Chapter Text
When teams RWBY and JNPR returned to the classroom for another presentation, they were greeted by someone they did not expect. “Hello again, young students,” greeted Professor Port, “I look forward to hearing your theoretical fisticuffs with the villains of Japan. Ha ha!”
Eight pairs of eyes went to Aizawa, sitting at the front with a thermos in his hands, silently asking him the same thing. ‘Where was Professor Goodwitch?’
“The deputy Headmistress had some matters to attend to,” Aizawa explained. “Professor Port will standing in for today, but be aware that we might be rotating the staff members so that we don’t monopolise their time.”
The two teams shared a look, silently coming to agreement and acceptance. Professor Port could be… a character, but he was an accomplished huntsmen. Plus, Goodwitch hadn’t said that much last time, largely asking a few questions and making notes. It had been Aizawa taking the lead with corrections, and had the most experience.
“Sooo, do we need to go back over the whole Hassaikai scenario again for the professor’s sake, or…?” Yang asked. Aizawa shook his head.
“No need,” he answered and Port chortled.
“Indeed. While not one for dramatics, Aizawa gave me a concise retelling of the whole mission to rescue the child, Eri, from those foul gangsters.” Despite his jovial voice, there was something in the way his bushy eyebrows and moustache moved that told the teens that much like themselves, the professor was also outraged at the crimes committed against the young girl.
“So you can begin from where we left off last time,” the underground hero confirmed. “From after being sidetracked by Irinaka’s Quirk, and leaving Suneater to handle Setsuno, Hojo and Tabe.”
Jaune Arc nodded before looking at his fellow team leader. “Go on, get us off to a good start, Ruby.” The younger girl smiled at that, before leading her team to stand in a line before the teachers.
“Well then,” she said, glancing at her team a moment, “if I remember correctly, Irinaka chose to prioritise attacking the police up top for a bit after leaving Eraser Head, and the main hero party to the trio.” There was no corrections, so Ruby continued. “Leaving Suneater to handle those three, the group followed Sir Nighteye who had the best sense of direction at the time.”
“However,” Weiss stepped in once Ruby stopped speaking, “Irinaka’s mimicry Quirk also allowed him to catch up quickly, and he once again waylaid the party. Specifically targeting yourself, Aizawa sir.”
“Irinaka planned to send you to another part of the underground base,” Blake clarified, “perhaps he genuinely thought you would be beaten by the two waiting at the end of the tunnel, or was simply working under the assumption that if they couldn’t stop you, you’d be delayed and isolated enough that it wouldn’t matter if you won the confrontation. Chisaki would make his escape, and the other eight bullets could deal with you later.”
Aizawa nodded. “Both are possible. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.”
Yang grinned at that, before punching her right fist into her left hand. “Yeah, because good old Fatgum and Kirishima managed to push you clear of Irinaka’s attack, and then the pair ended up fighting the villains we’ll be fighting in this scenario…"
[Present Mic: “From the Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai; Kendo Rappa!”
“His Quirk is Strongarm, which allows his shoulders to rotate with incredible efficiency! He can then unleash a barrage of vicious punches, one after the other. And his striking power is no joke, since he was able to hurt Fatgum even when he had layers of fat to absorb the impacts!”
“Fun Fact: He actually knows the rabbit hero; Mirko, from when she was a hero student! They worked together with Pro-hero O-Clock when dealing with a secret underground fighting ring, where a bunch of people lost their Quirks… oh.”
“Ahem! Also from the Eight Bullets; Hekiji Tengai.”
“His Quirk is Barrier. He erects a spherical barrier that’s as tough as an iron wall, though he can’t attack whilst inside it. He is pretty proud of his defence, though enough force can break it.”]
Ruby frowned a little, before speaking again. “We should state that pretty much all the knowledge of this encounter comes from Kirishima primarily, with some supplemental stuff from Midoriya, Tsu and Ochaco.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Aizawa promised, “I know that both Kirishima and Fatgum came out of that fight with injuries, as did the two villains, though I think there was some talk about possible leniency towards Rappa, as he was the one who led Fat to a place where they could treat their injuries until the police and EMTs caught up.”
