Welcome back to yapping simulator.
There's not much to say; it's more of the usual, although if people could stop commenting and DMing me their OC stuff, that'd be cool. (lots of yapping about the Demon Sword)
BTW:
Read Recipe For Chaos: the author is a buddy of mine, and he deserves more love.
Beta Readers: Chris72637, Luxutor, MegaDumbo, and Tupjunk
...
"BLAKE WAIT!"
*Tap-tap-tap-tap
Ruby was gone in the blink of an eye, taking off down the hall after her teammate as the others watched her go.
Yang stood up, pacing around with her hands on the sides of her head, "Oh no...oh nonononono- Oh my God, Yuj!"
She spun on her heels, staring at the vessel, "Why did you do that!?"
Before the sorcerer could even respond, Weiss swiped a hand through the air, "What he did!? She just tried to kill him, and you're worried about what!? Her getting outed as a Faunus!?"
The blonde sputtered for a second, "It...it's not like that! EUGH! I-I just-"
"You what? Care more for some would-be terrorists than your own friends!? We almost get killed, and you're worried about something that doesn't even matter!"
Ren shook his head, stepping between the two, "Hey, let's not throw that word around, we don't know what Blake-"
The bombshell started shaking before slamming a hand against her thighs, "ALL OF YOU MATTER TO ME! OKAY!? Just lemme talk before you blow up about it!"
The heiress tapped her foot as the blonde paced around, biting her cheek as she stared at the floor, soon coming to a stop as she took a deep breath, "Okay...okay- I'm gonna say something, and just-"
Yang slumped over, clearly exhausted, "We all saw what happened on TV, and Yuji tanked a...a-"
She threw her hands in the air, "A fucking minigun of all things to the face, and it didn't hurt him! There's no chance Blake thought Gambol Shroud could do something, so...I-"
The Xiao Long winced for a second before marching across the room toward her teammate, "I dunno why she did that, but-"
*pompf
She pulled the Schnee into a bone-crushing hug, completely dwarfing the short girl, "Don't you ever think for a second that I don't care about you, Weiss."
The white-haired girl tried to wiggle out, "Alright, I get it. You can let go no-"
The hug got tighter, "You're rude-"
"Huh!?"
"You've got the worst superiority complex I've ever seen-"
"S-shut up!"
"And you're mean to my little sister, and that makes me wanna throttle you sometimes, but-
Yang pulled back a bit, her purple eyes watering up, "God damn it, Weiss. Don't you ever do that to us again."
The heiress just stared at her for a second, not used to these sorts of interactions at all, "...I-"
Her head dropped lower, "I don't know what to do here."
The blonde laughed a bit, raising a brow as she wiped a tear away with her shoulder, "You can always hug back, I don't bite...probably."
Weiss just sighed, awkwardly looping her arms around the taller teen before sinking in, "Today's been such a mess."
Yang, the big sister she always was, just patted her on the head, "Yeah, but when fights happen, we just gotta find a way to bring it all together again. I-"
Her stare dulled for a moment, "I just don't know why Blake did that."
Pyrrha looked up from her hands, "I've seen that sort of thing before, well...kind of."
Yang tilted her head, "Whaddya mean?"
The redhead awkwardly scratched her pale cheek, "Growing up, whenever I joined a tournament, they always made you look over those exhausting rule lists, you know, the ones-"
"Yeah-blah-blah-blah, don't kill each other, don't do permanent harm, all that?"
The Nikos nodded, "Those ones, yes, but there was one I never quite understood. Once a fight was over, you needed to turn over your weapons to the referees immediately, winner or loser, and if you didn't, you were disqualified...until I saw why for myself."
Her green eyes flickered a bit as she raised an imaginary rifle, "A girl had lost her match...badly, and while the winner was walking away, she just-"
"Bang."
Pyrrha shook her head, "It bounced off her opponent's aura. It didn't do a thing, but I could just see the look of terrible realization on that girl's face, like she wasn't thinking clearly, and then-"
Nora let off a groan, "Loooooong, just say she lost her cool and get on with it."
The redhead squinted, "Is something bothering you?"
The energetic girl crossed her arms, "I don't like it when you guys talk about things you don't really get. It aint just, 'Ooooh, she got emotional and did something stupid.' Sometimes-"
Nora bit her cheek, her brow furrowing, "You get scared, and you gotta do what you gotta do."
Weiss squinted from her perch on Yang's shoulder, "What does that have to do with this?"
"'Cause Blake's like that too. Every time I see her walk into a room, you know, the first thing she does? Look for ways out, and then she sits there all tense like she's about to get up and fight for her life."
Pyrrha clasped her hands together, "How do you know that?"
Ren shook his head, raising out a hand, "Nora, you don't have to talk about it."
The ginger closed her eyes for a second, "It's just something you pick up...on the streets. You-"
Her hand twitched, "You see bad things, and you either learn to avoid them or...you're the one the bad things happen to."
The hammer user's gaze slowly drifted up toward Itadori, "Yuji and Blake did what they did for the same reasons. You were scared, right?"
...
...
The sorcerer was quiet, observing his friends as a pang of guilt bubbled up in him.
Yuji opened his mouth but was struggling to make a sound, "I'm a little past bein' scared of people like that. I just...knew what they were gonna do and made sure they didn't. Don't try to make this less awful than it is. Blake has a lot more right to be scared than I do...all of you do."
Nora tilted her head, "Why should I be scared of you, silly? You're still Yuji, just...you did something I wish you didn't have to, but that's just how it is."
The sorcerer let off a long sigh, "Look, let's not pretend you guys aren't spooked. I know I'm not the smartest guy around, but I can tell how shady this looks. I'm the one with weird powers. I'm the one who doesn't like talkin' about himself, and I'm the one who killed more than enough people for you to never wanna talk to me again."
She tapped a hand on the floor, "You don't know a lot about me and Renny...would you not wanna talk to us if you knew we did bad stuff too?"
He stuttered, "N...no, why would I-"
"'Cause we did...lotsa stuff, growing up without parents...the sorta bad things I don't like thinking about, and it's easier to just-"
The hammer user looked up at him with shaky eyes, her lip quivering, "Pretend you're a goofball that doesn't know nothing. So don't tell me to be scared of you 'cause I'm not."
Ren crossed his arms, looking at the vessel, his expression neutral as always, "I'm just gonna say, you do this a lot, Yuji. You act like you're the bad guy and don't even give us a chance to say something, like back in the mountains, you got all weird, saying you wanted to kill that woman with the mask, and that somehow made you worse than her-"
Yang visibly bristled when he said that but didn't say anything.
Lie's fingers twitched a bit as if a painful memory was bubbling up, "It doesn't! Nora has a hard time talking about it, so I'll do it, and I don't care about the stupid 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' crap Mistral preaches 'cause it's not like they ever bothered to help us, even when both of us lost our parents, it was just us."
Yuji's expression paled, his eyes widening, "Wait-wait-wait. You're both orphans?"
"Just like you."
Pyrrha was just as shocked, holding a hand near her mouth, "Why didn't you say anything!? We could've-"
Ren ran a hand through his black hair, "Because it doesn't matter."
The redhead hopped to her feet, getting in his face, "Of course it does! Do you think we just wouldn't care if you told us?"
"It's not about that. I dunno if it's not obvious to you guys, but about half the students at Beacon are like us, people who got a bad hand in life and wanna become Huntsmen to get away from it...Yeah, things were bad; we were homeless, and no one cared, but right now, we're here."
