And here we are. This is another one of the big show-stopper fights that I've had in my head since the inception of the story, and I'm HYPED to finally have you guys read it. I won't prattle on forever, but again, thank you all so much for getting me this far, I wouldn't be here without you guys. Without further ado, LET'S GO!
Fighting Rose
Chapter 38
Blossom
"Finish!" Yang shouted as Ruby spun through the air and slammed a spinning roundhouse aimed at Yang's head, her shin blasting into the pad and making Yang's head ring. Ruby huffed and wiped the sweat from her forehead, throwing a few quick jabs as she assessed her physical condition.
"Still bit stiff in some areas," Weiss commented, using her semblance to assess Ruby's body, "But more than good enough for you to go all-out… of course, not counting for the strain of that 'Eye-issue' of yours."
"You say that like she wasn't going to go all-out anyway," Blake chuckled.
"Mm," Weiss hummed in agreement.
Yang just silently watched Ruby pace around the waiting-room, shadowboxing to keep herself warm, and she felt her heart squeeze painfully. This wasn't the excited yet focused energy of her sister, this was her being distracted and worried by something else entirely.
"Hey, girls?" Yang said softly, immediately getting their attention. "Could you give us some room? Gotta say a few things to Ruby."
"Of course," Weiss said as she and Blake stood. "Good luck Ruby, we'll be cheering you on."
"No matter how it ends, you've done amazing," Blake agreed before they left.
As Yang suspected, Ruby quickly raised a peace-sign more out of reflex than actually having heard them and continued to idly throw quick punches and kicks. Quick, but unfocused.
"Yo, Ruby," Yang said.
"Mm?" Ruby hummed, still not paying attention.
"I know you saw something when you were unconscious after the fight with Merc," That snapped Ruby back into reality, and it hurt Yang to feel the spike of fear that shrieked across her soul, "…whatever it was, just know that you don't need to tell me anytime soon."
"…huh?"
Yang almost laughed at the confusion that morphed Ruby's face before she brought her sister into a hug.
"I trust you, you know that," Yang said softly, "And I guess you want to tell me but don't know how to say it. Whatever it is, it's eating at you Ruby. So… I don't want you to feel as if you're being pressured to tell me as soon as you can. This is your night Ruby. Let go of your responsibilities, let go of your stress and worries. Have fun out there and be free."
Ruby was a bit stiff for a few moments before she truly relaxed and hugged Yang back, a shuddering breath escaping her chest.
"Thank you," she said, her voice tight with tears yet utterly relieved.
"Besides," Yang said a bit dryly, "Whatever was bad enough to give you a scare like that… I'm not sure I want to know just yet."
"You really don't," Ruby said a bit dully as she pulled away, wiping her eyes but looking at Yang with a grateful smile. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."
"I have some idea," Yang retorted with a little poke to Ruby's ribs, the latter giggling as she shooed her hand away.
"Fair enough," Ruby nodded before hugging Yang tightly one last time.
"Calling for Ruby Rose! Calling for Ruby Rose!" The comm announced and Ruby let loose a quick, sharp breath as she rolled her shoulders.
"Ready now?" Yang asked.
"Nope," Ruby said with a grin, her eyes shining as she cracked her knuckles. "I'll just have to adjust."
"Atta girl," Yang high-fived her, "Now get out there and kick ass!"
"You got it!"
}-{
Ruby literally flew out of her tunnel to the roar of the crowd, a stream of petals flaring behind and around her as she laughed and flipped through the air before landing in a classic pose, a knee and a fist touching the floor.
"She needs no special introduction ladies and gentlemen!" Port boomed through the speakers, "Yet it would be nothing short of a disservice! The reaper in red, the rising star, the Alpha and Omega, RUBY ROOOOOOOSE!"
"Leave it to Professor Port to do something like this," Ruby chuckled to herself as the crowd cheered harder. She mostly closed herself off to it, checking Beowulf one more time. It suffered a lot of internal and external damage and was having trouble twisting with her rotating shots. She couldn't even properly open up the 'mouth' ends to properly grapple with her hands. That wasn't even mentioning how the damaged parts might come apart in a few solid blows and do actual damage to her. The final battle of the Tournament was decided only by aura-elimination, and every advantage or disadvantage counted.
'I wonder…' She mused.
"And for our final contestant, there's something… special in store, let's say!" Oobleck said, immediately breaking Ruby out of her musings. "Take it away!"
The crowd quickly quieted down to a curious murmur as, in complete contrast to Ruby's entrance, someone walked out of the opposite tunnel. Sun's robe was pure white, covering everything except his jawline and grin.
'Imagine if he's naked under there, like that one scene from Blake's book,' Ruby thought, her cheeks going red and a sly grin of her own on her face. 'Katanaaaaa.'
His hand slipped out from the fold, grabbing the cloak before throwing it off and revealing what he'd been hiding, and in Ruby's opinion, it was almost as good as him being in the buff. Red-leather boots were plated with what looked like shining gold, his white and baggy long-pants almost making him appear as if he was wearing a cloud, beautifully contrasted by the crimson waist-cape that wrapped over his pants and around his hips, held in place by a golden chain as a belt. Finely crafted and thick golden rings fit perfectly around his arms, a delicate chain hanging from his neck, a symbol cut entirely out of sapphire inlaid in the little pendant dangling from the middle and on his bare chest, the same three-pointed symbol that was on Sun's suit, Ruby realized once she managed to tear her eyes away from his muscles. To top it all off, wrapped around his head was a simple gold circlet with another sapphire inlaid in the centre. The entire outfit didn't just make Sun look amazing (though boy did it), he looked equal parts regal and war-ready, a champion.
