Team MACE and the masked Huntress stood in silence for a minute. Taking a deep breath, Kagami gripped her sword tight and stepped forward. "Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded.
She simply laughed back and fanned herself. "I'm no one and don't want anything really." She shifted her body weight around. "But my friend, she can't wait to meet you."
"And who's your friend?" She narrowed her eyes.
"No one special." She shrugged. "Her name is Jayde."
"Jade?" Kagami's eyes widened as she stepped back.
"Jayde." The masked Huntress nodded.
"Jade? Jade?!" Kagami turned to look over at Cheyenne. "She followed us here?"
"I um, well, I guess she could have heard about the bounty. So she... came..." The Faunus trailed off.
Blinking rapidly, Kagami stood still. With a defeated exhale, she stepped over and collapsed beside Elise and Kris. "I'm too tired to deal with this anymore..."
Cheyenne deadpanned and stared at her three friends laying on ground underneath a shadow of gloom. "I-" She blinked and glanced over at the stranger. Taking a deep breath, she slumped her shoulders and slowly walked over towards her friends. "Yeah, okay..." She mumbled while slowly getting onto the ground and rolling onto her back. "Okay..." She squinted her eyes at the blazing sun before closing her eyes. "Okay."
The masked Huntress blinked. "Um," she glanced around before looking at team MACE. "A sixty million lien bounty on you four?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Okay. Listen." She stepped closer. "There's a trap. You can either walk into it yourself or I can make you. Let's make this easy on both of us. It's too hot." She fanned herself.
"I'll pass." Kris mumbled.
"Me too." Elise added.
"Just drag us there." Kagami threw her arms above her head. "I give up."
"Uh..." She stared blankly at them. She then pulled her blue mask down and around her neck. "Are all of you serious?"
"Yep." Cheyenne glanced up at her. "It's been a... Yep." She trailed off and nodded.
The masked Huntress stared at the four girls before letting out a heavy breath of air. Ten minutes later, a tanned woman in green robes and a green mask and hood stood beside her.
The Huntress in green stared over and down at team MACE. "You're sure this is the team with the bounty, Kasune?"
"Yep." The woman in blue nodded while fanning herself. "I've been following them since they entered the Kingdom. By the looks of it, I don't even think any of them know how to fight. I could have slit their throats and they never would have known."
"That's disappointing." She huffed with an annoyed breath and squatted down. The tone in her voice shifted slightly. "Come on." She poked at Kagami's face. "I wanted to fight you. Get uuuppp." She groaned.
Kasune rolled her eyes. With a swift flick of her wrist, she closed her fan and placed both hands on her hips. "I'm fine with supporting the fighting spirit that is in your blood, but I think we should just kill them and take the lien for their blood. That amount of lien could change someone's life."
"I'd rather earn it." Her partner stated before shoving Kagami in the shoulder. "Come on. Get up."
"Why?" The jadette hissed while letting her body move around like a rag doll.
"Because I want to fight you." She pulled down her mask and crossed her arms. "There's a sixty million bounty on your head. I want to know what kind of person it takes to create such a reward. I don't even want the lien. I just want to know how well you fight."
"Huh?" Kagami pushed herself up slightly. "You're not friends of my cousin?"
"What?" She pulled back. "No? Though, you do look a lot like Kaito. You have his eyes." She stood up and held out her hand. "My name is Jayde."
"You're Jayde?" Cheyenne rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up.
"Yes?" The Huntress in green nodded.
"Wait." Kagami got to her feet. "Wait, who's Kaito?" Her brow furrowed.
Seeing her on her feet, Jayde smiled. She quickly hid it behind her mask. "Alright. This is more like it." She reached behind her and pulled out a staff that extended.
"No, no. Who's Kaito?" Kagami held out her hands in an attempt to calm her. "What do you mean he has my eyes?"
"Fight me and I'll tell you." She spun her staff around before letting it strike the ground. It glowed purple and a shockwave wave shook the pebbles at her feet.
Staring, she took a few deep breaths before narrowing her eyes. She drew her sword and spun it around a few times. "Fine. Whatever. Let's see what you got." She held her blade up.
Kasune exhaled as she walked over beside Kris and Elise. "Let's get you two out of the way. Unless you want your bones broken." She grabbed each by the wrist and dragged them off to the side.
Cheyenne eyed her leader with a gulp before slowly moving back. "Be careful, okay?"
"Heh." Kagami flashed her a smile. "Aren't we always careful?"
