Good news is my Beta Wishez finished his finals at college for the year so he finally had time to review. Let's give him a big round of applause for helping. This chapter was a little rougher than normal, so he had his work cut out for him. Other than that, I really don't have much to say. The Vytal Festival is beginning and this story is about to diverge significantly from canon. Things are going to change and someone already noticed something Neo did in the last chapter.
If you like my stories and feel like tossing a few bucks my way, it means a lot. If not, that's fine too. This is NOT to guilt anyone. Regardless of what happens, I'm going to continue to write stuff I enjoy. But if you are interested, see the address down below. (This site doesn't like websites.)
P a treon . com (Slash) Darkbetrayer
Thanks again to Wishez for agreeing to Beta this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
"Only two assassination attempts. I'm almost disappointed."
Sienna sat down in the skybox, looking out over the stadium as thousands of people filed in. From there, it was hard to tell who was human and who was Faunus. Just an endless blur of people coming to enjoy the show. If only it were that easy. Part of the woman would have preferred if the White Fang never needed to have existed, and she would be down there with the others or watching the tournament on a TV back home. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The Kingdoms of Remnant refused to accept Faunus as equals. It was the reason she was here now, in their current predicament.
"If you hadn't stirred people up at the conference, you might have had zero," Touma muttered from next to her.
"Something got you down?" Sienna smirked, looking over at him. "This is pretty standard for my line of work."
The first assassination attempt had been pretty straightforward, though with much less collateral damage than at the hotel. Touma's group had just reached the top of the stairs and were about to enter their skybox when one of the servers pulled out a gun and aimed at Sienna. Pretty brazen, as Atlas security guards were less than twenty feet away. Gunfire rang out, but Accelerator had reached out a hand and deflected it right back.
The man didn't expect the bullets to go right back into his handgun, causing it to explode. As he yelled out in pain, Neo slipped beside him and whacked the guy in the back of the head. The man collapsed before the security could even draw their own weapons. Sienna looked at the gun and shook her head. Such a small weapon wouldn't have even broken her Aura.
Neo thwarted the second attempt.
A tray of ice and beverages had been provided to the VIP box as it would be a walk to go down to the concession stand every time they were thirsty. It also prevented them from being mobbed by crowds, as Sienna was sure to draw attention, let alone Ironwood and Ozpin. Touma had been reaching for a bottle of water, trying to calm his nerves and prevent himself from fuming even more at High Leader, when Neo slapped the bottle out of his hand.
While Touma's bottle wasn't poisoned, some of the others in the tray had been.
Sloppily done, indicating someone without assassination experience masterminded it.
"You still haven't realized you're causing more problems long-term than your solving," Touma replied. "You shouldn't have to be subjected to this, but it requires effort on your part too!"
"I should have to put in an effort not to be assassinated?" Sienna mused mockingly. "Fascinating suggestion."
"Are you two going to keep bitching like school girls forever?" Accelerator mumbled, and Neo turned to glare at him. "We already know what you two desire."
It was more of the fact that Accelerator was interrupting her entertainment, but the mute girl replied with a slight nod and a smile instead.
"If you stopped antagonizing people, it wouldn't cloud your message!" Touma shot back at Sienna, ignoring Accelerator.
Touma, still as adamant as ever, tried to drill his message into Sienna's mind.
"Tell you what, if you make some large, lasting changes to a kingdom, I'll follow your lead." Sienna rolled her eyes. "But now, I can't wait to talk to Ozpin about his lapse in security. For all we know, Ironwood had someone plant that poison. You would think checking refreshments beforehand should be a mandatory check."
Touma winced at her words. She was right. It was unacceptable that something like this happened.
"I doubt he would have done something like this," Accelerator huffed. "That man wouldn't resort to something like poison. If he wanted you dead, he would just have a sniper take you out and then use them as a scapegoat in a mock trial."
"Oh, you know him pretty well." Sienna glanced over at him. "Yes, that was just a joke about the poison. I know how he operates."
"Seriously, stop encouraging her!" Touma fumed at Accelerator.
Footsteps approached the door to their lounge, and Neo turned her head, hand instantly reaching for her parasol. Not that she thought the person was an assassin, but just by instinct. A few seconds' delay in her work could mean the difference between life and death. When the door opened and she recognized the man, Neo relaxed, almost unnoticeable to anyone who wasn't actively observing her.
"Sienna," Ozpin bowed after stepping in. "I heard about what happened, and I'm here to let you know that we are investigating every staff member, from security guards to janitors, a second time. You have my sincerest apologies."
"Apologies would hardly do me any good if I'm dead." Sienna pointed out sternly but then relaxed. "I am grateful to my security detail, though. They are incredibly reliable."
"Our students are always quite dependable and tend to surpass all expectations." Ozpin nodded toward Touma, Accelerator, and Neo. "You requested them because you also saw that in them, I presume?"
"Of… course…." Sienna's smirk indicated that was not the real reason. "There was one other issue we discovered after the gunman you might want to investigate."
"Oh?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" Sienna didn't answer at first and merely set the drink on the table.
"I wouldn't drink that if I was you," Sienna told him. "Not if you value your health. It's full of poison. If it weren't for this young woman here, someone would have ingested it." Neo puffed out her chest, and Touma facepalmed. He had already dealt enough with Neo's bragging about being a hero.
"Poison?" Ozpin repeated, looking concerned as he opened the bottle. "Are you positive?" Neo nodded and gestured to her nose. Ozpin leaned forward and sniffed the drink. A slight almond smell waffled into his nose. "I see. Yes, this will also need to be investigated. James will have to assess his background check policies. We will need to increase our security checks of our employees immediately."