What made the situation change was the sudden muttering from some of the crowd, all of it coming from the Faunus population who appeared to recognize the symbol and his outfit: it sounded almost like they were praying.
"Praise his return… praise the Saiyan King…"
"I come here today not only as Sun Wukong of Haven Academy!" Sun's voice boomed, eyes flashing yellow. His voice sent a pleasant hum up Ruby's spine. "And I come here not only as a citizen of Vacuo. Today, I challenge for the title of Vytal Champion as BROLY!"
His aura, simmering under his skin, now exploded from him in a wave of pale-yellow light, his voice gravellier and primal.
"I stand before you as Broly of the Saiyan tribe, the grandson of Son Goku and King Vegeta! I AM THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS AND HEIR TO THE PRIMAL THRONE!" He took out his broken staff before tossing it to the side, clenching his fists before the wellspring of aura suddenly shut off. "…and I challenge you, Ruby Rose, to ritual combat."
Ruby was beaming like a kid in a candy shop for a moment before she smoothed her features, calmly flicking her wrists to fold Beowulf back into its dormant state and tossing the gauntlets and greaves to the side, the *CLANG* of steel on stone ringing through the dead-silent audience. Everyone watched on with baited breaths as Ruby easily slipped into her signature stance, right hand low and relaxed, left fist lightly clenched by her jaw, gently bouncing on the ball of her feet. Her aura bloomed slowly around her as she gently breathed out, red light humming around her figure as she answered.
"I, Ruby Rose of Beacon, accept your challenge."
"Then without further ado," Port shouted, "LET THE FINAL MATCH OF THE VYTAL FESTIVAL TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"
The crowd exploded into a wave of cheering, the entire stadium shaking as they stamped their feet into the floor. It quickly died out again as they all saw Ruby and Sun simply standing in front of each other, Ruby in her normal stance and Sun in his own, feet apart, a hand above his head as if to shield his eyes and an arm out by his side. Again the crowd watched with held breaths as they slowly but surely shifted towards each other. The moment Sun was in range, his right hand came down in an overhand chop, slow but precise. Just as slowly, Ruby parried and returned with a left roundhouse to his body, Sun blocking with his palm and retaliating with an uppercut. She slipped to the side, a bit faster now, and moved in to elbow him in the gut. He danced to the side, even faster as his knee came up towards her face. Parrying and pivoting off to face him again, her foot shot out in a genuine straight kick at his exposed ribs, Sun now flipping over Ruby and shooting down into a crouch the moment his toes touched the ground, Ruby's follow-up hook-kick just barely brushing over his hair. He spun and aimed to sweep Ruby off her feet only for Ruby to cartwheel on the spot, his own leg barely brushing the top of her head while she was upside down. The moment they had proper footing, they moved in at combat-speed, his right hook and her left-straight shooting through the air towards each other's heads only to stop with the *SNAP* of ripped air, a hair's width from hitting each other. There was stillness before they broke into laughter, stepping away from each other.
"Alright, greeting's over," Sun chuckled as he got into his stance once more, "Let's get it on for real now!"
"Agreed," Ruby said as her smile turned bright, "Thank you Sun."
"Anytime Ruby."
(Que Music: Dragon Soul, 2020 remaster)
He grinned as they launched themselves at each other and the fight started in earnest, bright yellow exploding against swirling red. Ruby's roundhouse caught him full in the mouth while Sun's left-straight smashed into Ruby's eye, both of them skidding backwards with big, goofy grins on their faces as they threw themselves right back into the fray to the thunderous crowd. Ruby leapt into the air as her body blurred with a wave of cutting roundhouse-kicks at Sun's head, the latter blocking and weaving on the spot before Ruby changed pace, feinting another kick to the temple only for her to throw a barrage of sidekicks at his exposed face.
His free palm shot up and blocked every single one, her heel aching with the sensation of striking a steel wall before she sharply spun and lashed out with a kick that slashed up at his chin. Sun slipped to the side, her foot barely brushing his cheek before he grabbed her by the stomach and grunted as he threw her straight into the floor. His grip suddenly lost its purchase, fingers passing through rose-petals as Ruby turned intangible the moment he grabbed her, spinning and slamming a hook-kick into his open face as he was overbalanced, snapping his head back up and right into the path of Ruby's Lunar Phase, her heel hammering down on the top of his head so hard that he was flung upside-down, sending him face-first into the floor in a shower of stone. She'd already Tricked down to his torso, her body relaxed and a massive smile on her face before her leg blurred.
"Crescent Judgement!"
Sun was sent skidding backwards while his head was still nailed into the floor, raking through the stone like a tractor ploughs dirt. He wasn't sent anywhere near as far as anyone had expected though. He popped out of the floor using his shoulders to bump him up onto his feet, and to the shock of the crowd (and the amusement of Ruby), in his palm was an orb of crimson aura, violently warping and strobing in his tight grip.
"Can't believe you actually caught it," Ruby giggled, "Not to mention with your head in the ground."
"Instinct tends to bail me out in a pinch like that," Sun chuckled, looking at the orb, "…really awesome technique by the way."
"I try," Ruby bowed.
"…speaking of trying something…" Sun hummed.
"…Don't you dare," Ruby caught on, a hand going to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter.
"Imma do it," Sun grinned as he crouched, "RASEN-!"
Ruby closed the distance in an instant, dropkicking Sun in the chest right as he dashed forward, spearing him on his own momentum and sending the sphere of aura in his hand spiralling out of control, Ruby Tricking away in time as it exploded in a burst of bright red slashes and petals.
