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(Peach PoV)
I sat down to breakfast with my team and our sister team, team CMAD. I adjusted my skirt uncomfortably on the bench before starting in on some toast and some fruit I had picked out from the chef's buffet line. I was in my normal wear rather than my uniform because it was Saturday. At long, long last we had some weekend.
I shot a glance over at Crystal. She was really good. As in after five days of combat classes she was the only one who hadn't dropped a match and that put her at the top of the class as the one to beat. She had crushed me. She'd seen every single trick I had up my sleeves like she'd seen them a thousand times. She had dodged my attacks and therefore avoided my semblance completely and when the moment was right she went in hard.
"So, now that it's finally the weekend what's everybody doing? Going to catch a movie, maybe?" I asked everyone nearby.
"Pine and I are going to ask Professor Strife for some extra lessons. Then after that I'm not sure," my team leader said between bites of an apple.
"Even on the weekend?" Crystal wondered.
"To any student who asks. They just need to make an appointment," Pine took over. After their initial bickering wore off, Rosé and Pine got along famously. And they only were fighting because they were so dang similar in the first place.
"Boring," I cut in.
"If you're serious about getting good you'll take him up on his offer and take the time to make the time for it," Rosé said.
"He taught you, right?" Yuma asked.
"Everything I know." Rosé answered. Rosé was decent in a fight from what I'd seen. Professor Strife hadn't put us against one another yet but it was only a matter of time. Both of us had only lost to Crystal and our partners. Professor Strife was working through a sort of bracket while having us fight our partners every other day. Poor Mars. He'd gone up against Crystal three times already. He'd lost every single time. And he wasn't bad either. I just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about Crystal. Hell, I wasn't sure what to do about Crystal. She was a problem.
My team all went back and forth with our partners since we were closer in skill to one another. For me and my partner it was all about whether I could get in on Yuma and set up my Roll-up. My semblance let me do more damage if I hit in succession without being hit myself. So if Yuma could set up her zone she would win but if I could break it I could destroy her by getting an opening and making a combo happen.
"What about you Daisy?" I was desperately searching for someone else who was up to explore Vale.
"I might join the others. I mean, I guess. If everyone's doing it," Daisy muttered.
"Boo," I shamed her for going with the flow but I was probably going to cave as well.
"I think I'm going to make an appointment too," my own partner declared.
I sighed. It seemed like a losing battle. Strife was taking away my weekend.
"Mars and I were going to a shooting range in Vale but we can do that tomorrow," Fox said. Fox used a small laser pistol to supplement his kicking style. And Mars had his rocket launcher.
"Let's do it," Pine declared. She tossed her long green hair back as she did.
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I went with. Everyone else was doing it. I suppose that I could have gone out to Vale alone but my heart just wasn't in it. Besides, I wanted to get better too. So we found Professor Strife's office and Crystal knocked on the door.
"Come in," the Professor's voice called out from inside.
Crystal pulled the door open.
The office was spacious with a dark desk and wooden shelves behind it. There was an enormous red-brown dog with a tattoo on its face by the Professor who was sitting behind his desk reading off of a glass monitor in front of him. He closed the display since we could see through it from our side and it could have confidential information like grades on it.
There were display cases on the wall opposite his desk. I examined the contents curiously. A long red katana stretched beneath the glass next to it's sheath which looked like it was also a gun. Beside were wicked, sharp, hooking blades like pincers which had guns worked into their centers. The next was another long sword with a revolver with colored dust worked into it. And the last were two razor sharp blades of glass curved into a bow.
They were… Professor Port got by with bombastic storytelling. Professor Strife had these. These were trophies. From other hunters. I stepped back. I glanced back over at the Prof.
His enormous broadsword was hanging behind him and he was in his usual garb. A dark blue tunic with the hint of a breast plate beneath it. A pauldron on one shoulder and heavy gauntlets of silver Titania. He stood to greet us and I heard his dark heavy boots touch the floor and he was tall enough that I could make out his black pants and that half cape he wore. He also had a small red ribbon tied around his right bicep. His muscles were large and predominant and he had a narrow waist with broad shoulders.
"How can I help you ladies and gentlemen?" He asked in a smooth voice.
Crystal continued to lead the way. "I heard you're offering supplemental training, even on weekends. Is that true?"
"He has a dog!" Daisy squeaked.
"Meet Red. Don't worry. He's friendly."
Daisy bent down and shyly began to stroke its head but she got more into it the longer she pet the animal. The dog's tail thumped excitedly against the floor from the attention.
"It is true I offer extra lessons… did you all come here for that? I meant for it to be private sessions just in case a student wished to discuss something personal like their semblance with me."
"All the better," Crystal murmured.
"Is that really that important? I get semblances are a big deal but why the secrecy?" Pine asked.
