In the land of Wano, more precisely the region of Kuri, Zoro was running around the beach taking long glances in every direction. His eyes landed on Sanji coming out of the water. "Hey, Nosebleed, did you find them?"
Sanji clicked his tongue in irritation.
"No. There is no trace of Yang-chan or Blake-chan around here or the waterfall..." Sanji said lighting a cigarette.
"Hey, Zorojuro, Sangoro!" Franky yelled as he and Brook ran toward them.
"Franosuke, do you hear anything about them?" Sanji asked getting head shakes in return.
"The people in Bakura town and the Bandits of Kuri never saw any of the sis's." Franky said slightly dejected.
"There are also no indications that Orochi or Kaidou captured them either." Brook said.
"So we can assume that those four weren't captured. But for some reason, they've suddenly vanished." Sanji said.
"You don't think they were kidnapped by ghosts do you!?" Brook asked in horror.
"Don't be stupid! And you're the last person to say that!?" The three shouted at Brook.
"How about the prison? Have you heard anything from there?" asked Zoro.
"We haven't heard anything yet from Raizou-san," Brook said.
"Do you think they washed up there, Zorojuro?" Franky asked.
"Possibly, nosebleed here has been searching around to no avail, and they are not in Bakura town, Amigasa Village, or the Flower Capital. The only places we haven't searched are Hakumai, Ringo, and Udon." Zoro said calmly.
"So we're going to split up?" Franky asked getting a nod from Sanji.
"Chopper and O-Kiku will search around Udon. Franosuke and I will search around Hakumai. And you two will search around Ringo." Sangoro said.
Franky, Brook, and Zoro nodded before going their separate ways.
It was currently dinner time at Beacon Academy, and it was undoubtedly as rowdy as ever. Although the students were tired of training for the Festival, they still certainly had enough energy to spare for their banter in the cafeteria. Some talked about the Festival, some spoke about Grimm, and some about classes.
But inside the kitchen, there was an unexpected sight that would soon become a legend.
"Done." Weiss said smiling as she finished decorating the pasta, much to the other chefs' amazement.
"I-Incredible... T-This incredible..."
"She made this with the leftover food..."
"Ms. Schnee. Where did you learn to make this?" One of the chefs asked as their eyes drifted from food to food with a look of wonder.
Weiss gave a somewhat coy, but proud smile as grabbed her hair and began retying it into a ponytail.
"You would be surprised at what you can learn in 2 years." She unfastened the apron. "I put the recipe on the table. I hope that all of you won't mind if I continue to borrow the kitchen from time to time."
"N-No, not at all, Ms. Schnee. We're always happy to have you here." He said while watching Weiss skillfully put all the food in her hands.
She walked out of the door and saw that many students were clamoring in front of the door.
The students had heard the rumor earlier in the evening, the heiress of Schnee Company asking to use the kitchen for cooking for her friends. At first, all of them laughed and mocked Weiss because there was no way that the heiress of some big-shot company was capable of cooking. But much to their surprise, Weiss cooked with the skill of someone who knew her stuff. Not to mention she very professionally made the food out of all the ingredients available, even some leftover food from students who hadn't quite finished their food.
Now, instead of mocking and picking fun at her, they wanted to try her food, but Weiss paid them no mind and continued her walk to the table where her friends were waiting for her.
"Ladies and Gentlemen... Dinner is served." She said as she gently and elegantly put the food on the table.
"W-Weiss, you made this?" Jaune asked in shock.
"It looks incredible, Weiss." Pyrrha complimented with a small smile.
"Now, let's see how it tastes." Nora said practically drooling as she took the first bite.
She immediately squealed in delight at the new sensation assaulting her senses.
"Delicious!" Nora shouted. "This is the most delicious food that I've ever eaten!?"
Ren nodded with a slight blush from trying to control himself.
"The juiciness of the meat and the sweetness of vegetables are superbly preserved. It's astounding."
