Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
The Day After Summer Left
"I just heard the news from Ibuki. Summer's gone." Kyoko said.
"She's gone? Aww… how's Ruby holding up?" Aoi asked.
"From what I could gather from Ibuki, she says she's sad but she's hanging in there."
"I need to give her a hug… poor girl sounds like she needs one."
Kyoko nodded. "Yeah, I think she needs all the love right now."
"I'll do it after I get back from this trip. You said Ryoma is in the Kingdom of Bask, right?"
"Yes. I'd be careful if I were you. I heard there's a legendary tennis racket out there but I have a bad feeling that it's not all cracked up to be. Ryoma might have gone there when he caught wind of it."
"I'll see what I can do, Kiri!"
Aoi looked on at the horizon, seeing the island coming into view on a boat. "Alright, let's see if Ryoma has this or not…"
Meanwhile, in Vale…
BGM: Have a Nice Talk (Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story plus Bowser Jr's Journey)
"Remind me why we're here in Vale?" Futaba asked as she and Chiaki were walking together.
"I just want to see something. I've seen the names of the knock off video games, but now I wanna see what the names of the consoles are."
"They're not really knock offs here in this world. Though it does raise the question if the games in our worlds would be considered knock offs in Remnant."
"That's what I thought too. Of course, my guy thought I was thinking too much on it."
"Eh, probably…" Futaba shrugged. "So, it's true then? Summer's gone?"
"Yeah. Ibuki invited me over. Zwei howling almost brought me to tears, admittedly. It was enough to make Weiss cry though."
"I think Zwei's sad howling would make anyone cry." Futaba admitted. "Oh, hey, the video game store."
"Perfect. Let's see what the consoles are." Chiaki said as they walked in.
"Hey, welcome to Vale's Video Game Rental. Have a look at our games if you want."
"Let's see… where could the consoles be at…"
"Hmm, oh, here they are!" Futaba walked over into the console aisle. "Oh! Hey Chiaki, they got a retro aisle too!"
"Perfect!" Chiaki smirked as they walked through.
"Okay, where's the NES…" Futaba looked around. "Should be around here-"
"Monofuda Game Consoles"
"Monofuda…?" Futaba tilted her head. "Oh, Hanafuda! I guess Monofuda is Nintendo here."
"Alright, now we got the juicy ones! What do we got here?"
Monofuda Entertainment Software
Superior Monofuda Entertainment Software
Monofuda Virtual Man
Monofuda 94
Monofuda DolphinSquare
Monofuda Kii
Monofuda Kii Tiny
Monofuda Kii Ultra
"Oh come on, the Wii U's not that retro…" Chiaki said. "Oh! You think we could find the other old consoles like the 3DO, Turbo-Grafx and the Atari Jaguar?"
"I dunno, that sounds way too obscure for Remnant. Oh, hey, here's the handhelds!"
Grab and Watcher
Monofuda Game Child
Monofuda Game Child Tiny
Monofuda Game Child Rainbow
Monofuda Game Child Advancer
Monofuda Game Child Advancer LS
Monofuda FS
Monofuda FSi
Monofuda 3FS
Monofuda 2FS (Now with more toast!)
Monofuda 2FS XL
Chiaki sweatdropped. "I'm… honestly afraid what they named the Switch here."
Futaba looked behind her. "Ooooh, here's the Sega consoles!"
"Grayga Consoles"
Futaba raised an eyebrow. "Really. They named Sega "Grayga"?"
Grayga Monochrome (Monochrome does what Monofudon't)
Grayga Space
Grayga Dreamcatcher
"Wait, what about the Game Gear and the Master System?" Chiaki wondered.
"As I said, probably too obscure for Remnant."
"Aww…"
Futaba glanced over at a console. "Ooooh, ouch!"
Fotarshi 2800 - Number one console to ruin the gaming market and been filling trash bins since forty years ago!
"Found the Atari!" Futaba grimaced.