"Okay, that's what I get for trying to do something cool," Sun laughed as he waved the petals away from his face. The explosion hadn't left a scratch on him and barely a few dents on the rings around his arm, to Ruby's lack of surprise.
'Pyrrha was right, his sheer output alone is a defence within itself!' Ruby thought excitedly as she bounced on her feet. 'This is way too much fun… and I think I know how to get past his defence!'
Again Ruby blasted forward, slipping under a sharp jab and stepping on hard to fire an uppercut right into his stomach only for a short, sharp punch to smash into her face first, her vision flashing white and mind reeling as Sun unleashed a barrage of chain-punches on her head so rapidly her head seemed to snap in every possible direction. An elbow to her cheek almost sent her spinning before Sun stepped in with his full weight behind his shoulder as he smashed bodily into Ruby.
"Teishankao!" He roared as Ruby was sent flying limply through the air in a flash of yellow light. She suddenly snapped back to life, spinning as her leg flashed out.
"Crescent Rose Kick!"
The blade of aura screamed through the air in a flash of red light, yet Sun launched himself into it, an open palm drawn back as it glowed with the light of his own aura.
"Paper!" He bellowed as his hand shot forward, crashing into the aura-blade and immediately changing its colour from red to yellow before it was launched back at Ruby twice as fast, the latter yelping and barely leaning away from it in time as it raced past her and smashed into the crowd-shield. The distraction cost her as he barrelled into her with his chest, bellowing as his skin light up before he outright exploded, Ruby flung to the floor in a smoking heap but barely managing to land on her unsteady feet. Even then he didn't stop, already in front of her with an arm out and swinging to clothesline her in the face with his bicep. Ruby sharply stepped into the lariat and grabbed his wrist, pivoting and throwing him clean over her hip to leave him flailing in the air directly above her.
"Exploding Heart: RELEASE FIST!"
*THOOM*
Her left straight pierced up into his exposed stomach before he could block, Ruby grinning as she just barely heard him grunt in surprise and pain as petals burst from his skin.
'I was right!' She celebrated, 'Gotta keep my strikes focused and precise and attack into him!'
He recovered quickly and fired a sphere of aura straight down at her, Ruby rapidly dashing away as it exploded and pulverised the ground where she once stood, Sun sprinting out of the dust right at her with a massive grin of his own, both of them meeting in the centre of the area and brawling it out. Mercury was definitely faster than Sun, but Sun didn't need to be as fast if a single hit was able to fling her around so easily, so she kept her senses sharp and picked her shots, making them count whenever possible. She weaved past a terrifying jab-cross, stepping in again to fire an uppercut at his body again only for her to yelp and yank herself away as his forearm chop ripped through the air where her neck once was. Even as she Tricked to his side and threw a flying roundhouse at his head, he was already pivoting to intercept and grab her out of the air, his hand almost grasping her by the head before it went right through it in a burst of petals. Ruby continued the spin with the momentum form her failed roundhouse and transitioned into a hook-kick that raced for his head, Sun's free hand already there to block as her heel blasted into his palm –
"Red Release!"
Sun again grunted in surprise and pain as Ruby suddenly reappeared to his other side, her heel embedded in his ribs and knocking him back just a step as the impact reverberated through his entire body before bursting out as petals from his skin.
"Crescent GATLING!"
Ruby made full use of the tiny opening, her arms turning into red blurs as hundreds of lightning-fast punches seemed to rain down on Sun's jaw, chin, solar-plexus and floating ribs, further overbalancing him as he failed to block them all.
'This is it!' Sun thought with a savage grin, 'This is what gramps was talking about… this is what it means to be a Saiyan!'
Dropping his guard entirely, he sprinted right through Ruby's wall of punches much to her shock, throwing a sharp sidekick at his chest only hit air and he fell into a perfect cheerleader-split of all things. He sprung off his back knee onto his front foot, his entire back leg arcing over his back and smacking into Ruby's nose like a scorpion lashes out with its stinger, eyes watering from the shock of impact and leaving her blind as Sun yanked back and smashed his boot into her exposed gut to blast all the air from her lungs. He roared as he stepped in and unleashed a massive uppercut right into her stomach, Ruby barely able to redirect the strike to the side yet getting flung backward from the sheer force of it all the same. He sprinted past her before she could even fall and grabbed the back of her head, palm glowing yellow as he yanked straight down, the floor underneath him exploding right as he realized he was no longer grabbing her.
"RED RELEASE!"
Her heel smashed into his mouth as his head came down, sending him skidding backwards out of the smoke with a split lip and watery eyes, Ruby already blasting herself right at him with a fist drawn back only for her eyes to go wide as he recovered and lunged in with an elbow that was moments away from flattening her nose. Her eyes throbbed as her palms shot forward, trying to redirect the blow only to realize too late that there was far too much weight and momentum behind it before it blasted into her cheek like a gunshot. Again her body spun limply through the air, eyes vibrating in her head as she seemed to be entirely unconscious before again she jerked back to life, throwing a hail of Crescent Rose Kicks before she even touched the ground, slicing and stinging the surprised Sun. The moment she landed, her eyes snapped back to focus and she winced at the throbbing pain in her cheek but her smile never left her face, actually widening as Sun grunted and clapped his palms together. Six golden silhouettes materialised around him and launched themselves at her, Ruby sprinting in to greet them equally as eagerly.
'If I can't redirect them,' She thought as the first clone somersaulted through the air with a flying kick at her face, 'Then I'll just redirect myself!'
