Welcome back.
Usually, I don't upload this much and this fast for any specific fic, but it's essay season, and this story is far faster to write than my others, so here we are.
I wanted to say thanks for hitting 500 followers. You guys have blown me out of the water with your support, and it means a lot. I know this story feels a little slow, but I like my build-up before things inevitably go insane, like every JJK fic.
Let's get back into it.
Beta Readers: Chris72637, Luxutor, MegaDumbo, and Tupjunk
...
He was walking through the streets without a person in sight, only the flickering bulbs of red street lights and the crumbling ruins of what was once Shibuya surrounding him.
The air was still, filled with the smells of ash and decay as he meandered across broken asphalt, coming to a sudden stop, a foreign voice escaping his lips, filled with a malice and demented glee the world would never experience again, not so much a man, but the concept of savagery incarnated into a living being, a curse born from a man.
"Hey, brat, be sure to savor this."
The tattoos across his skin faded as the sorcerer regained control of his body, a demented smile falling into a frown as he stared off at the lifeless husk of a bustling city as foreign memories invaded his mind.
He held his head, watching in detail as countless sorcerers, curses, and far too many innocents died at his hands...tears burned their way into his shaking eyes as the burning taste of bile rose in the back of his throat.
The atrocities...the rampage...the endless murder brought on because he couldn't control it. The grief was unbearable, making the boy fall to his knees as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the road, clawing at its surface as his own blood stained the surface with each gash.
What had he done?... What did Sukuna make him-
*CLAP
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Reality distorted, the eerie silence of death vanishing as the vessel regained his wits, staring into a pair of lilac eyes as they bore down on him from across a table.
He just stared at her, "...What?"
Yang squinted at him, leaning against her elbows, "You good dude? You're sorta spacing out on us."
Itadori blinked, glancing around the room, filled with all kinds of students as they filled their lunch trays from one of the many open bars staffed with workers.
Right, they had gone to get food after their fight...he must've zoned out for a second there.
Yuji pushed the thought away, glancing around, realizing both his team and Yang's were all staring at him with mixed expressions, making the sorcerer feel kinda sheepish.
His smile returned as he ran a hand along the back of his head, "Sorry, I was just thinking about stuff, is all. What were we talkin' about?"
Sat beside him, Pyrrha chimed in, "Oh, nothing really, just family banter is all."
Ren poked his head out from behind her, "So it's just been us listening to Ruby and Yang argue for the past ten minutes."
The scythe wielder huffed, her pale face covered in cookie crumbles, "She just doesn't wanna admit it's time to grow up and stop making corny jokes."
Says the one covered in chocolate.
Yang kicked back in her seat, her grin growing by the moment, "What can I say, Rube? If I gave up the puns and made a belt outa clocks, it'd still be a waist of time anyways!"
*CRACK
Ruby slammed her head into the table at lightspeed, her face going clean through.
Pyrrha just laughed at the two, "It must be nice having a sibling. You two seem so close."
The blonde dug her sister's face out of the wood, pulling her close in a headlock, "Awww, we're reeeeeal close, aren't we, Ruby?"
"Yaaaaang, stoooooop!"
She helplessly flailed before getting smothered into silence, death by a silent pun, truly a tragedy.
The bombshell glanced across the table, "What, none of you guys got any brothers or sisters?"
Nora blubbered something from between the fifty brownies shoved down her gullet before they disappeared with a horrifying gulp, "Do pancakes coun-"
Ren deadpanned, "No, Nora, pancakes aren't your siblings-"
"But I love them!"
"Would you eat your siblings?"
"...Are they tasty?"
Yuji's eyes went wide before looking anywhere but there, grateful he wasn't getting asked that question.
The silent boy just glanced at Yang, pointing a thumb toward the hammer wielder, "...Not related, but basically family."
She snickered, "You or the pancakes?"
His face sunk, "I ask myself that question every day."
A moment of quiet passed as Weiss glanced down at her perfectly assorted plate, refusing to let any of her foods touch, giving off a huff, "If you must know, I have an older sister and a younger brother-"
The blonde nodded, "Mhm, but you're a Schnee, so everyone knows that. Next!"
"Why, you-!"
Yuji opened his mouth, but she cut him off, "Not you-"
Pyrrha raised a brow, "Why not him?"
The perky girl shrugged, "We'd be here all day if Pinkie gave us the rundown on that Loud House of his."
"I don't follow...and it's not like I have anyone but my parents to talk about...how about you, Blake?"
The bow-wearing Huntress didn't so much as glance up from her book, "Pass."
Yang snorted at her partner's bluntness but took the reigns once more, "Yuji-"
His head perked up from the smiley face he was making out of rice, "Yeah?"
"How many brothers you got?"
His grin returned in full force, "Nine!"
Pyrrha's fork clattered onto her plate, "I...I'm sorry...did you say nine brothers?"
The sorcerer nodded in pride, padding along his pocket, slowly pulling something out, "Yeah, and I'm the youngest! I'd show you guys some pics, but my phone is sorta, woah, it's on!"
To the teen's shock and delight, the screen blipped on, making a giant question mark appear over his head: how did that happen?
A memory of Nora electrocuting him during the trials came to mind, how that somehow charged his phone and didn't fry the battery, Itadori would never know, but he wasn't about to question it.
His smile grew as he tapped along the device, scrolling through what must have been thousands of pictures and onto his favorites, pulling up an image before turning it around for the others to see.
It was a selfie of him and someone else with an awkward grin on his face, a guy a little older than him with ghostly pale skin and long black hair wearing some ancient-looking set of robes with a colorful collar, but what really caught their eye was the distinctive dark stripe running across his cheeks, cutting over his nose.
Yuji pointed a finger at the screen, giddy as can be, "That's my favorite big brother, Choso! He's the best!"
As the others stared at the picture, wondering how Yuji was related to this quiet-looking guy at all, Weiss spoke up first, "And what makes him so great?"
Yuji cocked his head to the side, "Huh?"
She silently huffed, "Well, you said he's the best. I'm asking what he's the best at exactly."
As Yang rolled her eyes, about to cut her off for starting something for no reason, Itadori spoke first, scratching his cheek in embarrassment, "He's the best at being Choso...if that makes sense."
He looked down at the table for a second, "You guys probably figured my family isn't all that...normal, but Choso always tried to step up as the oldest brother and help out however he could, even after I caused him all sorts of problems...I don't really need much more of a reason to love him, not just cause he's reliable but...because he's...himself."
Out of everyone, Pyrrha broke character with a coo, "Awww, that's so swee-"
Realization hit her like a truck.
The invincible girl coughed, straightening up, "I mean...it's...nice that you two have such a close bond.
Weiss, meanwhile, just stared at the sorcerer, his comments not really going over her head. The heiress heard what he was saying, but...it just didn't make sense.
She came from a family where achievement meant everything, and Winter was everything she aspired to be and more. Strong, confident, independent, and talented, her older sibling was all that and more in her eyes, the inspiration that made her want to become a Huntress...but compared to her, Weiss just didn't stack up.
Brothers only know what Winter would think if she saw her following orders from someone like Ruby; it was humiliating. The two had been apart for so long; what would happen if they met again, and Weiss had nothing to say, no accomplishments to list?... Would Winter hate her?