He turned to face Itadori, "But you aren't, not really. Me and Nora don't wanna talk about our lives because we want something better, but your whole 'I'm not scared' act isn't fooling me."
Lie pointed a finger at the vessel's chest, "Whenever someone asks you anything about yourself, you keep changing the subject or just give some weird answer and don't explain it, and you're doing it because deep down, you're stuck on something, and even talking about it terrifies you."
Every time Yuji gave a half answer, he could see the pain on his friend's faces, and it was eating away at him-
He didn't mean to let things get this far, but just looking at Nora, the vessel knew she and all the others were really worried about him-
Why was this all so complicated?
The vessel clenched a fist, "...It doesn't matter if I'm scared or not. That's not my role in things."
Yang squinted, "Sorry, Dude, but...role? No one's telling you to do that but yourself."
"You just wouldn't get it...I didn't get it either until a year ago when I became a sorcerer."
Yuji looked down at his calloused hands, wondering how so much insanity could happen in so little time, "I was a high schooler...I didn't have powers. I didn't have some special talent that made me different. Any of you could have kicked my ass back then, and it wouldn't have been close, but that was my problem-"
The vessel turned to look out the window as clouds billowed across the sky, "I dunno how it works for Huntsmen, but most sorcerers are just born into sorcerer families, full of people that know the rules and how it all works. It's all genetics, so they're raised around all this screwed-up stuff, but sometimes, you get weird outliers like me, even if it was because of my mom. I was a normal kid until last year, and I didn't know how to handle any of it...the killing, the greed, none of it made sense, and by the end of it, I didn't even know if I was doing the right thing, and I didn't have an answer...I still don't, so I decided something."
Yuji's expression hollowed as he looked over his friends, just like it had when he faced Taurus a mere few hours ago, "I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't care whether it's right or wrong, and even if there was a meaning behind it, that's up to someone else to find out what it is. What you saw me do tonight, that's my role in things, and my opinion on it just doesn't matter."
"A cog doesn't have the right to think."
...
...
Things had gone uncomfortably silent, but what could he expect?
What do you even say to that?
Even without words, their expressions said more than enough-
Shock, sadness, complete disbelief, but-
Pyrrha was the first to say something, her face scrunching up, "...How long?"
She cleared her throat, but it did little to clear the tense pain she felt coming from it, "How long have you been like this, Yuji? When we met, you were-you were...happy, weren't you?"
He just stared at her for a moment, slowly looking off to the side, "Who knows?...I can pretend all I want and act like I'm just a normal kid having fun, but you guys saw what happened out there, how these things have a way of finding you and dragging you right back in."
...
...
The vessel faintly smiled, "It was nice while it lasted, but I think we all know it's done. I'm toxic, and the more time I spend around you, the worse things are gonna get. It's not just the killing, I fucked up with Blake, and I still don't know what I did-"
Weiss stamped a foot, "Why do you care!? SHE SHOT YOU!"
"So what? Most of my friends have tried to kill me before, and I don't blame 'em. After all the things that have happened, I'd be a real piece of work if I said I don't deserve it at this point."
Her blue eyes widened for a second before narrowing, looking away, "Why do you hate yourself so much?"
His dull stare persisted, "Because I keep doing wrong. Because I'm such a failure that I'm too stupid to find solutions to any of the problems I'm dealing with."
He took a step forward, "Those people were sick in the head, and I killed 'em so they wouldn't hurt you or anyone else, but what's gonna stop more from popping up? Nothing! Nothing at all!...I dunno what makes someone go down that path, but hate's always gonna exist, and I don't have a way of stopping it from happening. I'm not smart, I'm not good at talkin' to people, I hate fighting, but it's the only thing I can do."
Yuji visibly shook, "Killing them is the best I can do, and a failure like that doesn't deserve to have an opinion on it."
"The least I can do is just shut my mouth and let everyone hate me."
Pyrrha shot up, "Stop it!"
The redhead recoiled at her own actions but soon tried to raise a hand, "My God, Yuji, we're students! Why are you putting that much weight on yourself!? We have time! You don't have to come up with answers to everything, and if you keep doing that, then you'll end up miserable!"
"You have that luxury, and I don't, not anymore."
"What?"
The sorcerer put a fist to his chest, "People only understand one thing, and that's power. They only listen to the ones above 'em and decide the fates of everyone below."
His eyes burned, "My teacher, Satoru Gojo, was the strongest person in the world. He made everything look so easy, and no one could stop him from changing things his way because he was on top, but that put a lotta distance between him and everyone else...they never saw him as a person, just a monster, a tool to throw at problems, and now he and everyone else are dead, and I'm what's left."
Yuji pointed a thumb at himself, "The way things are now, I'm the strongest, and that means it's my turn to take the brunt of it all, so you guys don't have to. If I gave myself a break and didn't keep stepping up to bat, then Weiss, Gramps, Ironwood, Qrow, Winter, and everyone else at that party would've been dead, and it would be on me! We talked about this, Pyr, it's the Curse of Strength."
Pyrrha took a hesitant step forward, "It doesn't have to be that way! You have me...our team...everyone! Stop acting like you aren't in it with us! Please!"
He raised a hand, "I'm just gonna say this. We are not equals. I care about you guys, but there's no chance you'll ever understand what I have to do, not really...this goes beyond you and me, so let me handle this and live your lives until I'm gone, and it's your turn."
Pyrrha shrunk back a bit, her eyes watering-
Yang flashed her teeth in a scowl, "Dude, you're going too far! Look what you did! You're upsetting her!"
The invincible girl shook her head, "Yang...just-just stop."
"What!? You can't just take that! He's your partner!"
"I know, but- but-"
The redhead slumped a bit, "I don't think anyone's been fair to each other on our team or even our group...He didn't trust us with this at the start, and Blake didn't trust us to say what she really was...maybe all this is wrong?"
Pyrrha forced her tears back, "Can I say something?"
The invincible girl looked anything, but as she looked at her partner with shaking eyes, she said, "I'm not upset with you, Yuji, and I'm not angry. I just-...these sorts of things aren't allowed to be talked about where I'm from."
The vessel's gaze narrowed, "Talk about what?"
"...Death, sacrifice, the greater good, all of it."
Pyrrha shuddered a bit at the word, "I'm sorry if I'm not handling this well, but I'm scared and worried about what's going to happen to you and everyone else involved...focusing on Blake was just easier to handle because-"
Yuji shook his head, "You don't need to-"
"I do!"
His eyes widened as she stood up, holding a hand to her chest, "You're my best friend, my partner, my teammate, and my-my...God, I don't even know how you're holding it together! There's not even words for it in my Kingdom!"
The redhead ran a hand along her arm, "It's just how Mistral works. You don't talk about race unless you're denouncing someone for making an issue of it, you don't talk about class, and you especially don't ever bring up death and killing...it's illegal to even draw these things, not just talk about them...it's a miserable place where you aren't even allowed to show how terrible it is, but that's not an excuse!"
Pyrrha's hands went through her hair, "I thought you were a Faunus this whole time because I was too scared to ask! I didn't think you, Ren, or Nora were all struggling with so much! I thought things were fine, and I know we're from different places, and there's going to be a lot of stuff that makes us uncomfortable, but we all need to talk about these things! All of us do!"
She turned toward a certain blonde, "Yang, did you have a clue Blake was one?"
The fistfighter hummed in denial, putting a hand to her hip, "Nadda. It's not like I care, but I just wish she told me about it! But Blake doesn't say anything! But it's not like it's all her fault..."