Her hand touched the ankle of the first clone and she used it as an anchor, guiding her body out of its way like a bull-fighter and letting it sail far past her before it exploded harmlessly. Ruby met each of their attacks with the same flowing grace, her body appearing to bend and curve around their attacks like silk drifting through the air before she and Sun met once again, his fist exploding against her lance-like sidekick with a crack of gold and crimson light. There was a moment where they both struggled against each other before Sun easily brute-forced his way through, almost snarling as he flung Ruby backwards, the latter still able to land smoothly on her feet despite how her leg throbbed with pain.
'Doing this much even through my aura, all with brute force huh?' Ruby thought as she shook her leg out and let aura soothe the pain, 'You're something else Sun!'
"Come on now…" Sun chuckled, his hair visibly growing and his teeth bared, "This is great, but we both know you can do more."
"Same to you Sun," Ruby shot back casually, bouncing on the spot for a moment before she suddenly stilled. "…you're right though. I can finally cut loose and have fun without trying to fight for my life. You'd better do the same."
"Hah!" He barked out a laugh, "And ruin the fun? Hell no! NOW COME AT ME!"
"The Rose Blooms…" Ruby said softly before the full force of her aura swirled around her like a tornado of petals and red aether, her skin glowing pink and veins popping as her blood rushed through her, "The petals Scatter."
In the eyes of Sun, he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was.
"UUAAAAAAAAAGH!" He threw his head back and roared as he grew an extra foot in height gained over thirty pounds of muscle. This was the height of his natural power and where the peak of his race's instincts shone the brightest. In Ruby's eyes, he was perfection made flesh. Sun didn't lose control of himself. In fact, the way Ruby was looking at him made his soul sing and heart soar, and he'd never felt more in touch with his primal side as they both wordlessly got into their stances and threw themselves back into the fight.
Her fists at her jaw, Ruby immediately weaved her head and upper body into a familiar infinity-pattern so fast that she looked more like a single continuous line of motion. Barely slipping past Sun's terrifying punches, the infinity suddenly began to bend out of its horizontal alignment and double, two symbols blurring diagonally before streaks of red light smashed into Sun from every angle imaginable. Uppercuts, hooks, overhands, all were hitting him dead on as Ruby continued to bob and weave like it was the end of the world.
"I'll be damned!" Yang laughed, "She actually did it!"
"That's your Dempsey Roll, isn't it?" Weiss realized, "But it looks… different."
"That's because she's completed it," Yang said excitedly, "Non-linear head-movement, punches from all angles, and sheer overwhelming speed! He can't touch her now!"
*BANG*
Ruby was suddenly sent flying back, blood streaming from her nose as Sun took a small step back, a right uppercut/hook hybrid sailing past his cheek and blasting his knuckles into Ruby's face right as she fired a left hook, the shots landing simultaneously and Sun's raw power easily winning out.
"I stand corrected."
Sun's strength was simply too much to contend with. Ruby barely slipped under a right hook, her left uppercut blasting into his body and barely leaving a mark on his skin as she was forced to Trick backwards again and again in the face of his onslaught. Jab, cross, right roundhouse, spinning back-kick, even grazing her was enough to do damage as the impacts blasted right through her flesh and sank into her bones.
'He's getting faster,' She realized idly as the image of his knuckles filled her vision. She threw her head back, the single knuckle that brushed across the skin of her cheek and eyebrow splitting open as she drew her feet in and drop-kicked him hard in the open ribs to no effect. She felt his hand begin to grip around her leg and let her entire body Scatter, spinning like a lazy cloud before suddenly reforming to blast a roundhouse-kick into his face.
"RED RELEASE!"
His head actually snapped back with this one, his grin still on his face as he spat bloody petals from his mouth and disappeared. Ruby's instincts screamed at her as she shot to the floor in a crouch, Sun's flying knee sailing over her before he stopped on a dime in front of her, backflipping far too quickly for his weight and shooting both legs straight down at her. Tucking just in time, lashed out with her leg and hooked around his ankle. With all his weight pressed into the floor, there was no hope of her sweeping him, so she used him as an anchor and yanked herself out of the way as his pointed fingers drove straight through the floor like clay. She took full advantage of the opening, dashing back in to deliver a rapid-fire barrage of sidekicks to his ribs, arm and face, backstepping away as his backhanded chop cut through the air where she once stood before dashing back in with a picture-perfect left-cross towards his jaw.
"RELEASE FIST!"
"Weeping Willow."
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as all her momentum suddenly curved right over him, fling her into the air and spinning wildly out of control for a moment before she found her baring and locked back onto Sun while floating in the air.
"Cheeky bastard!" She laughed, "You copied my redirection-technique!"
"Ain't that hard," He laughed back, "Don't forget that I've got a neat technique of my own! KAIOKEN!"
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he disappeared in a flash of red and yellow sparks, Ruby unable to react in time as his fist suddenly appeared right into her gut. He was being extremely merciful, stopping right as his fist made contact, but the blow was enough to rip over half of her aura away in one shot, bile and spit spilling from her mouth as she shot straight up into the air, smashing against the ceiling of the hardlight-wall before plummeting to the ground limply. Her vision was swimming, pain booming through every inch of her body as she fell. She could hear nothing but her own ragged breathing, the roaring of blood in her ears, even the tiny little movements of her eyes in their sockets.
"Ooooh…" Ruby sighed as everything seemed to slow down in her eyes, "…I'm…"
She blinked slowly, languidly as a blissful smile stretched across her face. She felt herself become undone, her eyes meeting Sun's and seeing that expectant grin on his face as he hopped in place using his semblance. Her fall became slower and slower, her vision growing sharper and sharper even as her body became entirely relaxed.