"And for some reason, it also makes me feel stronger and full of energy," Pyrrha said getting a surprised look from Weiss who was pouring a glass of sparkling apple cider for herself and Blake.
Weiss took a seat next to Ruby who was bust stuffing her face.
"As expected from you, Pyrrha, you're right. This food does make you stronger." Team JNPR looked at her perplexed. "This food is made with knowledge of Attack Cuisine a specific type of food from islands far away from here. It was made specifically to build up the physical side of the human body."
She took a sip of her cider as team JNPR digested the information.
"Y-You mean if I eat this food, I will become stronger?" Jaune asked.
Weiss nodded her head in confirmation with a small smile.
"T-Then I will eat even more." Jaune awkwardly said as he snatched more food in front of him, much to Nora and Ren's complaints, while Pyrrha continued enjoying her food.
Weiss smiled to herself as she watched her friends enjoy their food.
After feeling indebted to Luffy for saving her life when she was infected with tree fever, she began to learn how to cook to repay him. Rather unexpectedly she had ended up so interested in cooking that she asked Sanji to become her teacher, and after learning recipes from Sanji and the Kamabakka Kingdom, she was confident in her abilities. Her smile grew just slightly at having been given the chance to learn to cook. It was something the old her would've undoubtedly scoffed at, but like the rest of her crewmates, those two years had changed them. Made them worthy.
Just as her mind was about to drift to her captain, Ruby, beside her, squealed in delight. "Delicious! As expected from Sanji's number 2!?"
Weiss, Blake, and Yang immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at Ruby wide-eyed while team JNPR gave Ruby confused looks.
"Sanji?" Nora asked making sure that she had heard Ruby correctly.
"Yes, Sanji. Weiss's teacher and the chef of our sh-"
Before Ruby could finish her sentence three fists suddenly hit the top of her head hard enough to cause lumps to form. Team JNPR jerked in reaction to the violent response from Weiss, Yang, and Blake.
"S-So you mean Mr. Sanji was the one that taught Weiss how to cook?" Jaune asked nervously hoping he didn't say something that earned himself what Ruby just had.
"Y-Yes, Sanji was the one who taught me how to cook." Weiss answered, her smile coming off just a bit forceful, and stiff compared to how it had been mere moments ago.
"A-And he is your chef?" Pyrrha asked.
"Y-Yes."
Nora eyed Weiss suspiciously, seemingly not believing her for a second.
"Are you sure all of you are not hiding something?" Nora asked, her eyes narrowing.
Weiss, Yang, and Blake tried to smile reassuringly.
"N-No."
"No."
"Of course, it's nothing. Hahahahaha."
Pyrrha, Ren, and Jaune looked at each other. The smiles of the three girls looked undoubtedly forced.
"S-Ship." Ruby said half out of it from the blows to the head.
"GARCHU!?" Yang, Blake, and Weiss said as they delivered three more hits to Ruby's head.
"Ruby, are you okay?" Jaune asked staring at the growing lumps on her head.
"It's okay. I'm not that hurt..." Ruby said smiling it off.
"Spill it." Nora said suddenly as she slammed her hands on the table and leveled them with the most serious stare they'd ever seen from her.
"Huh?" The Four Huntress's asked in faux confusion
"Don't play dumb with me!" Nora said, slamming her hands on the table harshly. "You four have been acting weird ever since you destroyed your dorm. Which, by the way, was awesome! How did you guys do it?"
"You're getting off track, Nora..." Ren said sighing.
"Hehehe. Thanks, I'm the one who did it, btw." Yang said rubbing the back of her head nervously..
"You too, Yang. Stay on track." Ren said.
"Nothing's wrong, guys," Ruby said with a nervous smile. "We just have a lot on our mind."
"Yes, with the festival and all that." Weiss said.
"We need to prepare not to embarrass ourselves," Blake said before she and her team started laughing.
The JNPR team looked at the RWBY weirdly. They had become really bad at lying within the past day. Jaune sighed.
