A few months later…..
Gaara sat back in his seat, as he now was wearing his iconic red flap jacket and a brown mesh armor on top, his large sand gourd sitting on the ground next to his leg, but now he also held a smaller gourd as well at his waist, full of a special sand that Gaara had been working on.
Hanzo, who wore his usual blue suit, was leaning his head on one hand as he said, "Do you wonder who'll win?"
Clarice, who looked quite energetic, said in a tone of excitement, "Heh, team RWBY of course!! Ain't no way that they're going to get their asses kicked!!"
Pierce, who donned his brown armor, held his trident, which was now in it's compact staff form, was leaning against his shoulder as he commented, "Clarice, you do know that it ain't very nice to just assume that we're gonna win, right?"
Meanwhile, in the arena, half was blue, crystal like ice, the other half was a volcanic fiery rock, as Team RWBY battled against their first opponent, Team ABRN.
Professor Ports then cheered from his observation platform, his voice carrying across the stadium via microphone, "Oh ho!! Surely we are in for another entertaining bout, aren't we, Professor?"
Professor Ports looked to the green haired Oobleck, who corrected him, "It's Doctor, and yes, Ports, I believe that it is indeed safe to say that this is one of the closest and tense rounds we have ever seen in these four on four rounds in the Tournament."
Professor Ports chuckled as he looked into the camera, sweeping his hand in a elegant motion as he said, "Aha, and as for our viewers, if you have just joined us now, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament!!! Broadcasting Live from the Amity Colosseum!!"
The Amity Colosseum was a giant, circular Colosseum, as it's name suggested, but what made it such a spectacular sight was the fact that it hovered high in the sky, a true tribute to the technologies of Atlas Kingdom.
In a circular platform, with one half ice, the other volcanic, a tense yet fierce battle waged.
On the Ice, Blake held her black katana, Gambol Shroud, at the ready, as her opponent, a girl wearing a black suit with bright blue designs rocketed at her on a hoverboard.
The girl suddenly hopped off, before landing on one end of the hoverboard, stomping on it so that way it would shoot into the air, before grabbing it and spinning it around her, before flinging it at Blake, the hoverboard spinning in the air like a giant boomerang.
Blake lifted up her katana, before reaching behind her, grabbing a hold of the sheath of Gambol Shroud, which if ever needed, could also double as a blunt sword as well.
Blake held Gambol Shroud in a backwards form, as she blocked the spinning hoverboard, staggering back a little from the amount of force that was put into it, when suddenly her opponent spun around, using the momentum of her spinning hoverboard to spin around, and flung her hoverboard again, this time, with much more strength than before as it spun around like a boomerang at Blake.
Blake gritted her teeth when suddenly a voice behind her said, Hey! Switch off!
Suddenly, Yang shot forward from behind Blake, as suddenly, her yellow shotgun gauntlets gleaming in the sun, she aimed a slightly downward punch that hit the hoverboard, making it go flying down and bouncing off the ground in front of Yang, as she thrusted forward a powerful jab, sending the hoverboard flying back at its owner, who had suddenly jumped into the air, avoiding her hoverboard by a inch as she grabbed it in midair.
Meanwhile, Blake had turned around at the same time that Yang had rushed in, and saw that another opponent was trailing behind Yang, as suddenly Blake smiled as she held up her katana and sheath, as suddenly the newcomer jumped up into the air, before shooting downward in a flying kick stance, when Blake held up her two weapons, blocking the kick as she felt her feet slide backward on the ground a bit, before she suddenly pushed upward to try and get her opponent off balance.
The girl had flipped backward, adding Blakes momentum to her own as she landed on the ground, before rushing at Blake again, seeming to not really bear any kind of weapon, when Blake smiled as she dashed forward as well.