"I'm melting…"
She sighed as her fall slowed to a gentle upside-down descent, her body scattering to a gentle swirl of petals the moment her head touched the floor. Sun too landed on the ground, crossing his arms and simply watching with his arms crossed, the smile never leaving his face. Vague silhouettes of Ruby's figure could be seen floating just above the floor laying face-up. The flow of the petals became faster as she slowly rose up: not sitting up, but rising into a standing position as if possessed, eyes closed and face serene. There was a sharp cracking sound as the petals suddenly shot back into Ruby, the air around her shimmering as her hair rose and flowed without any kind of wind.
Do not think that the time your sister granted you is enough to change the reality of what you witnessed.
'Of course not,' Ruby replied softly, 'But her trust in me is all the freedom I need from you. It's just me and Sun brawling it out, pushing our limits in the greatest fight of our lives… my happy place.'
Her eyes slowly opened and tendrils of soft silver light spilled forth, the red tips of her hair turning the colour of moonlight along with the edges of her Trigger's markings on her skin. Her aura bloomed around her once more, the edges of each petal pulsing with silver light.
"Freedom from the cruel night: Moonlit Omen."
Sun clapped, joy and awe on his face as he took Ruby in for a moment, the latter doing a little bow before they both readied themselves once more. Ruby casually began to side-step, a slightly curious look on her face as if she was in the middle of figuring an issue out before her eyes lit up. Sun reeled back in shock as Ruby shot forward, her body almost like a literal streak of red and silver-edged lightning as her shin appeared right in front of his face and blasted across his mouth. Not even a moment passed and her heel shot into the side of his jaw before a final kick to his stomach sent him stumbling back. He reset himself even faster than before, ready as Ruby blitzed in again with a flying kick at his stomach and catching her foot in his palm, stopping her dead in the –
*BANGBANGBANG*
She twisted and her leg lashed out in three sharp sidekicks to his chin, mouth and nose-bridge, his eyes watering and grip going slack at the unpleasant sensations before he roared and smashed his glowing fist into the ground in front of him, sending a wave of golden fists shooting up from the floor and right at the vulnerable Ruby. Her expression was as serene as her aura as she seamlessly switched from blistering offense to beautiful defence, retreating into the air while her hands blurred and gently redirected every single aura-constructed fist, the attacks curving around and away from her to explode harmlessly on the hardlight-shield. Sun blindsided her by appearing at her side in a rush of air that threw her off balance, an orb of violently warping aura in his palm as he fired it at her point-blank.
"Drifting Petals," Ruby whispered as she simply stuck her palm in the way of the blast, her arm and hand growing hazy as she twisted it when it hit her palm. The blast spiralled and became undone like a ball of yarn, her body untouched within the cone of spiralling strings of light. Though it impaired her vision, she knew where to strike next:
"Crescent Pistol."
A lance of red pierced through the tip of the cone and punched right into Sun's chest, the latter coughing a gout of petals in surprise but still charging forward with a right-straight at Ruby's face. Ruby casually brought her palm up to touch his wrist, pushing herself down and out of the way, pivoted around his descending left elbow and leaning on him back-to-back.
'She's not necessarily that much faster or stronger…' Sun mused as he pivoted and swung a mighty back-hand at her, Ruby leaning forward as if to inspect a penny that had fallen to let his fist sail past her head, slipping and weaving his fierce onslaught of blows. Jab, cross, liver-blow, right uppercut, left-hook to the head, downward chop, she simply weaved, slipped, ducked and leaned out of the way, all with her back turned to him before she disappeared.
'It's her technical ability that's shot through the roof!' Sun confirmed as his arm shot up on its own to block a sudden spinning roundhouse, swinging through air as he tried to counter only for her to blast into the air like a bolt of red lightning, 'Defence, offense, auric and motor-control, it's amazing… but it ain't ENOUGH!'
"KAIOKEN!" He roared, the ground beneath him pulverized as he blasted straight up after her, the blades of aura she launched at him breaking like glass on his body as he barrelled through them and shot his fist right at her stomach, looking to end the fight in one shot. He felt his knuckles begin to make contact only to impact air, Ruby's body going blurry as her upper body split in two at the waist, her left-straight snapping perfectly onto his chin in a burst of petals.
"GOTTA DO MORE THAN THAT!" He roared as his right hook roared towards her head, Ruby spinning into it and rolling across his arm like a barrel to stab an elbow directly into his chest, the same arm shooting up into a backfist towards his chin that slightly pushed his head back. He froze as he felt her finger gently press his chin, her aura going almost entirely still.
'Relax from the top of my head to the tips of my toes…' Ruby's mind hummed, even her heart stopping entirely. 'Melt to water… to vapour… to nothing…' She felt herself becoming undone, all sensation vanishing except for the tip of her finger touching Sun's chin. 'And return… to EVERYTHING.'
"Release Fist: BLACK FLASH."
There was a sharp snap as her knuckles shot into his chin, his head shooting back slightly and eyes wide. There was another moment of stillness before Sun roared as black and silver petals erupted from his skin and mouth, his aura warping violently as his body seemed to deflate slightly all while Ruby already flowed into her next attack.
"Crescent JUDGEMENT!"
Her roundhouse kick exploded into his open chest an instant later, an explosion of red and silver light flinging him down into the floor in a shower of stone. He burst out of the ground not a moment later, though to everyone's shock, he was back in his base-state, irises flickering in and out of its primal yellow glow. Ruby shakily touched down, taking a shaky breath in before exhaling, the bright silver glow in her eyes fading along with the changes to her aura and Trigger.