"I can't believe this." He said, taking another bite of food. "Look, guys, we're just worried about you. This isn't like you guys. Yesterday Ruby punched Cardin into the Hospital, literally, and today Yang just beat a team by herself."
Ruby and Yang puffed out their chests in pride.
"He's not complimenting you, idiots," Weiss said punching the sisters on the top of the head.
"E-Eh? Actually, I did. That was awesome."
"Shut up, Jaune," Weiss coldly said making Juane shut up immediately.
Those two didn't need any more reason to cause destruction.
"What he's trying to say is that we're all here for you," Pyrrha said, trying to take the heat off Jaune.. "You don't have to be alone in what you are going through."
At Pyrrha's honest worry, the four stopped acting like idiots and looked at each other. They wanted to talk about what happened to them, to tell their friends of their adventure, their crew, their wins and losses, and most importantly, to tell them of the great man they followed. But knowing what kind of friends the JNPR was, there was no chance they could tell them: Hey, so we actually went to another world and stayed there for 2 years. By the way, we became criminals and waged war with that World's Government and are currently about to fight a beast who could quite literally level Remnant on his own.
Team JNPR would try to stop them, or worse, want to come with them. Perhaps if it had been at the beginning of their adventure they would've told, but they were in the New World now, and that sea was made for only the strongest of the strong. A place filled with individuals who could take over Remnant if they so chose. So, while it hurt to keep their friends in the dark, it was better than endangering them.
"Actually... We have heartbreak from a recent game we were playing." Ruby lied, sweating slightly.
"Game?" Ren asked curiously.
"Yeah, game. A game about pirates. We were cruising through a sea called the Grand Line, searching for a treasure called the One Piece." Blake explained calmly. "We joined a group of pirates called the Straw Hat Pirates. One of the members, Sanji, is a cook in real life, and taught Weiss over various late-night calls."
"So, how does that relate to how weird you were acting this morning?" Nora asked still a bit suspicious.
A solemn look passed over Blake's face.
"One day, they suddenly...stopped playing. We contacted their parents, and they told us that..." Blake said, trailing off at the end.
She couldn't say it, but they seemed to understand. Looks of sympathy crossed their faces.
"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said. "It must've been rough."
"You have no idea," Blake said getting discreet shocked, and amazed looks from Ruby, Weiss, and Yang.
'She's almost as good of a liar as Robin.' Ruby, Weiss, and Yang thought.
"I'm sorry as well. We shouldn't have pushed when it was something so personal." Jaune said looking ashamed.
"If it helps..." Nora said with a sad smile. "Ren and I also lost our parents as well. We know how it feels... Just letting you know."
"We still have the scars," Ren said. "But the only thing we could do was move forward." He gave a gentle smile to team RWBY. "I'm sorry we couldn't give you a better answer."
"Y-Yeah..." Team RWBY answered, feeling bad that they just lied to their friend.
Feeling a light tap on her elbow, Blake glanced over to Weiss.
"You're cruel." Weiss whispered.
"I know." Blake nodded.
She could feel a pit in her stomach forming from lying to them, especially after their heartfelt words.
'Better this than them following us there.' Blake thought.
They couldn't afford to have team JNPR tag along. They were going against one of the Yonko and his crew. There would likely be many individuals who could kill them easily, and they didn't have the time to train them properly either. Not like her crew did with that dreaded two-year separation.
"Well, at least-"
Ruby stopped abruptly, the flash of red in her eyes going unnoticed by team JNPR.
"What's wrong, Ruby?" asked Jaune.
"Nothing... All of you might want to duck." Ruby said as she and her teammates quickly ducked.
Before team JNPR could ask her about it they suddenly found pies and watermelons hitting them in the face.
"So that's what you'd been training on Zou?" Yang said as Ruby smirked.
"Yeah, neat, right? I noticed I could do that when I fought against Vergo in Punk Hazard." Ruby said smiling proudly at herself. "Even Luffy can't do this yet."
"No, he can do that."
