Welcome to the start of the end of my RWBY Volume 1
Housekeeping: at the end of this set of chapters, to celebrate, I'll do a QnA in the last chapter, so if you're interested in that, start thinking of questions, but try not to bait for spoilers; I can't really answer those kinds of things, lol.
I also started a new JJK fic for continued shitposting, featuring a young Gojo in Persona 3 with a slightly modified JJK timeline, so if you're into that sort of thing, check it out!
(Do me a favor and understand the word 'modified timeline'), So you aren't the fifth person to question why Gojo has red before Hidden Inventory, lmao.
Anyway, let's get into this!
Beta Readers: Chris72637, Luxutor, MegaDumbo, and Tupjunk
...
In team RWBY's Dorm
*do-do-do-doodoo-doodooo
"Oh, you dick! Don't use the star! That's so cheating!"
"Just 'cause you're takin' a beating doesn't mean I'm cheating!"
"Don't you bring rhymes into this!"
A flash of colorful light blipped across a TV screen as Yuji's cart slammed into Yang's, sending the blonde's character crashing into a sidewall as the vessel zoomed off in the lead.
Sitting beside the sorcerer, Ruby's hands were shaking as she used every booster she could find, but she couldn't so much as scratch the guy, "How are you so good at this!?"
Yeah, they were playing their country's version of Mario Kart, and to put it lightly, Yuji was completely destroying them.
If it weren't for the fact they were using their scrolls as controllers, Yang probably would've smashed hers to pieces by now, given how red her eyes were...and how her hair was on fire again...Itadori couldn't help but wonder if you could cook food on her head when she was like that.
Yuji waved a finger in her face, "I'm an expert at learnin' useless skills, Rube! Don't hate the playa, hate the game, sista!"
*SKIRRRRRRRRRRRRT
*SMASH
The silver-eyed girl teared up as he break-checked her, slamming a turtle Grimm shell into her back right when she was about to pass him, making her entire face fade into white, "NOOOOO! TINY RUBY!"
Across the room, scribbling notes on her desk, Weiss glanced over her shoulder, "So...you...knew learning that was a waste of time...but still did it anyway?"
Itadori shrugged, "Yeah, but doin' this was way more fun than learnin' in school, so I skipped to do this instead!"
She deadpanned, giving him the famous Schnee stare, "You're in for a world of hurt if you care that little about your future."
He raised a brow, jerking to the side as he drifted around a corner, narrowly avoiding a sideswipe from Yang, "Future? Man, I don't even know what I wanna get for lunch today, so why worry about stuff that might not even happen?"
The white-haired girl gracefully waved a hand, pointing it at herself, "It's called being prepared for anything. Take me for example-"
Yang rolled her eyes, "Here it comes-"
The heiress glared at her from the side, "I heard that...anyways, back to what I was saying...I'm going over our Grimm studies in case Professor Port decides to give a pop quiz tomorrow. What will you do if you aren't ready for it?"
Yuji raised his hands high when Ruby tried to tackle his controller away in a storm of rose petals, then started weakly batting at him with her tiny fists, "I dunno, probably fail and go back to doin' fun stuff."
She silently clenched a fist, "And that doesn't bother you?"
"Nah, not really."
"...Don't you want to meet your family's expectations?"
He tilted his head, "Whose? Choso's? He didn't go to school either."
She deadpanned, "...My sister would despise both of you-"
Dang, there goes his plans of getting Choso a new lady-friend.
"Really? She seemed nice on the phone."
"You spoke for all of two seconds!"
"So?"
Weiss let off an angry sigh, slumping into her chair as she rubbed her temples, only for Yuji to break the veil of annoyance once more, "Oh yeah, I've been meanin' to ask ya somethin'. Gramps told me your Sis is gonna be at that party of his. Wanna come with?"
The Schnee blankly stared at him, almost too used to his nonsense for her own good, "Winter?...I...you...-"
She exhaled what he swore was frost, "...When is it?"
"Tomorrow."
She shot up in her seat, an angry look on her face, "TOMORROW!? Why didn't you tell me sooner!? DO you have any idea how much time it takes to prepare for such a formal eve-"
Yuji fell backward, landing on the floor as he kept his focus on the screen, as his hands danced along the buttons, "I didn't tell ya cause you wig out about this stuff...was worried you were gonna have a heart attack or somethin'."
"I am not that bad!"
Yuji leaned back to look at her from upside down, "You're stressin' about a test that might not even happen, Weiss."
She crossed her arms, "Hpmh, I'll have you know I'm plenty fun when the opportunity arises. I just know when to sit down and work instead of babbling on all day."
Ruby paused the match, looking at her partner, "Well...aren't you gonna run your company someday...how are we gonna do fun activities when you're so busy?"
Yang proudly nodded, dropping a hand on her sister's head to ruffle her hair, "Rube's got a point, Ice Queen. These are like... our golden years for goofin' off, and all I see is you at that desk."
The heiress tapped a foot along the ground, closing her eyes in a huff, "Well, when you're in line to inherit a multibillion-lien conglomerate, sometimes you need to throw what you want out and do what's best for-"
*Creak
Weiss opened her eyes, looking up only to see a certain sorcerer's face as he carried her chair all across the room with no effort, ending with her giving him a confused glare. "What are you doing?"
He looked down at her with that usual stupid look on his face, "Givin' you a break-"
Her Schnee glare hardened. "No, you aren't."
Yuji looked around, confused, "Uhhh...yeah...I kinda am?"
"I have things to do, and they don't involve getting up to your nonsense."
"It'll be fuuuun."
"Don't caaaare."
He looked down at her, pulling the deadliest weapon from his arsenal, "Come on, Weiss-"
She matched him for a moment, "I'm...busy, okay?"
"Please?"
...
...
Her face puffed up, pointing the finger at him like it was a pistol, "I said I don't...you...EUGH!"
She deflated like a balloon, "Fine!... But you're doing something for me after!"
Itadori tilted his head "Do what?"
Weiss gave a smug smile, "You won't know until I tell you."
The sorcerer flashed a happy smile, "Kay!"
The Schnee's smugness evaporated, realizing it was impossible to have an edge over someone who couldn't understand you had an edge at all-
His potato face was too round to have an edge...drat.
The moment he set her down in front of the screen, Weiss gave him a funny look, "Just so you know, I don't...do...the whole... 'video games' thing."
The vessel hardly batted an eye, "Oh, no biggie, I'll just show ya then, here-"
The Schnee angrily squawked as he dropped down beside her in the chair, dropping his scroll in her hands, "Here scoot-scoot, see you put your hands here and he-pffft-"
She had jammed an ice-cold finger into his cheek, leading to a confused standoff, only broken by the vessel's sheer ignorance, "Wha-ya-doin'?"
Her stare only got worse, "I get that you have no concept of personal space, but I need mine."
Her finger dug deeper as he tried to talk, "Pric-kly."
"I am not prickly!"
His face was basically Play-Doh at this point.
"you kinda arAAAAAAAAA-"
*CRRRRR
With a miniature glyph, she froze his tongue, stopping him in his tracks, giving a tiny smirk of pride as he tried to speak with the worst stutter imaginable, taking the lead herself, "Hmph, better...now, as I was saying, you might not mind boundaries, but I think I speak for the rest of us when I say you need to be more mindful of what others want."
From the side, Yang deadpanned, "I think you're the only one that cares, Weiss."
"Oh, and it doesn't bother you?"
The blonde swiped a hand through her hair, setting it in place with an uncaring grin, "Nah, not really. Besides, me and Yuj have our fun, don't we, Pinkie?"
He mumbled something akin to complete gibberish, earning a thumbs up from the pun master.
The heiress stumbled in place, looking around for any form of support, "Blake?"