"How…?" Sun coughed, gritting his teeth and trying to summon the raw power he once held only for his entire body to jolt painfully, the building strength slipping away as he lost control of it in a wild flare of yellow aura. His head was pounding painfully, vision warping while he realized that he was having a hard time breathing.
"…the hell did you…?" He started, still smiling all the same.
"That awesome power you've got," Ruby said as she did her best to recover, "The more of it you use, the more mental control you need. I've been robbing you of that control over the entire fight, you know?"
"…You've been aiming for weak-points," Sun put together as he rapidly figured her plan out, "Chin, body, temples, every shot you landed there – !"
"I've been softening you up by firing my aura into you," Ruby confirmed, "I couldn't bring you down with one big shockwave through your body, so I did a bunch of little and big ones… over and over, again and again… and now you can't use your aura to augment yourself at the fullest anymore, can you?"
"I'll be damned!" He laughed, "… you're not exactly in top shape yourself anymore though."
"Yeah," Ruby shrugged with a grin, "Moonlit Omen burns my nerves, muscles and auric circuits. It's not something I can hold onto for long, but it was just what I needed to inflict game-changing damage on you. Besides, all I did was somewhat even the playing-field, and we both know a couple boo-boos won't stop you or me."
'…Yep, I'm totally asking her out after this,' Sun thought to himself as he flicked his nose with his thumb and got back in his stance, shaky as it was, breathing in and roaring as he let loose what energy he could bring out.
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT!"
"I KNOW I AM!" Ruby laughed, "NOW LET'S DANCE!"
(Que Music: Flow - Hero: Song of Hope)
Though both were slower than before, they rocketed at each other with a burst of aura and clashed shoulder to shoulder to the sound of roaring thunder and breaking air, the floor underneath them cracking and trembling as the final stretch of their battle began in earnest. Ruby pivoted off to the side the moment after their clash, Sun left open as he stumbled into the path of Ruby's roundhouse to the head, her foot blasting into his cheek with a sharp *BANG*.
'Too loose!' Ruby realized with a grimace as she hastily backstepped away from Sun's sharp transition into a low-sweep that almost caught her ankle, Ruby herself stumbling to keep her balance. 'Omen ate through way more of my stamina than I expected…THAT'S EVEN MORE FUN!'
Sun, despite his injuries was on her in an instant, forcing Ruby to dance back as he immediately went after her legs by breakdancing of all things. Springing up off his hands and shoulders like Mercury, he differed in that he spun and lashed out low, his fingers sometimes punching through the ground and stopping him in the middle of a kick only to rapidly reverse his spin and curve his kick up and around Ruby's guard. His heel smacked Ruby in the head, vision flashing white before her legs were suddenly flung up into the air by another sweep.
'Shit!' Ruby thought as she landed on her back, rolling away as Sun's foot came down where her stomach was and still smashing through the stone. She yelped and continued to roll as he stomped after her, each footfall coming closer and closer to squashing her before her eyes sharpened and she whipped onto her shoulders, copying Sun's move and whipping her foot into his leg right as it came down. She cartwheeled backward and slammed her foot up into his descending chin, flying back at him with a roundhouse to his open face only for her kick to curve over his head as he redirected her attack away from his head and retaliating with a gut-wrenching middle-knuckle strike to her stomach.
He may not have been at full strength, but was what left was still more than enough to render her unconscious in a few quick blows if she wasn't careful. She grit her teeth and yanked herself into the direction of his downward hammer-fist, wrapping her legs around his neck and arms around his own before roaring and using his own momentum against him to dunk him towards the floor head-first. He relaxed and spun, breaking his head and arm out of her locks and landing crouched on all fours, ready to launch himself at the standing Ruby with a tackle for her legs. A wave of pain and nausea suddenly forced him to a knee, petals flying from his mouth before Ruby's foot occupied his face with a brutal football-kick, the blow literally standing him and opening him up to Ruby's flying sidekick to his gut and her follow-up spinning back-kick to his face that snapped his head back.
She could barely yelp as he stood his ground and grabbed her outstretched foot before she could pull back, lifting her up and slamming her into the floor like she was a hammer. Her body screamed at her on impact and her foot lashed out on its own before he could slam her down again, a point-blank Crescent Rose Kick blasting into his face and sending him skidding away. With the impact of his slam still jarring her bones, she watched in stupefied amazement as he literally ate her attack. His teeth were glowing as he growled and bit down on the blade of aura, spectral golden hands crumpling the aura-blade into his mouth before he finally shut his lips, cheeks bulging and glowing a mix of red and yellow before he drew in a breath and spat at her. Like pellets from a shotgun shell, a wall of red and yellow bullets aimed to shred what remained of her aura and the thought of losing slowed the world around her.
'Can't dodge, can't block, can't attack, can't redirect, can't go through,' Her eyes were glowing again as every synapse in her brain lit up and fired off beyond its limits before it landed on the memory of her and Sun on the rooftop of Beacon. That alone instantly made her change her stance, hands slightly forward, open and relaxed with her right in front of her left, her stance simple yet extremely stable despite how exhausted her muscles were. Her movements were short, sharp, fluid and blindingly fast, petals trailing from her arms as she copied Sun's Wing-Chun, parting the curtain of aura-bullets and walking through unharmed, the focused silver fire in her eyes matched only by her fierce smile as Sun fired a glowing spectral fist towards her face. She had already switched back to her regular style, foot slashing up into the fist to fling the attack into the air and explode over her in a shower of gold.
"Tenfold Strike from the enlightened one: FO SHOUZHANG!"