"Of course, you can investigate and up security all you want, but will anything happen?" Sienna mused. "I still have my doubts about you, but you still have some of my respect, Ozpin. Don't do anything to lose it."
"You honor me, Miss Khan." Ozpin put a hand on his heart. Touma might have thought he was being sarcastic if it was anyone else, but he knew Ozpin really wanted equality between humans and Faunus. "I do hope, though, when we give the opening speech, you might deliver a little bit of… tact."
"There is a time and place for everything, and ruining the Vytal Tournament is not one of my missions," Sienna assured him.
"Really?" Touma blurted out. Neo slapped his mouth with her hand and covered it while rolling her eyes.
"Finally, you shut him up." Accelerator huffed.
There wasn't much to do after that. Sienna didn't move around, leaving Touma and Accelerator with nothing to do. If she needed to pass on a message, she either used her Scroll or one of her White Fang guards would stop by, and she would have them pass it on. Other than that, all they did was send a few messages to their friends and watch the stadium fill up. There was a lot of excitement below as everyone looked forward to the tournament.
Touma wished he was down there with the others and watching over being stuck as security detail.
Things got a little tense when Ironwood showed up. He didn't say anything except reaffirm what Ozpin said about them doing another thorough check with all the staff with access to the colosseum. A weight as heavy as a Bullhead hung in the air over them, making the skybox very uncomfortable. Ozpin sighed and shared a look with the unlucky boy, reflecting his own discomfort at the situation. Touma felt a twinge of pity as the headmaster sat between the two arch-enemies, while he only had to deal with Neo hanging on him, bored there was no more fighting.
The blaring music covering the stadium finally shut down after what felt like an eternity, and two familiar men spoke on the megaphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The voice boomed out over the stadium. "Welcome to the Vytal Festival hosted by the Kingdom of Vale. I'm Peter Port, a professor at the prestigious Beacon Huntsman Academy. With me is Professor Bartholomew-..."
"Doctor!" Bartholomew stated.
"Pardon, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck," Peter amended. "We will be your hosts during this most exciting tournament. Before we go into details on the brackets for those who may be tuning into the Vytal Festival Tournament for the first time, we have a short speech from the Headmaster of Beacon, along with a couple of esteemed guests!"
A spotlight shone on the skybox as Ozpin stood up and stepped forward to the microphone on the ledge.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Ozpin announced. "I first wish to welcome all of you to the festivities of the Vytal Festival. We are about to start off the first round of the Vytal Tournament, which I'm sure many of you eagerly await." He paused as the audience cheered and clapped. "But I hope you excuse an old man's ramblings. Let us not forget why the Vytal festival was started in the first place. Its history is significant to everyone here."
He waved an arm out to all the spectators.
"The four kingdoms, Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo, all have unique customs and traditions, living in different environments and surviving against the threat of Grimm. This tournament was started as a form of cooperation between the nations. So that we can have the new generation meet their peers, learn, and grow together. Test their skills against each other and make new friends along the way. The festival allows us to share all of our unique traditions with each other, from food to music to technology. But, sometimes, we have a little too much fun to remember the history.
Let us remember the Vytal Festival was to celebrate the end of the Great War. The mistakes we had made over free expression and individuality. This day, we celebrate diversity, the things that make us unique. But those very differences also make us stronger. We can cover what others lack and work together with different skills and outlooks to solve problems we never imagined. Together, we are stronger than any of us are alone!"
Another round of cheering erupted.
"It's during this time, I think to myself, am I doing what I can to celebrate diversity, to encourage inclusiveness?" Ozpin took a moment to ask some contemplating questions. "How can I improve? I always look at myself rather than trying to blame others. Doing so this year, with all the excitement that has occurred in recent days, I realized there was something I could do. The Vytal festival was supposed to celebrate diversity between the four kingdoms, but is that enough? There is a kingdom that has been ignored for far too long. They should be allowed the opportunity to join us if they choose to do so."
A heavy silence fell over the crowd as many looked at each other in confusion. None of them knew what Ozpin was talking about. It sunk into Touma's team's mind, though. His eyes widened as he stared at Ozpin, while Neo's jaw dropped. Even Accelerator looked up with curiosity.
Ozpin then turned to Sienna.
"Our conversations have been enlightening, Miss. Khan. Therefore, after this festival, I plan to contact Menagerie and start working with them to set up a Huntsman Academy. I expect they will be welcomed as entirely accepted participants in this tournament when it has been established. Until then, I hope we can welcome their unique cultures and traditions alongside our own."
The response was mixed.
Yet, mixed felt like an understatement.
A tidal wave of sound, a mix of shock, awe, excitement, and anger, washed over the arena as the aftermath of the White Fang's Breach was still being felt by many. The violence that Sienna encouraged, which led to the Breach, had left a lingering resentment among some in the crowd. However, on the other hand, Sienna had also publicly supported a 'rogue' White Fang cell, and this had caused several people to stand up and boo in disapproval.
Surprisingly, there was quite a bit of support. Every, or nearly every, Faunus stood up and cheered, along with plenty of supporters. Sienna's conference provided much evidence that news reporters, particularly Lisa Lavender, ran with. It was getting hard for people to ignore the discrimination. Once they knew that discrimination wasn't just people complaining about nothing, many began to notice it. Plenty of people didn't support racism against Faunus, but they wouldn't necessarily know how to help them.
Ironwood and Sienna both were staring at Ozpin like deer in headlights. Ozpin had not told either of them about his decision. When he had time to do so, none of them knew either. Touma was sure the headmaster was always busy with everything going on, including working with Eliza to get them back home.
'Did I have something to do with his decision?' Touma wondered silently. 'With everything that occurred between me and Sienna?'