“Right,” Blake continued with the presentation, “well according to Kirishima, Rappa and Tengai weren’t actually on the list given out before hand, prior to the raid. Meaning neither himself or his work study mentor had any knowledge of either Rappa or Tengai’s abilities until demonstrated. Rappa was first to attack, injuring Kirishima despite his Hardening, and then wailing on Fatgum.”
“And when the Pro did retaliate, Tengai put up a forcefield to block his counter attack,” Weiss smoothly added.
Yang folded her arms, and looked thoughtful a moment. “Yeah, but according to Kirishima, Rappa wanted a proper slug fest, and wasn’t happy that Tengai would interrupt, even if it made sense to do so. I think Kirishima said that Rappa was from underground MMA fights, and Chisaki basically beat him multiple times just to get him to work for him.”
“Yeeeugh,” Ruby shivered, “We’ll get around to Overhaul eventually, but that Quirk is way too OP.” her friends, including JNPR behind her, shuddered as one. Weiss picked things up once again.
“Regardless of how at odds the pair were, when they struck a balance, they truly were a metaphorical spear and shield. Fatgum only beat them via a gamble based on his own Quirk…”
“Of which I haven’t failed to notice some similarities to my own Semblance,” Yang piped in again, “though I will admit, I am a little jealous he doesn’t have to worry about his figure.”
“Forgive me,” Port politely interrupted, “but what is Fatgum’s Quirk, exactly?”
[Present Mic: “B.M.I Hero – Fatgum! Real name; Taishiro Toyomitsu.”
“Quirk; Fat Absorption. By eating a lot, he builds up layers of fat that cover his body. Protecting him from blades, bullets, and he’s even tanked a few explosions! Storing up blows he receives, allows him the ability to deliver a powerful counter attack, though that typically burns through his fat reserves when he does so.”
“He’s a reliable pro whose agency is well trusted by UA, and currently is mentoring Tamaki Amajiki of the Big Three for work studies.”]
Yang quickly surmised what she knew about the pro (largely thanks to Midoriya gushing about the pros), and Port thanked her for the clarification. Weiss coughed for attention, looking a little annoyed at the tangent.
“As I was saying,” she said in controlled tones, “Fatgum ultimately defeated both Rappa and Tengai by gambling on his absorbing enough energy from the former to be able to strike them down with one mighty blow. Which he did, but only because Kirshima managed to rally once more, despite his injuries, and shield Fatgum with his own body to buy him the time he needed to counter attack.”
Blake nodded. “It should also be noted, that Tengai’s barrier was still strong enough to absorb enough of the blow that despite both himself and Rappa being blown back into a wall, Rappa was still able to stand, suffering only broken arms. Tengai himself was left weak, unable to put up a forcefield, but still able to move and speak. Rappa’s own twisted sense of honour and sportsmanship was what led him to show Fatgum the back room where they could treat their injuries, apparently because he liked both the Pro and Kirishima for their guts, and wanted a proper fight to the death in the future.”
“So, under the rules we’ve established, the scenario is that team RWBY was present and knocked down the tunnel to fight the pair. We have no pre-established knowledge of the two, but in order to try and link back up with the main group we have to either get past them by getting around them, or by defeating the duo.”
Yang’s face turned serious then. “Yeah, based on our own assessments of our powers, weapons, skills and of course the match up, this is not going to be easy.”
“Yaaaaaargh!” Ruby slashed at Rappa, only for that barrier to pop up again, and Ruby grit her teeth against the recoil as the scythe blade made contact with what felt like an iron wall.
“Dammit! Can’t any of you girls lose the weapons and put up a real fight?” Rappa complained, before then turning around to shout at his ‘partner.’ “And you! Quit it with the barrier! All you’re doing is getting in the way of my death match!”
“Rise above your own desires,” Tengai replied. “We serve master Overhaul after all.”
While the villains bickered, Ruby backed off, regrouping with her team. They’d been fast enough largely to dodge Rappa’s blistering assault, but each and every time they tried to counter, Tengai would form a barrier to protect him. Worse, from the outset Rappa had struck Yang hard, and she was groggy, barely able to get to her feet. Yang’s eyes were red, staring angrily at the pair before them. “I… I need just one shot. Just one.”
“Focus on healing, just a little bit longer,” Blake whispered, while Ruby and Weiss stayed on guard. Ruby narrowed her eyes.
“Weiss.”
“Ruby?”
“We need to drive a wedge between them.”