With her expression hidden, Jayde took a few steps forward while spinning her staff around herself. She planted her right foot in front of herself while catching her weapon with both hands and holding it up. "With a sixty million lien bounty, I sure hope you don't disappoint."
Kagami sighed as she stepped forward. "You know, I'm getting really tired of people bringing that up." She calmly raised her sword in front of herself while bringing her bracer close to her body.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have done what you did to earn it." She sounded smug and it was clear she was smiling behind her mask.
The two stood in silence under the blazing sun. Sweat beaded down both of their necks. In the distance, the bustling Vacuans could be heard. Their voices were muffled to the point no words could be distinguished. Kagami exhaled, as did Jayde, and they both lunged forward.
Their weapons clashed and Kagami's sword hummed against the staff infused with gravity Dust. Power radiated from each of their blows, but also, so did a strange sense of respect. They struck each other with matching strength. Each time they hit just a little bit harder. They weren't trying to injure each other, they were testing each other's strength. They were seeing just how far both of them could go.
Suddenly, they locked weapons and both leaned in. They struggled against one another before Jayde slipped underneath the jadette. She planted her foot firmly onto the ground and with a sharp breath, drove her staff upward and into her chin. As it struck, it glowed a bright purple and sent a shockwave away from the girl.
Kagami grunted and closed her eyes. She stumbled back several feet before catching her balance. She quietly groaned and reached up to rub her chin.
"Did that sting?" Jayde asked while repositioning herself.
"Yeah. It did." She narrowed her eyes while flashing her teeth.
She chuckled back. "Good."
With a low groan, Kagami raised her sword. She then suddenly lunged inward while going for a downward swing.
Jayde easily parried against it and sent the blade downward with her own weapon. What she wasn't expecting though was Kagami's quick response.
The jadette almost instantaneously switched her grip around. With her sword in a reverse grip, she brought it up and around to backhand the Huntress in green with the pommel.
She nearly fell from the blow as she stumbled back. Her eyes burned and she quickly closed them. She couldn't think clearly until she shook her head and brushed off the stunned feeling.
With a smile, Kagami stepped back and flipped her sword back around. "Now I know that stung."
Jayde hissed. "Why you..." She spoke low through her mask.
She chuckled back. Her smile turned into a grin. "Are you going to finish that sentence?" She teased.
The Huntress growled and quickly darted towards her. The two clashed weapons again. The hum of their weapons echoed in the blistering heat. Once they locked again, Jayde twisted part of her staff.
Kagami watched and gasped as a blade shot out from the end and just barely grazed her neck. Gritting her teeth, she shifted her right wrist and the blade inside her bracer pushed out. The tip of it pressed up against Jayde's side.
Both fighters froze in place. They were stuck in a stalemate. The sun's rays torched both of them for nearly a minute before they both quickly pulled away.
With a scoff, Jayde reached up and pulled her mask down. She was smiling. "Well I wasn't expecting that." She retracted the blade on her staff.
"Neither was I." Kagami smiled back while letting the blade on her bracer slip away.
"Are you satisfied?" Kasune asked while walking over with her hands on her hips.
"I suppose." Her friend collapsed her staff and put it away. She then eyed the four young girls. "You obviously need some help here. I'll talk to Billy about getting you some contracts. If you want, you can stay at our place until his place is open later tonight. I think your friend could use some food." She eyed Elise. "And a bed."
"Hey." Kagami pointed with her sword. "I fought you." She withdrew and slid her weapon away. "Tell me who Kaito is. You said you would."
"I did." Jayde nodded as she turned around. "He'll be at Billy's. Pick your friends up and let's go." She waved before reaching up to pull her mask back over her face.
Cheyenne watched as the two Huntresses strutted away. She took a very deep breath before glancing at her leader. "Do we follow?"
"She said Kaito has my eyes." Kagami flexed her jaw. "We're going." She turned around to help Elise to her feet.
The Faunus didn't even question it. She simply nodded and went to help Kris.
So, *eyes the several writing projects I have*
Anyway,
I had an idea a long time ago. I remember stumbling upon a fanfic that did something around the gist of it but I don't think it was ever finished nor do I remember the name of it.
But with the release of JLxRWBY Part 2 I've been thinking about this idea a lot more.
Would any of you be interested in a story where Ruby wakes up in a world where everything is backwards? Good and bad roles are swapped and Huntsmen and Huntresses are more like totalitarians with Headmasters as dictators more or less and with Ozpin at the highest point of authority and control.
There's a lot more to it like "Where is this alternate world's Ruby?" and a bunch of character interactions and new origins.
I was thinking of calling it YBWR: The World of Aggregate
Thoughts?