Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

UA Academy, Earth

Nezu, the principal of UA, was forced to make a call he knew was unavoidable, and even necessary. Vlad King, one of his co-workers, and homeroom teacher for class 1-B, knelt down in front of him. He held a tablet, allowing Nezu to conduct a video call. Staring back at the unidentifiable mammal of unusual size, was the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission. And she did not look, or sound, happy at all. “So we have to initiate full quarantine,” she said flatly, and it was certainly not a question. “Of the entire school.” Nezu nodded once.

“I’ve already ordered it, and notified the police, EMT personnel and Mustafu general. I understand the kingdom of Vale, from this other world of Remnant, also conducted similar procedures upon contact with our students. Fortunately we have more than enough supplies to look after ourselves for the short duration. And specialists are already on route to help expedite the process a little.” The president tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement, before looking to the side a moment (most likely silently conferring with one of her subordinates) before turning back to him.

“We’ll do what we can to assist, especially with containing this petrified dragon, if it breaks free from its prison. And I know it isn’t your fault, but this is not a good situation for UA considering all the previous incidents involving your students.” The principal held back a sigh at that. He knew there was more to that sentence than what was said.

We may have to step in ourselves.

“I am aware. And whatever troubles we have to face from here, we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them,” Nezu responded firmly. “Speaking of the dragon, I have already contacted the military to take custody of it, and have it destroyed safely far away from Japan’s cities.” The president brow furrowed deeply at that, though relaxed a moment later. Her self control was commendable, Nezu had to admit.

“I admit to some surprise… despite the threat, would it not be better to study it whilst it is still imprisoned?”

“From what I am given to understand,” Nezu explained patiently, “that would be an unacceptable risk. If this Grimm was to escape it’s petrified confinement, it could do serious harm, not just to the citizens of our nation, but also to the environment. General Watanabe agrees with me, and has promised to send footage confirming its eventual termination.”

“Hmm, I suppose I can’t blame him for that,” the president allowed. “And having the raw footage and confirmation of how much ordinance was required to bring it down will suffice by itself.” She looked firmly at Nezu then. “Are you positive that there are no other Grimm that came back with your students.”

“None,” Nezu stated, though his own expression darkened as he thought on it. “That being said… it is possible one of the villains who escaped UA has some kind of parasitic Grimm within themselves, though that is only speculation at this point.” He paused a moment, before continuing. “But, what’s important right now is looking after all of our students, as well as our visitors from Beacon.” Vlad King made a soft grunt, almost inaudible, in agreement.

“And the villains?” The president asked.

“Technically, they have not committed a crime in Japan, beyond accidental trespassing on UA grounds.” The way his body bristled slightly, it was clear he was (to put it mildly) unhappy with such a technicality. “That also extends to everyone else from Remnant that has arrived here as well, along with being foreigners arriving without an appropriate visa. However, the criminal we have detained was part of the group responsible for attacking our students. Threatening their lives, as well as others.”

“Understood.” The president took a second to process this information. “It is indeed more complicated than any of us would like. Keep us informed, we’ll do what we can to help with damage control.”

“I’d be very grateful,” Nezu bowed and the president returned it before terminating the call. Vlad King stood up and tucked the tablet under his arm.

“It's quite the mess,” he stated bluntly, “and the media is going to have a field day raking us over coals once this gets out. So, what comes next?”

Nezu looked up at the muscular Pro-Hero in red. “The students welfare takes precedence over everything else. Not just 1-A, though given what they’ve been through, mandatory therapy is essential to help them with recovery at this point.”

“And how is Midoirya?” Vlad asked, “do you have much more to get from him?” Nezu looked back behind him, Recovery Girl’s office door opening and detective Tsukauchi poking his head round.

“We have yet to hear the full story,” was the principal’s reply.

***

Izuku looked out the window, his tears shed for now, knowing that his recollection of his time in Remnant would start again soon. His thoughts were not on himself though. He was thinking of his classmates, hurting, though thankfully alive. He was also thinking of the friends he made at Beacon, and worrying about them. One in particular crossed his mind. The one who had saved him.

“Ruby…” He mumbled, “...please be okay.”

Mustafu General Hospital

In a now isolated wing under quarantine, Ruby Rose lay on a hospital bed, hooked up to heart monitor and an IV line. Her heart beat was steady, and she was breathing normally. Every so often though, her fingers would twitch, like they were missing some familiar weight.

As she lay in the bed, oblivious to the fact she was no longer on Remnant, Ruby dreamed…

...It was snowing lightly all around her, but the ground and landscape for as far as she could see was under a heavy blanket of white. She’d had to brush off quite a bit to reveal the headstone. The emblem of a rose was made clear, as was the text beneath.

‘Summer Rose. Thus Kindly It Scatters.’

Ruby was quiet today. Normally she’d tell her mother about her most recent adventures, and what she had learnt from Uncle Qrow, or the trouble she and Yang had gotten into. But not today. Today she knelt, and paid silent respect. Beneath her hood and cloak, she was a splash of vibrant red amongst the almost unending white.

After minutes of silence, she stood once more and whispered goodbye, before turning away to head back. The snow continued to fall softly around her.

As she descended from the lookout spot where her mother’s memorial was located, the snow crunching underfoot, she became aware of eyes upon her. And they certainly weren’t friendly eyes, she was sure. She kept her gaze forward, didn’t slow or hesitate. She was aware of movement amongst the dark trees, of something big and fast moving from cover to cover. Hunting her.

She continued to walk through the woods unmolested, until she reached a break in the trees and upon an open field. Waiting for her, were over fifty beowolves. No biggie. As one particularly more impatient specimen raced to attack, Ruby jumped high into the air. She pulled out her sweetheart from behind her, feeling the comfortable, familiar weight in her grasp, and the thrill of hearing it unfurl right before she shot the Grimm in the face.

One shot and it was already falling apart. It really was young. The others didn’t look that much older. This would be easy enough. With the death of the first, the entire pack began to charge. Ruby landed, spun the scythe, and began to slay.

It was like a dance. Ruby could almost hear a guitar playing in her head, like some of those stylised animated shows where there was an action sequence. But here there was no social awkwardness, or need for fancy etiquette. There was just the fight. Duck a clawed hand, and then bisect the offender at the waist, using the recoil to assist in both the kill and moving towards her next victim. Time a jump boosted by the shot of her beloved weapon, to put her high above two beowolves who collided with each other. Two more shots while she was in the air, and they were no more.

They continued to try and swarm her, and for Ruby, she could almost hear the mental guitar’s tempo increase, and added piano keys, further heightening the speed and drama. She ejected a spent magazine, and immediately swapped it for a fresh one. And then she was in the thick of them, every swing and shot taking lives. She spun twirled, jumped and sped through around and amongst the monsters. They were creatures of murder and destruction. But right now, they were her prey. In a flurry of moves, rose petals drifting off her form like there was a light breeze, she came to a standstill, Crescent Rose perched on her shoulder. By the light of the full moon she looked upon her handiwork, as spent bullet casings finally made contact with the snow, falling like a light rain, even as the bodies of her foes fell apart and vanished.

Over fifty beowolves in under four minutes. Not a bad warm up. She smiled, even as she prepared to put away her scythe, and feeling a little hot after her exertions. She was actually surprised she had worked up a sweat, but then again it was pretty cold out, so maybe her body was working harder to keep her warm…

“Ruby… help…” She turned in surprise. There was an injured boy, about the same age as herself. Green hair and eyes, and wearing a green jump suit. Where had he come from? He certainly hadn’t been around before. She jogged towards him, and with increasing concern saw that he was injured. The sleeve to his right arm was completely torn away, and there was a nasty burn from some previous fight. He was holding it gingerly… was it broken?

“Hang on,” she said, as she dropped to her knees beside him. “I’ll help, just try not to move okay?” She didn’t know this boy (or did she? He felt a little familiar) but right now it was probably best if he rested as she took in his injuries. Signal had drilled emergency first aid in their very first year.

“Help… the others…” Ruby blinked, wiping sweat from her forehead. Was it just her, or was it getting hotter out here?

“What others?” Ruby asked, trying to keep him focused and conscious. “How many?” The boy looked at her and it looked like he was on the verge of breaking down. Tears were in his eyes as he answered.

“Everyone.” And suddenly it wasn’t a question if it was getting hot or not, because Ruby felt a wash of heat over her and she couldn’t help putting a warding arm up to shield her face against it. When she looked again, she paled.

She wasn’t in the woods anymore. She was at Beacon. And Beacon was burning. Over the roar of flames that brought down walls and toppled towers, there was the chorus of multiple kinds of Grimm. Beowolves, ursai, griffons, manticores, beringels, goliaths, boarbatusks, nevermores and more! And alongside that, were the screams of people panicking.

Trapped.

Dying.

The boy… no it was Izuku, she remembered now. Izuku Midoriya, her friend from class 1-A started to wobble and she dropped her weapon to support him while looking around. She needed help, she couldn’t do this on her own! Where was her team? Where was Jaune’s? Where were her friends from Remnant and beyond?

“Where are they, you ask?” A woman spoke behind her, and Ruby spun round and felt cold once more. Cinder Fall looked quite at home amongst the flames. “Where are your fellow huntsmen and heroes? Take a look,” she gestured with both hands, spreading them widely. “They are here. All around you, Ruby Rose.”

Ruby couldn’t help herself, even as she wanted to demand what Cinder was talking about, she looked and beheld a field of grave markers. Not unlike her mothers, each capped with an emblem that served to identify each; A burning heart. A snowflake. The nightshade. Two curved crescent arcs. A hammer with a lightning bolt running through it. A spear pointed to the sky. A lotus flower. An exploding grenade (that also resembled the top half of a human skull). A half snowflake/ball of flame. A spark between two open palms. Three engine exhausts. A planet with rings around it. A red fist. Everywhere she looked, Ruby could see a stone that represented someone she knew.

The weight in her arms disappeared, and as she turned to see what happened to Izuku, she found to her horror, one more headstone. The emblem of a grinning rabbit-like face, and the inscription beneath…

“Here lies Izuku Midoriya. Ninth wielder of One for All. A Hero.”

“No…” Ruby uttered staring in disbelief. “No this can’t be right… This can’t be!”

“You’re such a child,” Cinder scolded with a measure of schadenfreude, forming an archery bow of black glass and aiming a single arrow at Ruby. “Still thinking the world is like a fairy tale where there’s some kind of happy ending. Well if you and your friends were supposed to be the heroes to save everyone,” Cinder smiled cruelly. “...you failed.” And with that, she fired, and then Ruby felt herself falling… falling… falling into a deep darkness.

And as she fell, where there was no light, a pain in her chest, Ruby swore she could hear something beeping…

… her fingers twitched, and the heartbeat monitor that had increased slowly, began to return to a normal rhythm. Ruby Rose dreamt, not knowing the doctors and nurses who were alerted by her unconscious distress, moving to check on her and the equipment.

Episode 31: Aftermath & Starting Over

Remnant. Vale General Hospital.

“...s it working?”

“I think… think so, yes.”

Ruby Rose, freshman huntress of Beacon Academy, and leader of team RWBY, heard voices talking, but couldn’t make sense of what, who or why.

“She just twitched! It is working!”

The voices were loud, and Ruby felt sore, though also warm and comfortable…

“Ruby? Ruby can you hear us?”

Slowly, Ruby opened her eyes. Yang was there on her left hand side looking down at her, with happy relief written all over her face. On Ruby’s right hand side, was Ochaco Uraraka, removing her hands from Ruby’s face, and looking tired, but no less relieved than Yang. At the foot of her bed was a doctor and nurse.

Hospital. She was in a hospital. “Yang…?” Ruby began, still feeling sore all over, but still able to sit up. “What...What happened?”

Hug. That was the first thing she got as a response. A crushing bear-hug from her older sister, though she returned it with as much strength she could muster.

“I’ll give you guys some room,” Ochaco said, happily smiling, and wiping away a tear. “I’ll also let your dad and the others know.”

“Please,” Yang said, releasing Ruby, and turning to the gravity manipulating girl. “And Ochaco… thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Ochaco replied, giving a short wave, and then hurrying off.

Ruby looked around, and realised that she was in Vale General, and it looked like she had a private room. As she took in everything, her memory started returning. As Yang returned her attention back to her, Ruby reached out and gently grabbed her arm. “Yang… are Weiss and Blake okay? And what about everybody else…?” Yang gently shushed her, and indicated the Ruby lie back. She helped adjust the pillows so that Ruby could sit back with better support.

“The team is okay. Everyone in class A is alive, as is Jaune’s team, Coco’s, RSTR, CRDL, Penny, the professors…” she paused a moment, before sitting down in a chair right next to Ruby’s bed. “basically, despite the cluster-duck that was that whole venture in the forest, we made it out. Cuts, bruises, twisted ankles were about the worst injuries we suffered, and one case of soiled underwear (Aoyama really went Plus Ultra with his Navel Laser)…” Ruby couldn’t help a bit of a grimace at that. While it was good that Aoyama was alright, she really didn’t need the imagery of soiled undies right now.

“...There were casualties amongst the Atlas soldiers.” Yang admitted. “I don’t know the exact numbers, though plenty of those who survived send their best regards.”

Something about that felt odd to Ruby. She couldn’t really put a finger on why though. “How long have I been out?” Yang hesitated, and then took Ruby’s hand with her own.

“Ruby… you’ve been out for nearly two days.” Her eyes went wide at that. Before she could ask any other questions, there was a polite cough from the doctor.

“Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a few things we need to check now that you’re awake. If that’s alright?” Ruby looked to Yang who nodded silently. Ruby gave her agreement, and the doctor and nurse basically did what she’d expect; have her eyes track a tiny light, check her temperature, etc. etc.

Yang patiently waited throughout the check up. It was all done in short order, and the doctor smiled. “Well, Miss Uraraka’s Semblance has really helped a lot here…” He was cut off as the door to the room opened, and Ruby and Yang’s dad near rushed in, Tokine Gale and Zwei at his heels.

“You’re awake…! I almost didn’t believe Uraraka when she told me,” Tai Xiao Long remarked as he swiftly crossed the distance between the door and his youngest daughter. He didn’t hug her, but he was at her right hand side, as he began fussing. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” Ruby admitted, “a little bit of a headache, but that’s passing. Mostly I’m just really confused as to what’s going on.”

“I just told her how long she’s been out,” Yang informed Tai, moving to help Tokine Gale come closer. Zwei claimed an unused chair nearby, so that he was head level, and panted happily enough. The doctor chuckled at the warm scene.

“We’ll come by and do some more tests later, but for now, I’ll leave you with your family.” Ruby gave a small smile of thanks at that, and both doctor and nurse exited, even as Tokine made it onto the bed.

“Big sis,” Tokine hugged Ruby (and oh what a thrill it was to be considered a big sister!) “we were worried about you. Doctors said you were sleeping and didn’t know if you’d wake up.”

Ruby, took a breath and focused on comforting the unofficial member of the Xiao Long/Rose family. She gave the Faunus child a small squeeze, and patted her back. “It’s okay, Tokine. I’m awake now. Sorry I worried you.” Tokine released her, and it was clear the five and a half year old had been crying, her eyes were a little red. “Have you seen Deku and the others yet?” Ruby asked.

Tokine rubbed her face with her fists, and sniffed, but seemed calmer. “I’ve seen them,” she answered. “They say they’re resting after fighting a really bad Grimm. And Deku’s having weird dreams.” Everyone, even the dog, regarded Tokine with slightly concerned puzzlement at that remark. “I wasn’t meant to hear it, but I do hear good. Because of these,” she pointed at her Faunus dog ears to emphasise her point. Ruby gave a rueful little laugh.

“I bet you do. They also make you look cute.” Okay now Tokine turned a little bashful, but her tail was wagging a little, so that was a win.

Yang stood up, and ruffled the young girl’s hair. “Hey, how about we go grab some snacks and stuff? Give dad a bit of time to talk.” There was a little bit of a pointed look, almost pleading over Tokine’s head, aimed at Tai, who pensively nodded. Ruby wasn’t sure if even she was meant to see that, but she did.

What was going on?

Tokine agreed with Yang’s suggestion, and after another quick hug, Yang took the girl's hand and led her outside. Once the door was closed, Ruby shifted to look her dad in the eye. “Okay, could somebody please, from the beginning, explain what I’ve missed?”

Tai sighed heavily and sat on the bed. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“...That fight with the Grimm. In that weird psychic recreation of the USJ,” Ruby answered, thinking back. “We were doing well… and then… well it was like playing against someone in an online game, and just as they are about to lose, they activate a ‘god-mode’ cheat.” Ruby shifted so she was sitting up straighter, and looked her dad in the eye. “Basically, we were done for. Spiders were everywhere, and everyone from Yang to Midoriya and his vestiges were being overwhelmed.”

“You mean the former users of One for All.” Ruby paused at what her dad said and stared at him, open mouthed. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. “I had a few questions, and All Might can’t lie very well. Once Goodwitch vouched for me being trustworthy, he filled me in. Certainly makes Midoriya’s semblance make so much more sense.”

“...Right,” Ruby just decided to move on. Her dad was in the know, which meant less having to walk on tiptoes about keeping that secret. She shook her head a little as she tried to get back on track. “Well, yeah, we were all about to lose, and I think… I think I recalled some happy stuff with everyone? I thought of mom, for a second,” Tai’s eyes closed for a moment at the mention, but his hand reached out and gently squeezed his daughter’s. “And then the world went white… and the next thing I know, I’m waking up here.”

“...Okay,” Tai said, taking a deep breath. “Well here’s what I know. There were two Grimm that were organising that whole attack, and even had other Grimm keep the upper-classmen teams from being able to come link up. Likewise with the other professional huntsmen like Goodwitch and Port.”

“Of those two Grimm, one escaped. The one you fought in the mind-scape, we’re calling the White Widow, or the Widow for short. That one is dead.” He smiled, trying to reassure Ruby. “It was fighting on too many fronts. Its actual body was found by a combination of Zwei’s nose…” Zwei barked once, looking very pleased with himself. “...Hagakure using her Semblance to scout things out, and then your friends Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Shoji, breaking through the Grimm lines to slay it.”

Ruby sagged with a bit of relief. While hearing that one of the Grimm that ran the whole thing got away was bad in the long run, it was a relief to know that the Widow was finished. “So they saved us, huh?”

There was a long pause. “...Ruby, I…” Tai looked uncomfortable, and for the life of her, Ruby couldn’t understand why. “...They did slay the Widow, but what saved everyone in the end… that was you.” Tai sagged, as if defeated. “You unlocked your silver eyes.”

Ruby blinked and tilted her head, looking utterly baffled. “...I unlocked my what now?”

Aftermath

Aizawa; Yesterday

“What happened in the Emerald Forest, is now deemed classified,” General Ironwood stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. He regarded the Beacon teams and UA students, gathered into a briefing room onboard the Pride of Atlas. While normally, specialists, soldiers, or pilots would fill out the seats, no Atlas personnel were present, other than the General.

Everyone who had fought in the Emerald siege, minus the two third year groups, was seated according to their teams. MOAT and BEAS sat right up front, with JNPR, and CFVY right behind them. Then came STRM and MMAT, CRDL and RSTR, and finally, MJKK and RWBY, sans their team leader. Shota Aizawa stood at the very back, as was his usual habit, watching over the students, and paying close attention to the headmaster of Atlas.

Penny Polendina was noticeable by her absence.

The room was as quiet as Aizawa usually liked his class to be when he walked in on a regular school day. Beside Ironwood, was Ozpin and Goodwitch. Both shared equally serious expressions, which only reinforced the authoritarian atmosphere.

“The official story will be that Atlas and Beacon worked together to locate missing Huntsmen, and encountered heavy Grimm activity. Despite losses, three missing Huntsmen were recovered. Students from Beacon and UA lent aid. Honours and extra credit will be given for their actions that saved lives, and ultimately slew the Grimm responsible. Outside of that though, no other details of the incident are to be given.”

“You have all been through a great ordeal,” Ozpin spoke up then, acknowledging each person present, locking eyes with them if only for a second before moving on. “And it is a shame that your actions cannot be more lauded as they so deserve. However, for the sake of the kingdom’s morale, and operational security, we ask that you keep this quiet. There will be legal action at the very least, if a leak is discovered.”

“What about Ruby?” Yang asked, arms folded, and her eyes switching back and forth between lilac and red. Blake, sitting next to her, laid a hand on Yang’s right arm to calm her. Yang kept her gaze forward, but she made no effort to remove the hand.

Goodwitch stepped in to answer. “Your sister… is one of the reasons why we agree with Ironwood classifying the whole operation. And right now, keeping what she did secret, is one of the ways we are protecting her.”

“It’s more than understandable that all of you have questions,” Ozpin said again, bowing his head slightly to Yang, Blake and Weiss, “and what answers that can be found and given, we shall. But right now, it is important to focus on resting and healing. So when Miss Rose does eventually awaken, we do not worry her about ourselves.”

Aizawa narrowed his gaze, but kept quiet, his mouth hidden by the capture weapons he used as scarves.

[Aizawa: “The Emerald Siege, as it came to be called, was an organised mess in the aftermath of the fighting”]

An hour after the Siege...

Medical teams and fresh soldiers worked to extract the badly wounded from beneath the petrified Grimm, as well as the other injured. Hovering above the site, a second Atlas Fortress had arrived to provide assistance.

Aizawa was there when they came to pick up Ruby Rose, not even letting her sister go with her, which nearly caused a fight, until Aizawa stepped in, whispering words into Yang Xiao Long’s ear, and the girl relented. Oobleck and Ann Greene also worked to keep the group of students in line.

Everyone watched as Ruby was carried to a Manta airship, and a few soldiers removed their helmets out of respect. One of the soldiers, a woman in her early twenties, gingerly reached out to touch the hem of Ruby’s cloak as it passed. Hagakure was heard commenting on how it was almost like a religious moment, with Jiro silently agreeing.

Yang’s hands were clasped into tight fists, until both Weiss and Blake took them. They gave Yang silent support, which kept the blonde from snapping. Jaune Arc, supported by Pyrrha Nikos as his Aura worked to heal him, looked at his team, at Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, and at Coco and the returning Shoji, Velvet and Yatsuhashi. He looked for answers, but much like himself, they had none to give. And what answers they did have, would have to wait.