Could she live with that?
The Schnee slumped her face against her palm, staring at the Faunus that was giving her so many headaches, the words 'potato face' coming to mind over and over.
Why does someone like him have it so easy? Why is it that no matter how hard she tried, Weiss could never amount to what her sister had to offer?
Meanwhile, his family didn't seem to care what he did, but the guy was freakishly strong anyways!?...Maybe she'd be so laid back if she had so little to concern herself with-
"Ow, that hurts!-"
She stopped her wandering thoughts, looking over to see one of the many ogres their class had to offer, bedazzled in his expensive grey armor, clearly bought with his father's money and influence, not that the brown haired teen seem to care much for family names.
Cardin Winchester, and if memory served, his father was a councilman of some kind, giving him the sway to get away with murder, and he knew it, tormenting practically anyone who looked his way, or if a girl caught his eye, he tried to 'pick them up' as he had done to Weiss on more than one occasion...
She silently scoffed, as if she'd let a human gorilla like that anywhere near her.
He was perched along one of the tables, a hand clasped around some Faunus girl's rabbit ears, a sight all too common in the heiress' life, but one she was trained to ignore, going back to her business, choosing to let things happen.
The others at her table voiced their disgust, but one was being oddly quiet, and when she spared a glance, potato-face was nowhere to be seen.
Where could he have-
*CRACK
A resounding smack rang out, drawing her attention back around. To her surprise, the pink-haired menace was standing between Winchester and the Faunus girl, having slapped his hold over her loose as she rapidly sped off into the cafeteria.
Cardin tried to call out, "And where do you think you're going!?-" soon scoffing, "Ah forget it, we got some fresh meat on the menu anyways."
All eyes were on them, the entire room going silent as the crowd realized who was facing off.
Cardin looked down at the sorcerer, smirking at how tiny the little guy was. Even sitting, he was still a head taller, "Oh, and what do we have here, boys? One freak, two freaks, we're a few heads short of a circus, aren't we?"
As the brute's team laughed, he dropped onto the ground, standing upright as he towered over the vessel, "What do you think you're doing here, pipsqueak? Tryna play hero for your little mutant friends? Why don't you and the rest of your kind take the hint and get l-"
"Oy-"
Itadori stared up at the teen, his expression completely neutral, but his brown eyes bored into him as he clenched a fist, "Grit your teeth."
"Wha-"
*BOOM
The sorcerer moved like lightning; one moment, he was standing still, and the next, he was throwing a punch at full throttle. Cardin couldn't so much as blink before a fist cracked against his chin, the force sending him off his feet and across the room, the occupants of another table clambering away as he crashed straight through, sending silverware and food flying.
Weiss' entire table froze, but something in her wasn't shocked that a knucklehead like Yuji would start a fight over something so insignificant in her eyes.
The room was quiet, watching in disbelief as the vessel trudged toward Cardin, grabbing his armor with one hand and hauling him to his feet before shoving him back toward his table, with him falling straight on top of it.
Itadori stopped, facing off against the teen's entire team, staring indifferently at them, "Put your hands up and fight, or I'm gonna pummel all four of you until you learn your lesson."
Was he seriously trying to get himself hurt? The heiress almost couldn't believe the King of Idiots was willing to go as far as to start a fight against an entire team...bravado and stupidity were one and the same, after all.
Cardin pushed off the table after a few moments of struggling, glaring at the sorcerer as he tried to catch his bearings, "Oh, you're gonna regret that, little man."
Russel rushed beside his team leader, uncertainty coating his face, "Cardin, dude are we really doin' this? You know whose grandson he is, right!?"
One stare set the guy straight as the Winchester cracked his neck, "Who cares? If Ozpin tries to kick me out, my dad'll close this place down for good, it's time Tiger-boy learned his place, so you're either with me, or you're next!"
It took Weiss a second to even acknowledge what they were talking about. Itadori was so distant from Ozpin that the blade wielder had to remind herself they were related at all. Though, it would be interesting to see how an institution like this punished one of its own.
It took less than a moment of hesitation for Sky, Russel, and Dove to fall in line. All the while, Itadori impassively waited, completely unreadable.
From her seat, Weiss idly watched, her ice-cold gaze calculating everything down to the most minute details; by all metrics, Cardin had anyone beaten in a brawl.
He was bigger, stronger, and faster than most of their grade, and the majority of their classmates lacked the skill to keep up with a clown like him, but going up against someone like Yuji?
She didn't know what to make of him, he was unpredictable, a complete buffoon that you would think nothing of at a glance, but at this point, she and the others knew there was something up with him.
Cardin led the charge, rushing toward the sorcerer as onlookers dove out of his way, raising a fist high before swinging down from above. Itadori stared at his approaching fingers, waiting until the very last moment to flash into motion.
Yuji ducked just enough to let the boy's fist sail through his hair as he swiveled behind him, catching the brute's outstretched arm in a vicegrip connecting with his other hand around his torso, using the Winchester's own momentum against him, forcing him off his feet before hurling him across the floor with inhuman strength, sending the guy tumbling as he slammed into a nearby wall, sending cracks along its surface.
Even by their standards, aura user or not, that potato face wasn't just strong; no, Weiss knew strong; she had some of the best teachers Remnant had to offer, but Yuji had actual skill and experience to back up whatever he was doing.
Itadori landed in a crouch as Dove came rushing in from behind, his eternally squinted eyes gleaming as he tried to kick the sorcerer while he was down, but the vessel's wrist shot out at breakneck speeds, catching his attacker's strike head on, stopping him dead in his tracks by his ankle.
The blonde could hardly gawk before he was thrown with the flick of a wrist, crashing straight into his leader's torso, sending a violent wave of spittle from Cardin's mouth as he struggled to breathe.
The heiress couldn't help but wonder how he knew how to fight like that; it didn't look like any actual school of martial arts; there was too little elegance and far more savagery, more like he was some kind of street fighter who learned on his own.
Itadori wasted no time hopping to his feet with a casual push off the ground, bouncing on his heels as Sky haphazardly threw punches at his direction, sloppy and unorganized, each slamming into his raised hands, bouncing off his enhanced skin without even needing cursed energy to back him up.
All the while, Yuji just stared at him, "Have you never been a real fight before? You need to turn with a punch for-"
"Shut it!"
His opponent dove straight at him, arm outstretched way too far for his own good as he tried to slug the vessel in the face. All Yuji did was shoot a fist straight through his unguarded defense, blood splattering as Sky's nose shattered on impact, stumbling straight into Russel as he tried to catch him.
"Like that."
Sukuna's vessel took a running jump, kicking off one of the nearby seats, his right leg lashing out as his heels and shin connected with both their skulls, sending them face into the ground, down and out for the count.
Weiss didn't know why he was giving out free advice during a fight, but she couldn't help but wince at the results. Even calling this a fight wasn't accurate. It was more like Yuji was just throttling them with no effort.
Cardin threw Dove off of him, pushing off his knees and onto his feet, holding a hand to his armored stomach, "How...How the hell are you doing that to my aura you freak!?"
Yuji turned to face him, shrugging his shoulders as if none of it mattered, "Who knows?...Back home, I'm sort of an expert on souls. Maybe that has something to do with it, but either way, you don't know what to do without it, do you?"