Weiss frowned. “How exactly will that help? They’re hardly working together…”
“Exactly,” Ruby interrupted, careful to hide her mouth in case Tengai could lip read. “We’re not fighting a duo. We’re fighting two separate bad guys, who just happen to have powers that mesh well, but their personalities don’t.” She then looked Weiss in the eye. “And based on what this Rappa guy has been ranting about, what are the odds do you think, he actually knows what Chisaki is doing to Eri?”
Weiss suddenly understood, and warmed to the idea. “How do you want to do this, then?” Ruby smirked.
“Well, if we can create a big enough diversion, maybe you can get a Glyph inside Tengai’s barriers, and give him a taste of his own medicine. But first, I need you to be the best ice queen you can be.”
“...Leave it to me then.” And with that, she started to walk forward. The sound of her boots on the floor caught the villain’s attention, snapping them out of their argument.
“Oh? And what’s this?” Tengai asked aloud. “Will you challenge us, little girl?”
“Funny you should say that,” Weiss began, stopping ten feet away, and fixing her eyes on Rappa. “You. Your name is Rappa?”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” The big guy sounded like he was sulking.
“You talk about acting like a real man, especially in a fight. So that means something to you, your honour and pride.” Behind Rappa’s mask, Weiss could sense his eyes narrowing at her.
“What about it?”
“Well, I just don’t think you’re in a position to talk about being a real man,” she said with the air of politely critiquing fine art in a museum. “After all, you work for someone who experiments and mutilates children. All for his profit.”
“Nice try, girl.” Tengai patronised, “but that won’t work.” His eyes fixed on the girl in white, he started missing a sudden tension in his partner.
“What are you talking about?” Rappa said, raising his fists behind the barrier. Still, it seemed Weiss had his attention.
“The whole reason we are even here. Why any of the current heroes fighting up top, along with the police are here.” Weiss answered, coming off relaxed, though she kept a good grip on Myternaster. “We are here to rescue a little girl named Eri. The very child whose blood has been used to make Quirk destroying bullets. A child who lives her life terrified, as she is essentially treated as nothing more the mere resources.”
“It doesn’t matter if you beat us,” Ruby said coming up alongside. “We’re a force multiplier, but others are still carrying on up-top. We’re confident they’ll get to her and get her out.” Then her eyes narrowed, and Weiss found herself surprised to feel a chill as Ruby’s own voice turned cold. “You however, even if you win this fight, you will be wanted for the rest of your days for being party to child enslavement and abuse. Can you still call yourself a man after knowing that?”
“Don’t listen to them Rappa!” Tengai said but Rappa ignored him.
“I never knew about any kid!” He yelled. “All I want is a good death match! The only reason I’m here is because I lost to Overhaul. I’ve lost time and time again, and each time he killed me, he put me back together good as new!”
“I got no choice, you hear? I gave my word, and I’m bound to it!” His body was trembling, suppressing his anger. Blake however stepped up to speak next.
“There is always a choice! Always! I’ve heard those words before, when I was a terrorist! From those who hated the actions they were doing but tried to justify them, to shift the blame! But the world won’t care, and even if you get your fight to the death, you won’t be remembered as a fighting man of honour. You’ll only be remembered as one of many who stood by and let cruel monsters like Chisaki have their way!”
“Rappa! Listen to me! They’re up to something!” Tengai started getting desperate, reaching out to the bigger man. “The whole reason you were sent down here with me was to account for your battle lust! End these foolish little girls, and then we can retreat.”
“...Retreat?” Rappa spoke the word like it tasted bad on his tongue. “And live like a dog, while Overhaul does what he wants to the kid.” He shook his head, teeth gritted.
Then, Yang spoke up. “Yo, I can make things real simple for everyone here.” Rappa looked past Weiss, Ruby and Blake, and saw Yang removing her Ember Celica. She secured the armoured bracelets behind her, and then she took a stance.
“Tell us the way to get out of here and back up top,” she said clearly, “and I’ll give you the fight you want. Right here, right now. But no Barrier bitch.”
Rappa stared at her, his trembling stopped. Then he barked a laugh. “Alright! You got a deal!”
“RAPPA?!”
“Shut up! Screw you, and screw Overhaul!” He kept his eyes on Yang. “Blondie, you remind me of another chick who could fight, and I got a lot of respect for Tiger-Bunny. There’s a door behind us, leads into a side room that has some first aid kits and stuff. Inside there’s a door at the back that will take you back up to the central underground hall. After that, you’ll have to make your own way.”