"I never share the details of my semblance with anyone but my closest friends and confidants. What other people know about you can hurt you. A semblance is deeply private," Professor Strife explained with a gesturing palm. "If you're all comfortable with it being in the open it isn't an issue but some powers are more subtle than your teleportation, Miss Telimess. Compromising the details of a power poses risk. While I suggest that you tell your teammates about your abilities, especially your partners, it isn't necessary if you feel like sharing it leaves you vulnerable."
"I don't mind sharing," Fox shrugged.
"Mine is out in the open already," Pina agreed.
"I don't have one yet," Rosé went along. "Once I do though I can't imagine hiding it."
"Whatever," I chipped in. Sharing my semblance could be compromising but not by much. It was the sort of thing that was hard to stop but once you knew about it you could break my combos and try and intervene. I saw the Professor's point well enough. I just didn't care a whole lot.
"Well my semblance is the sort of subtle power the Professor is talking about. I do mind. I'd like any discussion of it to remain private but I don't mind training with the rest of you," Crystal announced her disagreement.
"Well, that's that then," the Professor decided. "Do what you think is best. Let me set up a time to work with each one of you if that's what you all want and let's get started."
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The Professor squared off against Crystal on the training room floor. Both of their auras showed green on the big display. He pulled his broadsword from the harness on his back. It was a massive, single edged instrument just over six feet long. It had a too long red handle beneath a wide guard.
Crystal sort of hesitated for a moment. It was odd. She wavered unusually. "I want you to not let me touch you. If you can," she said. She sort of shivered at the words as she watched him hold the blade in one hand easily. It must have weighed over one hundred pounds but he held it like a short sword. It couldn't be balanced at the guard at all. It was too large.
He gave her an agreeable, firm nod. "I can do that."
On go. He started hovering across the surface of the ground with his lead knee bent. He held the massive blade behind his body without any effort. Crystal shot at him and he paused to cast his blade forward and a wave of golden aura shot out. It blocked her bullets and he chased the wave following behind it and using it as cover.
Crystal dodged the beam but had to stop shooting. The Prof used that opportunity to approach.
He reversed and back-flipped at her and at the apex of his jump he swept his blade behind him and upwards in a tight arc.
The barest tip of the weapon whipped out and nearly caught Crystal in the chest. She blocked it but was shoved back by the sheer force of it. It didn't look like he put much effort into it either.
He descended to the ground and pushed off of the floor with his heavy boots. He bench pressed the enormous blade in an effort to swing it upwards and the attack nearly caught Crystal on the chest.
She rushed in seeing it as an opening but he brought the blade around and down in a golden and white arc all the way around his body. She had to block it and she strained against him even though he swung with one hand.
He landed and with their blades meeting he jabbed his left boot out in a round kick. It caught her in the stomach. He chased with a left sidekick and finally brought his weapon around in a low horizontal swing that caught her across the stomach.
He did ten percent of her aura just like that and it looked like he was being gentle.
She was put into a tumble but she caught herself in a cartwheel. He jumped and back-flipped at her to land just outside six feet away. With his back to her he jumped nearly ten feet in the air. He landed without throwing anything out and still Crystal didn't move. It wasn't an opening. There was no way to punish him. He did again and once again it wasn't an opening. And a third time. He had Crystal backed into the corner scared of his movement alone.
He whipped around on the third empty landing and swung his blade diagonally downward. He followed that with a hooking horizontal slash. Crystal blocked them both but was shoved around by the amount of force of the attacks. The next diagonal swing hit her. And then he made a quick 'x' in the air as easily as if he were writing something. Only what he was writing was a mark on Crystal's body.
Crystal was flung backwards nearly out of the ring but she caught herself again only for Professor Strife to land and bench press her into the air with an upward slash. It was evidently a combo starter for him because he jumped and brought his blade down from over his head on her body in a massive helmsplitter and he spiked her into the floor hard enough that she bounced off of it.
Like that another thirty percent of her aura was gone.
He hovered after her and back-flipped at her again and brought his sword from high to low. She blocked it but couldn't find a way inside. He held her more than six feet away at the tip of his blade and his arm's reach. It was safe pressure when he back-flipped all the way over her and then he sort of rolled in place in the air before falling back in front of her. He changed directions in mid-air so fast. He had her in the corner again just from this menacing movement alone.
Was this how skilled their teachers were? How was I going to catch up? And that flying, it must be his semblance or a part of it. It made him incredibly quick.
He walked up to her slowly with actual steps. Then he swept the blade down from shoulder height. She blocked it but she was still too far away to use her knives and too close to use her guns. He just held her at such a pristine distance. It was as though there was a bubble around him and the space he occupied that Crystal just couldn't breach nor could she safely exist in.
She darted forward and he just slashed across her body and floored her. A blue glow appeared around his form at that. He was suddenly wreathed in flames that licked at his body and his weapon. He hovered over to where she was getting up and he swung his blade down. He reversed in place and brought the weapon back up. Then he turned in place once more and this last hit launched her away where the other two were so fast I barely saw them. I couldn't be sure if it was two, three, or four times he hit her. It was all that fast.