From her bed, hiding beneath the covers as Zwei tried to clamber up, the quiet girl just mumbled something about not caring either way.
"Ruby?"
From the floor, the scythe user stopped staring at Zwei's butt in a trance, "What was the question?"
"I...would it kill you to listen to what I have to say just once!?"
A second passed before the Schnee cleared her throat, "Okay...one more time...would you consider it rude if someone-"
"Ey- Ube."
The hooded girl looked up to see a certain sorcerer holding his arms out, "Ine...I...uess...you...re...m..y...li..ttle...og-champ...co-meee...hereEEE-"
*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Ruby disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a trail of rose petals as she tackle-hugged her friend as Weiss leaped out of the way at the last second, tumbling to the floor in a roll.
As she landed, the heiress looked up to see Yuji staring at her from over Ruby's shoulder, the frost exploding into fragments with the flick of his tongue, ending in him giving her the same goofy grin as always, "You want in?"
...
...
The Schnee slowly stood up, dusted herself off, then marched over and angrily sat beside him, holding out a hand, "Just give me the stupid controller."
Within minutes of him explaining the controls, she was in dead last, arguing she was just 'going the speed limit,' making the vessel wonder what could make someone so uptight.
After enough of the pain of watching Weiss wreck his winning streak, the sorcerer let off a hum, "Soooo...whaddya want me to do for ya?"
She didn't spare him a glance, too focused on staying in the right lane, "Care to guess?"
"Hmmmmm...did ya order more of that dust stuff?"
She let off a huff, "One, I don't order any of it. My family owns the company. I just ask, and they send it, and two, I keep my supply to a strict minimum after-"
She gently kicked a foot to the side, right into Ruby's ribs, making the poor girl jump in place and go flying off a rainbow-colored bridge, "SOMEBODY decided to sneeze on it!"
From the floor, the hooded girl angrily kicked her feet back and forth, "You don't pick a sneeze, Weiss!...Well...unless you've been sticking fingers up there, but that's not the-"
The heiress gagged, her cart flying off course before getting rammed by everyone passing her by, "Oh my, bleh! Don't-Don't go there!"
Yang just laughed, locking in as she zoomed for the finish line, "No, keep going, Ruby! Tell her about the time you tried using your scythe to pick at it!"
Weiss turned green as Ruby tried to get out of the splash zone.
Itadori ignored all of this, cupping his chin and kept thinking, using every bit of his inherited 500k IQ from his brother, Todo...
"Hmmmmmmm...-"
Seriously, the number of things HE could actually help Weiss with were very few...she was rich, and pretty smart from what he saw...but maybe...-DING-DING-DING
"You wanna finally bulk up, don't ya!?"
*CRACK
Her pale fist smashed against his chin, sending the vessel head first through the back of the chair as he slumped backward, listening in as she shook her head, "For the last time, I am not doing that!"
He swore he saw ice evaporating across his face.
"...Is it the protein shakes?"
"What are you babbling about?"
"I can get ya the strawberry ones if you want. Those are your fav, right?"
She spared him a suspicious glance, "How do you know that?"
"Know what?"
Her head started smoking. "Oh my...You just said it! That strawberries are my favorite fruit!"
He just hung there, watching as Zwei crawled toward his upside-down head from across the room, "You know I'm the one that delivers all the crap you order, right?"
"It is not crap! I'll have you know, I purchase only the finest goods the kingdoms have to offer."
"Whatever you say..."
"What? What is it that was so bad?"
Yuji started humming again, ignoring the dog slobbering all over his face, and Blake's horrified reaction from across the room, "Well...there was that one time you ordered like fifty boxes of those strawberry cookies-"
"What?"
Ruby noticeably stiffened up, "...Uh oh..."
Yuji looked to the heiress with surprise on his face, "Yeah, I thought it was a screw-up, but the guys in the mail room said you signed off on it.-"
"When did I...I never did that!"
"That's what I said to 'em! Your writing is like...usually too fancy for me to read-"
"It's called cursive-"
"You're tryna curse me?"
"...you know that's not what I said."
"...Maybe, but I'm kinda surprised you didn't see 'em when I brought the things over-"
He seemed to not notice a certain scythe user on her knees, silently begging him to stop, "I mean, I gave them to Rube, and she said she'd-"
Weiss' controller fell to the ground as the Schnee let off a screech to end all screeches, "You little thief!"
She dove out of her seat, tackling Ruby across the room as the girl tried to crawl away, "I'm sorrry!"
As Yang blew through the finish line, she gave herself an honorary fist in the air before looking to her sister without even an ounce of pity, "The Crookie had to learn her lesson someday-"
She watched Weiss shaking the poor girl like a ragdoll before falling back, resting her head against her arms, "Oh well, saves me the trouble...Hey Pinks, wanna grab somethin' before we head o-...-"
She saw him blankly staring at her name along the screen, a confused look on his face, "Are you thinking about something?"
Yuji woke up from his daze, "Eh? Why you saying that like it's a bad thing?"
She flipped over, pushing a hand against her cheek, a sarcastic tone in her voice, "I'm not sayin' anything...come on, let's hear it!"
He looked down for a second, "Well...I was just wonderin'...-"
"Wondering what?"
The vessel scratched his chin, "...You know, since I got here, I just keep thinkin'...your countries have some real weird ways a' naming people...like...what's with everyone being called a color?"
Yang shrugged, "I dunno, it's just something we do, I guess-"
Blake poked a bright yellow eye out from under the covers of her bed, "And wouldn't that make you the weird one for not being named after one?"
Yuji shook his head, "Nah-nah-nah, 'cause...you see...uh...where was I going with this?...Oh yeah! Japanese names have meanin' to 'em! I ain't just called a color! Here, I'll show ya!"
The sorcerer hopped to his feet and, without asking, yoinked Weiss' notebook off her desk and started scribbling along a blank page, and after a moment, flipped it over, "See!"
Blake squinted, looking at his writing, "What am I looking at?"
Yang couldn't help but nod, "Yeah, what's with the scribbles, dude?"
Yuji put a hand to his heart as if they had just stabbed him, "These ain't scribbles! It just wouldn't make sense if I wrote my name in your language is all...'cause...you know...it loses the meaning."
"Wait...our language?... Then what are you writing in?"
The vessel pointed a finger at the random symbols, "It's Japanese, you goober!"
Weiss stopped strangling Ruby, for the time being, looking up in complete disbelief, "Wait-wait-wait...you...YOU know two languages?"
Yuji tilted his head to the side, "Sō, nihonjin wa nihongo o hanasu nodesu… shōgeki-tekidesu."
There was something sassy about what he just said, but none of them knew what he was yappin' about.
Weiss somehow got even more pale, "I...I don't believe it-"
For Weiss, it was unthinkable-
Yuji shrugged, going back to what he was saying, "See, the 'Yu' in my name means calm, and the 'Ji' part represents kindness-"
Could it be?-
The vessel pushed on, moving his finger along the sheet, "Then my last name, the 'Ita' bit, symbolizes a tiger, and the 'Dori' part just means supportive."
Was Yuji really?-
From the floor, Yang quirked a brow, "Hold up, hold up...so...your name is... a 'nice-supportive tiger?'...how did-"
She was seeing so many question marks, "How did your parents guess that so well?"
Yuji just stared at her, not getting where this was going, "Guess what?"
Her head slumped over before jumping back up, "Nevermind...but...what made you wanna learn our language anyway?"
"Oh, English? Well, see, back home, they kinda make you pick a foreign one in school and-"
Weiss was in awe...was Yuji actually...smart?
...
...
He gave a goofy grin, rubbing the back of his head, "I just wanted to watch your guys' movies without subtitles is all!"
...
...
"Did it just get cold in here?"