“Got it.” Yang replied, making a show of ‘reloading’ her fists. “Now. Come at me.”
“Nobody is going anywhere!” Tengai screamed, putting a barrier between himself and Rappa, but also maintaining a barrier that kept team RWBY from getting past them. “Master Overhaul had me join Rappa to ensure nobody makes it out, and I will fulfil my duty!”
“Blake,” Ruby whispered, “I need you to work with me. Concentrate as much Aura as you can in one kick. I’ll give us the boost, along with Weiss.” Blake simply nodded, as Ruby grabbed and zipped to the back.
“Weiss!” The heiress instantly formed accelerator Glyphs, giving the pair a straight shot. With a joint wordless cry, Ruby and Blake shot forward, before jumping up and delivering the hardest hammer kick they could muster. And Tengai’s barrier… Cracked!
“What?! NO!!” Tengai staggered, momentarily dropping both barriers. He put up another around himself, but Weiss smirked.
“Too late, you are in my territory now.” Tengai looked down to find a gravity glyph, pulling him down, before ice was channelled through it, freezing him solid. He screamed in agony, and his barrier winked out.
Yang meanwhile, shot forward, charging Rappa who charged back. Her Semblance activated, and she focused on every move she and him made. Rappa’s right fist shot towards her. Her fist met his. CRACK! Rappa’s fist near shattered, blood spurting as the only thing holding his broken hand together was skin and torn flesh. Rappa’s left fist came out to meet Yang’s face. Her second hand stopped it cold, the ground breaking a little beneath her feet.
Rappa was so surprised he didn’t even acknowledge the pain in his hands. “What…?”
“You wanted a death match,” Yang said, her hair glowing brighter than the sun in the middle of July. “Well now, it’s time to DIE!” And with that, Yang delivered a systematic beat down, raining blows upon Rappa in her own fashion. When she was done, the big guy was down, his mask torn asunder, teeth missing, and bleeding from broken nose, and likely had several fractured ribs.
Yang stood above him, breathing heavily before raising her right fist skyward… and then her Aura broke, and she nearly toppled, were it not for Blake and Ruby catching her.
“Got you sis. Got you.”
“Rest up, try and recover your Aura. We’ll need you for the last stretch, I’m sure.”
Rappa stirred. “Hey…” he then began to hack and cough before spitting blood, “I’m… still… alive…” Yang looked him in the eye, her own irises returned back to lilac.
“Yeah, I guess you are.” She replied. “And you know what? That means you’ll one day be able to fight again.” She then whispered to her teammates, even as Weiss rushed to find the mentioned first aid kits, and the trio moved away. “Consider that… my thanks, for telling us the way out.”
Rappa made a weird gurgling sound that might have been a laugh. “...Yang, huh. Yeah… that was… a good… fight.”
Ruby sighed. “Almost like with Katsukame, there’s elements here we can only speculate about.”
“It might be,” Weiss explained, “that I could bypass the barrier entirely with my Glyphs. But since that’s never been a problem we have faced before, we can’t be sure if that would work. Better if we can break the force field, and so long as there’s a second where he’s open, I can nail the villain.”
Ruby nodded. “Rappa is a bit of wild card. Could we convince him to turn on Chisaki and his men? Even if he does dislike the man, would his own personal sense of honour keep him from betraying him?” She shrugged. “If it was him alone, we could easily win. We don’t care too much about some macho ‘win with your own strength’ deal, not when there’s a life to save.”
Jaune politely coughed, getting everyone’s attention. “Yeah, I’m not sure if I could think of trying to take advantage of their in-fighting. Pyrrha or Ren might, and they could definitely try reason, but ultimately our team would be reliant on Nora.”
Aizawa took a breath, held it for a second, then released it. “You can’t keep relying purely on a brute force option to get out of a tough spot,” he told both teams, “though I will admit, given the difficulty these two present, you might not have much of a choice.”
Weiss nodded. “I can’t use it at this point of time (and therefore won’t be considered as something we can use in the scenarios) but I have the potential to summon avatars of Grimm to the battlefield. Specifically Grimm that I have either slain, or helped to slay that contributed to my growth as a person.” She looked at Professor Port and Aizawa. “I haven’t had success with it yet, but in theory, I could summon an Arma Gigas. That could compensate in the event that Yang is unavailable to lend her might.”