Her purple eyes looked down in embarrassment, "Our team doesn't do the whole talking thing either, but I mean, that's kinda what happens when you put random people together."
She went finger by finger, "Weiss is rich, Ruby's immature, Blake's quiet, and I-"
The blonde grumbled, kicking a boot off the floor, "I mighta made a big deal about Rube being leader, so I don't really blame Blake for not wanting to talk about something serious like that...not when we fight over every little thing."
She pointed a finger at Weiss, "Bein' real, I'm kinda shocked you aren't having a meltdown about that."
The Schnee pointed a finger at herself, "Me? About what?"
"That Blake's a Faunus...and look, you've gotten better about it, I know you're trying, but you're kinda...you know?"
"I'm what? Just spit it out!"
Ren deadpanned, "She's saying you're a racist."
Yang awkwardly looked away as Weiss sputtered, "I-I-I am not! Where in the world would you get that from!?...For your information, I have a Faunus friend. He's right-"
The Schnee's face dropped as she stared at Yuji, "Oh...right...he's human."
Yang's expression got even more uncomfortable.
Weiss sighed, defeatedly squeezing between her eyes, "Look, I'm aware I wasn't...particularly well-behaved when we all first met, and I may have...said some things I regret, but I think, after everything that's happened, Blake being a Faunus is something I can live with."
The blonde smiled, reaching out to slap her on the back, "Awww, you do car-"
"But-"
"Hm?"
Weiss' glare intensified as she stared Yang down, "Don't think for a second I won't turn her over to the authorities if she turns out to be some kind of fanatic. I have my limits."
"..."
The bombshell shrunk back a bit, her form slumping, "...Yeah, that's probably fair."
The Schnee ignored how awkward she had made things, tapping a foot on the ground, "Pyrrha has a point. If we want our teams and our...friendships...to last, something has to change."
The redhead smiled a bit, "It won't be easy, but I think once Ruby manages to get Blake back here, we can sit down, have a nice long talk, and work this out, so a fight like this can't happen again. I-"
Pyrrha flushed a bit, awkwardly scratching her cheek, "I wouldn't want to lose any of you."
Nora smiled, giving a chipper thumbs-up-
Ren quietly nodded-
Weiss did the same before looking at something else.
Yuji...didn't react, but before the invincible girl could question it-
Yang puffed out her chest, humming in pride, "Mhm, Rube's the fastest one outa all of us, and if anyone can catch someone on foot, it's her!"
...
...
Yang quickly looked at a clock, "Now that I think about it...they've been gone a lot longer than I thought...maybe we should-"
*tap-tap-tap-tap
*CRASH
Ruby came storming in, followed by an explosion of flower petals across the room, hand on the door as she panted for dear life, soon screaming, "YAAAAANGTHISISREALLYREALLYREALLYBADBLAKESTOLE YOURBIKEANDSHE-"
"Wait."
Ruby shivered, "W-what?"
The floor trembled, and as the blonde stomped toward her sister, "Did you just say...that Blake stole my bike?"
The hooded girl rapidly nodded, "I tried chasing her, I did! Really! But she got onto the highway, and I couldn't...couldn't...-"
Yang started patting her jacket, digging her fingers through random pockets, "Oh, that little...ARGH! She stole my freaking keys! How'd she do that!?"
"I dunno, she's the sneaky ninja girl! That's like...literally all they do!"
The fistfighter let off a growl, "EUGH! Well, if she's driving down the highway...that means she's heading toward Vale, but why-"
Ren shook his head, "You better hope she isn't."
"What are you talking about?"
Lie raised his scroll as the screen flickered on, showing footage of burning buildings and chaos on the streets as masked people flooded in and out of storefronts, "After the whole thing at that party went down, it looks like Atlas pulled back to regroup, and without enough cops-"
Nora seemed to stiffen at that, "Are they stealing?"
He nodded, "Looks like it's pretty bad."
Yang seemed to pale a bit, "...Shit."
A second passed before she pounded a fist in her hand, "Well, then I guess we gotta go get her stupid butt before she gets hurt! I dunno about you guys, but I'm not letting my partner die or wreck my bike...in that order!"
"Good luck with that...apparently, they're closing every entrance and waiting for backup to put this thing down."
Ruby blew a raspberry, "That's not gonna stop Blake! She sneaks out all the time!"
Weiss looked at her partner, absolutely confused, "She does?"
"Yeah-huh... I asked her why once, and she just got mad at me."
Yang stepped between the two, waving her hands, "We're losing focus here! Think! How are we gonna get to town with no car and the roads closed off?"
Yuji raised a finger, "I mean...I could just bulldoze through the checkpoints if ya wa-"
Ruby shook her head, "Nope! You aren't allowed to do anything without asking!"
"...What?...Well, can I?"
Her puffy silver eyes shimmered a bit before looking away in a huff, "No."
Yang puffed out her cheeks, "Rube, I get you're mad at him, but come on! This is about Blake!"
"...It's not about how mad I am. I just don't want him to go to jail, okay?"
Yuji tilted his head, "Jail?"
"If you fight army guys, they're gonna lock you up forever."
Weiss rolled her eyes, walking up to the vessel, raising a finger, "Despite how...childishly that was worded, Ruby has a point. Even after today, if you picked a fight with official Atlas servicemen, you might as well sign away your life-"
*FLICK
Her finger cracked against his forehead, "And you're not doing that, got it?"
He raised his hands in defeat, "...Alright, fine...well, we gotta find some way to go get her; I'm not just leavin' her out there after I caused this..."
Yuji thought, and after a second, "Well...there is one thing we can do-"
Pyrrha brightly smiled, "You have an idea?"
Weiss went blank, "He has an idea?"
Itadori nodded, raising a finger, "I got one, but...quick question-"
"Are you guys cool with getting a criminal record?"
...
...
Weiss' mouth hung open, "You're joking, right?"
Yang raised a hand, "Already got one."
"What!?"
Ruby shuffled her feet, "...Me too."
Nora hopped to her feet, "Yep-yep!"
Ren blankly stared, "...We spent three months in juvie."
Yuji's eyes widened a bit, "You too?"
The quiet teen nodded, "Petty theft, and you?"
"Assault."
He didn't react, "Yeah, that checks out."
Pyrrha's face grew whiter by the second, "...Why are all my friends such deviants?"
Yuji blankly looked at her, "You're gonna be one too. You gotta unlock the thing."
Her green eyes narrowed, "Unlock...what exactly?"
"You know that bullhead they keep on the roof?"
"...Yes?"
"We're stealin' it."
A certain Schnee was in utter disbelief, "We're stealing school property? That's your plan!? Do you have any idea how much trouble we can get in!? We'll be blacklisted from ever finishing our licenses! Do any of you even know how to pilot one!?"
...
...
Yang raised a hand, "Dibs."
"You're a pilot?"
"I have a motorcycle license."
The Schnee shook her head, "Not happening, but luckily for you, I've spent enough time on our private company charter to have a basic idea of the principles to-"
"Nah."
"Nah?"
Yang flashed a thumbs up, "I said dibs, so I have dibs."
Weiss squeezed between her eyes, "...I'm going to die. I'm going to die in a horrible crash or survive and get kicked out of the most prestigious academy on Remnant."
Yuji looked her over for a second, biting his cheek, "If you're worried about what's gonna happen, then you don't gotta come. I mean...I'm the reason she ran off like that-"
The Schnee huffed, crossing her arms, "As if I'd let you idiots go into this without some kind of plan. Do you know how hard it would be to find a new team at this point in the semester?"