*CRRRRRR
Yuji turned, seeing the Schnee standing there with her palm held out toward him, "Eh?...Weiss? What are you-WOAH!"
*BWOOOOOSH
The vessel exploded out through the wall and into the hallway, completely encased in ice, and with a huff she picked up her notebook, "Personal space includes my property...cookies or not."
From the floor, Ruby prostrated herself, "I'm sorrrrry!"
Yang only rolled her eyes, "Really? Come on, Weiss, we were talking!"
"Well, you can talk to him later. I, for one, have had enough stupidity for the day."
The blonde just shook her head before noticing something on the floor, "Oh, he musta' forgot his scroll...guess I'll give it to him lat-"
Before she could grab it, Weiss scooped it up, earning a strange look from the bombshell, "What are you doing?"
Her icy stare didn't move from the screen as she scrolled through his apps, "If you must know, he took a photo of me without permission the other day, and I'm just-"
Ruby tackled the girl's leg, curling around it, "NOOOO! Don't delete the smiley face; it looks so cute!"
"Be quiet, you! ARGHHH WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PICTURES OF CATS ON THIS THING!?"
The heiress stopped in her tracks, noticing a folder called 'my favorite people'... call it arrogance or just delusions, but she immediately clicked on it, seeing a handful of pictures of his team, hers, and even a few of their seniors...and the one of her.
Weiss grumbled for a second, her finger hovering over the icon.
...
...
*Beep-beep-beep
With a nod of approval, she tossed the device to Yang, "There, it's done."
Ruby slumped over, slowly getting dragged away by the heiress, "Awwww."
"Let go of me!"
She would never admit what she did out loud, but there was definitely a 'favorite image' over the photo of her smiling.
...
Later, on the streets of Vale
Yuji walked along the sidewalk, hands behind his head as he faced the clouds, soon glancing to the side as the sun glinted off a familiar pair of shades, "So, what's been new with you, Sass Master?"
Coco hummed, tapping her chin, "Mmmm, same old-same old, sorta like how every time I see you, you're just as short as ever, pipsqueak."
Yeah, it was time for the dreaded suit mission, and why Yang thought it was a good idea to drag someone with a tik-tok attention span like Ruby, he could only guess.
He ignored the two sisters snorting behind him, "Mhm...hey, tell me somethin'...weren't you wearin' that fit the other day? Kinda tacky, don't ya thi-"
She shoved a finger in his face faster than light, "Oh, you do NOT wanna go there with me, you walking goth-jock."
Yuji tilted his head, "Goth? Me?...hmmmm- "
He briefly imagined himself sitting there with pale skin and a constantly angry look on his face with some dyed black hair...wait...why did that image suddenly turn into Fushiguro?
She snapped a finger in his face, "Focus, dingus."
"I ain't no dingus, you bingus-"
"What?"
Why was the stylish Huntress suddenly picturing a bald cat after hearing that?
Yuji remained unaware of the mental anguish he caused with that simple phrase, letting off a sigh, "I've been tellin' ya, sorcerers gotta dress like regular people to blend in. I can't be wearin' all that fancy stuff you guys got."
Yang marched up from behind, elbowing him in the ribs, "Sorry to say, Pinks, but you don't blend in all that good."
Grammar wasn't a strong suit for either of them.
"Eh? How come?"
The blonde hummed, "Okay, for starters, you got, like, the whole Ozpin's grandson thing goin' on, but it's more...you look a little too plain, get what I mean?"
Itadori looked at her for a second, "What? Like I'm outa place or somethin'?"
She flashed a thumb with a wink, "Bingo!"
The vessel bit his cheek, "Well, that's kinda a given, I guess. I mean...sorcerers kinda fly under the radar in every country, so we sorta lose touch with regular people sometimes."
"Wait-wait-wait, there's...people like you in the kingdoms?"
He shrugged, "I dunno, it's not like we can call 'em up and ask. Sorcerers don't really get along with governments, especially special grades, so we kinda just avoid them."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that before when...uh...when you-"
He waved her off, a smug look on his face, "Yeah when you were creepin' on me-"
The blonde froze up, "...You knew about that?"
He nodded, "Yeah, Pyr told me-"
She lightly glared at the ground, "...Of course she did."
What did that mean?
Yuji waved her off, "I'm not mad about it if that's what you're worried about."
"You aren't?"
Yuji could only sigh as he leaned back to pop his shoulders, "Nah, I don't stress about stuff like that, but if you wanna know somethin', you can just ask me...not like I got much to hide from you guys."
He had a weird look on his face when he said that, almost...regretful, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.
Yang got an interested look on her face, "Really?... Alright, I'll bite. What's makes you a special whatever-"
"Special grade?"
She rapidly nodded like a bobblehead, "Yeah, that."
Yuji hummed for a second before that smug glint came back in force, "'Cause you're my special."
Of in the distance, a certain song started playing, or was that in his head?
Yuji really couldn't tell fiction from reality sometimes.
Coco gagged, shaking her head, "Terrible."
Yang ignored her, putting her hands on her hips, "Do you really think you can out-flirt me, dude?"
A shiver ran down his spine, forcing him to bow his head in defeat, "...I'll be good..."
She just laughed, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair, "That's what I thought...sooo, what's the actual answer?"
Itadori's dull eyes widened a bit as the color returned to his face, "Oh, right. Special grade just means you got the power to destroy a whole country...kinda makes governments not like ya when you can wipe 'em out no problem, you know?"
There was a collective pause from the three girls as they all stopped in place, with Yuji not noticing as he kept walking.
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Yuji just kept walking, leaving them with the most ambiguous statement to ever be stated...and no, he did not elaborate.
A bit later, they were in front of the tailors, and as anyone with a Todo-level IQ could predict, Ruby started to complain.
"Yaaaaang, I don't wanna!"
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Eugh, aren't you supposed to be a team leader?"
The hooded girl kicked the ground in a huff, "I don't know, Yang, 'cause you sure don't treat me like one!"
Yuji looked between the sisters, utterly confused, and the second he looked to Coco for help, she was just-...
Playing Temple Run on her scroll...no wait, that said Mount Glenn Run...the heck was that?
The bombshell crossed her arms, "'Cause you're my Sis!"
The silver-eyed girl clenched her tiny fists, "But you act like you're my mom!"
That one seemed to sting.
The fistfighter looked off to the side, "...Someone had to."
"Well, it's different now! We're gonna be Huntresses, you can't just-"
"I can't what? Worry about you?"
"No, I never said that! You can't be all controlling!"
"I am not controllin-"
*CRACK
A smack to end all smacks echoed out as Yuji slapped his hands together, shattering more than a few windows along the block, sending a shockwave that blasted through the girls hair-
Coco completely ignored it. She was just that cool...with earphones in.
The vessel dropped his hands into his pockets, letting off a sigh, "Siblings shouldn't fight over petty crap like this."
Neither of them could hear a thing with how loud their ears were ringing.
"WHAT?"
"WHAT DID HE SAY?"
"I THINK HE'S SELLING SOMETHING."
"HE'S SELLING CHOCOLATE?"
"WHAT? WHAT IS HE SELLING?"
"CHOCOLATES!"
"WHAT?"
"CHOCOLATES!"
Yuji had no idea what they were going on about, but their arguing couldn't help but remind him of Maki and Mai, well, with a lot less swearing involved-
Ruby would probably start crying if Yang said any curse words directed at her, so hearing them argue was like watching one of Pyrrha's shows...the ones he was pretty sure she was way too old to enjoy watching.
...
...
Why is no one around him normal?
Itadori shrugged it off, figuring it at least kept things interesting, and in the blink of an eye, he pulled a stack of plastic cards out of seemingly nowhere, holding them out to Ruby, "If ya just wanna meet up later, we can-"
*FWYOOOOM
One second, she was there, and the next, the sorcerer vaguely thought he felt someone hug him before the scythe wielder and the stack of lien were gone in a storm of rose petals.