"And now I feel I have droned on long enough," Ozpin continued. "But please welcome my personal guest, Miss Sienna Khan, the leader of the White Fang. We are working together to solve the problems that ravage our communities. It was thanks to her insight and willingness to meet with us that we could come up with a solution to help all of our kingdoms."
Oh, it turns out the headmaster had an ulterior motive.
While it appeared he was truthful about working with Menagerie to have them join the Vytal Festival as equals. He hadn't told Sienna about it ahead of time to put her on the spot, just like how she did to him and Ironwood back during the conference. To her credit, after the brief moment of stupor, the Faunus stood up and smiled.
Ozpin could be petty at times as well.
"Thank you, Ozpin." Sienna's face was an interesting combination of irritation and excitement. No one would have been able to see if they weren't up in the box. "I'm glad to hear that our conversations are bearing fruit. Though, I do wish you had warned me ahead of time. I could have prepared a better speech. That was quite a shock."
"You have caused quite a few waves yourself, Ms. Khan." Ozpin reminded her, eyes twinkling. "But please, would you do us the honor of giving us a small speech?"
"After everything you've done," Sienna replied with words like poisoned honey. "Of course." She stepped up to the microphone as Ozpin sat down. "Many of you probably know me. I am Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang."
Boos and cheers greeted her words. Like Ozpin, she let the audience get it out of her system. The woman paused, and her eyes glanced around, even back toward Ozpin and Ironwood, before falling on Touma, Accelerator, and Neo. Quickly, as if she was merely checking her surroundings, she turned back to face the large sea of people.
"Many of you believe that we are terrorists," Sienna continued. "And under the law, that may be true, but none of us wanted to be. It's not an exaggeration to say that we were forced to protect ourselves. The same way the kingdoms of old joined forces to protect themselves from the Grimm or each other. Unlike them, the White Fang is composed of Faunus from all over Remnant. We have people in every city, every town, every kingdom. All of us have different cultures and beliefs."
A pause from her let this sink in. It could have been a thinly disguised threat. Secretly telling everyone that the White Fang could strike at any time. anywhere. Her following words, however, painted a different story.
"So we understand the difficulties it takes to join so many unique groups of people together. The Vytal Festival is something many of us, from children to adults, look toward every two years. It gives us hope that one day, we will achieve true equality. But it also teaches us that freedom does not come free. We must work for it, or it comes crashing down around us. False freedom, built on straw, will never last.
Like you, I was also shocked at Ozpin's declaration. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Menagerie has grown in size. We have individuals with Aura and strength that protect us from Grimm like any other. If we set up a Huntsman Academy and join the Vytal Festival, then it would help show the world we are just like you. The White Fang wants kingdoms to exist, to grow in prosperity. All we ask is that we Faunus are allowed to coexist as equals alongside everyone else."
The High Leader turned to Ozpin.
"Your speech gives me hope for the future, and can maybe pave the way for no more violence. As long as that hope is not misplaced."
"I do not believe it will be," Ozpin assured her with a smile and turned back to the microphone. "Our last guest is General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy." He stepped aside as Ironwood stood up.
"The Vytal Festival is a time of remembering the past, of what we strive for," James told the crowd. "These tournament battles you are all about to witness, represent a reminder to strive for excellence and never mediocrity. The students here deserve the highest honor and respect we can give. They train every day, fight the forces of Grimm to keep us safe, and rise to any challenge that comes their way. This year is the eightieth anniversary of the Great War, where many lives were lost for their own beliefs. Let us have a brief moment to remember those fallen souls."
Silence fell over the stadium. Even beforehand, when the stadium was nothing but shouts in screeches, everyone seemed to hold respect for the past and the people who took part in the war all those years ago.
"Thank you. Good luck to all the competitors, and may the best team win!"
The crowd cheered and stomped their feet, eager to start the tournament.
"Excellent speeches from our guests, wouldn't you say, Barty?" Peter asked over the loudspeakers.
"Indeed, if the headmaster's plan comes to fruition, this could be the start of a new era," Bartholomew agreed. "But no more delay. I'm sure our guests are interested in starting the tournament. Let's explain the brackets, shall we?"
"Thank you, James." Ozpin shook his hand as the microphone turned off. "A little shorter than I expected though. No rebuttal to Sienna's speech?"
"There's a time and place for politics." Ironwood glared at Sienna. "At least you managed to keep it to a minimum."
"I only tied the current environment to what the Vytal Festival is about," Sienna assured him. "The conference was about the White Fang and forming peace with Vale."
"I'm sure if I had given you more time, your speech would have been even more grandiose," Ozpin assured her before turning to Touma and his team. "James and I are going to be around here for a while. Why don't you take the time to visit your friends and wish them good luck? It would do wonders for morale. We'll contact you when you need to return."
"Right…" Touma wasn't sure if their leaving was a good thing or not. Part of him was relieved to get away for some time. The other part didn't want Sienna to be alone with Ironwood and cause more problems. Ozpin was right in the fact that he did want to wish his friends good luck. "Okay, we'll just be going then."
Accelerator got up without so much as a single annoyed word and left. He had someone he wanted to see. Touma had to let him pass and then grab Neo's wrist to pull the girl after him. Her mismatched eyes were swiveling between Ironwood and Sienna—disappointment on her face.
"No, you can't watch them argue."
Neo pouted the entire way down to the main floor.
"DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?!"
"I-I-I….d-d-d-..."
Touma tried to answer the raven-haired cat Faunus as she violently shook his shoulders, but nothing came out but stammering as Blake demanded answers. In her haste, she was actually causing him to be unable to answer. He and his team had gone down to the main colosseum after being dismissed, only to run into Team RWBY, who seemed to have been waiting for them. Blake had pounced before anyone could react the moment they came into view.