“Oh ho ho!” Port stroked his chin. “Yes, if you can achieve a successful summon of that particular kind of monster, then you will certainly have more options available on the battlefield.” Aizawa hummed thoughtfully. He couldn’t immediately recall if he ever heard of such a Grimm before, but if Port recognised it, then it was likely to be real, and possibly rare.
“Having alternatives would certainly be beneficial,” he said, before looking at Jaune. “I find it interesting though that you Arc, didn’t wait until RWBY had stepped back before speaking of your team’s strategy.” Jaune nodded, stepping forward.
“That’s because sir, for the scenario team JNPR will be covering, we will not focusing on the fight against Tengai and Rappa.” Aizawa raised an eyebrow, while Port made an interested sound. “Instead, we’ll be presenting us tackling the most annoying member of the Eight Bullets.”
Nora grinned hungrily. “Yeeeeppp!” She said, popping the ‘p.’ “We’re going after the man in the walls; Irinaka!”
[Present Mic: “Director of the Shie Hassaikai, Joi Irinaka!”
“His Quirk: Mimic! He can possess inanimate objects and control them from within. He’s usually walking around in a creepy doll outfit, and normally the largest thing he can control is the size of a refrigerator. That said, when using Quirk boosters, this ability allows him to control and warp vast swathes of a building, though he still has to be fairly close by to properly direct the effects.”]
“We did want to ask a question before we begin,” Pyrrha Nikos spoke up, even as Ruby and her team stepped to the side. “And that was whether you preferred us adding in the likes of Toga and Twice to the mix, or if you’d rather hear our strategy for Irinaka alone?”
Aizawa considered the question. “That’s honestly up to you,” he finally answered. “I can see why it would be a concern though. Shortly after being separated from Fatgum and Kirishima, Irinaka once again tried to cut us off and crush us. Thanks to Rock Lock’s Quirk, as well as Midoriya fighting to keep the path clear, we were able to endure a while before he changed strategies.”
“Yes,” Port put his hands behind his back, sounding thoughtful. “I’m sure Aizawa will correct me if I make a mistake here, but Toga and Twice were only there because of some backroom deal between the yakuza and the League. But the two ended up betraying the Hassaikai for their own reasons.”
Aizawa nodded. “The time in which they engaged with Pros and police was extremely short. Quick hit and runs, before they wound up Irinaka and pushed him into an unthinking rage."
“Right!” Jaune excitedly jumped in, “but with all his yelling, Midoriya was able to get a fix on his hiding spot, and breaking open the wall led to you being able to nail him with your Erasure!”
Ren looked at his teammates a moment before speaking. “Previously, we had been thinking to tackle the League of Villain members another time. Focusing on the attack on the summer training camp.” He then focused on Aizawa. “If you ask for us to include them as part of this scenario, we do actually have some plan for it.”
“We rolled dice for randomisation,” Jaune further clarified.
“...Include them. Let’s see what you have.” Aizawa answered.
“Look out!” Jaune and Nora dived at the same time as the walls suddenly shifted in a new way. Before, Irinaka had been trying to pretty much crush them. Thankfully, the Pro called Rock Lock proved a good counter, and Midoriya and Nora had been great at keeping any attacks from up front from hitting the party. But now, it looked like Irinaka was trying something else.
“Pyrrha!” Jaune called out, while Nora stood up and pounded on the wall.
“Ren! Are you okay?”
“We’re fine!” Pyrrha called back, “but we’ve been separated from everyone else!”
“What now?” Jaune wondered aloud.
From behind the wall he could hear Sir Nighteye say something dramatic. “I fear something nefarious is at play here. Be on your guard.”
Nora looked at Jaune, eyebrow raised. “Are we sure, like really sure, Nighteye and Tokoyami aren’t related at least a little? They both love being so dramatic and edgy.” Jaune shrugged, not really of a mind to even try going down that Creep-Hole right at that moment.
Just then, he heard the sounds of a fight from behind one of the walls. Rock Lock had also gotten separated, and it sounded like he was being attacked. Jaune was on his feet, and quickly made a decision. “Nora; Tear down that wall!”
