[5/12 - Afternoon]
Today was officially the worst day ever.
First, Ms. Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin decided that team partners for the next few years would be based on eye contact.
Then, as if that wasn't shocking enough, they got launched into the Grimm-infested Emerald Forest from springboards.
Tried to find Yang, but of course she ended up partnered with her out of all people. Just her luck.
Not that she was choosy, she thought that Weiss was cool… But it could have been Jaune or even the quiet black-haired lady. Shrugging off the discomfort, she moved on.
Now, after what felt like hours of walking through the endless green, they were still trying to reach their objective north. Not that the hike was physically hard; Huntresses had high stamina thanks to Aura, but... Walking beside the Ice Queen was enough to make her ears bleed.
Ruby suddenly perked up as the familiar sound of metal clashing against bone rang from the right. She tilted her head in the direction.
"Weiss, do you hear that?"
Ruby alerted Weiss, cupping her ear to focus on the sound. "Someone's fighting the Grimm; it sounds like they're alone from the singular sound patterns of their weapons clashing."
Frowning, Weiss followed along, concentrating before blinking in surprise. It was faint, but she was right.
"How did you—" She was interrupted as Ruby moved towards her.
"Not now, we have to help them!" The silver-eyed girl yelled before grabbing Weiss' wrist. Surprised at the hidden strength of the small-sized girl, she unconsciously yelped as she was pulled and dragged through the bushes and trees at blinding speeds.
"R-Ruby, slow down, you dolt!" Noticing the white-haired girl's discomfort, Ruby obeyed, stopping in place and releasing her grip.
"Catch you there!" With a quick wave, the girl disappeared from her spot, leaving behind Weiis all alone around the never-ending greenery. The Schnee stared at the empty spot where her partner was before muttering incoherently for two seconds, chasing after the red rose petals left in her partner's wake.
Zooming past the dense forest, the sounds of fighting became more apparent as she quickly noticed something mid-Semblance. The person fighting was slowly reducing their attacks—They were losing!
Realizing the implications, she sped up as she poured more Aura into her legs, strengthening her muscles and bones to a higher limit, her weapon, CrescentRose, expanding into its full glory for the world to see.
Three seconds later, she bursts through and into the clearing, her eyes widening as she bears witness to the massacre that occurred throughout the battlefield. Carcasses of numerous variants of Grimm lay limply on the ground, slowly dissipating into ashes of darkness, as clear signs of a brutal battle had taken a toll on the surroundings.
Her silver eyes swept the entire clearing when she locked onto the person in question, fighting against several creatures of Darknessat a distance.
In that same moment, she watched as the boy's Aura flicker before giving way, shattering into fragments of motes. Blood spurted in the air as his right arm dangled helplessly onto the side after a desperate attack from a Beowolf.
Her mind raced, trying to figure out a way to help the situation.
Using her baby's sniper form? No, she was good with Crescent Rose, but the Grimm were bundled up against the boy with no room to spare; she couldn't take the risk of providing cover fire with the chance that it could hit him.
Rush in with her Semblance? She did a rough calculation, factoring her speed and the distance between them. That wouldn't work either; it'd take two seconds tops, the Grimm were closing in on him aggressively.
And then the boy raised a silver pistol, pressing the barrel against the side of his head.
Her head goes blank for a split second before she throws any sense of rationality away, a rush of fear and desperation taking hold as she speeds towards him.
"NO, WAIT!"
She could barely see a brief curl of his mouth, forming a grin, as he squeezed the trigger.
[I am Thou…]
[Thou art I…]
[From the Sea of Souls, I come.]
[I am Odysseus, Polutropos of Ithaca…]
[May the weight and pain be the first step towards your odyssey.]
Instead of a spray of brain matter—That's a morbid thought—and blood, the sound of shattering glass echoed in the distance as fragments of velvet blue glass were expelled from the side of his head.
Out of nowhere, a giant sword—Her brain instantly registered it as a xiphos from ancient Mistral—made of bronze sliced and cleaved through the Grimm around him like paper mache.
Her eyes glanced up at the thing that saved the boy.
Her first thought was a robot. A giant, shiny robot that stood guard above the boy. Holding onto a xiphos with a bow on its back, the robot shifted its gaze to the next moving threat in the vicinity.
Its face was completely identical to the boy it was guarding, save for its blank yellow eyes and darkened skin, along with something akin to a robotic horse-like mask that covered its head and jaw in two separate halves.
The Grimm continued their assault but were swiftly met with unstoppable dominance as the large robot moved. With deadly precision and brutal effectiveness, the floating being hacked and slashed, cleaving through the monsters as if they were made out of papier-mâché.
As the last UrsaMajor dropped onto the floor, its body sliced in half, only then did the robot sheath his xiphos away, sensing that the dangers against his master were cleared. The boy breathed in deep, glancing at his protector before wincing at the pain in his arm.