"Easy, kitty cat, calm down." Yang came to the rescue and pulled Blake off the poor unlucky boy.
"T-Thanks…" Touma panted, hand over his chest. While he didn't hear exactly what Blake was referring to, the boy knew instinctively what the girl wanted to know. "No, no we did not. Ozpin sprung this up on everyone. Even Sienna didn't know. She was just as shocked as the rest of us."
"My father texted me about it the moment he said that." Weiss gritted her teeth. "Saying he's not happy about that is an understatement."
"Because he's racist?" Accelerator asked.
"Mostly, and if more people believe Faunus deserve equal rights, he won't be able to abuse poor Faunus as easily anymore financially." Weiss grumbled. "I did some investigating after Blake and my long… discussion… about the White Fang."
"But isn't this a good thing?" Ruby asked, spinning her head around to look at every one. "Menagerie will be officially the fifth kingdom."
Neo reached over and patted her head like she was humoring a small child.
"Why are you doing that?!" Ruby demanded, waving her arms.
"It's not that simple." Blake had finally calmed down and Yang let her go. "There's going to be pushback at all levels: politicians, citizens, even kingdoms. I doubt Atlas is going to just agree to recognize Menagerie. There's too much hurt due to their conflicts with Sienna's White Fang! Look at how fast she resorts to violence and makes Faunus look bad!"
They all knew what incident she was referring to.
"I mean… everyone kind of supported her." Yang pointed out reasonably. "I say that's a good sign."
"That might have been more about Cardin being a bully than being a racist," Weiss suggested, thinking back. "He's not nice to a lot of people, even if he's mostly hostile to Faunus."
"I know why…" Touma trailed off with a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. "It has to do with the Karabel Bombing." He spent a few minutes explaining what he knew about it to the others. Most of their faces darkened at this, and Ruby was fidgeting.
"We learned about that in school…" Ruby muttered. "It was a pretty big event. So that was really the White Fang?"
"Sienna's White Fang." Blake spat out, venom in her voice. "Ones who resort to violence." She looked up at Touma. "But this proves it! She's causing more problems in the long run! Her actions only cause short-term gains but will ultimately hurt Faunus!"
"That's what I told her." Touma nodded in agreement, remembering their arguments. "If anything, she didn't completely dismiss it." Sienna had looked troubled at the action. While willing to attack those that hurt her kind, she still didn't approve of attacking innocent civilians. "So there's hope there."
"What do you think?" Weiss asked Accelerator. "About this situation."
"It's not like I know your political struggles very well." The albino shrugged in an evasive way. If anyone else asked him, he would have called them stupid. But since it was Weiss? "You can't change people's minds very easily. Once they make a decision, they tend to keep it, regardless of what facts tell them. They will even pick and choose what they hear to support their preconceived notions. Sometimes, violence is needed. To shake up the foundation of a corrupt system." He scoffed. "You think those assholes in charge will give up power because Ozpin said so. No, they will squeeze every loophole in their corrupt laws to stop this."
"Unless the people rise up against them?" Yang asked. "Revolution?"
"Or you get enough people to vote them out." Weiss rolled her eyes. "You jump to violence too fast, Yang. It's difficult sometimes, but it has happened. There's a threshold that politicians have to stay above. Once the public likes something too much, they can't go against it. That would just lead them to lose their jobs."
"So, was Ozpin targeting the people in the kingdoms with his speech?" Ruby asked no one in particular.
"Maybe?" Touma shrugged. "That guy is a mystery."
"Just be careful around him," Accelerator muttered to Weiss. "There's something off with that guy."
"He's always been really helpful, though." Weiss didn't want to dismiss her boyfriend's worries. Maybe Accelerator was just being over-cautious, but he was pretty good at determining if someone was up to something. With his history, he was used to being surrounded by those types of people. Happiness welled up from within as Accelerator was worried about her. "I'll keep an eye out, though."
"At the very least, if Ozpin is starting to move, that means more people will be coming here to Vale or even Beacon…" Blake rubbed her chin, lost in thought as she continued to mumble to herself. "I could probably investigate, maybe set up some wiretaps… I know how Atlas scans for…"
"BLAKE!"
The Faunus girl jumped up as her entire team yelled at her in unison.
Neo grabbed Touma's arm for support as she was laughing at them. Those two also knew what Blake was like when trying to investigate the White Fang. It was how she and Touma met. Just because that event ended well, didn't mean they all did or would. Blake blushed and at least had the courtesy to look sheepish.
"I wouldn't be risking myself…" Blake muttered.
"Touma, tell her!" Ruby pointed at him and pouted.
"Er… am I really the best…?" Touma trailed off as Ruby somehow glared and pouted while looking adorable all at the same time. "...cough… I mean, Blake, you need to listen to your team leader and not go off on your own without them." Amber eyes narrowed at him as he spoke in a monotone. "What? You try arguing with her!" Ruby puffed out her chest and looked pleased with herself.
An illusionary whip cracked next to him as Neo conjured one with a grin.
"Yeah, here I thought Neo had you whipped, idiot." Accelerator scoffed. "Turned out it was the squirt."
"You can't argue with Ruby," Weiss informed him. "She wears you down until you agree."
"Weiss gets it!" Ruby high-fived Yang, who was snickering next to her. "I'm the team leader for a reason. My super leading skills."
"Riiiiiiiiigghhttt." Weiss rolled her eyes and decided not to argue. It was probably best to change the topic of discussion now before Blake went and did something stupid again. "We're one of the first teams competing against Team ABRN from Haven. Are you able to watch or will you be performing security detail?"
"We've been relieved from duty for now," Accelerator answered. "At least until we get called back. The brat will want me to watch the tournament with her. I assume she's with the knight's team?"