Ruby's hands shook as she took a quiet step toward her partner, "Weiss...you-you really do car-"
"I'm not saying it again."
And with that, the heiress let off a huff, storming out of the room, "Let's just get this over with...the longer I have to think about a mark under my record, the angrier I'll get."
Ruby ran after her, soon followed by her sister, but before Yuji could do the same-
Pyrrha had grabbed his sleeve, looking down at the vessel, "Just saying, we never did take that photo you wanted."
Yuji's expression paled, "What!? Pyr, I told you to take one, so when-"
Nora raised a finger, "You're not gettin' an alibi out of us that easy."
The redhead looked down at her, "I'm still concerned you knew what he was doing."
The blue-eyed girl shifted in place a bit, "I've just seen it before...When you're doin' bad stuff...sometimes there's a fall guy, and...I just didn't want things to end, okay?"
Yuji put his hands to his head, "...You should've done it."
Ren put a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder, "What's done is done. You might want us to ditch you, but it's just not happening. We're a team, even if some scary shit happened today, that's not changing."
...
...
Thinking of classmates, partners, and teammates was never easy for Yuji because it reminded him so much of the horrible things that happened to the people that mattered most to him.
Kugisaki was gone-
And Megumi might never recover after what Sukuna did to him.
Sticking around would be so selfish-
It would be the wrong thing to do-
But he was only human.
Yuji's face scrunched up as he balled his fists, "...God damn it."
*Pomf
He pulled his teammates into a tight embrace and didn't let go for some time."
...
a bit later
Getting to the roof was as easy as you can imagine in a low-security school like Beacon; why bother hiring guards when your entire student body and staff are armed?
With a simple tug from Pyrrha's semblance, the magnetic locks detached, opening the bullhead's sliding doors as the students filed in, with Yang taking center stage in the pilot's seat.
Ruby stood, looking over the girl's shoulder, still unable to see from the sheer height difference, "Do you know what you're doing?"
The blonde shrugged, "We both know I don't, sis. How hard can it be?"
She started pressing random buttons.
As the others patiently waited, Weiss began to tap her foot, "So...Yuji?"
The vessel bristled, "Hm?"
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but if you're not a Faunus...why do you have the-"
She waved a pale finger near her face, "The eyes?"
He just stared out the door across campus, "Look...I ate something I shouldn't have, and they grew in right after...can we just leave it at that, please?"
Her stare softened as she took a step forward, "Ate wh-AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
*CRRRRRRRRRRRR
The entire vehicle whirled into motion as Yang's button mashing bore fruit, going full throttle right off the bat, sending everyone flying as it took off into the sky, with Ruby screaming the entire time-"
"TURNTURNTURNTURNTURN!"
"Turn how!?"
"CONTROLLER!"
"You mean the stick thing!? WHOAH!"
The bullhead shifted at the last second, narrowly missing Beacon Tower, with Yuji staring out the window, briefly watching as Ozpin's shadow appeared from the light in his office, looking up at them-
So much for getting away with this.
Nora cupped her hands, trying to yell as howling wind poured in, "Are we going the right way!?"
Yang tried to turn her head, but Ruby dared to dive on her and hold it forward, "WHAT!?"
Pyrrha let off a groan, swiping a hand as she forced the door shut, "This is the dumbest thing I've ever done!"
From the floor, Weiss rubbed her aching head, "ARGH! Vale is so massive. Do we even have a plan to find Blake out there!?"
...
...
"Oh my God, we don't."
Yang blew a raspberry, "If she's driving my bike, I figure I can just spot her from up here."
"And then what!?"
"I dunno! Jump on her and make her stop?"
A tick mark appeared on Yang's forehead, "Don't gimme that look!"
"What look?"
"You have that whole 'Schnee glare' when you're pissy! I'm working with what I got!"
The blonde huffed, "Yuj, you got weird powers, right? You got some tracking one or something?"
The vessel tilted his head, "If Blake was a sorcerer, I mighta been able to sense her, but you guys hardly got any Cursed Energy as is...I dunno, don't your scrolls got GPS on 'em or whatever?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "She has it turned off."
Ruby made a Ruby noise, "How do you know that?"
"Because she kept skipping our training sessions, and I demanded to know where she was going!"
"...angy."
"Not the time, Ruby!"
Ren walked across the floor, staring out at the distant city, "Well, we're never gonna find her out there. Trust me, it's really easy to slink around a place like Vale if you know what you're doing."
Nora tapped a foot, "Welllll...maybe Yuji's Grandpa can help."
The vessel tilted his head, "Gramps?"
She nodded, "Mhmmm, he's got all kindsa government connections, and they loooooove spying on us. Maybe he can track her?"
"That's kinda a stretch, dontcha think?"
Weiss swiped a handful of dust off her dress, "It's not as outlandish as you think. In Atlas, it's required that all legally produced scrolls have backdoor access for government authorities, and I imagine a long-time friend of Ironwood would have clearance as well."
Yang yelled over her shoulder, "Yeah, that spying crap is peachy and whatever, but I think you're forgettin' that we just stole a freaking bullhead!"
Ruby bobbed on her heels, "We could ask Uncle Qrow to swipe his computer real quick...oh but...no, we don't wanna drag him into this!"
The heiress nodded, tapping a finger to her chin, "And I can't ask that of Winter...she wouldn't risk her career for something like this, and I wouldn't want her to."
Yuji listened, "So...lemme get this right. We need someone with like...government power to maybe find Blake?"
"In essence, yes."
...
...
"Ohhhhhhh!"
He slammed a hand into his palm, "I know someone."
Pyrrha looked at him incredulously, "You do?"
A certain robot came to mind, "Yeah, Penny! I met her at the party. She was pretty nice, so I bet if we explained things, she'd wanna help."
Weiss squinted, "Wait...that orange-haired girl?"
He quickly nodded "She like...works for Ironwood or...I dunno how you pay someone like her, but we talked a little after things settled down, and Penny said she had to patrol the town tonight."
Wilderness turned to cityscape as they passed over into the urban center.
Yang let off a whistle, seeing the streets a mess of fire, flame, and looting, only held back by layers of outnumbered riot police scattered about, "Man, it's getting pretty bad down there."
Ren didn't seem shocked in the least, "It's what happens whenever a Kingdom shows weakness; they like ignoring problems instead of dealing with them, and it boils over-"
"Bad stuff?"
"Very."
Yuji really didn't know what to make of this, but he felt all too guilty for being a part of it as he watched people running along the streets below, he could only wonder what Blake was even doing down there.
He thought this place was calmer than how it was back home, but maybe that was just another culture shock-
Just because there are no Cursed Spirits doesn't mean the same problems don't exist. Yuji needed to do better and learn more about this place. The vessel owed his friends that much.
Ren dropped into his seat, fingers under his chin, "So...to find one girl in an entire city...we gotta find another girl...in the same city?"
Yuji shrugged, coming out of his stupor, "Yeah, but Penny's easy to find...she looks like a freakin' Gundam character when she's flying around."
"She flies?...Is that a semblance?"
Yuji made an 'I dunno' motion with his hands, earning a huff from a certain Schnee, "You really just attract weirdness, don't you?"
"I mean...aren't we all kinda weird for breakin' the law for a girl we hardly know?"
...
...
The answer was yes.
At least Yuji was self-aware...sometimes.