[Aizawa: “Ruby Rose was given special attention, most likely due to whatever she did to turn the Grimm to stone. Apparently, General Ironwood himself ordered it, though he also denied her sister and the rest of her team the chance to go with her. He refused to acknowledge their questions as to why.”]

Transports came down for the rest of them, and with only some slight hesitance, they boarded. They were glad to leave, but everything just felt so uncertain.

***

Wyndglade was also on a stretcher, being taken aboard an airship, his teammates at his side. Goodwitch, and Port not far behind, though Goodwitch paused long enough to look about the place they had been fighting a moment, before Port politely coughed, and with a sigh, Goodwitch nodded and went to board as well.

[Aizawa: “We only got bits and pieces of what happened with the teams that were actively searching. Goodwitch’s group came out alive, though Wyndglade was badly mauled and had several broken bones. Everyone else was simply fighting exhaustion. The Alpha they fought, managed to escape.”]

3 Hours later

In a hold within Blue 4, coffins were set out, flags bearing the symbol of Atlas draped over them. General Ironwood stood looking at them, and bowed his head, eyes closed.

***

Elsewhere, Uraraka volunteered her semblance to help the wounded. She wiped sweat from her forehead, even as Midoriya brought her water.

Meanwhile, the hero students who had been out for most of the fight in the real world, were also offering what help they could, even if it was just handing out food and water to grateful soldiers. Bakugo and Kirishima were helping shift crates of supplies. Kaminari, after a moments hesitation, ended up joining them, with Jiro accompanying him.

Yaoyorozu pushed herself to near exhaustion as she helped make additional supplies with her Quirk. Jaune and his team aided Todoroki and Tokoyami in organising what she made, and passing it out.

[Aizawa: “We heard that the others survived, but the students, especially those who had been psychically assaulted, couldn’t sit still. They, and anyone else who could stand, helped out where they could.”]

***

In a private debriefing room, Shoji drew out what he remembered of what the Widow looked like, as well as the floating orb/Grimm jellyfish that had gotten away during the fight, while Atlas officers studied it.

***

In a similar room, Velvet Scarlatina sat at a table, describing the encounter, Goodwitch beside her, maintaining a professional demeanour.

[Aizawa: “The ones who slew the spider-queen Grimm; Shoji, Scarlatina and Daichi, all passed on everything they saw, and how the monster fought. But there was a detail that was passed to me, that would stick…”]

***

Aizawa was about to grab some needed sleep in a corner, when Koji Koda knocked on the wall nearby. He looked nervous, looking over his shoulder to see if anybody was paying attention to him.

The underground pro gestured with a small wave to approach, and Koda came forward and knelt down to Aizawa’s level, and began to whisper. As Aizawa listened, his eyes widened, and then narrowed with suspicion.

[Aizawa: “...A secret, that others would have preferred we didn’t know.”]

All Might

All Might coughed blood into a tissue, and took a few seconds to clean himself up, while the voice of Aizawa spoke over his scroll. “All Might? Are you still there?”

“I… ack! Ahem! Apologies, I am here,” All Might reassured, mentally making a note to get a drink of water soon, to help rinse the taste of blood out of his mouth. “I’m just in a bit of shock.” He was sat in the room assigned to him and Aizawa, looking out the window at the still largely grey sky, though there were some small patches of sunlight to be seen here and there in the distance. Despite being alone, All Might kept his voice low as he continued to talk. “Koda really heard that there was a Grimm queen?”

“That’s what he told me,” Aizawa confirmed. “Specifically, he heard the phrase ‘By the Queen’s command,’ and it wasn’t until the assault was over and he had some time to think on it, that he remembered hearing something similar back when we first encountered the Grimm in Forever Fall.”

All Might grimaced, thinking back to that battle, where UA students fought off a Grimm horde, and held them long enough for help to arrive, their new friends in both the Beacon students and Goodwitch. ‘Koda was injured in that first battle, and more than a little overwhelmed,’ All Might mused with sympathy, ‘and given what else he reported the Grimm saying, it’s understandable that phrase might have gotten lost in the midst of everything.’ Out loud he asked, “has anyone brought this up with Professor Goodwitch, or General Ironwood?”

“This is where it gets interesting,” Aizawa replied, as if everything else he had said wasn’t already. “Koda mentioned this in front of a few of the Beacon students, Shoji and Hagakure, and the Atlas officer in charge, though he also mentioned a ‘Dreaded one’ and ‘the Widow.’ I did bring this up with Goodwitch, and she had this look of worry on her face, before she told me to keep things quiet, for now at least. And we both know that Goodwitch doesn’t really get ‘worried,’ or at least, for as long as we’ve known her in the short time we’ve spent at Beacon.”

“Following that, Koda and I were summoned to a private debrief, where Ironwood himself was present. He summarised that the Widow and the Queen were the same entity, but I’ve been around enough politicians, police chiefs, and commission representatives to know that right then, he was lying.”

All Might frowned, looking back out the window at the sky. “Tsukauchi used to help cover for me… I mean, you remember when you first met me as Toshinori Yagi, at the Tokyo Sky Egg?”

“I do,” the insomniac teacher dryly replied, no doubt also thinking of the surprise he would later get when Yagi showed up in a meeting at UA, and was introduced as All Might. “I think it is likely that Ironwood, Ozpin and Goodwitch know something that they’ve held back from us. We’ll need to get to the bottom of this, especially since we already entrusted the secret of your former Quirk to Ozpin and Goodwitch.”

“Agreed,” All Might said, standing up. “Are you still onboard the carrier or…”

“It’s a Flying Fortress, and no.” Aizawa corrected. “The students and I have been moved to Vale General. And try and keep up with the airships, All Might. Flying Fortresses are cruisers with the heaviest firepower, and the extra space for their mantas, bullheads and fighters.”

“Right, right,” All Might muttered through the pedantic correction, as he headed for the door. “I’ll see you and the students at the hospital.” He heard the tone bleep as Aizawa disconnected the call on his end. All Might was already leaving and locking the room behind him.

Aizawa had given him very basic details, but knowing even that much had All Might concerned for the students welfare. And not just the ones from UA…

As he power walked down the halls he came across Tai Xiao Long, as well as Gale, both looking worried, though Gale clearly knew less, given the confused expression on her face. “Ah, Xiao Long, young Gale!” All Might held up a hand in greeting, making the pair slow enough to look round. “I take it you heard the news as well about the expedition.”

Tai looked grim, not quite distraught, but the worry was there behind his eyes, contained by tight self-control. “Yes, I heard. My daughters and their friends are in hospital. Ruby is…” he couldn’t finish, but All Might had caught up, and gave a reassuring smile to both the man and the young child beside him.

“I’m sure she’ll be alright. Let’s head over together, shall we?” There was some small relief in Tai’s face, as he agreed, Gale however was very quiet, and holding her doll close. All Might noticed it was the very same doll that she had when they had first met her.

“Fear not, young Gale,” All Might didn’t buff up, but he did tap his old hero persona, “everything will be fine. We’ll just have to do our best to raise everyone’s spirits when we get there. What do you say?” The Faunus girl, nodded, looking more determined, but she was still very quiet. All Might could only hope that was only due to the stress of not knowing, and not indicative of something more troubling.

First things first; he had to check on his students, and his successor.

Izuku; Vale General Hospital

Izuku lay back on his bed, feeling both too tired to stay awake, and yet had too many thoughts and feelings in his skull calling out for attention. He scrunched up his face, even as he rubbed his scarred right hand over his eyes. “I want to get some sleep,” he said aloud to nobody in particular, “but after everything, part of me doesn’t want to, in-case I somehow end up back… there. Does that make sense?”

“Midoriya, my dude,” Kaminari tiredly laughed from the bed to his right, “that is, just the mood summed up, right now.”

There were a few mumbled noises of agreement, as Bakugo on Izuku’s left harrumphed in annoyance. “Why the heck did the Atlas doctors need so much blood, that’s what I want to know? How does taking our blood help them understand a freaking Grimm psychic attack?”

“Maybe it’s for transfusion?” Kirishima offered, a bed beyond. “I know If my blood could help some of those troops who got hurt on the ground, or just anyone who needed it, I’d be okay with that.”

“Perhaps,” Iida spoke up on the other side, one of the few students sitting rather than laying down, “though I’d have thought they would have confirmed such things beforehand. Then again, the spiders did use their webbing as a means of entrapping us in that dream-space. Maybe they are just being very thorough because it's a new encounter?”

“They didn’t take any blood from team RWBY,” Jaune spoke up, walking better already as he and his team kept the others company. Lie Ren was following directly behind him, as Jaune scratched his head in puzzlement. “Or at least, I never heard of them doing so?” He turned to Ren, but the other teen shook his head.

“No idea, nor if they did the same for the huntsmen that were recovered,” he frowned as he said that. “Although, they do have their rooms heavily guarded. Same with Wyndglade’s for some reason.”

Ojiro, who had been laying on his side, sat up so that he could look at the pair. “Did anybody see what happened to Polendina? I would’ve liked to thank her for coming to our aid when she did.”

“I think I saw her being escorted by two troopers,” Sero spoke up, nursing his elbows even as he lay on his back. “I think she might have broken some kind of rule in order to help us. I mean, she wasn’t even included in our initial briefings before we went down there, was she?”

“No way,” Mineta tiredly called out, “call me a pervert if you must, but I’m pretty sure I would have noticed a cute girl like her if she’d been with us at any point.” He sigh groaned, from his bed. “I hope she didn’t get into trouble. From what I heard after we were put in that whole nightmare, she was one of the reasons the camp held out as long as it did.”

“Oui,” Aoyama spoke up behind a curtain, “she certainly sparkled and gave us hope. I would like to thank her myself.”

Jaune and Ren shared a look “We… will check up on that, see if the girls have heard anything and get back to you.” Jaune promised.

“At the very least, I expect they’ll release everyone who wasn’t seriously injured or incapacitated, to go back to Beacon soon.” Ren added

“Fine,” Bakugo drawled from his bed. “If nobody has anything really new to say, then I’m going to catch some sleep. Try and keep the chatter down will you.” He reached over and pulled the curtain near his bed around, screening himself off from everyone.

“Yes, let’s all try to get some rest.” Iida agreed, as other boys pulled the curtains around their own beds. “We can address the mysteries of today, as well as check on Rose’s condition, once we are more recovered. Sleep well!”

“Yeah, sleep well guys,” Jaune agreed, adding a wave, while Ren gave a short bow to them all. Izuku managed to sit up and wave back with a tired smile, that vanished once the older teens were out of sight.

With a sigh, Izuku got up and adjusted his own curtains so as to have privacy. ‘I hope Uraraka and the other girls are okay,’ he thought. ‘Uraraka’s semblance really is amazing though. I wonder if she could use it to help Ruby when she’s regained her Aura?’ Thinking about Uraraka brought back the small smile, as he settled back into his bed.

He closed his eyes and tried to quieten his mind…

The Vestige World

...Or he could end up here again. Izuku was amazed to see the inner soul world of his Quirk, and while a little disgruntled at how this might impact how much actual rest he got, he was eager to see if the Vestiges were all right.

Actually, while the surrounding outer dimensions of the inner space were the same, he found that he was standing on a stone, or perhaps concrete, floor. More parts of his body were revealed than the last time, though his mouth was still partially obscured. In front of him, the space resembled a ruined cell, a few plain walls, and a locked metal door set into the most intact. There was no ceiling. But taking most of Izuku’s attention, was the eight high-backed thrones, arranged in a crescent formation before him. Of the eight, six were filled, and Izuku could see the Vestiges he knew, if only by sight.

On his left was the tall man with a torn sleeve and a long running scar down his face, and just next to him was Nana Shimura. The man (Hikage Shinomori) sat back in his chair, his hands together in his lap, where Nana was leant forward, and had rested her elbows on her knees, interlocking her fingers. Her concerned face was not hidden.

On the right, the familiar form of Daigoro Banjo, rested his chin on a fist, and next to him, was the youngest of the Vesitges, a young man (En Tayutai) in a red coat that obscured his lower face, like a proto-Best Jeanist. And beside him, was the golden form of All Might, still incomplete, but present enough that Izuku could feel sense the attention from it.

Sitting between two empty seats, was the First user, and for the first time, Izuku could see his face clearly. He looked surprisingly young, and while thin, seemed healthier than he had been in the memories that had been shown of how One for All was made. “I’m sorry to bring you here,” the First began, looking straight at Izuku, “but after everything that happened with that battle, we have things that need to be talked about.”

Izuku tried to talk, and found… resistance, but not as much as before when he didn’t have a mouth, so his words came out a lot quieter than he meant them to be. “Is everyone alright? I remember Shimura saying that could be consequences if any of you got seriously hurt in that psychic space.”

Nana’s concerned face shifted to a small smile. “We’re all alright. It was close though. If Ruby Rose hadn’t done whatever she did, well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” She stood up and approached Izuku, and ruffled his hair. “We’re glad you came out of that with your friends. So pass on the good news when you wake up.”

“You and the others did real good kid,” Banjo agreed, “but we have an issue that you need to know, because things are progressing.”

“Is there something wrong with One for All?” Izuku asked in his small voice, his body language showing his confusion. The First shook his head, and moved out of his chair.

“Wrong? No. But things have changed slightly since you had your Aura unlocked, and we’ve been able to learn more about the Quirk in ways we may never have been able to under normal circumstances. For one thing, we believe the stockpiling aspect of the power doesn’t simply stockpile physical strength, but also spiritual energy as well.” he turned his head, looking around the chair he had been sat in, and Izuku noticed then that there was a green light behind his chair. Moving so that he could get a better view (with some difficulty, his legs were there enough to keep him upright, but he couldn’t walk very well) Izuku almost startled at the sight behind the First user’s chair.

“Yes,” the First said, his eyes on the light, “we became aware of this after Ozpin unlocked your Aura. As time has passed we were unsure what to expect, but the form has settled, and now we all have to figure out where to go from here.”

Izuku could only stare in shock. Behind the First user’s throne, guarded by the now visible forms of the second and third users, was a vestige set in green, much like All Might’s vestige was set in gold. And the vestige standing there, almost looking like he was asleep standing up, was none other than Professor Ozpin.

Weiss: Hospital

“None of that was normal…”

“What was that, Weiss?” Blake’s question shook Weiss from her distracted thoughts.

“Nothing,” she replied, “just… trying and failing to make sense of the situation.”

Weiss sat upon the foot of her hospital bed. While across the room, on the bed opposite, Blake and Yang sat together. The other girls who had been involved in the fighting, most had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Mina’s normally alien pink skin, had faded in places, looking closer to a pink-white skin tone. Apparently over using her acid could do that, but hopefully with rest and plenty of fluids, she would return to normal.

Ochaco was softly snoring, gloves placed over her hands to keep her accidentally floating her pillow, or for that matter, the bed. Tsuyu was in the bed between her and Weiss, also sleeping. There was something comforting and endearing listening to the young teen ribbit softly as they dozed, that helped ease some lingering stress and adrenaline.

Of those still awake like Weiss and her team, Yaoyorozu, Pyrrha, Jiro and Coco were up, though all were not far from laying back themselves and passing out.

The SDC heiress hugged herself, before speaking aloud. “I… I just don’t understand how Ruby has another power. Is it a Quirk? Does Ruby have someone in her family tree originally from Earth?”

“With respect Weiss, I doubt that’s the case,” Yaoyorozu shook her head before looking at the only person in the room who came close to matching her own family’s net worth. “While the possibility of others from Earth arriving on Remnant in the past is certainly conceivable, if Ruby did possess a Quirk and it never fully manifested around age four, or as late as seven, then why would it only show up now?”

“I think there might be something in Remnant’s own stories,” Jiro spoke up, getting all those who were awake to pay attention. “Remember when you all dropped off those fairy tales for each team not too long ago? Kaminari picked up on one that featured a (and I quote) ‘badass huntress of Grimm,’ who also had silver eyes like Ruby.” Jiro took a short breath as the others let that sit. “I didn’t think much of it when he brought it up then… but now…?”

Weiss bit her lip as she considered Jiro’s suggestion. ‘Could there be some truth in the old stories? I mean, so many legends begin with some measure of truth…’ She lifted herself off the bed and walked the few feet between her and the rest of her team. Yang caught her eye, and guessed what she wanted to ask.

“I know that story. It’s one of Ruby’s favourites, one that dad would read before we went to bed.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her golden head. “There are other stories that feature silver-eyed warriors, but I never thought much about them. They were pretty good, though they typically all had similar fates happen to the warriors in question.”

“What fates?” Yaoyorozu asked, but it was Coco who answered, removing her shades so that they could see her eyes.

“Not good ones. The best I can recall off the top of my head, tend to be ambiguous. But the implication is that the warrior died, or has had to leave to lead away some more dangerous threat. At least one I remember, spoke of a cruel lord who was jealous of their eyes, sending out mercenaries to either kill or capture them. Like Yang, I never thought much about those stories…”

“But now it’s possible there is something to them,” Blake finished, while Yang got off her bed and paced a bit.

“Dad might know… Dammit, he’d better know something…” The blonde’s fists were clenched, and Weiss found herself at a loss at what to say.

It didn’t help that a piece of her mind went back to the last moments of that fight in the USJ, seeing the Arma Gigas once more coming for her, even as she and the others were being overwhelmed by spiders. Weiss had also noticed Blake shudder a few times, and she could take an educated guess that seeing a representation of Adam Taurus played on her mind in similar fashion.

She’d only caught glances at what had assailed Shoto, Iida and Bakugo. The Grimm had truly picked at some painful experiences to hit them with… but the more she thought about it, she went back to her original thought at how abnormal the encounter was.

The Grimm had to have been playing with them, toying with their prey, or experimenting… there was the added detail that the monster had spoken.

“Enough. I have seen enough.”

‘There’s more going on here,’ Weiss thought. ‘More to the Grimm, and Ruby…’ Her thoughts were stalled when she heard footsteps approaching, and she looked round to find Tai Xiao Long walking towards them.

“Yang!” the semi-retired huntsmen called out as he got closer, and then he was hugging his eldest. Some of Yang’s tension vanished as they embraced. He pulled back and looked round at the girls. “How are all of you, and where is Ruby?”

“Nobody told you?” Jiro asked incredulously, her eyes showcasing mild alarm. Tai shook his head, and Weiss decided to answer the question.

“For the most part, we’re battered and exhausted, but nothing Aura couldn’t fix on its own. However, General Ironwood has classified the whole incident, and that includes what happened with Ruby.” Tai frowned at that, even as Yang gently pushed away.

“The general and Ozpin probably won’t want us talking about it, but something happened with Ruby that’s knocked her out, and now she’s being kept separate from us. We weren’t even allowed to accompany her!” Yang fixed her father with a stern look, her eyes an angry red. “We’re all being kept in the dark, and after that whole mess, we’d like some actual answers.”

Tai looked uncomfortable, Weiss hesitated to think ‘defeated,’ but he took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll track down Oz and Glynda and get the details from them. Once I do… I promise we’ll talk, in private.”

‘So he does know something,’ Weiss thought, sharing glances with all the other girls. ‘Just what have we become entangled in?’

Izuku: The Vestige World

“...How?” Izuku managed to ask. “How does Professor Ozpin have a vestige here? Wouldn’t he have to be a former user of One for All to leave one behind?” One of the vestiges he hadn’t been introduced to, made an agreeing grunt.

“A question we’ve asked ourselves once we became aware,” Izuku turned his attention to the former wielder. The man made him think of Bakugo somewhat, in his eyes and hair, though his was shorter and possibly pinkish red. In addition he sported a nasty scar across his face. Both he and the other were dressed in tactical looking gear. Unlike the costumes of those who came after, they looked more militant.

The other, hair tied back in a pony tail and wearing a head-band, actually turned to look at him, and offered a small smile in greeting. “I suppose me and the Chief should introduce ourselves, since with your Semblance, we can now actively participate once more. My name is Bruce Lee, and my Quirk is ‘Fa-jin.’” Izuku turned a wide-eyed and excited look upon Bruce, and the man snorted in amusement. “Basically repeated muscle movements create and store up latent kinetic energy, that can be released for explosive power.” Bruce then smirked. “And if we get an opportunity, I’d like to talk with Xiao Long. Our powers share some similar qualities, and I might be able to help her expand her capabilities.” Izuku nodded rapidly, happy to help, and eager to see Quirks in action (and Semblance’s too!).

He turned back to the one Bruce called Chief, and he turned his gaze upon the Ninth. “My name is Toshitsugu Kudo. Don’t bother looking me and Bruce up when you get back to Earth. Our families, our bloodlines, were wiped out by All for One.” Izuku felt sadness, hearing that the pair’s families were dead. And it seemed especially bad to try and ask about it right then. Maybe one day the two would open up and tell him more, but they truly did have more important things to discuss.

Kudo held out an arm, which looked like it mounted some projectile based support item. “Is that… similar to Yang’s Ember Celica?” The older man huffed in an amused way at Izuku’s question.

“I should’ve been so lucky. For all the craziness that comes from you and your friends being on Remnant, I have to say, seeing the gear they’ve made to fight the Grimm is impressive. Ruby Rose’s scythe, Belladonna’s Gambol Shroud… I’ll admit to even liking the simplicity of Arc’s sword and shield.” He shook his head as he grasped the gauntlet with his other hand. “No, this is not a shotgun gauntlet, but this is a projectile based item meant to work with my Meta power. Gearshift, back when I was alive, was fairly weak, and could only impact small objects like bullets. With how One for All has grown over time though, I’d wager that it might well be the most dangerous Quirk you possess, and not one you should consider using, outside of a last resort.”

“...Can we test it?” Kudo arched an eyebrow at Izuku’s quiet question, and the green haired boy quickly explained. “I mean, if I’m able to summon you and all the others as avatars via my Semblance, could we not test it in one of the firing ranges? If Ruby is willing, maybe with Crescent Rose?”

There was a long pause, before Kudo slowly nodded. “Getting some kind of actual data would be good, and since I know the Quirk best, better I be the one to use it. You could probably avoid the blowback that way.”