The girl suddenly crouched down and slid for Blakes legs, as the cat-like girl jumped up, avoiding the blade as she swung Gambol Shroud at her attacker, who in turn leaned back, avoiding the blade by inch as she spun back up onto her feet, facing Blake, when suddenly Yang, who was locked in combat with the hoverboard wielding girl, suddenly ducked underneath a swinging hoverboard, when she suddenly shot up, hitting her with a powerful uppercut, as she sent her into the air, her hoverboard flying from her hand when Yang used her agility and grabbed it.
Yang, holding it with only one hand, swung it around, aiming for Blakes current opponent as she swung at her back, but the martial artist style fighter had catched Yang out of the corner of her eye, as she suddenly ducked beneath the hoverboard, spinning as she crouched down and swept Yangs feet out from under her as she dropped the hoverboard, and Yang thudded onto the ground.
Suddenly, the martial artist girl felt something wrap around her hand as she turned, and saw that Blake had turned her Gambol Shroud into its knife form, and had shot it towards her, wrapping the black ribbon around her wrist.
Blake pulled back hard on the black ribbon, as suddenly the martial artist girl was sent stumbling forward towards Blake, as the feline-like girl spun around, hitting her cheek with a spinning foot that made her sprawl on the ground on her back.
Yang had flipped back onto her feet when she suddenly smiled at Blake, when suddenly a hoverboard came shooting in through the side, hitting Yang and sending her flying, as the girl had come back, this time, riding atop it.
Suddenly, Blake felt something wrap around her arm, and when she looked back, a metal, thin twine had wrapped around her arm, and Blake looked behind her, only to see the martial artist had already gotten back up, and holding the twine.
She was in the air in front of Blake, spinning rapidly around when Blake turned around, and she didn't have time to react when she was hit by the powerful spin kick that sent her flying backwards, however, the girl, after kicking Blake, immediately landed on her feet, spinning around again as she pulled Blake back using the metal twine wrapped around the girls wrist.
Blake felt herself lurch forward, and when she looked up, she saw herself being pulled forward. Blake suddenly slashed at the metal twine, cutting it, as she suddenly used her semblance and formed a clone of herself that pushed her upwards, dodging her opponents open palm strike, as Blake sailed over her.
Meanwhile, Weiss was locked in heated combat with a boy wielding a staff. The white girl stabbed her rapier, Myrtenaster, at him, aiming for his chest as he swung his staff skillfully, parrying it as he spun around, attempting to hit her side with his staff. Weiss formed a black gravity glyph below her feet which shot her up into the air, allowing her to avoid his staff strike, as she spun in midair and forming a platform glyph, she turned upside down and landed on it, jumping off it like a launch pad, and the boy had looked up to see Weiss's high heels hit his face, and he was sent sprawling backwards and sliding across the ice surface
Weiss landed gracefully on her feet as she stood up, smiling, when she suddenly felt a bullet hit her shoulder, as her aura protected her from being physically harmed. However, Weiss was sent spinning onto the ground from the impact of the bullet, as she twisted up and looked at her attacker.
Suddenly, a boy wielding a LMG came bounding into view, and he had just aimed his sights onto Weiss when the girl gritted her teeth. With a sweep of her rapier, Weiss formed a small wall of ice with the Ice Dust from her rapier, protecting her from the gunfire spray.
Suddenly, a burst of rose petals suddenly hit the man from behind, as his LMG gunfire stopped, and when he turned around, Ruby had spun around, gaining momentum as she hit him with her large red scythe, Crescent Rose, and sent him flying. As Weiss stood up and looked over the small wall of ice she had formed, and saw Ruby, and the silver eyed girl smiled and shot a peace sign as she said, "I've got your back, best buddy!"
Weiss frowned as she shook her head, saying, "No, just no."
As Weiss jumped gracefully over her wall of ice, Ruby silently said to herself, "Yes, so yes!"