The vessel pulled his arms, stretching out the tension, "Oh well, it is what it is I gue-"
*BANG-BANG-BANG-CLAAAANG
The bullhead rocked as impacts scattered across its surface, sending the students scattering-
Pyrrha shot to her feet, trying to look out the windows but seeing nothing, "What's hitting us!?"
Nora slammed her hammer into the floor to keep her balance, "Uhhhh, I think someone's shooting at us?"
"I know that!"
Yang growled, still having no clue what she was doing, so she decided to button mash again, "Hang on, I got this!"
*BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG
The screen in front of her shifted, showing the perspective of the craft's rear cameras, revealing two bullheads in hot pursuit, one blank, the other with a random news logo along the front and sides-
The blonde's face lightened in surprise, "Oh, hey! It actually worked! Why the heck are those guys shooting at us!?"
Ruby took one look at the screen and shuddered, seeing the bone-like mask of the enemy craft's pilot staring back at her as others peppered their craft with dust rounds, "Those are the White Fang we saw!"
"When did you see the White Fang!?"
"Not now, Yang!"
The hooded girl rapidly paced along the craft, "Shootshootshoot! They must be mad after Yuji ignored what they wanted!"
Ren squinted, staring at the sorcerer, "They wanted something from you?"
Yuji nodded, "Yeah, their leader-lady wanted me to not kill that Adam guy...and I sorta did anyways."
Weiss frowned, "There's no way they can know it's us. They're just attacking civilian aircraft...typical White Fang move, play innocent until you don't get what you want...and with Atlas withholding their forces, they're free to fly as they please."
Itadori's expression dulled as he started walking toward the exit door, "Nora, think you can hold me for a sec?"
The ginger hopped to her feet, giving a mock salute, "Yep-yep!...wait...why?"
His golden eyes stayed forward as he grabbed the door handle, yanking it open as the wind came pouring in, "I can't risk hitting our only ride back, so you're gonna hold me by my legs and dangle me, and I'll shoot 'em outa the sky."
Yang guffawed, "I can just turn it!"
"No offense, but you suck at flyin'."
"You try it!"
The ginger eyed the vessel up and down, both of them ignoring the bombshell's outburst, "You sure?"
Yuji nodded, "Even if you drop me, I'll be fine. Promise."
"Alrighty, if that's what you wa-"
"WAIT!"
Both paused as Ruby raced up, sticking out a hand, blocking the exit with her tiny frame, "You're gonna kill them, aren't you!?"
...
...
Yang grimaced, fiddling with the controls, "Rube, it sucks, but I don't think we have a choice here."
"There's always a choice! What are we just gonna do this to everyone we gotta fight!?"
Weiss awkwardly looked to the side, "I know you're young, Ruby, but you couldn't have become a Huntress, not thinking you'd have to do this someday."
"What does age have to do with it!? I just don't wanna do more than we have to!"
*CRRRRRRRRRR
The aircraft shook as more rounds peppered its engines, sending smoke into the surrounding atmosphere.
Weiss stomped a foot, "Because you're too immature to know it's a matter of circumstance! If we don't do something, they'll shoot us down!"
"I don't care if it's immature to not want my friends to do horrible things like that! Call me a kid all you want, but I care about you guys too much to let you do that to yourselves!"
The hooded girl looked up at Yuji, her lip quivering, "You didn't listen to me last time, so...if you do it again-"
"I'll never talk to you again!"
Yang looked over her shoulder, "RUBE, NOT THE TIME!"
Pyrrha got up from her seat, forcibly grabbing hold of the ceiling to keep her footing, "Everyone, just calm down! This isn't the time to panic! We can try to lose them between the taller buildings in the business districts. That way we can-"
Weiss shook her head, tapping a foot on the floor, "That's not happening. This is an educational-grade vehicle made by one of SDC's subsidiaries. They're intentionally made to be slower and safer for the sake of students' well-being. We'll never outrun standard grade models."
Nora was running her hands through her hair, "Well, we gotta do something!"
...
...
Yuji closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "Fine!"
He turned to a certain hammer user, "Nora, throw me out!"
Ruby started flailing her arms, "WAITWHAT!?"
The vessel pointed a finger out the window and toward the pursuing aircraft, "If you want me to go nonlethal with this, then I gotta get over there, and I can't risk jumpin' off this thing, or it might blow up."
Yang spat, "Yeah, let's NOT blow up the one thing keeping us alive!"
The ginger squinted, measuring up the distance, "I can't throw you that far, even if we do the grenade jump thingy!"
He waved a hand as his blood surged into a ball around his fingertips, "It's fine. I saw Choso use these to double jump once, and if he could...I should be able to do it, too."
Weiss rolled her eyes, "I swear, you have the memory of a goldfish...you just need a platform to jump off of, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
She lightly pushed him from behind toward the door, sending Ruby stumbling out of the way, "Just jump out, and I'll handle it, you salmon-colored moron...and don't miss."
...
...
Realization set in, and the vessel soon raised a hand, gently dropping it on the girl's shoulder, "Thanks, Weiss."
She rolled her blue eyes again, "I told you I was with you on this, didn't I? Now stop making me repeat myself."
"Got it."
The vessel kept his arms on the metal frame of the bullhead as the wind billowed through his hair, "I'll meet up with you guys later-"
He glanced over his shoulder, giving a faint smile, just like his older brother did for him, "Don't die, okay?"
Ruby paled, "Wait...you're going by yourself!?"
With that, the sorcerer took a plunge, far above the city as the world fell out from under him, and for a brief moment, he fell, soon hitting a spiraling glyph.
Cursed Energy flooded his limbs as his eyes narrowed at his quickly approaching target, and with a burst of motion, the glyph shattered as the sorcerer launched off, but in that moment-
There were shouts from his friends, but why were they all yellin-
*THUD
As he jumped, a weight came crashing onto his shoulders from above. A pair of tiny arms wrapped around him for dear life, and a red hood briefly blinded him. "Ruby!? What the hell are you doing!?"
She clung to his back like a monkey, her silver eyes glaring at him from behind, "I'm still mad, but I'm not letting you go by yourself!"
The wind was howling as the occasional colorful dust round slammed against his torso, doing nothing as he shouted over his shoulder, "WHY!?"
She briefly rested her cheek on his back, "I don't want you to make yourself sad again, okay?"
He lightly winced at how hurt she sounded, "Rube...I...shit-"
The enemy bullhead was rapidly approaching, and his expression dulled once more, ignorant of the burning urban landscape passing beneath them, "On the counta three, you're gonna jump off my shoulders and land on the roof of this thing, got it?"
"What're you gonna do!?"
"No idea! I'm thinkin' as I go!"
"...Fine!"
The hooded girl scrambled up his back as the aircraft got closer and closer-"
"One-"
"Two-"
"Three-"
"GO!"
Ruby expertly leaped off his shoulders into a spiraling flip, sending rose petals through the sky as she gracefully landed on top of the craft, unfolding her scythe as it slammed onto the rooftop to slow her momentum-
Yuji didn't have that luxury.
He did what he always did when someone threw him.
The vessel narrowed his form like an arrow, his arms crossed over his chest, and the next thing he knew-
Itadori slammed through the front window.
*CRAAAAAAAAAAASH
Glass rained down as the sorcerer skidded to a stop, his nails digging through the metal floor, tearing up sparks as the pilot lunged back in his seat, reaching for a sidearm in a blind panic, "What the fuck!?"