Yuji scratched his head, "...It's like bein' friends with a roadrunner...I wonder if there's any coyotes around...I hope they don't got any anvils to drop off the roof or somethin.'"
Yang was seeing TV static with how dumb that statement sounded, but pushed through it, "How...how much cash did you give her?"
The sorcerer gave her a look, "I dunno, I just grabbed a stack and gave it to her."
"I'm paying you back."
He waved it off, "Nah, it's cool...not like I got anything to spend it on anyway."
She tilted her head, "What, is Oz spoiling you or something?"
"Now that ya mention it? Kinda? I guess? I dunno... isn't that what all old people do for their grandkids?"
The blonde tapped a foot on the ground, "Sorta, but for us, it's our uncle, but he doesn't give us cash. It's more...uhhhh...drunk life advice...or something? Not gonna lie, I tune it out sometimes."
"Oh yeah, is your uncle that dude that looks like your mom but like...a guy?"
"...You...you really didn't need to put that image in my head, but...yeah, why?"
Yuji happily stared at her, "Me and him went at it in some train station the other day...no offence, but...he's kinda lame."
The TV static in her head turned into a fog-
The fog is coming...
Yang took a deep breath, "You're not like...making a habit out of fighting my family, are you? Like...you're not gonna beat up my dad, right?"
"I dunno, is he a bad guy?"
Why is he so willing to beat up her relatives?
Is he going for a record?
It sounded like the plot of a lame movie where the guy has to beat up a girl's entire family for a shot with her...except he really didn't need to do any of that and was just being extra for no reason.
Yang thought about it for a few seconds longer than she should have, "Mmmmm, nah, he's cool, but if you think my uncle Qrow is lame? You'd think talkin' to him was a snoozefest."
The blonde opened and closed her fist as she talked, "He's all, 'Oh, Yang, wear a helmet when you drive. It's the safe way of doing things,' not as if aura's a thing."
The vessel smirked, "Oh yeah, it's totally that and not about your hair..."
The bombshell rolled her eyes, her smile coming back, "You know me too well, Pinkie. I might just have to feed you some bad info, and keep ya on your toes."
Coco came in from behind, resting her forearm on the vessel's head, "Tiny's got enough problems in school as is, and he definitely doesn't need you making that worse, blondie."
Yang laughed at that, holding out a fist, "Preach, sister!"
The stylish girl flicked her glasses up. "Preach? I don't preach. People see me and just know they gotta listen... but I do like the energy."
Coco gave her junior a fistbump as Yang observed her for a moment, from the laid back, but still in your face attitude down to the perfect sense of style, "...You're...the coolest person I've ever met."
The minigun user swept a hand through her brown hair, smirking, "I know."
As Yang's eyes sparkled at the prospect of finding a new role model, Yuji couldn't help but slump over in defeat, unable to defend himself...or his grades at all.
...
A bit later
Itadori was slumped against a wall, holding a mountain of clothes in his hands with a dead-to-the-world look on his face as fashion clashed with cosmetology before his very eyes.
Coco waved a hand, her brown eyes gleaming with passion, "No-no-no! You don't match red and black when it's not in season!"
Yang squinted, "Who cares about the season!? A red shirt goes with his hair!"
"Ah, righhhht, because bringing a Schnee, the family KNOWN for their icy-whatever powers, would go sooo well with red... We both know that girl is gonna wear some kinda blue!"
The blonde huffed, "Uhhh, opposites match? Ever heard of it?"
Coco scoffed, "Hmph, I've heard of tacky, and apparently you haven't."
"Oh, and using colors that don't match the person wearing them is better? Look at him! Does that kinda build wear blue?...Actually? Ooooh...what if...now hear me out here...what if we do blue suit, white shirt?"
Coco gagged, "Oh, now that IS tacky! We want them to match, not be in a freaking winter wonderland!"
"Why do you care so much!?"
"'Cause it's gonna be on live TV, you dingus! Do you have any idea how many people freaked when they found out Ozpin, of all people, had a family out there!?"
Yang stared at her for a second, "...Yeah...you're not winning this fight, I'ma be real here."
"What? What are you talking about?"
The blonde pinched between her eyes, "These people are gonna show up to this thing expecting like...a mini Ozpin or something, and instead they get-"
She bit her cheek, grumbling a way to not offend a certain sorcerer, "Uhhhh...someone who's...not that."
Coco scoffed, bopping a fist against her own head, "Well, ad-oy! But you're not seeing the big picture here!"
"Big picture?"
"Well...more like little picture 'cause of how small she is, but like...who's the one person that dingus is actually scared of?"
"Goodwitch?"
Coco stammered, "Uh...true, but...not her...so...make it the second-"
The fistfighter tapped a foot for a few seconds, "...Weiss?"
The stylish Huntress snapped a finger, "Bingo. I've seen that chick's meltdowns from across campus. You better believe she'll keep him in line in front of a buncha rich know-it-alls."
"...Why are we talking about him like he's not here?"
Yang turned to glance over her shoulder, "Hey, Yuj, whaddya say we...oh...where'd he go?"
The sorcerer had, in fact, wandered off some time ago after getting bored.
On the other side of the store, the vessel was walking through the aisles, completely zoning out, wondering what kinda games he'd play at the arca-
"Excuse me."
"Hm?"
The sorcerer paused, turning around to see one of the store attendants giving him a faint smile, but all he could notice were the curled horns on the sides of her head.
Yeah, Yuji really didn't know what to make of these people. At first, he thought it was some kinda cosplay, but when the animal parts were showing up in their souls, he got really confused.
She stared at him for a second, then their surroundings as if checking for something, making the sorcerer awkwardly rub his neck, "Uhhhh, did I...do somethin' wrong?"
Her eyes seemed to flicker as if confirming something before calmly shaking her head as a note flickered out from her sleave like it was hidden away in there, "I believe you dropped this earlier."
He tilted his head, not remembering any kinda paper besides the book he had to get Blake...and how weird she got about it.
"I did? Oh, well, uh, thanks, lady."
The moment he grabbed it, she had already turned around to disappear behind a row of shelves, only muttering, "Make sure you read it when you're alone. It has something very important to say to someone with your capabilities...brother."
Brother?
What?
...
...
This had 'you're getting invited into a cult' movie vibes so hard right now...Yuji could only wonder if there'd be this awesome chase scene where he comes to his senses and has to fight his way out with explosions and-
"Yo!"
Yang popped out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "Ready to get outa here and do some fun stuff?"
The vessel hummed, sliding the envelope into one of his pockets, figuring it was a later problem, "Don't we gotta pay first?"
"Nah, they're just gonna charge it to the school. Pretty cool, huh? You can just turn up, grab whatever, then just go, 'You know who I am,' and leave."
Yuji thought about it for a second, but as realization dawned on him, an idea sprang to mind, "Ohhhhh...we should get you guys stuff too!"
The blonde raised a brow, "Wouldn't Oz notice you're chargin' like...hella money to his account?"
"Noooo...we'll just say it was...the suit."
Yang seemed to get where he was going with this and was all for it, "...a very-VERY expensive suit."
His face became chiseled, "You know what we gotta do, right?"
She matched him, becoming solid stone, "I do..."
Coco walked toward the pair, extremely confused, staring up at the ceiling, "Where's that music coming from?"
...
One Lost in Paradise Montage Later
With many bags in tow, the trio entered the arcade, immediately getting hit with the sounds of countless buzzes and blips from the machines and the rank smell of pizza wafting through the air.
Yuji lazily scanned the crowd, "Man, there's a lotta people here...how we gonna find Rube in all this?"