Suddenly, a certain blonde was seen flying overhead, as she held on with one hand for dear life onto a flying hoverboard, as the girl riding it looked at Yang, turning sharply and taking zigzag formations to try and throw her off. Yang yelped when the girl suddenly dove downward, and plummeted to the icy ground, before suddenly pulling up at the last moment, the momentum from the sudden turn making Yang shoot downward, and she grunted as she hit the icy ground. Yang suddenly grabbed onto the hoverboard with both hands as she felt the girl attempt to try and drag her across the ground.
Yang growled angrily as she suddenly saw a chunk of ice coming their way, as Yang felt a light bulb go off. As the girl kept trying to drag Yang through the ice, Yang suddenly twisted her body to the left, as she held her hand out, and grabbed onto the ice chunk, and the girl on the hoverboard yelped as the sudden, abrupt stop made her go flying off her hoverboard.
Yang spun around while holding onto the ice chunk, her boots dragging through the icy floor as she held onto the hoverboard with one hand, before coming to a stop and leaning the hoverboard onto her shoulder, as she smirked.
Yang, however, heard a yelp as she turned around, and saw Weiss and Ruby taking cover behind a wall of ice that Weiss had formed with ice dust, and Yang saw a male holding a LMG as it sprayed gunfire onto them.
Yang smiled as she suddenly held the hoverboard out in front of her, before she began slowly spinning around, and began picking up momentum as she began to spin faster and faster, before she suddenly let go, sending the hoverboard spinning like a giant boomerang.
The boy was in a crouched position as he sprayed machine gun fire onto the ice wall, when suddenly it stopped firing and clicked, signaling that his magazine was empty.
However, before he could even begin to reload, a spinning hoverboard hit him in the head with a clang, as he was sent sprawling onto the ground, his aura dipping to 3 percent, thus eliminating him as Yang gave a whoop of excitement.
Ruby and Weiss, who were both confused as to why they heard a loud clang, turned and looked behind the wall and at Yang, as Ruby shot her a thumbs up.
However, Blake wasn't having as good a time. The girl jumped backwards, flipping in the air acrobatically as she dodged the staff of the other boy, and when she landed on her feet, she saw in the corner of her eye the other martial artist girl rushing to her, and Blake pushed herself several feet into the air, summoning a clone that pushed her up, and Blake spun around as well as the martial artist girl missed the flying kick that was aimed for Blake, and as she passed by, Blake hit the back of her head with the butt of the handle of Gambol Shroud, making her lose balance and tumble to the ground.
Blake landed on one knee and hand, as she looked up, when she saw the boy wielding the staff coming towards her. Blake only had time to hold up her katana, as the metal rod clashed with her black blade, and Blake had to end up taking a step back from the amount of force in the strike.
Blake gritted her teeth, as she summoned all the strength she had in herself as she pushed him back, pushing hard enough to get him off, as she suddenly crouched forward and sweeped his legs out from underneath him, and the sound of him thudding against the ground could be heard as Blake jumped back and stood in her combat position.
The cat-like girl turned her head to see the martial artist girl coming at her from behind, and when Blake turned around to meet her, she felt something hard hit her from behind as she stumbled forward, before the foot from a spin kick bashed against her skull as she was sent spinning backwards, and she fell onto her back, sliding across the icy ground.
Blake groaned as she propped herself up onto her elbow, when she looked up, seeing the two assailants rushing at her, when suddenly two powerful, yellow shotgun blasts hit them both, sending them flying as Yang gave a shout of excitement, shouting, "Ha! Bullseye!"
While all of this took place, up in the stands, Team JNPR cheered. Pyrrha sat in her seat as she shouted, Fight well, team RWBY!
Nora, the hyper orange haired girl cheered wildly, Yeah!! Break their legs, Yang!!
Uh, isn't that a bit far? Ren asked due to Noras comment, but that didn't hide the fact that he had a smile.
Jaune sat down as he rubbed the back of his head, nervous about when it would be his team's turn to fight.
Meanwhile, Yang was now in heated combat with the boy wielding the staff. Yang threw a jab aimed for his face, and the boy leaned back, Yangs fist missing him by a inch, before Yang followed up with a cross hook.