He drew as the vessel charged, letting off a flurry of colorful rounds as they illuminated the dimly lit chamber-
*BANG-BANG-BANG
Yuji tanked the shots, letting them harmlessly impact against his chest as his right leg came barrelling upward with so much force it shattered the terrorist's wrist on impact, sending his firearm flying as the sorcerer grabbed his head with a freehand, kicking off a nearby wall as the man's face careened into the controls, sending the bullhead into a violent spin.
*BWIR-BWIR-BWIR-BWIR
Alarms blared as Itadori's eyes widened, "Oh shoot."
The vessel yanked the unconscious man by his jacket, chucking him to the floor as he rapidly looked over the controls, holding the first thing that looked like it would steer and pulled-
*SNAP
Yuji was holding the steering stick in his mutated arm-
He broke it off.
*CRRRRRRRRRR
The sounds of tearing metal echoed out as Ruby slashed her way in with her scythe, followed by a shout of surprise and an audible shot, "What the heck's going on!? WHY'RE WE SPINNING!?
There was a chorus of voices, "WHY THE HELL IS THERE A HUMAN IN HERE!?"
"GET HER!"
Yuji tossed the object aside, silently deciding mechanical stuff wasn't his strong suit; he charged back through the aircraft and raised a boot, letting it crash into the cockpit door, ripping the object clean of its hinges with ease as it sailed off.
*BOOOOOOOM
The hunk of metal slammed into a White Fang member's back as they ran toward the hooded Huntress, her silver eyes widening as the world briefly turned grey-
Ruby growled, taking off in a sprint. She took a diving roll onto the spiraling platform, her scythe morphing into a sniper rifle as the world spun around her, but the hooded girl's aim remained firm, pulling the trigger as another attacker blipped by for a split second-
*BANG
A round of gravity dust blasted out at point blank, crushing the poor woman's aura in an instant as she slammed into a nearby wall, denting it in the process as her cleaver bounced along the floor, and all the while, the Huntress rolled off the spinning door as a cartridge fell out with a single pull.
Ruby shook her head, surveying the damage the two had caused in a mere few seconds, "Geez! Talk about close quarters! What happened in there!?"
Yuji blankly stared at her, "I broke it-"
"Broke what!?"
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
"Get down!"
The vessel grabbed the Huntress by her hood, tossing her to the floor as a hailstorm of rounds blasted through the hull as the remaining aircraft opened fire.
His eyes widened as he saw the craft getting closer and closer, "Oh shit, get ready. They're gonna ram us!"
"Are they nuts!? Their own people are in here!"
*BAAAAAAAAAAANG
The aircraft collided, sending the pair's vehicle careening as it skidded along the side of a building, sending waves of debris raining onto the roadways below as Ruby looked around in a panic, "I know weapons and stuff! This thing won't take another hit like that!"
Yuji squinted, "Well, this thing doesn't have steering anymore. We gotta find a way to land it before we crash into something."
"HOW!?"
The sorcerer shook his head, clenching a fist before swiping it toward the wall, with scissor marks briefly appearing before half the structure blasted off into the blasting night wind.
He spared Ruby a glance, "This was your idea. Figure something out while I deal with this."
With that, Itadori waited until the other bullhead came in for another collision and jumped as the craft were a mere few feet apart, his palm outstretched, and the second it made contact-
*SCHWING
Unknown to him, Ruby suddenly winced, looking away as she rapidly rubbed her eyes.
The metal walls were cleaved apart as the vessel came barreling in a roll, landing on his palms as his leg careened through the air, cracking against a White Fang member's skull, shattering their mask in the process as he flew off into one of his allies-
Another woman raised a shotgun, its barrels aimed down at the sorcerer's head-
*BOOM
Blue sparks rained as the vessel sprang into action.
Yuji pushed off the metallic ground, his sneakers landing along the roof as he launched off, slamming a fist into the back of a woman's head, sending her face first into the floor as he followed suit, grabbing her by the leg and launching into a violent spin, hurling her straight into her allies' line of sight.
*BOOOOM
The shotgun blast rocked through her aura, freezing her solid in a blanket of ice that slid helplessly back, half her body covered in a layer of frost.
In that moment of confusion, the vessel's hand violently spasmed as a red sphere materialized in his hold and with a simple throw, his dull voice reverberated as it began to glow-
"Supernova."
*BANG
Hardened blood pellets scattered in all directions like beanbag rounds, slamming into each and every combatant as they screamed in pain, each falling unconscious as their nerves burned, leaving the vessel in silence, utterly untouched.
"Yuji, catch!"
The vessel didn't need to look, casually raising a hand to catch a bundle of...something as Ruby tossed it through, with him seeing question marks, "What-"
It was stretching from her bullhead to his, but-
He raised it higher, "What am I supposed to do with rope?"
The Huntress cupped her hands to shout as the vehicles drifted apart, "It's not a rope! It's that stretchy bungee stuff! You know?"
"For like...cliff divin?"
"Yeah! Huntresses use it too, you know? Hook it up! I'm getting dizzy!"
Yuji looked down at the thin string in his hands, then around the room before clipping it onto the ceiling, but soon made a noise as he gave it a gentle tug, "Rube, this thing's not gonna hold two bullheads."
"Yeah, it will! Just use your blood stuff on it!"
He looked out the massive hole in the side of the aircraft as his opponents lay groaning on the ground around him, "Huh!?"
Ruby put a hand on her hip, "What? I thought it worked that way. Cover it and make it stronger! Like a videogame!"
"...What is this, Prototype?"
"What's that?"
"A game."
"You beta test?"
"Not now, Ruby."
The vessel stared down at the cord, grabbing it with a hand, mumbling, "I'm not Alex Mercer...I can't do the whole tendril thing, or...can I?"
Yuji thought about it for a second.
Shooting your blood was a lot like peeing your pants...as dumb as that sounded, it really was. You build up pressure in your veins, then let it fly-
Maybe this would be like having...really long veins?
Well...Itadori probably couldn't make giga claw arms like that guy could, but maybe-
The sorcerer let off a huff, his grip slackening as his arms relaxed, "Just, feel for it."
Seconds passed before blood began to bubble along the vessel's wrists, awkwardly stretching forward before pulling back like a visceral wave of water, getting a feel for it.
*CR-CR-CR-CR-CR-CR
Ruby let out a shriek as the cord began to fray on her end, pulling it back with her tiny hands, "Come on, Yuj, do it!"
A vein twitched on the sorcerer's forehead, "I'm tryin'! This is a lot harder than it looks!"
There was an ungodly gurgling sound as the teen's blood boiled over, stretching across the way like a giant moving scab as Ruby gagged, jumping back as it solidified the connection into a solid mass, "Ewwwww! But...hey...you did it!"
Keeping a moving bullhead from spinning while figuring out his own technique was...to put it in Yuji's terms, a massive pain in the neck.
Itadori panted, shaking his head, hating the feeling of his arms being a lot longer than they should be, "Not really...I can't let go or this thing's gonna come loose, so hurry up and do what you gotta-"
*BANG
*FWING
A bullet raced toward the back of the vessel's head, only for him to shift out of the way at the last moment, looking back to see the cockpit door wide open, and a rifle aimed at his head-
*BANG
He let it impact, but that brief loss of focus nearly sent the bridge falling, forcing the sorcerer to tighten his grip, as Ruby panicked across the way, "Oh shoot! Hang on! I'm-"
She tried to run but briefly hesitated, not wanting to run across what she coined the 'grossest thing to ever exist,' but-
The pale girl shivered for a moment, looking away as she held her breath, "Oh...you owe me so big for this."