"He's been able to access it ever since his fight against Big Moms top commander, Katakuri."
"W-What!? You're joking."
"We're not. In fact I think he was using it on command by the time we were climbing Wano's waterfall." Blake said getting a look of shock from Ruby.
"He can already use it on command." Ruby whispered to herself.
Just when she thought she was finally starting to catch up to him he always managed to pull ahead by leaps and bounds. It took her a solid month to get Future Sight down, and yet it took Luffy all of a week. Despite herself, she grinned.
"Just as I'd expect of my captain." Ruby said contently, her eyes catching the white of Weiss's hair as she lamented how much of a monster her captain was.
Weiss angrily pointed at the students who'd thrown the food.
"Hey, I don't care where you ingrates come from, but wasting food is the only thing I can't tolerate in this world..." Weiss addressed loudly, earning a look from the students having a fun food fight in front of her. "So you better-" She stopped as she avoided a melon that flew past her and hit Jaune's head. "Jaune... Okay, now listen here, you dimwits... I-" A melon suddenly flew past her, and she turned back to see Nora, who was throwing it.
"Revenge!?" Nora screamed as Pyrrha, Ren, and Jaune cheered behind her and started throwing food.
"Dang it, you dimwits!? Listen to me!?" Weiss shouted angrily as a tomato hit her head. Slowly Weiss turned her head towards the perpetrator, her face glowing as red as the tomato juice staining her hair. "That's it, you asshole!?"
Weiss grabbed a swordfish off the ground and ran into the frenzy of students.
Ruby, Blake, and Yang looked at each other and grinned, "Let's do it, girls." Ruby said getting nods from Blake and Yang.
Somewhere between dodging a turkey and hitting a student in the face with pie Ruby had a thought.
'It's nice to be back at Beacon for a while.'
Unknown to them, from the camera inside the cafeteria, Ozpin was watching them.
Ozpin looked into one of the monitors as he replayed the scene before the watermelons hit team JNPR several times. When he slow-motioned the video, he narrowed his eyes and noticed a red glow in Ruby's eyes.
"Interesting..."
"I cannot believe we got detention!" Weiss shouted as they made their way back to their temporary dorm.
"Well, we did cause a massacre in there," Yang said.
"But how is it our fault that they wasted their food." Weiss threw her arms into the air. "I'm going to start a petition! Nobody is going to waste their food in the cafeteria ever again!"
"Calm down, Weiss." Blake smiled fondly. "I agree with you, but we're better off thinking about what to do for tomorrow."
"Oh, right. We still have a tournament tomorrow." Ruby said, a massive grin splitting across her face.
"Better than school in my book." Yang said cracking her knuckles as Weiss sighed.
"So, what is our plan for tomorrow?" Weiss asked her fellow crewmates. "Do we demolish them?"
"I've been thinking about that..." Blake said getting the other's attention. "Maybe we should hold back a bit."
"Why?" Yang asked, seemingly slightly peeved at the idea.
"Because it wouldn't be fair otherwise..." Blake said, getting a scoff from Yang.
"So what? Did you forget?" Yang smiled viciously. "We're pirates! We don't have to play by the rules. Except for making sure that we follow the tournament's rules. Anything else is fair play."
"But..."
"Besides, this will teach them a lesson." Yang grinned. "Be prepared for the unexpected, so you don't fail next time. Isn't that right?" She smiled as Ruby nodded.
Ruby looked upward, "You remember how we got our butts handed to us by Crocodile's Henchman and that boogerman." She said as Blake nodded. "They won't be so lucky to have Luffy and the others to save their ass, they'll need to be ready for whatever may come their way."
"We can't go all out..." Weiss said. "A team suddenly developing new powers, some of which are unknown to anyone on Remnant, out of the blue will raise many questions. The last thing we need is attention if we are to go looking for the rest of our crew. Also, need I remind you that both you and Blake's devil fruit powers would be a dead giveaway?"