Sun blasted past her and came to a sudden stop, a single smoking hand outstretched before ten spectral palms materialized around Ruby and raced towards her. She calmly slipped, weaved and pivoted away from every single one of them all in the blink of an eye before she spun and lashed straight out with her leg in a sidekick as Sun too spun around to deliver a crushing full-bodied punch using Fa-Jin. Ruby's heel pierced into Sun's knuckles before he could fully outstretch his arm and winning the clash, Sun stumbling back as his attempt to fire up more aura was rewarded with his muscles twisting and pulling violently, a fact that Ruby took full advantage of. A jab snapped Sun's head back in a shower of petals, the boy still standing his ground and retaliating with a straight kick at Ruby's ribs only for her to calmly side-step it and hit him with three more lightning-fast jabs to the stomach, heart and chin.
'I can take it!' Sun thought as he backflipped away to reset himself, 'Her techniques are sharp but she's on her last legs while I'm recovering faster and getting stronger-!'
She was already in front of him before his feet even touched the ground, a left roundhouse to his leg making him buckle and opening his face up for another jumping right-roundhouse. She didn't stop spinning again and firing off three side-kicks into his head before she landed, pivoting around his floor-tearing left uppercut and blasting a left hook of her own into his open stomach and a straight-right into his mouth.
'H-hey hold on…'
Ruby's head blurred as she weaved in a familiar infinity-symbol, the same symbol curving and turning into two before punches from all angles rained down on Sun as he was steadily being pushed back. He went for the same counter that had beaten her Dempsey-Roll before, his fist racing for her open face as she rose up for another uppercut only to pass through her head entirely as she used the momentum to explode into a leaping Gazelle Punch and clocking Sun across the jaw. He had to force himself to stand his ground now, stomping a foot into the floor hard enough to crack it as he roared and threw a right-cross at Ruby's face: she just tilted her head to the side as it blasted right past her face, stepping in and letting loose with a Release-Fist uppercut into Sun's solar plexus. He vomited another gout of petals, muscles screaming and twisting as the shockwave of her aura blasting into him felt like knives slicing away at his organs, tempting him to actually vomit as his lungs ceased to work.
'Holy crap, her techniques are still improving!?' He realized in shock, 'It's like she's getting better and better with every punch she throws, shaving off any excess movement and aura! Hell, even her damn muscle-coordination is getting better!'
He stepped in hard and threw a ripping left-hook to her body, Ruby hopping back with the direction of the blow as she used her forearm to guide it further away from her while throwing Sun off balance before her jab, cross and left roundhouse caught him full in the jaw and temple before he could even reset himself. His eyes went blank and face went slack as her kick hammered into him, every instinct in him screaming to stay standing as he felt his legs turn to jelly, only able to watch as Ruby used the momentum of her roundhouse to spin and leap into a flying right hook-kick, her heel slicing through the air in a streak of red and aimed perfectly at his temple, a shot that would end the fight.
"Red Release: CRESCENT REAP!"
"RAAAAAAAAGH!"
Sun's eyes burned yellow and power suddenly exploded from his body as he put everything he could muster into one shot, his entire body twisting to add as much speed, weight and momentum as possible into a left overhand, a spiralling blow that landed first. Ruby was speared in her open ribs before her heel could hit him, the three lowermost ribs snapping like twigs as his knuckles pulverised them. Even then her body and aura moved on its own to mitigate the damage, yet it still sent her flying almost all the way to the opposite side of the arena, tumbling across the ground limply for a few moments before she sprung up and landed in a crouch, her back almost touching the shield.
'…WHY IS IT ALWAYS MY RIBS!?' She screamed internally as she slowly stood up, keeping her breathing slow and shallow to avoid aggravating them further. She was on her last legs now, barely under a tenth of her aura left and all the damage she'd accumulated coming back to bite her hard. Even then, she was smiling. 'Damn, I thought I had you there! But you just had to summon even more power, didn't you?'
'You almost got me there,' Sun admitted as he straightened up despite the agony he was in. That explosion of strength had cost him both metaphorically and literally, barely able to control his aura as it wreaked havoc on his muscles, and even then, he too was just over a tenth of his reserves. Even now, he couldn't help but smile back at her. 'But I'd have though that would've finished you… but those damn instincts of yours are just as good as mine.'
'Thank you,' She thought with a little nod, going into her stance for the final time in the fight. 'For giving me this much fun and letting me grow this much further… but I think it's about time we ended this… and what better way to end it than…'
'…WITH A BANG!' Sun agreed, sharply bringing both open palms forward before bringing them to his side.
"KAAAA…!" He breathed out, his aura flickering like a little flame between his palms, "MEEEE…!"
"No matter the odds, I keep moving forward!" Ruby shouted as her aura swirled around her like a tornado. She closed her eyes for a moment as she got into a sprinter's stance, focusing on the spiralling sensation of her aura and turning it up as far as it could go. "RIP RIGHT THROUGH…!"
"HAAAA…!" Sun growled through grit teeth, sweat pouring down his face as a violently pulsing orb of aura formed between his palms, the glowing mirage of one of his clones appearing to surround his body. This one was larger than him, a mirage reflecting the height of his raw power as his hair began to glow. "MEEEE…!"
"DEEP STINGER!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Even the members of the crowd who didn't blink missed the moment that Ruby shot forward and Sun threw his hands out to fire a beam of aura just as fast as her, both of them clashing in the very centre of the arena with a thunderous *BOOM*. The crowd was momentarily blinded by the explosion of wind and light, the hardlight shields flexing and flickering as they were pushed to its absolute limit attempting to contain their power.