So it wasn't just her?... First Yang, and now the baboon noticed it too? Whatever a sorcerer was, it was clearly far more different than she anticipated, but there was so little to go on...it left her curious.
He slowly walked toward the brute as the guy silently shook in rage, "Everyone thinks too highly of themselves until that attitude gets beaten out of em', and I'm not gonna stop until you figure that out."
Cardin blinked, and Yuji was gone, making him look around in every direction in a panic until a voice rang out right beside him.
There sat the sorcerer, right beside him, his mere presence taunting the Winchester with his existence, "How's that sound?"
Even Weiss guffawed at how fast the vessel could move when he felt like it. Yang had called him out for not trying during their matchup, and even now, it was like this was nothing to him. She didn't get it; how could someone so moronic, so lacking in any tact or nuance, do something like this with no effort?!
Cardin responded with a growl, whirling around as he threw a punch at max force, casting a looming shadow over the vessel, who simply slammed a palm down onto the table, pushing off as he leaped overhead, landing behind Dove, who could hardly react before he was casually shoved toward his leader.
In a rage, Cardin backhanded his own teammate, sending him face first into the wall as he tried to rush the sorcerer down, and every time, only meeting solid wood again and again, his anger growing by the second, "Grow a pair and fight me!"
This time, Yuji landed right behind him, facing off as he dared the guy to attack, "Have it your way."
Cardin took the bait and tried to swing at him from behind, only for Yuji to catch his fist like it was nothing, spinning him all the way around like a ragdoll before an elbow slamming across his cheek, sending the brute spinning, crumbling to the ground as he landed on his back.
Weiss wouldn't call anything that Itadori did honorable. He fought however he felt like, but she would at least acknowledge he knew when to restrain himself from acting like just another ape in the jungle.
The crowd was mostly silent, aside from the uproarious cheers from his table, but Yuji paid them no mind.
Itadori lazily stood overhead, staring down at him, waving a hand to the surrounding crowd, "Do you think anyone likes when you act like that?"
The bully squinted, swiping a hand across his bloodied face, "W-what?"
The vessel's deadpan remained in place, "We live in a world where monsters wanna eat you and feelin' like trash is practically ringing the dinner bell for em'...is that really what you wanna be? The cause of someone else's misery?"
He sighed, "Believe me, there's nothing good waiting for ya if you just burn all your bridges...it's just askin' for a life of loneliness."
To Cardin's surprise, Itadori offered him a hand, "You don't have to be this way; you can still come back and be better if you're willing to try."
The brute just stared at him for a moment, cautiously taking his hand, and the moment Yuji tried pulling him up, Cardin threw one last punch at his face.
With all the disregard in the world, the vessel leaned out of the way and raised a foot, and only then did the bully sputter out a rapid slur of apologies, but he wasn't hearing it. With a kick to the head, Cardin went straight into the floor as it cracked around his skull.
Yuji just stared at him for a second and let out a sigh, walking back to his table with his hands in his pockets, "...You gotta let go of that pride, man."
The heiress didn't get it...nothing that faunus did made any sense, it just left her confused, not knowing what in the world his intentions were when they seemed to flip-flop on a dime. One second, he's humiliating the Winchester; the next, it's like he was trying to befriend him the whole time...it reeked of inconsistency, and she despised things she couldn't understand.
As the vessel wordlessly approached his seat, Yang was the first to give him an energetic grin, "Dude, that was awesome! How come you didn't try like that when we-"
He raised a hand to her confusion, and in the blink of an eye, the sorcerer was scarfing down what remained of his plate like a starving animal.
Ruby rose from the dead as flakes landed in her hair, flinging herself toward the ceiling, "WHYYYYYYY!?"
Weiss audibly gagged as rice flew in every direction, flying into a panic when a grain landed on her hand as Ren spoke up, "...What's the rush for?"
The bowl clattered to the table with Yuji's face swollen like a chipmunk's as he washed it down with a massive gulp of hot tea, soon slamming his palms together in silent thanks, and with that, he raised his hands to the sky in surrender.
He gave his friends one final look, giving them a somber smile, closing his eyes for what would surely be the last time, "My death."
...
...
What?
*BOOM
The cafeteria doors exploded open as a familiar riding crop stuck through the opening, slamming the vessel face-first into the table before lifting him up and dragging him off toward certain doom.
Nora dove onto his legs, desperately kicking against the floor to no avail, as she stared at her friend with pleading eyes, "I won't let it end like this. We still haven't had pancakes together!"
He smiled down at his friend, "Jump Nora...Jump."
With a gentle push, the ginger fell onto one of the nearby chairs, reaching a hand out for him, "Your turn, come on! Step eight, Yuji, freedom!"
A pair of green eyes glowed in the dark, her pull over the poor boy only growing stronger, but he accepted this fate, vanishing over the threshold with somber understanding, "For you, Nora, not for me."
"YUJI!"
She reached out in vain as the doors slammed shut.
...
Later
"And what do you have to say for yourself?"
Goodwitch paced back and forth in one of the empty classrooms, with Yuji sitting at one of the desks listening to her lecture him for the past twenty minutes.
The professor counted down on her fingers, "Four students in the infirmary, five if you count Miss Xiao Long, multiple with broken bones. Do you have any idea how this reflects on our institution?!"
The vessel leaned his face against his palm, passively meeting her stare, "And them picking on that girl doesn't?... You guys got a weird set-a rules, Sensei."
The instructor shook her head, "And we have procedures for these things. You don't go around picking fights with everyone who crosses your ire, do you?!"
He shrugged, "If I think I gotta, then yeah. Guys like that don't learn nothin' unless you beat it into their heads. Do what you gotta, but I'm not apologizing."
She ran a hand through her tied-up hair, "We are so far beyond apologies at this point, Mr. Itadori. Cardin Winchester's father is a councilman! What if he comes to find out his son was beaten to a pulp by someone the public thinks is Ozpin's grandson!? Can you even imagine the ramifications this could have!?"
Yuji hummed, glancing off to the side, "He isn't gonna talk."
The teacher leaned in, "Oh? And what makes you so sure?"
He didn't move so much as an inch, "Cause he got humiliated in front of everyone, the guy would be lucky if they stopped talking about it in a week. If he brings his dad into this, he won't live it down, and he knows that."
"Is that why you did this, to embarrass him? Is something so childish really worth all this trouble?"
Itadori shook his head, "I did it for his own good. He might get away with that stuff here, but out there in the real world, that's gonna end one way."
The vessel met the professor's stare, "You can pitch it any way you want, but if you don't give people a reason to like you, they aren't gonna stick their necks out for you when it matters. It's better to deal with that when ya can instead of scoopin' up what's left of him when it's too late."
Her eyes widened a bit before she looked off with a sigh, "You're too young to be talking like that."
Yuji leaned back in his chair, cracking his back, "I guess, but that's just how it goes for sorcerers, Sensei. I'd rather crack someone's skull open a thousand times than let em' get killed by being stupid."
Goodwitch dropped her shoulders, adjusting her glasses with the push of a finger, "I understand why you did it, and believe me, the last thing I want is to let hooligans like that get away with bigotry, but you need to keep the bigger picture in mind."