The boy duck underneath her arm, spinning his staff at the same time as suddenly one end hit Yang on her forehead with a smack, which caught the blonde off guard. Yang quickly shook her head to recover, and dashed forward and spun around to try and catch him off guard with a backhand.
The boy, being a much more agile fighter than Yang, although not quite as strong, managed to lean to the side, spinning around at the same time while spinning his staff at the same time, before swinging it at Yangs side.
The blonde, however, reacted with surprising speed as she twisted her body to the side, blocking the attack with her left gauntlet, before suddenly he reached up with her right hand, grabbing it as she kicked out at the boys stomach, hitting him hard enough to make him let go and stumble back from her kick.
Holding onto one end of the staff, Yang spun around, before swinging it in an upward direction, hitting the boys chin and making his feet leave almost three feet off the ground before hitting the floor with a loud thud, grunting as he did.
Yang dropped the staff as she turned to help her team finish the last one. The martial artist girl, although outnumbered, fought bitterly, not seeming to have in one bit been intimidated by the odds nor the greater number of four to one.
The girl had ducked underneath Rubys scythe blade as it sliced through a block of ice behind her, when she flung out a bit of metal twine that wrapped around Ruby's legs, and she pulled, causing the small, silver eyed girl to fall and hit the ground with a loud thud.
She stood back up, and barely had time to lift up both arms for a block as Yang had shot forward, hitting her arms with a powerful fist that was so powerful that her arms vibrated when the punch made contact, and she was sent flying back and skidding across the icy ground, before she came to a stop at the line that separated the icy and volcanic landscape.
She rolled backward onto the volcanic landscape and jumped up onto her feet as she went into her fighting stance, when suddenly a giant shard of earth shot up out of the ground, hitting her stomach as she was sent into the air while swinging around wildly, before suddenly black ribbon shot out and wrapped around her wrist, making her stop abruptly, and she felt herself pulled downward, and she smashed into the ground below.
Blake smiled, as she suddenly heaved the ribbon with all her might, and began to swing the ribbon around, and the girl tied at the other end was sent flying forward, as suddenly a burst of rose petals came flying towards her head on, as suddenly both Ruby and Yang bursted out of it.
Yangs hair was aflame as her red eyes showed confidence, as suddenly she uppercutted the girl in her chin, sending her flying upward into the air.
Suddenly, Weiss formed a platform glyph below Ruby, and Ruby used it as a launch pad and jumped upward into the air until she was level with the girl, spinning around with her scythe at the same time. As the two became level with one another, Ruby and the girl both made eye contact for one instant, as suddenly the silver eyed girl winked.
Ruby brought down her scythe blade, hitting the girl with devastating power due to the momentum that she had built up from spinning around, the girls aura protecting her from being mortally wounded, but it didn't save her as she was sent careening downward and crashing into the ground in a powerful and loud crash.
The girls' aura suddenly disappeared altogether, shattering as the crowd suddenly cheered at Team RWBYs victory.
Ruby panted as she smiled, as Yang helped her up, Weiss and Blake walked over as Weiss said, Well, if I were to say, Im starting to think that were falling behind.
Yang raised an eyebrow at the girl as she said, adrenaline still running through her as she said, What makes you say that?
Blake chuckled as she crossed her arm, saying, "Apparently, Weiss is worried that we struggled too much, and should have been able to end it sooner."
"Aw, come on, Weiss! Were supposed to be having fun here!" Ruby said as her scythe turned into its compact, gun form, while Yang said bleakley, "Uh, I dont think the other team thinks the same."
As the four looked at each other, they looked at the devastated landscape, and saw the four members each collecting each other wearily, one of them even heaving the martial artist girl out of the crater she was put in, both looking as if they had a bad time.
Ruby rubbed the back of her head as she said embarrassed, "Uh, ok, maaaaybe we went a little overboard."