"Yeah, Jaune is oddly good with kids," Weiss admitted almost fondly. She had warmed up to him once he started dating Pyrrha and didn't ask her out anymore, along with just being overall happy being in a relationship herself. Beacon had been the right choice for her to get away from her father in Atlas. "Though… I'm still not sure if they really plan to use her as a battery for Nora…"
"From the way she talked about it, they are." Accelerator looked at her, almost pitying. "I suggest you have a plan ready for that." Neo mimed pouring something, and he ignored her.
"We have a plan for JNPR if we face each other." Yang smacked her fist into her palm. "Pyrrha's the problem, but I should be able to hold her long enough for the others-..."
"I thought we agreed not to spill team secrets." Blake covered Yang's mouth.
"Mmmm hmph?" Yang answered, her mouth blocked, then licked Blake's hand. The raven-haired girl pulled back instantly and wiped it on her pants, glaring daggers at her blonde partner.
"Yo, Touma, my man!" Yang slapped her hand on his back. "You're going to root for us, right?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Touma asked, causing Ruby and Blake to smile at him.
"See Yang!" Ruby huffed at her sister. "I told you he's on our side!"
"What if we're facing Team JNPR?" Yang asked, her smile widening. "Are you still going to cheer us on?"
"Hmm, that is a good question." Blake agreed, also eyeing Touma. "Will you?"
"I was going to support both you and Jaune's team." Touma's danger sense was going off, and he stepped back.
"But us more, right?" Ruby stepped forward. "Accelerator's supporting us!"
"Yep." Accelerator was grinning, but not because he was happy to agree with them. Watching Touma squirm was amusing, like how Neo enjoyed Ironwood and Sienna arguing. Of course, one person only wanted to cause more trouble. Pink letters formed in the air above Touma's head.
'So I need to support JNPR then.'
Neo snickered as Touma waved his hand and broke them apart.
"I'm going to support both of your teams," The boy said. "You're all my friends, but so are they."
"We're just teasing you, man," Yang assured him.
"Maybe…" Blake mused.
"Damn, kitty got claws today."
Touma used that as his cue to leave before, he got wrapped up in more teasing. Neo was skipping along beside him, leaving Accelerator along with Team RWBY. The albino didn't seem keen to leave. Weiss glanced at him and moved her hand slightly to touch his with her finger. He wasn't big on public displays of affection, but Weiss still wanted a little bit. She received a shock, though.
His hand wrapped around her.
"What?" Accelerator asked, noticing her looking at her.
"N-nothing." Weiss blushed and faced away. Yang's eyes instantly zoomed in on this and then down to their hands intertwined. Her expression turned from interest to surprise before an evident smirk formed on her face. Uncharacteristically, she didn't say anything, and Weiss was immensely grateful. Of course, this meant Yang would probably be asking for something later.
"We should probably get ready for our match," Ruby told them. "We're in the second round."
"Accelerator, quick question." Blake interrupted. "I need your opinion on something." People did not typically ask that of him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Based on what you have seen of Sienna. Do you think she's serious about peace?"
Her question was met with silence.
Accelerator didn't immediately respond, instead taking a moment to ponder the question. The woman before him was a master at planning and strategizing at multiple levels - a skill that only people like Ozpin and Ironwood could match. Despite their careful planning, unexpected events like Ozpin's declaration had thrown them off, forcing them to choose their words and responses cautiously. He didn't see them as evil, just frustrating to deal with.
In contrast to the endless darkness that often haunted people from his world, Sienna's eyes lacked that same haunting quality. But that didn't make her any less troubling. He couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust when comparing her to someone like a Kihara - ruthless individuals who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Sienna admitted to being willing to do whatever it took to succeed, but he sensed a line she wouldn't cross. When Touma questioned her about the innocent lives lost in the bombing, he saw a flicker of genuine distress in her eyes - a reaction he knew a Kihara would never have shown. Despite her flaws, he couldn't help but feel that there was still hope for her. If Touma could just get through to her, she might be capable of changing for the better.
"She's skeptical and is trying to figure out what Ozpin's angle is," Accelerator answered slowly. "And she doesn't trust Ironwood at all. Neither do I…"
"Don't you work for him?" Yang pointed out. "With the tech development stuff like the shield generator?"
"I make sure to limit my time with him." The albino huffed.
"He's not that bad!" Weiss protested, having known Ironwood the longest. "Yes, he can be strict sometimes, but he's a general and headmaster. A lot of people look up to him.
"Anyway, Sienna has her own reasons for being here," Accelerator wasn't going to argue with Weiss about this. She had told them her history with that man who treated her better than her own father. "I don't know what those are, but now she's curious about Ozpin's plan. If she thinks it will work, she'll latch onto it."
"That's… good to hear." Blake rubbed her arm. "She's not completely absorbed in violence like…" She trailed off and looked away. "Ruby's right. We should get ready for our match."
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, just thinking about something." Yang reached over and patted her on the back. They knew about Blake's and Touma's meet-up with Adam.
"Good luck." Accelerator told Weiss. "You'll win, right?"
"I'm fighting up to the 2v2," Weiss answered. "We decided Yang will be in the final rounds in the 1v1 division."
"Ah, so you'll lose then. I'll let the brat know."
"HEY!" Yang shouted, as the rest of her team giggled. The blonde then blinked and stared at him. "Did you just… make a joke?"
Accelerator raised an eyebrow as he realized he did, in fact, do just that.
Annoying people were rubbing off on him.
Touma found himself still determining the whereabouts of Team JNPR, even after messaging Jaune for their location. The sprawling arena, teeming with a throng of people, could have been more apparent, and it could easily lead one astray. However, after a while, he stumbled upon a room dedicated to contestants to prepare and store their gear in the coliseum. As he drew closer, he heard Nora's voice emanating from the room, and the door was left open.