Yang nodded her head in agreement. Blake's zoan devil fruit would be a dead giveaway as would Ruby's Paramecia. It sucked to a degree as neither would be able to fight at full power, not that they needed to. There was also the added benefit that they wouldn't end up on the dissection table.
"Then I won't use my Devil Fruit. It's not like I will need it here." Blake said.
I won't use my powers either. We won't be fighting someone on the level of Yonkou Commander, anyway."Ruby said.
"Fine," Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms. "We'll hold back a little." Yang suddenly started to sweat. "By the way, sis, can you please make me a new right arm?"
She held up the new mechanical arm to her sister, smiling nervously as she did.
"Eh? Is it broken? But I just upgraded it in Zou." Ruby said taking the arm as her own shook.
"She broke it when she punched Big Mom." Blake said plainly.
Ruby punched Yang on the head.
"What did you do to my precious baby? I upgraded that thing to withstand a blow that could pulverize mountain tops."
"Well, apparently, her skin is harder than a mountain. I did give her a small burn and managed to push her off the Sunny, but that was with Jinbe's help." Yang said rubbing her head.
"What the hell? What kind of monsters are those Yonkou..." Weiss trailed, lighting a cigarette.
The four huntresses continued talking unaware of the four shadows following them.
"Man, I want to fight against a Yonkou. I should have come with you two to Whole Cake Island..." Ruby sighed, "I'll get the arm fixed tonight, but if you break it again you will be in trouble. Got it?"
Yang nodded quickly not wanting to be on the end of her sister's monstrous strength again.
"I'll do my best not to destroy it." Yang saluted.
Weiss smiled watching her teammates interact.
"We're messed up in the head, huh? Talking about how we're going to limit ourselves on fighters who will be giving it their all."
"That's what you get for voyaging with the Straw Hat." Blake smiled.
"Well, then. I will go to the Lab. Wake me up in the morning." Ruby said as she parted away from the three.
The four shadows split. Two of them followed the trio, and the others followed Ruby.
She walked through the campus while singing, "Going to deliver Binks' Sake! Following the sea breeze! Riding on the waves!" She suddenly stopped and turned her head towards a tree. After a second she shrugged. "Maybe just my imagination..." She continued her walk.
The crowds. The energy. The thrill in the air. Significantly few things could bring these to the levels they were at now, and this was the greatest of them.
The Vytal Festival.
Teams from various schools of the four kingdoms had gathered for this. A team would win the first round and send two members on, who, if they won, would choose a single fighter to battle the rest of the way to the top. Some won, some lost, but all were fulfilled in their intentions of finding worthy opponents.
Indeed, those here were some of the best - for students.
"Anyone feeling nervous?" Ruby asked with a smile as they walked to the arena.
"Nope." Blake said.
"Not me." Weiss added.
"Unless they bring Big Mom. Nope." Yang said, which earned a light smack from Weiss as Ruby laughed.
It may have seemed rather rude, but with the battles they'd gone through in their two years of sailing with the Straw Hats, nobody could blame them.
They had faced Shichibukai, CP9, Baroque Works, and Warrior of Sky Islands in the eye and not backed down. Blake and Yang had even escaped death from one of the Yonkou at Whole Cake Island. To them, facing a group of huntsmen and huntresses in training in a stadium that everyone on Remnant would be watching would be nothing.
Once upon a time, such a thing would've been nerve-wracking beyond belief. That, however, was before they stood on the sandy hills of Alabasta. Vivi's hopes pinned on their crew to stop a war that was causing senseless mass bloodshed.
"Gotta say, I can't wait for this festival to end so we can search for a way to Wano." Blake said, her teammates nodding in agreement.
As Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck announced their team and opponents. They stepped into the ring a second later, mass cheering all around them as they did.
"Reminds me of the stadium in Dressrosa." Ruby grinned happily, putting her hands behind her head. "Only much lower opponents..."
"You have no right to be disappointed. At least you actually got to participate in that tournament." Yang said crossing her arms.
"You snooze, you lost sis." Ruby said shrugging.