The man sat at the bar as he downed the small shot glass, as he looked up at the tv. The bartender watched in amazement as he watched the battle of Team RWBY against Team ABYN reach its climax, before turning to his counterpart, saying, "That was an interesting fight, right?"
Qrow chuckled and shook his head, unimpressed, "I don't exactly call that a fight. More of like a playdate per se."
The bartender raised an eyebrow as he turned to Qrow, asking as he wiped one of his glasses down with a clean piece of fabric, "Then what fight are you even here for?"
Qrow was about to answer when suddenly something caught the corner of his eye, before he turned around and looked out the window that led off to a balcony, as a giant warship was cruising through the air.
Qrow stood up, chuckling as he said, "That fight."
Right as he was about to leave, the bartender shouted from behind him, "Hey! You didn't pay your tab!"
Team RWBY was full of excitement and merriness as they walked down the courtyard to Beacon, as Ruby threw up her arms, shouting, "Yeah! Team RWBY has succeeded on their next mission! Now it's time for the next and kick some butt!"
Team GPHC and JNPR were aside as well as they traveled as one large group, as Pierce used his staff like a walking stick, saying, "Man, and I thought Clarice was hyper at times."
"Clarice isn't hyper, more like she is a multitasking micromanager," Hanzo said as Clarice slapped his shoulder, giving a laugh from the group as Clarice pouted, "I am not a micromanager!!"
"Then why'd you fuss over my hair this morning?" Gaara asked. His hair wasn't rudely made as usual, but was now slicked to the side, mainly because Clarice kept fussing over how Gaara didn't really comb his hair.
"What!? You have a problem with how good you look!?" Clarice said, offended. Gaara had enough sense to simply say, "No."
"Wait, so you're saying that he looks better than me?" Pierce said in mock confusion as Clarice scoffed, saying, "You know what? Sometimes I do, blond boy."
Nora and Yang laughed at Pierce's and Clarice's little argument that began to ensue as Pyrrha asked, "So, Ruby, or rather Team RWBY, you all did rather well in your tournament fight."
"Hmph, not really, we could have done better," Weiss said as Yang said, "Aw, come on and lighten up a little, Weiss."
"The Vytal Festival shouldn't be taken THAT seriously, you know?" Jaune said, when Ren suddenly said, "A Tournament such as this can be taken seriously that much, Jaune, but not so much that you begin to doubt your own skills and abilities."
"Uhh, yeah, what Ren said," Nora agreed, although it looked like as if she didn't fully understand what it was Ren had said
Pyrrha chuckled as she said, "Ren has a point. The Vytal Festival shouldn't be only about winning a tournament, but rather about relaxing and meeting new people as well, while having fun too!"
"Well, we still could have done better," Weiss said when Ruby suddenly pointed upwards, saying, "Hey! Isn't that an Atlesian ship!?"
The three teams all looked upward as suddenly a ship began to touch down in the courtyard in front of them, as the crest of Atlas was imprinted on one of the wings.
Suddenly, Gaara's eyes widened, when he recognized the emblem.He had seen it on the uniforms of the soldiers and imprinted on that damned machine that sent him here.
Gaara, for some unknown reason, felt as if he was looking upon a potential threat instead of a friend. Not exactly one of his best moments if he thought about it.
Weiss, however, seemed actually very interested in the ship that had just landed, as Blake asked, Hmm, who could that be?
Suddenly, the doors at the side of the craft opened, as a women with white hair and light blue eyes just like Weisss walked out, a rapier at her side, as she seemed to be in a white uniform that surely went quite along with Atlass color scheme
Winter!! Weiss said as she almost started to rush forward, before stopping herself at the last second and instead awkwardly walked forward, before giving a small bow to her sister as she said, Hello, sister. How has your trip been?
Everyone held their breath as they waited for her answer, as the same question was on everyone's mind. Exactly how much was she like Weiss?
Winter looked at Weiss, as she said, Greetings, Weiss, I've been well. How are you?