She glanced out a window and up toward Beacon Tower, "Director Ozpin put his reputation on the line to help you, and the least you can do is act civil while we handle the situation from our end."
Itadori blew air out of his mouth as he stared up at the ceiling, "I'm trying, Sensei, I really am, but I can't just let stuff like that fly. My Gramps...my real Gramps told me I gotta use my strength to help people, and it might sound stupid, but it's somethin' I just gotta do."
He looked at her, his eyes reflecting his determination, "No one's got any right kickin' someone down to feel good about themselves, and throwing punks like them in detention won't do them or the people they're messin' with any good. Do what you gotta do, but every time they start something, I'll be there and do this all over again, as many times as it takes."
Goodwitch raised her glasses, pinching between her eyes, "If you won't listen to reason, then you'll just have to accept whatever punishment comes your way...but something tells me you won't change your mind..."
She shook her head, "Honestly, if there's anything in common between you and Ozpin, it's that you're both too stubborn for your own good...now as for your disciplinary action, given that you caused most of the structural damage today, you'll clean the sparring arena."
He blankly stared at the instructor until she let off a huff, "You are dismissed."
He was gone faster than she could blink, leaving Glynda there to slump her head against the chalkboard in exasperation, silently thankful that he at least understood instructions and bothered listening to her, unlike a certain Headmaster who seemed all too willing to do whatever he pleased.
Those two were more alike than she cared to admit, with both thinking with their heart before using their heads, leaving her to pick up the mess.
The thought of having two Ozpins around made the teacher tremble in terror, only to remind herself that for all his good intentions, Itadori didn't nearly have the political savvy to balance a fraction of the work the Director had under his belt. Frankly, that was for the best.
Her student was fine as is, a little rough around the edges, to be sure, but it was her job to mold him and all the others into proper Huntsmen and Huntresses.
She could only hope to keep up with his insanity.
...
That afternoon
Ruby bounced up and down with each step, taking excited little jumps until a pale hand pulled her back down, with Weiss leveling her with a stare, "Do you have to keep doing that?"
The Scythe wielder shrugged, "I dunno, I'm just happy you decided to come! We can look at weapons, buy a buncha cookies and-"
The heiress rolled her eyes, "And whatever else you want to do?...I can hardly wait."
Ruby glanced at her partner, raising a brow as she clasped her hands together, "Sooooo, what made you change your mind?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know...how before you were all-"
The black-haired girl twirled in place, putting her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest, "Grrrr, I'm Weiss, and I want nothing to do with either of you because you're lame, and I'm great!"
A tick mark appeared on the rapier user's forehead, "I do not sound like that!"
"You kinda do-"
She huffed, turning her head away, "Well, not all of us get to waste their time on fruitless endeavors, some of us need to work hard for what we're given."
Weiss' nose faced the ceiling, "And if you must know, I decided that...that I want the authentic Beacon experience...that's it!"
Ruby tilted her head, "And what's that gotta do with hanging out?"
The heiress opened her mouth, raising a finger to make a point, then stopped, then tried again, "Well...everything, of course! Weren't you listening to Professor Port's wonderful lecture?"
Ruby tried to respond, but the girl blocked her with a perfectly manicured hand, "Don't try. I know you weren't."
The hooded girl slumped over, "Awwww."
Weiss ignored her partner's embarrassment, pushing a nonexistent pair of glasses up, "He said that a Huntress needs to understand the people they're protecting to truly be heroic, and what better opportunity is there than being among the commoners?"
A bead of sweat fell down Ruby's forehead, "...I don't think they'd like it if you called them tha-"
"And what better way to learn to be a simpleton than to observe the biggest simpleton of all?"
Ruby stared at her partner for a second, a grumble of annoyance coming soon after, "Again, with this? What is your damage with him, Weiss?"
The Schnee snorted, "Hmph, isn't it obvious? He's crude, obnoxious, and picks fights the second he sees something he doesn't like. Yuji's no better than a common street thug."
The scythe wielder scoffed, "Cardin was harassing that poor girl, and you're siding with him? Are you being serious right now?"
The snow-colored girl shook her head, "Of course not, but there's finding fault with something and respecting the proper authority's ability to handle it."
"Riggght, cause so many places stick up for the Faunus."
Weiss clicked her tongue, "They all say that, but do you really think he'd do the same if it was the other way around? Would he fight one of his own kind if they were bullying a human?"
Ruby raised a hand in disbelief, "...Yuji? You're asking if Yuji, the guy who's done nothing but try to be nice to our team, our HUMAN team, if he'd stick up for one of us?"
The dark-haired Huntress stared at the floor for a second, "I can't even believe we're arguing this; he's my friend. Yeah, I think he would!"
Weiss just stared straight ahead, muttering to herself, "Everyone's an optimist until they see it for themselves."
Ruby couldn't respond before the heiress pushed the training room doors open, flooding the hallway with a bright light.
The two winced as they walked inside, and the floor was...sparkling.
Ruby could even see her reflection on the boards, how the-
*FWOOOOOOM
A pink blur blazed by again and again, and only after its third pass did the Huntress realize it was the guy in question, hunched over, hands on a rag as he pushed it along the floor again and again at speeds faster than a train.
"Hey, Yuji!"
The blur took a sudden turn, rushing toward them, coming to an abrupt stop as a gale of wind blew through Weiss' long hair, and there stood the vessel, face, and head covered in cloth like he was some kinda cleaning ninja, happily waving a hand, "Yo!"
Ruby took a look around, marveling at how spotless the place was, "Did you do all this by yourself?"
Even the spot where Yang exploded face-first into the ground was gone... A foreign voice echoed in her mind, saying Yang must have had a blast.
Oh God, she was hallucinating Yang's jokes when she wasn't even here.
Yuji remained oblivious while she had an existential crisis, sheepishly chuckling, "Yeah! My buddies back home used to say I was handy with stuff like this. Guess it came in handy, huh?"
Weiss huffed, "Well, at least you're good for something. Now, if you don't mind, let's go; we need to catch the next bullhead, or we'll be stuck waiting for hours."
Itadori shrugged off the insult like everything else, turning into a whirlwind as his coverings vanished from sight, his potato-like face appearing soon after, grin ever-present. "Oh, good call, Weiss! I'm real glad we got someone smart like you to come with!"
Ruby pouted, "Hey! I'm smart too, you know!"
The heiress puffed up in pride, "Care to test that miss Leader?"
"Can I...pick the questions?"
Weiss hummed in thought, "Hmmmm, no."
"How's that fair?!"
The Schnee smiled at her, the mere presence of a grin on her face sending alarm bells through Ruby's soul, "It isn't."
Ruby's face fell as she kicked the ground, "Meanie..."
Yuji wasn't catching onto the blatant hostility, far too used to abusive friendships for his own good, or maybe it was too many beatings to the head over the course of a year.
He slapped the hooded girl on the back, the force almost sending her flying, "See Rube! I told you that makin' friends wasn't hard!"
The Huntress just stared at him like he was from another universe.
...
Hours later
The ride into town wasn't very eventful, save for Yuij experiencing the novelty of getting to fly in a helicopter, but that had gone on for days at this point, and after a while, it's just like taking the train for the first time, you get used to it.