"RUBY-!" Yang started, almost leaping out of her feet in shock as she seemingly watched her sister be engulfed by the same attack that shredded a Paladin in a single go, only to realize what was going on.
"H-how is she taking it head-on!?" Jaune stuttered, doing his best to pick his jaw off the floor.
"Deep Stinger…!" Weiss realized as she watched intently, "She's using the rotational properties of Deep Stinger to dispel the straightforward force of Sun's aura, like a drill going through water. If she can hold on…!"
"Then he'll tap out!" Blake concluded as well. "She's almost there!"
"KEEP MOVING FORWARD RUBY!" Yang shouted as her heart raced with pride, "YOU CAN WIN!"
"RUUUBY! RUUUBY! RUUUBY! RUUUBY!" The crowd chanted.
"Wouldn't be too sure," Jaune's sister Mordred pointed out while still snacking on popcorn, eyes glued to the action "Look."
Sun wasn't pouring his aura into the attack: it was the bulky clone of him that fed it power, though it was rapidly losing form and cohesion with every second that passed. Sun himself was walking into and through the beam, each step of his shattering the ground beneath him as he grew in size, eyes glowing as he stomped his way towards Ruby.
"No way, no freaking WAY…!" Jaune squealed, unable to contain himself at the sight.
"GO BROLY GO-GO! GO BROLY GO-GO! GO BROLY GO-GO!" The other half of the arena chanted, everyone's emotions reaching a fever-pitch as Sun got closer and closer. The mirage of some kind of giant, monstrous ape-head flickered around him as he clenched his glowing fist, now standing over the still-spinning Ruby. He raised his fist, the spectral jaws of the beast widening.
"OOZARU FIST - EXPLOSION!"
"RED RELEASE: CRESCENT JUDEMENT!"
Her foot suddenly lashed out and blasted perfectly into his liver with a sharp *BANG* like a lightning-strike, the bursting power of Crescent Judgement just powerful enough as it began to rip away at the last of his aura.
*BOOOM*
(Music End)
His fist came down on her stomach a moment after, the combined force of their attacks blasting the beam apart and shattering both of their auras. Silence descended onto the arena as the shaking and cheering stopped dead, Ruby and Sun both collapsing to the ground entirely spent and wracked with pain. They simply stared into the ceiling, gasping for air as they did their best to recover and slow their heart-rates.
"…Ow." Sun groaned first, and Ruby broke out into fits of pained laughter as they slowly forced themselves to sit up and scoot over to each other, Ruby sighing as she leaned on his chest. They both knew the result of the fight and were more than happy with it.
"That…" Ruby spoke after a few moments, "Was… awesome."
"Agreed," Sun chuckled, "Sorry about the ribs."
"Eh, not the first time," Ruby grinned, "Besides, overcharging kinda helped knit them back together… partially."
"L-ladies and gentlemen…" Port spoke up after a moment, "After having carefully reviewed both the footage and the split-second timer… both Ruby Rose and Sun Wukong – er, Broly's aura broke at exactly the same time!"
"With that said, given the current state of the combatants," Oobleck concluded, "For the first time in history, we present to you not one, but your two winners of the Vytal Festival Tournament!"
The moment of silence was broken by the roar of the crowd, swelling music playing from the speakers as confetti rained down from the ceiling. They both smiled and raised their shaky fists for as long as they could before they were forced to drop them.
"Yep, I ain't walking straight for the next few days," Sun groaned as he scooted a bit closer to allow Ruby to more comfortably lean on him, something she did gratefully before she snickered at his choice of words.
"Giggity."
"Oh please," Sun laughed along with her before his own ribs cried in protest. "…jeez, I think I'll be pretty much defenceless for a while no thanks to you."
"You make it sound like it wasn't fun," Ruby pointed out before she turned beet red as the smile he shot back at her: he was looking directly at her, and their faces were closer than she'd realized.
"That was the greatest fight of my life," He said earnestly, "And I've got nothing but respect for you."
"…is…" Ruby's voice was a little lower, a little quieter, her tone sending a thrill up Sun's spine, "Is respect the only thing you feel for me?"
"…no." He said, his tone softening as he leaned in a little closer. "Do… do you know how else I feel?"
"I think I can guess," Ruby giggled slightly, her head spinning a bit, "…and I think what I feel is the same."
His hand found hers and their fingers intwined on instinct, neither looking away from the other as they closed the distance and gently pressed their lips together. They melted into each other near-instantly, Ruby dizzy with the sheer heat and solidity of Sun and the latter was caught up in the supple, soft and sweet sensation of the former. They kissed until they had to breathe, noses touching and faces pink before they shyly laughed at each other as they noticed the teasing whooping and hooting coming from their friends and the crowd.
"…So uh," Sun said, "I like you. Like, like-like you."
"…uh-huh," Ruby nodded, a mischievous glint to her eyes, "I like-like you too, like a lot… but, like, I'd like some more proof from you."
She squealed slightly as Sun grinned and swept her into another, deeper kiss, Ruby draping her arms around his neck and pulling him close as his hands went to her waist and easily pulled her into his lap, the two lost in each other once more as they drowned out the cheering of the crowd and the flying confetti. Disregarding the pain of their injuries, this would go down as one of the happiest days of their lives.
(TWBY Continued...)
Maybe not the conclusion you were expecting, but I do hope that the fight was at least a wild ride that you all enjoyed, not to mention, Ruby and Sun officially become a thing! Nothing really lorewise this chapter, just a bunch of hands and feet being thrown for the pure joy of it, essentially the very reason this fic was born and how canon Rwby TRULY began. Now all that said, love you all so much, take care, and peace out!