My studies are going well, and I'm at the top of my class in terms of acad-, Weiss had begun to say when suddenly Winter slapped her head, catching Weiss off guard as Winter clarified, I didn't ask how your studies were. I asked how YOU are. Have you been eating well? Have you made any friends?
Oh, uh, yes, I've been fine. And yes, uh, Ive made friends, Weiss said
Winter smiled at her as she asked, Really? Who, if I may ask?
Uhh, well, Weiss said, embarrassed as she couldn't think of anyone at the moment, when suddenly Gaara walked forward, Team GHPC, JNPR, and RWBY following behind him as Gaara took the lead, saying, That would be us.
Winter blinked at the amount of people that showed up as she said, Oh. Well, I see that youve been busy. And what is your name, if I may ask?
Gaara nodded respectfully to Winter as he replied, Gaara. Gaara of the Sand.
At this, Winter's brows both furrowed, as if she had just heard something familiar, as Gaara held out his hand, saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you. Winter, I presume? Weiss said your name before."
Winter nodded as she extended her hand, grasping Gaaras as she replied, "Yes, I am Winter. It is a pleasure to meet you, Gaara."
"The pleasure is all mine," Gaara replied. Being the Kazekage, he knew exactly what to say in a formal conversation, especially if he was talking business.
"Hmm, well, Gaara, I can't help but feel as if I've heard of you somewhere," Winter said, a tone of incomplete familiarity in her voice as Gaara wondered if she knew of the project that man, Ironwood, had held a long time ago, or if Gaara remembered his math correctly, 10 years ago.
As Winter turned her attention back to Weiss as she smiled, saying, "So, Weiss, all of these people are your friends?"
"Well, yes," Weiss said shyly, and Ruby's eyes lit up as she suddenly shot forward, catching Weiss in a one-armed hug as she said, "Yay!! We're officially friends now!!"
Winter chuckled at this as Weiss seemed to be regretting having said that ALL of them were her friends when suddenly a rough, male voice said, "Hey!"
Winter turned around, as what seemed to be a man with unruly black hair and sharp red pupils with a red cape chuckled, having knocked out the two guards that were behind them, as he said, "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen."
The other two soldiers by Winter's side pointed at the man when the woman suddenly shouted to them both, "Halt!"
Weiss walked up to the drunkard as she looked up at him, confusion and fury written on her face as she said, "Hey! Do you know who you're talking to!?"
"Shh!" the man said as he drunkenly shoved Weiss aside, who yelped in surprise as he said, "I'm not talking to you."
The man looked up, and straight at Winter, as he simply said, "You….."
As tension began to build up, the three teams looked at each other as Jaune asked Pyrrha, "Uh, what's about to happen?"
Pyrrha shrugged, as Ruby seemed to be jumping in excitement, and Yang was smiling alongside her as Pierce leaned over to them, asking as he whispered, "Do you two know something about this that we don't?"
"That's Qrow! Our Uncle!" Ruby said back in a hushed, excited tone as Pierce sighed, and Hanzo was heard saying behind him, "Oh boy."
Qrow, however, drunkenly said, "Well, you gotti shippy in town. Guess that means you're here too."
"I'm standing right before, am I not?" Winter said in a passive aggressive tone, to which Qrow chuckled as he replied, "hehe, yeah, reckon ya are."
"You do realize that you just assaulted Atlas military officers, right?" Winter questioned him, as Qrow shrugged, seeming not to care as he said, "Ooooh, I'm sorry, I mistook these two for some spoiled rich boys."
Winter growled as she walked forward, her hand on the handle of her rapier as she said, "Qrow, I don't have time for any of your childish, immature games."
"Wait, you two know each other!?" Weiss asked as Gaara looked over to Pierce, whispering, "Get ready, just in case this gets out of hand."
Qrow chuckled as he titled his head at WInter, saying in an offending tone, "Huh, you Atlas Specialists think you're all so special, don't ya?"