"...so right before we go in, you'll let me have it with everything you have!"
"MISAKA understands the plan, MISAKA agrees as MISAKA is excited to be helpful in such an important event."
"Wow…" Touma shook his head as he found himself grinning. Neo was giving the thumbs-up sign. "You're actually going to do it. I thought you were joking."
"I told you, I asked." Jaune laughed, hoisting Last Order up over his shoulders as the girl cheered. "It's perfectly legal. Like Weiss preparing Dust to use with her Semblance."
"It would be the same as charging a battery to deliver an electric charge into Nora." Ren explained. "She's not getting help during the competition, so it's perfectly within the rules."
"I was a little nervous, so I encouraged Jaune to ask." Pyrrha held a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter.
"I can't wait to show Remnant the power of Team JNPR!" Nora raised a fist into the air.
"Team JNPR! MISAKA repeats as MISAKA raises her own fist into the air!"
"Already converted her away from Weiss and Accelerator." Touma mused. "Well, I don't think Accelerator would care, but Weiss and Ruby might be hurt."
"MISAKA will root for them to do well too, MISAKA assures you as MISAKA admits she thought about it. MISAKA wants everyone to do their best."
"Yeah, same here." Touma agreed. "We'll cheer them on together."
Neo tilted her head and shrugged before spinning her parasol absentmindedly.
"How is it being Sienna's security guards?" Jaune asked.
"About the same as when we first met her." Touma answered grimly. "She hasn't changed and we argue a lot."
"You would think she would be happy Ozpin is willing to help set up a Huntsman Academy In Menagerie," Nora pointed out. "That's a huge deal."
"She's skeptical, isn't she." Ren realized.
"That is putting it mildly." Touma scoffed. "But it's a start."
"I'm willing to help in any way I can," Pyrrha interjected. "If I need to publicly speak up in favor of it, I will."
"Are you sure?" Jaune asked worriedly.
"It's about time I use my status as a celebrity for good." Pyrrha huffed and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried about what will happen to me, but honestly, even if I lose some spoke deals, I'm dedicated to being a Huntress, not a star."
"That's not it." Jaune shook his head. "I'm more worried some people might resort to violence against you."
"I can protect myself, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled. "But I'm glad you worry."
Neo fake gagged at the touching moment and Nora giggled.
"They've been super close since the conference where Pyrrha introduced him to the world." The ginger whispered to Touma and Neo. "It's been so exciting. And Pyrrha's started being a lot more outgoing." Ren nodded as he had to agree with his partner. Pyrrha always used to go with the flow, doing whatever they wanted. It was hard to pull out of her sometimes to see what she wanted to do. Ever since the dance, she had been willing to say no.
A very positive change.
"We're free until they decide to call us, but after the argument Sienna and I had, along with Ozpin's surprise, she probably doesn't want to talk with us right now." Touma considered.
"What was the argument about?" Jaune inquired, setting down Last Order so she could go get her Scroll from her bag. Now they could talk without her overhearing. Last Order was a great girl, but she had a hard time keeping secrets.
"I found out why Cardin is racist, and it turns out it's partially the White Fang's fault… well, a good chunk of it," The boy explained. "One of his friends was injured in an attack they set up when he was young. It doesn't excuse him from being a bullying dick, but Sienna at least knows that her actions have negative consequences. It hurts her goals in the long run. She's so stubborn, though!" He threw his hands up into the air.
"Tell me about it…" Jaune mumbled, remembering their first meeting. "On the plus side, she hasn't tried publicly humiliating you today, and Ozpin is taking all her attention."
"What could possibly go wrong?" Ren commented, making Nora burst out laughing.
"Oh, crap, there's something I should tell you, and I should have told Team RWBY." Touma realized as he remembered what Roman told him and what he told Ozpin. "I think some people are trying to ruin this event for some reason." Neo's eyes widened, and she gestured at him to be quiet by moving her hand across her throat.
"Huh?" Pyrrha looked confused. "Why?"
"No idea, but I heard from…" The boy looked around. "...Torchwick. I met him recently, and he mentioned some people were going to try something near the end of the tournament."
"Do you want us to keep an eye out?" Nora asked. "We can do that. Subtlety is our middle name!" Neo raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, before glaring at Touma.
Yes, he knew this was a risk, but he wanted to warn them.
"We can keep an eye out," Jaune promised. "Ozpin knows, right?"
"Of course," Touma assured him. "Now, I need to go back and warn Team RWBY."
"I would advise against that." Ren suggested. "Team RWBY is too well known and dealt with the White Fang multiple times. If someone is planning something, they will be monitored. Going to them might risk others catching on."
"Ah… I guess so…" Touma rubbed his head. "Blake's caused some trouble." Neo raised her hands and gestured at him like that was the understatement of the century.
And it was.
Not that he would ever tell her that. Touma liked being friends with her. That night in the medical wing still slipped into his thoughts now and then, but he tried to tell himself that it was just because Blake was emotional from seeing Adam. Adam was a likely candidate for causing problems. It was just, why would he attack if Sienna was here? She did mention she usually let him run wild a bit. A rabid dog of sorts, but would she risk herself? What benefit would it be for Adam to attack her?
Or was Adam planning something else?
No, Roman had said there was another group that made him work with the White Fang. Adam wanted revenge due to his warped views. Someone else was just taking advantage of this. Like when they tried to assassinate Sienna Khan right before the headmaster's announcement. No wonder Ozpin wished to stay there. Yet multiple attempts had gotten through, even if Neo and Accelerator stopped them. Could Ozpin do something more?
