This might have been one of the weirdest pranks team RWBY have ever been apart of. And considering the blonde bombshell on their team and her partner-in-crime on their sister team, a certain hammer wielding ginger, were the most notorious pranksters of their year, that was saying a lot.
The 'prank' in question was an innocuous looking box that appeared in the middle of their room. Well, 'appeared' in that it wasn't there when they left for classes in the morning. And considering their room was locked and accessible only with their scrolls- none of which were missing- it was pretty obvious that no one could have broken into their room to drop the mysterious package. That the window showed no signs of forced entry only reinforced that observation.
"Maybe Professor Goodwitch delivered it?" Yang suggested. It was a viable option. As Deputy Headmistress, she had a master key with access to every students' room. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility to consider that she left the box.
"You think she wouldn't inform us if she did? I highly doubt that." Weiss dismissed the excuse and walked up to the box, crouching down to give it a good look. It was a small box, about the size of her hand. There was no postal code or note on it to explain where it came from. Carefully lifting it off the ground, Weiss rose to her feet.
"Anything?" Ruby asked, watching her teammate inspect all sides of the box.
Weiss released a frustrated huff. "Nothing. No note, no insignia, nothing to indicate what is in it or where it came from. Maybe we should give it to a teacher."
"Come on, Weiss!" Yang released her characteristic groan whenever Weiss or Blake suggested something she deemed "boring". "Don't tell me you aren't even the slightest bit curious to know what's in it."
"I am…not!" The heiress' haughty tone failed to hide the hesitation present in her answer.
Blake chose that moment to interject. "I think what Yang is trying to say is that whoever left this…box here probably went through a lot of trouble to do so. Clearly, they wanted it to be found by us. Why not at least see what it's all about?"
Her suggestion was met with pleasing looks from Ruby and Yang. Weiss, however, still looked hesitant.
Sensing her partner's hesitation, Ruby spoke up. "Here's what we'll do, Weiss. We open it and see what's inside. If it looks dangerous, we hand it over to Ms. Goodwitch immediately. How's that?"
Ruby's compromise worked because Weiss' guarded look dropped immediately. "Fine," she relented. "No ifs, ands or buts about it if it looks dangerous. Even if it relates to White Fang." Weiss gave Blake a pointed look, the latter responding with a nod.
The Schnee heiress opened the box, revealing that there was apparently a note folded up neatly and placed inside.
"Who places the note inside the item to be delivered?" Regardless, Weiss unfolded the note and read its contents out loud.
Team RWBY,
I'm sure you are wondering about the strange arrival of this package. Don't be alarmed, it's nothing harmful to you, or anyone your school. Consider it a gift, from one universe to another, for your entertainment.
Inside this box is a flash drive containing set of videos about the alternate lives and experiences of yourselves, and many members of your world. Yes, I meant your world. The multiverse is real, and your universe is but one of a nigh-infinite number of universes. The experiences of your alternate selves have been gathered and edited together like an television show, with musical scores, soundtracks and even opening and ending themes, for a coherent and enjoyable storytelling experience.
This video will play only for the eyes of the following individuals:
Ruby Rose
Weiss Schnee
Blake Belladonna
Yang Xiao Long
Jaune Arc
Nora Valkyrie
Pyrrha Nikos
Lie Ren
Penny Polendina (optional)
Do not bring anyone outside of those listed above. Failure to adhere to these instructions will result in dire consequences.
Best wishes,
Inter-dimensional Imaginary Apparition, Blahk.
Team RWBY spent the first few moments blinking dumbly as they tried to process the contents of the letter.
Yang was the first to respond. "What the fuck?"
Her reaction was the spark that jolted them from their thoughts.
"What nonsense is this?" Weiss demanded, turning the letter to see if there was a hidden message to uncover. "Are we seriously supposed to believe this tomfoolery?"
"It does sound far-fetched," Blake admitted. Videos about alternate versions of themselves? Alternate dimensions? It sounded like the start of a rather elaborate prank.
"The multiverse is real?" That part was the focal point of Ruby's awe. The concept wasn't new to her, having watched and read various movies, shows and comics talking about it. It was still hard to wrap her head around.
Weiss scoffed derisively. "I should have known this was a prank. What else could it have been?"
"That still doesn't answer how they got into our room," said Yang. "How else would you explain that?"
Weiss stared at her disbelievingly. "Oh, so you're telling me it's easier to believe that an eldritch entity from an unknown dimension sent us a flash drive to watch movies from than this being an elaborate prank by a student with a strange Semblance?" she fired back.
"Even if it is a prank, it seems pretty harmless as far as pranks go." Yang's retort was just as hot. "Might as well humour whoever it is that did this, and if it truly is a prank, we lose nothing."
"We don't lose 'nothing'!" Weiss was nearly nose-to-nose with Yang, glowering at each other. "We lose valuable time that could be spent working on schoolwork and training, both for our career as Huntresses and the Vytal Festival!"