“That, and you’d love to get up and close with those huntress weapons, don’t ya?” Daigoro teased. Kudo didn’t deny it, merely humming in agreement, before looking back at the Ozpin vestige. The First took this opportunity to take control of the conversation once again.

“It’s because of Ozpin here, and the awakening of your Aura, that we have made the connection with One for All’s spiritual stockpiling on top of physical power. While we don’t know for sure, our best collective guess is that just as each of us improved the Quirk by carrying and transferring it, Ozpin using his own Aura to unlock yours got added to the stockpile, and counted as a contribution.” Izuku felt that made some sense, and it served as a fairly reasonable explanation based on what he and the vestiges knew and understood.

“That being said,” Kudo added, his eyes still on the headmaster, “there’s more to Ozpin than meets the eye. There’s undoubtedly other factors at play here.”

Nana stood up from her seat and stood at Izuku’s side, getting his attention. “I said before that as Vestiges of One for All, we share something of a hive mind consciousness. We share each others memories, yet still retain our individuality. Toshinori’s vestige,” she nodded towards the still sitting golden form of All Might, “won’t be complete until he passes on, but there is still a connection to his living self. What Toshinori knows, we know. It might be that as One for All grows with you, the connection might work both ways, with us being able to share information with his real body.”

“This is true to some extent with Ozpin here,” Bruce put in, “but unlike with Yagi, we don’t have full access to his thoughts and memories. We are only getting bits and pieces, incomplete, and with limited context.”

Izuku mused on that. “Is it like an internet connection? Maybe there’s so much information that it can only be downloaded at certain speeds, so until it does, everything would be fragmented…” he paused frowning a moment, before his eyebrows rose in mild embarrassed worry. “Wait… does being connected to One for All mean you have access to…”

“Yes,” Nana put a hand on his shoulder, offering a gentle smile in reassurance, “we have access to your memories and can be aware of what goes on outside. But I promise you, Izuku, we respect your privacy.”

“Yeah no worries there, kid.” Daigoro agreed. Izuku heaved a sigh of relief.

“Okay, thank you. So, getting back to the main point of my being here,” he turned his attention on the First, “do you want me to ask something of Ozpin? Tell him about this?”

“If you or Toshinori Yagi can do so, yes.” The First regarded Ozpin’s form. “I feel that Ozpin is a good person, that much I am sure from this connection so far. But much has been shared with him, and little shared in return. And I believe that he knows more about the Grimm than he has let on.” The white haired man looked at Izuku, his face very serious. “In summary, Izuku Midoriya; you should be prepared to summon any of us to your side, even if you aren’t yet ready to use our Quirks just yet, but also, we want to know more about the true enemy of Remnant.”

“We need to know; who exactly is Salem?”

Ozpin; Yesterday

He had hoped that it wouldn’t have come to this. Fate, like so many times before, was not so kind. Ozpin carefully controlled his frustration, as he was cornered by Aizawa, after the de-brief James had conducted. In truth, Ozpin had sought him out, but the underground pro found him first.

He was being civil at least, gesturing with his head to an empty break room. He allowed Ozpin to enter first, before closing and locking the door, then checking around just to be sure, before finally rounding on Beacon’s headmaster. “Did you know?” his voice trembled with barely suppressed anger. “Did you know what we were walking into?”

“No,” Ozpin answered honestly, raising a hand to ask for a moment of patience. “However, I am aware of details that are confidential. What we knew about the Grimm before-hand, we covered in the meeting, but perhaps I should have considered other factors.”

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed. “You mean the ‘Queen’ that Koda heard of.”

Ozpin took a deep breath. “Correct, but while I understand your desire for immediate answers, they will have to wait.” He met Aizawa’s hard stare, and held it. “I ask for your patience, and understanding. A break room is hardly a truly secure place for such a conversation, and I plan to include All Might in this. Wyndglade and his team as well, given what he witnessed and heard. Not to mention,” he took a few steps forward, not too fast, nor too slow. He was approaching as a friend, not a threat, “I think you’d understand my not wanting to repeat the same conversation more than necessary.”

“Fine, but answer me this.” Ozpin had a feeling he knew what he was going to ask, and silently gestured for him to go on. “Would you ever have trusted us with the truth, if this hadn’t happened?”

Ah, trust. Yes, it had been very one sided up till now hadn’t it? Class A and their teachers had trusted their lives and safety to Ozpin and his school. They even trusted one of the most important secrets of their world. But Ozpin hadn’t shared equally with them. Granted, Ozpin wouldn’t simply tell just anyone of the things he knew, but hadn’t they proven themselves worthy? They trusted him with knowledge of One for All. He could reciprocate, with the teachers at least.

“...I honestly hoped you would have been returned home, before it would have been necessary.” Ozpin admitted. “We couldn’t hide your existence from the world, and I knew that would inevitably get attention from many. But I truly hoped we could have sent you back, before ‘she’ could make any moves. Our problems, should not be your burdens. Perhaps, that was a fools hope.”

Aizawa studied him for a long moment before sighing and looking away. “No more secrets, Ozpin. I’ll wait, but while my students can be reckless and irrational, they’re not stupid. They wouldn’t have gotten into UA, or made it this far if they were. And the same goes for your own.” Aizawa moved past Ozpin, hands in his pockets as he walked towards the door. “They’ll have figured some things out already, I’m sure. So I’d rather be able to approach them with the truth. Who this Queen is, what she wants, and everything to do with how Ruby Rose has a secondary power.”

“Do you not count Ruby Rose and her peers your students?” Ozpin couldn’t help a small smile, as Aizawa paused in unlocking the door. “Temporary as it technically is, you are an instructor at Beacon.” Aizawa thought about it, but stayed silent. He eventually sighed in resignation, and gave a singular nod before he left the room, ignoring the brief bit of humour in Ozpin’s eyes. “I thought as much.”

Yang; Yesterday

“You promised,” Yang said, as she led her father out onto the roof of the hospital. She’d by and large dragged the man to the roof for a private chat. Well, private-ish. The rest of team RWBY was keeping watch to make sure their conversation wasn’t interrupted, with Weiss standing guard behind the door to the roof, while Blake watched the approach. So there they were, beneath a cloudy sky, that was just beginning to see patches of sunlight pierce through.

All Might was looking after Tokine and Zwei, visiting the others. It was a little annoying that Ironwood largely dragged everybody out of the hospital for that de-briefing that basically boiled down to ‘We’re covering this up. Stay silent, keep to the story, and you’ll get medals.’ Well, that’s how Yang would sum it up anyway. And once that was all done, almost everybody else was sent back to Beacon. Jaune and the others did volunteer to stay behind and help watch over Rubes, but Yang and the other girls talked them out of it. They did promise to keep him and everyone else in the loop if Ruby woke up.

Well it was the next day, and Yang was determined to get answers. And as frustrated as she was, she did trust her father. “You promised you’d explain what you know.”

Tai took a deep breath. “I did.” After a beat of silence, he began to talk. He talked uninterrupted for a few minutes, never raising his voice. Yang listened the whole time, arms folded, a mild frown on her face.

“Let me see if I have this correct,” Tai winced at his eldest daughter’s tone, but Yang was not letting him off the hook. “The stories about silver-eyed warriors are actually based on truth. Mom also had silver eyes, and you and Uncle Qrow witnessed her devastate swathes of Grimm with a glance…”

“Y-yeah,” Tai confirmed while Yang looked unimpressed. He began to pace a little. “You need to keep in mind that this… from what we saw and what Summer herself understood, her eyes were basically like a rocket launcher. Using them, wasn’t something she could just fire off casually, or repeatedly. She had to be in the right frame of mind, and only ever pulled it out if she thought it truly necessary. Even using it on a small number of Grimm could leave her unsteady on her feet, and this was when we were in our final year at Beacon.”

Yang sighed. “While that’s interesting to know and all, you still haven’t explained why you never told either of us.” Tai’s pacing halted and he hung his head a moment, before straightening, and looking Yang straight in the eye.

“I...made excuses. I’ll admit it, I made excuses not to tell you. First, it was because you were both too young, and I figured that was something Summer would have wanted to do… when she was still with us.” Yang looked away at that, silently admitting to herself that made sense. “Then after she… well, I didn’t know what to say. It was hard enough, and sometimes telling you both those stories before bed, I’d choke up a little.”

“There was also, the possibility that Ruby or you would just go around telling the other kids in your school…”

“Hey!” Yang somehow managed an indignant smirk, though the humour didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Maybe Ruby would boast about it when she was younger, but I’d like to think I could keep a secret.”

Tai raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t even bring it up to put some of those bullies you used to fight in their place?”

“Tch! Puh-lease! As if I’d spill something like that just to rub it their faces.” Tai held up his hands in mock surrender, letting Yang have this.

“Anyway… the point is, I couldn’t find any time really to bring it up. And I didn’t want Ruby becoming a target…”

Yang frowned, holding up a hand to cut him off. “A target? So there is someone going after silver-eyed warriors?” Tai’s manner switched so quickly, Yang nearly flinched. He switched to being stern and deadly serious.

“Don’t.” Yang opened her mouth but nothing came out. “You’re not ready. None of you are. Not even Pyrrha, or any of your friends in class A.” There was a beat of silence before he continued. “If I’m any judge, Ozpin will most likely tell Aizawa and All Might. Possibly tell Wyndglade and his team as well. But you and the others are too young. For as far as you have come, you are still only beginners. First years!” He took a calming breath.

“One day, when you’ve got more experience under your belt, and far less rocks in your head…”

“Oi!”

“...I’ll tell you, along with Ozpin and Glynda. But right now, getting you involved would be gross negligence, and irresponsible.”

Yang stared at him, processing everything. Then, she sighed and shook her head. “Fine. Fine I’ll trust you on this, dad. But you’d better tell Rubes all about her eyes and what that means when she wakes up. Don’t you dare try hiding this.”

‘Like you’ve hidden…’ Yang didn’t finish that thought, she pushed it aside, deciding to walk away. Just as she got to the door though she looked back. “You do know, even if you don’t tell us everything, we might just find out anyway? If there’s something bigger going on, it might not wait for all of us to graduate.”

Tai looked at her for a long second before letting out a tired sigh himself. “You’re not wrong there.” If there was any other last words he might impart, there was some knocks at the roof door. After a pause, the door opened, Weiss holding it for Ochaco Uraraka to walk through.

“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt.”

“No apologies needed ‘Chaco, what’s up?” Yang replied, trying to move past the awkward energy that was still kind of present up there. Uraraka looked between Yang and her father, picking up on it, but tactfully chose to leave it alone.

“Well, me and Deku had an idea. If Ruby doesn’t wake up by the end of today…”

All Might; Yesterday

“Ozpin has a vestige?” Toshinori could hardly believe it. He sat with his successor, and young Bakugo in an otherwise empty ward, but unlike other private meetings, there were others present. Yaoyorozu, Iida, Todoroki, Asui and Kirishima were also there, staying close. Bakugo only accepted Kirishima sitting next to him.

Some of class A were playing with Tokine elsewhere, keeping her occupied. Hagakure, Ashido, and Koda especially. Others were either watching them play games, with Zwei curled up close to Mineta. But some were doing their part to help keep the talk private. Both Jiro and Shoji were surreptitiously using their Quirks, and Ojiro and Sato were making deliberate small talk at the snack machines down the hall, keeping a discreet look out.

Upon arriving at the hospital the previous day, he’d checked in on the students, only to find most grabbing what sleep they could get. Yaoyorozu and the few Beacon students had given some more assurance as to their well being. Their physical well being, at least. It was only now that he was able to sit with young Midoriya, and while it was certainly different having so many in on the secret of One for All, he also couldn’t deny that it seemed to have done both boys some good having others they could talk about it with.

Young Midoriya, looked at his crooked right hand, before speaking again. “Yeah, and the Vestiges want to know more details to understand why.”

“Honestly,” Bakugo spoke up, his expression neutral, “I kind of figured that there must be something else going on. Even on this death world, the security they’ve got for the Vytal Tournament feels excessive.”

“I agree,” Todoroki said. “The world of Remnant is supposed to be experiencing its longest stretch of peace since the Great War. And yet, for an event that celebrates unity, and the end of that conflict, there’s an unspoken tension in the air. Especially with the forces Ironwood brought being ever present and noticeable.”

“There is the White Fang cell led by Adam Taurus, as well as Roman Torchwick,” Iida pointed out, playing devil’s advocate, “and some Atlas personnel were brought to help us with our being brought to Remnant.”

“True,” Midoriya looked at Iida, “but there’s an implication there that Ironwood at least suspects that Torchwick and Taurus are a bigger threat than we already thought.” Iida grimly nodded, and nobody argued. Besides the Grimm, Torchwick and the White Fang were a foe that some had battled before, and the unprecedented alliance between the two didn’t imply good things in the future.

“I have a question, if you don’t mind?” Asui got the group’s attention. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought a vestige was tied to a Quirk. Ribbit. But All Might was born Quirkless,” she turned her inquisitive gaze on Toshinori, “so why do you think you have a vestige yourself?”

“Well,” Toshinori began, “based on what young Midoriya has said, we know now that ‘Superpower’ stockpiles spiritual energy, so that no doubt plays a part. But I think, because I held onto the Quirk for so long, it truly became ‘mine.’ Therefore once it got passed on, I formed a vestige.”

“There are stories,” Yaoyorozu cupped her chin, thinking aloud, “of those who have had organ transplants having phantom sensations, with some people believing a piece of the person’s spirit came with it. But I always thought that was just superstition.”

“Urgh, who cares about that, this is boring.”

“Bakugo! Where are you going?” Kirishima asked as the ash blonde stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, beginning to walk away.

“I’ll let you guys keep talking about the nerd’s weird dreams and ghost stuff. I’m going to see if I can finally talk to the old Badger.”

“Wait up, I’ll come with!” Kirishima quickly got to his feet and looked round at the others, silently apologising for leaving, but Toshinori could tell the group had no problems.

“If you do see him, please give him our best regards.” Yaoyorozu requested. Midoriya, and Iida nodding in agreement.

“Ribbit,” affirmed Asui.

“I’ll probably stop by his room later,” Toshinori said, giving his best smile. Kirishima beamed at that, and Bakugo (who had actually stopped to wait) seemed… well he gave the appearance of indifference, but Toshinori believed he was secretly comfortable with the company. Maybe even glad that the others hadn’t simply forgotten Wyndglade themselves.

Waiting until the two had fully left, Toshinori turned his attention back to what he had learnt. “It’s interesting that this Widow largely focused on the USJ, and a bit of the attack on the training camp,” he said aloud.

“How so?” asked Yaoyorozu.

“All of you have been through a lot, but there have been some experiences that only a handful have lived through.” Toshinori explained. “After all, if it could create its own dream version of the USJ, could it not (for one example) replicate the Hosu incident as well, since three of you were present?” Iida stiffened, while Todoroki’s and Midoriya’s eyes widened.

“Well… at the end, before Rose did… whatever it was that saved us,” Iida began shakily, “I was confronted with an avatar of the Hero Killer…”

Toshinori didn’t need to be a mind reader to know just bringing it up, led to all three boys reliving the memories of that night. Todoroki looked away a moment, thinking deeply. “I see what you mean. If it truly had access to all our encounters, why not overwhelm us from the start?”

“And why didn’t it use memories of Kamino Ward?” Midoriya asked quietly, and the others shivered at the thought.

Yes, why didn’t this Widow make use of memories of Kamino Ward? If it wanted to inflict true terror, and an unwinnable situation, it would be harder to find one than when All For One showed up…

All Might’s Memories…

“...You’ve gotten weaker, All Might.” Toshinori scoffed, and pointed out how the helmet with life support system that the villain wore, meant that he was weaker too.

And yet, not so weak he couldn’t still trouble All Might. He’d already laid low Pros like Best Jeanist, Mount Lady, Gang Orca, X-Less and Tiger in one attack. And he was strong enough with so many strength amplifiers and boosting Quirks, that he could effectively punch Toshinori Yagi, knocking him through buildings for at least a mile!

Buildings that had not been fully evacuated.

Civilians died that day. All because the self-proclaimed ‘Demon Lord’ wanted to show off, while also rescuing the League. All just to spit on everything All Might and others had fought for; a world where people could live in peace, where they could smile without worrying for their lives!

As much as he would later scold his student later, he was also proud and grateful for Midoriya and his friend’s brilliant plan to rescue Bakugo, without engaging in combat themselves. He was frustrated by how close his successor and the others had been to the greatest evil in Japan, if not the world. They should never have been that close! Yet, they had helped. With Bakugo now out of the League’s reach, it meant that Toshinori could cut loose more.

The monster didn’t make it easy though. Even with Gran Torino arriving to provide assistance, All For One made sure that Shigaraki and the others escaped. And then, Toshinori was forced to go past his limits… and showed his frail form to the world, in order to save one woman who would have died, had Toshinori not taken the hit.

And then there was the revelation. All For One monologuing how Shigaraki, was actually Nana Shimura’s grandson. That, had nearly broken him.

It had taken the cries of the woman behind him, to remind him of his duty, to not give up! It had taken the arrival of the likes of Endeavour, Edgeshot and Kamui Woods, both to buy Toshinori time, as well as help get the injured to safety.

All For One preferred a one on one match. He didn’t even consider the others a threat. He prepared a death blow, all the while telling Toshinori… “Izuku Midoriya! That’s the person you passed One For All onto!” He knew who Toshinori’s successor was, and he planned to kill Toshinori, filled with regret that he had not been a good mentor.

And that… Toshinori Yagi could not let that stand. His own master had died to protect him, but he had so much left to do to teach young Midoriya! So, he did as Gran Torino told him, and used his head. Shifted the power of OFA from his right to his left, getting in a sneaky hit!

“Too Weak!” Mocked All For One, as he readied another attack, but Toshinori was smiling. His lips and teeth stained with his own blood, but he was smiling.

“That’s because… I didn’t put my back into it!” Another switch, what power he had left put back into his right arm, his memory of his origin, and the words of his master in his heart.

“UNITED… STATES…” He punched All For One right in his scarred, eyeless face! “...OF… SMASH!!!” All For One hit the concrete, and the air around them became a terrifying towering tornado, easily picking up ruined parts of the buildings around them, with the news choppers recording everything, barely avoiding being pulled in.

All For One was down. He was not moving. Despite all his pain, despite knowing that he’d used up everything he had left, Toshinori had managed to bulk up once more, and lift his fist to the sky in victory.

And far, far away, he could hear the cheers of the people, chanting his name into the night.

The Hospital

“...If the Widow had chosen to recreate the likes of All For One, even if only in a limited capacity, then that fight could have gone far worse.” Toshinori spelled out. “So I have to agree with what yourselves and the others have concluded; that the fight had another objective altogether.”

“It's just like when we talked to that Huntress, Ariel, in the dream-space,” Asui looked anxious as she spoke, “the whole thing was some kind of trap meant for us. But that doesn’t line up with what we knew of the Grimm at all, up till now.”

“They do get stronger and smarter, with every battle they survive,” Iida was cupping his chin now. “But this... the level of intelligence the widow displayed was extraordinary.”

Yaoyorozu nodded. “Much like Weiss and the other huntresses have considered. And it’s probable that General Ironwood knows a great deal more.”

“So what Koda heard, about there being a Queen…?” Midoriya began to mutter. Toshinori stood up, cutting off his successor’s thoughts. He ruffled the boy’s hair.

“I’ll look into it. Both myself and Aizawa, we will get the truth of this.” He looked around at the others. “In the meantime, get as much rest as possible, and keep supporting team RWBY. I’m sure they’ll appreciate any help, while young Rose is still out.”

Bakugo

Katsuki hated hospitals. Well, he hated a lot of things. For example, he hated when it rained, because the rain would dilute his sweat, wash it away to some degree, making using his explosions harder (he even specified in his costume demands, that the gloves he wore be able to combat that). That and he wasn’t one of those types who enjoyed running around in the wet when he was a kid. But he hated hospitals because it reminded him that people got sick. And when they got sick, they were weak, and Katsuki HATED being weak, or showing weakness. He’d always grit his teeth and bite down on his pride when mom the old Hag and dad the Clown would fuss over any cut or graze when he was a kid.

He could acknowledge privately he was overly stubborn, but a habit that had been around all his life, didn’t just disappear overnight.

He wanted to check in on the old Badger, one of the few people he’d met who had seen through him from the start, and gave him a scolding when he earned it (as well as prove to be decent to fight against in the few practice spars he’d had with him) but didn't think the worst of him. Unlike the teachers at Aldera, earning Wyndglade's approval felt like it actually meant something. So he was glad the bastard was still alive, but he wanted to see and talk to him, and it had infuriated him somewhat when he’d been turned around before by Atlas soldiers standing guard.

There was another reason though, and it was because of Izuku Deku. The Nerd’s secret being out meant he had a lot more support from the others in their class. And Katsuki, having had a Grimm poke around his mind a bit, had been reminded of just how much of a shit person he had been from the start. Belladonna’s words were still in his head, about how they couldn’t run away from shit no more.

Thing was, Katsuki didn’t know how to even begin making things right. Well, he had one idea. He could help the Nerd with sparring, being fast and strong enough of a threat that Deku would have to be on his A-game to properly keep up. After kicking him down and screwing him over for over a decade, helping him actually get stronger seemed like a good place to start. But he knew, deep down, he’d actually have to do more.

Deku deserved a proper apology. But Katsuki was still too much of a god-damn coward to do that. Not to mention, if he did it now, it’d be all about him. It’d be to help ease his own conscience, not to help Deku. It was frustrating, but for now, he’d leave it be.

He cast a quick glance to the side, at one of the few people he thought of as a genuine friend. Kirishima was holding his hands behind his head, more than likely trusting Katsuki to know where they were going (it had worked out in the end, but Katsuki was never going to let Shitty Hair forget that he’d gotten them lost back on I-Island). ‘Maybe I should talk it through with him?’ He turned his head back before the red head noticed. ‘Maybe even the others on my team? I don’t want the drama and judgement, but maybe having some other opinions will help.’