He sighed and the blue glow faded from his body. That last series of blows had knocked Crystal into the red. She never once touched him. And he definitely had been going easy on her. Some of his attacks were done almost gently. Other's had been brutal and he let her have it; like when he spiked her into the floor. I realized my mouth was agape but I couldn't close it. There was a very good reason that he was the youngest Professor in Beacon's history. He was good. As in you-can't-touch-me good.
He slid his weapon back on his harness and paced over to where Crystal had landed. He hauled her to her feet easily. "Where was your game plan?" He asked. "When you fight usually you come at your opponents with a good game plan. You didn't have much of one this time. If at all. What happened? Did you panic? Are you nervous? You shouldn't be."
It was true. Against me and Rosé both she had had a definite plan to win. Against the Professor just now there was nothing like that. Had he too thoroughly shut her down? Could she not come up with anything when she had been so creative against Rosé, me, and Mars?
"I… it's my semblance. I couldn't come up with a way to beat you."
"We can talk more about your semblance in private. I'm worried about what will happen to you. If you run into another blind spot, then it could be disastrous. I want to talk to you tomorrow if you have the time."
"I do. I'll be in your office after lunch. Does one work?" She asked.
He checked his scroll. "It does. I'll see you then. Now… who's next?"
I raised a tentative hand when no one else did.
"Won't you join me in the ring, then? I'm sure we can find something for you to work on." I gulped but was resolved. If Crystal couldn't come with anything then what chance did I have? None. But I suppose that wasn't the point. He was a teacher not a real enemy. He was going to find my weaknesses and exploit them just as he had found Crystal's blind spot in her semblance. But at least afterwards I would get to know what my weak spots were.
I strapped on my gauntlets. I breathed deeply and entered the ring with him to take my beating. It was a little nerve wracking but I could probably come up with some sort of game plan. I'd lead with a crystal and try and close the gap and light him up with my semblance. If he spaced me out with his sword I would lose and it wouldn't be close. It probably wouldn't be close either way.
He counted down and on go he hovered at me just as he done to Crystal. Gods but he was fast. Much faster than he had seemed when I was just watching.
I tried with the dust crystal. I broke it and cast a thunderbolt at him just as he had once taught me. He saw it coming and deflected it off his wide blade. Then he was on top of me. He swept his blade in an arc above him that knocked me into the air. Then he jumped and hit me with a rising aerial. It was a quick little two piece but it hurt a lot. He didn't combo me longer than that though he probably could have. He let me land again before he charged at me. He spun around while gliding and brought his blade down from his shoulder height in a baseball style swing. I caught it on my gauntlets and he slid on the ground and tripped me with the point of his feet. I fell forwards but he swept his blade around his body in another two attack combo. He let me reset again.
I broke a crystal and threw a fireball at him. I would need more dust after this but this was the time to use it. He leapt through it holding his weapon flat like a shield and he swept past the flames.
He slammed into me with his blade digging into the arena floor and him holding it up at an angle and shoving it. It was pretty metal. And it hurt to get hit by. I stepped in and fired off a punch. He caught it on his elbow. Still it counted as a hit to my semblance. I fired off a round kick hoping to catch him in the stomach. He blocked that as well but it was a hit for me. I swung for a third in a hook that was leveled at his head and had the force of a truck behind it.
He caught it and struggled against my strength. He overcame me and grabbed me and yanked me into his knee. That reset my hits. Then he picked me up and slammed me into the ground hard enough that I bounced. Then he did a quick 'x' on my body with his blade. He cut horizontally, then upwards, then he spun around and sliced across the entire calligraphy he was carving into my body. I was launched back. He charged after me and then he jumped at me like he was going to hit me with one of those devastating falling aerials he was fond of. I should have known it was an empty hop based off of Rosé. It shouldn't have surprised me when he whipped around and grabbed me again. He thrust his blade into my chest, flew twenty feet up into the air dragging me along. Then he flipped me over like a pancake and descended, dragging me along for the ride by the sword. He slammed me into the ground and knocked my aura into the red.
I sighed but let him help me to my feet.
"What's your semblance?" He asked.
"I hit harder with each successive hit before I get hit. It resets me when I get touched," I answered promptly. "I call it Roll-up."
"Interesting. You never were able to break my zone and get a combo started. You must be wary of an enemy zoning you out. You tried to break in with your crystals but you might need something else. Consider adding a gun to your equipment. I've seen shotgun gauntlets used to great effect by a similar style."
I nodded along. I knew most of that already and yeah I probably should add a gun to my retinue.
"You're too slow with your dust casting. It's too telegraphed. You need to practice speeding it up if you won't use a gun."
He didn't use one but he was a hovering menace who could summon projectiles from his aura. I was not. I should get a gun or practice being faster.
I exhaled hard. "Thank you Prof."
"It's no problem. Who's next?"
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-WG