Yang rolled her eyes, "Please...she's gonna be holed up in some far back corner with her headphones on, pretendin' that no one else exists."
"...You're still mad at her, huh?"
The blonde huffed, putting a hand on her hip, "Kinda...but I'm kinda surprised you haven't...asked about it?"
Itadori shrugged, "I dunno, just sorta...didn't feel like it was my place to do that, ya know?"
She grumbled, not wanting to admit it, but knew there was no other way around it, "Well, you're a younger sibling, so do the younger sibling thing and ask anyways...hint-hint."
The sorcerer raised a hand before dropping it, opting to lean against an unused machine, "Look, I told ya...me and Choso aren't like normal siblings. We don't do the whole...arguing thing."
Yang poked him in the chest with a finger, "Yeah, and I want that with me and Rube, so spill."
Coco clicked her tongue, "That's not how it works, blondie. You can't just magic up a different relationship with your sister."
The fistfighter squinted, "You have siblings?"
The brown-haired girl scoffed, "Count 'em, I got a faunus, a borderline mute, and a blind asshole on my team, so it was either be a big sister or be nothing, and if I got one thing outa that, it's that asking other people instead of hashing it out yourselves isn't gonna fix what you got."
The blonde winced a bit, "How am I supposed to talk about it when I don't...I don't know what her deal is, okay? One second, she's pushing me away like I don't even matter, and the next, she's begging me to order something for her 'cause she's too scared to talk to the cashier! What sense does that make!?"
The minigun user nodded, "None, 'cause she's the younger sibling, and they do that. Believe me, she probably doesn't even know why she's doing it either...but I mean, it doesn't take a genius to notice it."
Coco let off a sigh before glancing at the sorcerer, "How about you go on ahead? Me and angsty gotta have a girls talk, real emotional stuff...you might start cryin' if you stick around."
He tilted his head, "Really?...Is this gonna be one of those touchy-feely revelations where I change as a person because you're all 'no, Yuji, you don't need to find what you're looking for because you've had it all along?'"
What?
The upperclassman deadpanned, "...Just get out of here."
He raised a hand as he turned around and walked off, "Kayyyy."
With that out of the way, the vessel was faced with a new problem as he walked down the endless line of machines that just sounded like blatant ripoffs of games he knew-
Beat Biter? Where characters fight on a...beat farm, the heck?...anyway, he needed to find a girl who was not only tiny, but terrified of people for some reason...
He could go look for her, but that would take too much time...unless...hohoho...delightfully devilish, Seymour...
This was gonna be classic formation C, only used when pretending someone was cheating on you wasn't an option.
With no regard for how dumb this was gonna look, Itadori walked up to an office booth and muttered something about needing to call his 'little sister' to the front before grabbing the first thing that looked like a PA mic.
"Ruby Rose, your best buddy, Yuji really misses you and wants you to come to the front to collect him before he gets sad and-"
*BOOOOOM
There was an explosion in the distance, and the next thing he knew, the microphone in his hand was sliced into pieces, followed by a bunch of tiny punches against his stomach as Ruby burned hotter than the sun, "WHYYYYYYYYYYY!?"
The vessel happily grinned, oblivious to how mad she was, "Oh, there you are, Rube! Diddya win any prizes?"
"I hate you so much!"
"Why?"
"Do you know how many people are staring at us because of you!?"
He looked around, concurring that, indeed, a lot of people were staring at them, but he seemed indifferent, "Ya know, if you just ignored it, none of 'em woulda known you were Ruby, Ruby."
Ruby-Ruby...that sounded like something a Pokemon would say...oh, and she did have the rose petal thing...maybe she'd be like that flower one? Awesome...
The pale girl puffed her cheeks as wide as they could go, "You're the worst!"
Yuji shrugged, a half-baked apologetic grin on his face as he dropped a hand on her shoulder, "Ah, come on, don't be like that! Here, I'll treat ya to whatever games you wanna play!"
Her silver eye trailed back to him, clearly having burned through whatever cash he gave her earlier, "...Any game?"
He raised a finger, "One condition: you gotta play one thing with me, no questions!"
"...why?"
"I said no questions."
"That's not fair! You can't just call no questions!"
Itadori laughed, pushing the girl ahead as they wandered off into the arcade, "Like a good buddy of mine always said, the only fair thing about life is that it ain't fair to anyone. Oh, shoot! We better hurry before the line gets too crazy!"
Ruby pouted as she got dragged along, "Fine...jerk."
...
...
It took all of thirty seconds before she started wigging out again, this time over the game he wanted to play, "No way! I am not doing that!"
Yuji had dragged her aimlessly until he saw the familiar colorful patterns of his beloved machine, floor arrows and all...Must Prance?...Eh, close enough.
He gave Ruby a smug look, "What? Ya can't dance?"
"Well...can you?"
"Uh, yeah?... Back home, arcades are a huge deal, so we'd spend hours on these things. Come on, we'll see who gets a better score!"
Ruby's head hit terminal velocity with how fast it was shaking, "Nope!"
"Aw, don't be like-"
"Nope!"
"Ruuuuube-"
"Nooooope!"
The vessel crossed his arms, "Look, I get you're a people pleaser or whatever, but how come you're so scared of a little dancin'?"
The Huntress looked away, embarrassed, "It's not that; I just...don't want all those people watching me. Doesn't it bother you?"
"Nah, why would it?"
"How could it not!?"
"Well, for starters, you're never gonna see these people again, and if ya did, they ain't gonna remember you for dancing, and second, why care what some rando thinks about ya?"
The hooded girl squinted a little more, "...Just 'cause it's easy for you doesn't mean it's like that for me...it's really hard being the center of attention...makes me act all goofy-loopy."
The Yuji hum engine rumbled once more as a lightbulb dinged, "Ohhhh, well, if that's the issue, how about I dance super-duper extra goofy so no one looks at ya?"
"...Why can't you just dance by yourself?"
"Besides that soundin' lame? I just think you gotta come outta your shell more if you wanna be a leader, Rube."
She paused, "Wait...is that really why you called me on the speaker? Why couldn't you just say it in person!?"
Itadori's grin grew, "'Think of it like a cringy boot camp! If I embarass ya over a buncha little stuff, the big things won't bother you as much!"
"Well..you're cringe! How do you like that!?"
He just stared at her as his face became chiseled, "Yeah, I know...now are we doin' this, or am I gonna have to get Yang to dance for you?"
"Oh, you did not just go there!"
"I think I diiiid."
Ruby threw her arms down in a fit, "EUGH, fine! But I get to pick the song!...and...and...you're gonna dance super-duper-uber-cooper goofy!"
Was that even a word?
His smile came back in full force, "Kayyyy!"
On the one hand, Yuji's constant optimism was something most people loved about the guy, letting him get anyone out of a funk if given enough time, but on the other?
He did not know when to back down about things...and somehow convinced the girl with more anxiety than you could imagine to go dancing on a public stage, and now she was freaking out about it.
The girl briefly gulped before an idea sprang to mind, an evil aka adorably cunning look overtaking her as she scrolled through the options, tapping play as the sound of birds chirping filled the area-
Yuji beamed, having endured the pain of having this song stuck in his head for YEARS. Taking a stand on the arrows, he put his hands on an invisible steering wheel, giving the Huntress a wave, "Hiya, Ruby!"
She snickered, waving back, "Hi, Yuj!"
"Wanna go for a ride?"
"Sure!"
"Jump in!"
The hooded girl could only gawk as the sorcerer's entire frame seemed to relax, both holds still holding the imaginary wheel, adapting to any situation with no care for how many people were giving him weird looks-
And then the music started.