“Oh hey,” Kirishima said, shaking Katsuki from his thoughts, as they came upon the private room that Wyndglade was in, “no guards! I guess that means we can go in.” Just as he’s said the doorway was completely unguarded, and neither of them could see or hear any other hospital staff or patients.

“Good,” Katsuki huffed stomping forward, planning on greeting Wyndglade with a yell.

***

“DAMMIT OLD BADGER! HOW THE HECK DID YOU LET YOURSELF GET THIS BEAT UP BY SOME SHITTY GRIMM?!”

***

Yeah, that sounded right to convey his relief that the Faunus was alive… He stopped. He and Kirishima were just about to open the door, but he thrust an arm out, as he could hear voices within. “Baku…?” Katsuki’s hand shot out over Kirishima’s mouth. Kirishima took the hint, as Katsuki listened, trying to identify the voices.

“...So I wasn’t hallucinating then?” Well that was Wyndglade for certain.

“No, you were not.” Ozpin? Okay, what was going on that the headmaster (who now had his own ghost inside of One For All) was here? “And I will admit to being quite disturbed at what you encountered. Between this… ‘Hound,’ I suppose, and the Widow, it seems that our enemy is trying something new.”

“And that enemy being?”

“I will tell you more back at Beacon, and that extends to your team as well. I’m also going to tell All Might and Aizawa at the same time.”

‘The hell?’ Katsuki thought, ‘First One for All and All for One, then whatever is going on with Rose and her eyes, and now we actually have some kind of secret leader to the Grimm? What is up with our luck to get mixed up in all this conspiracy bullshit!’ Kirishima shifted uncomfortably behind him, but Katsuki wasn’t sure if he was hearing as much as he was, or if he was keeping an eye open for anyone who might catch them eavesdropping.

Actually that might explain why the soldiers guarding his room weren’t around; they might not actually be cleared to hear this.

“I wish you a quick recovery.” Ozpin started moving while Wyndglade made some dismissive grunt. Katsuki looked about and spotting an empty room next door, moved inside, pulling Kirishima in with him and closing the door just enough that they would not be noticed.

Just in time, Katsuki heard the distinct sound of Ozpin’s steps and the sound of his cane tapping on the floor. He waited, not even daring to look through the gap in the door, extending his other senses till he was sure the headmaster had left.

“I think he’s gone,” Kirishima offered his own opinion, while Katsuki finally peeked through the crack in the door.

“Then we might not have long. Follow me.” Quietly they sneaked out and then slipped inside Wyndglade’s private room, shutting the door behind them as silently as possible.

William Wyndglade was sitting up in his hospital bed, blinking in confusion at their appearance, before a smirk manifested on his face. “You two overheard some of that I take it?” He pitched his voice low, and even Kirishima knew to take that as a cue not to speak too loud. Katsuki stared at the Faunus, and was relieved to see him looking largely okay.

“Well if the headmaster wanted things kept secret, he should’ve gotten his deputy or Ironwood to wait outside to keep people away.” Wyndglade snorted at that.

“True, though to be fair, everyone’s been run a little ragged after that shit-show in the woods.” Wyndglade lost his smirk. “How are you and the others? I only got a very basic report.”

Kirishima spoke up then. “We’re… well not quite okay, but we’re getting there. The others asked us to send their best regards, and All Might said he’d drop by later if he could.”

Katsuki moved closer, so that he was right beside the bed. “We’ve all got a shit ton of questions, and General Brass-Ass…” Wyndglade choked back a laugh at that, “...has basically classified the whole deal. But some of us, including the Hunters…”

“Huntsmen, Bakugo,” Kirishima lightly corrected, which earned him a light scowl of annoyance but that didn’t really phase him, so Katsuki just kept going.

“...we’ve picked up on some things, and what we heard here, outright confirms it.” Wyndglade gave a tired sigh and nodded. He then gave both boys a look, one that spoke to how serious he was.

“Alright, they’ll probably swear me to secrecy, but that hasn’t happened yet. I can take some guesses as to why this isn’t exactly spread about, even amongst huntsmen like myself and my team, but I reckon you and the others deserve to have some information, rather than be kept fully in the dark. Just be careful,” his eyes narrowed, “best keep this between your class, teams RWBY and JNPR. Maybe CFVY, they did pretty good, and I hear two of them helped slay this bloody Widow Grimm.”

“And you’d better get going, unless you want to get caught and have a bunch of awkward questions to answer.” Katsuki didn’t say anything, he just held Wyndglade’s gaze a moment, and then walked away. There wasn’t anything else to say, for now at least.

But dammit, as much as he’d once imagined his life as hero being full of action and fighting, he never imagined getting involved in so much intrigue. At least they had something to confirm to the others, and hopefully All Might would get more, though if Katsuki was any judge, Ozpin would likely hold both their teachers to keep silent.

Now if only they could figure out what the whole deal was with Rose’s silver eyes…

Ruby; Today

She stayed silent, listening to her dad explaining everything to do with her eyes, and just… processing. Even after he stopped talking, she laid back in the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “Ruby?”

“So I have eye beams that can petrify Grimm,” her dad gave a soft chuckle at that. “And because pretty much every other silver eyed warrior has been hunted down, my unlocking this power likely made me a massive target.”

“...Yeah.” Ruby hummed thoughtfully, before sitting up.

“Who else knows? I guess Ozpin would, since he did bring up my eyes the first time we met.” Tai nodded, still sitting close to the bed.

“Him, and pretty much all the other headmasters, as well as those trusted enough to be in their inner circle. So Glynda for sure, though I’m not quite as confident that Port and Oobleck are in the know. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were though.” Tai sighed. “And I told Yang the other day. She made me promise that I would tell you.”

That made sense, given how her sister had looked when she had left the room. Ruby mulled things over a bit. “What about my friends? My team and Jaune’s, Coco’s, and class A?” Tai frowned at that, but it was more thoughtful than truly disapproving.

“It’s possible Yang has told your team, though she might also have been waiting for you to wake up before that. As for everyone else, I don’t think so. But here’s a question for you Ruby: do you really think you want to share this out to so many?”

“Yes.” Ruby answered immediately and without even a shred of hesitation. “Dad, I get that people have secrets, and that some things really need to be kept private and all that.” She tilted her head a little, and gave a small smile. “But, I’ve seen the weight secrets can put on people. Blake, Midoriya and All Might. You know yourself what kind of burden they’ve been carrying, but since it got shared amongst us and the whole class, that burden hasn’t been quite as heavy.” She shifted herself, so that she was sitting on the bed, legs hanging off it, properly facing her father.

“There’s been a lot of trust put in me with those secrets, so what kind of friend would I be if I kept everyone in the dark about this? Besides, I bet Aizawa knows something or two about eye based abilities, and given how smart Midoriya and Yaomomo are, maybe I can get a quick handle on things with their help.” Tai looked at her, before smiling and putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Alright. In any case, I’ll support you any way I can.” Zwei barked in agreement, and Ruby laughed at that, before being drawn into a big hug. For the moment she could forget being a huntress, or having eye-lasers. She could just enjoy being here with her dad.

Beacon Academy. A Day Later…

“...And that is pretty much what we know about my eyes, and what they can do,” Ruby summed up to the room, almost filled to the brim. There was her team (her sister, her friend, and bestie Weiss) and of course Jaune’s. Class A (of course) along with All Might and Aizawa. Coco and her team were there too, as was Sun.

Because of course they had to include Sun, though given what Ironwood and Ozpin had said, they couldn’t tell him everything. He already knew about One for All, and had proven he could keep that secret. He might not have been out there fighting with them in the forest (a fact that he had been kicking himself over once he found out. Though he never said what he had been doing that kept him from being there in the first place…) but Ruby felt he was someone who would otherwise have her team’s back. Right now he was looking just as surprised and amazed as a lot of people in the room.

They would have included Penny too, but she had vanished. The only word on her was Ironwood’s assurances that she was well, but that was all. Ruby hoped she wasn’t in trouble for helping them as she had.

So it was just them for now, though of course the staff of Beacon knew. “Soooo yeah! Not as crazy perhaps as having eight ghosts inside a centuries old transferable power, but I’m kinda sorta glad it isn’t, if that makes sense?” She hoped she hadn’t just offended her friends, but the smatter of chuckles at that, even from All Might, assured her that wasn’t the case.

“It’s nice to actually have some answers, Ribbit.” Tsu bluntly said. “Though the fact that it knocks you out is a little worrying.”

Ruby winced at that, but didn’t deny. “Yeeaah, hopefully we can minimise that with training and getting stronger in general, though we’ll have to keep that on the down low.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Weiss said with confidence, putting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. Yang, abusing big sister privileges, chose that moment to ruffle Ruby’s hair affectionately, that made the younger girl squawk and grumble indignantly.

“We will have to be consistent with what we tell others if we get asked though,” Blake brought up, ignoring the sisterly bonding happening beside her. “We’re forbidden to tell what happened in the forest, but there’s already rumours going around school.”

“Yeah, though funnily enough, not by Cardin.” Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he thought about it. “I think I actually heard him telling off Lark for commenting on them in the hall.”

Nora shrugged, and then gave a tentative two thumbs up. “Progress?”

“Mr Aizawa,” Izuku spoke up, looking at his teacher, “I know your quirk isn’t a one-to-one with Ruby’s new power…” The man raised a hand, silently telling the boy to stop.

“I might have some small insight,” he admitted, “and even if it’s not applicable, I’ll help watch over her training. Port captures Grimm for his lectures, so I’ll see if he can’t capture some spares for practice.”

“And what about the boss Grimm?” Bakugo asked, to which there was silence. Sun blinked.

“You mean like… an Alpha?”

“Tsk! No you idiot! I mean the actual boss of the Grimm!” Katsuki angrily stated and Ruby blinked, looking at her teammates, seeing them… barely react at all. Actually neither did Jaune and his team, or most of Class A. The ones who were caught off guard were Coco’s team, and Sun.

“Oo-Kay… I feel like I’m missing some vital, need-to-know information?” Ruby said with a frown, to which All Might coughed for attention.

“Ozpin has brought myself and Aizawa into his inner circle. We’ve been made privy to details that are heavily classified. To put it into perspective, it’s similar to how myself and others have battled All for One back on Earth.”

Sun and CFVY looked shocked. “But then… why…?” Velvet began, and All Might gave her an understanding smile.

“We’ve been asked to help keep this information classified. But you are all intelligent and inquisitive. You’ve already been putting together clues since the battle. So yes, we can confirm that there is an ancient enemy that is effectively, ‘Queen’ of the Grimm. And that is all we are allowed to say at this time, and ask you to keep this quiet as well.”

Aizawa nodded. “But, if any of you think you’ve figured something out, or hear of others speaking of such things when they shouldn’t be, we’d like you to find either ourselves, Goodwitch, or team WLLW, since they’ve also been brought into Ozpin’s trust.”

Trust. Ruby hummed thoughtfully at that. “So what you’re saying is,” she started, “you can’t tell us everything, but we should trust you.” A few people winced at that, despite the fact that Ruby didn’t say it accusingly.

Aizawa nodded, pulling away his scarf. “It might sound… no, it is a little hypocritical of me, given how I’ve used logical ruses in the past. But I truly believe we need to trust each other, in order to move forward, and to survive. No more big secrets between us, if at all possible, especially if those secrets impact all of us.”

Jaune tried to hide a flinch, but Izuku and Pyrrha noticed, though attributed it to different things. Only Hagakure noticed Aoyama acting quiet and withdrawn, but chose to leave it for now.

“It’s a lot to ask, and I can understand if anybody is hesitant.” Aizawa’s words had the room quiet, but Ruby shrugged.

“Okay.” Aizawa blinked, and after a beat, Nora, Mina, Sun and Toru chuckled at her response. “Like you said, the only way forward is together. Right?” She looked at her team. Yang looked proud of her, and was pumping her fist. Weiss shook her head at how Ruby could so simply state things like that, but she was also smiling, and Blake’s eyes sparkled with approval.

“We stand as one,” Izuku spontaneously offered his right hand out, and then Ochaco excitedly put her own hand atop it (pinky held away).

“United for all,” she added, giving a determined grin. And like that, everyone started putting their hands atop each other. In fact it was starting to get pretty crowded when only Aizawa, Bakugo and team RWBY were the last ones to do so. (Mineta ended up taking the bottom from Izuku, by dint of being the shortest, and just the easiest way to join in without getting in the way).

“Heroes and Huntsmen!” declared Yang as she found a spot to put in her hand. Blake had to climb atop her for her spot, but Yang just laughed.

“Faunus and humans,” Blake said, nearly sitting on the blonde's shoulders.

“For duty and honour,” Weiss put in, sliding in next to Todoroki, though leaving room for Ruby, even as Aizawa chose to toss the end of his scarf.

Ruby squeezed in, and managed to rest her finger tips on top, joined by Bakugo only a second after. Yang snorted. “Should’ve known you’d go for being for the top.” Bakugo simply turned the most shit-eating grin her way in response. Ruby however knew what she wanted to say to finish things.

“To go beyond, and always do our best.”

“Plus Ultra!” The cheer broke up the pile, and soon the room was filled with laughter and chatter. Everyone happy to be alive and together.

***

Somewhere else far from Beacon, in a hidden camp far from prying eyes, Adam Taurus sat and waited within his private tent. A new black sword sat across his lap, as he stared at the map of Vale on the board before him. “Sir?” a voice spoke from outside.

“Enter.” A lower ranked Fang member walked in and took a knee before him. “Speak,” Adam commanded.

“We’ve just got confirmation,” spoke the messenger keeping his eyes low, and his voice clear. “The banished are coming, as are the other specialists you called for.” Adam smiled at this, very pleased at this news.

“Good. It is about time they returned to our ranks, as they should never have been exiled in the first place.” He paused a moment. “And what of our allies. Any news from them?”

The messenger kept their head down, but answered immediately. “Yes sir. Cinder Fall has sent word, that we are to begin phase two.” Adam’s smile grew wider at that.

‘Well, it’s about damn time…’

***

“Penny,” Ironwood said, standing in the briefing room aboard the flagship, “I’ve made a decision, regarding your continued duration here at Beacon.” Penny nodded, standing fully to attention as she awaited what the General would say.

***

Yoichi stared at Ozpin’s vestige thoughtfully, despite the avatar looking like it was asleep. “He didn’t tell us everything,” Kudo stated, ever watchful. Behind him, Shinomori rested his back against his own throne.

“Salem is his war. It makes sense that he wouldn’t want to burden those from Earth with such knowledge when it isn’t technically our responsibility.”

“But when that meeting was over and Toshinori lingered to bring up the point of Ozpin's vestige being here,” Nana Shimura pointed out, “there was a moment of… fear. Toshinori picked up on it, and we could all feel it through the connection.”

“So, do we tell Midoriya?” Banjo asked. Yoichi thought about it, with slightly narrowed eyes.

“We keep an eye on things,” he said. “If Midoriya asks, we will answer honestly. Ideally, All Might and Aizawa will figure out how to guide Gale to return everyone back Earth, so we can focus more on our own ancient evil and their schemes. Salem can’t reach us once we’ve returned. But if we learn something new from this vestige of Ozpin, anything that might put Midoriya and the others at risk?” Yoichi turned to face the others, “then we tell him everything. To quote Aizawa, ‘No more secrets.’”

None of the Vestiges objected.

***

The second semester at Beacon was set to begin, and Emerald and Mercury hid their nerves well as they noted the extra security that Atlas had put up around the pads. There were checkpoints going over documentation and luggage, a mixture of soldiers and Atlesian Knights. Quite a few students visiting from other academies were taken aback by the measures.

Cinder however, looked completely unbothered. Calm and confident, she politely thanked the soldier who had run her transcripts and allowed her passage. She then sauntered over, a black Haven school uniform blending in well amongst the others. One could easily mistake her to be an older teen, rather than the full woman she actually was.

“Emerald. Mercury. I’m glad to see you both looking well.” Cinder greeted them, before looking about Beacon’s campus. At the white arches, and towers. “Well now, new semester and new school. Let’s see how this goes, shall we?”

[Cue Season 2 Intro]

Conceptual Season 2 Opening – “Light The Beacon”

(For music that kind of works with this, try Ruelle - Game of Survival)

I sing to the sky,

but I can’t stop the storm.

On the horizon,

creeping closer I must warn.

There are no peace signs,

no happy ends.

Are we the heroes?

That all depends...

-*-*-

Is this the break point?

Where it tips and it falls?

Who do we trust,

In secretive halls?

Legends do walk still,

as blades turn to rust.

Sound out a warning,

Before all comes to dust.

Before the dark deepens

We must light the beacon.

Next Time, on Paragons of Virtue and Glory:

[Penny: “Sal-U-Tations! We are back with a brand new season!”]

[Iida: “Indeed! And next episode we’ll be meeting more trainee huntsmen and huntresses, as more people arrive for the upcoming Vytal Tournament!”]

[Penny: “And it looks like teams RWBY, JNPR are having a classic fight with food.”]

[Iida: “I beg your pardon, but what?”]

[Penny: “Oh! And it looks like some of Class A are also partaking!”]

[Iida (indignant): “How outrageous! This is deplorable behaviour! We are all exemplary students of both UA and Beacon! We must strive to uphold…!”]

[Ruby & Izuku: “IIDA! WATCH OUT!”]

[SPLAT!]

[Iida (defeated grumbling): “...Next time… ‘Pushing Onwards (We Stand Together)’… Go beyond…”]

[Penny (ever happy): “Plus Ultra!”]

Chapter Text

Previously on Paragons of Virtue and Glory…

Having survived the Emerald Siege against the Grimm known as the Widow, everyone tries to process in the aftermath. Ruby Rose unlocked her silver eyes, a power that was considered myth and legend. But there are other revelations... Izuku Midoriya now knows of Ozpin’s vestige inside of One for All, and knows the name ‘Salem.’ In private, Ozpin inducts All Might and Aizawa into his inner circle, along with team WLLW. However, they are sworn to secrecy. Katsuki Bakugo overhears Ozpin confirm that the Grimm have a leader, and when confronting William Wyndglade of this, the veteran tells him to pass the word to his friends, and to be cautious.

Ruby feels in the wake of learning the truth of her eyes, that she should tell her friends about what happened. That in these now changing times, with much that is uncertain, she should be open with those she trusts. Aizawa, admits that’s the best way forward, and the group vows to support each other, though there are a few amongst the group that are holding something back from everyone else…

Now, it is the start of a new semester at Beacon, and the Vytal Tournament continues to draw near with students from other academies arriving in preparation to compete. But much has changed. Security is tighter, rumours of the other-world heroes, and what really happened in the Emerald Forest are whispered amongst the students. And all the while, the enemies of Beacon gather and prepare their next moves.

The world has changed. It remains to be seen how the students of Beacon and UA change with it.

[PLAY]

Tukson’s Book Trade

The bell rang as the customer walked out, very happy with their purchase of ‘The Thief & the Butcher,’ and his last copy of ‘Third Crusade.’ Tukson did actually enjoy helping someone track down something that was hard to get. His shop’s slogan ‘Tukson’s Book Trade; Home to every book under the sun.’ was a tad false advertisement, but he truly liked to get his hands on rare volumes and editions. And he loved seeing fellow lovers of books. Especially teens. So much was digitised these days, but Tukson thought things were far more satisfying when you could hold a physical copy of a book to read, rather than a document on your scroll tablet. Something that one of his most recent customers seemed to agree with. But then, thinking of Blake Belladonna darkened his mood.

Blake had no idea he was actually White Fang. He suspected that she had guessed he was Faunus (more often than as not, one Faunus can spot another), but she never pressed him. And he had nothing against her or her family for that matter. He had gotten frustrated by systems that definitely favoured humans over the Faunus, and though he was in a comfortable position where he was, he wanted equity for all. He’d joined because he believed the White Fang could make a change, and more change could be seen under Sienna Khan then Ghira Belladonna.

But, he had been regretting joining for a while now. Thankfully he had never been involved in any attacks or raids. He’d been at some meetings, even helped the new recruits with adjustment. But things were changing, and for the worst.

Adam Taurus. Just thinking the man’s name put a shiver down Tukson’s spine, as he made his way to the back storeroom, trusting the bell would alert him if a new customer showed up. Adam had been seen as something of a noble dark knight, fighting for justice against oppression. Tukson now realised the man was a Faunus supremacist. And the plan… Tukson paused, and looked round towards his tiny office. In there was a one way ticket to Vacuo. He’d already packed a lot of his belongings in preparation, but he’d been holding off so that he could sell more of his stock.

Well, that wasn’t the only reason he was hesitating to run. Tukson was more than aware of the hero students from another world. He’d even met some, when Blake and her team had come in not too long ago. Those he’d seen, he felt were decent folk. And he’d heard tell of how others had been going out their way to help out around the city, cleaning up trash, and helping reunite lost dogs. Sure, he’d heard also of at least one who came off as an arrogant racist, but Tukson was willing to believe he was an outlier, and that the kid had likely been punished for his words.

So Tukson wondered; should he run? Or should he actually come forward to the police and the heroes, and tell them what he knew? After all, running might save his skin, but what about the people, faunus and human alike that had no idea of what Adam, Torchwick and the scary woman who had united them were really up to.

He sighed. He needed to make a decision and soon. Just then, the bell at the counter rang, and he welcomed it as a needed distraction. “I’ll be right there!” he called out, before finding the pile of books he had originally been looking for, and then carefully picking them up, and carried them out.

“Hello there,” he greeted, though he had yet to see who the customer was. He sensed they were right there at the counter waiting for him. He gently set the book stack down, and dusted his hands. “Welcome to Tukson’s Book Trade; Home to every book under the sun.” His catchphrase and slogan delivered, he finally looked past the books, and spotted a young girl. Late teens, with red hair, tied in a pony tail. A scattering of freckles covered her cheeks, but she wore a friendly smile. “How may I help you?” he asked, believing he’d found another young bibliophile.

“Oh there’s plenty you can help me with, Tukson,” the girl said, and that immediately set off alarm bells in his head. “But, we can’t really do it here, especially when there are others who could walk in.” Suddenly her face swam with colours and tones… like a chameleon. Suddenly Tukson felt he knew exactly who was now in his store, and that whatever choice he could have made, was likely about to be made for him.

