and her hair turns yellow before she swings her whip at him again.
Rokurou swings his right sword around to wrap the whip around it and stab the blade into the ground. The girl smirks and releases electricity into her whip and his blade, hoping to shock him. However…Rokurou is nowhere near the blade. The girl looks around, but then gasps when she sees Rokurou right in front of her, body low and left blade wielded in both hands. Faster than they eye can see, Rokurou swings his blade and ends up standing behind the girl. He sheathes it and a second later, the girl falls onto the ground, unconscious. Rokurou breathes a sigh of relief and retrieves his other blade before turning to the passed out girl.
"Well, this should be fun explaining to the Belladonnas," Rokurou says.
…
Back in Patch, Weiss and Eizen come back to the house for a little break, but when they arrive, they see Yang on the ground, tired, while Eleanor remains standing, though with a bit of sweat dripping down her brow.
"Yang!" Weiss yells and runs to her girlfriend's side.
Eizen walks up to Eleanor, "So, how'd she do?" he asks.
"She's certainly tenacious, I'll give her that. She's doing better with keeping her emotions in check, though that stubbornness of hers still needs a little refinement. Other than that, I believe she's made quite the progress in her training," Eleanor says.
Just then, Zaveid pops out of Eleanor, "The kid's got some skills, though her punch is still nothing compared to yours, Eizen. She's still got a ways to go there," he says.
"Well, I am a thousand years old. I've had plenty of time to work on my skills. She's just getting started," Eizen replies.
"So, how has Weiss' training come along?" Eleanor asks.
"She's getting there. Just has to push at it a little more. Switching us around like this seems to help them a bit. Different perspectives can help with getting a task done," Eizen says, taking out his coin and flipping it. "Though, she does get annoyed when my Reaper's Curse messes with her summoning. Just another part of her training, I suppose."
"They haven't been fighting as long as we have, and nowhere near as long as you or Zaveid," Eleanor notes.
Meanwhile, Weiss helps Yang sit up, "Yang, you okay?" she asks.
Yang groans, "Oh, I think I need to take a nap, a long one," she replies, holding her head. "Eizen is strong in one way, but this girl is strong in another way entirely. I wasn't able to deal any real blows to her at all," she says.
"Well, if Velvet's abilities are anything to go on, I doubt we'd be able to beat them at our level. I'm still working on my summoning, and that guy's Reaper Curse keeps getting in my way," Weiss says.
"Okay guys!" They hear and look to see Taiyang come out with a plate of sandwiches. "Let's take a little break for lunch," he says.
The group each take a sandwich and chow down, Yang and Weiss especially happy to have something to eat after another hard day's training session. Yang almost inhaled her lunch, but Weiss of course eats hers like a proper lady.
"A while after lunch, we'll finish up our training for today, and then go from there. Sound like a plan?" Eizen suggests.
"Works for me," Yang agrees, and Weiss nods.
…
Back in Menagerie, Blake is in her room with an angry look on her face. One moment, she's having a father-daughter moment with her dad and was finally able to come to terms with how she left them years ago, finding out that her parents never hated her for that and still love her dearly…Only for that moment to be ruined by Sun's untimely entrance with him falling with the door to Ghira's study, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation. After slapping him a few times, Sun said he wanted to talk to her about the White Fang, but she wanted none of that, and quickly left to get some space between them.
"He never listens," Blake mutters darkly. A minute later, she hears a knock at the door. "What is it?" she calls out.
"Blake, uh it's me," she hears Sun's voice.
"Go away Sun. I don't want to talk right now," Blake says, not bothering to move.
"Okay I'm sorry for before, but it's not me that needs to see you. It's Rokurou. He wants to talk to you," Sun replies.
"I said I don't want to talk right now. Tell him I'll see him later," Blake retorts.
"…Blake, we need to talk," she then hears her father's voice.
"Dad, what's going on?" Blake asks, surprised by her father's voice and goes to open the door to find Sun and Ghira on the other side. "What is it?" she asks.
"You need to see this," Ghira says as he nods down the hallway.
They walk through the house until they reach Ghira's study. Inside, they find Rokurou and Kali, along with a few Menagerie guards. Finally, they find the girl that Rokurou captured, with her hands tied and sitting on the couch, only now she's fully awake and stares right back at Blake. Blake's eyes widen a bit as she knows this girl all too well.
"…Ilia," Blake mutters.
"Blake…" Ilia replies.
"What's going on here?" Blake asks.
"I found this girl spying on your place, so I apprehended her. She put up a bit of a fight, but I managed to knock her out, and then I brought her here. You know this girl?" Rokurou asks.
"Her name is Ilia. We were friends in the White Fang," Blake replies.
"That was before you betrayed us and left everything we stood for!" Ilia angrily retorts.
"Betrayed? I never wanted to become a cold-blooded killer! I joined the White Fang to create peace and equality for the Faunus. That's why the White Fang was formed. Not for the mindless slaughter you people have been doing like back in Vale. I never betrayed the White Fang's ideals. Sienna Khan, Adam, people like them corrupted the White Fang into something hideous," Blake retorts.
"We fight for our kind, we don't turn our backs on them, not like you and your family," Ilia retorts.
"Okay, that's enough of that. You're making me lose my cool. Ghira, you may want to look at this," Rokurou stops them before he pulls out Ilia's scroll and hands it to him. "Technology really isn't my strong suit, but I'll bet there's some interesting things on that scroll that the White Fang doesn't want us to find out," he says.
Ghira hums, "I'll look into it," he says.
"What should we do about her?" Kali asks about Ilia.
"Keep her detained here for now. Put her in a room, but make sure he is given food and water. We may not agree with each other, but we're not savages. I won't do that to one of my people, White Fang or not," Ghira decides.
Two guards get Ilia on her feet and take her away, but she looks at Blake as she walks by, "You shouldn't have come back, Blake," Ilia says before she's taken away.
Blake only watches her leave and sighs in resignation.
…
Back in Patch, Weiss and Eizen continue Weiss' training with her summoning, this time with Yang, Eleanor, and Zaveid watching from a distance.
"Alright, let's try this again. Concentrate on the image of the being you want to summon. Picture it right in front of you and bring out its power to fight by your side," Eizen instructs Weiss.
Weiss takes a calming breath and twirls around a bit before stabbing her rapier into the ground. The summoning glyph appears and everyone can feel the wind rush around them. The glyph gets bigger and brighter, until they all have to cover their eyes from the bright light. Once the light has died down, they all turn back to Weiss and are jawstruck by what they see. They see a white Armas Gigas armor, a little taller than Eizen, standing before Weiss, with the tip of its sword on the ground. The knight moves and kneels before Weiss, and she smiles.
"I knew you could do it, Weiss!" Yang cheers as she runs to her girlfriend and picks her up in her arms, twirling her around.
"Yang, put me down!" Weiss yells.
Eizen walks up to Eleanor, "So, what do you think?" he asks.
Eleanor watches Yang and Weiss celebrate, "I think…that they're ready," she says.
And that's the chapter. Rokurou captures Ilia, and Weiss and Yang finish up their training with Eizen, Eleanor, and Zaveid. But what about Ruby, Velvet, and Magilou (and Bienfu)? Things will certainly get interesting down the road. Who knows what will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.