I'm an Atlas girl, in the Atlas world~
Life is drastic, things are tragic~
You can't brush your hair, or dress up anywhere~
Imagination, is a danger~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
The second the arrow commands started popping up, the vessel sprang into action, his feet a blur as he pointed his hands at his buddy, "Come on, Ruby, let's go party!"
The girl died inside hearing that, and it was more than visible, "STOOOOOOP!"
She was so caught up in her outburst that she started stumbling, getting heckled by the digital crowd, "Oh, boo you, too!"
Yuji wouldn't stop landing perfect scores with every single hit, drawing more and more spectators to the Rose-themed girl's horror, but they were just getting started.
I'm an Atlas girl, in the Atlas world~
Life is drastic, things are tragic~
You can't brush your hair, or dress up anywhere~
Imagination, is a danger~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
People in the crowd started to murmur, watching Itadori's score going higher and higher, some even saying they recognized him from somewhere, with a few mumbles about Ozpin, but the vessel was in his own world, and he was schmooving!
I'm an orphan girl, in a ruthless world~
Beat me up, make it hurt, I'm a number~
You're my tool, use and fool, feel the honor in rule~
Punch me here, kick me there, disappear with the wind~
You can't run~
You can't hide~
Never say what you think~
Ooh-oh~
Ruby found herself grumbling, watching Yuji fly through the motions like it was no big issue, feeling like her heart was about to explode from all the stare-
...
...
Wait...they weren't looking at her at all...just...him...
The Huntress scrunched up her face, taking a deep breath, forcing herself to remember that all eyes weren't on her, "...Okay...let's do this..."
The Huntress sped up, moving with absolute precision as her score started to rise by the moment-
I'm an Atlas girl, in the Atlas world~
Life is drastic, things are tragic~
You can't brush your hair, or dress up anywhere~
Imagination, is a danger~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
Yuji took a sudden leap, flipping onside down, landing on his palms as they flashed between the arrows, keeping an immaculate balance despite moving at a record pace, "Come on, Ruby let's go party!-"
To his surprise, she snickered, "ah-ah-ah-yeah!"
"See, now you're gettin' it!"
A confident smirk crossed her pale face, "Yeah? See if you can keep up!"
She disappeared into a storm of rose petals, moving so fast even the vessel was struggling to see her, "Oh, it's on, sister!"
With a little cursed energy and the hope that no one would notice him hitting the arrows so hard they were starting to crack, Yuji burst into action.
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ah-ah-ah yeah~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh
Yuji hit the keys like a pro: left, right, up, down, his score setting records before they were done, the crowd going wilder by the second, but neither seemed to notice.
He was just glad he could get his friend to try something new, but that didn't mean he was gonna let her win, the fun king had a reputation to uphold!
Make me march, make me bark, do whatever you need~
I can act like a soldier, I can kill who you please~
Come join in, Atlas kids, let's start a new war~
Hit them hard, shoot them down, let's wipe 'em all out~
Ruby was sweating bullets, pushing her semblance to its absolute limit, but couldn't care less about how bad her legs were starting to hurt, she wanted a win out of this!
You can cry~
You can die~
If you say, 'I will fight for the cause'
You can cry~
You can die~
If you say, 'I will fight for the cause'
The machine was starting to smoke and glitch out, but they kept going, even as someone ran off to find a fire extinguisher.
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ah-ah-ah yeah~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh
I'm an Atlas girl, in the Atlas world~
Life is drastic, things are tragic~
You can't brush your hair, or dress up anywhere~
Imagination, is a danger~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
The speakers started to distort as sparks crackled along the surface, with most onlookers booking it out of the way.
I'm an Atlas girl, in the Atlas world~
Life is drastic, things are tragic~
You can't brush your hair, or dress up anywhere~
Imagination, is a danger~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ah-ah-ah yeah~
Come on, Atly, let's go party!
ooh-oh-ooh-oh
As the music came to an end, Yuji hopped back onto his feet with a push off his palms while Ruby stopped her shaking legs, with the latter somehow finding her voice first, "Oh, I'm having so much fun!"
The sorcerer patted her on the shoulder, "Well, Rube, we're just gettin' started."
She just laughed, Oh, you're the best, Yuj."
With that the vessel let out a satisfied stretch, looking up at the cracked and sizzling screen, "Alright, I think that's enough references for the...aw, mannn, we can't even see our score!"
He soon bounced back as if nothing happened, "Oh well...we uh...might wanna get out of here before-"
"There they are!"
Ruby's legs turned into a blur, "It's the fuzz, cheese it!"
It was like one maintenance guy and an angry parent with a crying kid who wanted to play, but it was enough for Yuji to run for the hills with her, ending up at some other corner of the building, chilling at a table.
There wasn't a moment to rest before Ruby was bouncing in her seat, "That was so much fun, I was all bachoo-pow-combo! And you were all, 'Hands-on? I am the hands!'"
What?
Itadori flashed his buddy a thumbs up, "Yeah, you were awesome!"
"I was!?"
"Sure were! I can't believe you did that with all those people staring at you!"
She got a look on her face, "...People were staring?"
He nodded, "Mhm, and you tanked it! I didn't think you had it in y-...Rube?"
...
...
"You uh...you good...or?"
The hooded girl made what could only be called distressed baby sheep noises before curling into a ball and falling onto her side.
Yuji just stared at her with a blank expression, "You're really nervous, huh?"
He got more sheep noises as a response.
Yeah...this wasn't gonna be a one-time fix...she needed...extreme classes, but that was enough cringe for the day...the vessel didn't think she could take anymore.
Within moments, the sorcerer was already bored, and it only got worse the more he came to realize Ruby was in what the doctors would call an angst-induced coma.
He rumbled the table with his fingers-
What to do...what to...oh yeah...the...the thing.
What was the thing again?
Yuji crossed his arms in thought, only to hear a crinkle, "Oh yeah, that thing."
He really didn't have the time or interest in finding somewhere private, so to put it lightly, Yuji tore the strange letter open in public and slowly dragged his finger along the page, mumbling as he went.
...
...
"Hey, Rube."
"Rube."
She made more sheep noises.
He pointed a finger at the page, "I dunno this word can you gimme a hand...pleeeeeease?"
More sheep noises.
"I guess I can get Yan-"
*CRACK
Her fist smashed into the table, "Don't you dare!"
Okaaaay...that's...an issue they needed to talk out.
The tiny girl deflated in the blink of an eye, "Sorry...I didn't mean to...you know what? Never mind, what's the word?"
Yuji tilted his head, "Well, I was gonna ask ya-"
...
...
He looked her dead in the eye, "What's a White Fan-"
The table cracked as Ruby dove over the top, slapping a tiny hand over his mouth as a few eyes instantly looked in their direction, making the poor girl panic, "You have a white van? Oh, I didn't know that, hahaha...hahaha-"
He mumbled against her palm, "-ut...I don'- ot a-"
"SHHHH!"
Within moments, the strange looks subsided, and the Huntress dropped her shoulders in relief, slumping back into her seat as she quietly hissed, "Dude, are you nuts!? Even I know you shouldn't say that out loud!"
"Say what? White F-PFTTTT-"
This time, her hand was just in his mouth, "Stop saying it!"
...
...
"-An ou-ake our-and-outa-my-"
"Only if you promise not to say it anymore!"
...
...
He nodded and the second her hand retreated he let out a violent gag, "BLEH! God, how many cookies do ya eat, Rube!? I could taste it on your freakin' fingers!"
Still not in the top 20 or so worst finger foods he's ever had.
She turned red, "That-that's not important right now!"
"You're still hiding the cookies from Weiss, aren't you?"
"That's not what this conversation is about, and you know it!"
Yuji shrugged, "I dunno, man, you're the one actin' like a nutcase over a word, what's the big deal?"