"Enough!" Ruby's yell broke through the din of their raised voices and Blake's attempt to break up the argument.
Having gotten their attention, Ruby sighed before turning to her partner. "Weiss, is the flash drive in the box right now?"
"Yes."
"Give it to me." Ruby raised her hand to stall Weiss' objections. "Just hand it over. And the letter."
Grumbling but ultimately complying with her leader's command, Weiss fished out the flash drive from its containment, dropped it and the letter in the reaper's open hand.
Ruby turned the drive over in her palm, inspecting both sides for any strange or identifiable markings. For all intents and purposes, it looked like an ordinary black flash drive. She reread the letter twice, keeping her eyes peeled for any clues indicating there was a hidden message or something.
Looking up to meet her friends' expectant looks, Ruby steeled herself for what she was about to announce. "I've listened to Yang's and Weiss' arguments for and against going through with the course of action listed in the letter and I have decided…to go along with it."
As expected, Yang pumped her fists in excitement and Blake had a ghost of a smile on her face. Weiss, however, looked appalled by Ruby's suggestion.
"Ruby! The Vytal Festival is only a few weeks away!" Weiss' voice was reaching shrieking (or schnrieking, as Yang would say) decibels. "We don't have time to entertain unnecessary distractions. For all we know, this could be an attempt by a student from another school to sabotage Beacon!"
Weiss' arguments were sound. Team RWBY already had some of the best teamwork ever seen in a first-year team but they would be going up against teams of various years from all over the world. There was no telling what they would be up against, so they had to be prepared for everything. Still, Weiss' fixation on the festival would run them ragged if they overworked themselves.
"Weiss," Ruby began, "I know the Vytal Festival is important. And we have been preparing to not just partake in it, but to win as well. But constant and endless practice will only tire us out long before the Festival nears us. This," she gestured to the flash drive, "might be a good way to relax and keep up from burning out in between training and schoolwork."
Weiss still looked hesitant but she saw the wisdom in her leader's words. All work with no time for rest in between would be damaging to them not just physically, but mentally as well.
"Worst case scenario, it is a prank." Ruby continued. "If it is, we destroy the drive. No harm, no foul."
Weiss gave a long-suffering sigh, having recognized when she lost an argument. "Fine then. When do we watch it?"
"How about this night?" Yang suggested. "It's Friday, so we have no school tomorrow. Depending on how long it is, we may or may not binge it during the weekend."
"And even if we aren't able to, we could always finish it during the week." Blake noted Weiss' retort and interjected before she could say anything. "After schoolwork and training."
Sufficiently placated, Weiss nodded in satisfaction. "These terms are favourable."
Yang pumped her fists into the air again. "Woohoo! Movie night! I'll get the popcorn and drinks."
"No alcohol," all three of her friends stated simultaneously.
Yang leveled a deadpan glare at them. "What do you take me for?"
Ignoring her sister's indignation, Ruby turned to the other girls. "Here's what we're gonna do. Yang and Blake, tell team JNPR that we have a movie night planned and try to convince them to join us. Also get Ren and Nora's help with setting up snacks." Yang and Blake nodded in agreement. "Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune will set up the laptop, blankets and pillows for easy and comfortable watching."
"And what will you do?" Weiss asked.
Ruby held up her scroll. "Trying to contact Penny. We haven't spoken since that night at the docks, so I hope I'll be able to reach her."
"Question." Blake raised her hand slightly. "Isn't this all a bit much for what might be a prank?"
"If it is, we might as well turn it into an actual movie night. That new Grimm Impossible movie is out on streaming now so we might as well see it."
Yang stretched her arms over her head. "All right. We have our assignments, let's get to it, Blakey."
The girls left the room as one. Blake and Yang to inform team JNPR of their plans and enlist Ren and Nora's help with food, and Weiss to enlist Pyrrha and Jaune's help with their pillow and blanket fort.
Ruby deviated from her team to make her call. As she dialed Penny's number, she hoped her friend was available for their plans. The letter had said bringing Penny was optional but Ruby wouldn't object to spending more time with her new friend.
Night had fallen over Beacon, the shattered moon bathing the school in a cool glow. Where most students had already gone to bed, taking advantage of the weekend to get some much needed beauty sleep, nine teenagers (technically, eight teenagers and one android) gathered themselves together in team RWBY's dorm for the anticipated movie night.
Blankets and pillows covered nearly every inch of the floor between the makeshift bunks. Bowls of popcorn and cookies surrounded the teens, as well as multiple cans of various flavors of soda. All this together with the image of the teens scattered across the various parts of the floor formed what could only be called organized chaos.
"Oh, I can't believe I'm attending my first sleepover. I am excited you invited me, Friend Ruby!" Penny squealed, pulling the reaper in for a bone crushing hug that had Ruby's face turning blue within seconds. And she was even more elated that General Ironwood permitted her to be with people her "age".
"Is everyone ready?" Ruby asked once she had been freed from the crushing confines of Penny's arms and gotten her breathing back under control.