Perched in one of the many bakeries in this massive city, he and Weiss were all but forced into their seats by Ruby, who claimed to "know what to do" in a place like this.
That could only mean one thing in a building covered in random pictures of food with cakes and whatnot on display. It was cutesy, but with a cookie-obsessed girl with a giant gun-scythe, it was almost a nightmare.
He really didn't want another Crookie incident, but you can't say no to that girl when her favorite food was involved, Ruby was really scary!
Itadori looked to Weiss who seemed all too focused on her nails, "Sooo...why'd you become a Huntress?"
She didn't look at him, "Why did you become a Huntsman?"
He tapped a finger on the table, "Nothin special', I like helping people and being one seemed like the best way to do that.
The Schnee hummed, "And what about your long-term plans?"
The sorcerer just shrugged, "Don't got any. Honestly, I didn't expect I'd live this long to begin with-"
He laughed, scratching his cheek, "Bet that sounds kinda dumb, but I just never thought it'd be worth thinkin' about stuff that wouldn't happen anyways, ya know?"
She spared him a glance, "...Is being a sorcerer that dangerous?"
The vessel leaned back in his chair, looking out the window as people went by, "Sorta...whether it's a Cursed Spirit or another sorcerer, either way, they're playing for keeps, but being a Huntress can't be all that different."
He suddenly hummed, staring at her as he leaned a bit closer, his attention making the Schnee shift around uncomfortably like she was under a microscope, "W-what?"
His hum grew louder, like a car engine revving, drawing attention from all sides until he casually snapped a finger, "Your sister's one, isn't she?"
Her blue eyes widened, "How did you-"
Yuji flashed a smile, "I know the younger sibling look anywhere! I didn't meet Choso until last year, but I still wanna impress him as best I can-"
He pointed a finger gun at her, "You wanna do the same for your big sis, right?"
Weiss just dumbly stared at him, at full attention, in silent disbelief that the guy who seemed irredeemably dull could figure that much out at a glance but soon composed herself.
She took a breath, "...Winter...her name is Winter, she's...enlisted in the Atlesian military."
Itadori just kept humming like he found something really interesting, "Huh, but isn't your family loaded?"
She crossed her arms, "And what does that have to do with anything?"
Itadori dropped his shoulders, "Nothin', I'm just tryna figure you out, is all."
He laughed to her annoyance, "You aren't makin' it easy, ya know?"
Since she didn't bother responding, Yuji kept going, "My buddy Megumi was in line to inherit his clan. He didn't really have to do all that much cause...ya know...money...but, he joined up with the sorcerers so he could save his little Sis; you just sorta remind me of him, is all."
Weiss tilted her head, "What was wrong with her?"
He let off a sigh, glancing away, "...She got cursed."
She just stared at him, "You're...being serious?"
Itadori looked back to her, his expression firm, "I know it sounds dumb to someone who isn't one of us, but curses are a lot more than myths. If you had told me a few months back about Grimm, I'd probably look at you like you're crazy, but that's just the world we live in."
His smile returned, but more somber than before, "There's a lotta bad stuff out there, but that just makes the people we care about matter that much more, don't you think?"
Weiss was quiet for a few seconds, staring down at her hands, "...She doesn't want to be worried over-"
"Hm?"
She grumbled, forcing herself to meet his stare despite that awkward feeling refusing to leave, "My sister doesn't need anyone to concern themselves with her. She joined the military to get away from that life-"
"So?"
She bristled, brow furrowing, "What do you mean 'so?' I just told you why she left!"
The sorcerer shook his head, "Nah, I heard what you said, I just don't get it...so what if she doesn't want you worrying about her?...It doesn't mean you gotta listen to her."
Weiss huffed, her hands moving like lightning as one of the staff put a coffee in front of her, immediately taking a bitter sip with all the elegance becoming of a Schnee, "You aren't making any sense."
To her annoyance, Yuji started pulling straws out of a nearby box, raising them up like a child, giving an example, "Think of it like this: you see how these are all the same shape and height?"
The heiress deadpanned, "I have eyes, yes."
He nodded, "Think of these as a family, but a real one isn't all the same-"
*FWING
As Weiss blinked and a diagonal line cut across the straws, making them each a different size, to her surprise, "A family is like this. You got a bunch-a different people that got different things in mind, and you're all gonna go your own way if that's all that mattered, but you're forgettin' what holds ya together."
He just smiled, looking down at his little stack of items, "You care about 'em, but sometimes you get so caught up in your head that you do or say stupid things that drive them off."
The stack started to fall as he watched it go, "I used to be real rotten toward Choso. I...hated him for things that weren't really his fault, but he just kept reminding me we were family till it got through my skull, and I came to my senses."
The bands snapped back together in his hand as he gave Weiss his trademark grin, "It's all about keeping those feelings alive until things get better and not letting anything get between you and the people that matter to you. So, you just gotta keep tryin', and I'm sure your Sis will come back to ya. I guarantee it!"
She just blankly stared at him, eyes widening a little bit, "...I-"
*CRUNCH
"I'm back!"
Ruby slammed a mountain of cookies onto the table with no remorse, burying the heiress in a landslide as she plopped beside her, immediately going to town, wolfing down dozens by the moment.
Yuji just sat there, idly wondering how someone so tiny was this obsessed with food.
If it weren't for how freaky she got about it, he would have called it cute.
Ruby was an anomaly even to him. On the one hand, she didn't know how to talk to people, but the next, she was making bold-faced threats and ranting about how she liked weapons and...cookies.
The Huntress cut off his thoughts with an audible gulp, "So...what did ya wanna talk about?"
A lightbulb dinged over his head, "Oh right, I need some advice!"
She tilted her head, "What about? OOOHPLEASETELLMEYOUWANNAGUN-"
The hooded girl could visibly see the question mark over his head, "...is about a gun?"
Yuji quirked a brow, "Why would I want one of those?"
Her eyes caught a dangerous glint, "Why wouldn't you want one?"
He sweatdropped, deciding not to touch that red flag with a scythe that somehow turned into a sniper rifle.
He waved her off, "Nah, I just wanted to ask...how do you live with girls?"
Ruby stopped eating as Weiss emerged from the pile with a gasp, having clawed her way out of hell with chocolate staining her perfectly white hair, "You...you called us here to ask about that?"
The sorcerer gave a rapid nod, "Yeah! I've only had brothers, and I never even lived with em'... I just don't wanna be rude or somethin' by mistake, is all."
Ruby took a colossal gulp out of her magically appearing glass of milk, gaining a sophisticated mustache in the process, "What's got you all worried about this?"
He straightened up, leaning against his palms, clasping his hands together, "...I don't want them to hit me."
The Huntress squinted, "You...don't want them to hit you? Wha-"
He pointed a finger at Weiss, "Yeah, like she hit me; I don't want that to happen-"
The heiress flushed, looking off with her face heating up, "I only did that because you ruined my dress with your oafish hands!"
He looked to the scythe wielder, "See, that's what I'm talking about! You gotta help me out here, Rube!"
The Huntress was frazzled, even more so when he slammed his palms together in desperation, not having the slightest clue what he needed to hear, "Ah...have you...tried...thinking before you do that sorta stuff?"