"Ooof… that's a bummer…"
Chiaki then spotted another console. "Ooooh!"
Graphical TurboX
KSO
Geo Bro
"What was that about obscure consoles~?"
Futaba blinked in surprise. "The Turbo-GraphX, 3DO AND the Neo Geo?! Holy crap…"
Chiaki grinned. "Guess it's not too obscure then."
"And yet, I see nothing on the Game Gear and the Master System."
Chiaki slumped. "Never mind…"
"Oh, here we are… Playstation and Xbox!"
SoulStation
SoulStation 2
SoulStation 3
SoulStation 4
SoulStation Portable
SoulStation Viva la Party
XSquare
XSquare 720
XSquare Two
XSquare Two X
XSquare Two S
Futaba's eye twitched. "...Oh, suuuuuure, they get the 720 but we get the Xbox One after the 360…" Futaba grumbled. "YES, i'm still bitter about that! They could've gone with the 720, but they went back three hundred and fifty nine numbers!"
"There there…" Chiaki patted her back.
Futaba folded her arms with a grumble, and then noticed some other consoles. "...Oh no, look what they got on clearance."
Clearance: AKA The perfect fire starters for your fireplace!
The Shillips DEJ
Ghoulya
Seeker Strandia
"Oh gosh… that's just sad." Chiaki said.
"And highly amusing." Futaba snickered.
Chiaki looked around. "Oh boy… the current gen consoles."
XFridge Super X
Soulstation 5 (Sorry, out of stock)
Monofuda Light
Monofuda Light Lite
Monofuda Light NOBY
"...What the heck does NOBY stand for?" Futaba wondered.
"Heck if I know."
"Soooo, you done window shopping?" Futaba asked.
"Yeeeeah… I'm content now." She said. "Come on, let's head back and-"
"Oh. My Gosh."
"What is it?"
Futaba pointed to a store shelf. "Look what they named Smash Bros…"
"Oh no…" Chiaki turned around.
Amazing Fighter Acquaintances
Amazing Fighter Acquaintances Deluxe
Amazing Fighter Acquaintances Ultra
Amazing Fighter Acquaintances for 3FS and Kii Ultra
Amazing Fighter Acquaintances Complete
"Acquaintances? So Smash is named Acquaintances here? AFA doesn't sound nearly as cool as SSB, I'm just sayin'!"
"Oooh, it gets worse." Futaba said as she was reading a list.
"Amazing Fighter Acquaintances Complete, fight as your favorite characters, including:
Guitar and Flute
Hole
Monochrome Hole
The Scuba Divers
Miss Grab and Watcher
Princess Mango
Princess Sunflower
Big Boy
Chain
Child Chain
Cartoon Chain
Kii Exercise Coach
Emperor HeHeHe
Sanic
And many more!"
Chiaki sweatdropped. "I… what in… what?"
"Well, now we know what Banjo and Kazooie are called here…" Futaba mused.
"Futaba, get me out of here before I lose my mind…"
Futaba grabbed her arm. "Let's go, girlfriend! Back to our reality!" She dragged her out with Chiaki letting out a groan.
"...What the hell is a Nintendo?" The cashier wondered.
Back with Aoi…
"Let's see… the tennis courts should be around here somewhere…" Aoi said as she heard a commotion going on inside a stadium. "Hmm?"
She walked in, curious to see what went on as she witnessed a young man, decked out in black, destroying a Chain Chomp's racket.
"Yes! Another one falls before me!" He declared as the Chain Chomp whined while the audience booed at him. Aoi would see the color leaving the Chain Chomp's body. "Who would dare to challenge me next!"
Aoi pulled up her phone, looking at the picture Kyoko gave her. "Yup, that's Ryoma… looks like he got a hold of that tennis racket." She said as she clenched her fists. "Alright, let's do this."
Aoi immediately walked into the court. "I challenge you!"