“With pleasure!” Nora urged him to step back, before firing a series of grenades at the wall. It shattered under the explosive ordnance, and Jaune advanced through shield raised, and sword held back ready for a swing or thrust. Nora was at his back, switching Magnihild back into a powerful maul.
They paused at an odd sight. There were 2 Rock Locks! One was face down on the ground, and was bleeding from both a wound in his hand and in his side. The other was kneeling down next to him. He looked up as they came closer. “Hey be careful! This doppelganger just came out of nowhere and attacked me. Keep your guard up, there could be more of them.”
“R-right! Right let’s circle up, cover each others blind spots,” Jaune began saying, before Nora grabbed him, looking at the uninjured Rock Lock with narrowed eyes.
“What’s the password?” Nora asked, her tone suspicious. Jaune stared at her, completely baffled. He didn’t remember any mention of passwords, he didn’t miss that at the briefing… did he?
“Oh. Did you forget? That’s no good.” Rock Lock commented, and that’s when Jaune realised. There were no passwords, and the Pro before had always been yelling and grumbling, but now he was acting… out of character… Jaune glanced at the bleeding figure on the ground.
‘Stabbed in the hand, and in the side… but this guy doesn’t have a blade… not that we can see…’ He kept his shield up, and stared down the person who could only be an imposter. “Wrong answer.” Rock Lock looked confused, before pouting, and then gave a Cheshire cat level grin, as their form started to melt off their body like wax.
“Oops! My bad!” Himiko Toga cried suddenly charging forward, a knife held high (‘Where was she hiding that?!’ Jaune thought) the sludge barely hiding her breasts and crotch from being on show. Despite being spotted, she was smiling, with a blush on her cheeks. “You two are pretty cute though. Do you know my love, Izuku?”
The knife came down on Jaune’s shield, the blade breaking even as sparks flew. Jaune thrust with his sword (and he was so glad for Pyrrha’s training, because that was probably one of his best attacks to date.). Toga was slippery though, Crocea Mors only cutting some of the blonde hair from her.
But that was fine, Jaune knew he probably wouldn’t tag her. But he could defend, and he doubted Toga had ever fought anyone who was on the level of a huntsmen or huntress. She had never faced anyone like Nora. “Deku’s spoken for, you tramp!” Nora shoulder barged Toga, before she then rammed the hammerhead right into the girl’s gut. Surprisingly, Toga rolled with the impact, despite being clearly stunned and robbed of breath. Just then, a new wall came down between huntsmen and villain. “Get back here!” Nora yelled, but Jaune stopped her from trying to break her way through.
“Nora! I need you to stand watch! I got to treat Rock Lock’s wounds or he might bleed out before the EMTs get here.” Nora did not like the idea of leaving Toga to get away, but acknowledged Jaune’s point.
‘I hope Pyrrha, Ren and the others are doing okay…’
***
“I don’t like this Shigaraki / So pumped to be here!” Twice declared as he and the clone of Kendo Rappa was let into the small space that Pyrrha and Ren were held. “Oh wow, you look like a gladiator! And you got guns as well as blades, huh? Don’t think that will be enough to...Uurgh!” Before he could finish, Pyrrha had already thrown Akouo, smacking him hard in the face hard enough to knock him out. Clone Rappa charged, fists flying, but both Beacon students leapt out the way, before charging in. Blades and bullets swiftly turned the clone into a mud like slurry.
“What is it with heroes and villains need to monologue?” Ren asked, as he approached to secure Twice. Pyrrha kept watch with Milo, while thinking it over.
“I think you’re forgetting Roman Torchwick.” Ren shrugged and nodded, conceding that Remnant did have it’s own characters who just would not shut up.
Suddenly the wall warped open again, and a half naked blonde girl reached through and grabbed Twice, dragging him forcibly through the hole. As Ren reached out to stop her, the hole closed again just as quickly. “Dammit,” he cursed softly.
“JNPR! Sound off, what’s happening with you?” Aizawa called through the wall. Pyrrha moved back a step before raising her voice.
“We were just attacked by Twice, and a double of a villain who was not on the list. The double has been destroyed, and we were about to subdue Twice before a blonde girl pulled him away.”
“That would be Toga,” Jaune’s voice was muffled due the thick wall between them, but he had raised it enough for the party to hear him. “Rock Lock is injured badly, but should be okay if we get him proper medical care soon. Nora and I are fine.”