“I’m here on behalf of Sienna Khan, and you are going to help me,” stated Ilia Amitola.

[Cue Opening – ‘Light the Beacon’]

Episode 32: Pushing Onwards (We Stand Together!)

Beacon Academy – Start of Second Semester

Sun Wukong waited in his usual attire, an eager smile on his face. Oh he had been looking forward to this! It had taken a while, but finally, his team had arrived.

And then they had to get cleared by security, which stretched out the waiting a little more. Sun did get why it was there, Vale was hosting the tournament, but General Ironwood had been given permission to tighten up security in the wake of recent events. Most recently, that surprise theft not that long ago on Amity Colosseum itself, and then there had been some big battle in the Emerald Forest that nobody was supposed to say anything about beyond the official statement. And following that, apparently the Grimm had a Queen, but only the headmasters and their inner circle was supposed to know about them… Well, life had certainly been interesting ever since Sun had stepped off the boat he’d stowed away on.

And thinking about it, even with all the craziness, he wouldn’t change a thing. No, wait, he would probably have held off looking for date spots to take Blake, so he could actually have been there fighting with her and his tail bro, and Tsu. But other than that, wouldn’t change anything. Heck, those three were among the people he most wanted to introduce his team too!

Finally, they cleared security, and looked exhausted from it, but Sun figured he could get their spirits back up. “Hey guys! Welcome to Beacon!”

“Thanks man,” Neptune managed a carefree smile, doing his whole ‘cool’ vibe thing. Which to be fair, did have more than few girls and guys look at him and blush.

[Port: “Neptune Vasilias. From the masculine and testosterone team SSSN (Sun), his teammates are Scarlet David and Sage Ayana.”

“His weapon of choice? Tri-Hard. An impressive weapon with four forms; Guandao, Trident, rifle, and of course a compact form for travel.”

“Semblance: Water Attraction.”]

“Was the security like that for you when you arrived, or…?” he looked back at the line of people still getting cleared. Sun noted that a few Atlas kids tried to use their school name to get through faster, and that did not go down well with the soldiers. Huh, so no favouritism.

Sun shook his head, both to answer his friend’s question and to refocus. “Nah, though I did get into a bit of trouble early on. It all worked out though, and I’ve got so many people for you to meet.”

“Can it wait a little?” Scarlet asked, while Sage behind him nodded. “Between the flight and the security check, I’d like to decompress a little in our room.”

“I mean, sure, but this won’t take long. Plus you can decompress with food!” Sun gave finger guns and his most winning smile. Scarlet looked resigned, while Sage maintained some stoicism. Neptune looked about before matching Sun’s energy.

“I guess we could spend a few minutes grabbing something to eat. We can at least introduce ourselves quickly.” Scarlet sighed but nodded, pulling himself together.

“That’s what I want to see!” Sun said, happy that was settled. “The heroes from class A are going to love you guys.”

“Did you say Class A?” A girl’s inquisitive voice from behind him made Sun jump in surprise (how did she get so close?) but as he looked at her, he relaxed and spread his arms out wide.

“Penny!”

The mysterious red head who kept showing up and then disappearing, smiled and waved at him and his team. “Sal-U-Tations!” she greeted, “it is good to see you again, friend Sun. Are you well?”

Sun beamed back. Penny could be… a little odd, but she was a good person and he knew the others had been asking about her since the docks. “I’m great! And it’s good to see you too.” He then quickly introduced his team. Weirdly, Neptune’s charm did absolutely nothing, though she remained smiling and friendly. Maybe guys weren’t her type, he couldn’t fault her for that. Different stripes for different types.

“It is lovely to meet you all,” she said, completely missing the blow to Neptune’s ego when his charm missed it’s mark. “I overheard you were going to meet with class A, who I believe would be having breakfast with friends Ruby and Jaune, and their teams.”

“Yep! Wanna come with?” Sun invited, before looking around. “Maybe bring your team too? Are they here?”

Penny shook her head. “I am with team SPRC (spark). I believe my assigned partner, Ciel Soleil, is setting up in their dormitory chamber.” Huh, weird way to say they were settling in their room, but honestly, Sun figured that way of speaking was just part of Penny’s charm. "I have alternative accomodations, so I am not currently required to attend."

“Ciel Soleil huh? What’s she like? She a good friend?” Penny paused a moment before answering.

“She is very, very particular about time. I actually have a designated amount of free time before we reconvene. Think of her like friend Blake, only if she was ordered to spend time with you.”

“So… Weiss?” He might of added Iida, but he wasn’t sure if Penny and Iida had actually interacted much, so she might not understand.

“Exactly.” Sun snorted. Yeah, Penny might be a little odd, but she was a-okay in his book. “Shall we head to the dining hall?”

“Sure.” Sun then fell into step besides Penny, while beginning to tell his buddies a few things about his friends in class A.

He failed to notice the attention he and Penny had garnered by mentioning class 1-A. More than a few people had picked up on the conversation, and many eyes followed the monkey faunus and his team as they walked away from the landing pads. Including a dark skinned young man with a black fedora sporting a blue trim, and sunglasses, as well his teammate, with red-orange hair, a tank top, a pink skirt, and a belt featuring a smiley face. She was also wearing rollerblades, and had a cat’s tail.

“So, they know these kids from another world huh?” Flynt Coal remarked. “Feel up for a little recon, Neon?” He tilted his shades a little as he side-eyed her. Neon Katt grinned in response.

“Oh I definitely want to meet them! I hope some of them at least know how to party and have fun, y’know?”

“I can dig it.” He nodded, before adjusting his shades. “Let’s go.”

***

“...So we were fighting back to back, and everyone is scattered about with their own battles,” Sun regaled his friends, completely unaware of others following. Sage noticed, but chose to let it be, for now. In truth, he and Scarlet were a bit curious about these heroes. The idea that there were other realities out there, and that at least one of them had people who had superpowers that wasn’t Aura, was mind boggling to say the least.

“...and this Adam guy decides to really mouth off about how he’s the only person who gets to call himself a hero, and how everyone else is a fake…” Sun continued, when suddenly he spotted something approaching. No... someone, and approaching at speed! Sun held up a hand to wave. “Oh hey, Iida!”

“ApologiesbutIcannotstoptotalk!Keepawayfromthedininghallifatallpossible!” a human sized blur rushed past everyone, Sage only getting a vague impression of the person; Black/blue hair, chiselled jaw, square glasses, his trouser legs pulled up, showing his socks, as well as what looked like engine exhausts coming out of his calf muscles.

“Um, what?” Scarlet managed as the group paused and watched as the blur disappeared round the corner. Then Penny spoke up.

“I believe he said, ‘Apologies but I cannot stop to talk. Keep away from the dining hall if at all possible.’” The boys all looked at her, still smiling, even as she looked back the way the boy came from. “I wonder what could be occurring that would have him warn us so?”

Neptune bit the bullet for the rest of them. “Ahem, can anyone tell us who exactly that was, and how Penny understood him?”

“Oh that was Iida,” Sun said, like this was somehow a normal occurrence. “Or Ingenium to use his hero name. Don’t think I’ve seen him run that fast outside of a designated spar, so something is definitely up.”

‘Oh. So this wasn’t normal,’ Sage thought. ‘That’s comforting.’

“Despite Iida speaking at accelerated speeds, I was able to decipher his words,” Penny answered the other part of Neptune’s question. Before anybody could remark on that though Sun started to run forward.

“Don’t worry about that, it could be her Semblance for all I know,” Sun called back, “what matters is that class A and my friends might be in trouble, and I won’t leave them hanging again! C’mon!” Penny immediately set after him, quickly catching up despite a standing start. The three other members of team SSSN looked at each other and then collectively shrugged, and followed.

Several Minutes Before. Main Dining Hall

Ruby remembered once saying she wanted to be treated like a normal girl with normal knees at Beacon. Sure she wanted to be a good huntress and help people, but she didn’t want to be set apart from everyone, being treated as ‘special.’ Learning she did actually have something that made her stand out, her silver eyes, changed things a little bit, but she was still her! Ruby Rose; weapon otaku, pretty decent baker of sweet treats. She liked walking her dog Zwei, Bubble Tea at a certain cafe, and loved her friends and family.

But now? Now she was also 'Ruby Rose'; leader of team RWBY who made first contact with human aliens from another reality! One of the first year huntsmen teams to enter the Emerald Forest side by side with said human aliens, on a big mission involving Atlas forces, and had come back with commendations after a fierce battle, that rumour had it, she had ended! Not to mention that Ruby and her team (along with some of the heroes) had been at the docks, foiling a pretty major dust shipment robbery by Roman Torchwick and Adam Taurus.

So it probably shouldn’t have been much of a surprise when she came down to eat breakfast that morning, in her uniform and iconic red cloak, to find a lot of people staring and whispering about her. And to think, she had been planning a full day of fun activities to mark the last free day before classes started back up tomorrow.

Thankfully, she had her friends and teammates by her side, and all of them to some degree, were going through the same thing or similar as herself. Team CFVY were doing their part helping keep people back and in line, with help from RSTR and even the third and fourth year teams. Cardin Winchester, for his part, had kept his team quiet and out the way, which was also helping. Ruby didn’t think she wanted to deal with CRDL going back to their usual bullying shtick.

It had been good that everyone had some time to decompress in the two weeks break, as well as talking to one of the counsellors hired by Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin. Counselling wasn’t something she expected she’d be taking, but she could admit that the man she saw, Kaa Karamel, was actually really easy to talk to. Plus for an old man, he had arms like pythons! Yang and Kirishima gave him respect for that alone. Also it made a lot of sense that she and the others see a counsellor. While for everyone in class A, the counsellors were largely helping them through adjusting to being so far from home, Ruby and the others had their own personal issues, and talking to somebody neutral helped a little.

She took her tray of food and sat down, trying hard to ignore the stares and whispers from other tables (noting with interest a table that had been set up as a display, with a selection of foods piled up including a swordfish, turkeys, lobsters and more).

“I think this might be worse than when we got attacked in our first week,” Ruby looked up towards Jiro who had spoken lowly. “I mean, we didn’t really get that much attention from others, outside that one time a whole bunch of students showed up at our class just to check us out.”

“How did you cope?” Ruby asked the table in general, and there was a mixed response from the hero course.

“Back then? At first, just focusing on the fact we survived, and might’ve enjoyed the sense of being like a celebrity in the eyes of others.” Kaminari rubbed the back of his head as he answered. Hagakure’s uniform bobbed in the sense that she was likely nodding her head, and even Sato made a noise of agreement.

“I put my focus on training for the sports festival, and making a… statement, towards my father and the world, I guess.” Todoroki looked very introspective, which said a lot since wasn’t always easy to read. He was sitting next to Weiss, and had Izuku and Ochaco on the other side. Bakugo scowled a little before making a grunt that Ruby interpreted as him agreeing in his own way with what Todoroki said.

Mineta folded his arms and shook his head. “I mean, we all wanted to do well, sure, but I was super freaked out by the whole attack, and thought that the sports fest was a little much so soon. Then we had jerks like Shinso setting down challenges to our class…”

“Hold up,” Yang held up a hand, cutting off the shorter boy’s words, “Shinso… Oh yeah, right. You told us about him when you explained the Sports Festial. I thought you guys had something of a healthy rivalry? Or is that just Midoriya?” She looked past her team to find the green haired boy looking a little embarrassed, even as he tapped his chopsticks (the UA teens had been happy to find that the kitchen staff catered to more than just Vale/western style cooking, and there were some breakfast options that were close to what they might have at home).

“Well, that might just be me. Our fight… I think I could understand him, as in, I might have ended up just like him, had my circumstances been a little different. I could relate to him feeling envious of others having ‘strong and heroic’ Quirks, and how lucky I was to end up in the hero course.”

“So why is he considered a jerk?” Ruby asked the table, and Ojiro sighed in response.

“Maybe it’s me being sore about how things went down, but Shinso used his Quirk on me, Aoyama and Shoda from class B for the cavalry battle. I don’t actually remember much of that whole event except for the very end, which is why I chose not to advance. Why should I go forward when I didn’t do anything under my own power, because I was somebody’s puppet?”

Ruby frowned, and she wasn’t the only person to feel unease at this. Ren, sitting on the next table with Jaune and the others, also looked displeased. “Shinso could take over people’s minds, correct?” Ojiro nodded, while Aoyama gave a soft ‘Oui’. “But the cavalry battle was supposed to be about teamwork. How does dominating the wills of others to force them to work for you, count as true teamwork? It undermines trust, and is a pretty underhanded move.”

“Did none of the teachers call him out on it?” Blake asked, and class A either shook their heads or scanned their neighbours to see if they knew. Izuku sighed.

“Maybe I’m just too forgiving. I think, he was kind of happy to be acknowledged as an opponent, that he could have a shot? That doesn’t justify what he did before though.” Ojiro huffed, but smiled at Izuku.

“It’s fine Midoriya. Honestly, I think you being forgiving is a good trait to have. If he is taking a turn for the better, then that’s great.” He sat back and rubbed his head. “I just don’t like that he didn’t even try to actually work with us, you understand?”

“I do,” Pyrrha said, and it was a rare day when she had such a firm and near cold tone of voice. “For somebody who wants to prove they deserve to be on the hero course, they certainly acted in an unheroic way.”

Jaune coughed awkwardly, before saying, “not that I can’t understand anyone being desperate enough to show off, I guess, prove how useful they and their Quirk could be, but that definitely feels like a step too far.”

There was a general murmur of agreement before a ‘Tch!’ got everyone to look at Bakugo near the end of the three tables shoved together. “You know what pissed me off? He shows up at our class mouthing off how he couldn’t get in, and yeah, brainwashing wouldn’t work on robots for shit, but it was clear he didn’t put that much work in making himself strong. Clear-Girl… I mean Invisible Girl doesn’t have super strength, but she still passed the cut! Heck, Deku, Sparky and the grape pervert put in more work physically than that jackass did!”

“I feel both complimented and insulted at the same time,” Mineta mumbled. Weiss took the opportunity to get everyone’s attention.

“You raise a good point. However, it doesn’t really help any of us right now, and Shinso is hardly here to defend himself and his actions.” Right on cue, Iida began to chop his right arm.

“Agreed. I suggest we table this discussion for another time. Perhaps bring it up with Mr Aizawa and All Might privately.”

As the others went back to their breakfasts, Ruby mused on the point. Hitoshi Shinso was someone who had a useful power for being a hero, even though it had a name that definitely suggested the worst. Like, what was his Quirk counsellor thinking? Was he purposefully trying to give Shinso some kind of complex about being unjustly labelled as a villain?

Still, what the others were saying was right. She didn’t hold it against Izuku for choosing to turn the other cheek in the end, and it sounded like that helped (maybe) but if Shinso really wanted to be seen as hero course material, he should have done more to show he was more than his Quirk. Ruby might not be the strongest at throwing a punch, but she could kick really good, and she had been working out since she was young so that she could keep up with others. She didn’t show them off often, but she had some pretty nice biceps herself. Making your own mecha scythe/sniper rifle, then training with it nearly every day will do that for you.

Plus, purposefully picking a fight with the people you might one day call your allies? Didn’t seem like the best way to go about making yourself known. Then again, Japan’s hero system was heavily competitive… she shook her head, and shoved some more scrambled egg into her mouth.

She looked up as she chewed, and then nearly spat out her mouthful in excitement. She gulped it down before patting Weiss on the shoulder. “Weiss! Weiss look!” To her bemused partner, she pointed out a student who was carrying his weapon on his back. A spear with a pistol function, and the spear tip… “That’s a Damascus spear!”

Weiss gave her a look, one that basically screamed ‘so what?’ but Momo dropped her own cutlery and slammed her hands on the table, looking at Ruby with wide shocked eyes. “Say that again.” Ruby pointed again past Jiro and Kaminari on the other side of their table, and heads turned to look at the weapon.

Kaminari looked confused. “Um, okay, I feel like I’m missing something. What’s so special…?”

“The creation of Damascus steel is a lost art,” Momo explained, looking like she had just discovered the universal cure to all diseases. “Scientists and metallurgists have been trying to reverse-engineer the method of its creation since before the dawn of Quirks, with mixed levels of success.” She looked at Ruby in awe. “I had no idea that Remnant utilised it!”

“Well not everybody uses it,” Ruby explained, happier now that she was talking about something she loved, and that Momo understood how cool it was. “It’s super expensive and time consuming, plus finding someone who knows the method is really hard. I've only seen that stuff in weapon magazines before, so this is my first time seeing one in the flesh.” Momo absorbed this, before looking back at the student who seemed oblivious to their discussion. In fact, he was one of the few people who wasn’t paying their table any attention.

“Excuse me everyone,” Momo dabbed her lips with a napkin and stood up, “I’ll be back shortly.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ruby said, and thankfully Yaomomo waited for her. It was really nice, being able to share her love of weapons and engineering with the vice rep. And it was giving Ruby ideas for the future too…

***

Weiss blinked, while Yang chuckled. “Well, we might not see those two again for a while.”

“Ruby’s love of weapons is a beast of endless appetite,” Tokoyami commented in his typical manner, but Weiss was caught on something else.

“You used her first name,” she said, to which the raven headed boy smiled in response.

“You and your companions have frequently told us that we may use your first names. As we have battled through many foes and deep darkness together, it would be rude to ignore that.” The huntsmen all smiled happily at that.

“Thank you,” Weiss said, before turning to look at Hagakure, “but moving onto something that’s been bothering me for a while…”

“By which she means that your Quirks don’t make sense,” Blake clarified with an amused smile, noticing Izuku predictably perk up at the mention of Quirks. Weiss gave Blake a quick appreciative nod before turning back to Hagakure.

“Toru, a quick question if I may?” There was a confused ‘mm?’ from the see-through girl, before Weiss followed through. “How are you able to see?”

“Huh?” The sleeve of Hagakure’s uniform moved up, like she was scratching her head. “What do you mean by that? I see just like anyone else.”

A few others also seemed confused by the question, but Izuku considered it a moment before nodding to himself. "That's actually something I had a theory about, but I never got around to ask."

“What theory is that, Deku?” Uraraka asked.

Izuku gave her a embarrassed smile, before he turned to look his see-through classmate in the face. “Hagakure, what Weiss means is that your Quirk is misnamed. If you were truly invisible, then light wouldn’t hit your retinas, so you should be blind…”

“Omigosh… why aren’t I blind…?” Hagakure breathed as she considered this. Weiss smiled proudly as Izuku went on, glad that he picked up her point.

“...but since you can still see, your Quirk is more refracting light, in such a way it gives off the appearance of being invisible!”

“But if that’s the case,” Nora spoke up, “how come Eraser Head hasn’t turned it off when ever he does his spooky eyes?” It was a surprisingly appropriate question, one that had even Bakugo raise an eyebrow as he considered it.

“I remember Yaoyorozu pointing out that he actually needs to see the body in order for Erasure to work,” Shoto spoke up, “but I wonder if that means a full body costume would negate it?” Izuku hummed thoughtfully at that.

“Maybe, though it might be possible he could still affect someone if the suit material was thin enough, perhaps. Some of the villains at the USJ had full body costumes, though not that many." He shrugged. "It's hard to say. Everything I know about his Quirk makes it clear he can impact how a person uses their power, and that is most effective against emitter and transformation types, far less so against heteromorphic Quirks. The Nomu though, that was made to be super strong regardless.”

Yang shuddered at that, remembering the fight against that thing in the shared dream-space, while Jaune offered his own thoughts. “What if (and I’m spitballing here) Eraser Head’s Quirk emits light on some spectrum we can’t perceive? Like ultraviolet or x-rays perhaps? Maybe that’s why a thick cloak can nullify it, when a skin tight outfit can’t.”

Mineta shook his head. “Nah, I don't think so. Even if Sensei's Erasure worked like that, he should still technically be able to turn off her power, I think Todoroki's point about not actually seeing Hagakure's bod is the real factor here.” There was a mumbled chorus of agreement from amongst the group at that.

Meanwhile Mina squealed as she hugged her friend. “Toru! You’re immune to Eraser Head!”

“I mean, its not like we didn’t kind of know that before, since he’s never made me visible when demonstrating his Quirk,” Hagakure managed, “but we all assumed it was for a different reason… Could we even test this?” Her clothes shifted, giving the impression that she was looking at Izuku. "Midoriya? What do you think?"

Izuku cupped his chin as he began to mutter a little, but managed to keep his words intelligible. “Mr Aizawa has never tried cancelling your powers whilst you were performing your ultimate moves. We could ask him him to try, and see if he can prevent you doing so. And then there’s Aoyama! He could help” and the sparkling French boy looked up at his name. “You’ve been honing your warp refraction, but if you can refract different light sources like his Navel laser…”

“...Then not only would you be able to redirect any laser attack sent your way,” Weiss picked up, excitedly, “the practice should in theory help you figure out how to make yourself visible!”

“I would be more than happy to help, mes amis!” Aoyama did a sparkly pose, thankfully not hitting Sero with his outstretched hand in the process.

"Hey! Watch your hands, Aoyama."

“...Can I sue my Quirk counsellor?” Toru said with excitement, “seriously! Nobody has ever thought to suggest something like this my whole life!”

Bakugo frowned, staring at the huntresses. “What about you?” his question got the three members of team RWBY to look his way. “Have you and JNPR gotten any stronger, figured out new ways to use your Semblances and all that?”

Yang’s expression turned serious. “You’re asking if I’m ready for a rematch, aren’t you?” Bakugo scoffed.

“Don’t think too much of yourself, Xiao Long,” he replied, “while I do want to fight you again, I was asking about all of you. We’ve been getting stronger, thanks to the resources here at Beacon as well as Aura. Have you gotten any stronger since we met?”

“Bakugo’s abrasiveness and brusque tone aside,” Iida cupped his chin, “he does have a point. I do seem to recall Ruby working on a project for your whole team…”

“Oh yeah, the Solidarity project!” Ochaco smacked a fist into her palm as she remembered. “How’s that coming along?” Weiss looked between her teammates, and they shared a grin.