"Oh! It looks like we got a newcomer on the field!" A Toad announcer exclaimed.
"Could this be the one to break the curse?"
"Who are you, girl?"
"I'm from the Future Foundation, Aoi Asahina! And it seems as if you're possessing the one I'm looking for."
"This boy completed all my trials on this island. He seeked my racket and now I'm taking over! I, Lucien, will become king of tennis… and will destroy anything in my way! And once I'm done with this island. I'll visit the fabled Mushroom Kingdom and destroy any challenger in my path to become the true king of tennis!"
"You talk a lot of talk, Lucien… but do you think you're able to get out of this island? To me, you're all bark and no bite."
Lucien smirked. "You think you have what it takes? I'm possessing the Ultimate Tennis Player. That makes me the king of tennis!"
"Yeah, we'll see about that, buddy boy." Aoi said, conjuring up a tennis racket made out of water as she pointed directly at Lucien. "Just one question. Do you have any conditions?"
"Anything goes! Although if you lose, your soul is mine!"
Aoi smirked. "Perfect." She got in a stance. "Ball me, "king" of tennis!"
BGM: Tournament (Mario Tennis Aces)
Lucien bounced the ball on the court and then swung the racket at her. She immediately went over and returned it to him, where he immediately threw a power shot at her as Aoi dove for it, but it just missed her and went past her.
"Fifteen-luv!"
"Uh oh! It looks like I'm in the lead! By the way, you look more like a swimmer than a tennis player. You're way out of your lead!"
Aoi smiled calmly. "I'll have you know I competed in a lot of sports. Swimming is just my passion." Shake the rust off, you got this!
"Then I'm afraid you already lost!"
"No, Lucien… I'm just getting started." Aoi smirked, picking up the ball and swinging her racket, sending it flying toward him as Lucien returned it. The ball bounced into Aoi's court as she quickly swung her racket hard enough to send it flying toward Lucien. He immediately dove for it but he missed.
"Fifteen-Fifteen!"
"Oh, now this just got interesting!"
Lucien served the ball, Aoi quickly returning it as Lucien got in a stance and threw down a power shot that it went straight for Aoi's gut. She immediately blocked the ball and then returned it to the sender. Lucien swung his racket, sending the ball flying to the corner of the court but Aoi immediately was there and returned it where Lucien dove for it and hit the ball… only to hit the net.
"Fifteen-Thirty!"
Aoi twirled her racket around. "That all you got~?"
"I haven't had this much fun in a while… but you're about to experience your soul leaving your body!"
Lucien served again, glaring at Aoi's confident smile as she casually deflected it back to him. He smirked, unleashing a powerful power shot that sent the ball flying fast enough for Aoi not to get it quick enough with her speedy legs.
However, a wave of water formed and blocked the ball, bouncing it back as Aoi got into position and returned to the stunned server.
"What…?!" Lucien exclaimed, too shocked to realize the ball went past him.
"Fifteen-Forty!"
"You cheated! That shouldn't count!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't you say the rules were "Anything goes"~?" Aoi pointed out. "I'm pretty sure Hydromancy is legal~"
"She's got a point! What she did was perfectly legal." The referee said.
"SILENCE!" Lucien glared at Aoi. "You won your last point… now SUFFER!"
Aoi smirked. So much for the king of tennis~
Lucien snarled. "Wipe that smirk off your face. This match is over for you!"
Lucien served, smacking the ball with the tennis racket as Aoi ran over and returned the ball. Lucien immediately recovered and swung the racket with a power shot, sending it flying. "You can't possibly-"
Aoi got in a stance, a rainbow aura surrounding her as her whole body liquified as she suck into the ground as a large tidal wave burst through the court as Aoi lunged out of the tidal wave, her body returning to normal. "Yaaaah!" She swung her racket, the tennis ball being converted into water as it went back into Lucien's side, the water splashing in his eyes.
"Agh!" He yelped as he tried to swing the racket… which the ball struck and shattered the racket upon contact.