Another uncomfortable look crossed the girl's face, "It's not the word, it's that...that...uhhhhhh...you're...the...one...saying...it?"
"What?"
Yang would be so much better at this.
"You know...uh...because of...what you...are?"
"A sorcerer?"
"...N-...nooooo, not that."
"...Japanese?"
She shook her head, "Mmm-mmm"
"Can I get a hint?"
What is this, Jeopardy?"
She pointed a finger at his face, and he didn't have a clue what that meant, "I'm...Yuji?"
Ruby almost fell out of her chair, "Eugh, noooooooo!...Well...yes, but nooooo!"
She leaned back, doing little loops on her face where the slits on his would be, "These thingies!"
Yuji mimicked the action, "My...eyes?"
"Noooo! The things under your eyes!"
"Yeah...my eyes."
Technically, he was actually right for once but he said it in the dumbest way possible.
Ruby's head slammed into the table at terminal velocity, and she shakily held a hand out toward him, "Just...lemme see the thing...please."
With dead-to-the-world eyes, the scythe wielder glazed over the text, her expression shifting from disbelief in how low her friend's IQ was to shock and then horror as she saw the distinctive red markings she had seen displayed across the news over and over as a kid, "They're...trying to recruit you?"
Yuji shrugged, "I guess? It's not that uncommon for me. Back home, the sports managers kept gettin' on my case about joinin' up, but clubs are just a hastle if ya ask me."
"You...you think the...that they're...a club?"
"Well...yeah? I mean, the lady at the store called me 'Brother' for some reason, and if TV told me anything, she's like... a loco on the crazy scale...ya never trust people who call you stuff like that. It's scary movie 101!"
"But...but...you call me Sister all the time!"
"Nah, that's different 'cause we're friends! But like...imagine if someone who wasn't a sweet old lady or somethin' just walked up and said 'Hey sugar...' that'd be freakin' creepy, right?"
The beleaguered girl sighed, "Yuj, this is serious, those are...-"
She leaned closer, whispering, "Really-really-REALLY bad guys!"
He blankly looked at her, "Oh...okay."
Without warning, Itadori got up from his seat, giving a lazy stretch, earning a confused look from the Huntress, "Where're you going?"
"Ima go beat 'em up."
...
...
The color drained from Ruby's face, "WHAT!?"
She shrank when she noticed more people staring at her, but pushed through it, running off after him, "Yuj, you can't just pick a fight with-with...THEM!"
"Why not?"
She looked left-right-up-down before whispering, "They're...they're...terrorists."
"Yeah, so Ima beat 'em up for it. I already got one execution order on me back home, and I don't wanna 'nother one!"
"Wait...someone wants you...execution? WHAT!?"
Ruby was the least qualified person to be talking to about any of this.
Itadori spared her a glance, "It ain't a big deal, just gimme like five minutes and I'll be back."
"I'm not just letting you go by yourself!"
"You just said they're bad guys, goober. You don't want 'em seein' your face when they're lookin' for me."
That was...a shockingly intelligent comment from Yuji.
Ruby yanked her hood up, casting a very light shadow over her face, "There! Now I'm stealth-moding it!"
Itadori deadpanned, "...Nah, you're not comin'."
"Please?"
"Nah."
"Pretty please!"
"I don't want Yang to get mad at me, dude!"
"She won't!"
"Oh yeah, 'cause draggin' her little sister to some fight's gonna sit real well with her."
The Huntress rolled her eyes, "Eugh! Yang this-Yang that, I'm a person too! And I'm a team leader!"
"Not my team, goober."
"Why do you keep calling me goober!?"
Yuji reached out a hand, ruffling her hair, to her annoyance, "I dunno, I see you and think, 'Goober.'...But seriously, you aren't comin'."
"Why not!?"
Yuji stopped at the exit, "'These things never go right, Rube, and...I don't wantcha to see somethin' you aren't ready for, alright?"
She zoomed ahead of him in a whirlwind of petals, "Well-well...I have to learn sometime, right?"
"Yeah, sometime...I'm bein' serious, dude. You can't come back from some stuff, and you'll regret it if ya see something you don't like-"
Yuji got a strange, almost distant look on his face, "...Some things you just can't unsee."
Ruby didn't seem to understand what he was getting at, "Wouldn't...wouldn't it be better if I do see it when you're...around to make sure it doesn't go toooo baaad?"
For once, the vessel got a frustrated look on his face, slightly glaring at her, "Why're you so deadset on going with? This isn't gonna be some fun little adventure, Rube. People are probably gonna get hurt."
The scythe user nodded, "I know! It's just...no one takes me seriously, okay?"
"Takes you seriously? What? Who?"
Ruby looked around again before marching out the door, dragging the sorcerer by his wrist so they could talk alone outside, "No one does! Not even my own team wants to listen, and it's not like I'm asking for a lot! I just...want us to get along, is all...but-but-"
She sighed, kicking a loose chunk of concrete, sending it skittering across the ground, "It's Yang, okay? She's the problem. Any time I try to get her to do anything, she just says she's the big sister and won't do it! Then Weiss and Blake see it, and then they're all, 'oh, well, if she doesn't have to, then we don't either!'"
Yuji stared at her for a second, looking off to the side, "Fighting some random dudes isn't gonna fix that. This is the sorta thing you gotta talk out with your buddies, not waste time with me-"
"You don't get it 'cause people respect you! We're the same age, but they see you and think you're so cool while I'm just...Yang's little sister."
The Huntress stared at the ground for a second, "I just thought...if I saw how you do stuff then...maybe...maybe I could be cool too."
Itadori bit his cheek, trying to get his thoughts together, "I'm not cool, Ruby. You gotta stop saying that."
"Huh?"
The vessel sighed, looking up at the clouds passing overhead, "I've... screwed up more times than you could ever guess, and they were-"
He winced a bit as visions of a burning city flashed across his mind for a moment, "Really-really bad mistakes...the kindsa things I can never make up for, not even if I tried for a million freakin' years, and I have to live every day, knowing that I just wasn't enough...honestly, what you said before was pretty spot-on-"
Yuji gave a forced laugh, "I'm a pretty cringe-worthy guy if you think about it. I've caused a lotta problems for people, and here I am screwin' around at some arcade as if none of that matters, so don't put me on a pedestal or somethin'. I'm...I'm not someone you should wanna be like."
Ruby just stared at him for a second, her face dropping slightly, "Yuji...are...are you okay?"
"Why do ya ask?"
The Huntress took a slow step forward. "I've just...never seen you look so sad before."
The vessel tried to wave her off, "I'm fine...if there's one thing I can always tell you, it's that ya don't gotta worry about me. You should spend all that effort findin' a way to make things work for you, but goal posting it isn't the right one."
He was clearly trying to change the subject, but something told the Huntress he wasn't gonna let her press the issue any farther.
Ruby bit her cheek, slumping forward a bit, "So...goalposting?"
Yuji lazily stuck his hands in his pockets, "Yeah, you're treatin' trust like it's some goal you can just reach like some kinda one-and-done deal, ya know? With these types 'a things, you gotta build that up over time and keep workin' to keep it that way-"
"How do I do that?"
He shrugged, "Be reliable...and real patient...sometimes it sucks, but you gotta give 'em a reason to wanna put their faith in ya-
The vessel's happy smile returned, "It's a big deal when someone does that."
Ruby paled, "That sounds like a lot of work!"
"Yeah, it is!"
"I gotta do that for everyone!? That'll take forever!"
Yuji shook his head, ruffling her hair again until she swatted him away, "Maybe, but whatcha get out of it'll always be worth more than the work you put in. Every little bond teaches you a little more, gets you a little stronger, a little closer to your goals, whatever they are...but gettin' a lifelong friend? Whether that's for a few days, weeks, or months, who knows? But what matters is that you'll always smile when you look back on the time you spent together...even if you'll never see 'em again."