“It’s practically finished,” Weiss was happy to report. “Though we’ll still need to get experience using what we made. Some of us made modifications and went in slightly different directions than what Ruby originally conceived.”

“And we’ve also been working on some other stuff too,” Yang flexed her arm, looking at Bakugo. “I’ll admit, I don’t feel ready yet for a proper rematch, but I also don’t want to keep you waiting too long.” The ash blonde matched her glare before seemingly accepting her answer as acceptable and looking away.

“So manly,” Kirishima pumped his fist, “I hope you’ll spar with me too!”

“Of course, my not-dyed-haired disciple!” Yang declared with a laugh, and the least subtle wink that has ever been witnessed on Remnant or Earth. Thankfully for Kirishima’s pride, everyone unanimously chose to ignore it. “And besides extra gear,” Yang went back to the main point Bakugo had asked about, “we are actively working on improving our Semblances.” Her eyes met Izuku’s and he nodded.

He will introduce RWBY to the other vestiges of OFA. It was just a case of setting time aside, and making sure his Aura was high enough to get as much of a conversation, or Quirk experiment as possible.

It was at that point that Ruby and Momo returned, both vibrating with excitement. “Ribbit, I take it you learnt a lot from talking to that guy?” Tsu asked.

“Oh yeah,” Ruby said in a hushed voice, and Kyoka was looking at Momo in amazement.

“Yaomomo, did you…?”

“I did,” Momo confirmed as she sat down, “and I absolutely intend to take full advantage of this knowledge upon our return!” She and Ruby both shared an impish giggle that had a few people break into cold sweats.

“So, what did we miss?” Momo asked as she returned to her meal. Ren was the one who replied.

“Hagakure’s Quirk might actually be 'Light Refraction' rather than true invisibility,” he began, “and Bakugo asked if team RWBY had made any progress getting stronger.”

“Ooh yeah, Momo,” Ruby said as she sat back down, looking at Weiss pointedly, to which the heiress immediately understood where this was going. “Weiss had something she might need your help with.”

“I’ve actually had most of the work done already,” Weiss explained, “but ‘Leitlicht’ is hitting some issues, and you’re the only person I can think of who might understand the problem enough to find a solution.”

“Oh is that so?” the raven haired girl responded, “well, I can’t promise miracles, but I can try my best.”

Jaune frowned as he listened to the conversation. “Yaoyorozu, you’ve done a lot for all of us already,” he said, “I do sometimes feel we might be taking advantage of you.” Pyrrha nodded in agreement at that, while Weiss and Ruby winced at the idea, but Momo laughed.

“Don’t worry, besides, you’ve all been helping us a lot. You all helped us develop our own weapons after all, and adjust my costume. Friendship should go both ways, and I’ve enjoyed helping out.”

“Hey, Jaune,” Sero spoke up then, eyeing the blonde leader of JNPR, “what did you mean when you said Yaoyorozu had done a lot for all of you already?”

Jaune turned embarrassed, but Pyrrha put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Momo was gracious enough to gift team JNPR some raw materials for new gear” she explained. “Jaune has a new suit of armour, as well as a ranged weapon.” Ruby and Izuku both began to vibrate with excitement as Pyrrha went on. “I have Xena, of course, while Ren and Nora…”

“I have a new back up weapon,” Ren filled in, while Nora decided to playfully toss some of her food at Yang. Yang of course opened her mouth and let it fall right in. She gave the ginger a thumbs up and an appreciative ‘Mm!’ “And Nora turned what she got into her gauntlets.”

“We’ve been thinking about how to move forward ourselves,” Pyrrha continued, “because after… well, after everything we went through last semester, we can’t really just stay as we are. We have to push onwards.”

Nobody argued with that. They knew now that the Grimm had a leader. One named Salem, as Izuku was able to share in private. They knew that the huntsmen they were learning from and trusted, knew more than they were telling, which was frustrating and yet understandable. They were all, respectively, first years. They should be able to just focus on their studies, training and look forward to the tournament. In class A’s case, they also were waiting for word on when and how they would get back to Earth.

And yet, there was now a sense that forces out of sight were inching closer, a storm brewing on the horizon that nobody was sure just how bad it would be when it finally broke. In a way, it felt like they never left the Emerald Forest, and the Widow and it’s smaller kin still had threads keeping them stuck in place.

After a moment of dwelling on this, Ruby forced a smile onto her face. “Well, what’s everybody doing today? I borrowed Weiss’s binder…”

“I’m sorry, but when did you…?”

“...and have come up with a plan to enjoy this whole day doing fun activities with my team!” Ruby talked over her partner. “I figure we should start the semester off with a bang!”

“I like to start my semesters,” Yang grinned knowingly at the linked tables, “with a Yang.” There was a collective groan from 90% of the table at that terrible pun, though a few found the delivery and reaction funny. Kaminari, and Mineta snickered, and Blake was half sure there’d been a very quiet snort from Shoji.

“Seriously?!” Bakugo looked downright appalled at the pun.

Nora meanwhile, tossed an apple that bounced off Yang’s noggin. “Booo!” Yang blinked in surprise at the impact, before turning a frown towards the grenadier.

“Hey!”

Ignoring Yang’s response and retaliation, Blake hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure, though I guess it depends what you have in mind,” she said to Ruby. “I was planning on reading my new book…” suddenly feeling some stares from certain members of class A, she then blushed and added, “as well as lend out some of my private collection to Mina, Toru and Momo.” The stares relented immediately, the girls satisfied.

Weiss blinked at that, looking at Yaoyorozu with stunned amazement. Weiss was aware that Blake had been recommending books, and sharing some from her collection with others, but she would never have pegged Momo for enjoying that kind of… literary taste.

Then again, it’s not like Weiss didn’t borrow a book from THAT series occasionally. Not that anybody needed to know that.

She quickly recovered, even as Yang chose to throw a crunchy roll at Nora. “Well I think, that whatever we decide to do, we should do it together. I did also want to readjust slightly how we use ‘Checkmate’…”

“You’re changing it again?” Shoto asked, pausing eating his breakfast to look at Weiss with open curiosity, “why would you do that? Wouldn’t that just be confusing?” Weiss smiled happily at the two toned boy, even as she was vaguely aware of Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren trying to hold back Nora.

“A point that’s come up before, and it's more refining the move than changing, really. But so long as we are all on the same page it should be…”

“Nora, no!” Something sailed past Yang, past Ruby and Weiss, past Midoriya and Ochaco and Tsu. It went all the way down, and struck…

“...Crazy-HaMMER!!!” Bakugo yelled, as a jam covered slice of toast flopped off his face, giving the impression of a bloodied serial killer. Nora for her part, looked guilty for her actions, while Jaune and the others had hands to various parts of their faces in shock.

Then Nora did the one thing that made it worse. She shifted the blame. “Mineta did it.”

“WHAT!?!” Mineta screeched in outraged indignation.

Things fell apart quickly from there.

Staff Lounge

“Must you stare at his behind?” whispered Glynda as discreetly as possible, her back to Aizawa as he talked with Mulberry and Oobleck at the coffee pot. Her colleague, Ann Greene, took a long sip from her own coffee mug, before using it to mask her own lips and low reply.

“No harm in window shopping, especially if he’s still on the market.” There was a momentary smirk and wink, before it vanished. Glynda fought the urge to sigh and shake her head.

[Port: “Ann Greene, Professor of Stealth and Security.”

“Semblance: Hawkeye. She can zero in on the most vulnerable spots an opponent has, meaning she can quickly deliver the most devastating strikes to end a fight.”

“Her weapon Silver Shrike is a set of hidden retractable blades on her forearms, perfect for stabbing and slashing.”

“Fun fact; She actually likes to write her own online stories under the alias ‘Gables,’ and if anybody asks, you didn’t hear it from me.”]

Ann took another sip before turning serious. “I can’t wait for the festival to be over,” she said, her voice still pitched low. “As much as I’m all about improving security and awareness, all the Atlas personnel and tech is making me feel like we’re being occupied.”

This time, Glynda did let out a small sigh. “Believe me, I know. James will always see a solid wall of eyes, guns and armour, and think that will be the best. To be fair, Ozpin did ask for aid here.”

“Oh I’m aware,” Ann nodded, setting down her mug on the counter. “That theft exposed a number of flaws we have on both Amity and Beacon alike. Aizawa’s been pointing out spots where he thinks having some cameras would be useful, and that feels so obvious in retrospect that I’m embarrassed I never thought of it.” She turned her gaze on Glynda, and there was a rare pensiveness in her expression that felt troubling. “The problem is, there’s a point when security doesn’t make you feel safe. It makes you more paranoid.”

“It’s only paranoia if it’s not true,” Aizawa’s voice got both their attention as he walked up. “And much like we’ve had to back home at UA, people need to understand that in this time of peace, we’ve gotten complacent to some degree or another.”

Glynda appraised the man, and compared him to when they first met. Shota looked more well rested. It was a subtle difference, given how the man liked to project an image of himself to the world, but Yagi had commented that Aizawa looked and sounded better of late. No doubt actually having a healthier sleep schedule helped.

Glynda had spent some time when she was a student (and even in the early years after graduation) travelling, and knew well what sleeping rough and light could do, and absolutely welcomed a proper bed when it became available. Aizawa meanwhile, had by his own choice largely slept most of his hero career in a sleeping bag, and rarely ever made use of his own agency building. Even when becoming a teacher, he had kept up a routine of grabbing quick naps when possible. What Glynda disagreed with was that he would do so in the classroom! She’d heard his reasoning, his ‘rational’ justifications, and she still found it appalling. So when Ozpin had agreed to give both Aizawa and Yagi some guest lecturer privileges, both she and the headmaster made it clear that Aizawa could not nap in class. Allowances were made for the lounge, but that was it.

But now, even after the massive battle weeks ago, Aizawa looked healthier. His eyes didn’t carry such heavy bags, and his hair was tied back in a way that made him look far more presentable.

“That being said,” Aizawa continued as he reached both Glynda and Ann, “I’ll admit to also feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the security arrangements. But I likely have some bias in that regard.”

Glynda adjusted her spectacles, making an agreeable noise as she consulted her scroll tablet, while Ann polietly responded. “You’re talking about preferring UA’s security, correct? What’s the approach your academy adopted?”

Aizawa hummed thoughtfully. “There’s admittedly a lot of automation, so we have that in common with Atlas,” he replied, “though it’s a lot more subtle than the Atlesian Knights. Hidden sensors and various defences that will go online depending on various factors detected when our security is breached.” He then made a very unsettling smile, one that Glynda felt uncomfortable to see. “The one time the press broke onto campus, they were lucky that the defences didn’t treat them as a more serious threat, or they’d been heavily restrained and have robots with taser arms coming to corral them. It’s an absolute shame that didn’t happen.”

Glynda rolled her eyes at that. Times like this, she could see Aizawa and Qrow Branwen getting along. Actually, Ozpin said that Qrow was on his way back to Beacon…, she couldn’t help frowning as she wondered where he was right now. If he was in trouble he could handle himself usually, but after what they’d fought in the Emerald Forest, she pondered if she shouldn’t try getting in contact to check where he was.

“I can understand that,” Ann leant back on the counter, but keeping her eyes on Aizawa, “that’s not too dissimilar to our outer defences, looking for signs of Grimm activity. But over reliance on automation can be a weakness in itself.”

“That’s a fair point,” the dark haired man conceded, and he must be well rested because he sounded in a fairly relaxed (for him) mood. “But one of the reasons Nezu insists on it is that there’s only so many people he trusts, or is willing to trust with the security of the school, and the welfare of the students. Even amongst pros, Nezu is especially careful when it comes to sharing details. I know that amongst the most recent upgrades, we could turn the barrier that normally shuts people out of the gateways, into a full on fortress on par with max security prisons. Don’t ask me how he got access to all of that, or even how it all works. The only answer I got when I asked him, was that it ‘was a good deal’ and ‘all part of the plan.’” The avian Faunus cocked an eyebrow at that, but chose to leave the subject be.

“Anyway,” Aizawa moved on, “I was hoping to ask both of you your thoughts on how to…”

“SENSEI!” Heads turned to the door, as Tenya Iida screeched to a halt, nearly knocking over Yagi who had only just arrived just a second before. The blonde skeleton coughed blood as he stepped back.

“Ack! Young Iida is here!” he recovered from his shock quickly and turned serious, “if you’re running through the halls then something is amiss. What’s the matter?”

Iida took a moment to catch his breath, all while bowing. “Apologies for the interruption, but members of staff are needed post haste in the dining hall! A battle is in progress between huntsmen teams, and even some members of 1-A!”

Aizawa frowned, even as he set aside his mug and moved toward his student with purpose. Oobleck winced as he saw it. “Oooh! I suspect that some students are about to receive some strikes.” Aizawa ignored that as he focused solely on Iida as he straightened.

“What kind of battle are we talking about Iida?”

The class rep of 1-A sighed in such a way, that Glynda immediately felt a measure of kinship. “A food fight, sensei. Teams RWBY and JNPR, along with a six of our own class, are tearing up the dining hall in a creative, yet utterly juvenile manner!”

Glynda set aside her scroll and grabbed her riding crop, even as she heard Aizawa groan. ‘What a way to start the second semester.”

Dining Hall – Just Outside

Sun and Penny arrived at the hall to find a surge of students rushing out the doors in a hurry. Sun saw Coco and Velvet trying to install some order as they exited, with Yatsuhashi and Fox helping up any who fell, keeping them from being crushed underfoot. They were all aided by members of class 1-A, but not all of them.

From inside the hall, there was the sounds of tables breaking, plates being smashed, and the splatter of food and drink hitting walls, windows and the floor. Also Bakugo explosions, and the mad hysterical laughter of Nora Valkyrie.

Sun zeroed in Tsu (noting how she looked pretty cute in her school uniform) and came to a skidding halt. “Tsu! What’s going on?”

The frog girl turned to him, finger to her chin. “Ribbit. Sun, and Polendina? It’s good to see you both, but you might want to stay back. Teams RWBY and JNPR are having a food fight. Bakugo and a few others are also participating, but it’s getting pretty intense.”

“A food fight?” Penny tilted her head and then turned her body to look through the window. “I am confused. How and why does one initiate a conflict with consumables?” Tsu shared a puzzled look with Sun a moment, when the others behind him arrived. At the same time, Midoriya and Uraraka shot out with some minor food stains on their person, but also carrying a few students out.

“That’s the last of them!” Midoriya declared, “and Shoto has the other side of the hall covered!” He set the boy and girl down, even as Uraraka released her Quirk. The students thanked them before jogging away. It was at this point Neptune spoke for the huntsmen who had just arrived.

“Okay, what is going on? Please?”

“Food fight,” Sun instantly replied. Neptune and the others of his team gave him an unimpressed look at that.

“And way more intense than any I’ve ever been in before,” Midoriya further explained, which got him some curious looks from his classmates.

“You’ve been in a food fight before, Midoriya?” Tokoyami asked in surprise, Dark Shadow emerging to help keep people back. Midoriya sighed.

“Once. Kindergarten. Might actually have been one of the only times Kacchan and I got along.” He looked round at the new arrivals. “Everyone please, stay back. As strange as it is to say, there is a good chance people could get hurt if they get caught in the middle of this.”

“These are the people you wanted to introduce us to, right?” Scarlet asked Sun. Wukong smiled excitedly in response.

“Yep! These guys are the coolest. No offence to you guys of course,” he quickly added.

“None taken,” Neptune replied casually as he stood next to Penny, peering through the nearest window, before jumping back as something splattered the glass.

Suddenly, from inside the hall, long streams of tape started covering the windows. Sage frowned. “What is that? Is that one of those Quirks?”

“Oh, I believe that is the tape produced by Hanta Sero, otherwise known as Cellophane.” Penny said helpfully. “Strange though, from this angle it would appear that he would be fairly high up, and lying horizontally in order to layer his tape across the windows like this.”

“Wait, Penny? You’re here too!” Uraraka finally caught sight of the girl, as Midoriya moved to the door and looked through before gasping… and then getting fried egg on his face.

“Deku!” Uraraka called, ignoring the confused looks of the visitors as she moved to help remove the food item, as well as gently pull him back. “Are you okay? What did you see?”

Midoriya wiped his face with his hand, but was smiling wide in amazement. “Sero found his Semblance,” he told them.

Sero

Hanta was NOT going to take the fall for this mess. As much as he loved his classmates and his team, he was not going to be party to something that would likely have Aizawa threaten expulsion over.

In the opening salvoes, the lines were quickly drawn. Even if Jaune and the others of team JNPR disagreed with Nora’s antics, they stood shoulder to shoulder with her when the food really started to fly. And for some reason, a few of his classmates sided with them, though Hanta would be dammed if he knew why. Hagakure had cackled as she tossed the contents of a fruit bowl, while Ashido backed her up, by threatening violence via pineapple. Like the whole pineapple! People treated that with the seriousness of if she had pulled a shotgun, given the way she was swinging it, skating around on her acid and grinning like a pink devil.

Most surprising for their side, Yaoyorozu had jumped in to lend aid. Nobody, not even any amongst class 1-A, had saw that one coming. It was at that moment, that Todoroki and Midoriya called for everyone to clear the hall, and Iida promised to run for the staff.

Not everybody moved to evacuate. Team RWBY, joined forces with Bakugo and Kirishima, and even a righteously ticked off Mineta, as the other side in this culinary conflict. And once they got started, then it really became dangerous for people to stick around. CRDL was among those caught in the crossfire, with Sero and Uraraka being the ones to pull them clear (It was a little funny though, he would admit, seeing the arrogant foursome looking like they lost a fight with a food blender).

Shoto, Midoriya and Shoji took charge along with CFVY and RSTR. It was Shoji who thought that given the strength, and powers of those fighting, it would be best to cover the windows as much as possible in case of shattered glass. And that’s what Hanta had been trying to do, even as people ran past him, and Nora cackled like a mad woman in the background, while Bakugo roared and spammed explosions ('Dammit Yang, now I'm making food puns!').

‘I need a better position,’ he gritted his teeth, as he shot a tape strand up to the ceiling, and then reeled himself up. A stray lemon came his way, forcing himself to swing to the wall to avoid it. Tutting to himself, he was about to reposition when he realised something; where his feet met the wall, he could see his Aura rippling, connecting him to the surface.

‘The hell…?’ Curious, he put a hand to the wall, and noticed the same effect, as well as the sense of adhering. Pushing his luck further, he disconnected the tape, leaving him sticking completely to the wall. His eyes went wide, before and amazed smile took over his face. “Well, what do you know? I’m really starting to emulate my idol of all things!” he tested moving around, and found that yes, his Semblance (for what else could it be) allowed him to wall crawl as well as simply adhere.

“Well, life gave me a lemon, that’s now led to this. Let’s put to good use!” He trusted his power, leaving only his feet sticking to the wall, while laying back and trying to ignore his instinct to stop defying gravity and grab fully onto the wall for support. He aimed his elbows, and shot off streams of tape, and thanks to the position and angle, he could cover the entire length of the hall! In no time at all, he had one side finished, and swiftly moved to the other. That done, he decided that it was time to retreat. Todoroki could use his ice on the left side to further prevent any accidental glass breaking (hopefully), so he should probably head out the same way MOAT, and MJKK had left.

The door was open, and he used a tape shot to swing through. “Close the doors!” he called out, and Midoriya and Yatsuhashi shut them behind him.

Hanta lay on his back, catching his breath when he spotted a hand being offered to him. “You good buddy?”

“Sun? Good to see you,” Hanta grinned as he accepted the Faunus’ aid. “Sorry, but breakfast might have to wait until this whole thing gets sorted out.” The blonde waved it off while beaming.

“It’s all good. Deku said you got your Semblance…”

“Is it really okay to call him that?” a black teen who looked like he played jazz in some blues bar on Friday night, asked aloud, a concerned frown clear to see on his face. Midoriya quickly resolved that misunderstanding.

“It’s short for Dekiru… actually, given the number of people misunderstanding my hero name, maybe I should just go by that.” He looked at Uraraka, who looked thoughtful before nodding.

“Yeah, that might be better.” She said with a slightly embarrassed smile, even as a lot of people around them became a little less tense. The jazz man amongst them.

“As in ‘I can do it,’ huh? I dig it.”

Sero tuned all that out as he looked back towards the hall. “Yeah, I found my Semblance, and I’m looking forward to practising with that later.” He looked about. “This your team? And is that Polendina?!”

“Sal-U-Tations!”

***

“♫~I’m Queen of the Castle! I’m Queen of the Castle!~♫” Nora sang as she stood atop a fortress of stacked up tables, her team strategically placed around her, and around the drinks and snack machines gathered at the base.

At the opposite end of the hall, Ruby Rose clutched a milk carton hard enough for the contents to squirt out. “Justice will be swift. Justice will be painful.” She punched the air as she yelled aloud, “IT WILL BE DELICIOUS!!!”

“DAMN RIGHT IT WILL BE!” Bakugo exclaimed with a hungry grin, one usually associated with psycho murderers. “PREPARE TO GET SERVED YOU EXTRAS! CONSIDER THIS YOUR JUST DESSERTS!!”

Behind both of them, the other huntresses, Kirishima and Mineta, all echoed Ruby punching the air while exclaiming their agreement. “YEAH!!”

Jiro and Kaminari

“Are you serious right now, Jamming-yayy?” Jiro asked in exasperation, only for her teammate to actually fix her with a serious glare.

“As far as we know, we are the first people from Earth on Remnant. No matter how bizarre the event, we should record it for prosperity and analysis.” Then he grinned slyly. “Plus, we could always give this to Present Mic. And when we graduate, he releases the footage with his own commentary. Even the principal would agree that this is essential!”

“...You’re hopeless,” Jiro shook her head, before looking back at the hall, before a wry smile took over. “Although, having some material to embarrass Bakugo and Ashido over might be good to have…”

“Need some help?” Both spun to find a bright and cheerful girl looking between them. “Name’s Neon. If it’s fun, maybe I can lend a hand, even get Flynt to join in.”

Kyoka looked Neon over, noting the tail, and the rollerblades. ‘Screw it, you only live once.’ She jerked a thumb at the hall. “Kaminari wants to record the fight for prosperity on our scrolls,” Kaminari nodded along with that.