"Game, Set and Match, Asahina!"
"NOOOOOOOO! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"If you have time to complain, you have time to play better!" Aoi declared as several souls came out of the tennis racket and flew off, going back into a Shy Guy, a Wiggler, Fly Guy, a Fire Piranha Plant and even the Chain Chomp as other souls went back into other various tennis players.
"My power… no! It's weakening by the second! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"It's time you release him!" Aoi said, clapping her hands as a water orb surrounded Lucien's racket, where the orb shrunk down to crush the racket before exploding, leaving it in pieces as Lucien screamed, disappearing as Ryoma turned back to normal.
End BGM
"Uuugh…" Ryoma rubbed his head. "Where am I…?"
Oh goodness, he sounds like Gundham! Aoi thought as she approached him. "Hey, you feeling okay?"
"I've been better… I've heard about this legendary tennis racket and I thought I could snag it for myself so I could be the true ultimate Tennis Pro… I didn't think it held a demon to possess me."
"Yeah, that'll do it." Aoi said, helping him up. "You wouldn't happen to hear about the Future Foundation, right?"
"I've heard of it."
"A friend of mine sent me to scout for you. You wanna come with?"
"Certainly." He nodded as the two walked off.
"By the way, what's your semblance?"
"Power Ball. With my semblance, I transfer my aura to my tennis racket and when I hit the ball, the energy is transferred to the ball and it goes by so fast, it's a blink and you miss it type of deal. I… might have put a few holes in some walls with this." He sheepishly admitted.
"Goodness! That sounds pretty extraordinary!" Aoi smiled.
"What's yours?"
"I don't have a semblance, though I'm basically a Hydromancer. I had some help from a good friend who helped me develop my powers."
"Who is it?"
Aoi smiled. "Terry!"
Meanwhile…
"Yeah, you're right… this is definitely way more relaxing than getting a headache over those bootlegs." Chiaki said.
"I… wouldn't necessarily call Crash relaxing, but it's better than the alternatives. Like, come on… Crush Sandibash? Get out of here." Futaba chuckled.
"Exactly." Chiaki giggled. "Goodness, Crash 4 plays so smooth!"
"Yup!" Futaba nodded as Chiaki accidentally mistimed a jump and fell to her death.
"Ooof… oh well, brush it off." Chiaki said.
"Ooooh…" Futaba grimaced.
"...Why are you grimacing?"
"Okay, I'm just going to tell you now… but… they did some stupid as hell requirements to actually hundred percent the game."
"Okay, I'm sure it's not that bad."
"One of the requirements is that you shouldn't die once."
"On any level? Okay, doesn't sound too ba-"
"No. You shouldn't die once in a single playthrough."
Chiaki's eyes widened, pausing the game. "...I'm sorry, what?"
"Yuuuup."
"You mean they… they… they did something like that?"
"Aaaand now you know why I said it's not worth it."
Chiaki stared at the TV in disbelief, the controller fell out of her hands as her mouth hung open in shock.
"Yeeeeah, that's an appropriate reaction."
Chiaki's eye twitched, gritting her teeth."WHAT THE FU-"
"-Udge brownies! Get your fudge brownies while they're hot!" Deadpool called out.
"I'd like a fudge brownie!" Caboose waved off.
"Heads up!" Deadpool threw a fudge brownie to Caboose and walked off. "Fudge brownies! I got chimichange brownies, superspicy curry brownies, and a lot more than that! Get your fudge brownies here!"
Meanwhile, with Masaru…
"Have you told them yet?" - Kotoko
"I was about to, but I met my younger adoptive sister. I don't have the heart to break her heart over this."
"Come on, they're gonna find out eventually! I'm sure even Laura will understand! You can do this, Masaru. I believe in you!"
Masaru closed his eyes. "You're right. I can do this." He said to himself as he walked out of his room.