Weiss' eyes dulled, looking away, "That's hopeless."
The hooded girl glanced at her partner, "Hey!"
Yuji's expression hollowed, sinking into his chair "...She's not wrong."
Weiss shrugged, "Your problem is that you're asking the one obsessed with guns how to act around regular girls when she's not one. You've doomed yourself to failure."
Ruby's eyes widened in betrayal, "What did I do!?"
Not getting a response, she huffed, crossing her arms, "Fine then, what would you tell him to do, Miss Schnee?"
The heiress tapped a finger against her chin, "Well, first, I'd tell him to drop that goofy look he always gives us-"
She glanced toward the vessel, "it makes you look like a potato."
Yuji's eyes widened, knowing fully well she wasn't the first girl to call him that...or hit him...and do both.
Man, Kugisaki was scary.
Ruby squinted even more, her eyes practically closed, "A look?"
"You know...that thing he does with his mouth all the time."
"That's called a smile, Weiss. You do that when you're happy!"
The snow-themed girl huffed, "Well, it's offputting!"
"To who!?"
"To me, you dolt, that's why I'm saying it!"
Yuji felt like he was losing control of this conversation.
Going with the flow, he pushed himself up in his seat, "Is this about the leader thing?"
They both paused, with Weiss shifting her glare to him this time, "How do you know about that?"
He shrugged, "Kinda hard to miss when you two are fightin' all the time. We could hear ya through the walls last night."
Ruby looked away, "How...how much did you hear?"
Yuji scratched his chin in idle thought, "I dunno, I heard you call her a snowflake or somethin'; it's not like I was tryna listen; you're just loud, is all."
A vein popped on Weiss' forehead, "I am not!-"
She suddenly stopped, realizing everyone else in the building was staring at her before elegantly taking her seat, suddenly becoming prim and proper, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ruby pushed her cookies away with an exhausted sigh, "Why are you even lying about this? He just said he heard us."
The heiress didn't respond, but the hooded girl didn't care, looking toward the sorcerer, "Yuji, what do you think a leader should be like?"
"Whaddya mean?"
Weiss let off a huff, rolling her eyes, "What she means to say is: What traits define a leader? Shouldn't they be the most intelligent and capable member of the team?"
"Nah."
She stopped in her tracks, "...I'm sorry, what?"
Yuji cracked his neck indifferently, "Sorcerers don't work like that. With us, the strongest are people who can prove it or at least show they got the potential to keep goin' higher. That's all that really matters when choosing the top brass...why do ya care so much anyways, Weiss?"
Her glare tightened, "Why?... Why doesn't it matter to you? If you were the best among your peers, wouldn't you think it's your rightful place to lead?"
Yuji waved her off, "Nah."
As steam erupted from her ears, he kicked back in his chair, "Cause I just wanna kill Cursed Spirits...Grimm, too, I guess; I don't need some higher role to keep doing that...but besides, bein' in charge doesn't just mean you get to tell people whatever you want. Ya gotta be likable like Ruby."
The hooded girl jumped in her seat, "Me?"
Weiss jumped in, "Her?! What does she have that I don't!?
There was no way he wasn't getting hit for this.
Itadori's lazy stare persisted to the heiress's annoyance, "I told you about the clans back home. The Zen'in used to be one of the three biggest families in sorcerer society, with loads of powerful members all under one roof."
His features seemed to tense just a bit, "Megumi was one of em', but he was never really like the rest. They were all selfish, raised to think they were better than everyone else, and it made them blind to all the bad stuff happening around them."
Yuji let off a quiet sigh, "I can't say I understand the guy. He had it all: talent, the smarts, you name it, but he didn't wanna inherit his clan cause that woulda taken his mind off what really mattered to him: his sister."
He looked to Weiss, "I'm not tryna judge, but would you really wanna take that kinda responsibility when you're all worried about your Sis? Everything comes at a price, ya know."
Weiss took a calming breath, "You still haven't answered my question. How does this apply to Ruby?"
Itadori just shrugged, "A leader's gotta look forward, not glance back at somethin' every five seconds. Rube might be a little weird-"
She pouted, "Hey!"
He just smiled at her, "But you're livin' in the moment, only focusin' on things that make ya happy, like your guns and snacks, just waiting on the next step. That's how my old Sensei was, and he was the strongest!"
Before Weiss could blow a gasket, he waved her off, "Ah, before ya get mad, hear me out. I'm not sayin' you can't be a leader. Heck, you're way smarter than I'll ever be, but it might do ya some good to figure yourself out before wanting to do that for other people, don't ya think?"
The snow-themed Huntress tried to retort but forced herself not to.
For all his Neanderthal behaviors, Yuji was shockingly good at this sort of thing; she'd begrudgingly admit that much, at least.
She leaned back, eyes closed, taking a deep breath before shooting down, nearly scaring Ruby out of her seat as she shot out a hand.
Ruby just stared at it, "Wha-"
"A truce...I'll offer a truce, and we'll...go from there."
The hooded girl slumped, "...Not friends?"
Weiss tapped a foot along the ground, feeling embarrassed over something so minor, "...Not...Not yet...but we'll start being cordial and...go from there."
Ruby glumly took the girl's hand, giving it a bouncy handshake, her frown turning into a tiny smile, "It's a start."
Yuji was all smiles before taking a glance at the mound of cookies, absent-mindedly taking one, figuring he might as well see what all the fuss was about. He took a bite and-
*PTOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Eugh! That's so swee-"
*KRAKAKOOOOOM
Ruby launched across the table, decking him straight across the cheek as the force sent him shattering through a nearby window.
"No one insults my cookies!"
He just stared at the fingers spinning over his head, wondering why he thought bringing the Crookie to a cookie store was a good idea.
...
That afternoon
Yuji lazily yawned as he tried to catch some shut-eye on a carpeted floor, hands resting behind his head, only for a finger to pinch his nose, snorting him awake, "GA-wha-"
Oh yeah, they were waiting at one of the low to the ground tables around the library, waiting for the other half of his team to show up for whatever Pyrrha had in mind.
Yang sat beside him, a cheeky look on her face, "Don't pass out on me, dude. You're the one who invited me here."
The sorcerer yawned, "Why don't ya just talk to Ren? He's-"
Yang gave him a look.
Ren dropped his book to give him a look.
Yuji's shoulders dropped, "...Fair point, but man if I knew your sister was gonna drag me around town to look at stuff, I woulda waited on askin' Weiss-"
He yawned again, "She just made it worse."
The blonde just crossed her arms, giving a confident nod as she sing-songed, "I-told-ya-so! But you're forgettin' the most important thing here!"
"What?"
Her grin widened, "Did ya tell Weiss you'd...Schnee her later?"
Finger Guns.
They fist bumped with his eyes still half closed, "Nice..."
Yang propped an elbow on the table, smushing her face against her palm, "Don't think you're gettin' out of our rematch tomorrow, Pink Stuff."
He gave a slight laugh, stretching his back, "Yeah-yeah, you got it...I just didn't think showing em' around town would take so long, is all."
The Huntress leaned a little closer, her tone suggestive, "I'll show you around."
Yuji just stared at her, the gears turning in his head.
Eh?