"For now, be careful and focus on your matches." Touma tried to brush off his worry. There was a chance nothing would come of this, and they did have Ironwood's military here to help. Not like a random town outside the walls with limited troops. "I'll cheer for you guys."
"MISAKA will too, MISAKA concurs as MISAKA is waiting eagerly for your fight." Last Order returned, smiling brightly.
"We're in the afternoon," Jaune informed her. "So you'll have to wait. But we can cheer on Team RWBY together."
"Let's go!" Nora raised her fist.
Touma found himself wrapped up in the excitement.
Superpowered tournaments weren't unusual. Back home in Academy City, they had those all the time, mostly in the form of sports festivals. Different teams would compete in a sport using their esper abilities. Things tended to get violent, but it was still a sports festival. The goal usually wasn't designed to hurt your opponent in the end. Minus a few full-contact sports. The tournament in Vale? This was designed to show off the powers of Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale. People who were designed to fight and kill Grimm.
Of course, it was violent and with a much bigger crowd.
"What's the wheel for? MISAKA asks as MISAKA notices the hologram above the stadium beginning to spin." Last Order pointed up from her seat next to Accelerator.
"Were you paying attention at all?" Accelerator sighed. "They randomly generate the field so no one can have a home-field advantage. It's divided in half." The wheel stopped and showed the two. "Ice and fire huh?"
Now it was Accelerator's turn to be impressed. He had expected them to use hard light or make illusions of battlefields, not bring our fully made ones from under the Arena. This was pretty extravagant, and Last Order was sitting at the edge of her seat watching. Half the stadium was filled with red rock and red crystals with heat coming out. The other half was a blue field with ice structures. Only the small ring in the middle where Team RWBY and their opponents, Team ABRN, stood normally. Accelerator didn't know ABRN on any personal level, but he knew who they were. They shared class time with people, and while he didn't normally pay attention to names, they sunk in when he kept on hearing them
The moment the bell rang to begin, both teams charged and began to fight.
Yang went straight into trading blows with the leader of Team ABRN, a dark-skinned girl with platinum blonde hair named Arslan, wearing a yellow robe and a red sash. Shockwaves were echoing on impact. While Accelerator didn't worry about the force of blows held due to his ability, he could tell both of them were trading powerful punches. There weren't many students besides Nora who could keep up with Yang in a straight power match.
Touma's eyes were fixated on Blake, who was facing a green-haired girl in a purple hoodie named Reese, riding the most unusual weapon any of them had seen; a hoverboard. With the ice field, it actually gave her a mobility advantage. She didn't have to worry about the slippery surface. Touma wasn't sure how she would attack with it, but his question was answered instantly. Kicking the back of the board, Reeze propelled it like a rocket at Blake, who was forced to knock it back with her sheath. Reeze punched the board and thrust it right back at Blake like a weird game of tennis. Blake knocked it to the side, but it spun in midair to come back to Reese, who used it like a club against Blake's sword.
The tanned-skinned pink-haired guy on Team ABRN named Nadir began to approach Yang, who was knocked back on the ice and slipped, allowing Arslan to send her flying. He was about to raise his gun at the blonde and lower her Aura to thirty percent to knock her out, when an Ice Dust bullet blasted him, freezing his legs. Across the field, Ruby fist pumped as her sniping skills saved her sister. This wasn't a one-on-one battle, but a team battle. Interfering with others' fights was perfectly acceptable.
And if Ruby could do that, so could her opponents.
Bolin, the last member of Team ABRN with short black hair and light skin, had snuck up behind her with his staff. He was about to bring it down on Ruby's back, when two black glyphs appeared next to him. A foot then proceeded to connect with his gut, sending him colliding into the glyphs. Those black glyphs, that Touma, Accelerator, and Team JNPR recognized as gravity glyphs, were made by Weiss. When Bolin touched one, they pulled him, accelerating him even faster. The poor boy was sent flying before smashing into an ice wall with a loud crack.
In the end, Team RWBY won most spectacularly.
Yang had been skating along a curved ice shelf when Blake tossed her gun at her. Grabbing the blade, the blonde was accelerated by Blake pulling her along. Ruby dashed forward and positioned herself as Yang was launched. Blake ran along the ground and jumped up on Ruby's Scythe as the small girl swung it, using a gunshot to power her swing. Yang and Blake flew through the air, connected by a ribbon. A glyph appeared in midair that Blake stepped on and then swung the ribbon down with both hands. Already flying through the air, Yang was propelled even faster as she drew her hand back.
With Weiss's glyphs knocking them around, Team ARBN was in one place on the field.
Luckily, a barrier was around the area, so the audience was safe from bullets and flying children.
Nora was the most excited out of all of them, already promising to send their opponent flying even further than Yang did. The match was over as all of Team ARBN's Aura went below the thirty percent threshold. Just like in class, it was for safety reasons, so no one got seriously hurt. Everyone was cheering and Touma made eye contact with Blake. The raven-haired girl smiled up at him and gave him a nod. Yang blew them a kiss for fun, though.
Which caused Neo to elbow him in the side.
Touma was glad Jaune's team got up to go congratulate their friends.
"We did it!" Ruby zipped toward them and high-fived Jaune and Touma simultaneously. They had all met up at a ramen stand for lunch. "Did you see my awesome sniper shot?"
"Yang was lucky you were there." Jaune grinned.
"You were awesome!" Nora fist-bumped Yang. "That last punch took them all out!"
"What can I say except I'm the best?" Yang shrugged with a smug grin.
"She's trying to take all the credit," Blake commented to Weiss.
"Eh, I'll let her take a couple of extra hits in the next round to compensate for it," Weiss replied.
"Heard that, you two!"