With the flick of a switch, the Huntress bolted, leaping out the broken exit and onto the thin line connecting the two bullheads, raising her rifle as Yuji kept dodging from side to side as stray bullets peppered the surrounding area, "Ew-ew-ew-ew STAY STILL!"
Yuji jumped, briefly flipping upside down as he looked at her like a certain webslinger, "I can't!"
"Fine! Count of three, you drop!"
"If I drop, then you'll-"
"Just for a second!"
"ONETWOTHREEDROP!"
The sorcerer did as he was told, and the second he did, the platform became liquid. With an audible gag, Ruby dropped into a running slide, the barrel of her rifle coming to a stop inches above his skull before a blast of red flew-
*BOOM
It impacted the pilot's chest with ease, sending them tumbling back into the cockpit as the vessel's hand flashed back to catch the cord, letting off a sigh as it hardened once more, "Nice shot..."
The hooded girl hardly noticed as she jumped into the craft, "Ah-ah-ah!"
"What? What's wrong!?"
She raised a shoe as the blood along the bottom boiled, "Hot-hot-hot!"
Yeah, the process of turning from solid to liquid and vice versa was pretty boily-
"Oh shit, hang on, I gotcha!"
With a free hand, the vessel snapped a finger, sending the liquid back onto his flesh and back where it came from, "That didn't get in your skin, did it?"
Ruby looked for a second before letting off a sad groan, "Nooo, but that wrecked my shoes!...These were expensive."
Itadori shrugged, giving the poor girl a brotherly look of pity, "I'll buy you new ones."
The scythe-user shook her head, "...You don't have to do that."
"I know, just...-"
Yuji kept his stare, even as she turned to face him, "Ruby, I...I can never make up for what I did, but-"
*Tap-tap-tap
Her singed shoes clicked along the metal floor before Ruby dropped her scythe and threw her arms around the sorcerer, shivering for a brief moment as she rested her chin on his shoulder, "I'm still really mad at you, and we're gonna talk it out later, but-"
She closed her eyes for a moment, "I'm really glad you're okay...okay?"
Itadori gave a faint smile, "Yeah...I know, Rube...and-"
He awkwardly laughed, looking down at the cord still nestled in his hands, "I'd hug ya back, but...rope...thing."
She nodded, pulling back to retrieve her weapon, "I know. Just gimme a second, and I'll land this Zwei-puppy!"
"You can fly?"
"No, but we don't gotta."
"Huh?"
She ran off, stopping in the doorway, "Just checkin'...you can...you can swim, right?"
"...eh?"
It must've been a confusing sight when a pair of bullheads connected by what looked like red string careened across town, violating every airspace law Vale had to offer, narrowly missing every possible building on their way-
It was even more confusing when they crashed into the waters near the city's main trade port, sending a colossal plume of brine into the skies as smoke followed suit.
...
Minutes later
*Plop
There was a groan as Yuji unceremoniously chucked another White Fang member to shore, lazily clapping his hands, sending water particles in every direction, "That's the last of 'em."
Ruby let off a sad sigh, sitting along the sandy beach as she tried to swat the salt out of her dark hair to no avail, chucking a piece of metal toward the sorcerer, "That...probably could've gone better."
The pink-haired teen deadpanned as he stared down at her, "You coulda told me you can't swim before you did that-"
The Huntress clammed up, pointing her fingers together, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. You can swim, sooooo-"
*CRACK
Yuji flicked her on the forehead, earning a pout, "OW!"
The sorcerer closed his eyes for a second, walking off toward the downed terrorist, "I thought you were from an island? How the heck can't you swim?"
The hooded girl rubbed her new bump, "We live in the woods!"
"And you don't go outside?"
"I do! Just...to hunt Grimm or...whatever...I didn't have a lotta friends to do stuff with, okay?"
Itadori shook his head, "Well, I'm teachin' you next chance I get...almost gave me a freakin' heart attack when you started sinkin'."
*CRACK
There was an audible crunch as the vessel bent solid steel with his bare hands into makeshift handcuffs around the man's wrists, all the while, Ruby made an annoying face, pointing a finger at him, "You're such a teddy bear, you know that?"
He smiled a bit as he finished his work, "Mhm."
...
...
The hooded girl looked over at her beloved weapon as it lay across her lap, "Do you-"
"Hm?"
"Do you think we can go back...to how stuff used to be?"
...
...
Yuji paused, staring off across the splashing waves as they rolled in, "Probably not."
...
...
He turned, walking over before kneeling down to the girl's level, "I'm gonna be real, Rube. From now on, people are gonna be scared of me, and it's gonna get harder and harder for you guys to be around me, and there's no fixing that...I'm not-"
"Normal?"
Itadori tilted his head as she looked up at him, tapping a finger near her silver eyes, "I kinda get what it's like...I see...a lot better than most people, and growing up, kids used to make fun of me for complaining about stuff...-"
She puffed out her pale cheeks, giving a sad expression, "If I see too much going on, I get these really-really bad headaches, so I stayed inside a lot...so people thought I was this freaky-geeky loner girl."
Ruby twiddled her thumbs a bit, "It's kinda the same at Beacon. I don't talk a lot with the other students, but...I have you guys, so that's enough for me, and...you know, you'll always have me, right?"
Itadori's smile retracted a bit, knowing what she was trying to do, "...Yeah...I know I do."
It was more than clear that he didn't mean it, or rather...maybe Yuji didn't want it to have any meaning.
But the moment didn't last long-
Yuji poked her on the shoulder, a small smile returning on his face, "I can't get rid of ya if I wanted. You're my geek."
"Hey!"
He dropped a hand on her head, ruffling the Huntress' hair as she tried to swat him away, "STOOOOOP!"
...
A bit later
The pair found themselves wandering the streets of Vale, coming to the genius agreement that Penny was probably where the most gunshots were coming from.
The lack of coordination in any of this was mind-boggling, but first and foremost-
Yuji kicked the floor as he sat in a cushioned chair, staring up at the ceiling of a shoe store Ruby had dragged him to-
Well, it was more like he broke down the front door, but still-
Her voice echoed out from somewhere inside, tossing boxes in every direction, "Whaddya think? Red and black or black and red?"
His face went blank, wondering what the difference was, so he leaned back, blowing air between his lips, "Just steal whatever one fits best. You don't wanna roll an ankle or somethin' before you break 'em in."
"We're not stealing!"
"We broke in, goober. We already broke the law."
"Well-well, I don't wanna break the law anymore! Huntress emergency! That's gotta count for something!"
People in this place had such weird morals.
The vessel waved her off, "Yeah-yeah, I got it."
Without saying a word, Yuji pulled out more than a few lien cards and tossed them onto a nearby register, and soon after-
*ZOOOOOOOM
*ZOOOOOOOM
*ZOOOOOOOM
Ruby zipped around the store, destroying practically every display before skidding to a stop near him, kicking a boot into the air with a spin, "Soooo, whaddya think?"
They looked-
Exactly the same as her old pair.
Maybe darker? Yuji didn't know colors, but he understood one thing for sure-
Having spent enough time with womanizer geniuses like Todo and Yuta, Itadori learned the ways of not pissing off a girl when it came to what they were wearing...they got really scary when you did that.
The vessel gave a happy thumbs up, saying what he would have said regardless, "They suit ya!"
Ruby happily bounced on her heels, and for once, Yuji didn't get punched for saying the wrong thing, and they were on their way.