*BOOM
The library doors slammed open, earning a violent shush from one of the staff members as Nora came stomping in, all but dragging Pyrrha behind her as the leader scrambled to hold a mass of papers and boards in her hands.
The redhead struggled in the tiny girl's grasp, "I can walk by myself, Nora!"
"You take too long, Nora no like!"
The hammer wielder let her go, stomping over beside Ren before slamming onto the floor like the true warlord she was with a grunt, "Friends here...good, Nora happy."
Ren turned a page, not even sparing her a glance, "...You're already in character?"
Yang huffed in annoyance, pulling back from the sorcerer as she gave the quiet guy a glance, "Whaddya mean in character?"
He shrugged, "Nora likes to method act when we play-"
Pyrrha shot up from the floor, slamming a board with a giant map of towns, terrains, and whatnot onto the table, "Sorcery & Scrolls, I thought of the idea myself!"
Nora beamed, "And Nora helped!"
Pyrrha's sudden look of dread told more than anyone needed to hear.
Itadori glanced over the sheets and stuff, his eyes lighting up, "OH! It's like that dungeons thing the Westerners play! Where ya make a character and go on cool little adventures, right!?"
Pyrrha's eyes widened before she hesitantly nodded, "Y-yeah, I had this planned from the star-"
"Liar!"
Nora pointed a finger at the armored girl from the floor, "She wanted us to make a study group, but the almighty Nor-Nor the powerful stopped her!"
Sweat trickled down the redhead's face in droves, "Eheh...eugh...I don't know what she's talking about...now, let's get started!"
Ren passively watched as each person was given a sheet, observing his future players with a keen eye.
Yuji gawked as Yang expertly started filling out an idea the second the dice came her way, "Woah, how come you're so good with this stuff?"
The bombshell just shrugged, playing with her hair in embarrassment, "It's nothin' special. Dad just made me and Rube play a lotta board games growing up is all."
Itadori nodded along, wondering what it would have been like to do that sort of stuff with his family, "Whatcha gettin' all flustered for? Your dad sounds cool!"
Yang deadpanned, "The last thing I'd call him is cool...he's...ehhhhh, simple, ya get me? My dad's the sorta guy that thinks it's fun to talk about the 'good ole' days when me and Rube don't get what he's on about."
Yuji just gave an excited grin, "Nah, I bet you're secretly thinkin' about all the fun you had hangin' with him-"
She blustered, "W-What?! No, I'm not! I would never-"
He got closer, "Then how come you're smiliiin-PLAH"
Yang shoved him off with a hand, sending the sorcerer face-first onto the floor, shaking her head, "Sheesh, you got no subtlety, dude."
Swiping a hand through her blonde locks, she glanced at his empty sheet, "You need a hand with that?"
He muffled a 'yes please' through the carpet, earning a pat on the head before she yanked him upright, tapping her fingers along the table in idle thought, "Welllll, you work with ghosts, right? You could be aaaaaa...Warlock!"
"Huh?"
Yang just rolled her eyes with a snort, figuring she walked into that one with how perpetually confused the guy was, "I think that one makes some kinda of pact with a demon for power; pretty cool, right?"
Yuji had an unreadable look on his face.
He crossed his arms in an X-shape, "Pass!"
The sorcerer knew how that worked in real life and had no plans to do that again in make-believe.
Itadori glanced at the list, his eyes shining soon after, "Oh, I know!-" pointing a finger down the page, "This one!"
Yang tilted her head, looking the guy over as he gave her a goofy grin, picturing him in actual armor instead of the black clothes and red hoodie he always wore, liking the idea, "I can dig it...You can be the hot knight, Sir-Racha."
She flashed a magically appearing pair of sunglasses.
He instinctively gave the bombshell a high-five, "Nice one!"
...
Ren kept his book open, opening his mouth as Nora dumped in an inhuman amount of ice, only for him to blow a fine mist of chilled breath across the board, "...You awaken in a rugged carriage, wearing little more than scraps for comfort in the desolate frost of your hands are bound as horse-driven wagon plows across the far reaches of Solitas."
"You've each taken on a simple escort mission like any other, taking up the wandering life of a mercenary for one reason or another, but something had gone awry but...your head is filled with fog, and you can hardly stay aware, but before you fall unconscious once more, a finger taps against one of your knees."
He turned a page, "You see a pale man wearing disheveled garments, much like yours, his long blonde hair bouncing with each bump the carriage hits. He says a simple phrase, 'Hey you. You're finally awake.'"
Yuji swore he had seen this in a game or something before.
Lie's hands opened and closed for added effect, "There's little time to respond as a hailstorm of arrows rain down from the surrounding woods, annihilating the small patrol of guards driving you and the other prisoners, and the next thing you know, you've been thrown to the ground and unbound by an unknown warrior, their face shrouded by their hood, and you're told to pick up arms and fight, what do you do?"
Sir-Racha remained steadfast as the day he was born, diving for the first weapon he could find, tearing a sword out of a dead soldier's hands before rushing into the fray without a care for his wellbeing.
In mere minutes, the honorable warrior soon found himself with a blonde-haired girl who danced across the battlefield with hands that moved like lightning...Another with orange locks who called upon the great pancake in the sky for aid, drowning her enemies in endless syrup with a stick as a conduit, and a red-headed tactician praying to some goddess for guidance.
Through his efforts, he and his newfound allies cleaved their way out of the convoy, pushing their way into the wilderness with their masked benefactor leading them to an established campsite after what felt like hours on the march.
They were sat around a campfire, told to introduce themselves by their mysterious benefactor, and the heroic fighter rose first, pointing a thumb at himself, "Yo!...eh, I mean-"
He cleared his throat, making his voice become shockingly elegant yet distant, "Who I was before doesn't matter, my name, my titles, and what the world knew me as aren't important...I only wanna protect what matters most to me, the innocent people of our world, so you can just call me...Sir-Racha."
The blonde warrior smirked, pointing a calloused thumb toward herself, "I'm just a monk lookin' for a little adventure, is all. Didn't wanna spend all my life cooped up in some temple when I could use what I got to see the world and do some good along the way."
She shot the fighter a wink, cocking a hand on her hip, "Just call me Little Dragon."
The ginger hopped off a boulder, landing in a crouch, holding her staff skyward, "O faithful followers of the Pancake Divinity, let your hearts be light as the fluffiest of batter! For in the sizzling sanctity of the griddle, we find the truest communion. As the butter melts upon the warm embrace of the golden discs, so too does our devotion melt into the sweet pools of gratitude."
Brown sugar-filled tears escaped her, "Behold, I am Nora Maplestack, prophet of the divine fluffy but not too soggy god of balanced breakfast!"
The redhead just tilted her head, noticeably reading off a script, "My name's Pyrrha, and I'm just trying to do the right thing!"
Reality shattered as Nora broke character, staring at her leader across the table, an incredulous look on her face, "Pyrrha?"
"Y-...Yeah?"
The hammer wielder's eyes dulled, "If you were a spice...you'd be flour."
The invincible girl's soul gave out as she deflated like a balloon onto the floor.
After more retries than anyone wanted to admit out of pity for the redhead, Pyrrha finally settled on something Yuji wouldn't call boring the second he heard it...with a lot of help from the more excentric members of their table.