“Sorry I couldn’t knock out the bitch.” Pyrrha shook her head at her teammates apology, along with the crass language.
Nighteye spoke up then. “This is surprising. All our intel said that the League and the Hassaikai had bad blood between them, that there was no chance of an alliance, and yet, two members of the League make an appearance. I could not of foreseen this.”
“I thought your Quirk was Foresight?” An annoyed Nora bit back, before Jaune said something that couldn’t be made out, but was likely reminding the pancake destroyer about not aggravating an ally in the field.
Still though, Nora did not like Sir Nighteye, and Pyrrha couldn’t exactly blame her. The man was not an easy person to like. And it was clear to both of them that he disliked Midoriya for some reason, though they did not understand why.
Complicating things was that Ren thought that Sir Nighteye was fine, admiring his thorough and pragmatic approach to investigation. The only thing he didn’t understand was why Nighteye was said to love humour. While Togata was certainly full of smiles and energy, Nighteye didn’t seem to show anything that indicated he was actually possessing a sense of humour of any kind.
Pyrrha also had another reason to dislike the man, though it was admittedly petty. He had been rude to Jaune almost from the start, and that immediately got her hackles up. She had a feeling that Nighteye gave preferential treatment to those he approved of, but was harsher to others who did not meet his own arbitrary standards. The fact that he praised her skill and ability immediately after his critique of her partner, did not warm her to him at all.
“Hang on,” Ren spoke up, focusing his senses, reaching out with them to spot the next attack before it struck. “I sense… Move away from the walls! Everyone!” Nobody argued, as Ren jumped back, and Pyrrha kept Akouo tight in defence. The walls and floor shifted again, but this time accompanied with a roar of indignant rage. The control was almost gone, the building was simply twisting and contorting out of pure emotion.
Even the barriers between the two of them and the other members of the rescue party disappeared, but given the threat implicit, this wasn’t much of an improvement. Jaune was using his own body to shield Rock Lock, a bit of panic on his face, while Nora clutched her weapon looking around for something or someone she could strike.
“Ren!” Jaune called out, as another roar shook the tunnels, “Can you pin-point him?”
Ren frowned, as he scanned the moving earth and metal. Then he pointed with Stormflower at a spot. Without needing any instruction, Nora shifted her weapon once more to its grenade launcher form, and fired a salvo. Two grenades were intercepted, but the rest detonated at a spot, exposing a very angry looking man in suspenders. She also exposed some iron rebar, and Pyrrha immediately knew what Jaune would ask of her before the words left his lips.
“Pull him out!” Extending her Aura, pushing her Semblance to the max, the iron rebar vibrating around him before pulling free, and pulling the big man out at the same time!
“What?!” Irinaka exclaimed, even as the iron rebar wrapped around him to restrain his body. Jaune however shifted, holding his shield up in a way that made him a platform. Nora took the opportunity, using him as a springboard leaping off, then aimed her most powerful kick, knocking the air out of the director, and ending the battle.
“Sorry Hassaikai,” Toga said from above, holding a woozy Twice in her arms, “but I think we’ll do what we want after all.” Pyrrha was shifting Milo to rifle form already, but in the second it took to do so, some debris fell obscuring sight of the two villains, and when it passed the two were gone…
Jaune took a moment to breathe after running the scenario. “There is a big problem, with any scenario we could run,” he added. “And that is the fact that Irinaka can possess objects like our own weapons. We know he needed drugs to boost his Quirk to handle bigger objects, but we don’t know the minimum size. So it’s a bit of a gamble, trusting in rebar to hold him, even if only for a few seconds.”
Aizawa made sound like he agreed, but was thinking of something else. “Were you also working on the basis that he was running out of time for the booster to still be in effect?” Jaune and Pyrrha nodded. “Since you were running this on the idea of being the only ones to tackle the villain, I think that was probably the best call.” He looked at Pyrrha. “Though given the idea of tearing rebar from the earth and concrete was crucial to restraining him, I’ll be expecting you to back up such a claim in training.”
Pyrrha actually looked eager to meet the challenge.
Professor Port hummed thoughtfully. “The random element of which villains you would face… What would you have preferred if you could have chosen?”