He would hear laughter in the living room where he would see his family, plus Esdeath, Ironwood and even Korekiyo in the room. He grimaced.
"Aborting mission. They got the Ironwoods and that Ultimate Historian guy in there!"
"Oh, for the love of… man up, already!"
Masaru closed his eyes. "Right… here goes…" He took a deep breath.
Rip the bandaid off. Rip the bandaid off…
"Hmm? Oh hey honey!" Nesta waved. "We were just listening to Kiyo's stories."
"You want a listen? They're pretty good." Kiyo said.
"Maybe… some other time…" Masaru awkwardly rubbed his arm, tears forming in his eyes.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Esdeath asked, her motherly instincts kicking in.
"Is something wrong?" Nesta asked, ready to give him a hug.
BGM: It is You I Need (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy)
"I… I did a lot of bad stuff back then…" Masaru said. "My father physically abused me back then… and… at one point, I thought about suicide along with my friends. Monaca took advantage out of all of us, including Junko… what Junko said to us gave us the idea to make a world a better place without adults."
He closed his eyes in shame. "I… I killed a lot of adults, including the one who physically abused me. What my father did to me made me think all adults were evil… and I… I went on a rampage. We brainwashed other kids, calling them Monokuma kids and had them kill adults. We were stopped by someone named Komaru and Toko, but the damage was already done. I'm… honestly shocked that I'm still alive to this day."
He looked up at everyone, seeing their shocked expressions… something he knew would happen. "Even if I changed for the better, I… I'm still a horrible monst-"
Loving arms wrapped around him, he felt someone hugging him. He didn't realize that Nesta was closing in and giving him a motherly hug. "Huh…?"
"Oh honey… I've waited so long for you to tell me what was troubling you…" Nesta whispered, looking him in the eyes.
"You're… not mad?"
"While I am upset that you kept this from me, I do understand why you didn't want to say anything. Honey, do you see me as some sort of monster?"
"Of course not. You're my mother."
Nesta smiled. "You're right. Not every adult is a jerk… and if I was in your shoes, I would probably lash out at the one responsible for hurting you."
"It would be a matter of time before the dog would bite back." Ironwood nodded.
Nesta caressed his cheek. "I'm not mad at you, sweetie… I'm just glad you finally came clean. Were you worried that I would immediately disown you if you told us?"
"Y-yeah… I was about to tell you earlier but, Laura came home and I didn't want to ruin the moment."
"Aww, bro…" Laura frowned.
"I'm not like that, sweetie. You came from a bad place, and here you are in a loving environment. What matters is that your heart changed." Nesta said gently.
"Yeah, like, I bullied Faunus all the time at Beacon, but mom still loved me. It took a near death experience for me to change my tune." Cardin added.
"But… I took lives that can never be brought back…"
"I know." Nesta pulled him in close. "But all that matters is you changing your ways."
Masaru teared up, burying his head in her shoulder as Esdeath walked over and sandwiched Masaru in a loving hug. "We're here, Masaru… we're your family now." Esdeath whispered.
"Thank you…" Masaru sobbed, as they pulled away as he was then hugged by Ironwood, Laura and Cardin.
"We don't think any less of you, bud…" Cardin smiled.
Nesta caressed his cheek. "Tell you what… how about one day, we go to your world and we pay respects to the ones who perished. I have a good feeling this Monaca emotionally manipulated all of you."
Masaru smiled. "I would like that." He said as she wiped his tears.
"Come on, come sit with me. Kiyo was about to tell another story."
"Heck, I dunno if any of my other stories will top that one, but I'll give it a shot." Kiyo chuckled as Masaru sat down next to Nesta, him leaning against her as she wrapped an arm around him, kissing him on the head. "So, there I was-"
End BGM
At Toad Park…
Aoi walked by with Ryoma, where she spotted Ruby by herself on a bench. "Oh… hey Ryoma, go on ahead without me. I'll catch up."