Her character had won an important duel, but because no witnesses actually got to see it, she needed to beat the fraud allegations.
The vessel could only silently wonder if he bit off more than he could chew, trying to help his partner find her fun side...but at least she was trying, right?
The rest of the session went about as planned, introducing their characters to the fascinating world of magic and mystery around them, then spending who knows how much time getting ready for their incredible journey, but what their saviors had in mind for them, only the future could tell.
Ren ended things on a cliffhanger, ignoring Yuji and Nora's demands to know more, and the sorcerer swore he saw an evil glint appear in his indifferent friend's eyes as he walked away.
...
Later that night
As Yuji's teammates were asleep, the sorcerer was up late reading one of his comics, unwinding after a long day of craziness and snickering as he watched Spidersman, a hero made of spiders, deck Goblin Green in the face while swinging around on a web.
Everything here gave him massive deja vu, he swore.
A sudden buzz made him stop, pulling out his scroll as an unknown number sent him a text telling him to come outside.
That wasn't suspicious at all.
'Come'
'Come'
He briefly responded, 'Why?'
'Come.'
'Okay.'
Dropping what he was doing, the vessel approached the door in his pajamas, scratching his head as he opened it, seeing a blob of white standing low to the ground, "Weiss, is that- wah!"
She yanked him into the hall, slamming the door shut, "Keep your voice down!"
As he stood upright, he gave the Schnee a questioning look, "Okayyyy, but-...Why didn't you just knock and...how'd you get my number?"
She just rolled her eyes, "Right, because I want everyone on campus to know I came to you for help, and besides, I thought guys like it when a pretty girl wants their number?"
He just tilted his head, looking around, "What pretty gir-"
*CRACK
His eyes bulged as her heel crashed straight into his shin, sending him tumbling over as she looked off, brow furrowed, "Hmph, if you must know, I got it from Yang's scroll when she wasn't looking, happy?"
Itadori just stared up at the ceiling, "...You coulda just asked me for it-"
She didn't answer, so he hopped to his feet like nothing happened, "Alright, so whaddya need?"
Weiss grumbled something while looking away.
"What? I can't hear y-"
"-sister-"
He raised a brow, "eh?"
Her face heated up, "I want to talk to my sister, okay?!"
Yuji's expression lightened, "Oh...so why don't you just call her an-"
"And say what? 'Hi, sorry for calling out of the blue like some weirdo. How's things?'"
He just nodded, giving a goofy thumbs up, "Yeah, do that!"
The Schnee paced back and forth, shaking her head, "I knew this was a mistake...I was fine with things as they were, but after you said all those... things I...I can't get her out of my head."
The sorcerer looked her over, realizing she was even more tense than usual, a look of understanding coming over him, "So...you're here cause you want advice? I'm not against helpin' ya, but wouldn't it be better to ask the two sisters you live with?"
Wess glanced toward her room, but brushed the comment off, "Those two get along too well, they'd be no help...You said you and your brother were...at odds before, right?"
Images of a very bloody fight in an underground subway terminal came to mind, making the guy look away awkwardly for a moment before bouncing back, "Yeah, something like that, but thankfully, we both came to our senses and didn't let things get between our bond, ya know?"
She gritted her teeth, "No, I don't know, and that's the problem. I keep saying I'm fine with her being like this but-"
Itadori just shook his head, "Then I don't think you're fine, Weiss."
Her glare was a warning sign, but he ignored those anyway, "I dunno why you're actin' like caring about your sibling is such a bad thing, and burying it clearly isn't doing you any favors. Why don't you just...call her and see what's up?"
She tapped a foot on the ground, eventually looking up at him, "And say what? I don't have a list or even-"
Yuji sighed, figuring he was the worst person to give sibling advice, but decided to say his piece regardless, "Ya don't need to pre-plan a conversation, especially with family, just talk about stuff, whatever comes to mind."
He opened his hand toward her, "Here, lemme see your scroll."
Weiss opened her mouth to hurl an insult or question him, probably both, but decided not to, so done with today, she wordlessly dropped the device in his palm.
The screen flickered by as he scrolled through her contacts, his eyes widening a little as he landed on her older sister's name, taking a look at her picture.
Winter was what he could only guess an older Weiss would look like: same blue eyes, same pale skin tone, same blindingly white hair. Although, compared to Weiss, she didn't have a scar over one of her eyes and definitely had a military look to her...strict didn't even come close to the chills this lady sent up his spine, and it was a picture!
He glanced at Weiss, only thinking, man, those two looked alike...then again, Yuji and his brothers were all half-siblings; kinda a given they'd all be a little different, huh?
He started rapidly tapping buttons as Weiss' eyes widened, "What are you doing?"
"Nothin'."
She stomped up to him, trying to rip it out of his hands but was way too short, fruitlessly jumping up and down, "I mean it you buffoon, don't do something stupi-"
His grin widened as a thumb came slamming down, "Aaaaand, sent!-"
The Schnee's entire world shattered into dust, living in the existential horror of realizing what he did couldn't be undone, but before she could start angrily hitting him for whatever he did, the sorcerer's eyes lit up, "Oh, she responded!... She wants ta talk...right now? Nice!"
To her horror, Weiss' scroll started ringing, and she immediately dove for it, "Don't answer that, I'm not ready!"
Itadori ignored her, sliding a hand over the screen as the call connected, coming face to face with the military woman herself, her tone formal, yet slightly affectionate, "Weiss, I-"
She stopped, examining the goofy-looking sorcerer and her little sister clawing at him from the background, "Who are...-"
A realization came over the Schnee, "You're that boy that's been on the news, aren't you?"
Yuji cocked his head to the side, "I'm on the news? Weiss, did you know about that?"
The Huntress guffawed, "How can you not!?"
Winter's cold blue eyes shifted back to him, "And what are you doing with my sister's scroll?"
Itadori gave the lady a casual shrug, his usual grin appearing, "Ah, I'm just tryna help my friend out, is all. She really wanted to talk to YAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
Weiss kicked him in the shins again, sending him to his knees as he weakly handed over the device, "...Here you can talk to her..."
As Yuji slumped over onto the floor, enduring the pain of having several-inch heels digging into his leg, Weiss glared down at him, holding the scroll in her hand, "And we are not friends!"
A sudden cough drew her gaze as Weiss turned like a poorly oiled machine, meeting her sister's cold gaze for what felt like an eternity, making the girl fluster.
But within a few seconds, Winter shook her head, a tiny smile appearing on her ice-like features, "I see you haven't changed, Weiss...that's good."
Weiss' face burned a little brighter in embarrassment, but she soon shook it off, a genuine smile creeping its way onto her face, "Hi...Winter."
As the sisters reconnected, Yuji just laid there, having been beaten by multiple people on the same day...making him feel weirdly nostalgic for Tokyo.
Just like old times.
...
And there we have it: Yuji is making strides with even the most difficult people the world has to offer.
Someone commented about Weiss' early arc and hostile attitude, and I plan to flush it out and explore her character more so than canon did at this point, if that hasn't already been made clear.
I plan for this to be a proper JJK crossover so core characters will each get their time to shine. Just stick with me while we make this story work!
With everything said and done, take it easy, and I'll see you all in the next one; peace!
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