"Is that our opponent's?" Blake asked pointing over to a group of individuals.
"Yes. Team ABRN." Weiss said as Yang raised her eyebrows.
"How did you know?"
Weiss sighed and looked at Yang as if she was an idiot.
"They just announced it."
"Oh..." Yang sweatdropped, scratching her cheek.
Ruby suddenly moved in front and turned to face them.
"Hey, girls. How about I finish them off." Ruby said as she pulled out her Crescent Rose 2.0. "I got a new technique and weapon integrated into Crescent Rose that I wanted to try."
Blake, Yang, and Weiss looked at each other.
"No way." The three said giving Ruby a thumbs down.
"Eh?"
"We want to have little fun of ourselves, little sis." Yang said cracking her knuckles.
"It's not only you who enjoy fighting. Besides, I want to see how Fish-man Karate does again Aura." Blake said.
Despite the level of our opponents we would also like to participate in the festival Ruby." Weiss said
"B-But, my new weapon is so cool. It's an Anti-Yonkou weapon that Franky and I designed." Ruby tried to argue.
"No." They refused as they prepared their weapon.
Yang's Ember Celica and Weiss's Myrtenaster quickly loaded dust rounds as Blake pulled out some water and poured it over her hands, letting the water drip from her palm.
"Ready?" Professor Port's voice thundered across the coliseum. "Three. Two. One."
Team ABRN took their fighting stances ready for whatever team RWBY would throw at them. However, to their astonishment, Team RWBY didn't take a stance or acknowledge them. They were simply bickering with one another.
"Are they ignoring us?" Reese asked, annoyance leaking clear into her voice.
"Such disrespect." Arslan said gritting her teeth.
"There distracted. Let's attack while their defenses are down." Bolin said.
Team ABRN nodded and rushed towards team RWBY.
"Come on, just one shot. That's all I need." Ruby said before Yang swiped her Crescent Rose. "Hey! Give it back?!"
"Heck no, you'll just pulverize them in one shot. Why do you even need to test out an Anti-Yonkou weapon on them anyway?" Yang asked.
"Geh!?" Rwby stumbled trying and failing to come up with a quick answer.
"You don't even have a reason, and you're trying to test out an Anti-Yonkou weapon on them." Weiss said before she and the other members of teamRWBY jumped, avoiding an attack from team ABRN.
"What the heck!? Why are they just suddenly attacking us!?" She scowled angrily. "Stay back. I'll teach these peasants some manners."
"What!? You're the one who should stand back, Weiss! It's my turn!?" Yang said throwing Crescent Rose to Ruby and cracking her knuckles.
"Wait, Yang, Weiss. I will finish them with my weapon."
"Just let me finish them. It will spare my ears of you three talking." Blake said adopting a stance.
"Their mine!." Ruby, Yang, and Weiss responded as they prepared their attack.
"Rose Cannon!" Ruby held Crescent Rose 2.0 in front of her. Crescent Rose 2.0 began to change, the area around the trigger and her hand became covered by a metal box, with an arm brace to stabilize her aim. A cylinder formed as the barrel extended and grew in size. By the time the transformation finished, it was big enough to fit her head inside.
"Glyph of the Musician: Brook!" Weiss created a giant glyph. From within stepped out a glowing figure resembling Brook. The glyph Brook pulled out his blade and prepared to charge forward.
"Maximum Output: Amber Rave!" Yang's entire body erupted in flames as she covered herself with armament haki. Her eyes glowed red causing some audience members to flinch back in shock at her almost demon-like appearance. Her foot pushed against the ground cracking it slightly as she readied herself to shoot forward.
"Fishman Karate: Piercing Water Bullets." Blake held her arm out to the side, her muscles tensed, and she readied herself to throw as hard as she could without killing anyone.
The four attacks left their spots at the same time.