"Okay. That big ol' building in the distance, right? The one that looks like it's piercing the clouds?"
"The very same." She nodded as Ryoma walked off. She immediately walked over to Ruby. "Heeeey, Rubes!"
"Huh…? Oh, hey Hina." Ruby said in a melancholy tone as she sat next to her.
"I heard about what happened last night. Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm… hanging in there. I just miss her terribly."
"It's hard saying goodbye…" Aoi frowned, rubbing Ruby's back. "But, I can imagine that your mother is proud of you. Plus, she's not really gone. Her memory is still with you and in your heart, yes?"
"Yeah."
Aoi smiled. "As long as you keep thinking of her. She's never truly gone!" She giggled.
Ruby formed a sad smile. "Yeah…"
Aoi hugged her. "You're going to be okay… plus, when your parents come back from their honeymoon, I'm sure they'll give you the biggest hug imaginable."
Ruby nodded, returning the hug and buried her head in her shoulder. Aoi continued to rub her back with a smile. "Thanks… I actually needed this."
Aoi broke the hug, looking into her eyes. "If you ever feel like having a doughnut, hit me up, okay? I'll gladly share one with you."
"Okay!"
Aoi got up from the bench. "See ya later!" She waved and walked off
Ruby closed her eyes, a soft wind blowing through her hair as Flutter Mane came out and nuzzled her affectionately, causing her to giggle. "She's never truly gone…" She said as an idea came to her as she pulled out her scroll. "Maybe… maybe I should do this to get my mind off things."
She went into her contacts, selecting Marnie.
"Hey, you want to come kidnap-"
Suddenly, a rift formed in front of Ruby. "Huh…?" She wondered as she looked at it. "What now?" She asked as a giant hand grabbed a hold of her. "Wah!"
BGM: The Big Staircase (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Come here for a second, my dear Ruby Rose! I need you to do me a favor!"
"WAAAH! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"
"I need you to fix a problem in an alternate universe. Does the name Sapphire Onyx ring any bells?"
"Wait, Hades, what are you DOIIIIIING!" She screamed as she disappeared into the rift, her scroll hitting the ground.
End BGM
"Misdrea?! Dreavus Mis Mis!" Flutter Mane cried as the rift closed. "Misdreavus!"
"Flutter Mane?"
Pit walked over to her, holding two ice cream cones. "Where's Ruby? I have her ice cream right here."
"Mis Mis Drea Vus Mis Mis Mis!" Flutter Mane said in a panic.
"Huh? I'm sorry… I don't speak Misdreavus." He said as he looked down on the ground. "Huh? What's Ruby's scroll doi-" His eyes widened. "Oh no…"
Meanwhile, with Kyoko…
"Hmm…" Kyoko rubbed her chin in thought, an idea forming in her head as she laughed at the idea, deciding to humor it and type it in. "There's absolutely no way he could be here. I mean, you have to be pretty crazy to be a-"
BGM: New World Order (Danganronpa)
She froze, her eyes widened in horror.
"No… no… No no no no no no no no!" Kyoko said, fear creeping in her voice as she backed away, her hands over her mouth.
Her legs instinctively got up as she immediately ran off to tell the others. "GUYS!"
Ultimate Neurologist - Yasuke Matsuda
There's something ironic about this. Originally, I had an SRS story revolving around Mario Tennis Aces, but I scrapped it since I didn't think it was a good idea. So as I was wondering how to introduce Ryoma, Cody suggested the Mario Tennis Aces plot and I thought to myself "...Oh, the absolute IRONY." It came back!
Ibuki: Oh no... Yasuke...
Yup... oh, and the scene with Masaru was originally going to be in the final Hisuian Legends chapter, but I decided against it as I wanted to focus on Summer and Ruby.
Deadpool: And now she's in another universe!
Ooooh yeah! Also shout out to Log for coming up with the names of the bootleg versions of the Smash games, and the infamous Phillips CD-i!