"Ready to watch videos of other versions of us sent by a cosmic entity for our entertainment? Sure, why not?" The disbelief in Jaune's comment was palpable but understandable. Even after reading the letter for themselves and seeing the flash drive, it was still a crazy concept to wrap their heads around.
"Here goes nothing." With that said, Weiss plugged the drive into her laptop. The effect was immediate. It was as if a switch was flipped as the room became recolored in negative scale, an eerie chill permeating the air around them.
The teens were instantly on their guard, rising to their feet and eyeing the changes in the room with suspicion.
"What the hell is this?" Yang asked, fists raised in preparation for any sudden attack.
Blake's head snapped towards Weiss. "What happened?"
"I-I don't know! All I did was plug in the stupid drive!" Everyone's heads snapped as one to face the still plugged in flash drive and their eyes widened when they took in its new status. Unlike before when it looked innocuous, the drive was now wreathed in an inky dark red energy.
"You're telling me the flash drive caused this?!" Jaune's look was a mixture of shock and confusion. "Somebody unplug it!"
Before anyone could make a move for the device, the screen began to glitch. Windows opened and closed in rapid succession, and a strange buzzing sound began to emit from the speaker. In the midst of all the glitching, a strange wall of text sprang up.
D̶̛͓͖͈̉́ǫ̶̯͖̽͗̎͋m̷̧͚͇̙̈́a̵͕͇͖̾̀̑í̵̈̅͘͜n̶̹̎͑̆͊̚ ̶̹̇̔̅E̵̢̛̠͔̅́͑̈́x̵̣̮͇̞̰͒̑p̷̠̜͊̎a̴͕̔͒̆͝n̸̬̻͚͍̑̏̚s̴͓̈́́̓ͅi̸̦̻̞̍̑͊̓̅ò̸̙͉̈́̕͝ǹ̸̲:̸̼̥̳̗̈́ ̸̤̍M̴̫̓̐͆̾͂e̷̪̾̈́̕̚m̵̨̱͆͛̕͜͝o̷̘̖͑͒ͅr̷̨̜͉̹̈̔y̸̖̿̋́ ̸͖̺̞͛̓̎͆͝M̶̠̊ò̷̡̈͝͝s̸̞̈́͝ā̷̤̻̳͉͊̐͘í̴̮̥̦͉c̴̦̱̰̱̠̿
Domain Activated. Conditions are set.
Do you wish to watch Jujutsu Kaisen?
Yes or No
"What the hell?" Blake's look of utter befuddlement was mirrored by her friends and sister team. A fitting reaction, given the oddity of the situation they found themselves in.
Pyrrha scrutinized the words on the screen. Unfortunately, she was unable to read the first line as it was covered with illegible scribble; at least she thought so. "Domain activated? Jujutsu Kaisen?"
"I think it is what we are about to watch," Ren said.
Weiss was far from convinced about the entire scenario. "And what does that have to do with our room's design change?"
"I think…" Ruby piped up for the first time since the flash drive was plugged in. "…we should answer the prompt first."
"Are you sure we should do that?" Jaune's hesitation was shared by other occupants of the room. Even Ruby, who brought up the idea looked unsure.
Ruby steeled herself. "We've come this far, we might as well see it through." Turning back to the laptop, Ruby moved the cursor over to the prompts. For a brief moment, the cursor hovered over the No option before clicking on Yes.
In an instant, the room returned to its natural colouring. The teens breathed easier upon seeing their surroundings return to normal but their trepidation was not entirely gone. They settled back into their former positions even as the wall of text melted away to reveal a file titled Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Jujutsu Kaisen?" Pyrrha muttered but kept mute when Ruby clicked on it revealing a bunch of videos numbering twenty-four in total.
"So this is it, huh?" Yang said, scooping a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
Ruby nodded. "I guess so." Clicking on the first episode, they all settled down for what was about to be a long night.
I told myself that I wouldn't do another reaction fic. Yet here I am, breaking my promise to myself. I got bored while writing my other reaction fics and thought, "Why not start another one?".
So here you have it. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and Penny will be reacting to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. I was originally going to use a larger cast with the usual 'kidnap and transport them to another dimension' trope that is popular with most reaction stories, mine included. I decided to downsize the cast to make the writing easier on myself.
I tried to incorporate JJK mechanics by having the flash drive be a cursed object that activates a domain when plugged in. Let me explain how the domain works:
Domain Expansion: Memory Mosaic reads the soul information of everyone in its confines. If the group discarded the instructions and called in an extra person outside of the names listed, it would cause their memories to fragment. Their life experiences, thoughts, and memories start to blur and mix together, much like a broken mosaic. They will begin experiencing disorienting and distressing sensations as their own memories become jumbled and indistinct.
By clicking Yes, they also unknowingly agreed to a pact stating that until they finish watching season 1, they cannot leave. They aren't aware of this part yet but they will soon.
With that said and done, let us go straight to the reactions.