“Maybe give some commentary just for a laugh?”

Neon’s eyes went wide, and then she tittered. “Oh that actually sounds like fun!” She then pulled out her own scroll. “Count me in!” Kyoka didn’t know if she was reassured or not as Neon called over her own teammate, but at this point, she’d already agreed.

‘Guess we’ll see how this plays out…’

The Battle

Inside the hall, Hagakure finished gathering watermelons, which Nora and the others quickly proceeded to hurl en-mass at the opposing side.

Ruby saw the fruity artillery incoming and made her call. “Yang! The Turkeys!” Immediately, her sister rushed forward and with a graceful hand-spring and flip, now procured the roasted birds as makeshift boxing gloves.

“Bakugo! Prepare a Pepper Spray!” The ash-blonde looked torn between yelling and just staring at her in confusion, before comprehension dawned and with an evil look in his eyes, rushed forward to get the ingredients needed.

“Red Riot! Red-Lobster! Push through and flank them!”

“I’m on it!” the boy yelled as he charged, not quite as agile and stylish as Yang, but still nabbing the armoured shellfish (a specimen that was as long as his forearm) and making an improvised mace out of it. “Let’s do this!” And with that, he and Yang began to counter the melon strike, splattering the fruit with every punch and swing.

Weiss meanwhile teamed up with Mineta. “Up for our counterattack?” she asked with her typical haughty confidence. Mineta gave her a thumbs up.

“Ready when you are!” With a thought, Glyphs appeared around the hall, and Mineta started hurling his pop-off balls at them, his accuracy placing his purple hair spheres right in the centre. Grabbing two grapefruit, one in each hand, Mineta let Weiss project him at speed between her glyphs, his own balls helping him rebound even faster. In an instant, he was above Nora and Ashido.

“Eat my GRAPEFRUIT RUSH!” he yelled as he hurled his ammunition, smacking both women hard enough to knock them on their butts.

Meanwhile, there came a break in the melons raining down on her, and Yang punched like she would with Ember Celica, shooting the turkeys off her hands and towards Jaune who flinched and held up his hands… only to blink when he barely felt the impact. “Huh?” he looked at Yang who had paused herself in surprise, then looked at his hands, glowing white. “Is this… my Sembla…?”

“HEY ARC!” He looked up and went pale as Bakugo literally descended from above, knocking him off his feet, and then having a selection of chilli peppers shoved down his throat. “Chew, then swallow!” Bakugo instructed, hand over Jaune’s face as he grinned like a devil. Jaune tried to break his grip, even as he began to break into a sweat.

‘Those peppers…! Oh no!’

“Personally, I find these acceptable,” Bakugo commented, as Jaune’s face turned red, even as he tried throwing off the younger boy, “but then again, I’m made of sterner stuff. I wonder if you like it hot?” Jaune’s mouth felt like it was on fire! His eyes were watering! Thankfully, Ren came to the rescue, a pair of leeks in hand as he smacked away Bakugo, and Jaune could start to breathe again. Though maybe it was his own imagination, but it certainly felt like he’d shot a jet of flame two feet high from his mouth!

“...Milk… Milk!!”

“Think you can take me?” Bakugo yelled at Ren, even as Yaoyorozu pulled out a modified T-Shirt cannon, using it to fire hand-loaded crunchy breakfast rolls at Mineta, one round striking him in mid air and sending him all the way back to the far end.

“Not alone,” the taciturn teen replied, as a naked Hagakure showed up with two pitchers of water. Bakugo’s grin turned became slightly strained as he guessed what was coming.

“Warp Refraction… Say Cheese!” Even as she pulled out her special move, Hagakure tossed the pitchers contents Bakugo’s way. Between her Quirk, and how the light reflected off the liquid and the ice cubes within, Bakugo was temporarily blinded, but he instinctively dodged the next attacks by using his explosions to push him back. Hagakure tossed the empty pitchers to the side, and began pitching oranges and lemons that been scattered about previously.

Pyrrha Nikos had picked up a baguette, and charged forward, met by Kirishima with his lobster. “Leeetttsss GO!” he yelled, even as the bread in her hands did not yield. Pyrrha knew better than to try and win a contest of raw strength against Red Riot’s might. So she pivoted, letting him swing wildly and impotently, deflecting his attacks, but striking with precision whenever there was an opening.

“Not using your hardening?” She asked even as he endured another spear jab to the face.

“Nah. Need more practice with my Aura. Though if Nora gets serious…”

“That would be wise,” Pyrrha smiled and Kirishima matched it. No matter how this started, they were friends, and right now, they were having fun sparring with no steaks. Then Pyrrha mentally chuckled as she realised the pun she had accidentally made in her head.

Weiss had moved up to Bakugo, shooting out ketchup and mustard onto the floor, making the advancing Hagakure and Ren slip up. Yang moved past to grab the turkeys again, while Blake hopped over, grabbing her own baguettes to serve as swords. Ruby for her part, was skating on a serving tray like she was snowboarding, a spare under her arm that she switched for, when she made a jump and sent the one she had been riding out towards Jaune.

Jaune put his arms up defensively, and once again while he felt the impact, it felt reduced. Even the burning sensation in his mouth was dimming, though he still had a runny nose and tears. “I found it… I found my Semblance!” he cheered even as he was bathed in the white light of his aura.

“Way to go Jaune!” Ruby cheered, even as she assaulted Pyrrha with the second tray, forcing her to back flip away from Kirishima.

It was then that Jaune got an idea, as he noted the metal tray, and Pyrrha, along with the drinks and snack machines behind him. He rushed back towards his team’s starting lines, even as Ashido slid past, pineapple in her arms, a mischievous smile on her pink face even as she advanced on Weiss. Jaune shoulder checked the middle drinks machine, hitting it hard enough to force the cans to fall out.

“Pyrrha!” He called out, “Soda Parade! Make it rain!” Pyrrha looked confused a moment before seeing the cans, and then understanding bloomed. She immediately moved to his position and dropped her make shift ‘sword.’

Nora had jumped high enough to rip out a metal pole, and then used it combined with an intact melon, to make an improvised hammer. She was already tackling Kirishima, who wisely activated his Quirk. Sadly, it didn’t keep him in the fight, as Nora managed a might swing that sent him skyward, and right through the ceiling!!

“Kiri!” Ashido paused in fighting, pineapple turned into pizza slice toppings from Weiss wielding a swordfish. Thankfully, Weiss chose to also not press an attack, staring incredulously at the ginger.

Even Bakugo paused to gasp, staring at the hole. “Hey! He’d better be…!”

“He had his Quirk up,” Nora reassured, “plus, you should know just how tough he is. I could do the same to Yang, and she doesn’t have hardening.”

“Fair point,” Yang said, as she suddenly showed up behind Nora, and smacked her with a turkey fist, making the hyperactive hammerer yelp in surprise.

Bakugo and Ashido shared a look, before nodding, and then squirting each other with condiments (hot sauce for Bakugo, and vinegar from Ashido).

Yaoyorozu for her part was having a hard time getting a bead on Blake, as she simply used a shadow clone to avoid any hit that got too close, all the while forcing the heiress back. Then she saw Pyrrha on her knee, Jaune laying a hand on her shoulder, and BOTH their aura’s shining brightly. She couldn’t stop staring in awe, as every metal object in the room jerked… and began to rise! Cans of soda, knives and forks. The remaining poles that usually hung banners rattled in the walls, as Pyrrha went beyond, and sent forth a metallic storm!

Outside, Penny suddenly had a moment of panic, as her own body shifted! Thankfully, her friends from team MOAT were there to steady her, but all of them saw the event, and while no conclusions were made, their minds did make a connection to what was happening within.

“GodDAMMIT!!” Bakugo used his explosions defensively, batting away cans and dining implements, as did the others, but there was so much that there was little defence they could do. Several dozen cans hit Mineta with so much force, that it sent him flying hard into a pillar, and actually broke it!

Ruby seeing the danger, rushed to catch him before he touched the ground. “Hey? You okay?” She whispered. Mineta opened an eye and gave her a thumbs up. Relieved, Ruby then went full ham. “Mineta? No! He was so young… he never even got to kiss a girl!!!”

'Sure, just rub salt in my wound why don't you?' Mineta joked in his head.

“Give him to me,” Weiss came over, spattered with sauces, juice and other food bits. “I’ll look after him.” Ruby, still maintaining a teary expression, softly handed the dwarf’s body to her partner.

Performance over, Ruby then took a check on her side, wincing when she saw that her team had been largely knocked ass over tea-kettle. Kirishima hadn’t yet returned, and with Weiss tending to Mineta, only Bakugo was back on his feet.

Alright. If Pyrrha and the others were going beyond, so could she. “Bakugo,” she said, her face set and determined as she eyed JNPR and their allies regrouping, “keep the others safe.” The explosive boy looked like he might argue, but then grimaced and bit his tongue.

“Whatever you’re planning, make it count!” Ruby nodded, as she took a running crouch. He meanwhile blasted over to Yang and Blake (disentagling themselves from a string of sausages) and pulled both back behind the red cloaked girl.

‘Speed… I am speed. I am a leaf on the wind… No. I am a bullet.’ Her cloak started to rise behind her, and petals began to fall away from her person. ‘I am a bullet in a rifle, and all I need to do…’

‘...is fire.’

It was the general consensus amongst the heroes and huntsmen that in terms of pure speed, the fastest was Tenya Iida. His Turbo move still hadn’t been clocked, but even Ruby knew that raw power his engines gave him when using that move, made him faster than her. But in the dining hall that day, in that one singular moment… She surpassed him!

Everyone who witnessed the fight swore that they heard a rifle shot when she moved, that she became a streak of red that if you blinked you would miss, already hitting the other side of the hall before the others had even processed she had gone, and leaving a crater in the stone and brick.

And in her wake, a storm of her own making chased her. The tailwind pulled up every bit of debris, every table and crumb, every plate and cup and it hit JNPR’s team like a tsunami! The windows cracked, and had it not been for Sero’s efforts, might well have shattered fully. Before her high-speed attack could catch her in it’s wrath, Ruby leapt high, reaching the rafters before her opponents were smacked into the wall, and had everything else crash into them.

It lasted only a few seconds. For those who were caught, it felt like a lifetime. When it was over, Ruby dropped from above, landing on her feet, before taking in her handiwork. A multicoloured spatter covered the wall, like some artistic expressionist mural. Then the seven bodies slid from where they had been pinned, and hit the ground, leaving only bare silhouettes on the wall to show where they had been.

The room was silent in the wake of this before it was broken by the doors opening and class 1-A rushing in, staring in awe. “Ruby? How did…?” Izuku tried to ask.

Ruby chuckled, a little self conscious after that. She did find Bakugo’s shell shocked face a little funny. His facial muscles were twitching, and it was hard to tell if he was impressed to the point of wanting to laugh, or annoyed that she’d basically single-handedly won the whole fight.

Actually knowing Bakugo, it was probably both.

“Oh no!” Hagakure squealed, drawing some looks… which then led to everyone looking away for the poor girl’s benefit. All the food and drink stains had made her flattering body very visible to all, including her hair. “Yaomomo! I need a blanket, please!”

“Don’t worry, Toru,” Yaoyorozu quickly fashioned a large blanket that Hagakure swiftly wrapped around her self.

Then Kirishima crashed back down, a heavy crack echoing as he hit the ground. Everyone looked a little worried at first, but then he sat up, his Quirk very much active and he threw his hands up high and shouted, “I’M ALIVE!!”

“Kiri!” Ashido, despite being covered to the point you could barely see her pink skin, leapt on him to deliver a crushing hug, and Bakugo finally huffed a sigh of relief, before berating the boy for being taken out of the fight so easily. Kirishima blushed from the attention and response, chuckling in mild embarrassment.

“Well, that was fun,” Nora said then with calm nonchalance. Then she burped loudly, and suddenly, everyone was laughing.

Honestly though, Ruby felt free as she laughed and clapped her friends on the back. For a moment, there was no secret conflicts, or other-worlds. There was just her, and the friends she had made, having the wildest food fight ever! No hard feelings, not even from Mineta, who laughed and cheered side by side with Nora.

And then the deputy headmistress walked in, followed by Aizawa, All Might, and even Ozpin.

‘Uh oh.’

***

“Children,” Goodwitch said with a disapproving scowl, even as she used telekinesis to fix the hall in a matter of seconds. “Please, do not play with your food.” Aizawa stepped up beside her looking mildly furious.

“Would any of you care to enlighten us as to what you all thought you were doing?” The teams looked amongst each other before Nora sighed heavily and held up a hand.

“I started it.”

Yang sighed, mirroring Nora. "We, started it."

Bakugo looked off to the side. “I escalated.”

Ruby rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Y-yeah, and then, it kind of evolved from there.”

“You mean devolved, Ruby.” Weiss corrected. Her team leader shrugged.

“Eh. To-may-to, To-mato.”

Yaoyorozu shook her head before gently saying, “that’s not quite the same thing.”

Aizawa stared at them all, unimpressed.

Jaune coughed into his fist, bravely (or foolishly, depending on who you asked) and flinched when Aizawa turned his gaze upon him. “Ahem… sir? I feel the need to inform you that, myself and one of your students discovered our semblances during this.”

“He’s right,” Aizawa turned to see some of his students, standing behind him. Kaminari and Jiro held out their scrolls. Jiro seemed nervous, but kept talking. “Sero was spotted by Midoriya clinging to the walls…” the boy in question nodded and held up a thumbs up, “...and Jaune demonstrated… I’m not entirely sure to be honest, but Kaminari and I got it recorded.”

All Might chose to accept their scrolls for review, while Aizawa queried, “And why were you recording this?”

“So there would be a record,” Kaminari answered, a bit of cold sweat on his brow but he kept going. “Some of us have been keeping diaries and video records of our training. Since the hall had been evacuated, I figured we could record the event. So that you and Nezu could review back at UA.”

“You planned to show this to the principal?” Ashido asked, genuinely surprised. A few others also looked taken aback by this.

“Yeah, and Present Mic too. I just figured that even as a food fight, it should be documented. Plus, we totally saw Ruby’s awesome move at the end there!” He then flashed a grin at the young huntress. “Like, how did you manage to go so fast, that you weaponised the air pressure? How long has that been part of your moves?”

“...Pretty much just now?” Ruby replied with a nervous laugh.

Aizawa, sighing into his scarf, took control of the conversation. “Enough. Arc, Sero, congratulations on discovering your semblances, but don’t think that gets either of you off the hook.”

“HEY!” Bakugo yelled, defensively, “Tape-Arms had no part in the fight! He went out his way to tape up the windows to minimise damage!” Ashido and the others nodded, looking a little offended at the accusation towards Cellophane.

“...I see. I apologise for jumping to conclusions,” Aizawa looked over at Sero. “In that case, good work on keeping the fight contained,” his gaze moved over the others from 1-A, “and evacuating the hall.” There was a collective sigh of relief as the class A teens slumped, knowing they were not in trouble.

At least, not the ones who were outside during the skirmish.

“As for the rest of you,” he turned his attention back on the condemned, “did any of you stop to think that this stunt might have triggered a security alert?”

“It did?” Yaoyorozu and Pyrrha exclaimed together, both surprised by this reveal. The group’s expressions paled as Ozpin nodded, confirming it.

“The panicked students fleeing the hall, as well as others efforts to help evacuate and contain your fight, almost had Atlas troopers and Atlesian Knights sent in. Had Iida not informed Goodwitch, Yagi and Aizawa, and had I not personally assured the General that we had things in hand, we’d be having this talk elsewhere.” The implication that they would be detained by Atlas forces put a shiver down everyone’s spines.

“Lucky for you, that’s not what happened,” Aizawa spoke again. “Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc. You and your teams have earned your first strike.” Both leaders winced, and looked aghast at each other and their team members. Guiltily, they nodded and accepted the punishment.

Aizawa then turned to his students, Hagakure and Ashido squeaking in fear at his attention. The others were simply resigned to their fate. “For my own students, you’re not expelled, but I expect you to clean the hall, for the next three days.”

“That sucks,” Kirishima said, “but it’s also fair.” None of the others argued against that.

“As for teams RWBY and JNPR,” Goodwitch spoke once more, “they’ll be serving detention in another fashion…”

Later…

“So, there I was, in the middle of the night,” Port began, while the young huntsmen and huntresses cleaned his classroom. “Surrounded by a pack of hungry beowolves…” Nora listened to this with an expression of absolute defeat. Ren patted her on the shoulder, and gently guided her back to work.

From the doorway, Aizawa, All Might and Goodwitch all watched. Aizawa had one of his sadistic smiles as he observed. “Well, this is a far more productive use of their energy,” he remarked. Glynda shook her head (though whether that was at what he said, or towards the students, it was hard to say), and collectively the three left the troublemakers to their punishment.

“We have some positives to take away,” All Might offered as they walked. “The kids’ Aura control is improving, or we’d have more serious injuries amongst them. Young Sero being able to climb up walls gives him more options on verticality without necessarily relying on his tape. We’ll have to find a safe way to test to see if he can cling to ceilings too.”

Goodwitch sighed. “How do you manage to keep a positive outlook after what they did? Both our students are supposed to be the defenders of the world.”

“True, but they are still technically children.” All Might’s reply made Aizawa think of a conversation with Ozpin, prior top the Emerald Siege. The headmaster had said something very similar along those lines. “And they have been through a pretty stressful battle. It doesn’t excuse the damage and trouble caused, of course, but it should be taken into consideration.”

“As for staying positive, well,” the man paused, rubbing his neck, “that’s always been my role. I’m the symbol of peace, and with everything that’s happened since our arrival, it’s important to stand tall and find things to help everyone smile.”

Aizawa stopped and hummed thoughtfully at that. “You have a point All Might,” he began, looking at his colleague, “and maybe now, more than ever, we need you to be that positive figurehead.” Yagi and Goodwitch gave Aizawa their full attention as he continued. “Yes, there are some positives to take from this. The fact that the students can fight each other, and yet smile and embrace afterwards… they’re resilient. Their bonds between each other are strong. And we continue to see the students push themselves, and discover their potential. But there’s another side to what happened out there that worries me.”

Glynda pushed up her specs. “And that would be?”

“Of all the people to join in on the food fight, I never would have expected Yaoyorozu and Bakugo.” Aizawa answered. “Bakugo might talk and act like a delinquent, but outside of a few instances, he typically keeps to the rules. He doesn’t want to risk ruining his goal of becoming the number one hero, so I would have thought that taking part in something like this would actually be beneath him.”

All Might cupped his chin. “I see. And while young Miss Schnee also participated, Yaoyorozu taking part is very surprising.” He frowned, considering the matter a moment before continuing. “Do you think they were purely acting out of stress?”

“That would be the most rational explanation,” Aizawa agreed, “but not simply because of the battles. We’ve been here long enough the newness has worn off. We’ve already seen signs amongst the students that they miss home, not being able to contact their families. For 1-A, at the very least, we might be looking at the start of something worse.”

“Should we increase the counselling sessions?” Goodwitch’s suggestion was met with a nod from Aizawa.

“All Might and I will also work to be more available to them. Keep them up to date… and we’re going to have to confront that one issue, eventually.” Aizawa gave a meaningful look at Yagi at that. The skeletal blonde sighed, but didn’t argue.

They’d promised to be more open with the students where possible, but All Might was still figuring out the best way to approach bringing up what Arc, his team and MOAT had found through ‘X-Ray & Vav’ comics. Being trapped in another reality was enough to start an existential crisis, but this could be worse if it wasn’t handled right.

With all that said, the three continued walking away from the classroom, and the unhappy huntsmen within.

Guest Dorms, Cinder's Room

Cinder Fall was not happy. She’d been fairly confident in infiltrating Beacon, but with the outworlders arrival, things had become more complex.

Her lackeys had filled her in on what they knew, and Cinder focused on those who could potentially compromise them, even if by accident. There were two with enhanced hearing, one that could command animals, and one who was invisible 24/7. These four alone would complicate matters, but the extra security that Ironwood had brought in added it’s own problems.

She sat in her guest dorm room, considering everything that Emerald and Mercury had told her. The pair, sat on the bed opposite, awaiting her word. “I don’t like to admit it,” she finally said, “but we may well have to abandon Beacon before the tournament.” Both her lackeys eyes went wide at that, Emerald seeming the most confused. So Cinder explained why. “We’re not abandoning the mission, but it’s clear that we can’t operate the way we want without potentially attracting the wrong kind of attention. Your semblance, Emerald, won’t work on cameras or Ironwood’s tin soldiers, and with these hero students having abilities that could circumvent even your hallucinations…” the green haired girl looked down sullenly at that, “...that makes stealth far harder.”

That of course, didn’t even take into account the whole reason Ironwood had expanded security was because of a theft that Emerald had made. She might not have been caught, but the theft being noticed undermined their efforts in subterfuge. Why couldn’t Emerald have been patient and waited for Cinder herself to arrive before trying to procure that spray?

Cinder stood up. “By the big dance, we have to have completed the objective of getting Watt’s ‘Black Queen’ virus into the CCT main network. It has to be there.” Why it couldn’t be introduced elsewhere, like Haven’s CCT for example and have it spread from there, Cinder had no idea, but she wasn’t about to ask that insufferable know-it-all to find out. “So, we keep watch, stay low, and wait for our opportunity. But make sure that we are ready to run.”

“Yes, Cinder,” Emerald dutifully answered while Mercury nodded.

“Let us hope nothing else happens that will disrupt phase two…”

Roman, Vale

“Of all the luck!” Roman hissed, as he and Neo, along with three Fang chumps, realised their target was gone. The book store was practically turned upside down in their search, but there wasn’t any sign of the owner anywhere.

“Adam is not going to like this,” said one brilliant specimen, and Roman turned on him.

“Oh really? You think?!” The imbecile flinched, and moved away. Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “I told Adam I was better suited for helping move those weapons and Paladins we swiped. But no! We have to catch a rat in his organisation.”

“Actually…” By the Brothers, the same imbecile from before had even more insightful wisdom to share! “...I’m pretty sure his traits are those of a big cat.”