His grin grew wider as he scratched his cheek, "At least, that's how I see it! Hahaha! I musta sounded like such a dork, huh?"
...
...
Ruby clasped her hands together, tilting her head a bit, "Nope!"
"Hm?"
She smiled back at him "I think you sounded pretty cool."
Yuji just laughed, "You gotta funny idea of cool, Rube."
"Well, not everyone's like Yang who's all, 'Oh, I'm so rad, I drive a bike, and I PUNCH people going RAH!'"
"She does that?"
"Mmmmm, I mighta ad-libbed the lines, but yeah, she's like that."
Itadori just shook his head, "Well, just 'cause she's your big sis, doesn't mean you can't boss her around a little."
"Are you and your brother like that?"
"Me and Choso?"
Yuji just laughed, "Nah, we boss each other around, but it's just 'cause I love the guy and don't wanna see nothin' bad happen to him, and I'm sure he's the same way with me...my family's a little...different from yours, but you and Yang'll always be sisters, so just talk it out, hug it out, whatever...it'll all work out in the end."
She grumbled, making sheep noises for a second, but his stare won out, making her raise her hands in defeat, "Okayyyy, I willllll...soooo...can I come with?"
Yuji gave her a look, "You're just gonna follow me if I say no, right?"
"...Maybe."
He sighed, "Figured, but do me a solid and don't let 'em see your face or anything...you're...kinda easy to spot in a crowd, you know?"
"I am not!"
He deadpanned, "Dude, you walk around dressed like a cartoon character with a giant freaking scythe. If you weren't so short, I'd-"
"I am not short!"
"You're like...an inch taller than Weiss!"
"When she has her heels on! She's, like, not even five feet tall without them!"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah!
...
...
"You're still short."
"Says the shortest guy in our grade!"
"Still taller than youuuuu!"
Ruby turned red with righteous fury, angrily batting her tiny fists against his back as he walked, "take thatandthatandthatandthatandthat!"
Yuji looked around, confused, "Man, are there flies out here? Somethin' TINY is pecking at me..."
"STOPIIIIIIT!"
...
Chibi:
Pyrrha let off a tiny yawn, strolling across campus on an early Saturday morning, putting a little pep in her step. Today was a big day after all.
Family Day: Aptly called by Professor Ozpin, where students' relatives could come visit them and see Beacon for themselves, her mom and dad would be here soon, and the armored girl was more than excited.
She'd show them her classes-
Meet the teachers-
Show them how well she's done for herself...if that didn't sound too boastful-
And introduce them to her team and-
Her face burned a bit red, wondering how them meeting a certain someone would go...maybe they'd get alo-
*CLUNK
Pyrrha walked straight into something solid, seeing the shadow of a person fall to the ground below, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Here let me-EHHHHHHHH!?"
She flipped them over, realizing it was a student, her completely frozen solid in a look of utter horror like she was paralyzed with fear.
"What happened!? Who could've-"
The redhead looked around the front entrance of campus, seeing more and more frozen bodies piled up around the gates, each with their eyes wide, mouths stretched open, as if they had tried to scream but froze in place-
Her heart raced, "Who...what?...I don't-"
"Where?..."
Eh?
A grave voice echoed across campus, its source unknown, but in the distance, she swore she saw a shadow approaching a nearby corner, the sound only growing louder as a pair of sandals tapped along the walkways of Beacon.
*Click-click-click-click-click
"Where?..."
...
...
"Where?..."
Pyrrha was shivering in place, never having experienced this kind of dread before in her life, slowly inching backward until she bumped into something round and soft-
"OOF!"
"EEEEEP!"
She tried to whirl around on her heels, her hand flying to slap whoever touched her, only for her wrist to get caught by a gentle clasp, "Hohoho! Your reflexes are certainly honed to perfection, Miss Nikos!"
"P-...Professor Port?"
The stoutly man twiddled his mustache with a free hand, "Indeed it is, on my ever famous morning stroll...now tell me my dear, what could have you so upset on such a fine day?"
She turned to let him see, shakily pointing a finger at the countless husks strewn across campus, "Are they...are they-"
"My word..."
The teacher strolled forward, "I haven't seen this level of fear since a senior class some years back decided to glue Goodwitch to her seat...hohoho! I had to help dye more than a few white hairs that year... I should've done mine while I was at it..."
He looked about aimlessly, "Hmmm, but what could of possible-
*Click-click-click-click-click
"Where?..."
Pyrrha shivered, backing up in terror as Port hummed with interest, approaching the corner the sound was coming from, taking a look, "Ah, you there, young man! What could possibly have you in such a foul-"
A pale hand reached out, dropping onto his shoulder as Port's breath came out as a chilly frost, "W...what are you-"
"Where?..."
"YAAAAAAAAAA-"
*CRRRRRR
He froze solid in the blink of an eye, leaving the redhead all alone as the sound of clicking shoes rang out once more.
*Click-click-click-click-click
"Where?..."
A shadowed figure emerged, emanating a black haze so foul, it sent shivers down her spine, which only grew worse as its black eyes stared right at her.
*Click-click-click-click-click
"Where?..."
...
...
*Click-click-click-click-click
"Where?..."
It got closer, and the invincible girl couldn't so much as move more than a few feet, backing into a wall as the figure drew closer, reaching out the same ghostly white hand as their robes billowed in the breeze-
"Where?..."
She winced, leaning back as her life flashed before her eyes, regretting never being able to tell him that-
"Oh, there you are!"
She looked to the side, her green eyes regaining their color in an instant, seeing a familiar potato face happily smiling at her, "Y-...Yuji?"
The vessel casually strolled over, his grin never dropping, "Been lookin' all over for ya!"
She mustered up her courage, "You...you need to get away from here right now!"
He looked at her like a kicked puppy, "But...I wanna say hi to Choso..."
"...Cho-...so?"
She looked forward, shivering as the shadowy figure shifted its gaze from her to the side, staring right at the sorcerer, and-
*Poof
The cloud was gone in a burst of smoke, leaving a sunshiny smile from a guy who was so pale he looked like a walking corpse, with weirdly tied up, spiked raven hair, equally dark eyes, and a thin little strip running across his nose, wearing an almost ancient looking white and black robe, "Little Brother!"
Yuji just laughed, "How come you didn't meet where we said? I was waitin' on ya!"
The half-curse rubbed the back of his head, "Well...I kept trying to ask people...for directions...like you showed me how...and they kept staring at me with those weird faces...which got me uncomfortable...so I kept trying with different ones."
Itadori shook his head, "Honestly, you never change, do ya man?"
He slowly walked up, holding his arms out, "I really missed ya, Big Brother."
A twinkle sparkled in the older sibling's eye as he walked up, opening his arms in anticipation, having waited for so long to bond with his only remaining sibling, to take the role of the big brother once m-
*CLAP
Suddenly he was standing across campus, watching as some shirtless muscular dude with a scar on his face stole his hug.
Todo grinned at the half curse from over his sibling's shoulder, "You don't have the IQ to be Itadori's true bruzza."
Choso flinched, seeing red as his veins started to bulge, taking a runner's stance as the ground around him exploded in a blast of blood, reaching the pair in the blink of an eye as he tackled Todo across the walkway, instantly trying to pummel him, "HIS REAL BROTHER IS ME!"
Pyrrha could only sweatdrop as the two rivals kept teleporting across campus with various things used to clap in the process, her eye twitching as they went flying off Beacon Tower's roof, "So...they're both your brothers?"
Yuji happily smiled, "Yeah! Aren't they the best?"
She slumped to the ground, already checked out for the day.
...
Anyway, that's all from me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one; cheers!