"You were supposed to." Both of them replied, making everyone laugh.
"You were so cool! MISAKA gushed as MISAKA was watching the whole time!" Last Order hugged Weiss tightly while looking up with stars in her eyes. "MISAKA loves your glyphs!"
"You did well," Accelerator agreed, sitting down next to Weiss.
"Rare compliment from you." Weiss smiled. "Shame we couldn't exchange you for Yang."
"HEY!" Yang cried out as Ruby giggled, and Blake smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Jaune, so are you guys ready?" Ruby asked.
"Of course!" Nora huffed. "We got a world-renowned fighter on our team.." She gestured to Pyrrha. "...what's virtually a ninja…" The next hand gesture was aimed at Ren, "...I can bench five of me…" Both thumbs were aimed at herself. "...Jaune… and we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and… uh… Jaune!"
"Are you going to take that?" Touma asked the blonde boy.
"She's not… wrong," Jaune admitted, hitting the table with his head.
Accelerator frowned at that. The knight may not have been as agile, but he remembered him fighting against Grimm multiple times. It wasn't like he was utterly skillless. Neo poked the lifeless boy as Nora continued to talk.
"I'm kidding. He knows I am. The worst case is we lose and spend the next four years walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us, and we won't be able to show our faces in public-...mmmpph!"
Pyrrha covered Nora's mouth with her hand.
"We talked about being negative, Nora." The champion reminded her. "But we really should get going. We don't want to be late."
"And to try our secret weapon!" Nora jumped up, no longer depressed at the prospect of what they were about to do.
"They are going to do it, aren't they?" Weiss facepalmed as Team JNPR headed out first.
"Yep." Touma pointed toward their retreating figures. Last Order was with them and bouncing up and down, full of energy.
"This is going to be bad," Blake muttered. "I'm glad I'm not participating in the later matches."
"We'll cheer you both on," Ruby added, looking at Weiss and Yang with pity.
"They are in the opposite brackets so that we won't meet them until the finals," Weiss stated calmly. "At that point, Pyrrha is the most likely opponent, and Yang insisted she be our final fighter in the one on one rounds."
"So she's going to lose like in class?" Accelerator smirked, causing Yang to glare at him.
"I've got a plan to deal with her!" Yang pointed at him, eyes flashing red. "Don't count me out just yet."
Everyone suddenly looked at the table where a mini Pyrrha was smacking around a mini Yang. Neo couldn't resist and pouted when Touma slapped his hand down on the figures, shattering the illusion.
"Welcome to the last round of day one of the tournament!" Peter announced over the loudspeakers as the crowd cheered. "It's sure to be a crowd pleaser."
"Indeed." Bartholomew agreed. "Team JNPR is one of Beacon's more eccentric teams, made up of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos…"
However, his words were drowned out by the thunderous cheers and screaming at Pyrrha's name. Being a celebrity, it was only natural she was insanely popular. A champion, kind to everyone, and also fought for equal rights, willing to even attend Sienna's conference to help. It was no wonder everyone liked her. Except opponents who kept losing to her of course, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Pyrrha's popular as always." Yang laughed. In the arena, Pyrrha gave everyone a one-handed wave to be polite while Nora bounced around, even more energetic than usual. Ren was silently walking like normal and Jaune seemed to be focused on the area in front of him, rather than the crowd.
'Jaune's not." Touma pointed to a group of female girls holding signs supporting Pyrrha. But that wasn't all. Plenty of those signs were directed at Jaune.
'You can do better than Jaune Arc!'
That was one of the nicer ones.
"I can snipe the signs from here." Ruby offered from next to him, aiming down the sight of Crescent Rose.
"No," Weiss stated firmly, lowering Ruby's weapon with her hand.
"But…"
"No."
"They are making fun of-..."
"No."
Ruby slumped down in her seat, and Touma patted her shoulder. Thankfully, she was on his left, so the sudden Aura disappearance didn't make her jump. She just leaned on his shoulder and pouted. Blake tilted her head and examined Ruby, but she was a seat down, nestled between Weiss and Yang, so it was not like she could do anything. Except try to avoid Yang's knowing smirk as the blonde took a secret picture of Ruby.
Not to be outdone, Neo leaned on Touma's other side.
"Team JNPR will be facing Team BRNZ from Shade," Peter announced when the cheering died down a little. "Consisting of Brawnz Ni, Roy Stallion, Nolan Porfirio, and May Zedong."
As leaders, Jaune and Brawnz shook hands before the two teams took their respective sides, and the holographic field selector started spinning.
"Hmm," Accelerator noticed Nora wasn't able to stand still. Even more than usual. "I wonder how much energy the brat gave her."
"I don't know Nora's limits, but we know they have tried it before." Weiss remembered when Nora smacked Ruby around during a friendly spar. Literally into a wall. "It's not a bad strategy, though, for maximizing Nora's Semblance. I'm rather impressed Arc came up with that."
"Do I have to worry?" Accelerator asked.
"You're letting Yang affect you with jokes like that." Weiss needled him.
Down in the arena, the field selector finished.
"The forest and the mountain field," Oobleck stated. "Common terrain all inspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses will need to learn to fight in." The ground opened up around both teams and raised up multiple trees on half and large barren rock formations on the other.
"Let's go already!" Nora was bouncing on the balls of her feet faster and faster, nearly becoming a blur.
"What's with her?" Brawnz asked, brushing his short hair back.
"Er… she's a little… energized," Jaune admitted. "Sorry about what's about to happen."
"Huh?"
The round buzzer went off, interrupting their conversation.
"Nora…" Jaune jumped back with his team. "SMASH!"
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Wishez: So. Many. Grammar. Mistakes. I'm on my floor, praying the next one is better.