Ruby opened her mouth as she scrambled for a bandage in her emergency supply, But before she could react, the large being loomed before the boy, an arm raised as a green glow engulfed the boy.
It was like magic; the minor wounds and the large gash on his arm closed and knitted themselves together. Like as if nothing had happened in the first place, other than the gory amounts of blood that stained his shirt and blazer.
He clenched his fists and opened them, testing the motor functions of his newly healed arm before turning his head to meet her eyes.
She gasps as silver met silver.
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He was tired. Physically and mentally.
But Clerval pushed on, staring at the brunette that came rushing to help before nodding slightly.
"Hello."
That seemed to snap her out of her thoughts as she instantly moved to his side, tapping on his now uninjured arm.
"Ohmygoshareyouok?!Here'sabandagegoshyouwerebleedingsomuchwhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo—"
He immediately took a step back as he raised his hand. "I'm alright."
Especially thanks to Odysseus. He was lucky that his awakened Persona had a healingskill, or else he would be walking around with a helpless arm until he could get to an infirmary.
Speaking of which... Persona. The manifestation of the soul. Just thinking about the topic blasted his mind with the countless amount of voices within him giving their personal opinions and thoughts, which made his head hurt.
That was a can of worms that he'd like to avoid at the moment.
He will address this later. Currently, his objective was to take the relic and head back to Beacon, lest he fail the Initiation.
"Ruby!" From the forest trees, a white-haired girl entered the clearing, briefly pausing as she took account of all the destruction and dead Grimm surrounding the place before her eyes landed on them both.
Her blue eyes widened with panic. "You're hurt! Hold on, I-I have bandages and sprays right here—"
He coughed into his fist, seeing that both girls were starting to freak out.
"I'm fine." Clerval moved his bloodied arm, showcasing its full physical dexterity.
That seemed to calm them both down, especially the white-haired girl, who cleared her throat in embarrassment.
"In that case... How did you bleed? Did you get careless? That must have been the case—Honestly, this Initiation is for Beacon Academy, the top HuntsmenAcademy for all of Vale! It is both foolish and irresponsible if one of our future classmates gets caught off guard in the middle of EmeraldForest!"
Her attitude seemingly shifted 180° degres as she started bombaring him with passive-agressive words. Seeing that there was no point in arguing—He was certain that she would go on harder if he tried to retort—He kept his mouth shut and took the beating until the brunette spoke up.
"U-Um, Weiss, we still have Initiation to pass? Maybe you could do this at a later time?" Ruby intervened with a nervous smile.
That made her finally stop her relentless verbal abuse as she crossed her arms.
"... Very well. We still have to locate the relic, and time is of the essence. I'll drop this for now. But believe me, mister, I will not trust you because of this incident, even if we end up as classmates for the year!"
With a huff, the girl turned around and started walking away in her high heels, leaving Ruby and Clerval behind as a result.
"..."
"..."
It seemed as if she had left them.
"Well... I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you!"
"Clerval Greyson."
"..."
"..."
"We should probably follow her."
He nods in agreement.
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On the edge of the Beacon Cliff...
"Yes, the situation has been resolved. Mr. Greyson is fine." Ozpin listens quietly to the person on the Scroll before nodding.
"I understand. You're merely thinking about the safety of the students... I do not fault you for being a noble teacher; apology accepted... Very well, Peter. I shall personally see to it; the students in Block E are under my protection. Thank you."
As the call ended, Glynda Goodwitch, who stood by his side tapped her Scroll and enlarged the map of Emerald Forest. Another tap highlighted black lines that converged densely at an area titled Block P, where three glowing dots of blue were located.
"While I am glad that the situation has been resolved, I cannot help but stress at the irregularity of the Grimm's movements. The Grimm in blocks M, N, and R had ignored Pair Nikos and Arc and opted to instead target Mr. Greyson, who was a few miles away instead."
She further emphasized the point by showing the footage of Clerval fighting against hordes of Grimm alone. "This is not normal, Ozpin. The Grimm do not operate like this, rushing headfirst towards a single individual rather than the ones close to them."
She waited for an answer, but all she got was an audible sip from Ozpin, who stared far out into the forest with his cup in hand with a distant gaze.
"Ozpin?"
A moment passed between them before the headmaster turned to face his deputy.
"Raise Clerval Greyson's priority level from blue to red. And please bring me the boy's files once more." He returned his gaze to the never-ending forest. "I can sense it; the boy is a wild card, and we need every advantage we can get our hands on to tip the balance in our favor."
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Sorry about the late update, I had a family emergency that had me out station. I just came back home an hour ago as of writing this.
NEXT UPDATE: Yu-Gi-Oh GX: It's Time To DUEL! Chapter 29 (25 Jan, Sunday)
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