“What, like a Puma?” Oh gods now the others were joining in. That was it, Roman was done.

“We’re leaving.” He strode towards the door, Neo patiently waiting for him there. “Please try not to leave any evidence we were here.”

As Roman stormed off from Tukson’s book trade, he was unaware of being observed. From a rooftop that gave a decent overlook of the store and the street it was on, Ilia watched them leave, and scowled.

[Cue Outro 1]

1^st Outro (Season 2): Death Parade Homage

[Authors note; Okay so compared to last season where we got some character focus on the cast – Reflections of their past and motivations etc. this is more just a fun imagine spot. Go look up Death Parade’s opening; Flyers by BRADIO, and you’ll understand. Enjoy!]

[Camera zooms in on a club in a city. The doors open as the camera approaches, showing off the Hero and Huntsmen cast standing for a group shot. All are dressed in smart attire, looking like they could be both patrons, employees (or even both) of the establishment.]

[Cut to: Shot of Izuku Midoriya tending bar, cleaning a glass, while Ochaco Uraraka sips a cocktail.]

[Cut to: Yang and Blake sit off to one side, sharing a drink and a laugh (note- Blake’s cat ears are exposed). Behind them, Sun pulls a funny pose as he skids across the floor behind them, with Iida in hot pursuit for his actions.]

[Cut to: A Billiards Pool table, where Ren lines up a shot, while Sero waits his turn patiently.]

[Cut to: A Bowling alley, where Sato and Nora demolish their pins with great gusto!]

[Cut to: Jaune hitting the triple 60 at the darts board, with Pyrrha cheering him on, while Ojiro applauds his opponent, and Kaminari and Mineta exclaim in awed shock.]

[Cut to: Air Hockey Table, where Ruby and Weiss face off against Bakugo and Kirishima. Both sides are fiercely determined to win, their own way.]

[Cut to: A Card table, where Aizawa is the dealer, and Qrow slumps at the bad hand he’s been dealt.]

[Cut to: All Might standing with open arms before a table of other games, while behind him a dance floor is filled with silhouette party goers, and stained glass windows line the way, depicting other characters (on the left is Froppy, then Koda holding his rabbit. On the right, Ozpin stands to attention, cane and coffee mug in hand, and Penny surrounded by a halo of light).]

“~Boom, Boom, Boom~”

[Cut to: Team RWBY and MOAT swinging by, a crystal chandelier in the background.]

[Cut to: Mina Ashido dominating a ‘Disco, Disco, Evolution!’]

[Cut to: Shoji working the bar, multiple arms spread out, before team CFVY reveals themselves from behind him, clapping their hands.]

“~Boom, Boom, Boom~”

[Cut to: Invisible Hagakure shakes her skirt in front of the camera.]

[Cut to: Tai releasing Zwei from his arms (the corgi wearing a black bow tie), while Yaoyorozu and Jiro in party dresses, spin together on the dance floor, as a platform starts to rise up…]

~“Everybody...”~

[Camera rises to the top of the platform. Beneath a sparkling Aoyama in a disco ball, Izuku and Ochaco dance, while Ruby speeds past and around them leaving a trail of petals.]

[Tracking Ruby: Other platforms are rising with people dancing on them. Ruby passing Weiss and Shoto, accidentally knocking off Sun and Ojiro where they were dancing with Blake and Yang. Sun being safely caught by Tsu on the next platform, and Hagakure somehow pulling off a princess carry with Ojiro. Beneath them, Ren and Nora, Jaune and Pyrrha along with Momo, Jiro jamming with Kaminari, and Ashido with Kirishima.]

[Cut to: a courtyard terrace, where Qrow sips a whiskey, while noticing a Raven watching.]

[Cut to: Outside the club, Cinder Fall, Emerald, Mercury, Roman and Neo pose and smirk as they look at the establishment.]

“Flying…”

[Cut to: Tracking shot of Ochaco and Izuku floating in the air, holding hands before falling back to be caught by their friends, Ruby and her team leading a cheer that everyone echoes.]

[Outro Ends]

Next Time, on Paragons of Virtue and Glory…

[Ironwood: “If I may have your attention, the preview is about to begin.”]

[Aizawa: “There’s a lot to keep track of, so try to keep up your situational awareness.”]

[Ironwood: “There’s a series of two vs two matches, allowing students to show new skills and equipment.”]

[Aizawa: “And there’s people coming to meet you… Anything I should know about?”]

[Ironwood: “Only that I’m doing all I can to protect Beacon, Vale and of course, Atlas and Remnant as a whole. We must be prepared, don’t you agree?”]

[Aizawa: “...Sure.”]

[Ironwood: “Next time – ‘Weapons Part 1 – That Which we Wield.’”]

[Aizawa: “That just means the support items the students use… right?”]

Chapter Text

Episode 32.5: Food Fight – The Unseen Moments

“Nora, no!” Something sailed past Yang, past Ruby and Weiss, past Midoriya and Ochaco and Tsu. It went all the way down, and struck…

“...Crazy-HaMMER!!!” Bakugo yelled, as a jam covered slice of toast flopped off his face, giving the impression of a bloodied serial killer. Nora for her part, looked guilty for her actions, while Jaune and the others had hands to various parts of their faces in shock.

Then Nora did the one thing that made it worse. She shifted the blame. “Mineta did it.”

“WHAT!?!” Mineta screeched in outraged indignation.

Things fell apart quickly from there.

Making Time for Old Friends

Yang took note of how people reacted, though she largely put it to the back of her mind to think about later. At first, there was confusion and curiosity. Then as things got more heated, then they started to get nervous. When Bakugo murdered the buffet table holding the cereal (heh, a cereal killer,) and people started taking stray shots from margarine and butter packets, then they began to back up.

It took Coco, Iida, Shoji and RSTR to finally get it through people’s heads to scram, and that led to panic. Thank gods for the competent upper-classmen and the hero course doing everything they could to keep people from trampling each other.

Yang meanwhile was dodging pickles (who brought out pickles to breakfast? Who?!) and vaulted over a table-turned-barricade, and found a pair of familiar faces. “Tifa?”

“Hey Yang,” Tifa Locke greeted as she sat with her back to the table, her partner Hollandaise ‘Holiday’ Barrett of team AVLH, peeking over before ducking down to save himself from being ‘beaned.’ “Looks like you and your team are having fun.” Tifa knew Yang from Signal. They were friends, but once they had been sorted into teams at initiation, Yang hadn’t really seen them much in a social sense. Tifa was a brawler like Yang, though she favoured a lot more kicks. She had long black hair, and a bust that was equal to the blonde's. They’d clicked the moment they had first met.

Holiday was taller, had dark brown skin, and was along the lines of Yatsuhashi in terms of build. Yang and Ruby never asked about why he had a prosthetic right hand (the answer was likely not pleasant, and most likely tied to why he was aiming to be a huntsman), but he never let that stop him. He was also a big ol’ softie who couldn’t stop showing people pictures of his red cat he named ‘Fur-teen.’ Even Aizawa had seen the pictures, and hadn’t really complained, outside of how the timing wasn’t great when in a lesson.

“Sorry about this,” Yang rubbed the back of her neck, “not what any of us had planned for today, I swear.”

Tifa shrugged with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, me and Holiday have been feeling bad because we haven’t tried hanging out since before initiation.”

“Yeah,” Holiday agreed. “We could have taken some time outside of the usual classes to catch up.” Yang snorted and shook her head.

“Hey, we both have teams with new people now. You’ve got to have their backs too. Plus,” Yang indicated with a spread of her arms towards the hero course helping evacuate people, “we’ve had a wild and extraordinary first semester. So how about we see about hanging out later, or at least sharing some combat sparring?”

Tifa hummed, mock-considering it before offering a fist and a hungry grin. “I’m sure I could figure something out.” Yang met her fist with her own, tapping knuckles before pulling back.

“Hey!” There was a green flash, and then Izuku Midoriya was there, sparks of emerald lightning across his body as he crouched near them, Tsu right on his heels. “Does anyone need a hand getting clear?”

Yang met Tifa’s eyes and grinned. “I mean, if you want to join in…?”

“Nah,” Tifa said, “what’s that saying? ‘Too many cooks…’ or something along those lines?” Yang shrugged, though she knew what her friend was getting at.

“Yeah, we’ll take an exit,” Holiday told the two green haired teens, “but I was looking for our teammates, Vance Cloud and Angelica Gainsborough. You seen them?”

“Ribbit, I think so,” Tsu pointed towards the doors that Todoroki and Sato were ushering people through. “I think Cloud was carrying Gainsborough, but I don’t think she was injured.”

“Yeah that tracks,” Tifa rolled her eyes before getting up. “We’ll make our own way out, you two help the others.”

“Got it!” Izuku said, briefly locking eyes with Yang who gave him a thumbs up, before she was rushing out from cover, drawing JNPR’s attention.

Izuku watched with a mixture of admiration, amusement and frustration at Yang’s behaviour, but he couldn’t dwell on it long. “Deku,” Tsu said putting a hand on his arm, and pulling him from his over thinking. “There’s two people under the tables over there, can you get them? I’ll go help keep the doors open”

“I’m on it!” he replied, managing his best smile, before leaping away.

Coming to you Live...

“Are you serious right now, Jamming-yayy?” Jiro asked in exasperation, only for her teammate to actually fix her with a serious glare.

“As far as we know, we are the first people from Earth on Remnant. No matter how bizarre the event, we should record it for prosperity and analysis.” Then he grinned slyly. “Plus, we could always give this to Present Mic. And when we graduate, he releases the footage with his own commentary. Even the principal would agree that this is essential!”

“...You’re hopeless,” Jiro shook her head, before looking back at the hall, before a sly smile took over. “Though, having some material to embarrass Bakugo and Ashido over might be good to have…”

“Need some help?” Both spun to find a bright and cheerful girl looking between them. “Name’s Neon. If it’s fun, maybe I can lend a hand, even get Flynt to join in.”

Kyoka looked Neon over, noting the tail, and the rollerblades. ‘Screw it, you only live once.’ She jerked a thumb at the hall. “Kaminari wants to record the fight for prosperity on our scrolls,” Kaminari nodded along with that.

“Maybe give some commentary just for a laugh?” Neon’s eyes went wide and then she tittered.

“Oh that actually sounds like fun!” She then pulled out her own scroll. “Count me in!” Kyoka didn’t know if she was reassured or not as she called over her own teammate, but at this point, she’d already agreed.

‘Guess we’ll see how this plays out…’

“Yo. Name’s Flynt Coal, Neon’s partner.” A dark skinned and handsome boy, with a pretty cool fashion sense, offered his hand. Kaminari was the first to take it, Jiro following after. “So, how are we going to do this?”

“I figure two of us go to one side of the hall,” Kaminari suggested, “and the other two stays at this end, We’ll have to find a good spot to film through the tape, and if it gets too much, we pull out.”

“Especially if it gets loud,” Jiro moved her lobes so that Neon and Flynt could see. “These help me hear better than normal, but if it gets super loud, it’s gonna drop me.”

“I dig it. I’m a musician, so I think I can track the rhythm and flow to have an inkling. You got a name?”

“Jiro,” she jerked her head at the electric blonde. “He’s Kaminari, also known as 'Chargebolt' or Jamming-yayy. If Neon’s okay with sticking with him…?”

The bright cat faunus beamed. “No problem! Team FNKI never miss a beat!” And suddenly, she grabbed Kaminari by the arm, pulling him away and leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

“...Okay,” Jiro found a spot and set herself in a crouch, extending her lobes out to tap the stone and earth, feeling the sound vibrations travel through them. She held out her scroll towards Flynt. “If I keep track of the fight like this, can you…?”

“No worries, Jacks,” Flynt smiled as he took it. “I’m happy to handle a recording session.”

“Cool,” Jiro turned her focus to the fight as watermelons were tossed en mass. “And away we go...”

Chargebolt

“Well it seems that JNPR is feeling fruity,” Denki quipped, and Neon giggled.

“I wonder if this will count as part of their five-a-day?” Denki chuckled. This girl was alright in his book. He was also really glad for a distraction. He’d been a bit jumpy around even the mention of spiders for a few days... and he was also missing home.

His parents were both largely laid back in nature (his mother was maybe a bit more strict than his father) but they had been nervous after the USJ. And when the big battle in Kamino happened. They still trusted UA, happily agreeing with Aizawa and All Might when they came round to talk about him moving into the dorms. He bet they were worried about him, and looked forward to seeing them if when they got back.

Maybe he’d be allowed to show them the footage of the food fight? That might make them laugh and feel a little better about him being isekaied. Then again, would UA and the government allow him to share this, or would he and his classmates be taken to some facility and forever classified? Ozpin hadn’t done that to them here, but given some of the conspiracy theories he’d heard about the HPSC, he wasn’t so sure they’d be as open about travel between worlds.

His thoughts on that were interrupted when Neon pointed out something happening. He’d actually spaced out for a good few seconds there. Not good. Mr Aizawa would chew him out for not paying constant attention. “So what’s Pinky there doing with that pineapple?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied, “but given how she was threatening it earlier… well some might prefer their pineapple on pizza rather than where the sun don’t shine!” Neon’s eyes went wide, before she broke into nervous laughter.

“W-well, she sure has some moves. Does she dance?” Denki’s grin went wide.

“Oh you’d better believe it…!”

Those Evacuated...

Iris Marilla felt a little embarrassed at needing help from the younger teens from 1-A. Then again, she also felt embarrassed at not better handling being caught in the crossfire of two first year teams having a food fight (albeit, a fairly intense and impressive one).

She wasn’t alone in this, judging by the look on Castor’s face, but thankfully he didn’t look resentful either. Midoriya and Uraraka had been kind and helpful, and Iris felt sure they would grow up to be fine heroes. Or Maybe fine huntsmen, if they couldn’t find a way back, though that was a slightly sad thought to have, even if it was realistic.

How could she and Castor improve? What if this had been an actual emergency? Iris liked to believe that she would have handled things better, especially with her weapon to hand. But life, and the Grimm, rarely made things fair, did they? Maybe later she’d ask her team about how they could push themselves.

Her thoughts were broken when one of the loud hero students was smashed through the roof, and still going higher!

Reunited with Penny

Just after Sero had pulled himself out of the hall, Izuku, Ochaco, Tsu and Fumikage gathered to properly greet Penny. “We’ve been worried about you,” Izuku said, “everyone has asked after you, but either nobody knew anything, or refused to tell us.” Ochaco bobbed her head, while clenching her fists.

“Yeah, all of us wanted to thank you, and Ruby has said she’s been hoping to catch up and talk.”

Penny beamed at them. “I’m terribly sorry for the distress. I am well, and combat ready. I also have been looking forward to spending more time with Ruby, yourselves, and getting to make friends with everyone properly.” She then looked around quickly before leaning in, hand up to mask her mouth.

“Also, I have been ordered not to speak of matters regarding the Emerald Siege, outside of the official story.” The four members of MOAT nodded, their faces turning grim briefly.

“We remember the General’s words, so have no concerns on that,” Fumikage softly said, as Dark Shadow emerged and approached Polendina.

“Thanks for helping back then. It means a lot, to all of us.” Penny beamed, before wrapping the shadow creature in a hug, making them freeze in surprise.

“I am glad to see you as well, friend Shadow.” The creature’s eyes looked like they were about to tear up, as they gently hugged back, uncaring of the number of people staring.

Tsu gently spoke up then. “Ribbit. Hopefully you can speak with the others after this food fight is done.” She turned her head to look through a gap in the tape covering the windows. “I have to admit, I didn’t think they’d get this creative. Ribbit.”

“I know, right?” Izuku excitedly said, “you can easily see their natural fighting styles in how they move. Plus, using Aura on the food items makes them durable enough to withstand the intense combat…”

“As well as protecting themselves from taking actual damage,” Penny put in, and suddenly the two were engaging in a quick-fire conversation, that moved so fast that anyone trying to listen in struggled to keep up. Ochaco, Tsu and Fumikage were more used to Izuku’s rapid mumbled analysis, but it was rare to find someone who not only kept up, but could respond in kind.

“Yo! Midoriya!” The group was interrupted by Jiro calling them, kneeling while listening to the fight through her jacks, while someone else recorded the battle with a scroll. “Since you and Polendina, are good with analysis, can you explain what’s going on with Jaune? He thinks he’s found his semblance!”

“Oh wow! Sure!” Izuku took a step before pausing and looking at the others, “unless there’s something more important I’m forgetting?”

“Ribbit. I think we can spare ourselves a moment,” Tsu reassured him, and Ochaco beamed.

“Plus, we should keep watch anyway in case we need to intervene.”

With no disagreements, the five moved closer to Jiro and looked through the window. “Can you describe what you witnessed?” Izuku asked.

“Boy’s Aura shone pretty bright, negating the impact of some hits,” said the Huntsman-in-training, “and even when he did get knocked down, he recovered pretty quick.”

“But he’s trying something with Pyrrha now,” Jiro added. Dark Shadow raised themselves to look through a gap in the tape higher up.

“Looks like she’s concentrating… hang on, her Aura’s glowing brighter than usual.”

Izuku looked at the scroll screen that was recording the fight. “Could it be he’s amplifying Aura? If it’s not just his own he can affect, then…”

“Uh oh,” Penny said, just as her whole body skidded an inch while standing still. Instinctively, all four members of MOAT moved to steady her, Ochaco making sure she didn’t accidentally use her Quirk.

“Polendina? What happened?” Tsu asked. Penny looked momentarily awkward, before putting on a smile.

“I am fine. Hiccup!” That surprised the team, but Penny continued. “I believe I should go now. I don’t have much free time left sadly. Hiccup!”

“Penny…?” Ochaco gently reached out, but the girl stepped away.

“I… I am sorry. I have to go.” And with that Penny all but fled.

“What just happened there? Ribbit.” Tsu asked, her concern obvious despite her not very expressive features. Nobody had an answer sadly.

Izuku looked back at the scroll, trying to puzzle out what was going on, and then he saw Ruby on-screen, getting into a runners crouch. ‘Wait… is she?’ His eyes went wide. “Jiro, unplug and get clear, this is going to be loud!”

It said a lot about how much Jiro trusted her friends, that while she didn’t quite understand his concern, she did so immediately. That act likely saved her hearing, as a sharp crack like a gunshot echoed from within the hall, and then the windows cracked, barely held together thanks to Sero’s tape. As it was, she still clasped her ears. “Aargh!” she winced, the huntsman stopping the recording to help steady her.

“Yo? You good?”

“Yeah… yeah, Coal. I just a need a minute.” Jiro looked over to Izuku, even as she let her Aura help her eardrums recover. “Thanks Midoriya. That would have been so much worse if I’d still had my jacks deployed. How did you guess?”

Izuku looked back at the hall. “It was largely just a gut feeling, honestly.” He looked around. “Anyway, I think the fight is over. Let’s go inside and check on everyone.”

“I’ll… pass,” Coal said, “but, you guys seem alright. So maybe team FNKI will stop by sometime to say hi.” he then looked at Jiro with a smile. “And as one artist to another, maybe we can jam sometime?” Jiro blinked, and blushed before answering.

“Um, yeah. Okay.”

This Stream was brought to you by...

“Wow! Now that was fast!” Neon exclaimed while Kaminari was slack jawed.

“Holy… she just turned them into a Jackson Pollack painting in there!”

“Have to take your word for that,” Neon said, “but I guess that’s a wrap. Care to say goodbye, Chargebolt?”

“Goodbye Chargebolt,” Kaminari replied without thinking, and Neon tittered.

“This has been fun, later!” She then began to rollerblade away, still holding her own scroll, and streaming herself. “And for everyone who watched that with us, don’t forget to like, favourite, and subscribe! Nyah!” She pulled a cute face, winking while sticking her tongue out, and making a peace sign with her free hand.

And all the while the likes and comments just rolled in…

Aftermath: Food for Thought

Sato watched as the six who fought, set about cleaning. They weren’t allowed to use Quirks either, which meant having to borrow janitorial supplies. As he watched, Todoroki and Iida approached. “Sato? Are you alright?” Iida asked.

“You’ve been depressed since the fight ended,” Todoroki noted, and Rikido sighed.

“Yeah. Guess I have been.” He shook his head. “I’m just… when I was really little, I got into a few food fights. My parents really drilled into me that it wasn’t good, you know? Especially when my Quirk came in, and I could eat sugar to throw stuff harder.”

Todoroki tilted his head slightly, his expression one of curious interest. Iida, thankfully, didn’t try lecturing him on what he just revealed. They were both listening, giving him his chance to speak.

“So for the most part, I look at what happened here, and I bemoan all the wasted food. Not just the damage done, important though that is, but the fact that so much good food got wasted, and now has to be thrown away. On the other hand though,” he managed a self-deprecating smile as he rubbed the back of his head, “there’s a part of me that wishes I’d been in there fighting too. I mean, Weiss Schnee used a swordfish like her own rapier! Yang had turkeys as boxing gloves, and Yaoyorozu made a cannon just to fire bread!” he sighed again. “Damn if it didn’t look like a lot of fun to take part.”

The other two were silent a moment, just letting that sit. Then Iida gently spoke. “I never once took part in something like this, not even as a boy. I don’t regret doing what I could to be well behaved, but I think in some small way, I understand.”

“I wouldn’t want to waste the food that was made for me at home,” Todoroki said thoughtfully. “My sister usually cooked and it would be disrespectful to waste it like that.” A small smile appeared. “Still, as inadvisable as it is, I wonder what it’d be like to throw cold soba in my father’s face.”

Rikido turned to stare at Todoroki in shock, before breaking into a surprised laugh. “Throwing food at Endeavour? Yeah I don’t think I’d be brave enough to do that, even as a kid.”

“Also,” Iida added with some humour, “I know you enjoy cold soba. Wouldn’t throwing it at Endeavour just heat it up?” Todoroki actually gave a small huff of laughter at that.

“It’s not like I would eat it afterwards, though that is a good point.” The not-quite deadpan delivery had all three boy chuckle. Todoroki then turned away. “Come on, there’s things we can do while Mineta finishes up here.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sato said with a smile, already feeling better.

END