Everyone except for team RWBY stared in shock as before team ABRN could say anything the attacks hit and knocked them out of the arena with a massive explosion. The rocks impacted the ground around them, kicking up dust and obscuring their view. When the smoke cleared, the audience could see team ABRN lying on the ground unconscious, bleeding, and looking as if they'd just gone through hell while team RWBY started to bicker again.
"Um...ladies and gentlemen. It appears the fight ended before it even began. The winner of this round is Team RWBY!" Professor Port announced loudly getting cheers from some of the spectators while others looked with silent worry over towards team ABRN.
"Eh?" The four girls said, confused.
Ruby pouted.
"Don't be so grumpy, Ruby. We won." Weiss said as they walked through the rows of food stalls. "We couldn't really expect them to stay standing after that attack now, could we? They're not exactly New World Caliber or even Grand Line caliber for that matter."
"But still..."
"Well, we won, and that's what matters." Yang cut her sister off before she could continue.
"Even if our winning method is a bit too flashy-" Blake suddenly stopped talking.
They heard a cry of surprise, and the rest of Team RWBY turned to see Blake tightly gripping the wrist of a tanned green-haired girl. Her hand was reaching toward Ruby's pocket.
"Just what do you think you are doing, Emerald?" She asked with a frown.
"I...uh..."
"You were reaching for Ruby's wallet, weren't you?" Blake pressed not giving Emerald the time to come up with an excuse.
"I just wanted to help raise her awareness..." Emerald said shrugging with her one free arm.
"By robbing my sister?" Yang asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes..." Emerald said quickly. "I do this with my friends back at Haven. You wouldn't believe how many people keep trying to pickpocket. If I do this, I help them be more aware and keep their guard up."
"I see..." Ruby said. "You could've just told us you would do that."
Emerald shook her head. "What's the point if you tell someone you'll pickpocket them? Besides, I was going to give it back."
"Were you?" Weiss asked testily.
"Y-yes? Also, can you let go of my arm now?" Emerald asked. Blake released her wrist, and she immediately began to rub it. "What's with all the edginess?"
"Let's just say that we have a friend who keeps stealing our money," Yang explained, shivering along with her teammates at the debt they'd been put into. "Anyway, what's up, Em?"
"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight!" Emerald said. "You guys were awesome! I didn't expect the fight to be over with so quickly!" She cheered with gleaming eyes as Team RWBY blushed.
"Oh, shut your stupid little face..." Ruby whispered, doing a little dance.
"Aw shucks." Yang said twirling her hair.
Blake's tail began to swing back and forth.
"Well thank you very much Emerald." Weiss said, trying and failing to keep herself from smiling too widely.
"I heard your team progressed to the next round, too," Blake said grabbing her tail.
"You know," Weiss said. "I feel like we haven't seen your other teammates."
"How'd they do in their fight?" Yang asked.
Emerald tilted her head back and thought for a moment before nodding. "They did well."
"That's great, Emerald," Ruby said as she snapped out of her happy dance. "Uh. Why don't we all go and get victory food together?"
"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you, but my teammates are all kind of..." She looked back to see her teammate Mercury Black. He was sniffing the inside of a boot. "...introverted. Really socially awkward."
Yang nodded in understanding. "Ooh, yeah, I could see that. This one was the same way once."
Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby who looked at her with a face of betrayal.
"Yang, I wasn't that bad." Ruby said.
"Sure you weren't Rubes." Yang said ruffling her sister's hair dismissively.
"Oh yeah, it looks like Merc and I will move on to the doubles round. What about you guys?" Emerald asked as team RWBY looked at each other.
Emerald didn't know what the hell she had just unleashed.
"It's going to be me." Weiss proclaimed.
"What!? It's going to be me!?" Ruby shouted.
"Ruby, Weiss, your summon and rose cannon just finished the ABRN before my attack could. So it's my turn." Yang said crossing her arms.
"Yang. Your transformation must've taken a lot out of you, so it should be me..." Blake said.
The four started their usual bickering again, much to the shock of Emerald and the people around them. Some hunters and huntress looked at the four in disdain. They were bickering like this in the arena and now outside the stadium. Did they even realize what kind of event this Festival was?