"It's in the title, Qrow," Winter replied as Qrow looked at her, amused as he answered, "Huh, well, all you really are is a bunch of sellouts. Just like your big boss."
"I'm not sure what you THINK you're implying, but I've heard enough from your lying m-," Winter began to say when suddenly Qrow interrupted her, saying, "Ohh, I heard too. I heard that ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on good ol' Ozpin."
"Ozpin? You couldn't mean Professor Ozpin, could you?" Pyrrha asked as Winter shushed her, saying, "Weiss, you and friends should go."
"Listen to the Ice Queen, you guys," Qrow mocked, "Cause she's gonna protect ya. Just like how Atlas is gonna protect all of us."
Winter gritted her teeth as she growled, "If you won't hold your tongue, then I'll just cut it out of your mouth."
Qrow chuckled, as he smiled, and he looked up at Winter as he slicked his hair back, saying, "Alright then, come take it."
Winter growled as she suddenly drew out her sword, as it turned from a rapier to a saber, and she gave a angry shout as she charged at Qrow, her saber gleaming in the afternoon sun, and Qrow gave a infuriating grin, as he suddenly held his arms out at his sides, as if waiting for her to attack, thus giving her a free hit.
Suddenly, before Winter could reach Qrow, however, the ground between them erupted, causing the two to jump back as Gaara had held his arm out, seeming to control the sand with just his hand gestures as he suddenly said, "Do you two mind setting an example and not acting like children?"
"Stay out of this, this ain't your fight, kid," Qrow said as the sand geyser landed back on the ground with a thud, giving Qrow a clear view of Gaara as the red haired boy walked forward, as Winter said, "Enough. Go back with your team. That's an order."
"I'm not an Atlesian Soldier, with all due respect," Gaara said as he only gave her a sideways glance, "I am a Valean Huntsmen in training, thus you don't have any jurisdiction over me."
Winter didn't exactly look pleased at Gaara's response, as Qrow chuckled, saying, "Heh, I like this kid."
Gaara then turned to Qrow as he then said, "Now, what is it that-"
However, he was interrupted when a voice that sounded oddly familiar said, "What is going on here?"
Suddenly, Gaara's eyes widened when he saw Ironwood walk into view, as Gaara barely saw any difference from the last time he saw him.
Winter pointed at Qrow as she said, "He started the altercation, sir?"
Ironwood looked at Qrow, who still had two unconscious soldiers at his feet, as Qrow shrugged, saying, "Hey, don't look at me. She was the one who attacked first."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow as he looked at Winter, as he asked, "Is this true?"
"A-...I….," Winter was speechless as she realized that she was indeed the first one to strike as Qrow chuckled, and Ironwood said, "Winter, with me. And Qrow, please, don't antagonize my soldiers. And why is there sand everywhere?"
Gaara stepped forward, as he looked up, and when Ironwood saw him, and lit up in recognition, Gaara said, "That would be me."
Gaara could see the disbelief and confusion in Ironwood's eyes as Gaara looked up at Ironwood, as he held out his hand, saying, "Hello, I am Gaara of the Sand."
It was then that Ironwood's eyes had a hint of panic in them, as when he lifted up his hand to shake Gaara's, there was a slight shake in it, but Gaara barely was able to notice it as Ironwood held firmly onto Gaara's hand, and responded, "General Ironwood. Pardon me for asking, but haven't I seen you from somewhere before?"
Gaara shook his head, as he suddenly gave a sly, small smile, saying, "Why no, General Ironwood. I don't ever remember meeting you before."
Phew, that took longer than I thought. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I am actually planning on redoing chapter 1 as a remake, seeing how much detail I had forgotten to put into it. Hopefully it goes off better than the previous version. Anyway, I hope you all have a good day, and if you have any suggestions for what I should put in the first chapter once I rewrite it, that would be both welcome and helpful. Until then, I have Hokage things to do, dattebayo!