“After talking about the two league members in question,” Ren answered, “ideally, it would have been best if myself and Nora could have fought Toga. I’m confident I would pick up on her being a threat even when disguised, and my fighting style is a good match against hers and the knives she wields. We’re also confident that Pyrrha could take her.”
“Though Pyrrha is strong in either situation really,” Jaune put in, earning a warm smile from his partner. Neither Port or Aizawa disagreed. “But I might have a better chance against Twice, since the clones he makes have limited durability, and given my fighting style (and depending on who he chose to make) that would probably be the best match up.”
“And how would team RWBY have handled the same problem?” Port asked. Ruby and her teammates shared a look, before answering.
“...If we’re being realistic about this, until the drug ran its course, we’d likely have a tougher time.” Blake admitted, Yang sighing heavily.
“The bad guy hiding in the wall complicates things. Much like in real life, it wouldn’t make sense just attacking randomly hoping to get lucky. Midoriya told us that he only got a lock on his location when Twice and Toga caused Irinaka to have a meltdown, and even then with all the echoes and moving walls, it wasn’t easy.”
“Aura sensing could help with that,” Weiss continued, “but that’s not a guarantee, and Ren is the sharpest out of all eight of us in that department.” Ren humbly accepted the compliment, as Weiss finished up. “And that’s assuming we haven’t gotten tripped up with all the environment manipulation he can do.”
“In short; without the help of yourself and the others in the group, the best we could do is tackle Toga and Twice.”
Aizawa smiled. He hid it behind his scarf, but he was pleased. ‘These kids… they know their limits, but they’re pushing themselves to think things through, and develop their tactics.’ Schooling his features, he raised his head before speaking. “That’s understandable, and oft times unavoidable in our line of work. If you over-specialise, even as a team, it will inevitably lead to opponents and situations you’ll struggle against.”
“Consider what points you can gain from this,” Port put in, “especially since there are types of Grimm that thrive by digging and tunnelling. Perhaps you might come up with a whole new methodology to combating such subterranean fiends.” The eight teens took that with stride. After all, they were only freshman, with four whole years to spend at Beacon. There was still plenty to learn and discover. “So then,” Port said, swinging his fist in a jovial fashion, “what scenario comes next, young huntsmen?”
The group was silent, before Ruby took a deep breath, and then slowly released it. “Next, we’ll be covering the confrontations made by Lemillion in his efforts to get to Eri. And we’ll be covering the ringleader behind the whole Hassaikai.” She gave both men a determined and hard look that she didn’t typically wear, outside of serious life or death matters.
“And these fights… are arguably the most dangerous of them all.”
“Excuse me gentlemen,” Ruby said, with measured false calm, rose petals still trailing off her after running so far. Crescent Rose in gun mode, was aimed solidly at Chisaki, while his right hand man Kurono carried Eri. The white haired girl stared at her, scared. But not of Ruby. For her. “I think we need to have a talk, about Eri. Set her on the ground gently, and keep your hands where I can see them.”
“You shouldn’t have been able to get here so quickly,” Chisaki commented from behind the creepy bird-beak plague mask he wore. The fact that neither seemed overly concerned about a gun being pointed at them, gave Ruby a note of additional caution.
“I told you to release her,” Ruby ignored his question, while hoping for the others to catch up soon. ‘C’mon guys, I’m going to need back up and fast. I got a really bad feeling about this guy.’
“So, you want to play hero, do you school girl?” Chisaki still seemed far too relaxed and unbothered. “I’m afraid this girl doesn’t want to go with you, after those two rookies let her come back with me. You all are no heroes to her.”
Ruby forced a smile, more for the child’s sake than anything. “That’s why we’re here. We’ve come to save her. Now either put her gently down on the ground and step away, or I put you down. End of story.”
“...I’m not getting through to this one,” Chisaki shook his head. “Let me make it clear to you school girl; You’re going to die down here.”
[Present Mic: “In the final part of the Shie Hassaki raid… Team RWBY and JNPR will face; From the Eight Bullets of the Hassaikai – Shin Nemoto! Threat Level – C!”
“Deidoro Sakaki: Threat Level – C!”
“Also from the Shie Hassaikai, Hari Kurono; codename – Chronostasis! Threat Level – B!”
“And finally… The young head of the group, Kai Chisaki. Codename – Overhaul.”
“Threat Level… B!”]
To be Continued.