Seeing the looks of contempt around them, Emerald cut in. "H-How about Weiss and Yang start..." She said, earning the look from two of the four that made her nervous. "I-I think it's better if it's close combat-oriented people and Ruby made something big in the arena, so I thought you would be tired..." She trailed off, unsure what to say next.
Ruby sighed, "You don't know this, Em, but I'm-"
"Come on, sis, you are tired, so leave it to your big sis," Yang said, a shit-eating grin on her face.
"That's right, Ruby. You should listen to others if you want to improve." Weiss grinned as Ruby puffed her cheeks.
Yang and Weiss high-fived at their successful attempt to troll with the second youngest member of their crew.
Emerald sweatdropped at the trio before she turned to Blake, "You don't seem to be upset?"
Blake shook her head, "I'm content with only watching. I just realized that those small fries bore me anyway." She said, earning a look from Emerald.
"Of course, they would bore the notorious pirates..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing." Emerald smiled innocently. "Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." As Blake returned Emerald's confident smirk with one of their own.
Emerald shivered internally, but did her best not to let it show on the outside. She was sure that Blake was trying to give a confident smile, but it was coming off more predatory than anything.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Emerald turned and walked away from them. "Alright, well, I'm gonna catch some more fights."
"Have fun!" Ruby waved. "Also, please don't try to steal my wallet next time!"
"No promise there! See you later," Emerald said with faux cheerfulness.
As soon as she walked away, her expression turned into one of concentration as Mercury chuckled.
"That's the first time I've seen you fail," Mercury teased. "Are they the real deal?"
He pulled out a bundle of papers from his bag.
Emerald nodded, "Yeah. They are the real team RWBY that we sent to another world."
Her eyes focused on the papers below her as she studied them.
Red Huntress: Ruby Rose – 475,000,000 Berri.
Yellow Brawler: Yang Xiao Long – 350,000,000 Berri.
White Knight: Weiss Schnee – 120,000,000.
Black Panther: Blake Belladonna – 95,000,000 Berri.
Mercury chuckled, "It's no joke. How could we fight against a Super Rookie and four notorious crewmates of that Strawhat Pirates." He said, earning a look from Emerald. "W-Well, it's not our fault they returned. It's Salem's..."
Emerald clicked her tongue. It wasn't supposed to be like this. The golden coin that Salem gave to them was supposed to send those four away for good. But instead, they returned, and from what she saw, they became monsters befitting those monstrous bounties. Damn that Salem. She must tell Cinder right away otherwise those monsters could 100% affect their plans.
Unaware of Mercury and Emerald, four shadows were trailing them.
"See, I told you those four are in trouble." Nora said as Ren looked at a picture he had taken of the bounty posters
"It could be fake, but it's perfect for a fake one," Ren complimented while looking at the scrolls. "Is it me, or are these pictures of them 2-3 years older? Look at their body and facial structures."
Jaune looked over and nodded, "You're right, Ren. Those pictures are more mature than the snot-nosed brats we know..." A chill suddenly went down his spine.
Ren and him turned to see the disgusted, somewhat disappointed faces of Pyrrha, and Nora.
"Pervert."
"Pervert."
"Hey!?" Ren and Jaune retorted as Pyrrha sighed.
"Anyway, the fastest way to make them talk about this is through interrogation, and we know the only person from their group that we could interrogate," Pyrrha said getting nods from the others.
"Ruby."
"Ruby."
"Definitely, Ruby."
"Achoo!" Ruby sneezed while waiting for her ramen.
"Are you getting cold, sis?" Yang asked.
"No way, only smart people get cold. She as an idiot will never get one." Weiss mocked.
"Hey!?"
I'm back. Sorry for the long wait. On a side note, I thought it would be an interesting idea if Weiss had Glyph attacks based on each of the Straw hats. Will also be doing a reaction fanfiction to this story eventually.