...
...
As the pair ran through the battered streets of Vale, they passed by row after row of looted and destroyed storefronts, the mobs by and large, having moved on to other untouched areas of the city.
As the two blitzed across town at inhuman speeds, Yuji began to think, "Hey...can I ask you something?"
Ruby spared him a glance, "Sure, what's up?"
"What...what exactly did I do wrong with Blake?"
The girl was quiet, so he continued, "I get I shouldn't have ripped her bow off, but...what's the big deal about her having cat ears?"
Ruby hummed, not really having the words for this, "Well...what do you think about her having them?"
The sorcerer shrugged, "Eh, they're kinda cute, I guess."
...
...
She jumped clean over a burning car, "Yeah...true, but like...what else?"
Itadori squinted, "What else am I supposed to think? She's still Blake...buuut-"
"But what?"
"She'd probably be crazy famous if she lived in Japan. People there love catgirls."
"Really? They wouldn't...you know? Think she's bad 'cause she's different?"
Yuji shook his head, "Eh, Japanese people don't like foreigners, but they love cute stuff. We're kinda weird like that...and-"
The teen's head lowered, "Man, I'm bad at this. I know I screwed up with Blake, I just wanna know how and...how to not do that again."
The Huntress gave a short nod, "I think you might wanna talk to Blake about that. She's the Faunus, and I'm or...I guess we're humans, so I dunno how all that stuff works."
Ruby made a face, "Sorry if I'm sounding weird, I just...I'm still not used to calling you a human."
He kept his eyes forward, "I don't think labels like that matter all that much...it just makes things hard to understand...like... I used to think it was just Humans are good, Curses are bad, but then I met Choso and-"
Itadori groaned, "I got all confused again."
...
...
There was silence until he spoke again, "Choso and...all my brothers, they're...half human, half curse, and it's kinda hard to explain how all that went down, but...what matters is I decided that no matter what...even if I don't really know what I or any of them are made of, I'd still love my big brother...not because of what we are, but... because he's Choso."
Ruby nearly stumbled over a pothole but caught herself, her eyes a little wide, "Wow, I...I didn't mean to offend you if I said you were a faunus or a human or...whatever-"
He shook his head, "You didn't. I'm just yappin' over here."
The Huntress sighed, "I gotta get better about that too...how am I supposed to help people if I can't even talk about this stuff without gettin' weird?...I feel like a lot of this could've been avoided if we just talked it out first...but that's just so-so-"
"Uncomfortable?"
She pouted, "...Definitely."
Yuji nodded, "I haven't been much help with that...I owe you guys more. It's just...I don't really know where to start or...how to talk about these things."
"...Well, you kinda started."
"hm?"
Ruby briefly glanced up at the broken moon as it shined down between the clouds, "Usually, whenever you talk about stuff, you kinda...I dunno, turn off like a robot...if that makes sense?"
She clammed up, making erasing sounds, "That sounds bad, reverse-reverse!..."
The scythe user made awkward noises, falling into silence until finding her voice again, "Just now might've been the first time you ever explained something to me...I still don't get it but-"
She gave him a reassuring smile, "You're trying. That's something."
Itadori's heart jumped a bit when she said that, "I...I-"
He awkwardly laughed, "I guess I did...thanks, Ruby."
"Mhmmmm."
...
...
"So, are you and Yang still fighting."
"...All the time."
"Wanna...you know...talk about it?"
She hummed, "Mmmmmm...I don't wanna get any more drama today, so...pass."
"Yeah...that's fair."
Bit by bit, Itadori was building himself back up, but all of this just felt like a stepping stone in trying to find a way forward.
He'd prefer his friends just leave him and move on, but that didn't seem like it was happening, and the vessel had no clue what to do with that.
Should he be glad that they care about him this much?
Or-
Should he hate himself that much more for being too selfish to tell them about what's been inside of him this entire time?
Blake was still gone-
Things were still a mess-
It was gonna be a long night. He could feel it.
...
Chibi:
A green set of bushes rustled as a pale hand came tumbling through, followed by a hodgepodge of random armor and limbs as a nasally voice rang out, "Owwww...aw man."
A pair of blue eyes stared down at the ground, slowly looking up to see a distinctive tower looming in the distance, "...No way...is that...am I finally?"
The blonde teen took off running, having been lost for so long, would it finally be time for him to make up for his shortcomings and become the hero he always wanted?
He gripped his inherited sword's hilt with pride, pushing through the last line of greenery, shouting to the Heavens above, "Look out, Beacon, Jaune Arc is coming for yo-OOF!"
*CRASHHHH
He bounced along the pavement, rolling to a painful stop as he groaned, "Owww, what? Oh...oh shoot!"
He shot to his feet, running over to see a fallen teen, realizing he must have bulldozed him on accident, wearing dark black clothes, his spiked hair spread out along the pathways of Beacon's campus, "Hey man, are you okay!? I'm super sorry. I'm a new student, and I-"
A dull voice rang out, "Minor inconvenience detected."
"Did...did you hit your head?"
The pale boy slowly rose to his feet, a trickle of blood coming down his forehead, staining the ground red-
His head snapped up, revealing a set of dark blue eyes-
It was him-
The greatest sorcerer who had ever lived-
With the potential to rival Satoru Gojo!
He who could do...uhhhh...
He who could endure...uhhhh...
Anyways
It was HIM
Potential Man.
Megumi moved his hands into position and, staring into the eyes of his petty squabble, began to chant.
"Furube Yurayura."
The world went dark
Jaune tried to raise a hand, "Hey man, I-I'm really sorry about hurting you...why don't we just-"
*Click
A light emerged, and the Huntsman in training realized it was a figure, massive in size, covered in cloth like a mummy.
Jaune began to shake, "W-what is that?"
Potential man smiled, "Oh, you think I'm losing?"
"huh?"
"Nah bitch, we losin'...this how we gon' do this."
"DO WHAT!? I SAID I WAS SORRY!"
The bindings began to come undone, revealing a hulking figure of muscle and white flesh. It was horrifying, it was otherwordly otherworldly, it was-
"Roses are red, weapons against me won't prosper...with this sacred treasure, I summon-"
The cloth fell away, revealing something from the depths of Jaune's nightmares, standing right behind the sorcerer, just waiting to-
"Big Raga...the Opp-stoppa."
*CRACK
Megumi sailed off with the slap of a wrist, his body caving in against the side of Beacon tower.
Jaune shivered in fear, "WHATTHEHELLWHATHEHELLWHATTHEHELL!?
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
Every step was a cannon shot-
Every breath a typhoon-
Mahoraga approached Jaune, its figure casting a shadow that stretched far beyond his form.
The teen's lip quivered as it came to a stop, staring down at him...
He gulped, shakily reaching out a hand, "I-I'm Jaune...can we be f-frie-"
...
One second later
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A figure flashed across the horizon in an endless spin, vanishing into the sun with a sizzle, as another began her daily stroll across campus.
The boys would whistle, and she would blush, but she only had eyes for the best-
She could picture his volcanic head now...
The girls would beg to know her beauty secrets, but she'd never tell, and if she did-
Well...
*CLICK
Something turned, and suddenly, her beautiful form was adorned in the red plaid skirt, black stockings, brown jacket, and white undershirt befitting a Beacon School girl.
She was late to class, but it wasn't a big deal.
Mahoraga-chan was an adaptive girl.
...
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see you at the next one; cheers.
Discord:
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